Phantom Quest Corp, or You-Gen-Kai-Sya, is a paranormal investigations company whose mission is to "Exterminate Evil Spirits and other Monsters". Established by Ayaka Kisaragi (owner/president), PQC is a subcontracted employee of U-Division (apparently the Paranormal Division of the police bureau). Their police contact is Assistant Lieutenant Kozo Karino, who often works with PQC directly.
        Employees include: Ayaka Kisaragi - president. Ayaka is always in the middle of the action, leading her troops as it were. She drinks too much, sleeps too late (and has a rotten time getting up), and keeps her company perpetually "in the red financially" - due to her spending habits. She has a cool lipstick that transforms into a magic light sword (Ko-Ryu-Rei-Fu-Sei-Ken which translates very roughly per our Japanese to English dictionary as Sacred Arc Sword of the Seal of the Dragon’s Soul. At least that’s what I get out of it!) with which she clobbers her foes. She has a very sharp tongue, and a very high opinion of herself.
        Mamoru Shimesu - jack of all trades. This young boy is essential to the operations of PQC. He is (at different times) the Office Manager, Accountant, Personnel Director, Research Assistant, Salesperson, and even the Cleaning Staff. He even is responsible for seeing that Ayaka wakes up at a decent hour every morning. No easy task in itself! The Shimesu family has historically been Bodyguards and Servants to the Kisaragi family. Can’t track down a precise age - my guess is 8 to 10 years.
        Kozo Karino - Sort of a bumbler, seems he always wants to impress Ayaka. Karino almost never goes to his office, and spends lots of time on cases with PQC. Seems to get clobbered a bit more than some of the others do.
        Madame Suimei - Weird old psychic lady who’s motto is “No Money, No Credit, No Fortune!” She is frequently consulted for information at the start of each case, due to her gift of psychic ability and her knowledge of demons, etc. Her biggest motivator is money, and she bills Ayaka highly for her services to PQC, but rarely manages to collect her fees in a timely manner.
        Rokkon - Very large but seemingly placid fellow. (I think he’s an ex-Buddhist monk.) His specialty is exorcism, and PQC calls him in when there’s possessed people about. Carries a cool jingly staff.
        Nanami Rokugo - High School student who works part time for PQC between her studies. Young and emotional girl who happens to be a FireStarter. She generates large blasts of flame to toast any susceptible demons or baddies.
        All told there were only 4 half hour OAVs released for PQC which are available in North America from Pioneer on two VHS tapes or two Laser Discs. This means you can collect the whole series with just two purchases, but if you really like it there's no more to see beyond those two tapes. Pioneer also publishes a PQC comic book created here in North America which should be available from your local comic book store. Pioneer has also released a domestic soundtrack called Best of Phantom Quest Corp. (PICD-1007A) which retails for $16.95.

	Released by: Pioneer LDCA	Formats Available: Dubbed and Subbed	Genre: Action Comedy
	Price Dub/Sub: $24.95/$29.95	Notes: Also available on two Laser Discs for $39.95 each. Domestic soundtrack available for $16.95 (PICD-1007A).

Les' Review:         When something strange... is in your neighborhood... Who ya gonna call? Phantom Quest Corps! Okay, so it doesn't fit the theme song, but you get the idea. While their means may be different, the results are the same. These folks are here to take care of whatever pesky paranormal parasite is pushing people's patience, and they mean business.         This OAV series has been out for awhile now so you may have seen it on the shelves of your favorite anime retailer. If you've not already given it a chance then by all means do so. The animation quality is what you'd expect from an OAV series and the music and sound are all top notch. Story wise it's not overly original, but a nicely done derivative just the same. My only real complaint about this series is that it's just too damn short. It's just clever enough and engaging enough to leave you wanting more when it comes to an end all too soon. Hopefully the recent spate of old OAV series being made into TV series in Japan will happen with PQC as well and we'll have some new shows to look forward to.         This is the first dub from Pioneer for which I've had no problems with a single one of the English voices. Everyone is well cast and the dub job is arguably Pioneer's best to date. If you like dubs then you'll find much to like about this one. Either way you can't go wrong, and won't go broke, adding this series to your collection.

Hairboy's Review:         Hairboy's review is pending...

Eric's Review: Eric's review is pending...

Mirahla's Review:         This series has several things in it's favor: good animation (with some attention to detail, which I like) a sense of humor (vital, in my opinion!) and some really amusing and entertaining characters. And you just cannot beat a series that has a redheaded chick who enjoys chasing demons for a lead character! Plus, smart-assed Ayaka has that very cool lipstick. Now, I personally hate the stuff, but how many girls could use one that can create a Pentacle Barrier or slice through demons and vampires? If it does all that, think how great it could work on Joe Purse Snatcher in the parking lot late at night?         The characters are all fairly interesting, and some of the banter that goes on is quite funny. Whenever I see poor Miss Ayaka suffering by being awakened by tons of alarm clocks (courtesy of Mamoru) at the early hour of 9AM, I cringe in sympathy, but laugh at the same time. As for drawbacks, well, things do wrap up rather neatly at the end of each episode which seems too easy, and I wish there was a little more background on some characters (what's up with Mamoru? Are there no child labor laws in Animated Japan?) and on occasion the story seems to slow down a bit - but none of these issues are enough to really complain about. Overall, an enjoyable piece of anime for anyone who likes the supernatural!

Yuugen Kaisha Win95 Desktop Theme - You've seen the series now own the Windows 95 Desktop theme!

Obligatory Copyright Notifications:
Images from Phantom Quest Corp. copyrighted by Madhouse/Pioneer LDCA.