Ghost Sweeper Mikami
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese comedic horror manga
series written and illustrated by Takashi Shiina
. It was published by the weekly manga magazine Shōnen Sunday
from 1991 to 1999. In 1993, it won the Shogakukan Manga Award
for best shōnen manga. The series explores some folk religion
themes such as possession, exorcism, shamanism, Yurei
, and Yōkai
.
The series was adapted as a 45-episode anime
television series by Toei Animation
called which ran on TV Asahi
and the Asahi Broadcasting Corporation
from 1993–1994, covering most parts of the first nine volumes of the Manga (total 39 volumes). The anime lead to the release of a movie, which had been the only existence of Mikami in the United States (released by Manga Video). The TV series has been licensed by Sentai Filmworks.
The manga setup is scenario-to-scenario, with many plots intertwining classic Japanese culture and modern day realities, with occasional references to Western influences. In between these plots are some longer story arcs where new characters are introduced and the existing characters are further developed. There is no one ongoing storyline, therefore the plots are character-driven and serve to gradually develop characters, especially the main protagonists.
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Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
series written and illustrated by Takashi Shiina
Takashi Shiina
is a Japanese manga artist who writes primarily for the weekly Shogakukan manga publication Weekly Shōnen Sunday. When he started at the company in 1989, he began with an anthology of various shorts and one-shots collectively known as Shiina Department Store...
. It was published by the weekly manga magazine Shōnen Sunday
Shonen Sunday
, first published on March 17, 1959, is a weekly shōnen manga magazine published in Japan by Shogakukan. Contrary to its title, Weekly Shōnen Sunday issues are released on Wednesdays.- History :...
from 1991 to 1999. In 1993, it won the Shogakukan Manga Award
Shogakukan Manga Award
The is one of Japan's major manga awards, sponsored by Shogakukan Publishing. It has been awarded annually for serialized manga since 1955 and features candidates from a number of publishers.The current award categories are:...
for best shōnen manga. The series explores some folk religion
Folk religion
Folk religion consists of ethnic or regional religious customs under the umbrella of an organized religion, but outside of official doctrine and practices...
themes such as possession, exorcism, shamanism, Yurei
Yurei
are figures in Japanese folklore, analogous to Western legends of ghosts. The name consists of two kanji, 幽 , meaning "faint" or "dim" and 霊 , meaning "soul" or "spirit." Alternative names include 亡霊 meaning ruined or departed spirit, 死霊 meaning dead spirit, or the more encompassing 妖怪 or お化け...
, and Yōkai
Yōkai
are a class of supernatural monsters in Japanese folklore. The word yōkai is made up of the kanji for "otherworldly" and "weird". Yōkai range eclectically from the malevolent to the mischievous, or occasionally bring good fortune to those who encounter them...
.
The series was adapted as a 45-episode anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
television series by Toei Animation
Toei Animation
Toei Animation Co., Ltd. is a Japanese animation studio owned by Toei Co., Ltd. The studio was founded in 1948 as Japan Animated Films . In 1956, Toei purchased the studio and it was reincorporated under its current name...
called which ran on TV Asahi
TV Asahi
, also known as EX and , is a Japanese television network headquartered in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The company writes its name in lower-case letters, tv asahi, in its logo and public-image materials. The company also owns All-Nippon News Network....
and the Asahi Broadcasting Corporation
Asahi Broadcasting Corporation
is a regional radio and television broadcaster headquartered in Osaka, Japan, serving in the Kansai region.-Offices:*Headquarters: 1-30, Fukushima Itchome, Fukushima-ku, Osaka-shi, Japan...
from 1993–1994, covering most parts of the first nine volumes of the Manga (total 39 volumes). The anime lead to the release of a movie, which had been the only existence of Mikami in the United States (released by Manga Video). The TV series has been licensed by Sentai Filmworks.
Story
Overdevelopment and crowding in Japan has forced many of its indigenous spirits and ghosts to lose their homes. Due to problems caused by the homeless spirits, a new profession was created, the Ghost Sweepers (GS). Private exorcists for hire; they serve only the highest bidder to survive in the cutthroat corporate world. Among this, the Mikami GS Company, led by Reiko Mikami and her two assistants, the teenage boy Tadao Yokoshima and the ghost girl Okinu, is said to be the best.The manga setup is scenario-to-scenario, with many plots intertwining classic Japanese culture and modern day realities, with occasional references to Western influences. In between these plots are some longer story arcs where new characters are introduced and the existing characters are further developed. There is no one ongoing storyline, therefore the plots are character-driven and serve to gradually develop characters, especially the main protagonists.
Mikami GS Agency
- The president and owner of the ghost sweeping agency Mikami GS, a strong-willed first class Ghost Sweeper, 20 years old. She was initially trained by the pastor father Karasu, but unlike her mentor, she was not satisfied with a life of poverty. Although she is wealthy from the success of her exorcism business, she is stingy when it comes to paying her employees, and often gouges her clients for a higher fee.
- With her motto being "the current profit comes first", her motivation is not to help the people in need, but to earn the big money and to chase after the thrill. Her biggest weaknesses are small children, cockroaches and the thought of not being able to earn money.
- Even though she would never admit it, she does show feelings towards Yokoshima with the progress of the manga. The two are revealed to have been connected together in a previous life.
- A high school student, started working as the assistant of Mikami at the age of 15. He is totally enthralled by Mikami, and often tells himself that he only keeps his dangerous job because of Mikami's charm. His official wages per hour are 250 yen, later increased to 255 yen. He appears at first to have dormant spiritual abilities and later on in the manga, with the help of Shoryuki, Yokoshima does gain various abilities of his own. Recently, he has shown a much more mature and serious side of himself, brought on by the advent of real romantic sentiments between him and Luciola.
(Okinu)
- A teenaged female ghostGhostIn traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...
. First encountered by Mikami and Yokoshima as one of two ghosts causing chaos at a mountain hot springHot springA hot spring is a spring that is produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater from the Earth's crust. There are geothermal hot springs in many locations all over the crust of the earth.-Definitions:...
, Mikami ends up "adopting" her when she didn't know how to go to heaven. Eventually, she ends up becoming the secretarySecretaryA secretary, or administrative assistant, is a person whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, communication & organizational skills. These functions may be entirely carried out to assist one other employee or may be for the benefit...
and errand girl for Mikami and even develops feelings for Yokoshima. To the other friendly spirits she is consider a Senpai. - Later in the manga, Okinu does get her life back as her body was never destroyed. She is able to reunite her soul with her body (although weakly) and now lives a life of a normal teenage girl, but temporaly loses her memory. When she recovers her memory, she realizes that she is a natural necromancer for her ability to understand the spirits' pain.
(A.Y.) (Manga only)
- An artificial soul created by the occult scientist doctor Shibusaba, it is also the rightful owner of its own house under the name of Shibusaba's son. In search for a strong spiritualist whose spiritual wave matches its own, Mikami has become the house's new owner, and the building serves her as her new agency since then.
Karasu's church
(Father Karasu)- A male Catholic priestPriestA priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
exorcist who was repelled from the church because of his methods, he used to be both Mikamis' (mother and daughter) mentor, 45 years old. He is said to be one of the best and most powerful exorcists currently active thanks to his training on Myoushinzan, but with the progressing story, he becomes more like an advisor than a ghost sweeper. In one point of the manga it is suggested that he will become the chairman of the GS community one day.
(Pete)
- A 700-year-old half vampireVampireVampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
. He is the son of Count Bloodeau (Pronounced Blado) who is said to be "cousin of the husband of Count Dracula's sister". While he is currently a disciple of Father Karasu, he used to know Karasu years before. He also goes to the same school as Yokoshima, and because of his handsome look, he's very popular with many girls, including Emi Ogasawara. His big dream is to become an Occult G Man one day, which will be granted at the end of the Manga.
Doctor Chaos' lab
- (Japanese), Tom WilsonTom WilsonThomas Blanchard Wilson Jr. was an American record producer best known for his work in the 1960s with Bob Dylan, Frank Zappa, Simon and Garfunkel and The Velvet Underground.-Starting out:...
(English)
- An old senile male alchemistAlchemyAlchemy is an influential philosophical tradition whose early practitioners’ claims to profound powers were known from antiquity. The defining objectives of alchemy are varied; these include the creation of the fabled philosopher's stone possessing powers including the capability of turning base...
/ exorcist with a genius level intellect. Being immortal (or at least 1000 years old), he has acquired much knowledge of the supernatural. Unfortunately, he forgets something he already knows if he tries to learn something new, which leads to him constantly rereading his old books and a lot of running gags. Note that Chaos, and by extension Maria, is the Ghost Sweeper whose dire financial straits are most often displayed. While nearly all of the main Ghost Sweepers other than Meiko and Mikami are implied to be in a very deep financial rut, Chaos and Maria's plight is most often depicted, along with Yokoshima, to the point where in the (anime) episode where the group had to enter a movie set in Japan's Edo period, he and Maria were depicted as peasants. He also had to loan Maria out to Mikami as collateral for a loan to build Teresa.
- (Japanese), Debora RabbaiDebora RabbaiDebora Rabbai is an American voice actress who is also credited as Debbie Rabbai and Angora Deb.- Anime Roles :* Agent Aika - Aika Sumeragi* Alien 9 - Kumi Kawamura* Ayane's High Kick - Ayane Mitsui...
(English)
- A tough-fighting GynoidGynoidA gynoid is anything which resembles or pertains to the female human form. It is also used in American English medical terminology as a shortening of the term Gynecoid ....
and companion of Dr. Chaos, created from the image of Dr. Chaos's lover in his younger days. She is strong, fast and resistant to damage, hiding all kind of weapons in her body, and is yet a kind-hearted "person" who possesses a soul and the urge to serve mankind, unlike her sister Teresa. Maria acts as Dr. Chaos' main weapon, bodyguardBodyguardA bodyguard is a type of security operative or government agent who protects a person—usually a famous, wealthy, or politically important figure—from assault, kidnapping, assassination, stalking, loss of confidential information, terrorist attack or other threats.Most important public figures such...
and housekeeper.
- The second android Chaos invented, though relying more on modern technology than magic. This might also be the reason she regards the humanity as a failure and even tried to conquer mankind. Through the clash with her sister Maria, she sunk into the ocean and her body has never been found.
Ogasawara GS Agency
- (Japanese), Jeanine Bartel (English)
- A dark-skinned female voodoo exorcist, chief competitor to Mikami's ghost sweeping business. According to Mikami, Emi is the strongest voodoo user worth competing with her. Even though it seems they are enemies, they're in fact good friends and partners who can rely on each other in times of emergency. Emi is apparently in love with Pete and uses any opportunity she can get to approach him.
- Unlike Mikami, Emi had a way darker past: she lost both her parents at the age of 10 and made a living as an assassin until the age of 15, at which she gave up this career due to a certain incident.
(Manga only)
- A large, muscular man, who has been hired by Emi to defeat Mikami. After his failure, he stays as Emi's disciple and assistant. Tiger used to be a woman chaser just like Yokoshima, thus his nickname "molesting tiger", but this habit of his turned into fear of women due to some reason. His ability is to create illusions through his telepathy.
Rokudou Family
- An innocent-looking but extremely powerful female who directly controls 12 ShikigamiShikigamiShikigami are a kind of spirit, found in Japanese Mythology summoned to serve a practitioner of onmyōdō, much like a western familiar. Shikigami cannot be seen by most people, but according to the Heian period onmyōji who were said to control them, shikigami often looked something like a...
, which are named after the Japanese names of the Heavenly Generals (Jyuni Shinshou), legendary Hindu figures who became Buddhists: (Indara, Ajira, Kubira, Basara, Shindara, Sanchira, Haira, Makora, Shôtora, Anchira, Bikara, and Mekira). These are animal in form, caricatures of the symbols that these figures carry, which come from the Chinese counting series Earthly BranchesEarthly BranchesThe Earthly Branches provide one Chinese system for reckoning time.This system was built from observations of the orbit of Jupiter. Chinese astronomers divided the celestial circle into 12 sections to follow the orbit of Suìxīng . Astronomers rounded the orbit of Suixing to 12 years...
. Normally they are under control, but whenever Meiko becomes distraught, her "pets" destroy anything or anyone within their reach. Unfortunately for all, Meiko is sensitive, weak-willed and easily hurt, therefore the Shikigami are set on the loose very frequently. She is hinted at being a lesbianLesbianLesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
with feelings for Mikami, who was the only person able to calm Meiko down when she first lost control of her shikigami in public. Although she acts and looks younger than Mikami, she is actually older (her mother was shown to be pregnant with her before Mikami's mother even met her husband).
- The current mistress of the Rokudō mansion, and the former master of the Shikigami, she is still able to control them at will. She used to be both Mikami Michie's and Karasu's mentor, and after retiring from the GS business, she now runs the Rokudou Girl High school, a school for female elite spiritualists.
Occult G Men
(Manga only)- Mikami Michie's only known disciple, 28 years old. He traveled abroad to England in order to enhance his abilities, and is currently working as an Occult G Man in Japan. He is Mikami Reiko's first love, and even though they have been separated for 10 years, he still has feelings for her. Even though he claims to fight for justice, his methods are sometimes very dirty, making him a hypocrite. He also notices Mikami's not-so-subtle feelings for Yokoshima, and is willing to stoop to some very low levels to try and swing her affections his way.
(Manga only)
- Mikami's mother, a first class GS who is in fact one of the strongest GS of all time. Her ability to time travel and absorb lightning might be due to her inherited powers from both of her parents, who used to be first class GS. Additionally she absorbed part of her husband's psychic ability and the power of a demon. At the age of 18, she became the apprentice of Karasu for a short period of time. With a very strong sense of justice, she believes that evil will never prevail, which is why she became a ghost sweeper in the first place.
Other members of Yokoshima's Family
(Manga only)- Yokoshima's father, and a Casanova just like him. But unlike his son, Daishuu is very popular with women. He is shown to have incredible power for a regular person, and even manages to beat up spirits bare handed, which might be an explanation of the origin of Yokoshima's high spiritual power.
(Manga only)
- Yokoshima's mother. She used to work in the same company as Daishuu as his supervisor, but in the end she fell in love with him and married him. This puts her in a similar situation as Mikami currently, who is also showing feelings towards her subordinate.
Other members of Mikami's Family
(Manga only)- Mikami Reiko's younger sister, who was given birth after the Ashtaroth incident. She possesses strong pyrokinetic abilities and is most likely to surpass her sister one day. Because her power is uncontrollable, it has to be sealed for as long as she cannot handle it.
(Manga only)
- Mikami Reiko's father, who is currently employed as a university professor, specialized in doing animal research abroad. Due to an accident, he gained an unmatchable telepathy ability he cannot control, only with Mikami Michie's help, they were able to weaken it so he can live a normal life. The two got married soon afterwards.
Other Spiritualists
(Manga only)- A strong spiritualist and battle freak with an oedipus complex, thus mistaking everyone for his mother, who passed away when he was still a child. It is implied that he is even poorer than Yokoshima because he always spends his entire money on training and travelling. He first served as Medusa's henchman, but later left their group and became an ally of Yokoshima. His technique is the demonic art "Masoujutsu", where he creates an armor to enhance his basic abilities.
(Manga only)
- Student of the Rodudou Girls' school class 1-B, Okinu's classmate and the first friend Okinu made on her first school day. Used to be a delinquent girl, who has always been looking up to Yumi, even though they don't get along well. She's the brute strength type of fighter.
(Manga only)
- The class representative of 1-B, a very serious person. Because of her tough training as a child, she's developed a strong urge for success, at cost of her classmates.
(Manga only)
- Keeper of the restaurant Marin and an ingenious witch. A very honest and direct person, which is why she doesn't get along with Mikami. She used to study medieval arts in England together with Saijou, recovering long lost spells. At night, she works as an exorcist, who doesn't rely on heavy equipments like the rest of the GS, instead she sticks to her "Principle of balance and tidiness", on which Mikami seriously doubts.
(Manga Only)
- Formerly known as "Kinmō hakumen kyuubi no yōko", she used to be a nine-tailed demon fox living in the royal palace during the Yuujō period. After her unjustified execution, she has now been reborn as a fox girl simply known as Tamamo. Though she cannot remember much of her past life, she still possesses various abilities of her fox self. To help her integrate into human society, Mikami has adopted her.
(Manga only)
- A young girl of the Jinrō (wolf people) tribe — though at times she acts more like a dog than a wolf — she is energetic and cheerful. Impressed by Yokoshima's "Hand of Glory", she became his apprentice, in order to avenge her father's death. After her revenge, she stayed as Yokoshima's disciple (always refers to him as "sensei"), and is planning to become a GS one day. After the main event, Shiro came back to the agency and is now officially part of Mikami's GS agency.
Gods
- Lit. "little DragonDragonA dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...
Princess", a female warrior of the dragon god race, who owns a training center in spiritual martial arts on top of a sacred mountain, Myoushinzan. She helped in unlocking Yokoshima's latent spiritual skills and increasing Mikami's power to her limits. Even though her power is immense, she cannot fight outside of her mountain for longer than 3 minutes, creating a parody of the live action show "Ultraman" as Yokoshima stated in one chapter.
(Manga only)
- Shoryuki's master and the ruler of the sky. As the protector god of Hinduism "Hanuman", he is one of the most powerful gods in existence. He helped in further developing Mikami's, Yokoshima's and Yukinojou's abilities.
(Manga only)
- A dragon goddess, and Shoryuki's friend. With her 100 visual organs, nothing can escape her eyes (or so she claims), yet her enemies manage to fool her vision more than once. She is the inspector of the god's realm, responsible for investigations.
- A renegade of the Dragon god's race and one of the top 5 wanted criminal on the black list, who vowed herself to Ashtaroth. She possesses equally strong powers to Shoryuki (or even stronger, since Shoryuki lost to her twice), and is able to summon her familiars (called "Big Eaters") at will. She dies during the siege on the moon by Yokoshima and Mikami's hand.
Demons
(Manga only)- One of the few top class arch demon of Makai, on the same level as Satan himself. He is the main villain of this manga, and Mikami's arch nemesis. Ashtaroth's plan was to control the world using the "Cosmo Processor", which lets him gain control over the boundaries of life and death, freely arranging the molecular structure of everything. When Mikami and company destroyed the device, the raging Ashtaroth tried to destroy the human world, but in the end he lost against Yokoshima's true power. It is later revealed that Ashtaroth was only trying to defy his fate as a 'villain' and was seeking for death, but was unable to because of the balance problem.
(Manga only)
- Mikami Reiko's past life, a low class demon Ashtaroth created. She fell in love with the mystic Takashima (Yokoshima's past life), and stole Ashtaroth's energy crystal. After Takashima's death, she became human, resulting in the energy crystal to be bound to her soul and inherited to Mikami Reiko.
(Manga only)
- A living DogūDoguare small humanoid and animal figurines made during the late Jōmon period of prehistoric Japan. Dogū come entirely from the Jōmon period and do not continue into the Yayoi period. There are various styles of Dogū, depending on exhumation area and time period...
, and one of Ashtaroth's loyal servants. He is the one who created Luciola, Vespa and Papilio.
(Manga only)
- All three of Ashtaroth's servants have been granted with incredibly strong powers as compensation for their short lifespan. Luciola is the oldest of the three demon sisters, her origin is a fireflyFireflyLampyridae is a family of insects in the beetle order Coleoptera. They are winged beetles, and commonly called fireflies or lightning bugs for their conspicuous crepuscular use of bioluminescence to attract mates or prey. Fireflies produce a "cold light", with no infrared or ultraviolet frequencies...
, thus her name luciolaLuciolaLuciola is a genus of "flashing" fireflies , especially well-known from Japan. They are often called "Japanese fireflies", but their members range farther into Asia and reach southern Europe and Africa...
. Even though she is dedicated to fulfill Ashtaroth's will, she falls in love with Yokoshima and is willing to sacrifice everything, including her life, for his sake. Her unique ability is to control the light to create illusions.
(Manga only)
- Luciola's younger sister, her origin is a wasp. She is the kind of direct and sincere person, thus her fighting style is solely based on brute strength and speed to compensate her lack of special abilities. It is implied that she is in love with Ashtaroth. After his death, she joined the demon army.
(Manga only)
- The youngest of the three sisters, her origin is a butterfly. Being the youngest, she is very playful, and likes to raise pets. Her ability is to create a barrier with her familiars. After Ashtaroth's fall, she became a disciple of Shoryuki.
(Manga only)
(Manga only)
Others
- (Japanese), Alan Steele (English)
- He is the owner of a store that deals with many magical items. He is very greedy and will often overprice his wares if he has the chance.
- A yōkai of an old desk housing in Yokoshima's school, her only interest lies in getting to know the school life. Her catchphrase is "the spring of youth". In one chapter of the Manga it's implied that she's secretly in love with Yokoshima, who has a natural charm towards everything supernatural.
(Manga only)
- Due to the influence of Binboukami (god of poverty), she and her mother have been suffering poverty their entire life. With the help of Yokoshima however, they managed to turn the Binboukami into a god of luck, ending their demise. She also has feelings for Yokoshima, and is even willing to marry him.
Manga
- In Asia, GS Mikami used to be a very popular shōnen Manga with a large fanbase, and even nowadays the fans are still referring to it as an archetype of the supernatural-comedy genre.
- According to the author's note; Mikami name was based on the Asian inflation and the goddess of beauty VenusVenusVenus is the second planet from the Sun, orbiting it every 224.7 Earth days. The planet is named after Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty. After the Moon, it is the brightest natural object in the night sky, reaching an apparent magnitude of −4.6, bright enough to cast shadows...
and Yokoshima is a play of word 'wicked' in Japanese. - According to the author's statement, he originally intended to finish this Manga after volume 20 with the resurrection of Okinu (who is by the way his favorite character in this Manga).
- Despite the fact that the author created enough suspense for a sequel, with the possibility of a next generation GS team, he finished this Manga at volume 39 with no sign of ever making a sequel. According to the author's note in the final volume, the reason is that he doesn't want to draw the same manga his entire life despite its popularity.
Anime
- In the UK, Manga Video took the bizarre decision to release only the last few episodes of the series.
- The anime was broadcasted in mostly all Latin AmericaLatin AmericaLatin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
in the late 1990s and it was a smash hit in countries like MexicoMexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
(aired on TelevisaTelevisaTelevisa is a Mexican multimedia conglomerate, the largest mass media company in Latin America and in the Spanish-speaking world. It is a major international entertainment business, with much of its programming airing in the United States on Univision, with which it has an exclusive contract...
) and ChileChileChile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
(aired on the channels ChilevisiónChilevisiónCHV, also known as Chilevisión, is the third oldest television station in Chile. Formerly called Teleonce and RTU , this TV station was owned by University of Chile, a Chilean state university...
and Etc...TVEtc...TVEtc...TV is a Chilean cable TV channel currently owned by MEGA. The channel's slogan is "Todo pasa por Etc..." . Launched in 1996, the company was previously owned by Telefilms Ltda...
), however, the manga has yet to be released in Latin AmericaLatin AmericaLatin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
. The series were so popular in the ChileChileChile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
an OtakuOtakuis a Japanese term used to refer to people with obsessive interests, particularly anime, manga or video games.- Etymology :Otaku is derived from a Japanese term for another's house or family , which is also used as an honorific second-person pronoun...
scene that Tadao Yokoshima is known as a generic perverted character for mostly all things in the mainstream Otaku community (example: If you are peeking a girl's underwear, you are a "Yokoshima"). The series was also broadcast in India on the newly started AXN. - In the United States, Sentai Filmworks has announced that they have licensed the Ghost Sweeper Mikami anime, presenting it via Video on demandVideo on demandVideo on Demand or Audio and Video On Demand are systems which allow users to select and watch/listen to video or audio content on demand...
on the Anime NetworkAnime NetworkThe Anime Network , a former subsidiary of A.D. Vision, Inc. , is a cable and satellite digital broadcast service in North America dedicated to anime.-History:...
starting December 2, 2010.
Video games
Two video games based on the manga and anime were spawned. In 1993 a video game entitled was released for the Super Famicom. In 1994 GS Mikami was published by BanprestoBanpresto
is a Japanese toy company, best known in America for game development, headquartered in the Shinagawa Seaside West Building in Shinagawa, Tokyo. It was founded April 1977 as Hoei Sangyo, Co. Ltd. The company was renamed Coreland in 1982, and during the 1980s it worked mainly as a subcontractor for...
for the PC Engine.
External links
- Ha'nts and Critters, a review of Ghost Sweeper Mikami, Vampire Wars, and Psychic Wars.
- Animerica review