https://anilist.co/anime/2596/GhostHound/ 330https://i.ur.com/bS1jr4i.jpeg Ghost Hound or Shinreigari follows three middle schoolers Tarou Komori Makoto Ogami and Masayuki Nakajima who are experiencing OBE Out of Body Experience or as they like to call it Soul Travelling which allows them to explore the Unseen World. Each member utilizes this strange phenomenon to get over their anxieties and terrible pasts while also learning all the hidden secrets of the village of Suiten. 330https://i.ur.com/hF3dp5K.jpeg Meet the Ghost Hounds from left to right Tarou Masayuki Michio late entry and Makoto Shinreigari tackles a variety of topics including mythology occult practices quantum theory psychology and even life after death. Considering that the series was created by Masamune Shirowhttps://anilist.co/staff/97609/MasamuneShirow the same person who created the Ghost in the Shell franchise and Ryuutarou Nakamurahttps://anilist.co/staff/100359/RyuutarouNakamura director of SEL this shouldnt come as a surprise that it really needs patience to watch. Shinreigariispart mystery/thriller revealing the dark secrets of the town its mysterious characters part horror the dread of something unknowable lurking around outside or sometimes even inside our characters and part scifi/psychological exploring the mental state of its many characters with a lot of fauxscience. 330https://i.ur.com/FYV3Nwq.jpeg Youll get used to these images. The anime uses a variety of contrasts to illustrate its ideas such as the abovementioned nuanced distinction between souls and people. See how the formless bodies of the soul above pic contrast with the distorted depiction of mans senses by Penfield below pic. There are more of these that Im sure I occasionally missed but one of these contrasts that I loved was the opening song with the remaining OST. The soundtrack is odd and plodding gradually evoking a sense of mystery and suspense in opposition to the jazzy intro song. The tone has changed yet the mystery is still present. 330https://i.ur.com/srnFQ0d.jpeg I like this shot. The Art style and Sound direction in Shinreigari are two obvious standouts. The character designs particularly the ghosts are distinctive enough to set the art style apart while still seeming conventional enough to be called your typical anime from the 2000s. Their designs are more unsettling from the black distorted giants the insectlike beings in the unseen world to the snark For the Snark was a Boojum You Seehttps://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43909/thehuntingofthesnark. And the sound is strange as I have mentioned. It is frequently detailed and includes recognizablesounds like pendulums breathing noises and heartbeats. The sound starts off slowly and quietly nearly undetectable but it gets louder enough to even interrupt the conversations occasionally. Every episode starts off with significantly distorted dialogue from earlier episodes mostly for ambiance. 330https://i.ur.com/Qov0ERY.jpeg Shinreigari is a thematically rich show with a lot of scientific and occultic babble backed by a foggy atmosphere but it is narratively flawed. The show doesnt weave some of its themes into a tightknitted story. The characters will converse about things like how a ghost possessed my daughter and other things you wouldnt expect to hear two men discussing in broad daylight. Even more perplexing to me is how readily they accept one anothers word while talking about matters that could put them and people around them in danger like one character describes that those people might be watching us and the same character reveals confidential info in broad daylight. Additionally the last episodes dont make sense with everything that came before. The Overcoming traumas narrative never had a satisfying conclusion. The conflicts in earlier episodes of What occurred in the past? were heavily built up yet they were never resolved. The characters abrupt personality change offers a hazy resolution or the episode simply leaves it hanging. It is a little sudden when the show finishes on a comingofage note because there were no signs that the theme of the initial episodes was Letting go of the past and/or Accepting the present and yourself. Ive been watching 2 or 3 episodes a day of Shinreigari at midnight for the past week which helped me to go to sleep while not regretting it. In Japan these kinds of anime are called Aniraji a combination of Anime and RajioRadio shows that are used to air from 10 PM to 4 AM. Normally these kinds of anime are very heavy in their plot or presentation shows like Neon Genesis Evangelion Berserk Serial Experiments Lain and are usually targeted toward adult audiences and often help the viewer to surpass their restless state to fall asleep. Conclusion If you are a fan of dialogueheavy Anime like Ghost in the Shell or Serial Experiments Lain I would recommend it. If not skip it. This can cause you to fall asleep if you are disinterested or forced yourself to watch it.