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Kumakura&o=10616
Kazuo Kumakura&o=10616

GeGeGe no Kitaro

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 , 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.

Characters

Kitaro is a yōkai boy born in a cemetery, and aside from his mostly-decayed father, the last living member of the . 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. When questioned in the 2007 movie, Kitaro responds that he is a hundred and fifty years old.

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; it occasionally seems to act of its own accord, wrapping around enemies or aiding friends, even when Kitaro is not available to command it
* 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.
*the power of electrocution, usually employed when an enemy has pinned or restrained him and he can no longer kick or use other weapons
Medama-oyaji is Kitaro's father. Once a fully-formed adult ghost, 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. He has a great love for sake.

In the 2002 Kodansha International Bilingual Comics edition, he is referred to as Daddy Eyeball.

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 .

In the 2002 Kodansha International Bilingual Comics edition, he is referred to as Ratman.

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.

In the 2002 Kodansha International Bilingual Comics edition, she is referred to as Catchick.

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.

In the 2002 Kodansha International Bilingual Comics edition, she is referred to as The Sand Witch.

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.

In the 2002 Kodansha International Bilingual Comics edition, he is referred to as Old Man Crybaby.

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.

In the 2002 Kodansha International Bilingual Comics edition, he is referred to as Rollo Cloth.

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.

In the 2002 Kodansha International Bilingual Comics edition, he is referred to as Wally Wall.

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.

  • Volume 1 ISBN 4-7700-2827-X
  • Volume 2 ISBN 4-7700-2828-8
  • Volume 3 ISBN 4-7700-2829-6

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), Shigeru Izumiya and The 50 Kaitenz (ザ５０回転ズ）(5th).

In January 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 Shoko Nakagawa). Toei's website for the series can be found here.

Movies

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

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

Video Games

Cast

1968~1969

Regular, Semi-Regular

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 (ja: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. 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.

  • The exclamation "GeGeGe no Ge!" is used by ShogunGekomon in Episode 15 of Digimon Adventure 02.

  • 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.

  • In the Kamen Rider Den-O OVA spin off, Imagin Anime, Ryutaros refers to the show. When the other Tarōs attempt to sing the first part of the series' main theme, Deneb stopped them from getting sued from the mere mention of it by name.

References

External links

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia © 2001-2006 Wikipedia contributors (Disclaimer)
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Last updated on Saturday October 04, 2008 at 14:20:18 PDT (GMT -0700)
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