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GeGeGe no Kitaro

GeGeGe no Kitaro
Kitaro and his yōkai friends. ゲゲゲの鬼太郎
(GeGeGe no Kitarō) Genre Comedy, SupernaturalMangaAuthor Shigeru MizukiPublisher KodanshaDemographic ShōnenMagazine Weekly Shōnen MagazineOriginal run 1959 – 1969 Volumes9 TVanimeDirector Isao TakahataStudio Toei AnimationNetwork Fuji TelevisionOriginal run January 3, 1968– March 30, 1969Episodes 65 TVanimeDirector Isao TakahataStudio Toei AnimationNetwork Fuji TelevisionOriginal run October 7, 1971– September 28, 1972Episodes 45 TVanimeDirector Osamu Kasai
Hiroki Shibata Studio Toei AnimationNetwork Fuji TelevisionOriginal run October 12, 1985– March 21, 1988Episodes 115 TVanimeDirector Daisuke NishioStudio Toei AnimationNetwork Fuji Television
AnimaxOriginal run January 7, 1996– March 29, 1998Episodes 114 TVanimeDirector Yukio Kawazu Studio Toei AnimationNetwork Fuji TelevisionOriginal run April 2007 – ongoing TVanime: Hakaba Kitaro Director Kimitoshi Chioki Studio Toei AnimationNetwork Fuji Television(Noitamina) Original run January 10, 2008 – March 20, 2008 Episodes 11 Game PlatformPlayStationReleased 2003 Live action film Director Katsuhide MotokiProducer Chihiro Kameyama Writer Katsuhide Motoki
Daisuke Habara Composer Yūta Nakano
TUCKER Studio ShochikuReleased April 28, 2007Runtime 103 minutes Live action film: GeGeGe no Kitaro 2: 1,000 Year Old Cursed Song Director Katsuhide MotokiWriter Mitsuhiko Sawamura Studio ShochikuReleased July 12, 2008

GeGeGe no Kitaro (ゲゲゲの鬼太郎, GeGeGe no Kitarō?) is a manga series created in 1959 by manga artist Shigeru Mizuki. It is best known for its popularization of the folklore creatures known as yōkai, a class of spirit-monster to which all of the main characters belong. It has been adapted for the screen several times, as anime, live-action, and video games.

It must be noted that the actual title of the original manga is Hakaba Kitarō (墓場鬼太郎, Hakaba Kitarō?), literally meaning "Graveyard Kitaro". "Ge Ge Ge..." only applies to the anime. However, the manga was later republished under the anime title. In January, 2008, the original manga was finally adapted into an anime, running in Fuji TV's Noitamina slot.

Contents

Characters

Kitaro (鬼太郎, Kitarō?)
Kitaro is a yōkai boy born in a cemetery, and aside from his mostly-decayed father, the last living member of the Ghost Tribe (幽霊族, yūrei zoku?). He is missing his left eye, but his hair usually covers the empty socket. He fights for peace between humans and yōkai, which generally involves protecting the former from the wiles of the latter.
Kitaro has an assortment of strange weapons at his disposal, including:
  • remote-controlled geta sandals
  • a detachable hand, also remote-controlled
  • a magic chanchanko vest which can protect its wearer from danger
  • spiny hairs which can be shot like arrows
  • another hair which can serve as an antenna for detecting spirit activity
  • a magical ocarina (usually used for calling Ittan Momen), which contains a baton, a whip and occasionally music which has the power to damage certain ghosts.
Medama-oyaji (目玉のおやじ, or 目玉親父, Medama-oyaji? Lit. "Eyeball Father")
Medama-oyaji is Kitaro's father. Once a fully-formed adult, he perished of a disease, only to be reborn out of his decayed body as an anthropomorphic version of his own eyeball. He looks small and fragile, but has a strong spirit and a great love for his son. He is also extremely knowledgeable about ghosts and monsters. He enjoys staying clean, and is often seen bathing in a small bowl.
Nezumi Otoko (ねずみ男, Nezumi Otoko? "Rat Man")
Nezumi Otoko is a rodent-like yōkai-human halfbreed. He has been alive for three hundred years, and in that time has almost never taken a bath, rendering him filthy, foul-smelling, and covered in welts and sores. While he is usually Kitaro's friend, Nezumi Otoko will waste no time cooking up vile schemes or betraying his companions if he thinks there's money to be had or a powerful enemy to side with. He claims to be a college graduate of the University of the Bizarre (怪奇大学, Kaiki Daigaku?).
Neko Musume (猫娘 or ねこ娘, Neko Musume? "Cat Girl")
A normally-quiet yōkai girl, who transforms into a frightening cat monster with fangs and feline eyes when she is angry or hungry for fish. Predictably, she does not get along well with Nezumi Otoko. She seems to harbor a slight crush on Kitaro, who sees her only as a friend. She bears some resemblance to the bakeneko of Japanese folklore.
Sunakake Babaa (砂かけ婆, Sunakake Babaa? "Sand-throwing hag")
Sunakake Babaa is an old yōkai woman who carries sand which she throws into the eyes of enemies to blind them. She serves as an advisor to Kitaro and his companions, and manages a yōkai apartment building. The original sunakake-baba is an invisible sand-throwing spirit from the folklore of Nara Prefecture.
Konaki Jijii (子泣き爺, Konaki Jijii? "Child-crying Old Man")
Konaki Jijii is a comic, absent-minded old yōkai man who attacks enemies by clinging to them and turning himself to stone, increasing his weight immensely and pinning them down. He and Sunakake Babaa often work as a team. The original konaki jijii is a ghost which is said to appear in the woods of Tokushima Prefecture in the form of a crying infant. When it is picked up by some hapless traveller, it increases its weight until it crushes him.
Ittan Momen (一反木綿, Ittan Momen? "Roll of Cotton")
Ittan Momen is a flying yōkai resembling a strip of white cloth. Kitaro and friends often ride on him when traveling. The original ittan-momen is a spirit from Kagoshima Prefecture myth which wraps itself around the faces of humans in an attempt to smother them.
Nurikabe (ぬりかべ, Nurikabe? "Plastered Wall")
Nurikabe is a large, sleepy-eyed wall-shaped yōkai, who uses his massive size to protect Kitaro and his friends. The original Nurikabe is a spirit which blocks the passage of people walking at night.

Media

Manga

The original manga version of GeGeGe-no-Kitaro appeared on Shōnen Magazine 1966-1970. The series continued on Shōnen Sunday, Shōnen Action, Shukan Jitsuwa and many other magazines.

In 2002 GeGeGe-no-Kitaro was translated by Ralph F. McCarthy and compiled by Natsuhiko Kyogoku for Kodansha Bilingual Comics. [1]

TV series

Gegege no Kitaro was broadcast on Fuji Television in five different iterations:

  1. 1968-1969
  2. 1971-1972
  3. 1985-1988
  4. 1996-1998
  5. 2007-????

All of the above were animated by Toei Animation.

Music

The opening theme to all five series is "Gegege no Kitaro". It has been sung by Kazuo Kumakura (1st, 2nd), Ikuzo Yoshi (3rd), Yūkadan (4th), and Shigeru Izumiya (5th).

In January of 2008, an all new anime (also produced by Toei) premiered on Fuji TV during the late night hours in the noitaminA block. This anime uses the original manga title (Hakaba Kitaro), and unlike the usual anime versions, it is closer to the original manga and is not part of the existing remake canon. It also features a completely different opening ("Mononoke Dance" by Denki Groove) and ending theme song ("Snow Tears" by Shōko Nakagawa). Toei's website for the series can be found here. [1]

Movies

  • July 21, 1968: Gegege no Kitarō (ゲゲゲの鬼太郎, Gegege no Kitarō?) (Retelling of Anime 1, Episodes 5~6)
  • July 12, 1980: Gegege no Kitarō: The All Seeing Eye (ゲゲゲの鬼太郎 地相眼,, Gegege no Kitarō Chisōme?) (Retelling of Anime 2, Episode 37)

Based on the 3rd Anime, the following have original plots:

  • December 21, 1985: Gegege no Kitarō
  • March 15, 1986: Gegege no Kitarō: The Great Yōkai War (ゲゲゲの鬼太郎 妖怪大戦争,, Gegege no Kitarō Yōkai Dai Sensō?)
  • July 12, 1986: Gegege no Kitarō: Strongest Yōkai Corps!Dismebark to Japan!! (ゲゲゲの鬼太郎 最強妖怪軍団! 日本上陸!!,, Gegege no Kitarō Saikyō Yōkai Gundan! Nihon Jōriku!!?)
  • December 20, 1986: Gegege no Kitarō: Crash!! The Great Rebellion of the Multi-Dimensional Yōkai (ゲゲゲの鬼太郎 激突!! 異次元妖怪の大反乱,, Gegege no Kitarō Gekitotsu!! Ijigen Yōkai no Dai Hanran?)

Based on the 4th Anime, the following have original plots:

  • July 6, 1996: Gegege no Kitarō: The Great Sea Beast (ゲゲゲの鬼太郎 大海獣,, Gegege no Kitarō Dai Kaijū?)
  • March 8, 1997: Gegege no Kitarō: The Obake Nighter (ゲゲゲの鬼太郎 お化けナイター, Gegege no Kitarō: The Obake Nighter?)
  • July 12, 1997: Gegege no Kitarō: Yōkai Express! The Phantom Train (ゲゲゲの鬼太郎 妖怪特急! まぼろしの汽車,, Gegege no Kitarō Yōkai Tokkyū! Maboroshi no Kisha?)

Video Games

Cast

1968~1969

Guests

1971~1972

Regular, Semi-Regular

Guest

1985~1988

Regular, Semi-Regular

Guest

1996~1998

Regular, Semi-Regular

Guest

2007

Regular

Guest

2003 PlayStation Game

2007 Movie (ゲゲゲの鬼太郎)

CG Character Voices

2008 Anime (Hakaba Kitaro)

Airing in Fuji TV's Noitamina slot, Hakaba Kitaro shares an art director and animation techniques with Mononoke, and adapts the original manga version.[2] This series also marks the return of Masako Nozawa and Chikao Ōtsuka to the roles of Kitaro and Nezumi-Otoko respectively for the first time since the 2nd "GeGeGe..." series.

2008 Movie (ゲゲゲの鬼太郎 2)

Cultural impact

  • Gegege no Kitaro is the mascot for the Gainare Tottori soccer club. Additionally, J.League Division 1 team F.C. Tokyo also holds "Gegege no Kitaro Day" every season.
  • In Episode 6 of the Japanese drama Hana-Kimi, the protagonist Ashiya Mizuki (Horikita Maki) is quoted as saying that Izumi Sano (Oguri Shun) looks like "Kitaro", due to the way Sano's hair is styled. Sano then said that Mizuki must be "Medama Oyaji", since Mizuki always has 'his' eye on Sano.
  • In the last chapter of the manga, Ikujinashi Shiawase (Happiness of a Cowardly Boy) by Naono Bohra, character Kawada is embarrassed to look at the face of his lover, Mori, after Mori gets a haircut. Kawada complains that with his new haircut, Mori's handsome face is "too exposed" and attracts too much attention from other people. He states that Kawada used to have hair like "GeGeGe Kitaro", and he preferred it that way since his face was half-hidden most of the time.
  • Shigeru Mizuki has issued a series of limited-edition woodblock prints entitled "Fifty-Three Stations of the Yokaido Road", re-interpreting the famous Hiroshige series "Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido Road" as "a haunted journey". Printed from Mizuki's original paintings, the "Yokaido Road" prints star Kitaro and his troupe, as well as many other yokai and weird creatures of folklore. Produced through the Japanese publisher Yanoman Corporation, in March 2008 the series went on display in the Information and Culture Center of the Japanese Embassy in Washington DC.

References

  1. ^ Akado retail, Kodansha International
  2. ^ ANN Hakaba Kitaro page
  3. ^ a b c 北乃きい:映画「ゲゲゲの鬼太郎」続編ヒロインに (Japanese). Mainichi Shinbun. Retrieved on 2008-01-21.

External links

v • d • eNoitaminaHoney and Clover • Paradise Kiss • Ayakashi • Jyu Oh Sei • Hataraki Man • Nodame Cantabile • Mononoke • Moyashimon • Hakaba Kitarō • Toshokan Sensō
Categories: Manga series | Anime series | Japanese films | Anime of the 1960s | Japanese mythology in anime and manga | Manga of the 1950s | Shōnen | Supernatural anime and manga

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