English Dub Review: Dark Gathering “Yayoi Hozuki”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

A glamorous woman met an unglamorous end inside that phone booth. She’s still in there, calling for help, but one shouldn’t answer her. Keitaro is about to find out why.

Our Take:

Do you know what’s weirder than a young woman with the ability to see spirits? A young girl who can see ghosts. That’s what poor Keitaro Gentoga has to deal with as we start a new journey into the world of the supernatural. Luckily, I was well prepared to witness another supernatural horror anime, thanks to my experience with the first two seasons of In/Spectre. However, this series seems to rely more on the horror mystery than the show’s detective aspect.

The first episode introduces the series’ creepy concept through its ghost-hunting trio and their first task: a haunted phone booth housing a murdered woman’s spirit. One is Keitaro Gentoga, a high school student who’s also a shut-in due to a curse that allows him to see terrifying ghosts. The other is Keitaro’s childhood friend, Eiko Hozuki, who is also affected by the same curse. Additionally, Eiko is immensely kooky and somehow psychotic regarding her affection toward Keitaro. Finally, we have Yayoi Hozuki, Eiko’s intelligent young cousin who lost her parents in a car accident and is diagnosed with polycoria, in which she has two pupils in the same eye. So, if you’re wondering why her eyes look like skulls, that’s the reason. Like Keitaro, Yayoi can also see ghosts that reside in another world. More importantly, she also knows how to defend herself with her crowbars.  

The episode also showcases that Yayoi is using her gift to find her mother’s spirit that she saw being taken by a mysterious ghostly embryo. However, it also shows that Eiko is the only member of the group without a spiritual sense, yet she’s willing to join in on the ghostly fun with Keitaro and Yayoi because why not? Based on the first episode alone, I wouldn’t mind continuing this series of haunting adventures with this spiritual trio as well. On the one hand, the animation by OLM looks impressive so far regarding its grim and spooky sequences, and the sound mixing is impeccable. The woman’s scream before her death is enough to send chills down my spine. On the other hand, Eiko’s hyper personality and high-pitched voice could get irritating after a while. Other than that, it’s a decent start to what could be another terrifyingly fun treat in the horror anime department.