Amazon.com
There are hundreds of thousands of companies in modern Tokyo, but only one Phantom Quest Corporation, a firm that specializes in exorcisms and troublesome spirits. Its founder and CEO is Ayaka Kisaragi, a red-haired klutz whose lipstick turns into an enchanted sword when she needs to dispatch vampires, demons, or ghosts. She's assisted by the exorcist Rokkon, the medium Madame Suimei, the innocent-looking Nanami, and Mamoru, a long-suffering computer whiz who tries to reconcile Ayaka's profligate spending with her limited income. The tone of
Phantom Quest suggests
Ghostbusters remade for Bette Midler--Ayaka drinks too much, oversleeps, and murders songs in karaoke settings, but she comes through in the end. Her tongue-in-cheek adventures juxtapose supernatural villains with slapstick comedy, much of it involving her put-upon beau, Detective Karino. In "Kiss of Fire," they defeat Count Dracula (whose coffin has been purchased as a novelty by a Japanese businessman) but trash Tokyo Tower in the process. The most satisfying of the four adventures is "Love Me Tender," in which the ghost of an archeologist tries to protect his former fiance from beyond the grave. Possible sequels are hinted at in the DVD extras. Rated 13 and up for nudity, violence, sexual situations, and occasional profanity.
--Charles Solomon
Video Description
Party-girl Ayaka Kisagi turned her late-night lifestyle into a business that gives new meaning to the term "graveyard shift!" While it may seem easier for Ayaka to round up troublesome spirits than to put a corporate spin on her own free-wheeling habits, she calls upon a powerful but quirky cadre of cabalists to solve each case with flair and style. Too bad style doesn't pay the bills! No matter the terrors the dark can bring, Ayaka will be sure they get a kiss good-night from Phantom Quest, Corp. -- if she can WAKE UP IN TIME!