#genazo sayo

[shellkki2]

[ghoooooooooooooooost]

ゲッ！

all my gegege art from this year..... yayay

<itchio link>

[crescentmoonrider]

Hands

"He did not know who she was, would not remember her face once he woke up. Even now, trapped inside of memories he didn’t own anymore, he barely recognized her features. Her hands though, he knew as intimately as the shrapnel they had pulled from his shoulder. Soft and delicate, perfectly manicured, closed tight around Mizuki’s neck with a strength that wasn’t human anymore." For the prompt : Strangling [ @badthingshappenbingo ]

read on AO3

or under the Read More, I'm not your boss

.

Her hands were soft, delicate, obviously unused to manual labour. Nails perfectly manicured, with a subtle, transparent polish. She wanted to be pretty, wanted to be the little lady she was expected to be, play that role to perfection, find what little happiness in it that she could.

Oh, those were such small hands, so unsuited for the gruesome task her accursed fate had pushed her towards.

What a precious child. A little treasure, dressed in beautiful silks, shining eyes so full of deserved rage at her world.

At Mizuki.

He did not know who she was, would not remember her face once he woke up. Even now, trapped inside of memories he didn’t own anymore, he barely recognized her features.

Her hands though, he knew as intimately as the shrapnel they had pulled from his shoulder. Soft and delicate, perfectly manicured, closed tight around Mizuki’s neck with a strength that wasn’t human anymore. He couldn’t feel the ground under his feet, so strong she was, so high she held him up in all her broken hopes and rage.

She hated this world she was born into, and it deserved all the fire and blood she brought onto it.

She hated Mizuki, too, in those last moments. He deserved it.

He deserved so much more still.

She deserved so much more, deserved the world, deserved a place to live that wouldn’t dull her shine, wouldn’t taint her hands and soul in blood far too much like her own.

Ah, Mizuki’s hands were so cold now, so numb. Blood pulsed loudly inside his ears, his skull, his face warm and his throat so sore already.

Her eyes were starting to blur in front of him, melting into such a beautiful ember, highlighted by the fire around them. Mizuki couldn’t make out her face anymore. He knew she was crying anyway, even as her sobs were drowned out by the gurgles and the screams and the crackling fire.

Drowned out by the thumping in Mizuki’s head. The high-pitched noise that could only be heard from the inside of his brain, emerging from his windpipe and into his bones, into his ears, the blood flowing inside of him sounding like the stream he had spent an evening at, listening to truths that sounded so much like the tales of his grandmother, just as much as he listened to the rippling of water against the bedrock.

Who was it that told him these, again ?

Just as the pain of her hands, of her rage, of his sins, was starting to fade, replaced by sweet oblivion and the end of his self, she dropped him.

Mizuki’s lungs burned as he came to at S̶̛͍̺̘̳̜̠̙̟̤̝͆̓̄̒̕͜ä̷̮̟̳̗̩̑̆͊̽̀̀̚͝ÿ̴̡̙͙̯́͐̄̈ö̷̧̯́̐̇̋̍̎̄̍́̂’s screams of agony – no, as he wakes up to Kitarou’s wailing.

He coughs. Feels his knuckles creak as he unwinds them from his own throat. Feels the fire inside his lungs strengthen as air starts to fill them again.

They’re not the right hands, he thinks. Too rough, too big.

He wonders for an instant why this thought would ever come to mind. But Kitarou is crying and it doesn’t matter what Mizuki thinks of his own hands or his own life, not when he has a child to care for.

He will need to wear a scarf to work again today.

[ggolmu]

genazo doodles

[karan-koron]

Genazo cheat sheet: Blink and you'll miss it edition

Another post where I try to list interesting details and tidbits about the movie, easter eggs, and such. I will try to follow the movie chronologically, but there might be some back-and-forth. Of course, this will include spoilers. If you're interested about Gegege no Nazo trivia and context, I wrote two more posts on the subject, here and here.

This movie is packed with little details that gives it insane rewatch value (I went to the theaters too many times...), either as references, easter eggs, or small touches that give not only historical accuracy, but also breathe more life into the characters and the world they inhabit. Let's go for another deep dive under the cut!

- Opening scene, present time

Yamada

His name and appearance evokes Salaryman Yamada, a character part of Mizuki Shigeru's star system. I won't go through all of them, but multiple characters in Genazo are part of that star system, like the section chief and the president of the blood bank, some of Osada's henchmen, etc. (here a star system refers to the use of a rotating cast of characters put into different roles through different stories but retaining key characteristics, either in design, personality, etc. Tezuka Osamu is known for this practice as well.) But specifically, Yamada reminds me of Joho-ya, "The informant", or "Hunter" (in Inka-subs), from Akuma-kun!

Ruins of Nagura village

As Kitaro's group and Yamada go through the village, you'll notice obvious items that played a part in the movie : the Sengoku-era armor, the hospital beds, Tokisada's ball form, etc. In the shot where Medama Oyaji says "The time has finally come, 70 years later...", Katsunori's car is in the foreground. Yamada stumbles upon the armor which I already mentioned, and is fairly obvious, but please notice the skull on the helmet: its left eye is worn-out! He then gets jump-scared by an Ichimatsu doll, which seems to have belonged to the little girl coughing in the train Mizuki and Gegero rode to Nagura village. Interestingly, though the patterns on the fabric are different, she shares the color of her kimono with Sayo, and both wear a bow in their hair. Finally, when Yamada points his flashlight at a window, a ghost appears for a frame or two, wearing a headdress making it looks like someone working for the Ryuga family. Which brings us to our next point... !

Hidden yokai and ghosts.

Mizuki Shigeru's daughter, Mizuki Etsuko, wrote the lyrics for Gegege no Kitaro 6th series' 3rd ending theme : "Mienkeredomo orundayo", "You can't see them, but they are here".

And indeed, if you look closely, or if you close one eye, you'll find that yokai have been present in the story way before Gegero made Mizuki notice them. Frankly, I don't know if I found them all, and what I can show you is mostly thanks to the joint effort of movie-goers who shared their findings online, but here are those I could spot and screenshot! (if you found more, Pleaaaaaase!!! Let me know!)

First, the ghost lady in the opening scene.

Mizuki casting two shadows in the blood bank office.

The tengu-like face appearing on a tree trunk as Mizuki enters Nagura village.

Kashabo, sitting on a tile as Mizuki enters Ryuga mansion grounds.

Probably Ikkenya no Yoju's paw, whom will appear again later in the movie, when Nezumi comes to give the diary to Mizuki in the storehouse.

The night after Tokimaro was appointed new family patriarch, Yuurei akago appear on the shelf in the back. (and these are actually pretty easy to spot, if you aren't so focused on Mizuki's cleavage. Yes. I know. Don't hide it.)

A soldier's helmet appearing next to Mizuki and disappearing a few frames after.

I read about more findings on social media, but it's all I collected myself for now!

Showa 31, Tokyo.

Or 1956.

Trash in the water, a cramped, shabby strict in the foreground, the blood bank, and in the background, factories releasing smoke. Far from the Tokyo that Tokiya and Sayo imagined, right?

As I mentioned in another post, the people waiting in the stairs came to sell their blood, and most of them probably do this for a living.

The celestial eye goldfish, or Choutengan, heavily bred in Japan and popular in art, are only found in captivity. They lack a dorsal fin, have limited vision, and can only be kept in aquarium on their own.

Train to Nagura Village

"...Tokisada is the man behind that success story." A script note I should have included in the previous post but I forgot, oops. Mizuki calls Tokisada "立志伝中", risshidenchu, conveying the idea that he is someone who worked harder than everyone in order to achieve great success.

Mizuki smokes "Peace" brand cigarettes. Its name was chosen with hope for the future after the war.

It seems Mizuki brought only one pack of cigarettes with him, as a pack of "Peace" contains 10 cigarettes, and he is seen smoking 10 times throughout the movie. The first time is in this scene, inside the train.

Tobacco's price in Japan has historically been exceptionally low, and at the time period Genazo takes place in a consequent percentage of people smoked - with a lack of awareness for safety, especially in closed spaces and around children, which was sadly not exclusive to Japan. Notice the girl holding the Ichimatsu doll and coughing : one of Osada's henchmen is sitting across from her, looking in her direction. Later in the movie, inside the underground factory, a smaller patient is on one of the hospital beds coughing, as a concerned patient turns to look at them. The doll is seen thrown in the trash, and of course, found again by Yamada in present time.

"Many people are following behind you." The silhouettes behind Mizuki are similar to the Japanese military uniform seen in his war flashbacks. So it's his war companions following him, and not the ghosts of enemies.

(a lot of points from the taxi drive to Mizuki's arrival in Naguramura I feel I already covered in other posts, so let's jump ahead a little bit.)

Reading Tokisada's will

Staff has cited The Inugami Family, movie adaptation of the novel The Inugami Curse as an inspiration for Gegege no Nazo. It's at the most explicit in this scene.

Tokimaro wears a sokutai outfit associated with noblemen of the Heian period. He also has teeth painted black, a practice called ohaguro, popular again between the Heian and Edo periods, mostly for cosmetic purpose ; and white makeup. Mizuki mentions how Tokimaro hasn't made public appearances in a long time due to poor health. Is the makeup for concealing his health...? In a previous post I mentioned how Toshiko, Hinoe and Otome share a motif reminiscent of the "inoshikachou" (boar, deer, butterfly) card combo in Hanafuda. Tokimaro's design is reminiscent of the Ono-no-Michikaze Hanafuda card.

Tokimaro mentions not being allowed to take a wife, surely not to dilute Tokisada's blood.

A maid places a zabuton cushion for Mizuki to sit on, just like everyone else in the room. However, during the entire scene, Mizuki keeps kneeling with his head low : Otome is already not pleased by his presence, but on top of that the maid placed the zabuton between two tatami. Tatami's edges are covered with cloth, and the fancier ones are embroidered with the family's emblem ; it would be considered rude to step and sit on it. He was also never invited to sit by any of the Ryuga, so he remains kneeling next to the zabuton.

Tokimaro's death, Gegero's arrival

"I really hate conflict, you know. How about it? Why don't we all take a bath together and relax ?" Kitaro's father's love for baths is well known as Medama Oyaji. In the Birth of Kitaro manga, he also mentions how the Ghost Tribe are peaceful people.

It's a rainy morning, and when Osada's men attempt to behead Gegero, Mizuki rushes outside shouting to stop them. He's only wearing socks in that scene, which is why he goes barefoot in the next scene when he's in the room where Gegero is locked in.

"This person has brought calamity upon the village..." In the shot where Osada says this line, he's drawn wearing a ring. I'm not sure if it's intentional or an animation mistake, but I think it's the only scene he's seen wearing it.

Night after the murder

Otome feels weak, and Osada doesn't just catch her as she falls, he tightens the embrace as if comforting her in a hug. In the following scene, it seems Hinoe got money from Otome, who is drinking red wine.

In the jail cell room, Mizuki is eating a classic meal of white rice, grilled fish, miso soup, and takuan (yellow pickled daikon radish). Gegero is eating a much lighter meal of brown rice and takuan sliced so thin it's see-through... In the previous scene where Osada, Otome and Hinoe are talking, Osada mentions that the room with the jail cell is in his quarters, which is why Tokiya was able to come in. Mizuki was also given a different yukata than when he was sleeping in the annex room of the Ryuga.

Gegero tells Mizuki that "Some people are not worth engaging in conversation." Indeed, he tried to warn Mizuki in the train that hell was awaiting him, but he didn't listen and came to Nagura Village anyways...

Asking Katsunori to let Gegero out

On the way, Mizuki passes by an old lady wearing a headdress and rubber gloves.

She's probably coming from or going to the underground factory where M is produced, and is also likely the ghost Yamada caught in his flashlight at the very beginning of the movie.

Hinoe is seen drinking alcohol as she peeks at Sayo and Mizuki from the window. In the room is a man in a futon, and a suitcase full of jewellery. The day before, in the scene where Otome, Osada and Hinoe were together, Hinoe was counting money she probably got from Otome, promising she wouldn't waste any of it. It seems she spent it in jewellery from the man in the futon, who is probably an outsider.

Hinoe is watching the scene from this balcony, and you can see two sets of tire tracks : the ones going straight is from Katsunori's car who just passed by. So the ones turning are probably from Hinoe's visitor, the jewellery seller, coming from outside the village. Had Mizuki paid a little bit more attention, he would have realized that Otome lied about the landslide at this point...!

In a previous post I talked about Tokimaro and Katsunori's placement in the succession scene, Katsunori sitting in front of a dragon, placed inside its maw.

This time, behind him are displays of his vanity : a replica of the "King" (osho) shogi piece, and peacock feathers matching the color of his cravat. He's drinking Grand Old Parr Scotch whiskey, contrasting with Otome drinking red wine a few scenes earlier.

First time on the forbidden island

In front of the well, "呪" (kashiri) "Curse" is written on the torii gate.

(lots of important things happening that I already covered in older posts, so let's flash forward again)

Back at Osada's house jail cell

Gegero is eating zaru soba. They are cold buckwheat noodles that you dip in tsuyu sauce before slurping. It's a great dish to have during the hot Japanese summer! There are two ozen (low dining table/trays) in front of him, one with the soba, and the other with an empty spoon and bowl. It seems that this time, Mizuki shared his dinner with Gegero.

Discussing next plans

"And as long as [the Kyokotsu] doesn't have a vessel in the village." Here, Gegero specifically uses the word yorishiro which I chose to replace with "vessel", but yorishiro is a word specific to shintoism. It refers to an item or body that can attract and host a kami (deity). You may have seen before shimenawa ropes tied around rocks or trees - they signify that a kami resides inside, making those yorishiro. It's possible that at this point in the story, Gegero might have already figured out Sayo.

After finishing his popsicle, Mizuki flips the stick and looks at it, then seems a little bit disappointed. Some popsicles have written on their stick either hazure (lose) or atari (win), on the end which is visible only after finishing the popsicle - had Mizuki gotten a win, he could have had another popsicle for free! Aww...

Sayo and Mizuki on the balcony

Sayo wears a fashionable, western dress. She may have gotten it from outside the village, possibly from Katsunori. From this point, she starts calling Mizuki "Mizuki-san" instead of "Mizuki-sama", closing the gap between them.

Moonlit talk in the graveyard

Throughout the movie, you can see many electric poles, but in this night scene, no lights are on at night except from Tsurubebi :

It's possible that most of the electricity is used in the underground factory.

"I saw it in the south..." When Mizuki mentions the south, he means Rabaul, New Guinea.

After lighting his cigarette with Tsurubebi, Mizuki notices he took his last one (the tenth) and crumple the empty cigarette pack in his pocket. It's why he shares it with Gegero instead of giving him a new one ; an interesting twist of fate right when Mizuki asks himself if he will have his own fateful encounter one day.

Gegero and his wife enjoyed "cream soda", which I left as is in the subs, but I realize that these are actually called soda floats in English, oops. Melon soda floats are heavily associated with the Showa era ; go to any vintage store, museum gift shop, etc and you'll find amongst retro goods something melon cream soda themed. (Pancakes and "pudding a la mode" are desserts with a similar iconic retro vibe) Cherries are also a known favourite of Medama Oyaji!

Their date spot is in Asakusa, Tokyo. You can see Sumida river in the background, with what I wrongly assumed to be Ryogoku bridge at first, but is actually Kototoi bridge. Starting from there you can find the exact spot : The rooftop amusement park "Sportsland", opened in 1931 in the Matsuya mall building. The mall remains nowadays, but not the park, sadly.

Picture source

flash forward to...

After Gegero's capture

In front of the shrine, when Otome reveals the role of women within the Ryuga family, Osada's shoulders slump, pained by the thought.

Inside the underground factory, you can see the same headdress and rubber gloves wearing old lady, grinning while at work.

As I stated earlier, we meet the coughing little girl from the train again here.

Sayo asks Mizuki, "Are you going to help that person from the Ghost tribe?" even though she has never met Gegero on screen - Either she was spying on Mizuki and Gegero, or she figured it out after reading Tokimaro's diary. "If I run away now, this guy will laugh at me." Mizuki says. Indeed, Gegero accepted to work with Mizuki on one condition : "Whatever you see, do not run away."

Bloodbath

Sayo's Kyokotsu releases more smaller Kyokotsu from its rounded stomach, as if giving birth.

During the bloodbath, one of the Urakido is not killed by Kyokotsu, but by one of his fellow man who accidentally slashed his throat while swinging his sword.

When Otome calls Osada for help, he shouts the usual okusan, "Madam!", followed by her name, "Otome!" in despair.

The anger Sayo feels for Mizuki is different than the grudge she bears towards the Ryuga and the villagers ; she chooses to strangle him with her own hands rather than through Kyokotsu. When Gegero said that he felt pity for Mizuki, Mizuki similarly went for Gegero's throat.

The bottom of the well

"By now, [Tokiya] must be bullied in hell in my place." "今頃 余に代わって 地獄で 獄卒どもに いじめられとるだろう" ima goro yo ni kawatte, jigoku de gokusotsudomo ni ijimeraretoru daro Literally, "by now, he must be bullied by the Gokusotsu in hell in my place." Gokusotsu are the guardians of Hell - they are seen in Gegege no Kitaro anime, working for Enma Daio. It's wrong of me to have omitted them in the subs, but I didn't know how to phrase it with proper length and timing. I'm sorry.

Mizuki climbing the stairs dragging the axe behind him mirrors Gegero's arrival in Nagura Village - the sound of the axe hitting the ground replacing the karan koron of Gegero's geta sandals.

Gegero places the chanchanko for protection on Mizuki's shoulders, but later Mizuki put it on Gegero's wife instead - Mizuki didn't hear Gegero says his "my friend, the future in which you live is something I wanted to see with my own eyes" line after all. At this point, Mizuki has nothing left to lose or look for himself, as highlighted in the shot where Gegero and his wife reunite, and Mizuki is lying as if dead on the foreground while Tokisada speaks of the bright future of Japan. He is ready to pay the price for his actions, even if it costs him his life.

When Gegero removes the seal on the pile of skulls, it's lodged in a skull's left eye socket.

Present time

Yamada promises that whatever happened in this village, he will "definitely write it down and pass it on." His article was printed in the pamphlet sold at the time of the movie's theatrical run.

Ok... phew! I think that's enough for now. If you've read this far...congratulations!! Unfortunately I may still have things to say in the future, but that post is way too long already. Thank you for reading! I hope this helped you notice a few things. Enjoy the movie!

[awesome-cookies-and-cream]

hi there, went anon because i mostly lurk in fandom and also love reading your kyuushi's fics, nice to meet you ^^. Thank god for subs we can now fully realized the DEVASTATION Ugh! I feel so sad for Sayo and Tokiya also wish we know more about Iwako, hopefully they would give more extras given how popular the new movie is, though on hand it does give more leeway for fans to fill in the gap about Iwako's backstory... but yeah I agree with you more of them raising Kitaro together please!!

hello!!!! thank you for liking my kyuushi fics. they are nothing but self indulgent stuff hahaha.

Sayo and Tokiyaaaaa. when the last one they dealt with was Tokiya and they called back Gegero and mizuki's convo. ragghhhhhh.

also i want to congratulate genazo for making me root for iwako as well. although there's much to be said about a female character just there to be rescued, i can't believe i actually feel a lot for her and gegero's relationship. she seems like someone who actually has a life outside of being gegero's wife pre capture. i love her and i want more of her.

[anemoneflower]

Genazo spoilers under the cut

When you think about it, Sayo, Hinoe and Toshiko could’ve genuinely understood and supported each-other. Latter two are both were blatantly unhappy with their situation: after all, Hinoe has herself tried to leave the village like Sayo, only to be forced to return, and Toshiko has gone as far to try to openly defy Tokisada’s will to protect Tokiya from being turned into his vessel.

But in the end, they still treated Sayo like shit (based on what she said before being killed, I think Toshiko extended her anger towards Otome at Sayo, and with Hinoe I get the feeling she saw her younger self in Sayo, and wanted to destroy her hope out of self-hatred for ever wanting more), leaving her to drown in her despair and anger (with Tokiya, who can't help her on account on being, like, ten at most, as the only person in her life who cares for her), and I don't think they have supported each-other either.

[pheiral]

Turn out this poop of the year might have more evil deeds than we realized!

Ryuga's missing children

There are also new information from Animage August 2024 issue and I'll drop some other information i found too

Edit: 07/20 adding details regarding Ryuga's names

(the one with gintoki cover, it also contain anime grand prix: since genazo won some category Toco draw something new. It's illustration of smoking Gegero who blew the smoke into "anime grand prix thank you" word and Mizuki by his side drinking sake while smiling widely looking at that display)

The results:

Character: 1st Mizuki, 2nd Gegero

Anime: Genazo

Seiyuu: 2nd Kiuchi, 4th Seki

Genazo article

[父たちから子へ 受け継がれる願い]

This article finally straight up write Tokisada as Tokiya's father.. and there ARE more children aside from Sayo and Tokiya.

「龍賀の女性陣は十干、男性陣は数字からそれ ぞれの名前をつけた。時麿はシナリオの時点では 「一臣」という名前だった。並びが抜けてるのは 察してください」

^The girls of Ryuga are named after heavenly stems while the boys are named with numbers, there are some name skipped

Daughters name:

Otome (乙米) , Hinoe (丙江) , Toshiko (庚子)

They're 2nd, 3rd and 7th. There are so many holes.

Tokimaro is first son, in initial setting his name is 一臣. Then we suddenly skipped to Kozo (孝三), by name make him the 3rd son

This is now speculations:

It's possible there are children who died early.

Then the Jizo statues in the village and what it symbolize

This phrase is also written in the interview

「時貞は村の女性にも手を出している」

^He made advance to village women. Considering Kozo situation, it's not strange.

Anyway we also get Sayo's age! She's 17 years old. Originally she's 19 years old in the scenario but then reduced so she's out of Mizuki's target because Sayo is a kid. Toco said it's better to not put Mizuki in the same circle as Tokisada, so Toco's input was accepted and romance plot between Mizuki and Sayo scrapped.

I think this was done so Mizuki wouldn't invite ire of modern watches for touching her. The same decision from past interview that made Mizuki can't smoke in front of kids: Gegero's appearance stopped him from doing so despite hearing coughing girl, Katsunori that appear when Mizuki talked with Sayo. They make sure he couldn't do that so viewers won't hate him but also retain his showa value. He'll definitely smoke because it's normal back then and there's less regulation with smoking..so he get divine intervention instead.

Two more thing that caught my attention will be the two opinions between staffs whether or not Mizuki remember Gegero. Director and screenwriter are in the "don't remember" camp, Toco is in "remember" camp. I'm with Toco here!!

The last one will be about the food Gegero ate when Mizuki talk about M. It's not Mizuki sharing his food, but it's because Mizuki didn't have appetite after seeing Hinoe's death so he gave his share to Gegero.

There are more but these are the ones I want talk here. Done

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.

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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

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Yeah. I concur - it looks like maybe Kitaro will be this type of character that starts as portrayed to be menacing (one of the "evil" yokai) but later turns out that he is, in fact, on the side of a player? I mean "karan koron" of his getas was used as a thing people got spooked by in the animes frequently. It IS a menacing sound to hear in the middle of the night. I'm not really a gamer so I doubt I'll be a good companion to play a co-op, especially a horror game... also Steam really messed up game prices in my country so I doubt I'll be able to buy the game full-price upon release, but I'd definitely be interested in watching a stream of other Kitaro fans play this game!

I think Genazo got a big chunk of it's ranking due to gore, as most of the disturbing themes were more implied than actually shown, but it went dark in many places and some of those places I wasn't expecting - Sayo's backstory was really intense in it's vagueness. Not to mention Gegege no Nazo, in overall, shared similar vibe to the series it is a prequel to - 6th series - which, I believe, leaned more towards darker, bleaker, side of humanity more than previous TV series' did. I enjoyed how certain episodes ended on a more somber note or had a much darker undertones with humans/yokai not learning their lessons/refusing to change. The plot twist of the train episode (the schoolgirl being a bully), kawaii culture/face stealing yokai, bamboo forest, WWII-centric story (imagine this episode if Mizuki already had his Genazo makeover as a WWII vet :O) or the cursed app episode to name a few. I also read that 2018!anime wasn't as much liked among the fans since it had a tonal shift comparing to previous entries. So it's safe to assume there was an intention to make GGGNK more "mature" earlier on but the creators were still bound by shounen anime rules.

Hakaba Kitaro could be seen as a test run of sorts but maybe Gegege no Nazo might be the actual entry point to a branch of a more serious, horror-centric look at the yokai and Kitaro himself.

It's definitely an interesting time to be Gegege no Kitaro fan!

Hello!

I'm sending you this ask since I consider you the scholar and a spearhead of GGGNK Tumblr fandom and I'd really love to read your opinion on that matter!

I'm not sure if I get "NOROI KAGO: the Grudged Domain" trailer (on Toei's Youtube channel) right... it looks like a trailer to a Gegege No Kitaro video game due to last couple of seconds of the video, but also I think Kitaro won't be the focus point of the plot but rather a cameo or recurring character at best.

It looks interesting because it doesn't seem like a child friendly title and especially since GeGeGe no Nazo movie is rated 15+. It seems like we might be entering some sort of period of GeGeGe no Kitaro franchise that is geared towards more mature audience or at least creators are toying with the idea of branching out to make Kitaro like... scary.

Do you think it's possible or maybe it's just me reading too much into things?

hello! thank you kindly for the ask! it means a lot that you think of me that way. i really love kitaro and i'm very happy to connect to other people who love it, too!

onto your question... i don't think you're overthinking it! i think the kitaro franchise as a whole has been open to trying new things. every series has a different mood to it, and the fact that it's remade at all shows that they want to explore the franchise in a variety of ways.

i took another watch of the trailer, and i think you make a good point that kitaro won't exactly be the star of the game. i like that it seems to be making a point of showing off how scary yokai can be. it seems like it's going a lethal company route? which sounds super fun. (if any followers want to play with me when it releases, let me know.) i was also shocked that it appears to be getting an english release! maybe there's hope of a genazo eng release too...? haha... i can dream at least... in any case, horror is obviously a key element to kitaro, but i don't think it's really leaned into it this heavily before... like. i'd describe some kitaro episodes as creepy, atmospheric, but this is a different kind of horror that i really enjoy.

i really do think genazo's success is going to shape the future of the franchise, in a good way! i don't think we should expect anything as tonally heavy as genazo for the main series, but i think it shows that there's a very passionate audience for kitaro to be... grounded, maybe? there's a lot of whimsy in other series that i love, but genazo really hammers in the point of kitaro's yokai nature and humanity and how that intersects in the circumstances of his birth. i love that genazo seems so bleak at the surface, but it's really a movie about love and hope for what comes next. life can be cruel, but we keep going, for the people we love and the people we'll meet...

i'm incredibly curious on what angle they'll go for season 7. i have my own self indulgent hopes... a different mizuki, a dai-kaiju arc (with yamada!!), toco as a character designer again... regardless, i promise i'll be there to watch!

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