The BEST episodes written by Ayaka Yamaguchi
#1 - Hide-and-Seek
Yamishibai: Japanese Ghost Stories - Season 5 - Episode 7
A boy, Takeshi, and his family were driving to grandmother's house during the summer break. His father explains that the extended family will also be there. As the family drives on, they pass an old, dilapidated house, much to Takeshi's curiosity. He was sure he saw a boy in a red and white shirt looking out the top floor's window... At his grandmother's house, Takeshi asks her who lives in that old house, but she explains it's a wreck. When he talks about the boy, she suddenly becomes serious and tells him to never go near that house for the crone lives there. Two of his cousins, Miho-chan and Yukari-chan, invite him to play outside. Takeshi does so, and he asks about the old house and tells them he wants to explore it. When they get to the house, the children decide to play hide and seek. Yukari is the one who's "it" and proceeds to count while Miho and Takeshi take off to hide. Takeshi goes to hide in the house and he looks out the window, chuckling on how easy he can see Yukari from where he is. When he goes to hide in a closet, he jumps back in surprise, finding a straw doll wearing a red and white shirt; the same shirt the boy wore yesterday. Suddenly, he hears a deep voice call out, "Are you ready?" He hears heavy footsteps coming up the stairs, and the voice coming closer. Panicking, he hides in the closet. Suddenly, the right panel opens and the voice says, "Found you." Covering his mouth to hide his breathing, he watches as a giant hand reaches for the straw doll and slams the door. Takeshi sighs in relief, but then the left panel opens and he can only scream in horror as a giant eye peers right at him. Takeshi's family bid each other goodbye, seemingly completely ignorant of Takeshi's fate. Grandma looks down in sadness, the only person who realizes what happened. The story ends with a scene of the old house with a new straw doll looking out the window; this one wearing a baseball cap and voices singing throughout the house, "Are you ready? Not yet! Are y
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#2 - Flower Reading
Yamishibai: Japanese Ghost Stories - Season 5 - Episode 10
A man is caught in a rain shower on his way from work. He watches a young couple walk down the street, grumbling how he used to be like that. He wonders when it will stop when he sees a girl in a tie-dye shirt doing the "loves me, loves me not" game of plucking flower petals and repeating, "It'll stop, it won't stop." When she plucks the last petal, she concludes that the rain won't stop and that her fortunes are always correct. The man asks what she's doing out here, but the girl responds that she hopes his wife will be there for him. She then asks if she could read another fortune and pulls out another flower. The man tells her she should go home if her parents don't know where she is. She ignores her and starts plucking the petals off, saying, "I'll go home, I won't go home." The last petal is plucked, and she tells him she won't go home. She asks for another reading, the man doesn't think of any on the spot. Upon seeing his wedding ring, she'll say she'll just guess if his wife will come home and proceeds to pluck the feathers, saying, "She'll come, she won't come." The man finds the whole thing ridiculous, but decides to play along just for fun. The last petal is plucked on, "She'll come home." The man tells her that won't be possible. But then the girl points to the side and the man is astonished to see a woman in a white dress and holding an umbrella. The girl asks what would she like to read next, but the man tells her she's told enough and says his thanks. The girl watches as the couple leaves and says, "Oh, I see. You're dead, you're not dead..." When the last petal comes up as, "You're dead." the girl says, "Goodbye, mister. You won't need anymore fortunes."
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#3 - Giveback-sama
Yamishibai: Japanese Ghost Stories - Season 5 - Episode 6
A girl, Yuka, was dumped by her boyfriend, Tomo-kun. At school, she watches him with his new girlfriend and her best friend, Reiko She swore she would never forgive Reiko for stealing him. At the library, Yuka finds something that peaks her interest: a book called, "Relationship Spells The Handbook!" She reads a passage about a ghost called Giveback-sama. According to the book, "If you dial 9999 in a phone booth at 11:59 PM, a woman named Giveback-sama will answer. If you ask her, 'Give back (insert lover's name here)-kun back to me,' she will return him to you the next day. However, you must call her again at the same time the next day to thank her or something terrible will happen..." At first Yuka dismisses it as nonsense, but when she comes home later that day, she decides to give it a try. She rushes to a phone booth and at exactly 11:59 PM, dials 9999. At first nothing happens, but when she hears the money being dispensed from the change slot, she asks into the phone for Tomo-kun and takes off running, forgetting to hang up the phone. The next day at school, Yuka notices white flowers on Reiko's desk, the sign that she has died. And sure enough, one of her friends confirms that she died in a traffic accident. She remembers the ritual she did, but she tries to brush it off, calling it coincidence. Suddenly, Tomo-kun enters the classroom, his face full of grief as he obviously blames himself for not walking her home. Yuka tells him it was not his fault. That night, Yuka remembers the final warning of the Giveback-sama ritual and rushes to the phone booth with seconds to spare, only to find someone already using it. To her horror, it's Reiko. Reiko disappears as the clock strikes 12. The story ends with the sound of blood splattering and the image of the phone swaying in the booth; its interior covered in blood.
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#4 - Wrong Number
Yamishibai: Japanese Ghost Stories - Season 5 - Episode 1
A woman married to Masuda, an elite salaryman, complains about him never being at home to spend time with her and his son, Hirofumi. The phone rings and when she answers it, a woman she hadn't heard before says she'll not be there for a while. Confused, Mrs. Masuda asks who she is trying to contact, but the woman hangs up. Later in the day, Hirofumi falls asleep while playing, and the phone rings again. Mrs. Masuda picks up the phone and the woman on the other side asks if she could watch her child for another hour. Mrs. Masuda tells her she has the wrong number, but the woman on the other line hangs up immediately. Frustrated, she slams the phone down on the receiver, only for it to ring immediately. It's her husband this time. He tells her he'll be late and suggests to eat dinner with Hirofumi. At dinner, Mrs. Masuda tells Hirofumi not to make a mess, making him cry. The phone rings and the same woman from before tells her she's finally able to leave. Frustrated, Mrs. Masuda tells her she has the wrong number again. But then the woman says something that scares her, "But Hirofumi is crying, is he?" and hangs up. Mrs. Masuda suddenly recalls Hirofumi drawing a picture of a woman with the word, "Mom" written on it. Mrs. Masuda suddenly thinks that it must have been THAT woman back then... Suddenly, the doorbell rings and a shuffling noise can be heard on the other side. The woman's voice says she's there to pick up Hirofumi. The door opens and a woman with pale skin, black hair and dark eyes enters the room. Mrs. Masuda grabs a knife just as Hirofumi calls out, "Mama?"
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#5 - The Last Bus
Yamishibai: Japanese Ghost Stories - Season 5 - Episode 12
The story of an office lady living a peaceful life. One day, on her bus ride home, she saw a strange woman wearing a kimono, but she decided to pretend she hadn't seen her. Then terror struck... The bus continues to roll along, carrying her resentment on board...
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#6 - If You Want to See Ghosts
Yamishibai: Japanese Ghost Stories - Season 5 - Episode 9
Mai, a college student who loves to gossip is sitting on the bench with her friend, Miki. Miki tells her she has seen a ghost, to which Mai is amazed. She asks if she believes in ghosts, and Mai expresses her doubts. Miki then decides to show her by telling her to look into her eyes. Confused, Mai looks into Miki's eyes, and is startled to see, in the reflection, the white outline of a person behind her. When Mai turns around, nothing is there. Miki tells her she has been able to see ghosts ever since someone showed her which means Mai can now see them probably. She asks Mai not to tell anyone since her friend told her about it, but she hasn't heard from her since. She suddenly starts to become worried, but tells a questioning Mai not to worry, and yet... Mai suddenly realizes her seminar is starting, prompting her to leave. When Miki begs her not to leave, Mai tells her she'll see her tomorrow. When Mai arrives, she suddenly can now see the spectral outlines of people around the students. When her friends ask if something's up, Mai tells her her secret and gives them the warning to not tell anyone. Suddenly Mai sees the outlines are changing color from white to red and they advance toward her. Terrified, she runs out of the school with more and more ghosts giving chase. She runs to Miki's house for help, but instead finds her dead with her eyes missing. She then realizes what Miki told her and now she'd just doomed her friends to suffer the same fate if they tell anyone as well. The last thing she sees is a pair of red ghostly hands reaching for her eyes, along with hearing multiple voices sharing the secret and asking not to tell anyone else.
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#7 - The Crow Children
Yamishibai: Japanese Ghost Stories - Season 5 - Episode 3
A girl named Sae and her mother are going to see her grandmother who lives in the countryside for the first time. As they walk through a field of sunflowers, they walk past a group of boys who say the Crow Lady's coming to take them away. Confused, Sae and her mother come across an old woman wearing a veil. When Sae greets her, the old woman greets back in a slow voice, then walks by without another word and into a house covered in branches. Soon, the two reach grandma's house. While the daughter plays in the yard, the mother talks to her grandmother, recounting old memories. Sae suddenly looks up upon hearing the sound of a crow cawing... When Sae's mother and grandmother look in the yard, they find her gone. Sae's mother looks for her, and that's when she hears her cries coming from the house covered in branches, only now a murder of crows are perched on the roof. In the yard, Sae is greeted by the old woman from before, who heard her crying, the result of her climbing a tree, only to fall. Sae's mother suddenly arrives and apologizes for her daughter trespassing. On their way home, Sae's mother asks her why she was in the old woman's yard to which her daughter replies, "Because they looked like they were having fun." Sae's mother gets an uneasy feeling when she then says, "I wanted to join them." In the girl's eyes, there are no crows, but human children perched on the house, the tree and the fence. As Sae waves to them goodbye, her mother drags her off. The old woman warns her as the murder of crows flies away, "Don't you let go of her hand, now. Children wander off before you know it."
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#8 - I'm the Only One
Yamishibai: Japanese Ghost Stories - Season 5 - Episode 11
The story of an office lady who was very proud of her beautiful hair. It's so beautiful that she is the envy of all her friends, and their constant compliments intoxicate her. She gazes at herself in the mirror, never realizing that a tragic disaster awaits her. Is it jealousy or resentment that resides in her bewitching black hair?
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#9 - Seductress
Yamishibai: Japanese Ghost Stories - Season 5 - Episode 13
The story of a stunningly beautiful woman. A certain reporter lies in wait after learning of a strange incident in which young men have been disappearing. In the midst of his investigation, he encounters a certain woman, and watches as she seduces men one after another. The shocking last installment...
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#10 - Give It to Me
Yamishibai: Japanese Ghost Stories - Season 5 - Episode 2
An office walker is on her way home and walks by the playground when she stops when she hears a girl on the swing set call out to her. She asks if there's anything wrong and where her parents are. The girl says she's fine and that her mother is on her way, then she notices the butterfly brooch on the office worker's shirt and asks her to give it to her. The woman concedes and lets her have it as a reward for waiting patiently for her mother. The woman then goes on her way, remembering how when she was the girl's age, she would ask for things the older kids wanted as well. She says it's something kids would do, wanting to be a grown-up. The next evening, the woman walks by the playground and the same girl from before calls out to her. Concerned, the woman asks where her mother is. But she ignores her and demands her lipstick. The woman applies some lipstick on her who says she looks pretty. The woman goes on her way, though she shows some concern about the child being out this late. The next night, the woman is with her boyfriend, and the girl appears at the parking lot where their car is. Now she demands her boyfriend. In her car, the woman voices her fears: the girl wears the same clothes every day and she is also wearing the same lipstick from yesterday, which is now smeared. Suddenly, she sees the girl's reflection in the rearview mirror and to her horror, the girl's arms stretch out and grab her boyfriend. Then her head and neck stretch over to the woman, and she reaches out to her and says in a monotonous voice: "Hey, miss. Give this to me too. Come on, give it to me..."
#11 - Copycat
Yamishibai: Japanese Ghost Stories - Season 5 - Episode 4
A college girl, Haru, had just completed her entrance ceremony when she meets a fellow student and her childhood friend, Yukari. She tells Haru that she enrolled in the same school she did and made it off the waiting list. Haru says that she didn't know, but Yukari tells her she wanted it to be a surprise and they'll be together again. Haru remembers how the two of them were always together since they were little and they did the same things together, but in reality, Yukari was just copying everything she did. Haru notices this even more during one afternoon at a diner when Yukari asks if she could wear the same watch she has, be in the same classes she takes and be a part of the same club she is in. Finally, Haru has had enough and blatantly tells her to stop copying her. Yukari starts crying, but Haru, feeling sympathetic tells her that it's not good for her future if she's just copying her all the time. Yukari tells her she already has a dream, to be a teacher just like Haru. Yukari suddenly says with a frightening smile, "Are you surprised? So it's fine to keep doing everything together, right? We both have the same dream!" Haru becomes disturbed by this and says that they'll still do things together. Pleased, Yukari leaves the diner, but she starts walking the crosswalk on a red light and is run over by a car. Haru smiles as she vanishes and she says to herself, "The reason Yukari made it off the waiting list for the college...was because...I left...this world." Yukari copied everything Haru did, even her death...
#12 - The Neighbors
Yamishibai: Japanese Ghost Stories - Season 5 - Episode 8
A woman named Kana moved to a new apartment and invited her friends over for pizza. She explains that the place just opened up and the rent was lower than expected. Her friend, Eriko, drunkenly says it's probably one of those "too good to be true" moments. Suddenly, they hear something like scratching coming from next door. Deciding it's probably best for them to leave, Kana walks her friends out. However, she freezes when she sees fingers and an eye peeking out of the neighbors' door's mail slot only to instantly shut. Suddenly, her friend calls out, breaking Kana's thoughts. As she walks to the car, Kana looks back toward the neighbor's door, wondering who that was. As she walks back to her apartment, the neighbors' door opens a bit, revealing a light from inside. Wondering if she should introduce herself, but deciding it's probably not the best time, she continues walking. Suddenly, the light goes out, leaving nothing but darkness. She hears the scratching sound from earlier and calls out who is there and what do they want. The moonlight shines on the apartment and Kana can see women clawing against the apartment room's walls and floors, making wheezing sounds and pleading to be let out. Suddenly, she hears the scratching come from above. And when she looks up, she seems a pair of feet dangle in front of her before their owner, a dark-haired, pale-skinned girl with orange eyes drops from the ceiling. "Looks like we have another new friend," she says. The story ends with Kana joining the clawing neighbors and the hanging girl, and the voice of a real estate agent answering a call for a new tenant asking to live in the new room that just opened up...
#13 - Shadows of Women
Yamishibai: Japanese Ghost Stories - Season 5 - Episode 5
A woman waits for her husband to come home. When he arrives, she asks if he has been drinking again, to which he says only with people at work. As her husband prepares to take a shower, the woman smells the faint scent of another woman's perfume on his suit. As she picks up the husband's clothes, the woman finds more signs that he is cheating: she finds a lipstick mark on the collar of his shirt and a broken acrylic nail. She puts his clothes in the washer, only to find his cell phone ringing. She takes a look at it and finds multiple messages from someone named Rie-san, the most recent one saying, "I'll always be at your side..." At first, she's angry, but anger turns to fear when the shadow of another woman looms over her. Quickly, she turns around, but finds no one. When the husband comes out of the showers, the wife demands to know who Rie-san is, to which the husband replies he doesn't know. When the wife tells him about the emails on his phone, he says they're just spam. When the wife tells him he's cheating, she stops when she hears a woman's voice whisper, "Only you..." She watches in horror as a shadow looms behind the oblivious man and wraps him in multiple arms. As the man walks off, telling her he's going to bed, the wife can see the reflection of her husband still in the mirror and can hear multiple voices declaring their love for him and wrapped around him are shadowy monsters with feminine features and red eyes. The reflection says he'll never leave her side...and then looks directly at her and says, "But if you're so worried...why don't you stay at my side too?" Almost instantly, the woman's eyes turn red and her skin turns black and she says in a monotonous voice, "Always...at your side..."