Shin Gakkou no Yuurei

Orphan presents the sequel to Gakkou no Yuurei, simply called Shin Gakkou no Yuurei (True School Ghosts). It differs from the main series in several ways, for example, new animation houses and new characters designers. It also eschews the live-action segments; all four segments are animated.

The stories are:

1. "Dead Person's Cell Phone." You really shouldn't pick up and use a lost cell phone. Suppose the ghost who used to own it decides to call you up?
   
   
   
   
   
2. "Cursed Script." A strange play titled "Girl of the Night" has not been performed in a very long time, for a very good reason.
   
   
   
   
   
3. "Summer Camp Terror." When the host at a mountain lodge' tells you to stay clear of the old building at night, it's a good idea to heed his advice.
   
   
   
   
   
4. "Spirits' Road." A girl who recently lost her grandmother desperately wants to see her obaa-san again. She even resorts to dark arts on the night of the Obon festival.

I liked "Spirits' Road" best. It's not a horror story, more a slice-of-life rooted in Japanese beliefs. Obon is intended to help the bereaved mourn, and it serves its purpose in the story.

The voice actors include:

• Hikami Kyouko played Momoko in Wedding Peach. She appeared in Gakkou no Yuurei, volume 4, and played Pastel in Megami Paradise, Momo in Ultra Nyan, and Sara in Hand Maid May all Orphan releases. 
• Okamura Akemi played Nami in the One Piece franchise, Hinoe in the Natsume Yuujinchou franchise, Fio in Porco Rosso, Risa in Lovely Complex, Mayaya in Kuragehime, Shusui in Saiunkoku Monogatari, and Shiina in Tales of Symphonia, among many other roles. She appeared in Gakkou no Yuurei, volume 2, an Orphan release.
• Masuda Yuki played Yuki in the two Ultra Nyan OVAs and appeared in Gakkou no Yuurei, volume 2, all Orphan releases. She also played Yanagi in Flame of Recca, Yuri in the Sakura Wars shows, and Nami in La Corda d'Oro.
• Kojima Sachiko played Hanako in the Massugu nu Inu OVAs, Keiko in Lemon Angel Project, Anne in Papillon Rose, and Rayan in Future Folktales.
• Satou Yuri played Nami Oota in Bakumatsu no Spasibo, an Orphan release
• Hoshino Mitsuaki played Carl in Next Senki Ehrgeiz and appeared in OL Kaizou Kouza, both Orphan releases. He also played Ryuunosuke in Rescue Wings. He had featured roles in numerous other shows.
• Yamaguchi Kappei played the title roles in the Detective Conan, Ranma 1/2, and Inuyasha franchises, Usopp in the One Piece franchise, Sakuma Ryuichi in Gravitation, and the title roles in the Arslan no Senki OVA series and Mouse, among many others. He played Shibuya in Zetsuai 1989,  Billia in Tottoi, Matsuoka Eiji in Chameleon, Nichol Hawking in Plastic Little, and Tooru in Boyfriend, all Orphan releases.
• Tagaki Wataru played the title role in Great Teacher Onizuka, Nezumi in the 1996 and 2007 versions of GeGeGe no Kitarou, his namesake, as well as other recurring roles, in the Detective Conan franchise, and old man Gorou in the recent Godzilla S.P. He played Takeshi in Kakyuusei (1995) and appeared in Gakkou no Yuurei, volume 4, both Orphan releases.
• Tomohiro Tsuboi played Shinpachi in the Hakuouki franchise, Ichirou in the Knights of Sidonia properties, Toshii Maeda in the Sengoku Basara: Samurai Kings shows, and Shima in Zegapain, and appeared in Gakkou no Yuurei, volumes 1 and 4, both Orphan releases.
• Houki Katsuhisa appeared in  Hand Maid Mai, Tiger & Bunny, Babylon, Burst Angel, Fire Force, Ghost Talker's Daydream, House of Five Leaves, and Sanada 10. The last is an Orphan release.

Two directors are credited. Yazaki Shigeru, who did "Summer Camp Terror," directed Gakkou no Yuurei, volumes 3 and 4. Masui Souichi, who did the other three, directed Scrapped Princess, Hitsugi no Chaika, and the Rascal Does not Dream properties. "Summer Camp Terror" looks like previously animated segments in the series, while the other three have very different character designs: simplified outlines, with solid, usually black, eye pupils.

The staff is the same as before. Perevodildo translated and did initial timing. ninjacloud fine-timed. I edited and typeset. Nemesis and Topper3000 QCed. Our caffeinated encoder went under the pseudonym of "amaretto latte" this time, and that's as good a way as any to drink farewell to the series. I appreciate his (anonymous) services. Likewise, I'd like to acknowledge ninjacloud for getting the project off the ground and finding the encoder who could tackle its challenges.

So it's "Ave atque vale" to the Gakkou no Yuurei OVAs. Like the curate's egg, the series is good in parts; how good, and in which parts, depends on your interest in ghost stories. In any case, you can get this last installment from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net