Toei Animation Co., Ltd. has produced a new TV animation called Thriller Restaurant, from the popular children’s book.
It will debut on TV Asahi Network at 7:30 p.m. on October 13, 2009.

  The original book is a ghost story series for elementary and junior high school students, first published in 1996 by Doshinsha Publishing Co., Ltd. As of 2007, 50 volumes had been published.

  The original series is edited by author Miyoko Matsutani, and is an omnibus including various ghost stories such as Japanese folktales, school lore, and world folk stories.
Thriller Restaurant is an innovative animation featuring these stories, and builds on Toei Animation’s strong track record in the genre.
The animation doesn’t rely on fancy magic or huge monsters to thrill its audience. Instead, it depicts far more believable experiences that will keep children and adults alike glued to their screens.

  The cute monsters that appeared in the original book take the viewer on a thrilling ride from prologue to epilogue, so even those who don’t normally like horror stories will be enthralled.

  The “Restaurant” in the title represents the structure of the animations, each of which features three stories, as an appetizer, main dish, and dessert.
The first two of these stories are varied, featuring a strange event involving grade school and the main character Ako, along with a tale from overseas collected by Ako’s classmate Sho. The third story is an animation short set on a form of transportation.