GeGeGe no Kitarō (ゲゲゲの鬼太郎), originally known as Kitarō of the Graveyard (墓場鬼太郎 Hakaba Kitarō ), is a manga series created in 1960 by ShigeruMizuki . It is best known for its popularization of the folklore creatures known as yōkai , aclass of spirit-monster towhich all of the maincharacters belong. This storywas anearly20th-century Japanese folk tale performed on kamishibai . It has been adapted forthe screen several times, as anime , live action and video games . The word "Ge GeGe" (ゲゲゲ) in the titleis a cackling noise in theJapanese language.
GeGeGe no Kitarō
Kitarō and his yōkai friends. ゲ ゲ ゲ の 鬼 太 郎 Genre
Comedy , [1] horror , [2] supernatural [3] Manga Written by ShigeruMizuki Published by Kodansha Demographic Shōnen Magazine Weekly Shōnen Magazine Originalrun 1960– 1969 Volumes 9 Anime television series 1st series Directedby Isao Takahata [ citation needed ] Written by Masaki Tsuji Music by TakuIzumi Studio Toei Animation Original network Fuji TV Originalrun January 3, 1968 – March 30, 1969 Episodes 65 ( List of episodes ) Anime television series 2nd series Directedby Isao Takahata [ citation needed ] Written by Masaki Tsuji Music by TakuIzumi Studio Toei Animation Original network Fuji TV Original run October 7, 1971– September 28, 1972 Episodes 45( List of episodes ) Anime television series 3rd series Directed by Osamu Kasai (1-108) Hiroki Shibata
(109-115) [4] Written by Junki Takegami Music by Masahiro Kawasaki Studio Toei Animation Original network Fuji TV Originalrun October 12, 1985– March 21, 1988 Episodes 115( List of episodes ) Anime television series 4th series Directed by
Daisuke Nishio [5] Written by Shun'ichi Yukimuro Music by Kaoru Wada Studio Toei Animation Original network Fuji TV Originalrun January 7, 1996 – March 29, 1998 Episodes 114( List of episodes ) Anime television series 5th series Directed by
Yukio Kaizawa [6] Written by KeiichiHasegawa Music by Katsumi Horii Studio Toei Animation Original network Fuji TV English network SEA
AnimaxAsia Original run April 1, 2007– March 29, 2009 Episodes 100( List of episodes ) Anime television series Kitarō of the Graveyard Directedby
Kimitoshi Chioki [7] Written by Yoshimi Narita Music by Kaoru Wada Studio Toei Animation Originalnetwork Fuji TV ( noitaminA ) Originalrun January 10, 2008– March 20, 2008 Episodes 11 Live- action film Directedby Katsuhide Motoki Produced by Chihiro Kameyama Written by Katsuhide Motoki Daisuke Habara Music by YūtaNakano Studio Shochiku Released April 28, 2007 Runtime 105minutes Live- action film Kitaro and the Millennium Curse Directedby Katsuhide Motoki Written by Mitsuhiko Sawamura Studio Shochiku Released July 12, 2008 Runtime 115minutes Anime film GeGeGe no Kitarō: Explosive Japan!! Directed by
Gō Koga [ citation
needed ] Written by Riku Sanjo Music by Seiji Yokoyama Studio Toei Animation Released December 13, 2008 Runtime 85minutes Anime television series 6th series Directedby Kōji Ogawa Written by Hiroshi Ōnogi Music by
-yaiba- [8]
Yasuharu Takanashi Studio Toei Animation Original network Fuji TV Originalrun April 1, 2018–
scheduled [9] Anime and Manga portal
Plot Edit
GeGeGe noKitarō focuses on theyoung Kitarō—the last survivor of the Ghost Tribe—and his adventures with otherghouls and strangecreatures of Japanese mythology. Along with: theremains of his father, Medama- Oyaji (amummified Ghost tribesman reincarnatedtoinhabit his old eyeball); Nezumi-Otoko (the rat-man); Neko-Musume (thecat-girl); and a host of other folkloric creatures, Kitarō strives tounite theworlds of humans and Yōkai.
Many storylines involve Kitarō facing off with myriad monsters from other countries, such as the Chinese vampire Yasha, theTransylvanian Dracula IV, and othersuch non-Japanese creations. In addition tothis, Kitarō also locks heads with various malevolent Yōkai who threaten the
balance between theJapanese creatures and humans. [10]
Some storylines make overt reference to traditional Japanese tales, most notably thefolk tale of Momotarō , in which theyoung hero defendsa Japanese territory from demons with the help of thenative animals. The Kitarō series TheGreat Yōkai War (Japanese: 妖怪大戦争, hepburn Yōkai Daisensō ) draws agreat deal of influence from this story, with Kitarō and his Yōkai friends driving a group of Western ghoulsaway from an
island. [11][12]
While thecharacter of Kitarō in GeGeGe noKitarō is a friendlyboy who genuinely wants thebest outcome forhumans and Yōkai alike, his earlier incarnation in Kitarō of the Graveyard portrayshimas amuch more darkly mischievouscharacter. His apparent lack of empathyfor humans combines with his general greed and desire for material wealth drives him toact in anunbecomingmanner towards thehuman characters— often deceptivelyleading them into nightmarish situations oreven to hell
itself. [13]
