Whoa, that's strange.
What should we do?
Get the Ghostbusters!
Whoa, that's weird.
What should we do?
Get the Ghostbusters!*
Much like when I wondered how the Japanese Tabletop RPG community felt about playing in the Star Trek universe, it was inevitable that I would be curious about their interest in gaming Ghostbusters. When I become fascinated by a particular genre or setting, my deep interest in Japanese pop culture just makes me want to know how they treat the same subject.
From past conversations with Japanese friends I know that the original film was very popular in Japan and the 2016 film did fairly well too. I don't have a clear idea how Ghostbusters II did. Around the time Ghostbusters: Afterlife was released in Japan I was speaking with a friend living in Chiba over DIscord (I think) and she indicated that had also been well-received.
Ghostbusters Japan
The Official Japanese Ghostbusters Fan Club
Thoughts drifted back to all this as Halloween 2023 approached. I knew I'd be talking about Ghostbusters RPGing and thought, 'Why not see if they play/played in the Ghostbusters world over there'. Honestly, I didn't expect to find much. If Star Trek only got a little coverage in their TRPG circles, what chance did I have of finding GB references?
I was pleasantly surprised...
Lucy, an original non-canon Ghostbusters character
Designed and illustrated by Shunya Yamashita
for Kotobukiya's Bishoujo Statues series.
As it turns out, while I came across only a handful of Ghostbusters RPG mentions, they were all very interesting. One Japanese gamer I spoke to on a TRPG forum said, "Horror games are the most popular type in Japan. Call of Cthulhu is our biggest game. We also include a lot of humor in our games, even that one (CoC). Ghostbusters is a good choice if you want both things."
To that end he directed me to an article on playing a Ghostbuster in Call of Cthulhu! Sort of. Really it was about using the Call of Cthulhu system to run a Ghostbusters game, much the way the Japanese seem to love using that system to run many other kinds of horror.
Here's what I was able to translate...
Ghostbuster for Call of Cthulhu (TRPG Japan)
It is a profession that exorcises evil spirits as a business. In addition to those who own offices or are employees of those offices, there are also those who undertake individual/independent work. This person also has the job of a detective who investigates strange phenomena. They don't have any kind of psychic powers but if they are a famous Ghostbusters they may have powerful artifacts.
Driving (Car)
Electrical Repair or Electronics
Mechanical Repair
Occult
Psychology
Shooting (Handgun or Rifle)
Any 1 Interpersonal Skill
Any 1 Skill of Your Choice
Credit: 9~50%
Vocational skill points: EDU x 2 + DEX x 2
Art by Sato Sio
Cool, huh? What I find particularly interesting is the idea that there might be individual Ghostbusters not directly tied to a franchise. So, a freelance Ghostbusters? How would that work? Would be a really intriguing premise for a Solo or One-on-One (one Player, one Ghostmaster) campaign.
Also curious is the idea that veteran Ghostbusters might have mystic relics in their possession (and hopefully not the other way around!). I've often wondered about books of ancient spells and such might be something a Ghostbusters group could look into.
Lastly, I am surprised there isn't any direct mention of the Ghostbusters' equipment. Things like the Proton Packs, Ghost Traps, PKE Meters, and the like would seem to appeal to the Mecha loving Japanese pop culture crowd.
Art by Gurumeda for the Japanese movie magazine Cinema Today
Encouraged by my previous discovery I pressed on and was very excited to find that a session of the original West End Games Ghostbusters RPG had been run at a Japanese gaming convention called Hammakon in 2022.
The Gamemaster of that session, Onagi Sunaga, gave a promotional write-up of the adventure they planned to run as one would expect to see in an RPG con game preview. I was fortunate to message Onagi-san and received a response pretty quickly. She was kind enough to clarify the premise of the story and a little of how it went. What follows is a write-up of that session, paraphrased and edited by me for this post.
Ghostbusters International
GM: Onagi Sunaga
Number of players: 2-4
TRPG beginners: Welcome
System beginners: Welcome
Game/System Description
A humorous horror TRPG based on the American movie franchise 'Ghostbusters'. PCs become franchise operators of a Ghostbusters office and fight against the ghost turmoil. The game is a 1989 piece designed by Call of Cthulhu's Sandy Petersen and others (Referring to the Second Edition of the game - as noted - Ghostbusters International). The judgment is a success if the total number rolled on your ability dice exceeds the target value. However, there is a 1/6 chance that something strange will happen, so don't let your guard down!
Scenario Overview
Ghost extermination set in the city of Tokyo! Will you be able to finish in the black without getting confused on your way to the site or having strange photos of you posted on social media?
It is expected to be a two-part series: a tutorial scenario + an original scenario (the setting will be Tokyo).
We will prepare a pre-generated character but if people wish we will have them create an original PC. Be prepared to play in Japanese.
It is a good idea for the players to have 2 or more six-sided dice...or even 8. In addition, some items are available for rental [at the convention].
Additional Information
The setting is modern day Japan and the PCs played through the following situation:
A giant kashiwa mochi-like ghost appeared at the site of Tokyo Tower a few months ago, along with a few other spirits, and was defeated in the Tone River by the Tokyo Ghostbusters. Although this entity and others were defeated, the Ghostbusters didn't get rid of all the ghosts. Some of the spooks were able to escape capture. Therefore, Ghostbusters International decided to expand the Japanese franchise and took on the task of exterminating the ghosts that had run away in Tokyo. Ghostbusters International Inc. used this as an opportunity to increase the number of franchises in Japan as well.
After completing the training to become a Ghostbuster and signing the contracts, the PCs played through the scenario 'House Pests' included in the RPG rulebook [adapted to take place in Tokyo, Japan].
The scenario is about getting rid of ghosts that chased away a family who had just moved to the suburbs. We will enter a dungeon-like private house with about 10 rooms and hunt down the ghosts there. However, it doesn't go exactly as it should...
Wow. I love the backstory! For a one or two-shot session at a convention, that is some great world-building background material for a Tokyo Ghostbusters campaign setting. I want to know more about that first team. Not only who were they but did they all survive? Is that why they needed to hire the PCs? Did they all survive and separate to open other franchise offices in different cities in Japan? So many ideas!
More Ghostbusters art by Gurumeda
My third and final score was a mention of using the Japanese TRPG 'Ghost Hunters' to run Ghostbusters. Supposedly there was a fan-made supplement at one point, a Ghostbusters Doujinshi Sourcebook for use with Ghost Hunters 2nd Edition. Sadly, that is the extent of what I could find on the subject; a single reference, long out of date. Still and all, I felt inspired by this as it indicated to me that the first two occurrences of Japanese Ghostbusters RPG fandom weren't just flukes. If there were three, there could be more.
My Ectogoggles are on and my PKE Meter is out. The search continues...
Until next time...
AD
Barking Alien
*Japanese translation of the Ghostbusters theme song, 1984
The post's title says, 'Who are you going to call?' in Japanese
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