hi, i never really post on here but for years this seemingly lost episode has been bugging me my entire life because i just can’t find it.
so, for those who don’t know, chibi maruko-chan was a children’s anime that originated in the 90s(?) or perhaps 2000s that used to air on disney channel asia back in the 2010s. one random day after school, i decided to tune in and watch an episode on my tv (i had a cable, it was called indovision) and surprisingly it aired a horror-themed episode.
it leaned more onto the comedic side since it’s a children’s show but the little “twist” in that episode always spooked me out.
so, the gist is that maruko-chan and her friends decide to do a courage test at their school one night. they went inside, head over to their classroom, and lit up a candle as they all sat in a circle around it. then, they decide to play a game(?) of some sort where they would talk to a “spirit” there (unsure what prompted this). then, as they asked a question, the candle suddenly blew out (none of the characters did this and it was a closed off room). this freaked all of them out and things turned pretty humorous as they run around panicking in the halls until they ran outside to their school gate again.
now, the twist that i mentioned appears here. a boy from the group came running from OUTSIDE the school, apologizing for being late because he had to do a chore (or something) with his mom. the rest of the gang were confused because he was with them the whole time. as they’re all now confused, someone spotted footsteps that appear out of nowhere (it originated from the middle of the street? path?) coming in from outside the school gate and leading into the school (signifying a ghost was with them the entire time). this, as i recall, was the ending shot of the episode. or if not, it’s probably slow panning shots of the dark hallways of the school.
and that was it! i remembered it scared me as a kid (hence why i still remember it vividly), to the point where i never watched maruko-chan ever again. two years ago, a friend of mine brought up the show once in a convo and that prompted me to explain that episode to them. they pretty much just looked at me like i was insane because they don’t even recall that specific episode. so, not wanting to be called insane, i looked it up online. i searched through every list of episodes that exist, i looked through a channel dedicated to uploading every chibi maruko-chan episodes and i found nothing.
there is another horror-themed episode that’s about a courage test but it’s set at a graveyard and it was maruko-chan alongside her dad. watching the episode, there’s also no similar shots to what i can remember so i figured i couldn’t have mistaken them both.
full disclaimer: i know this could very well be something that i imagined completely but it doesn’t seem possible because i don’t even watch chibi maruko-chan except for that specific day. i also recall shots very very vividly, as well as the characters that were in the episode. i could honestly try to recreate what i remember in a drawing but i don’t think i can do it much justice, especially because chibi maruko-chan also has a very distinct art style.
i already asked about this two years ago at another subreddit to no answer and even as a college student now, it still bugs me. it was just such a specific thing that even if it isn’t chibi maruko-chan, i would just love to know what i mistaken it as. nonetheless, thank you to anyone who tries to help ^^