#Kitaro my son

[jazzy0clock]

Literally bouta rewatch this cuz EERGGGDJSB I LOVE THEMMM

[wool-string]

[hanapinkku]

Gegege no nazo brainrot (I also finished all of kitaro season 6)

[paperback-rascal]

"(...) you also reminded me of my son (...) I watched him grow up, one of my greatest hopes for him was that he finds a true friend. Take that as you will (...)" - Mister Mizuki to Ichirō and Mephisto III [Akuma-Kun 2023]

---

see other of my Gegege no Kitaro fanarts -> [HERE] <-

===

Gegege no Kitarou (c) Shigeru Mizuki/Kodansha/Toei Animation

AKUMA-KUN (c) Shigeru Mizuki/Kodansha/Shueisha/Toei Animation/NETFLIX

You can't convince me otherwise that mister Mizuki, who appears in 10th episode of Netflix's Akuma-Kun, is none other than Kitaro's adoptive father (at least the version of him from 2018!GGGNK anime + 2023!GGGNK movie)!

[gundramonsupremacy]

Mizuki's cameo in the new Akuma-kun

Akuma-kun is a manga series created by Shigeru Mizuki, about a child prodigy who appears every 10000 years and is always nicknamed Akuma-kun. He wants to create a world where all human beings can live happily and believes harnessing the power of demons is needed to achieve that goal.

In November 2023, a new Akuma-kun series was released worldwide through Netflix. In episode 10, Akuma-kun has a short meeting with a man named Mizuki. You can tell that this is supposed to be GeGeGe no Nazo's version of Mizuki from the scar on his face (a design choice that sets him apart from other Mizuki) and the comment about "my best friend's son" (Medama Oyaji and Mizuki has never been that close outside of GeGeGe no Nazo). You could also safely assume this is not meant to be Shigeru Mizuki because his design look nothing like the man.

So what to make of this? Honestly I'm not sure. Since this Akuma-kun series and GeGeGe no Nazo are both projects to celebrate Shigeru Mizuki's 100th birthday, maybe this is just a fun cameo, a little easter egg for people who have watched both. At the very least, we could assume this means Mizuki is still alive in the present day in the Kitaro verse too.

[anonymouslyel]

oh hell yeah im gonna start watching gegege no kitaro and related anime/media for my man mizuki even tho i saw a post that said he's barely in it. after watching the movie birth of kitaro mystery of gegege, i got to attached with mizuki and how he was so perfectly human how he's both selfish and selfless and how kind and loyal he is and how he's the father AND mother that stepped up for kitaro. i gotta know everything about him and his son.

[chocolatebassrecipe]

i went to watch birth of kitaro movie on friday not knowing anything about the series ever (aside from knowing what it is)

i wasn’t expecting anything. purely went in bc i like the artstyle but BOY i was faced with amount of emotions i couldn’t even lay out one by one. it had everything, beautifully told as it went on, and showed how disgusting humans can be.

i was so satisfied i could feel my mouth was hanging open in some scenes. how was it that fun!! and mizuki… he’s a character i wasn’t that interested in, but he was so well written and he felt really… human… i ended up loving him so much i want to see it all over again.

that being said, i’m gonna go see him again next week!! and my son kitaro😭(adopted him right away hehehe)

for now i’m watching the anime… ha… now that i’m older i get how cute kitaro is…. kid me would never understand the true moeness

[pheiral]

Let's talk about father of the year, Ryuga Tokisada.

It'll be inevitable to ramble about Mizuki and Gegero too because Tokisada are such a good foil to Kitaro's fathers. Beware of spoilers and personal interpretation just for my own conveniences

Ryuga's new year fortunes details what aspect of Mizuki and Gegero that each Ryuga family foil for

Tokisada's fortune: "We should believe in and entrust the next generation without being proud of our past efforts" (mtl)

- Unlike Gegero who sacrifice himself for his son and Mizuki who's not proud of his war experience. Tokisada is a selfish character with massive ego, as if his big portrait at the bottom of the well isn't enough sign...

Tokisada and Hinamatsuri

the cake Tokisada ate, Hishimochi (square one in the picture) is something to be eaten at March 3rd, but genazo is set on summer. He also arrange his corpse as the only Emperor (god) instead of properly arranged hina dolls.

This is festival that pray for daughter good health, but you know how he treat his daughters and he's only praying for his own health and longevity. His kingdom is for himself and no one else.

During the will reading, we can see Tokisada's portrait hung onto the dragon's body. This kind of dragon are often referred as godly being.

So many things are show how much this man think himself as god. Remember how to open the secret door, they need to stab the general statue's nostril, this geezer sure love to descreate traditions and it'll bite him.

Hinamatsuri arrangement need to be done perfectly or else it'll be bad luck for the daughter, but Tokisada's arrangement is suited for himself...in a way he got it coming for being so disrespectful.

💩

Now onto Tokisada's final scene in the movie because it contrast so well with Kitaro's fathers

Everyone probably recognize how these two scene have a lot of similarities.

Kitaro's trademark sound is karan koron that come from his Geta, making us hear the sound of the axe against the stairs and sound of Gegero's geta sent me chills and makes me very excited

Gegero first appearance in the village and Mizuki's climbing the stair..they climbed it for the sake of others and opening new path. Gegero meeting Mizuki changed his trajectory of life, Mizuki climbing the stairs helped yureizoku.

Some more differences i love:

- Color scheme fitting their respective theme colors

- Liquid that make them wet (rain for crybaby Gegero and blood for blood bank worker/ex soldier Mizuki)

- What they do after arriving at the destinations. Gegero who try to defuse the situation calmly and gently, offered to talk together, get ignored by humans anyway but saved by Mizuki vs Mizuki who come to chop some geezer, offered rewards and wealth by the geezer, he ignored the offer anyway with loud objection (which is also rejection to his future, the abominable path Mizuki might take if he continue with his current way of living)

- Both of them have the other see them as they walk up the stairs, what kind of feeling they have in respective scenes.

💩 back to Tokisada.

He too climb the stairs. No heavy distinct sound except his pathetic cry of help because this man ideal weight as much as the sound of his steps. He climb for himself after pissing his pant from fear (if gegero blue is tears, mizuki red is blood...tokisada yellow is piss lol).

We don't see him rise from below like Kitaro's fathers but instead from his back as he ran being chased, but his path is blocked by his own gigantic portrait. The one who see him only Kyokotsu who is out for revenge instead of the feeling of camaraderie that's evoked by Kitaro's fathers in shoots above.

Tokisada's dialogue as he arrive as his dead end is pleading for his life pathetically, which is of course ignored by the inhuman kyokotsu.

I love to think these shots all culminate onto Kitaro's birth as he dig himself out while bawling. As Mizuki heard the baby cry for help, he almost ignored it and then he heard sound of Gegero's geta...he finally help Kitaro just like when he helped Gegero.

Anyway..

About Tokisada final form, poop ball

The pearl clutched by dragon is called pearl of wisdom look so much like yellow ball Tokisada but it's just a mockery of the true pearl of wisdom.

Fun fact: during the will reading, Katsunori sit at the dragon's maw side while Tokimaro sit near the pearl side which can be seen as foreshadowing of him as next vessel for Tokisada.

Now back to yellow ball Tokisada, both him and Gegero lose their body. Tokisada last shown body part is his eyes, so you can't help but think of Medama Oyaji. Their difference make it much better

Tokisada forever trapped at the bottom of the well, spent 70 years to get that far at the movie beginning only to fall again. He's opposite of Gegero who only retain his eye and lose all his flesh. Tokisada is only compressed blended flesh, dunno if it's possible for him to even see anything in that state. They're both very round but Medama able to move around and feel the world despite everything, Tokisada can only roll and scream.

He scream but has no mouth, which is interesting to compare with the visual of forbidden island. The island seen together with it's reflection look like shut lips despite loud screams coming out of that island.

💩

Just a little thought, Mizuki and Gegero both wear something on their wrists

Gegero with his bracelet woven from ancestors spirit hair that signify everlasting time vs Mizuki with wristwatch that symbolize his limited time. That bracelet is his kin while Mizuki's watch is an object

Tokisada doesn't wear such thing, but he has his own "time piece" aka the name Toki- that mean time. He treated his family members like object. He want to be eternal but his entire fortune are now destroyed.

💩

Tokisada's lore can be seen as homage to Shigeru Mizuki older works which can be read from [3, rue des Mystères]

Collection of short stories. From what I can gather, these are the stories that's have similarities with genazo plot:

- 怪奇鮮血の目 a story about oldman who want to inherit all his riches to a young man. Only to exchange body with a young man, so the young man is left with his near death body.

- 墓を掘る男 man who dig skulls out of grave and fall to hell

- ???, a thief drink elixir of immortality with grave consequences that leave him unable to die even when his body get mutilated

[legofanguy]

OC-tober day 31 Halloween

A Urusei Yatsura fanfiction for @thepromptfoundry event OC-tober day 31 Celebrating Halloween featuring my Ataru and Lum fan son Kitaro.

Halloween has come and Kitaro Moroboshi and his classmates Tomoe, Dango, and Haruto are getting their classroom ready for the Halloween party with Kitaro floating to put the plastic bats on the ceiling, and he said to his three friends, "I kinda like Halloween, as people put on costumes and that make my unique horns that I got from my mother feel like a costume." Tomoe choose to scare the next person that come in and put on a ghost costume, which he scare the teacher when he come in and Tomoe knew that he is in trouble now.

[soratenshikei]

My son Kitaro

[okayto]

Mini-Review: Akuma Kun

Ichiro Umoregi is the second Akuma-kun – adopted by Shingo Umoregi as a little boy, Ichiro is meant to be carrying on his father's work of bringing about the utopic Millenium Kingdom. But Ichiro has a difficult relationship with his dad and despite the sometimes desperate attempts of his cousin Mephisto III, Ichiro just kind of trudges through life. But when a strange angel from his past appears, Ichiro is forced out of his torpor because sometimes the world really is worth preserving.

-or-

Akuma Kun, a boy raised by a demon, works with his half-human partner Mephisto III as paranormal investigators to solve various murder and mysteries.

Paranormal investigators? Right up my alley! This was pushed to me on Netflix and as per uzh I added it to my watchlist and ignored it for a while. I was definitely intrigued, but the art looked...odd. Not bad, but with some round heads and other features that put in in mind of styles popular before I was born, I figured I'd look into it another time.

Interesting art style, right? Not bad--let me be clear! But definitely distinct, and when I see something that appears to have roots several decades old, I often want to look it up and see what its backstory is, y'know?

Fast-forward a couple months later: I'm reading Anime News Network's best/worst end-of-year roundup, and Rebecca Silverman listed this anime as one of the top five "moments of the year," writing:

Shifting from Japanese folklore to Western religious lore, the story follows the second person to bear the title of Akuma-kun, the adopted son of the original. Shingo rescued Ichiro as a child, and he gives the impression of not being nearly as invested in his role as "Akuma-kun" as he perhaps ought to be. But as the series goes on, it becomes apparent that it's not that he doesn't care; it's that if he lets himself, he'll get lost in the role, and that means seeing the absolute worst that humans are capable of, over and over and over again.

Mentions of horror, investigation, supernatural, and a character who appears to be hiding under a gruff or apathetic exterior? Suddenly, it seemed like a good time to start watching. And then the moment I heard the main character's voice, absolutely marinading in calm apathy, I knew it was going to be good.

So, this is a new (2023) anime that apparently can act as a sequel to a 1989 anime of the same name, which was itself an adaptation of a 1960s-70s manga by the creator of Gegege no Kitaro, a classic series involving many yokai, and one which I've heard about but have thus far never managed to read or watch. The connection between the classic about Japanese ghouls/ghosts/creatures and Akuma-kun, which is more based (vaguely?) on Abrahamic mysticism, intrigued me.

The basis is this: every 10,000 years, a child, always called Akuma-kun, is born who will help usher in a period of peace between humans and demons. Our current Akuma-kun (whose non-prophecy name is Ichiro) is the adopted son of the previous one (Shingo, who starred in the 1989 series). He's assisted by his cousin-by-adoption, the half-human, half-demon Mephisto III.

Together, the two boys set up a supernatural detective/investigative agency, and that's when we get to see how good this series actually is.

Don't let the cartoony designs fool you, this stuff gets dark. While it's never particularly gory, there is blood, there is at least one off-screen-but-audible instance of ripping a heart out, etc. So as the viewer, we quickly realize that these kids are up against actual threats.

The cases cover things like demon possession, trying to use power beyond your control, and so forth. They're not mysteries the viewer can solve, but they're good at keeping you paying attention to learn the result, not drawing things out too long nor fixing everything too quickly.

The recurring characters are what makes or breaks it, however. Mephisto III takes everything seriously, understanding and worrying about what happens when normal humans come into contact with a demon. He looks like comic relief, and he can get a bit shouty, but at his core he's just a straightforward boy who wants to help people and is frustrated at his cousin's...lack of that.

Ichiro, the current Akuma-kun, is more of an enigma. He's clearly brilliant, book-smart with good recall and not particularly excitable. He also has absolutely no social graces and is frequently rude, not because he's mean or wants to be, but because he's incredibly blunt and, despite Mephisto's attempts to rein him in, has no concept of tact regarding delicate subjects and really doesn't care about learning. (And let's be real, that's a dream for many people in at least some situations.)

We know that Ichiro lived with demons for a while, and his relationship with his father, Shingo, the previous Akuma-kun, is strained despite Shingo appearing to be a perfectly nice and well-adjusted person. It takes the whole series to work out the details, which makes the ending feel like excellent payoff.

As the series goes on, it shows more and more of its worldbuilding, and it's just so intriguing. I want to know more about demons! And the demon world! And Ichiro's life with the pre-adoption! How'd he even get there? What is sexy ghoul Gremory's deal? She's so fun, can we get her history? What happens next?

Verdict

English dub? Yes! And like most dubs through Netflix, it's good. Everyone was excellently-cast; Mephisto's voice was exactly what I expected based on his performance, yet without being grating on the ears. And Ichiro/Akuma-kun's flat, unexcited voice was perfect. It would have been easy to take that voice and make it boring or monotone, but it's not: it does an excellent job from the moment you hear it conveying that this is a character who doesn't really get upset or display strong emotion, without making the character himself seem flat.

Visuals: Very nice! Not only is this a recent series, but I really liked the kinda-round, cartoony style. Like I mentioned above, as soon as I saw it I thought it originated in another time period, which it did, and there's something about older art style that appeals to me; maybe it's just a weird combination of nostalgia for things I did experience as a kid (the way Ichiro's mouth is drawn slightly droopy, is reminiscent of a lot of older American cartoons I watched) and a really strange nostalgia for anime I've never watched but which floated around when I was first entering fandom, names and pictures of things I'd never heard of, but which everyone older than me sure seemed to.

Worth watching? Yes, as long as you have a tolerance for paranormal murder investigations where people sometimes die and/or there's some blood splatters. I think it's really interesting, particularly because this kind of supernatural topic doesn't come up in anime a lot. The two minor downsides to it are:

It gives you enough information to understand, but there are probably some references or other context missed because of its connection to the 1989 Akuma-kun. Don't get me wrong, it's understandable and enjoyable regardless! But I did read the non-spoilery series review on Anime News Network before I watched, and I think having that context going in specifically understanding that Shingo was the previous Akuma-kun (and ran around with Mephisto's dad, who now cheerfully supports his son) was helpful context.

Netflix for some reason calls it Akuma Kun. Trying to recall, I think this is the only Japanese honorific used in the English dub, so I assume this was a stylistic choice to allow them to keep the same name/title as Japanese. But to people who have some familiarity with honorifics, it's weird to see it written like Kun is a second name, like "Mary Ann."

Where to watch (USA, as of February 2024): Netflix

Click my “reviews” tag below or search “mini review” on my blog to find more!

[lets-reblog-stuff]

to be honest, I wouldn't really classify all the implied mentions to be 100% about Mizuki. I think the creators were vague on purpose in case they created another 2018-exclusive character for an flashback arc or something.

All those "something like a promise", "that's my purpose" and "repaying my debt" sounds... too dramatic for Kitaro just being grateful Mizuki took care of him for several years when he was a child. If it was just about their father-son relationship Kitaro wouldn't be so adamant in his belief that Yokai and humans shouldn't intermingle because he would have a more positive outlook on human-yokai comradeship.

In my opinion 2018!Kitaro is not really just reserved, he is emotionally withdrawn. I don't know if there was ever a version of Kitaro so emotionally constipated as 2018!Kitaro. So definitely a MAJOR plot point had to happen which not only made Kitaro so emotionally stunned but also to draw a conclusion of even being indebted to Mizuki so deeply he had to become Yokai-human negotiator.

interested in the new kitaro movie and want to learn about mizuki as a character? i've created a list of episodes from the 2018 series that have some sort of reference to mizuki.

i'll be honest and say upfront: mizuki's presence in the 2018 series is pretty minimal. even direct mentions are, like— a singular frame / a couple lines of dialogue at most. even still, this is definitely the most loving version of the adoptive father-son relationship between mizuki and kitaro. it's very clear that mizuki was very important to kitaro, even if we don't know exactly what kitaro's childhood was like. it's not entirely clear what happens to mizuki, either. but that's the fun of speculation!

now, the 2018 series is not the only kitaro adaptation that features mizuki. while the new movie is specifically about 2018 mizuki, hakaba kitaro's mizuki is more accurate to the original manga canon, and that series you can just watch start to finish— it's only 11 episodes! it's much darker than the 2018 series, but i highly recommend it.

[somnisnake]

Apologies for my bathroom but!! I have a man!!!!!

[tinytanpopo]

GeGeGe no Kitaro (1985), Episodes 067-068, English-subbed!

Hey, cryptid-lovers. It’s Halloween Month, so here’s a pair of episodes making up the 1985 retelling of the classic Kitaro tale, Daikaijuu/The Great Sea Beast.

Episode 067: Great Sea Beast In the Deep Jungle [softsub] [hardsub] [DailyMotion]

Episode 068: Revenge of the Great Sea Beast [softsub] [hardsub] [DailyMotion]

Fonts for softsubs

I’m prioritizing my favorite Kitaro episodes for subbing, but I’ll eventually get to all of them. Luckily, most can be viewed in any order, with some exceptions. Be on the lookout for more...it could be any episode from the first five series. ;) Updated subs with more download/viewing options are also coming.

Timing, subbing, and translation were all done by me. Consider cramming some dollars in my Ko-Fi if you’d like to support my work.

[paperback-rascal]

see other of my Gegege no Kitaro fanarts -> [HERE] <-

---

I have a headcanon-y theory which won't leave my brain alone, so I'm gonna share it... under the cut/read more!

With each new anime, Kitaro looks more and more like he could easier blend in with the crowd - especially in the 2018 series.

2018 anime (and 2023 Akuma-kun's cameo) heavily implies that Kitaro and Mizuki had the strongest father-son bond in comparison to previous iterations of their relationship in the franchise.

So what if, since Mizuki treatment of Kitaro was much warmer in 2018 version, the yokai boy... just looks better because of how much the man was involved in his early life?

Imagine Mizuki going to endless dentist appointments with his adoptive son to get Kitaro's teeth fixed early on (and fixing one's teeth can correct the whole jaw, so by extension change the shape of the face), go to various doctors to correct his posture or combing his hair sideways to cover Kitaro's missing eye so people wouldn't get spooked by just by glancing at him (I wonder if there were every talks about getting him a glass eye?).

Also... When Kitaro was a child the chanchanko vest was definitely his comfort object/blanket. Mizuki didn't know where it came from, but if that got the kid to the dentist office without a fuss, he won't question it.

===

Gegege no Kitaro (c) Shigeru Mizuki/Kodansha/Toei Animation

[farvann]

Yea i could work on my film OR i could draw my film character interacting with Kitaro