Phantom Quest Corp.

Phantom Quest Corp. (幽幻怪社) is a comedy horror anime produced by Madhouse and Pioneer LDC. It was originally released as a four-episode original video animation (OVA) in Japan between August 25, 1994 and February 25, 1995. An English-dubbed version was released in North America by Pioneer (now Geneon Universal Entertainment) shortly thereafter. The plot of Phantom Quest Corp. revolves around Ayaka Kisaragi, the proprietor of a Shinjuku, Tokyo company dedicated to helping those in need of paranormal aid. The title is a play on words: Yūgen Kaisha (often written as You-Gen-Kai-Sya) means "limited liability company" in Japanese; but when written with different characters, the word yūgen can also mean "the occult." The kanji 怪 means mysterious, but can also be read as Kai. Kaisha is typically written "会社". This further adds to the pun.[1][2]

In addition to the Phantom Quest Corp. OVA series, two soundtrack albums, a Japanese light novel, and a single-issue English comic also exist. Phantom Quest Corp. has been compared to the concurrent manga and anime Ghost Sweeper Mikami. The animation, comedy, and action sequences in Phantom Quest Corp. has been praised by critics. However, these same reviewers felt it lacked plot depth and character development due to its short length.

Media

Anime

Phantom Quest Corp. was produced by the animation studio Madhouse and Pioneer LDC. A "draft" of the show was completed on June 30, 1994.[3] This "File 0" episode is little more than a promotional item for the anime.[4] Phantom Quest Corp. was originally released as a four-episode original video animation (OVA) in Japan between August 25, 1994 and February 25, 1995.[3] Pioneer (now Geneon Universal Entertainment) released an English-dubbed version of the series in VHS & LaserDisc format in North America in two volumes on April 27, 1995 and June 27, 1995.[5][6] The entire series was released on DVD in Japan on December 22, 1998 and in North America on November 21, 2000.[7][8] Morio Asaka, one of the anime's three directors, has stated that if Madhouse had continued with the series with more than four episodes, he would have liked to have seen an expansion on the romantic relationship between Ayaka and Lieutenant Karino.[9]

CDs

The opening theme, "That's Yūgen Kaisha" (THAT'S 幽幻怪社), and the closing theme, "Mahiru no Tokai" (真昼の都会), are sung by Rica Matsumoto, the Japanese voice actress for the protagonist Ayaka. English versions of the themes, titled "Blue Devil Blues" and "Dancin' with a Demon" respectively, are sung by an uncredited vocalist.[10] A 12-song CD soundtrack for the OVA series was released in Japan by Pioneer LDC on August 25, 1994; it contains the themes, some background music, and a few drama tracks.[11] A separate 11-track album, "Best of Phantom Quest Corp.", was released on March 25, 1997 in North America; it contains both English and Japanese vocal songs and some instrumental tracks.[2][10][12]

Light novel and manga

A Phantom Quest Corp. light novel written by screenwriter Watanabe Mami and illustrated by artists Hitoshi Ueda and Asako Nishida was published in the Fujimi Shobo magazine Fantasia Battle Royal in September 1995.[13] A single-issue English comic of Phantom Quest Corp. was released by Pioneer in North America in March 1997. It was written by Jose Calderon and illustrated by Dave Cooper. The plot involves Ayaka and her associates travelling to New York City for the "International Paranormal Investigator Convention", where they take on new case involving a jaded salaryman who has stumbled upon an ancient codex and becomes a powerful sorcerer.[2][14][15]

type	ova
director	Koichi Chigira Morio Asaka Jun'ichi Sakata
writer	Mami Watanabe
music	Jun'ichi Kanezaki
studio	Madhouse Pioneer LDC
first	August 25, 1994
last	February 25, 1995
episodes	4
episode list	#Anime

Phantom Quest Corp.

Plot

Media

Anime

CDs

Light novel and manga

Voices

Reception

External links

References