The way I look at it, first episodes have it rough – they have to set the
stage, introduce the characters, and give some idea of the conflicts that will be taking
place within a show. Since exposition and introduction are the twin ducks in the first
episode’s row, it isn’t often a great indication of what any one series is capable of.
Well, like so many things in this hard and hollow life, Haunted Junction proves me wrong.
To be sure, it does everything that a first episode should do – by the end of it we know
all of the major players that will be featured (or merely utilized…but we’ll get to
that) throughout the series, and we know the major conflict – poor Student Council
President Haruto just wants to lead a normal life, but he’s been roped into a bizarre
Ghostbusters-like job at his high school. To make matters worse, no one around him seems
to care that everything at Saito High is…well…a little screwy.
The first adventure of our intrepid crew of ghost caretakers (I guess) is to round up
the missing badges for the school chairman, an eccentric photographer. This leads us on a
whirlwind tour of the school and of the seven spirits who will end up the focus of the
rest of the series. My particular favorites are the Mirror Girl (she’s so damned cute!)
and the very odd pairing of Skeleton ‘Bones’ Suzuki and walking anatomy statue Haruo
Sato.
The pacing is fast, and the humor is slap-stick and over the top. Since there’s no story to
get in the way, the first episode of Haunted Junction is just brimming with the goony
humor that is the series’ calling card. If you like this one, chances are the series will
be amenable to you. If you find it goofy and tedious, well…that’s what Ebay is for.
Rating :B
