#He reminds me of that song. The Things I deserve. Y'know by Ghost?

[the-love-cult]

hiya doll .

weekly reminder that im never ever gonna ever be normal about tempus and that i wish him the best and i hope he getz to eat delicious . delicious shark gummiez and drink the highest quality sparkling water and that im sending loadz of kissez hiz way (⁠◍⁠•⁠ᴗ⁠•⁠◍⁠)

He gets plenty of gummy sharks and high quality sparkling water don't worry, All he needs to do is justify a reason to bury his parents and life will finally start looking up (Well..........) ANYWAYS YOU'RE THE ONE TO TALK? I love your version of these characters so much I've been meaning to stop by again and talk to you just know I think about High Voltage a lot more than I'd like to admit WHICH IS GOOD!! That means your story did something to the chemicals in my brain at least for what you've revealed SO FAR

[keikakudori]

❝ Happy birthday, Sousuke. ❞ Soft words.

Words which drifted along with the air like a whisper of the winds, a ghost speaking. And how that ghost seemed to seep into the edge of the man's vision at his right, draping himself languidly against a broad shoulder. Aizen sat alone, as he always did, and yet he wasn't alone. As always, he was suspended into a constant state of both, a simultaneous thing, a grieving thing -- the phantom of Ichimaru Gin, smiling that slanted, sly smile... it was softer, sadder now, whilst pale slender fingers walked themselves up along Aizen's left shoulder, absent-mindedly veering down to the center of his chest. Where that rested.

❝ I don't got a gift for ya, is that alright? I figured y'already got everythin' you ever wanted... a nice throne, some peaceful drownin' quiet, an immortal life 'n power far beyond aaaaannnnny Shinigami or Hollow, and that gapin' hole in yer chest. Give or take a few details... seems pretty close to whatcha were goin' for. ❞ Those white-cloaked shoulders shrugged, dismissive, a hollow gesture for something which was once done so playfully.

How he sighed, then, and closed those too-vibrant eyes. Too much blue, too much. So he closed them as though resigned. Remorseful, perhaps, or simply tired. Stretched too thin. Reflecting back the mournful song that resounded into Muken's every shadowed corner, into the abyss and beyond, from Aizen's very soul. A turn of that sharp chin, a brushing graze of lips to Aizen's cheek, and Gin lingered there akin to a caressing breeze. How lifelike, Kyoka Suigetsu's ability to have warm puffs of air from subtly parted lips tickle against Aizen's skin as though real. Hypnosis that specifically targeted its own wielder, cast upon himself to cope. How lovingly this illusion brewed itself into both the despairing self-hatred, personified, that Aizen carried within himself -- and the mournful love, that heart's yearning to take that winter's day back. To have him back, even as merely a waking dream.

❝ I suppose I'm spent, y'know? I gave ya so much for so long, I gave ya my childhood, I gave ya my dedication 'n time, I gave ya immortality 'n a higher power, and I gave ya my life. I couldn't give ya anythin' more even if I tried. So this'll do, right, Sousuke? Jus' me 'n you, in this dark place, together for eternity. How's that sound? ❞

he always remembers. is it gin's way of keeping track of the years, as if to remind him of how long it has been since he was placed down here in the dark? aizen stopped counting it long ago, but time holds no meaning in this place. it holds no meaning, nothing of that nature, even as he aches to wrap his arms around the man who lingers here with him. here, in this darkness, they remain sealed away from the world above. that is how it has been for a long while now and he does not remain focused upon the nature of the years. he does not remain focused on the darkness. his head turns and moves, seeking to touch his temple against those pale strands of hair as he listens to him speak. ❝ ... you did give me everything, ❞ he whispers, breathing in and out slowly. ❝ more than i ever deserved. more than i ever should have had, gin. ❞ here in the dark, gin remembers for him. what are birthdays anymore? does his viper count the years for him? does he count the days, the minutes? whatever the case, aizen knows only that he prefers to press his cheek against gin's hair, letting gin speak as he pleases. a waking dream was better than nothing at all, better than the void and the loneliness. small things, things he seeks to smooth over, the rough angles attended to with a care and gentleness. not entirely perfect, not wholly -- but held by memories. aizen's memory is a sharp thing, acute and capable of being in the nature of photographic. he has held these memories together, cradled in his own shivering hands. but oh, he does dearly need them, the memories. he needs -- much more. so he just turns towards gin, letting his eye come open to study his face, lips trembling faintly for a moment ❝ ... why do you keep tracking my birthdays? here, in this place ... ❞ there is a slow inhale before he was swallowing once more and then permitted his head to move towards gin's, trying to brush the tip of his nose through those pale strands of hair. ❝ ... i always appreciated your birthday wishes the most of all, though. even here. even like this -- i always appreciate it from you most of all, above anyone else. thank you, gin. ❞ thank you for always staying with me. no -- he could never let go of him. not here. not in the dark. they were both tired, weren't they? perhaps, perhaps they could sleep for a time together. perhaps they could rest. for what was a birthday now to him? what was a birthday to a man who had become immortal, thanks to the very actions of his own right hand? they could rest. here, in this unending darkness -- they could rest. and maybe, next year, whenever next year came ... gin could tell him that once more, for his birthday meant so little to him when he was left in here. how could he ever consider the birthday he'd once celebrated worth anything now? he knew, in las noches, in his own quarters, rested a calligraphy set. a gift that he had held close for years upon years, cherished and loved. perhaps one day, when he is left free to move as he pleased, he would go back and see if he could find it. because memory is all that he has to him now.

[ghostboybabies]

Just a Little Bratty || [JATP Agere/CGLRE Oneshot]

Julie Molina wasn't a bratty little. At least, that's what she'd say if you asked. But if you asked anyone else, everyone would tell you the same thing: She was simply a toddler who didn't like rules. Or cleaning up messes. Or bedtime. Or veggies. Luke Patterson was the only person in the world that could get her to behave. Just a few words in a certain tone and she knew that she was pushing it. Every time Julie refused to follow a rule, or threw her little temper tantrums, he was always the one left in responsible of dealing with it. But, she was still his princess. And he loved her.

A/N:I'm currently experimenting with writing the JATP characters as littles and caregivers, so I hope you guys like my first Little!Julie Molina fic. It's also *the* first Little!Julie Molina fic in existence, but y'know...

anyways, I hope y'all like this! Julie cries but I PROMISE that everything turns out fine in the end. Lmk what you think in the comments!

{Ao3 Link}

--

Everyone else was gone. It was just Julie and Luke.

Just how she liked it.

When everyone else was there, Julie felt like it was crowded, and being openly little felt so much harder. But Luke always made her feel safe and small,without making her feel uncomfortable in any way. Luke was almost perfect.

Except for one thing.

Rules.

He said that they were there to keep her happy and healthy, but following them wasn't very enjoyable. And there was just so many of them! There was bedtime, and 'no sweets before dinner', and even a rule against making messes and leaving them!

Crazy, right? Who likes cleaning up messes? Definitely not Julie.

This specific instance of rule breaking started with Arts and Crafts in the studio. Supplies were neatly organized on the coffee table, set out by Luke for Julie's entertainment. 'What'cha working on, Jules?" Luke looked over her shoulder, trying to see whatever she was creating. She sat up, allowing his to see her page. On it, was a doodle of a flower, which she was working on coloring in. "It's so cute, princess! I'm sure it'll look perfect on the fridge once it's done."

Age regression is something that Julie started doing after her mother passed away, recommended by Dr. Turner himself. So of course, Ray and Carlos knew about it. And they were completely okay with anything that helped her heal in a healthy way. So things like hanging up her coloring pages or carrying around a stuffed animal were pretty normal in the Molina house.

Though, Ray had been pretty freaked out to learn that Julie's caregiver was a ghost boy that had been living in his house for months. But that's a story for another time.

"Really?" Julie asked curiously, adjusting herself so that she was looking back (and up) at Luke. Luke nodded, smiling at her softly. Julie took the comment as praise, letting the pride and happiness bubble up in her chest as she returned to working on the childish artwork. She hummed songs as she decorated the page, switching out her markers for another color every here and there.

After a while, Julie capped a dark pink marker and set it with the others, picking up the paper and handing it to Luke. "Lukeee," she whined, pushing at the table it front of her. She had been sitting on the ground, so that she was at level with the coffee table. Luke sighed, putting the paper down on the couch next to him and holding out his hands above her.

She reached up, letting Luke pull her up from behind, laughing a bit as she came to stand on her feet. "Can I go play outside now?" she asked, twirling around so that she was facing him.

"Of course. You just have to help me clean up this-" Luke stopped talking once he saw Julie trying to run off to leave the studio. "Hey! Come back here." he shouted, causing her to stop in her tracks and face him. "You know the rules. I set up the craft stuff, and you help me put it away when you're done. You can't just leave this all here." Luke crossed his arms, giving her a look that said 'don't push this'.

"Yes I can," Julie tilted her head. "And I will. Bye bye!" she turned around quickly, making it almost all the way out of the door before Luke's voice sounded again.

"Julie."

Julie liked to pretend that Luke being strict with her didn't faze her in the slightest, but really, that tone of disappointment coming from Luke felt terrible. She turned around quickly, rocking on her feet again. She had a light pout on her face. In a soft, small, and childish voice she said..

"But I don't wanna clean! I wanna play."

"I know, kitten. But if we play and just leave everything out, then everything would become a mess!" Luke explained, making a motion that instructed Julie to come back over to him. She hesitantly did so, stopping on the other side of the coffee table. "And, cleaning won't take to long! Will you be a good girl for me and do this?" he spoke softly, giving her a hopeful look. Julie thought for a moment, debating her choices. Right now, Luke seemed a little upset with her. If she did this, maybe he'd be proud!

He had said that she'd be a "good girl" if she listened to him. But she didn't wanna!

"No!" she crossed her arms, stomping her foot harshly on the ground with a huff. Luke's eyes went wide. Even thought she did stuff like this often, he was never prepared for it in the moment.

"Julie, calm down. Come sit," he instructed, trying to prevent anything more then a little temper tantrum from happening. Maybe it was all the conflicting emotions, maybe it was just stubbornness, but Julie did not calm down.

"No, no, no!" she shouted, using her arm to swipe some of the art supplies off of the table, as if the bratty act would prove that she wouldn't take his orders. She didn't even know why she had gotten worked up so quickly, but she did know that what she just did was gonna land her in trouble. She stepped back, hugging herself and glancing nervously between the mess she just made and her caregivers shocked face.

She was ready to cry before he even said a word, feeling a familiar drop in her chest as the childish anger faded from her demeanor. The 'drop' was a mix of guilt and anxiety, pooling in her stomach. "Why did you do that?" Luke spoke up after a moment of shock, giving her a strict look, speaking in a confused, but obviously not-happy tone.

"Don't know." Julie looked down, avoiding his eyes.

Luke realized that yelling wasn't going to get him anywhere with the little, her emotions had changed quickly and he could tell that she felt bad enough at the moment. Yelling and being to harsh would only scare her. He took a deep breath, patting the spot next to him on the couch. Julie obeyed immediately, sitting close to Luke.

She wanted to reach out for comfort, but she didn't know if she deserved it. She knew that she was in trouble. She hadn't been a good girl. Only good girls got cuddles and praise from their caregivers, right?

"Baby, you know you can't do things like that. I understand that you don't like cleaning but throwing a fit and making a mess doesn't solve anything." he adjusted himself so that his whole body faces her, and she did the same thing to him, nervously looking up at him with glossy eyes.

"I know...m' sorry." her words were reduced to mumble as her eyes casted downwards. She blinked hard, tears running down her face.

She hated crying! Her face got sticky and uncomfortable, and she had all these icky emotions. She just wanted to play, and be a little girl for as long as she could. Why did she have to be sad?

"Why're you crying, princess? I'm sorry that I shouted at you, I shouldn't of done that," Luke apologized, cupping the side of her face and forcing her to look up. Julie sniffled.

"Don't be mad at me, please. m' sorry!" she repeated herself, choking on her her words and pulling her face away from his hand.

"I'm not mad at you, kitten. I never was, okay?"

Julie didn't reply in any way, only blinking blankly up at him. Luke sighed, continuing to speak in his soft voice. "I'm just trying to get you to listen to me, alright? I promise, I'm not upset."

Julie looked at him, trying to determine if he was lying, or hiding something. She decided to believe him when he opened his arms. She might have been hesitant to believe that she deserved the affection, but right now, she needed the comfort. She began to babble apologizes into his chest, cuddling close to him as her tears dried up. "I love you, princess. You know that, right?"

Luke didn't speak again until Julie pulled away from the hug, wiping at her eyes. Her tears had left wet spots on his shirt, but Luke didn't say anything. Julie nodded a bit. That reassurance, along with the hug, made her feel a lot better. "Love you too." she replied, trying to rub the stickiness off of her face.

Luke went quiet, trying to work out an internal conflict. Usually, when stuff like this happened, after comfort came the punishment. A short timeout usually did the trick in teaching Julie a lesson about whatever she had done. But she usually didn't break down as badly as she just did there. Luke had to remind himself that she was only apologizing because she thought he was mad at her, she probably didn't understand what she had done wrong. And, if he just let her get away with that, she might just go back and do it again. He knew what he should do, but he really didn't want to.

"I feel better now," Julie admitted, looking at Luke in a way she did a lot. With her innocent eyes, blinking up at him.

"What do you mean, sweetheart?"

"Felt bad. But now I feel better." She spoke as if her words explained everything, leaving Luke to remain confused. It didn't take him long to come to the conclusion that she must of felt guilty about the whole situation, and that he had helped her feel better. He smiled lightly, nodding a bit. Julie's facial expression dropped into a sad one once again. "Am I still in trouble?"

Luke hummed, hoping he wouldn't regret his next words. "Well, I can't just let you get away with this. How about you go sit on the loft steps for a few minutes, and when your punishment is over, you can help me clean all this up?" Luke motioned to the table, and the mess that still sat there. His statement wasn't really a question, but rather an instruction.

"B-but I don't want timeout!" Julie pouted, crossing her arms. Luke chuckled, rolling his eyes.

He was secretly glad to know that she was back to her usual bratty self. He preferred a bratty baby over a sad one, any day. "You know the rules, baby. Go sit." he instructed again.

She huffed, but she stood up and make her way over to the ladder. Instead of sitting on of of the steps facing away from Luke, like intended, she climbed up a bit and poked her legs through the other way carefully. She rested her head on her arms on the step closest to her head level, swinging her legs a bit (as she was off of the ground) and looking around. Luke didn't bother with telling her to face the other way, even though that was usually a requirement of a timeout.

Luke watched as Julie pulled many pouty faces. Not the guilty kind, the kind that were meant to convince him to end the punishment early. Maybe it worked, but that wasn't the point.

Luke could only handle the pouting for a few minutes, before giving in and telling her that her time was up. She got out of her position on the ladder as fast as she could without hurting herself, jumping up and running over to the side of the coffee table. "Can I go play now?" she asked, bouncing on her feet.

"No yet, darling. We still have a mess to clean up." Luke reminded, getting off of the couch and pulling a few colored totes from under the coffee table. Julie huffed, seemingly annoyed, but she complied. Luke had given up a while ago on getting her attitude in check. She was going to complain and pout and whine about everything, he only really cared if she actually ended up doing the thing.

While they picked everything up, Luke noticed that Julie was a little tense. She was also over exaggerating the 'I'm mad at you because you put me in timeout' thing, acting a lot more upset about it then she'd usually be. Almost like...

Almost like she was trying to mask another emotion. Like guilt.

It was possible that Julie still felt like Luke was mad at her after he punished her. Luke didn't know if he was correct in this conclusion, deciding to look into it farther before doing anything. He didn't really have to, though, because the evidence presented it itself.

When they were done, and Julie helped put the totes away, she looked at him hopefully. Like she was waiting for something that would help reassure her that she was okay. Luke realized what she was probably waiting for.

"Good job, princess. I'm proud of you." he smiled lightly, deciding to offer another hug. He opened his arms, and she filled them quickly. She seemed a lot less nervous, and tense. Like his simple words of praise had managed to wipe away any worry in her mind.

"Really?" She asked, just to be sure. Just to hear it again.

"Mhm. You did such a good job helping me, baby!" he swayed in place, squeezing her tight. She giggled, before speaking in a confused voice.

"But...I didn't listen?"

"I know, but you did eventually, right? You learned your lesson and everything is okay now. I promise," He spoke softly, kissing her head. Julie hummed, snuggling into his embrace.

Everything really did feel better when she was wrapped up in Luke's arms. Everything was okay again when the caring ghost held her close. Luke cared about her, and being reminded of that always made her day better.

Luke loved his princess, even if she was a little bit bratty.

--

A/N: Please leave feedback in the reblogs/replies/my askbox, whether that be something you liked, something that could be improved, or maybe even a request (I can't guarantee that I'll write it, but I'd still love to hear ideas!)! And please, if you write for JATP, maybe try/consider writing agere content! People seem to really like it but there's not much of it yet, and I really wanna see what people come up with!

Reblogs especially would be VERY appreciated, so that more people can discover this!

[tinytanpopo]

Now that Gegege no Kitaro 2018 is over, and I remember it's one of your favorite Gegege no Kitaro iteration, what's your overall and concluding thoughts about it? What are your favorite episodes of all 97 (or each season) episodes? The positive and negative? Characterization of Sawashiro Kitaro and the other Kitaro family (including Mana)? I would love to know your opinion of the sixth remake!

This is going to be a long answer. And full of spoilers, for those of you looking at this who haven’t watched the 2018 version of Kitaro. Here goes!

What are your favorite episodes of all 97?

I watched all 97 episodes 3 times over the course of its run. I started out watching on my own, then eventually my friend wanted to watch with me. But the crappy Crunchyroll subs got in the way of his enjoyment, so I polished them for him, and then we started watching together.

So for each episode, I’ve…

1.) Watched for my own enjoyment when the raw came out

2.) Fixed the subs

3.) Watched and enjoyed again with my best friend.

Before my friend and I started watching together, I also did a rewatch of the series up to the middle of the Backbeard arc, so, 3.3 times? And it only made me like each episode more, and notice more tiny fun details about it. Sawashiro actually smiles a lot, u guys

Anyways, here are my stand-out favorites. Titles may be self-translated or shortened, as I’m looking at the Japanese wikipedia entry for the episodes, and my opinions are mostly disorganized gushing:

1: The Day the Youkai Awoke. Kitaro, Eyeball Dad, and Mana are all very cutely introduced, as well as their dynamics with each other. Great action, ends with the apparent death of the hero. (I was new to Kitaro.) Got me to watch the next week, that’s for sure! Also, world full of weird freaky monsters, already suited to my tastes.

3: Tantanbo’s Youkai Castle. The episode that earned Sawashiro Kitaro his “Gorilla” nickname from the fandom. Also Mana asked to be friends and made Kitaro bashful and the whole latter half is so sweet. FRIENDSHIP

6: Sunekosuri. This is the first Kitaro episode that made me cry, like I really wasn’t expecting that kind of emotional impact. Another thing that kept me watching was that, even though Kitaro has its formulas (as does everything), I still didn’t know what to expect.

7: Ghost Train. Ah, my first experience with the Ghost Train story. Y'know this is the only one where the human passenger pair are both already dead? I’ve seen many other renditions of this story, but this one’s the darkest.

11-12: The 808 Tanuki arc. The whole Kitaro Family shows off their skills in a big cool battle, and Mana overcomes an intense struggle to save the day (with some credit to Murder Momen Rollo Cloth). As my friend often says, Mana is too good for this world.

13: Wanyuudo. Got some insight to Kitaro and Ratman’s odd, long-lasting friendship. When I first watched this, I didn’t really understand why they were still friends. But over the next 2 years, I would.

The meta reason? Ratman was Shigeru Mizuki’s favorite out of all his characters.

14: Makura-gaeshi. The second episode that made me cry. (not hard for a show to do that, but still) Also shot my already-present respect for Eyeball Dad through the roof.

I’m pretty sure this is the episode that changed GeGeGe no Kitaro from “one of the shows I watch once a week” to “I must find and learn about the rest of this franchise.” I’d looked up characters and little facts here and there on wikis, and occasionally browsed the Kitaro tag on Pixiv before this point, but this was the tipping point.

The door to the unseen world was open, and I jumped through.

18: Kawauso’s Lie. haha, Mana’s a city girl who’s scared of bugs

22: Gyuuki. Body horror, despair, and a really good Catgirl episode.

27-37: The Backbeard arc, or 6th Kitaro’s version of the “Great Youkai War” story. For a refreshing twist, the designated “Witch” isn’t evil in this retelling. In fact, Agnes quickly became one of my most favorite and relatable characters.

She definitely had a rocky start with the Japanese youkai, and watching her develop friendships with Mana and Kitaro was great to see, and even better on the rewatch. My friend likes Agnes a lot, too. Just assume I cried at the Mana/Agnes friendship stuff, I’m sure it happened on the rewatch, too.

Also Kitaro finally invites Mana into GeGeGe Forest! She fucking earned it!!

38: Kasha. I had already seen Reverse Mochi Murder 3 different times by this point, but it’s best whenever freaky ghost-eyeballs are involved.

Also Mana punched Kasha in the face. Well, Kitaro’s face.

39: bang. I lost it.

40: This is the darkest version of Sara-kozo! And I like it. His song was best put to use in the 4th Kitaro series, and even had a callback in one of my most favorite episodes of that series. The song, of course, is terribly catchy.

42: The Great Youkai Trial. Having seen the other versions of this story, I’m glad the writers made the 6th series version stand on its own, weaving it into the overarching Nanashi plot.

43: Odoro-Odoro. This isn’t the first Odoro-Odoro retelling where Kitaro’s efforts are thankless and reviled, but it is the one that shows it the most intensely.

47-49: Nanashi arc conclusion. Each Kitaro anime has its harsh and intense moments (even the relatively gentle 5th series), but 6th is the one that goes hard most consistently. Not just into darkness, but

50-51: complete and utter sweetness KITTENGIRL dgjklfhjlkHFDGKMBHKjl

54: Dorotabo. Sometimes, there is no “right” choice that can make everyone happy. Being a mediator can be hard, frustrating, and sometimes impossible. But despite all the stress, frustration, and repeating the same tragic scenarios, Kitaro keeps on trying.

Also, Kitaro totally carried that frog up to the roof of his house for company at the end of the episode.

56: Vampire Elite. The most sympathetic retelling of Johnny’s story. And a great Kitaro/Ratman friendship episode.

57: La Seine. He doesn’t have a top hat this time. A great retelling of Hand, and a Kitaro/Mana friendship episode. Two vampire episodes in a row, and it didn’t feel repetitive at all.

58: Kamaboko. 6th Kitaro’s crossdressing episode, with Sawashiro Kitaro at his most vindictive. Fun for all sorts of reasons. :3c

59: Ushiro-gami. Also known as the youkai cactus episode, somewhat of a series staple. This one had great horror vibes, and Mana overcoming her fear and risking her life to help Kitaro save the day. Never gets old! Mana’s the best.

62: Kitaro and Ratman fighting like children. Kitaro’s shocked face when Ratman steals his pork. Kitaro’s admiration for Ratman’s persistence to keep on living, and appreciation for yanking him back to reality during the end of Nanashi.

The Kitaro/Ratman friendship dynamic is eternal.

64: Suiko, the Water Tiger. If you find an old jar in a dirty hole somewhere? Don’t open it, don’t drink it, don’t let anyone force you to drink it. And if the jar starts talking, shove some dirt in it.

That town full of assholes totally deserved what they got, though.

66: The Grim Reaper and the Hidden Village. Well, in this context, “hidden village” is more like “Shangri-La,” which is what I changed it to in the fixed subs. The only other version of this I’ve seen is the one from the 2nd Kitaro anime. It’s a well-known trauma episode in the fandom.

In the 2nd anime, Kitaro got the trauma. In the 6th one, Mana did, and Kitaro already knew it was coming.

68: Hell Exile. Yet another one where I wasn’t sure if it’d end cynical or hopeful. One of the fresher takes on the Hell Exile story, too.

69: Ibukimaru. Nicely advances the Four Treasonous Generals arc, and has some interaction between Rei and Mana. Oh yeah, this arc introduced Rei Isurugi, an intense chuuni with Megaman demon powers. It’s neat to watch how Rei and Sawashiro Kitaro bounce off each other as individual characters.

70: Mysterious Footprints. Calls back to another one of 2nd Kitaro’s infamous trauma episodes, incidentally one of my favorites. This was great, but the 2nd anime had more intense face-melting.

72: Iyami. Mana Is Gay. That is all.

73: Yamata-no-Orochi. A great take on Kitaro’s Orochi story, now with more monkey’s paw shenanigans!

74-75: Conclusion of the Four Generals arc. Mana convinces Kitaro not to resign himself to shouldering the heaviest burden alone, as he so often does. Agnes and Adel make an appearance(yay!), and they team up with Mana and Catgirl to help save the day. Rei finally chills out, and gets a new mentor.

77: Neko-sennin. Nurarihyon startles the holy hell out of Kitaro, and further establishes how he’s going to operate this time around, connecting to his previous actions in episode 76.

Also, cats. Kitty Kitaro. Cats are my second-favorite animal, so I appreciate the many Kitaro stories involving cats.

78: Mouryou. This one gets retold in several of the other Kitaro series, with decent variation. This one has its own 6th Kitaro touch, with that fucked-up photographer, and an ending I was positive would be dark.

80: Onmoraki. I’d also consider this story a Kitaro staple, though Onmoraki was way tougher this time. Must have had something to do with Nobuyuki Hiyama. :B This is always the episode where Kitaro puts on his old painter costume, and proves he can’t think up fake names worth a damn. Gets me every time.

81: Hideri-gami the mangaka. I love comics, I translate comics, GeGeGe no Kitaro originated as a comic. This episode’s just a love letter to the medium. And seeing Kitaro genuinely enjoying Hiderin’s Totally Original Comic Do Not Steal was adorable.

83: Houkou. Some kind of disaster usually happens in this story. In the 4th anime version, Kitaro was burned to ashes. This one hit harder. Nobody won. No one was happy. We’re reminded of Dorotabo, and how Kitaro never “gets over” tragic situations like these, no matter how often they repeat. I think it’d be worse if he was desensitized, and gave up trying to make anything better.

84: Mr. Chin. The Japanese dialogue is full of puns involving the word chin and yeah I lost it. Sunday morning changes with the times, and they still get this guy in.

I died at “three rainbows” ghjghjk

89: Te-no-me’s Curse. Te-no-me is a youkai who either shows up in the youkai trial story, or has an episode for himself. Also, we finally get to see that Kitaro can just pop his hands on and off. Well, maybe not as casually as in the comics…

90: Sazae-oni. Normally you’re not “supposed” to do “it was all a dream” endings, but this is the first time they’ve done that with Sazae-oni, and the dream reveal means we just saw inside Sawashiro Kitaro’s mind. The fancy sushi restaurant exterior, the plain sweets shop, the body pillow how does he know about those?! Does he know why they look like that?!!

Kitaro seemed disappointed that he didn’t get to sing on stage. And Rei was in his dream-audience! An adorable episode.

93: The Phantom Train. Catgirl got Homuhomu’d. But KitaNeko is finally canon. This whole episode left the fandom reeling, as usual for 6th Kitaro. Best retelling of the Phantom Train story yet.

94: Hot Springs Trip. Mana carried Kitaro over 90 episodes ago, and Kitaro doing the same for Mana repays that favor, in a way.

Kitaro also admits he has Terminal Kitaro Face.

95-97: The end. I did not think they would poof Kitaro. That’s the deadest I’ve ever seen him, in any version. And the most broken, worse than a giant hate-baby crushing his dad. Kitaro giving Ratman his chashu pork made my heart explode, Mana’s sacrifice made the heart-pieces explode, and Mana reuniting with Kitaro 10 years later made my heart whole again.

Nurarihyon offing himself made sense, especially with this being his most dignified characterization in any version. Glad they let Shu-no-bon live, even if he was an actual hardass this time. Shu-no-bon’s usually a teddy bear in comparison to dual-wielding gatling guns

I’m sure the prime minister didn’t keep her position for much longer.

Episode 97’s subs left out most of Mana’s text to Catgirl at the end, so here it is:

“Cat-Sis! Here’s the pic Nebutori took for us on our recent trip! Also, I found a sweets shop near my workplace. Let’s ask Kitaro to go there with us!”

A very sweet ending, indeed.

The positive and negative?

I wish we’d gotten to see more of Agnes and Rei outside of their own arcs, and the conclusions of other arcs, though they clearly had their own lives to live and paths to take.

We didn’t get Akamata or Shisa or a bunch of other youkai I was hoping to see in the episodes. We didn’t get stories for Jami or Kamanari, both of who showed up as bit characters at the very end. But I can accept this, too, as writers and staff working within limits, and telling the story they wanted to tell as best as they could.

I’m glad they focused more on new stuff than old, though. Maybe they didn’t want to risk a repeat of 5th Kitaro’s non-ending, but they were ready to end the 6th anime with the Nanashi arc. Even with a 2nd year, though, the writers didn’t lose their focused storytelling, and ended the series in a way that left my heart full.

Characterization of Sawashiro Kitaro and the other Kitaro family (including Mana)?

Sawashiro Kitaro continues to be that weird youkai kid, that boy who lives in the woods. He’s chill and has a bunch of comic book youkai powers, a unique sort of superhero, while also not being a cop, thank goodness. Every Kitaro is a bit of a pessimist (except 3rd anime’s Toda Kitaro, I guess), but Sawashiro is especially so. This made his gradual development  even more fun to watch. The fact that he never could give up on that dream, not completely, made me appreciate that development even more.

Sawashiro cried the least out of all the Kitaros—twice, and it was only onscreen once. He kept everything in so much, it’s no wonder he imploded and went to Ultra Hell when the prime minister pot-shot him.

And, Sawashiro Kitaro is so pure and cares so much it hurts.

Eyeball Dad. Since Isamu Tanonaka passed away in 2010, the legendary Masako Nozawa (the original voice of Kitaro) took on voicing the role. Like Kitaro, Eye Dad’s characterization changes a bit with each anime, though not as much. Nozawa’s performance made Eye Dad feel more laid-back this time, I think, and more patient. In older series, he had more “Showa dad” tendencies. And we got to see him outside of eyeball or mummy form! 6th series spoiled us!

Ratman. He’s usually the same between every adaptation, save for the voice. Sometimes he’s nicer, sometimes he’s more of a bastard. But he’s always Kitaro’s friend. He may nasty, greedy, and cynical, but he’s usually right about how the world works, and his priorities are hard to disagree with entirely. He knows how to survive, even when treated like dirt for centuries. Ratman’s got a particular brand of wisdom, if you look past the ringworm.

Catgirl. In other versions, she looks like she’s in elementary or middle school, and 6th anime is the most mature she’s ever looked. This is also Catgirl at her most tsundere, but with zero “mean girl” tendencies. All it takes is Mana shooting pure admiration at Catgirl for them to become friends, and that’s cute. I always like Catgirl, and the 6th anime is no exception.

The Kitaro Family. Sandy’s mostly unchanged, except now she doesn’t own the Youkai Apartments, and can use modern technology to make a shitload of money. Old Crybaby is 100% the same, down to his old person banter with Sandy.

Rollo Cloth’s minor interest in finding a girlfriend got turned up to 11. He’d get a lecture from every previous Rollo.

Wally Wall has less vocabulary, no wife and kids, and they thankfully didn’t show his mouth this time. Still a good dude.

Mana Inuyama. The 3rd anime had Yumeko, but even if she wasn’t damseled as often as you’d expect from a typical 80s cartoon, it still happened a lot. In the 6th anime, Mana clearly has more agency from the get-go, and refuses to leave herself out of Kitaro’s business. She’s serious about being his friend, and never stops being serious about it, even when things worse than she could ever imagine happened.

All she has are good memories with Kitaro.

Like my friend said, she’s too good for this world.

What’s your overall and concluding thoughts about the 6th Kitaro anime?

What an emotional roller coaster. The writers pulled no punches with this, and very much managed to make “their own Kitaro” while still firmly being “Kitaro.” With the dark and cynical twists it sometimes took, I often didn’t know if there’s be a happy ending to an episode, or a bitter one. It’s a Sunday morning cartoon at its core, but very good at making the audience forget that.

6th Kitaro was my introduction to Kitaro as a whole, and I was hopelessly obsessed by episode 14. Well, because of episode 14, probably. I downloaded all the other Kitaro anime series, got into the comics (official ones by Mizuki, official ones not by Mizuki, and a shit-ton of doujin), and now my brain is just “kitarokitarokitaro” all the time.

I don’t think it’s going to stop anytime soon.