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Whether they died by violence, illness, accident, or some other tragedy, the spirits of the departed remain to haunt the living. Some of these retain much of what made them human, while others are reduced to twisted curses, existing only to torment the living. With so many ghosts around to cause trouble, it’s no surprise that anime is full of ghost hunters doing their best to track down and combat these elusive threats. Here are some of anime’s most iconic.
8 Mai Taniyama – Ghost Hunt
An anime with the name Ghost Hunt had better have a good ghost hunter or two, and thankfully it does. Mai Taniyama gets drawn into her fellow student’s mission to investigate a supposedly haunted building at their school, which turns out to be only the first step in her ghost-hunting career.
With the help of other exorcists, mediums, and other talented ghost hunters, Mai does her best to combat the supernatural wherever she can as a member of Shibuya Psychic Research. In time, she grows more confident and also more powerful, discovering she may have a unique ability or two of her own. The spirits she confronts may not be as powerful as the devils in Chainsaw Man,but that doesn’t mean Mai has an easy time.
7 Nobara Kugisaki – Jujutsu Kaisen
Jujutsu Kaisen became a smash-hit that for many fans raised the bar for characters, action, and thrilling plot development in anime. Its cast of talented and deadly characters is a huge part of the series’s success, including stand-outs like Nobara Kugisaki.
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Wielding a hammer, nails, and curse doll, Nobara is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to taking down Curses, a race of creatures formed from negative psychic energy. From her confidence to her unforgettable look to her incredible abilities, Nobara is without a doubt one of the best, and most interesting, ghost hunters around. There might be a handful of even more iconic characters, but there are few if any that would be a better ally in a fight.
6 Kouichi Sakakibara – Another
Being an ethereal spirit is already pretty interesting, but putting an eye patch on it makes a ghost that much more intriguing. Maybe that’s part of the reason that Kouichi Sakakibara is so obsessed with Yomiyama North Middle School’s resident ghost Mei Misaki.
Another stands out as one of the darkest, yes, most haunting ghost-hunting anime around, so it’s no surprise that some viewers have just as much trouble getting through it as Kouichi seems to. His stubborn perseverance, even when he should obviously quit, helps set him apart from a legion of other hunters, even if he is a questionable protagonist at times.
5 Mob – Mob Psycho 100
Mob Psycho 100 is one of the most visually distinct anime around, with characters, special abilities, and even settings that can’t help but capture the eye. Mob himself is a dead-eyed little boy with a bowl-cut and overwhelming supernatural powers, which is just part of what makes him so memorable.
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Mob isn’t just a fantastic ghost hunter: he’s a gullible one. Watching his supposed mentor mislead, manipulate, and exploit him–all to cover up his own lack of psychic ability–is one of the show’s highlights. Mob is fantastic on his own, but watching him be led astray again and again, failing to pick up on the less-than-subtle clues, is even better. For high-caliber ghost-hunting action and stunning visuals, Mob is hard to beat.
4 Korra – The Legend Of Korra
The Legend of Korra isn’t a ghost-hunting anime, and Avatar Korra isn’t a traditional ghost-hunter, but as the bridge between the human and spirit realm, she faces spirits of all varieties. Though she isn’t wandering around with holy water or an EMF detector, Korra is more than equipped to deal with the strange creatures that she faces.
She may have a hard time confronting some of her own demons, but when her world and those she cares about are threatened, Korra has no problem charging into battle against the ghosts that threaten to destroy everything she loves. There’s a reason Korra is at the heart of the best episodes in this kid-friendly franchise.
3 Satoru Gojo – Jujutsu Kaisen
Arguably the strongest jujutsu sorcerer in Jujutsu Kaisen, Satoru Gojo isn’t just one of the strongest characters in his own anime, he’s one of the strongest ghost-hunters in any anime. Gojo devotes himself to more than just the exorcism of Curses, however.
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Gojo is responsible for training the next generation of sorcerers. Without him, characters like Nobara Kugisaki, Yuji Itadori, and Megumi Fushiguro may never have developed their skills in the way that they did. While Nobara’s look is arguably more iconic than Gojo’s, Gojo is a fantastic character and ghost-hunter in his own right. His power is just the tip of that iceberg.
2 Yusuke Urameshi – Yu Yu Hakusho
Yu Yu Hakusho is a classic shonen anime with fans all over the world, and its protagonist Yusuke Urameshi is why. After sacrificing himself to save the life of a young boy, teenage punk Yusuke is resurrected as a Spirit Detective and tasked with solving crimes in the Human World involving the supernatural.
His Spirit Gun is an anime weapon almost as iconic as Goku’s kamehameha, and between his slicked-back hair and bad attitude, Yusuke has a way of sticking in fans’ minds. While he starts the series with a nasty demeanor, he sees a lot of growth, making him one of the rounder characters in the ghost-hunter lineup as he fights his way through the Dark Tournament.
1 The Medicine Seller – Mononoke
The protagonist of Toei Animation’s avant-garde anime Mononoke is the Medicine Seller, an enigmatic merchant who uses his expertise in the supernatural to find, identify, and destroy spirits. Everything about the Medicine Seller, from his look to his mannerisms to his mysterious title, attracts the viewer’s attention.
Mononoke is an extraordinary achievement in anime, but even if he had appeared in a mediocre anime the Medicine Seller likely would have been one of the most engaging ghost-hunters of all time. For style as much as effectiveness, the Medicine Seller must be counted amongst the very best.
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