In 2018, the manga GeGeGe no Kitaro got rebooted by Toei animation. It was a horror-comedy about ghosts and it was awesome. In 2022, the manga Urusei Yatsura got rebooted by David Production. It was a school comedy about aliens and it was awesome. In 2024, the manga Ranma 1/2 got rebooted by MAPPA animation. It was an action-comedy about magic, and it was awesome. So it got me to thinking: What blast-from-the-past anime needs to get the full-on reboot treatment? And without a doubt, the answer is Takashi Shiina's award-winning supernatural comedy Ghost Sweeper Mikami.
Usually, all it takes for me to check out a manga or anime is someone on Tumblr posting a clip or a screen grab, or a service like Crunchyroll dropping some video on their socials. Ghost Sweeper Mikami was like that, but it dragged me down a rabbit hole because this gem from 1993 is only on YouTube but the manga isn't available in English.
Legally.
The story takes place in a world infested with grim, grinning ghosts and ghouls that need to be exorcised so living people can feel safe. Enter a new class of exterminators, the Ghost Sweepers! The manga follows the top company, Mikami GS Company, led by 31-year-old ghost sweeping pro Reiko Mikami, her overly hormonal 17-year-old assistant Tadao Yokoshima, and their harmless ghost companion Okinu (think Slimer's role from The Real Ghostbusters but entirely cute and demure and never rude or gross).
Their adventures usually involve someone hiring the group, Mikami asking (and getting) an absurd amount of money for the job, Yokoshima complaining that he's only getting paid 250 yen per hour (about $1.70 US), and then the team navigating the ins and outs of this unique case. Of course, over the nearly 370 manga chapters, there are longer arcs, like the 20-chapter "For Whom The Bell Tolls!" opus where Yokoshima tests for his official ghost sweeper license (trouble arises, like it always does in such manga scenarios).
Like Ranma 1/2 and Urusei Yatsura, part of the joy of this series comes from the recurring oddballs that the ghost sweeping team encounters and usually partners with. There are fellow exorcists Emi and Meiko, one extremely competitive, the other extremely accommodating. There's Pete, the handsome 700-year-old half-vampire who all the high school girls fall for. And there's Dr. Chaos, an immortal alchemist who causes trouble but always flubs it hard.
The anime ran for 45 episodes, which is a marathon for any modern anime, but it totally could be rebooted. There was also a film version in 1994 and two video game adaptations, one being a card battler the other being a side-scrolling platformer. While these are fine to look back on, check out the anime or the manga, which you can't do.
Legally.
Ghost Sweeper Mikami really has all the things that made Ranma 1/2 and GeGeGe no Kitaro hits: clever (and sometimes 4th wall breaking) comedy, a fleshed-out supporting cast, good plots, and well-handled horror elements. So why not let this recently deceased masterpiece rise from the grave?!
