Ghost Stories Volume 5 is, sadly, the last volume in the set, and for once, I’m actually not depressed by an anime’s ending.  So many of them are outright downers, but not this one…this one will be SPECIAL.

Why?  Because, despite the fact that we’re still roaming around with our gang of five ghost hunting wackadoos, we’ll not only get some closure as to what’s going to happen to the numerous ghosts released by the condo development, but we’ll also be treated to the biggest off-the-rails extravaganza EVER.  In the first five minutes alone, there will be sex jokes, weed jokes, jokes about boozy relatives, jokes about racism, jokes about Jewish stereotypes (if anyone’s gone more off the rails than anyone else, it’s got to be Leo.  He’s hunting for dropped money in hotel rooms.), everything.  I don’t know how many times I pounded my rewind key, trying to determine, did I actually hear what I thought I heard?  And indeed, many times, I had.  I heard it, and it was hilarious.

And despite the fact that this is easily the single most hilarious entry in the collection, it will also prove to bring its share of scares along for the ride.  The character design is where most of the shocks come in here–when they want to, they can really pull out some ghosts that look like they were not only beaten by the ugly stick, but rather fell out of the ugly tree and hit every ugly stick on the way down.  And the fall is easily several miles.  Straight down.  Into a vat of ugly.  But there will be some solid plot-based scares, too, like the vaguely familiar killer broadcast that counts down from ten before unseen forces strangle their victim into “unconsciousness”.

Of all the ways to end a series, this has to be one of the best.  Go out on laughs, just like Excel Saga did!  Fantastic stuff!  I can’t be much more effuse in my praise.

Thus, the Screenhead Ten Scale hands over a full-on ten for being unquestionably hilarious, and for bringing along a couple good scares besides.  Ghost Stories Volume 5 will send the series out with a bang.