Kaidan Restaurant

Kaidan Restaurant (怪談レストラン) is a Japanese children's storybook series. The books take the form of horror anthologies, edited by Miyoko Matsutani and illustrated by Yoshikazu Takai and Kumiko Katō. As of 2007, there were 50 volumes published by Doshinsha. Over 8 million copies of the books have published so far.

The books were adapted into a TV anime series by Toei Animation, which began airing in 2009. It derives its name from "kaidan", which, here, loosely translates as "thriller" (from "kai", meaning strange, mysterious, rare or bewitching apparition, and "dan", meaning talk or recited narrative; a more direct translation would be a ghost or horror story). Rather than forming a linear plot, the anime follows the anthology format of the book and tells a collection of ghost stories similar to what would be traditionally told around a campfire. The anime is frequently among the 10 highest rated anime shows of the week in Japan.

The series will also be adapted as a hybrid live-action and anime feature film for August 2010.

Plot
There is a loose theme throughout the series of the "Thriller Restaurant", which is introduced in the first episode. The remainder of the series is a collection of ghost stories reminiscent of the Scary Stories anthology.

Each episode is broken up into three "dishes", namely the Appetizer, the Main Dish, and the Dessert. The "Appetizer" is a short story featuring something supernatural, such as ghosts, spirits, or similar. The "Main Dish" is a longer ghost story similar to the Appetizer, usually with a twist. The "Dessert" is a brief campfire ghost story told by one of the main characters while the other two listen. These involve characters not related to the series and ends with some sort of a moral lesson.

Recurring characters

 * Ako Ōzora (大空 アコ)


 * Currently attending Yamazakura Elementary School, Ako is frequently referred to as "Anko" by her friends and fellow classmates. She doesn't have an overly large fascination with ghost stories, but when she hears of one, she likes to learn more about the story and learn facts about it, such as the morals or historical significance, etc.


 * She is the first of her classmates to make friends with Sho after his transfer to Yamazakura.


 * Shō Kōmoto (甲本 ショウ)


 * Sho is a new transfer student at Yamazakura. He was popular with the girls although he is not very social, and he doesn't have many friends. He loves ghost stories and has a whole room of scary stories.


 * Reiko Sakuma (佐久間 レイコ)


 * Reiko is the chairperson for Ako's class. She believes that everything supernatural has a scientific explanation.


 * Ghastly Garçon (おばけギャルソン)


 * The ghost garçon (waiter) who is the manager of the Restaurant. He introduces every meal. He typically appears during the opening credits, and after the main course, to wrap up the show.

Supporting characters

 * Yūma (ゆま)




 * Takuma (たくま)




 * Machiko Sensei (まちこ せんせい)




 * Ishimoto Sensei (いしもと せんせい)


 * Mari (まり)




 * Ako's Mother (あこの おかあさん)




 * Ako's Father (あこの おとうさん)




 * Bunta Ōzora (おおぞら ぶんた)



Theme songs

 * Ending theme: Lost Boy
 * Performance: SEAMO

References to Modern Culture

 * In episode two, The Path To A Bottomless Pond tells of a boy who drowned in a pool, then saves another boy who falls into the same pool. This is similar to the San Antonio legend of a school bus full of children stalling on a railroad, then hit by a train.  The legend says that if a car stops on the rails, an unknown force pushes the car back off.
 * In episode three, The Midnight Princess tells of a young man who was saved from a grisly death by the ghost of his dead father. This is a similar version to the story of a wife who dies in a fatal crash, whose spirit seeks for help to save her still living baby.
 * In episode three, Passenger On A Rainy Night tells of a girl getting a taxi ride to her house, where she is revealed to already be dead. This is a version of an urban legend, where a person (usually a young woman) gets a ride from the place of her death to an address, usually the house of a relative or close friend.