Let me start with this: I never got into this series, because everyone talked about how great the en dub was, and then proceeded to share a clip that showed a joke that I found amusing sure, but was more like watching deleted scenes. And then also said that the sub was trash. So, I never watched it. But then recently, I just had the idea to go for it. And I am glad I did. Obviously, with the summary, it should be obvious, but I didn't go with the EN Dub. I went with the original script. I was expecting terrible voice acting, and a boring story, based on what was always parroted around the net.

Instead I got a fun, sometimes absolutely terrifying, story about ghosts. And got some unexpected character depth too. I agree there are plotholes, but it's a kids' show. Plus, it's only really in inconsequential stuff. The characters themselves are pretty consistent, and act very believable like the elementary schoolers they are. The adutls are probably where things get a little off. But they're not nearly as important, so it doesn't detract from the enjoyment much. The main character, Satsuki, has a good amount of growth throughout, and so do some of the other main cast. But the main focus tends to be on Satsuki, so that's who you get the most out of.

The ghosts are handled really well, and, like I stated before, some are actually really terrifying. Some are also pretty adorable (and terrifying at the same time some of the times!), and there's one ghost in particular that experiences quite the arc. It's a great show to learn more about ghosts in Japanese culture, that you could probably let kids watch. Really depends on how well they handle scary stuff. Though, ti's not all scares with the ghosts, some have just extremely sad stories to tell, and really got me to tear up on multiple occasions.

As for the story in general, I'd say that somewhere around the halfway mark, the story telling really improved, and got a lot more enjoyable. Though there was that one musical episode early on that was definitely one of the strongest episodes. I found myself crying during multiple episodes, and things left a pretty good impression.

To actually go on the voice work, they sound like kids should sound. It's not terrible, or boring, or whatever was always said about it. The sound quality could have had some more work, but this is a really old show, so it's expected. I can't compare it to the dub, as I've only seen clips of it, and didn't actually watch it through with the dub. This is my evaluation based solely on the original voicework itself.

So, overall, I'd say it was a solid show. I enjoyed all the ghost lore, and watching the characters handle all the crazy things tossed at them. It was also really nice seeing Satsuki go from a pretty bumbling girl, to someone thinking up clever ideas. And if I"m being honest, there's only one thing that held this show back for me (but it shouldn't be a problem for most, probably?) [very minor spoilers]

Spoiler, click to view

no yuri. And lots of hetero stuff.If Hajime were a girl, then I think the show would have been about 10x more enjoyable for me. But alas, that is now how it was to be. At least there's Re Kan! out there.

I can give it a solid 8/10. Really unfortunate I didn't watch it back then. I'm sure I would have enjoyed it more.