Gakkou no Yuurei (School Ghosts), volume 3

Let's start out 2025 on a scary note, 'cause it's gonna be a scary year. Gakkou no Yuurei (School Ghosts), volume 3, features more supernatural doings on Japanese school campuses. (How come the schools I attended never had any of this sort of thing?) The segments are all the same length, a format I like better than the mix of short and long segments in volume 2.

The six segments in volume 3 are:

1. The Hateful Rabbit (animated). Some school bullies seek revenge on another student by killing the rabbits he takes care of. They get much more than they bargained for.
   
   
   
   
   
2. Closed Room (live-action). Three bored schoolgirls decided to test their courage by visiting a forbidden basement room where ghosts supposedly reside. (They do.)
   
   
   
   
   
3. Kamaitachi (animated). Two boys taking a shortcut through an unused tunnel discover that it is inhabited by the battling ghosts of dead samurai. The ghost swords can't seem to hurt them, but perhaps that's not entirely true...
   
   
   
   
   
4. Filled-In Pond (live-action). The ghost of a drowned girl haunts a schoolteacher.
   
   
   
   
   
5. The Devil's Convex Mirror (animated). A corner mirror intended to show crossing traffic seems to show a schoolgirl the future instead. This is not the blessing it appears to be.
   
   
   
   
   
6. The Soldier Who Returned (live-action). The ghost of a soldier killed in World War II haunts a schoolyard. He was supposed to meet the girl he loved there, but he was called up and shipped out before the scheduled meeting.
   

As usual, the quality varies. I liked "A Soldier Who Returned" for its melancholy romanticism, and "The Hateful Rabbit" for the way the bullies get their comeuppance, but YMMV.

One translation note: Kamaitachi usually means a weasel yokai, but it can also mean a cut administered by a whirlwind.

As with volume 2, I've only looked up the seiyuu from the animated segments, not the actors from the live-action segments.

• Orikasa Ai made her debut in Shoukoushi Cedie. She played the title role in Romeo no Aoi Sora, Fee in Planetes, Seguchi Touma (the record company president) in Gravitation, Quatre in Gundam Wing, and Ryouko in the Tenchi Muyo franchise. She also played Hanamura in Houkago no Tinker Bell, Hibino Aya in Asatte Dance, Enrico in Dioxin no Natsu, Carrie in Ziggy Sore Yuke! R&R Band, Sara in Eien no Filena, Toryune in Al Caral no Isan, Katchan's mother in Tako ni Natta Okaasan, the narrator in Boku no Boukuugou, Made, Ayuuru's sister, in B.B. Fish, and young Mars in Fire Emblem, all Orphan releases.
  
• Nishihara Kumiko played Iris in the Sakura Wars franchise and Renko in Kujibiki Unbalance, both OVAs and TV series. She played Fhalei Rue in Ryokunohara Labyrinth and appeared in Kakyuusei (1995), Kosuke-sama Rikimaru-sama: Konpeitou no Ryuu, Zetsuai 1989, Dragon Fist, Tenkousei, and Blazing Transfer Student, all Orphan releases.
• Tanaka Atsuko played Mauve in ACCA, Nena Hargen in Aika, Cassandra in Alexander: Reign the Conqueror, Caster in the Fate franchise, Motoko Kusanagi in the GITS franchise, Bynas in Ozma, Claudette in Queen's Blade, and Jagara in Wolf's Rain. She also played the nameless female lead in Heart Cocktail Again, Yuri in Nemure Omoigo, Sora no Shitone ni, new Mamamega in Megami Paradise, and Dana in AWOL Compression Remix, all Orphan releases
• Tomoko Miura played Katsumi in Project Arms and Miya in Mirage of Blaze.
• Morikawa Toshiyuki took over the role of dad Nohara Hiroshi in the Crayon Shin-chan franchise. He played lead roles in Gallery Fake, Yami no Matsui, Kyou Kara Maou, and numerous other shows. He's also a regular in Orphan's releases. He played the lead role in Ear of the Golden Dragon, Wolf Guy, and Nozomi Witches, as well as delinquent student Fuwa in Mellow, Kazuma in Bakuen Campus Guardress, and Inspector Kendo in the Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo series. He delivered a scene-stealing performance as Panda Mama in Shirokuma Cafe. He also appeared in Al Caral no Isan, Akai Hayate, Dragon Fist, Kiss wa Mi ni Shite, Blazing Transfer Student, and Wild 7.
• Murozono Takehiro played Antonio in Inochi no Chikyuu: Dioxin no Natsu, an Orphan release, and had featured roles in numerous shows, including the Macross 7 franchise, Vampire Miyu, Fullmetal Panic, Hanada Shounen-shi, Monster, and Tsurune.
• Yokoyama Chisa played the title roles in Galaxy Fraulein Yuna, Iron Virgin Jun, and the Sakura Taisen franchise, as well as Sasami/Pretty Sammy in the Tenchi Muyo franchise. She played Nonoka in Princess Army, Hu Ssu, the were-tiger, in Wolf Guy, Flute in Hameln no Violin Hiki, and Mami in Boyfriend, all Orphan releases. 
• Kamei Yoshiko played the title role in Rerere no Tensai Bakabon, Gema in the Di Gi Charat franchise, and Nyan in Ultra Nyan: Hoshizora kara Maiorita Fushigi Neko, an Orphan release. She has had featured roles in Magical Meow Meow Taruto and Tiger and Bunny.
• Tano Megumi played Heigorou in the Inazuma Eleven franchise, Osamu in Mittsume ga Tooru, and Sanzo in Monkey Magic.
• Asano Mayumi played Chizuru Godai in Dance Dance Danseur, Hilda in Eureka Seven, Claus in Last Exile, Mai in Smile Down the Runway, Gascogne in Vandread, and Blue in Wolf's Rain. 
• Itou Kentarou played Doll Isamu in Super-doll Licca-chan, Tetsuo in Hikaru no Go, Akimichi in Naruto, Abarai in Bleach, Tsuchiura in Kiniro no Chord, Riki in Ai no Kusabi (2012), Tadokoro in Yowamushi Pedal, and Dr. Akizuki in Nagasaki 1945: Angelus no Kane, an Orphan release.
  

The director, Yazaki Shigeru, also directed Kyuuketsuki, an h-anime.

Most of the usual suspects were involved in this episode. Perevodildo translated and did the initial timing. ninjacloud fine-timed to the final encode. I edited and typeset. Nemesis and Topper3000 QCed. The encode is by our anonymous caffeinated friend, this time enjoying a salted caramel latte.

I've already said my piece on this series. The quality of the stories varies, and the live-action segments look a bit cheesy. Still, the multi-segment format means that the stories get their points across quickly, and the duds don't linger too long. You can get this volume of Gakkou no Yuurei from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.