My Anime Picks for 2018

This is the second half of a two part blog series. If you missed the first half on my favorite video games of 2018, then you can read it here, otherwise please enjoy checking out some of the anime I liked the most in 2018. And for those who need a refresher, or just aren't interested in my gaming list, please remember that I do not think myself in any way shape or form an expert, and this is just a personal list I made up for my own amusement. Other than that just like the year before I am avoiding listing sequel seasons and won’t be talking about a long running anime unless it started this year in 2018--so even if I thought a show from a prior year--such as Black Clover--had a great run in 2018, I won’t be acknowledging that here. This list would just be too much of a mess if I did! Everything is presented in alphabetical order to so as to avoid ranking my chooses.

Devilman Crybaby

Devilman Crybaby began 2018 off with a huge bang, and was able to maintain its number one spot in my heart the entire year, an impressive feat considering its January premiere and just how good Megalo box, Planet With, and GeGeGe no Kitaro turned out. I wrote so much about Devilman already this year that I honestly can’t bring myself to sing any more praises for it by this point, but it definitely deserves all my praises and more. Crybaby was an absolutely beautiful and chilling re-imagining of a true classic, done justice by an auteur creator. If you want to read a bit extra about it, check out the piece I wrote about Devilman in my Halloween series this year.

GeGeGe no Kitaro

2018 marked the 50th anniversary for a lot of legendary properties and legendary creators. This was Go Nagai’s 50th anniversary as a comic artist, and the 50th anniversary of the Ashita no Joe manga, but perhaps one of the most important of the big 5-0 anniversaries this year was the 50th anniversary of the GeGeGe no Kitaro anime series. After the passing of comic legend Shigeru Mizuki in 2013 there is something all the more meaningful to see Kitaro on the small screen again--even after his creator’s passing Kitaro is still there to grow up with another generation of children. This is another anime series I talked ad nauseam about during my Halloween series this year, so I don’t want to go on too much now, but I will say this has easily been the highlight of all my Sunday mornings since it started in April, and this is the series that Mizuki and his legacy deserved. It’s doing one hell of a job kicking most “adult” anime's asses in terms of writing quality and animation, all while still being a kid show. It never talks down to its young audience either and tackles some really modern issues such as smartphone overuse, bullying, refugees that lost their own country, and even suicide.


The Girl in Twilight (Akanesasu Shoujo)

The Girl in Twilight is pretty much the last thing I expected but somehow I came around to really enjoying it. From the mind of Kotaro Uchikoshi, the creator of the Zero Escape, comes … well .. ah … a magical girl show? About traveling to different parallel worlds? Where hijinks ensue and it’s more a story about growing up? Yeah, this … is a hard one to explain, and not really what I would expect with Uchikoshi’s name attached. I mean 999: Nine Hours, Nine, Persons, Nine Doors, this is definitely not, but well, this isn't half bad. The science fiction elements about radio frequencies and different worlds definitely feels like something out of an Uchikoshi game and all the all girl cast is actually very charming and sweet. I got really invested in seeing them grow up and face their inner problems. So a weird show, and nothing too special either, but this really grew on me personally.

Gundam Build Divers

The original Gundam Build Fighters anime in 2013 was like a phenomenon that caught literally everyone off guard. This silly little kid’s show meant to sell toys was somehow one of the best anime the year it aired and was made with so much love and attention to detail that it was a better anniversary present to the Gundam franchise than some of the actual anniversary celebrations. Ever since the original fans have been pretty divisive on the sequels, and while Build Divers is still not the original, I think it’s the closest we've come out of all the past sequel seasons and OVAs in the “Build” sub-series. I really enjoyed the Virtual Reality angle of the series, and thought the creative team did a lot to give the series an identity of its own instead of feeling like a dull retread of the original Build Fighters like Try did. So wrap that together a great main cast, and some pretty fun team battles and I say this was a win for Gundam fans.

Gurazeni: Money Pitch

Gurazeni is an anime I think most people never gave a fair chance. What seems like a basic sports series with a weird focus on money turns out to be so much more. It’s an inside look at the professional world of Japanese baseball, where you can really learn all the ins and outs and what makes the business end tick. The most interesting part however is that this is not your usual series starring a High Schooler with some grandiose dream, but a cast of adult professionals, many of which are just struggling to get by and stay in the game. It’s a completely different kind of feeling. 

Professionals play some 100+ ball games a seasons. With that many games it’s not like they are all hot blooded screaming matches and if you lose once you’ll be out of the tournament. You gotta play smart, you got to think about your stats during the season, you gotta make sure you secure your spot on the roster for next year, if you excuse the horrible pun, this is a whole different kind of ball game. That’s what made Gurazeni so much fun every week, it’s more a calm collective observation about life in the major league for most players who aren't big celebrity stars instead of the usual shonen anime fair with some hot shot kid with a dream. I greatly enjoyed every laid-back episode of this show.

How to Keep a Mummy (Miira no Kaikata)

Cute!!! This is probably how I can define every single episode of this quirky pet comedy anime. Whoever knew mummies, dragons, and ogres could make such adorable pets. This was a basic “feel good” slice-of-life series where not much ever happened in each episode but it was such a nice reprieve from real life that the audience wouldn't mind. You didn't watch this for the plot, you watched this to just relax and smile for a half an hour, and How to Keep a Mummy accomplished this goal expertly. 

Karakuri Circus

Karakuri Circus is maybe one of the most underrated anime of the year, and it’s a darn shame considering the attention Ushio & Tora was eventually able to garner. Hopefully Karakuri Circus can one day get the same kind of tight knit following that its predecessor did. And if you couldn't tell already, Karakuri Circus is based off a manga by Kazuhiro Fujita, the creator of Ushio & Tora. Both series share the same well written and fleshed out character writing that Fujita is known for, and for fans of Ushio & Tora there is also the bonus treat of one of the three main protagonists, Narumi Kato, is literally just Tora from Ushio & Tora. The two characters share very similar appearance (when Tora was a human) and have the same personality. The Karakuri Circus anime even went the extra mile by casting the same exact actor for the roles. 

Unfortunately Karakuri Circus has the unenviable job of trying to adapt a weekly manga that is 43 volumes long in just 36 episodes, which means a lot of stuff has to be skipped over, condensed, and simplified, but for those of us who are watching I think we can all agree the studio is doing a great job at picking what to animate. The pace may be very brisk, but it sort of has that OVA kind of feeling to it with how fast it moves. You know, how a movie or an OVA can seemingly get so much story told in just a couple hours versus how a TV show may tell a story over the span of multiple months. Karakuri Circus definitely feels more like the former than the latter. 

Even with its faults however, this anime really shouldn't be as passed over as it has been. Karakuri has the most heart and it’s easily the most ridiculous and fun shonen battle anime airing right now, and that’s saying a lot considering JoJo is airing right now too!

Lupin the Third - Part V

As somebody who was greatly disappointed by Lupin the Third Part IV I came into Part V expecting more of the same, but walked out blown away! This is everything I wished Part IV was, and it seems like the staff really learned from all their mistakes and were able to come together to make a very memorable Lupin series. My favorite has to be all the anniversary episodes that feature Lupin in his old jackets and the animation style changing over to how each previous series was animated. As a long time Pink Jacket Lupin fan I was in heaven, it’s probably been about 20 years since Lupin acknowledged the Pink era! Glad they were able to have so much fun with that particular throwback episode. 

Megalo box

As mentioned earlier, Megalo box is the 50th anniversary project for the Ashita no Joe manga series, and one hell of a fantastic anime to boot. Everything from the animation to the music is top notch and invokes the feeling of the late 90’s and early 2000’s era of anime. It’s both nostalgic and new, and I think that’s a great way to pay homage to such a classic series. Megalo box is its own thing entirely while also reinventing many of the great moments from the original Ashita no Joe like some mirror that both reflects and distorts--it’s Ashita no Joe, it’s Megalo Box, it’s a classic reborn, it’s like nothing you have ever seen before. Megalo box is such a wild ride with thought provoking episodes and a crap ton of adrenaline rushing fights, and I can sing its praises all night if you let me, but the less said about each twist and turn, the better, so I think I’ll leave it at that. Easily one of the best anime in years, and had it not been for Devilman Crybaby it probably would have had my number one spot.

Mr. Tonegawa: Middle Management Blues (Chuukan Kanriroku Tonegawa) 

Mr. Tonegawa: Middle Management Blues is one of those weird spin-offs where you don’t really need to be familiar with the source material because … well it’s barley like the series it spun off of. This comedy centered around the Kaiji manga side character Yukio Tonegawa is best described as office humor, and it’s pretty straightforward with its premise of a hugely important businessman and his daily woes at his job. It’s sharp witted, and pretty funny but I think what made this series special to me was because it was the first “dubcast” anime from Sentai Filmworks I watched on Hidive, and I have enjoyed hearing all these different dub actors each week. I've gotten pretty use to hearing the Funimation and California based dub actors in weekly dub premieres, but hearing Sentai actors is quite something, and damn does this dub knock it out of the park. The real MVP of the show is by far David Wald as the narrator who can manage a laugh out of anyone no matter what the dialogue might say.


Muhyo & Roji’s Bureau of Supernatural Investigation

Muhyo & Roji is a Shonen Jump manga from 2004 that never really got its due credit. The manga was popular enough to maintain its spot in the magazine for many years but it never got an anime until this year. Was it worth the wait? Well, yeah, this is a classic Jump battle horror manga, with some good creepy monsters, and fun battles. I really enjoyed this show and I’m glad Muhyo & Roji finally got their moment of spotlight on the small screen. It brought back a lot of warm feelings from the early 2000', almost like a lost show from back then that I missed!

Planet With

Planet With is weird. It involves a giant cat monster eating a young boy and turning into a super battle robot that said boy pilots and uses to get his revenge on the psychics who protect the earth from evil invading aliens. That’s … sure is something, but it’s just what you would expect from an original story penned by Satoshi Mizukami, the creator of cult hit manga Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer and Spirit Circle. Just like Megalo box this is a bit hard of a series to talk about without spoiling all the best moments, but just know, the plot twist keep coming, and the game keeps changing, and everything gets more and more insane, and more awesome. This is one hell of a ride, and was also a major contender for my number one spot, personally. It's a show that anyone who enjoys the werid and anyone with a sense of humor definitely has to check out. You may come for the humor, but you will stay for the well written character moments ... and giant cat robot battles.

Skull-face Bookseller Honda-san (Gaikotsu Shotenin Honda-san)

Have you ever worked in retail? Well Skull Face Honda knows your pain! This skeleton man has been stuck working in a book store and has all kinds of stories to tell. This humorous look into the life of book salesmen and the manga market is a fun little series. There’s tons of insight on not just the retail industry but also manga publishing companies as well. It’s a great little short anime that packs a lot of laughs. 

Tada Never Falls in Love (Tada-kun wa Koi wo Shinai)

Tada Never Falls in Love reunites most of the staff from the popular 2014 anime series Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun, and features a lot of the same kind of humor and characters. It’s a very laid back anime for most of its runtime, which lets the romance bud between the two leads at a more believable pace, and the final payoff is heart wrenching. As someone that has fallen in love with the wrong person in my past, I know all too well how much it can hurt to begin to harbor feelings for someone you know you can never be with and that heck you should never be with. The final few episodes of this series packs such a punch to the gut, and it’s really what won me over.

We Rent Tsukumogami (Tsukumogami Kashimasu)

Did anyone besides me actually watch this anime? It got no love whatsoever and that always bummed me out whenever I watched an episode. It’s such a cute episodic show about a rental store that has tsukumogami, or inanimate objects that have souls and can come alive. Every week a tsukumogami is used to solve some sort of problem in the neighborhood, and it’s just a delight to see how these little dolls, tobacco pipes, and combs can be used to find out everything from cheating husbands, to phantom thieves. Of course the real treat is seeing how all these episodic stories eventually weave together into one greater narrative, and that characters often become reoccurring within the neighborhood, so even after their own episode is solved they still have roles to play within the greater story. You can really tell this anime started life as a novel, it’s so well written. 

BONUS ENTRY: -Biggest Anime Surprises-

Perhaps the biggest surprise for me personally this year for anime was that I actually spent more than any human ever should on the Legend of the Galactic Heroes blu-ray box set. No kidding, this thing haunted me most of the year, and makes for one hell of a conversation starter. “Yeah, I am one of the few 1,000 elite that own Legend of the Galactic Heroes in English, what of it?” I say, while my guest stare at me confused as to what the hell Legend of the Galactic Heroes even is and why there is apparently only 1,000 of it to go around. 

But in all seriousness now, Sentai Filmworks really impressed me personally this year. Their hidive streaming service has become one of my favorite to use this year to stream anime, and I watched so many great classics on it; Legend of the Galactic Heroes Gaiden, Blue Gale Xabungle, Space Runaway Ideon, Glass Mask (1984), Armored Troopers Votoms, Aura Battler Dunbine, and the list goes on. This year was a huge year for streaming classic 80’s anime in large part do to Hidive. And now Sentai/Maiden Japan are releasing a large chunk of these anime on blu-ray which is something I never thought I would live to see the day. You can buy the entire Space Runaway Ideon series on BD right now if you wanted to. What a time to be alive! Perhaps the biggest surprise was their acquisition of Armored Troopers Votoms, a show I wanted someone to license rescue for close to a decade now. I always regretted missing out on the original Central Park Media (man they don’t even exist anymore!) DVD release back in 2001. I always thought it would be Discotek coming to the rescue for Votoms, but you know what, I’m glad to see it was Sentai. The more companies putting classics on BD the better, I say.

I hope you all enjoyed my anime list and have a great new year! Happy 2019!!!

Zero Frights: Kitaro in Comic Form (2013-2019 - manga)

The late Shigeru Mizuki’s Kitaro always was a hard series to get into in English--maybe that’s not too surprising given how heavy it is steeped in Japanese folklore, but for many it always felt unfair to miss out on such a well regarded part of Japanese animation and comics. Recently, this all changed with the newest television series: GeGeGe no Kitaro (2018) finally getting picked up for official simulcast release in North America, Latin America, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and Europe. Finally a large portion of the English market can watch Kitaro every week just like the fans in Japan. However this was not the first time that Kitaro came to the English market, so let’s talk about the other mainstream Kitaro release in English: the manga.

In 2013 the Canadian comic publisher Drawn and Quarterly released the conservatively named ‘Kitaro’, a collection of famous Kitaro manga chapters that were hand picked by translator Zack Davisson (Devilman (1972), Captain Harlock (1977), Showa: A History of Japan (1988)) and approved by Mizuki himself. This collection stands at 8.7” tall and 6.4” wide, making it much larger than your average manga volume--just about the same size as Seven Seas’ Classic Collection, for those who may be familiar with those releases. With such large paper, the book really gives Mizuki’s unique artwork the room it deserves and is jam packed with over 430 pages of encyclopedia entries on yokai, essays about Mizuki himself, and of course the manga chapters. Have you ever been curious what the heck “Ge Ge Ge” even is? Well, these essays will finally put that to rest! This book has everything a fan could want, and has been one of my absolute favorites in my entire collection.

Sadly, this particular book has since gone out of print. For the longest time you could still find it on the second hand market (i.e. used through Amazon, eBay, or Barnes and Noble) for a fairly cheap price, but it lately has seemed to gone up quite a considerable amount since last I checked. Is it just a spike for Halloween?--I hope so. But fright not, as ‘Kitaro’ was just the first of many releases Drawn and Quarterly would put out. In 2015, they announced that they will release 7 more volumes worth of Kitaro manga, each containing around 150 pages. The books in these releases are all still in print and can be found anywhere where manga is sold. 

This new set of 7 Kitaro volumes starts with ‘The Birth of Kitaro’, where you guessed it, the chapters surrounding Kitaro's origins is the main focus. Each book continues this pattern where they have at least one major story arc, like ‘Kitaro Meets Nurarihyon’ covering chapters with one of Kitaro’s greatest enemies: the Nurarihyon, and ‘Kitaro: The Great Tanuki War’ covering the Tanuki War story arc (fans of the recent 2018 anime should remember this story from episode 11: Conquer Japan! The 808 Tanuki Army, and episode 12: Capital Annihilated! The Terrifying Yokai Beast). So far there has been a total of 5 volumes released, with the 2 remaining volumes coming next year. Each volume just like the original 2013 ‘Kitaro’ contains yokai encyclopedia entries, and essays about Mizuki. The subsequent essays in the 5 volumes I have so far as well as the 2013 ‘Kitaro’ have been a large part of my research for these latest blog entries. Essays about the creators and their works are some of my favorite parts about classic manga releases, and these beefy essays by Zack Davisson really don’t disappoint.

I really have to say as a quick aside, that I’ve enjoyed flipping through all these manga volumes again and rereading a lot of the stories to get myself in a Halloween mood--not to mention to also prep for all these recent Zero Frights blog posts. With the 2018 GeGeGe no Kitaro anime now covering The Great Yokai War--and giving it the premium treatment, no less--I have really enjoyed reading that story again in particular, and laughing at the small things. Stuff like how Konaki Jiji drowns Frankenstein’s monster in the original, and how the Witch was just an ugly old hag before, but now we have two, very beautiful witches--which don’t get me wrong, is pretty nice. I really have been enjoying this new modern take on The Great Yokai War, as well as most of the modernization in the show in general, but if Toei wants to bring back Frankenstein’s Monster getting straight up murdered in cold blood by Konaki Jiji who proceeds to give zero fracks, I am game.

There is a part of me that loves that despite the fact that the major staying power of the Kitaro franchise is tied into the many television appearances it has enjoyed over the past 50 years in Japan, that it was the manga that got a wide release in English markets first before any of the animes did. Shigeru Mizuki’s work has always had this mesmerizing nature to it, and while all the animes out there are fantastic and capture a lot of his spirit, there is just something special about the work he did himself, the art he penned, the pages he storyboarded, and the way his Kitaro looks. I can’t get enough of Mizuki’s mangas, and I am really glad that we finally have easy access to them in English. Now if you excuse me, I think I am going to read some more of his work and enjoy what’s left of this spooky time of year. Happy Halloween!

Zero Frights: Hakaba Kitaro (anime - 2008)

Last week I wrote about all the previous GeGeGe no Kitaro anime series, and went over what made each unique--ultimately saying that what I liked the most about the original 1968 black-and-white TV series was how close it was to the darker atmosphere and macabre tone of the late Mizuki’s comics. While I definitely still defend that opinion that out of the 6 GeGeGe no Kitaros, the very first 1968 series is the most like a Mizuki manga; there is another, different anime that is even closer to the morbid and weird stories often flowing from Mizuki’s pen: Hakaba Kitaro.

Created in 2008 for the late night adult animation block, noitaminA, Hakaba Kitaro is perhaps the most interesting production out of all of the animated works adapting Mizuki. Never before had there been a program that catered to an older audience, so this is definitely not your average GeGeGe no Kitaro anime meant for the younger day time television audience. Right from the opening theme there is an obvious statement being made that this is not your typical Kitaro. Hakaba Kitaro adapts, well, Hakaba Kitaro (aka Kitaro of the Graveyard), that being one of Mizuki’s many earlier Kitaro manga before eventually creating GeGeGe no Kitaro for Shonen Magazine. Think of it as almost a prototype to GeGeGe no Kitaro, where rounded edges haven’t yet been sanded down, and the tone and atmosphere of the manga is a lot darker, and definitely a bit extreme for children.

Funny enough, big fans of Kitaro will find a lot of GeGeGe no Kitaro in Hakaba Kitaro, as Mizuku would later reuse plenty of the stories from his older, unsuccessful Kitaro manga in GeGeGe no Kitaro to help speed up his writing when deadline crunch became too extreme. That said, while you may spot familiar yokai, and recognize prototypes to famous Kitaro episodes, these characters are not the ones you love; Kitaro is far from a protector of the weak, nor does he really care about peaceful coexistence between human and yokai. He’s petty, conniving, and even chases girls. Throughout the anime you can see him slowly becoming more and more corrupted by “modern” times--Nezumi Otoko trying a get rich scheme is normal, but when Kitaro is concerned about making a quick buck, oh boy are we in trouble. 

Kitaro’s transformation throughout Hakaba Kitaro is perhaps one of my favorite aspects of this anime, as right from the beginning this version of the story has no qualms about letting you know Kitaro isn't a good guy here, he’s just your run-of-the-mil yokai like any other in the series--he doesn't really possess any aliment, good or bad, but over the course of the 11 episodes you really see him kind of become a worse and worse person. The ending of the series can even be interpreted as such that he and his father, Medama Oyaji, are in the middle of a falling out; something that you would never see in the kind GeGeGe no Kitaro whom has always shown his father the utmost respect.

Kitaro’s journey throughout Hakaba Kitaro can also be seen as a foil to the greater meaning of the entire show itself--that modern life styles and luxuries corrupt. All previous Kitaro series have had somewhat of an environmental message to them, somewhere in all of mankind's rapid development there has been destroyed greenery and yokai that have lost their homes--but Hakaba Kitaro really shows more of a personal corruption. I always found this super interesting because of the era it is set in, being post-war Japan and not an actual modern time. You can definitely feel some of Mizuki, an ex-WWII soldier, coming home and discovering that everything is different now in Japan. This once quiet and mostly isolated nation is now rapidly expanding and changing with the times once again, all-the-while dealing with one of its worst economic crises because of the war.

Even though I have written a lot about this new version of Kitaro, the funny thing is that Kitaro is far from the main character in Hakaba Kitaro. A lot of times Kitaro is more of a bridging device that ties together episodic yokai stories. Kitaro may just observe certain humans that brought on their own destruction by angering yokai, or he may cause some trouble, but he hardly ever really intervenes in matters that don’t involve him personally. I really enjoy this episodic nature of the series, as it lets a lot of the human "victims-of-the-week" be the main attention of their own episode. Kitaro is just along for the ride, and maybe there to laugh at them too. This give Hakaba Kitaro a great horror anthology feel, where Kitaro is almost like the host, and occasionally the protagonist in certain situations that can involve him.

Hakaba Kitaro is the first Kitaro series I've ever watched, and to this day, one of my favorite animes, just in general. At 11 episodes it is by far the easiest Kitaro series to watch still, and not too hard to track down (although it’s starting to get a bit harder to find considering its age). For people wanting to get into Kitaro I think it’s a great spot to start, just so long as you understand it’s thematically nothing like the other Kitaro series--you aren't gonna get anything else this dark or twisted in any of the GeGeGe no Kitaro series, nor will you ever find a Kitaro character like this ever again. But whether or not you're already a big fan, looking to get into Kitaro finally, or just someone that wants to experience a light, fun, macabre series this Halloween season, I can’t recommend Hakaba Kitaro enough.

Zero Frights: GeGeGe no Kitaro Takes Over the Small Screen (1968-2018 - anime)

This year marks the 50^th anniversary of the original GeGeGe no Kitaro television animated series. This 1968 landmark series was one of the earliest horror themed anime to succeed on Japanese television during a time where the medium was just starting up, and would lead to many other similarly horror/folklore themed series; eventually creating a whole trend for television and manga that some refer to as the 1970’s Yokai Boom. The success of Kitaro and his fellow yokai friends could not be ignored and they were brought back again in 1971 right smack dab in the boom they helped started--however it wasn't until the third time Kitaro and co. reappeared in 1985 did it become apparent that these particular yokai are here to stay--as the fad they ushered in had long since died and Japan had moved on from its rekindled fascination of yokai, yet here they were, still as popular as ever on TV.

While the creation of the Kitaro characters and concepts do in fact predate this 50 year milestone by quite a few years, and the late Shigeru Mizuki’s journey from starving artist, to little known indie creator, to a voice of a nation, is a fascinating one, I will mostly be sticking to this 5 decade milestone for the sake of this blog post. However, if you were to ask me why GeGeGe no Kitaro was able to have the staying power that it did and how it became a staple of Japanese TV, I would have to say it’s because of the late Mizuki’s past as a starving artist. I know, I know, we’re here to mostly talk about the franchise in terms of its television appearances and not the original kamishibai and manga origins prior, but stay with me, because I think this is important.

You see, Mizuki while a mildly popular kamishibai artist, was actually a pretty huge failure as a manga creator. His titles kept getting dropped during the rental manga days, then his later titles in manga magazines--like we have today--were always constantly dead last in the popularity rankings (any Jump fan will tell you this leads to your cancellation), and he had a reputation for being incredibly stubborn to work with. Yet despite literally being on the cusp of poverty, having to sell everything he owns, and barley being able to afford food, Mizuki did not give a shit, he drew what he wanted, despite it not catching on with an audience initially. Mizuki was greatly attached to his creations, and while he wavered here or there and worked on other books, Kitaro was where his heart was, and where he always came back to.

Kids just didn’t gravitate towards to Mizuki’s manga in the early days of his career: his unconventional artwork was considered too ugly and his scary stories were too out there--early on Weekly Shonen Magazine even got letters complaining why Kitaro hasn't been canceled yet! But this was also Mizuki’s blessing, as industry insiders loved his work, and critics ate it up. His artwork that combined a pulp American comics style with traditional Japanese scroll like painting was fresh, and his focus on something not adventure or super hero related was fresh. Mizuki survived these early days in large because he was able to win these kinds of adults over, and eventually the kids that flipped through the magazines skipping his stuff slowly came around to trying it out again, maybe just a reading it a little bit here and there at first, but eventually enjoying it. Then an opportunity of a lifetime: a TV deal! It wasn't easy, and took many years, but GeGeGe no Kitaro eventually won people over with its persistence, never succumbing to being something it wasn't. Mizuki’s creation is something eerie yet exciting, it’s solely its own thing, its own reflection of the unique individual that was Shigeru Mizuki, and isn't something any imitator can fully mimic--and that’s how you create staying power that goes beyond even your own life time.

My favorite thing about the now 6 different GeGeGe no Kitaro anime is that they each reflect subtle and not so subtle changes in Japan over the years. It would not be a stretch to say that Kitaro can be used as a time capsule. The original 1968 GeGeGe no Kitaro started out when Japanese TV was just getting huge, television anime as we know it only just started 3 years prior with Astro Boy, and animation companies where all rushing trying to get in on the whole television boom. This version of Kitaro is still produced in Black and White, which gives it a gorgeous and eerie look like classic horror movies, and the simpler production values while not stunning still hold up really well. Out of all the episodes from all 6 series I've seen, I’d say the original 1968 anime is the most accurate to Mizuki’s manga, with changes here or there, some padding to fill out entire episodes, and some other aspects being toned down slightly.

The 1971 GeGeGe no Kitaro series started only a few years after the original, and it’s obvious Toei had two things in mind: not missing out on the Yokai Boom and producing a color version of Kitaro. Because it was so close to the original series this is one of the few Kitaro series that doesn’t rely on remaking classic episodes (those classics were only like 3 years ago after all), and instead adapts a lot of stories from Mizuki’s other works relating to yokai such as Nonnonba and inserting Kitaro into them. This makes the second series really stick out. The third series in 1985 was the longest in the franchise spanning over 115 episodes and starts modernizing a lot of the classic elements in the Kitaro series, giving Kitaro a human side-kick/love interest of sorts, and some new gadgets--mainly the first appearance of the yokai ocarina, as well as remaking a lot of classic episodes. This is also where the series began recasting every character (sans Kitaro’s father Medama Oyaji) for every new installment. The biggest change is a more action focus and making Kitaro a lot more heroic than previously seen.

For the fourth series in 1996, Kitaro is reverted back to being more subdued and less hot blooded, however he was still given some occasional big fight scenes that the original in the manga could only dream of doing. Per Mizuki’s own request, a greater emphasis is put on the balance of nature and the general aesthetic of the series is inspired by the works of Studio Ghibli. The fifth series in 2007 features the most bitter rendition of Kitaro, who while still polite and trusting, was a lot more apathetic to humans who brought upon their own misfortune because of greed, not flinching to even punish some. This version of Kitaro really plays up the angle that he is an un-aging boy, with references to time passing yet Kitaro's appearance staying the same. In some cases, instead of telling a remake, certain yokai Kitaro fought in previous series are actually clearly written as sequels, with Kitaro defeating them in the past and having to fight them once again, a unique twist no other series has done yet. My favorite thing with this series though has to be that each episdoe begins with Kitaro narrating to the audience about something creepy that relates to the episode you're about to see, a la Rod Sterling. Finally we have the currently airing sixth series that just started in 2018. So far the biggest theme seems to be about modernization, and how things change over time, covering everything from smart phone overuse to viral internet videos, all the while setting up a bigger story to unfold in the background of the mostly episodic adventures. 

I think the best way to really get a feel for each GeGeGe no Kitaro series though is through their first episodes. After marathoning--to the best of my abilities--a lot of the classic series I wasn’t too familiar with, I've found myself enjoying seeing what manga chapter each will try to start on. It became some what of a game to me going back and forth through each decade to see what the earliest episodes of each series would focus on. The original 1968 Kitaro for example starts on the Yokai Baseball chapter. While not a bad chapter at all (it’s quite morbid and funny really), it’s far from what I was expecting! But it makes a lot of sense for its time, where Kitaro wasn't quite a sure thing, so instead of starting on a more intense episode, the series begins with a pretty tame cautionary tale about hard work and not stealing--all while watching little boys get the crap scared out of them because they’re playing baseball against actual monsters!

The first episode in the second series from 1971 is equally as fascinating, as while it’s a pretty run-of-the-mil story about a rampaging yokai that lost its home because of human development, it’s the little things that set it apart. The very start of the episode features Kitaro’s ultimate frenemy Nezumi Otoko desperately searching for Kitaro, giving the impression that he’s been missing since the end of the original series. What Nezumi finds though is that Kitaro is done with fighting yokai and just wants to live a simple life writing haiku by the sea--almost as if he’s washed up and a has been now, yet he is of course brought back into being the hero we know.

The 1985 series’ first episode starts out as bombastic as it can with the Yokai Castle manga chapter; a huge battle against 3 strong yokai that try to turn all the children of Japan into yokai. This first episode kicks so much ass, Kitaro just wastes no time and rushes in to some great fights. What really impressed me is this usually appears a bit later in most series after we've met a couple of Kitaro’s friends so he can have help taking on the yokai castle, but here it is right from the start! Sunakake Babaa, Konaki Jijii, and Ittan Momen do eventually come in at the end for a save but otherwise this is mostly Kitaro just whopping butt right from the word go, complete with awesome 80’s guitar music in the background.

The first episode in the 1996 series is a lot more tame in compassion and doesn't even feature Kitaro for the first half of the episode, instead focusing on the new human characters introduced with this iteration. Of course when things finally go bad Kitaro makes his appearance and rescues everyone. The environmental message is clear right from the beginning since it’s that darn evil construction company that let out the yokai of this episode and over all everything is much slower paced and more reserved compared to the boisterous 1985 series’ beginning. That's not to say there isn't a good fight at the end though, but the atmosphere of a quaint town in the 90's is the most prevalent feeling.

GeGeGe no Kitaro’s 2007 series starts with a first episode that shows Kitaro’s more bitter side as three dumb kids disturb a shrine and let out a yokai--it's up to Kitaro to bail them out. It’s not unusual in any Kitaro series for him to have to save stupid kids, (I mean this is a thing) but I do find it somewhat fitting that the series with the most bitter Kitaro started with kids committing property damage for funsies and then were too headstrong to send for help most of the episode. This episode is unfortunately a bit of a mess however, as much of it is dedicated to shoehorning in every major character in the series, which makes it overly stuffed, and overall the yokai of the week was far from that intimidating to really call for every member of Kitaro's group to be present. This does sort of tie into an emphasis that the 2007 series had on showing tons of yokai and their daily lives though since in this series all the yokai live together in their own city.

Finally we have the current series running now, with its first episode also having some really dumb kids in it, but this time done much better. As it turns out a seal was removed unleashing a yokai all because of a dumb vlogger causing trouble for a YouTube video (*cough**cough*) The vampire tree made for some really great visuals in this episode, and a lot of time is dedicated explaining both the new human heroine Mana and our favorite old buddy Kitaro’s personalities and back stories. You really get to know both pretty well in this episode, and it ends with great set up for the original main villain created for this series that has been subtly building up over the course of the show ever since.

Overall, after watching so much GeGeGe no Kitaro I really gained a greater appreciation for the franchise as a whole. Seeing how much it reflects each decade since its original airing is really fun, and trying to find which series you like the most is a great challenge. I still just can’t decide! I love the currently modernized version of Kitaro running on TV right now, it’s easily the best animation and presentation the series has ever had (are we sure this is the same Toei we've always known?) and never talks down to its children audience, but I also feel like the 1968 Kitaro series has the perfect atmosphere and aesthetic that none of the other series have been able to match! Then there’s the 1985 series that really makes my blood boil with its incredibly 80’s rock ‘n roll soundtrack and awesome action. I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to pick just one! Do you have a favorite GeGeGe no Kitaro? Let’s hear it.

Zero Frights: An Introduction to Devilman & GeGeGe no Kitaro

It’s October 1 today and Halloween already feels like it’s around the corner. For me October marks the start of one of my favorite times of the year--fall weather is a welcome relief from the summer heat, the seasonal food is fantastic, and everybody is a little spookier than normal. It’s just the right time of year to get cozy and enjoy something creepy. That’s why for the past couple years I've desperately wanted to do something horror themed for my blog and sadly I have always fallen short. Last year we got to look at the creepy Kamaitachi no Yoru, but that was just one review and not the celebration of the spooky scaries that I've always wanted.

That’s why I doubled down this year and decided to go all in on a new series of reviews. This is a bit of an experiment to say the least, and I’m not sure if any of this will make it to next year, but I want to try to keep throwing out spooky content until something sticks--thus Zero Frights is now born. Zero Frights will be a series of shorter reviews on horror themed anime and video games that I cover all through the month of October. This means that instead of my usual one or two large reviews a month I am going to be releasing a bunch of smaller ones. How many? Well it’s actually kind of hard to say at this point, I’m just making it all up as I go along.

This is the basic concept I decided to go with, however for this year I am already going to make an exception. Yeah, I know, I just started and I got excuses! It’s just that this year is a bit different from most as 2018 marks two hugely important 50^th anniversaries: the anniversary of Go Nagai starting his manga career, and the anniversary of the first GeGeGe no Kitaro TV anime from 1968. It was because of this that both Nagai and Mizuki got the red carpet treatment in 2018 with both creators getting brand new animes: the Mazinger Z Infinity film, Cutey Honey Universe, & Devilman Crybaby for Nagai’s 50th, and the brand new ongoing GeGeGe no Kitaro for its anniversary.

Devilman and Kitaro are two huge franchises that I love and have always wanted to do something with for Halloween so I am instead going to put all my focus into just these two this year because of these anniversaries. That unfortunately means the very first (and maybe only) Zero Frights is going to lack any video game content. If this ever goes beyond just this year I will try to make up for that in the future.

So to get everyone up to pace I will just give a quick rundown of both Devilman and GeGeGe no Kitaro’s histories. Let’s start with Devilman because why not.

Devilman is a series from famous manga creator Go Nagai, best known for his big 3 franchises: Mazinger, Cutey Honey, and you guessed it: Devilman (no coincidence all 3 got new anime to celebrate his career milestone this year). But Nagai is perhaps even more well known for his love of pushing the envelope and creating new controversies to enrage parents across Japan. Sometimes Nagai was shock value for shock value’s sake but other times he could be deeply moving and really beautiful. Whatever the case though, if you picked up a manga from Nagai it was gonna be absolutely grotesque, hyper violent, and full of tits. That’s Uncle Go for you.

Devilman started as an anime and manga series simultaneously in 1972, and was more or less Nagai remaking an earlier canceled manga Mao Dante (otherwise known as Demon Lord Dante). In both Mao Dante and Devilman Nagai wanted to show how good and evil aren't always clear, and while nowadays we have a multitude of angels are the bad guys stories (SMT loves that especially) for 1972 in a children’s manga magazine this was pretty groundbreaking stuff. Most classic anime fans agree that Devilman and the earlier Mao Dante are some of the most influential groundworks for apocalyptic narratives in anime today.

I covered a lot of information about the late Shigeru Mizuki and Kitaro earlier in a blog post I wrote dedicated to Mizuki after his passing in 2015, but since then I have learned a lot more about about both and I don't particularly like that post much now. If you don’t want to skim it I think the best way to sum up Mizuki is the father of modern yokai stories. Mizuki helped to popularize yokai in a post-WWII Japan where silly old folk stories and superstitions were deemed too old hat for the (then) modern era. Mizuki was able to make yokai popular again and because of that it started the yokai boom in the 70’s where it seemed everyone wanted to have a yokai anime or manga: with imitators like Yokai Ningen Bem, Dororo, and Dororon Enma-kun (from none other than Go Nagai himself).

What separates Mizuki from all his imitators though is that the man was a living, breathing yokai encyclopedia. Literally! He wrote multiple encyclopedias about yokai, and these are not just fun little anime merch, but real, actual academic encyclopedias. He was considered to be an expert on the subject and his depictions of yokai have ended up becoming some of the default art work for them in modern times. Mizuki’s work at depicting yokai in of itself has had huge affects on lots of creators. Kazuma Kaneko the main artist for much of the Shin Megami Tensei series found a lot of his inspiration for demon designs from Mizuki’s encyclopedias for example.

GeGeGe no Kitaro itself is perhaps one of the earliest horror themed animated series to air in Japan but the road to getting there was actually rough. Kitaro went through a lot of transformations or earlier prototypes, if you will, over the years to reach that point. Before GeGeGe no Kitaro there was the more morbid Hakaba Kitaro (or Kitaro of the Graveyard). This was considered too scary for children though, and Mizuki was able to tone down some aspects of this manga and find the just right mix of horror and action to make his yokai knowhow into the money maker we know today. Kids ate it up and ever since then Kitaro has enjoyed success on TV for over 50 years. Every decade sees a new series, a new generation to grow up with these characters, and we are now in the middle of the most current Kitaro anime on TV. Kitaro isn’t stopping any time soon even after Mizuki’s passing.

’Tis the season for Yokai

This year on November 30 we lost one of the quintessential founders of the modern manga—one Shigeru Mizuki; the creator of the mega franchise GeGeGe no Kitaro (2 Live Action Movies, 6 television animes, 2 iterations as a manga, its own tourist trap, and still going with rustlings of yet another TV anime to come). The Kitaro series was and still is a huge cultural touchstone in Japan, so much so that Mizuki is actually considered one of the leading experts on traditional Japanese folklore because of it. Besides his work on the supernatural, Mizuki was also a World War II veteran—even losing his arm in the war—and was an established story teller for mature adult comic readers as well because of this—with hit manga such as Shigeru Mizuki's Hitler, Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths, and Showa 1926-1939: A History of Japan. Basically, Mizuki was a rare talent that could balance both young and mature readers alike, all because he wrote what he knew, and he knew the changes Japan went through from war, the horrors of war itself, and of course, he knew Japanese folklore—he knew it better than anyone else. 

To rewind for a moment and help better frame the context of his life, Mizuki lived a long fruitful life and passed away at age 93. Remember, he was a solider during World War II more than 70 years ago now. When he eventually returned to Japan he actually started as a Kamishibai (紙芝居, or "paper theater”), a now antiquated Japanese form of entertainment. The Kamishibai was somewhat akin to a traveling puppet show but done with paper slides instead and had a serialized story, meaning it was done in episodes. The Kamishibai would travel from town to town with their cart, sell treats to the children, and entertain them with their stories. After they leave for the next few towns they would eventually come back to the previous ones with the next episode in their story. Kamishibai were cheap and easily accessible, which helped them during the postwar era of Japan, and can be seen somewhat as a precursor to manga, but when television did become more and more accessible to the Japanese it all but died out. Today Kamishibai is mostly a memory from a simpler time, being at best seen as a forgotten art form, and referenced in entertainment. Most recently a series of animated horror shorts called Yamishibai (or Dark Theater) was created in a similar fashion to the slides used in Kamishibai for the TV Tokyo Network. It has been streamed on Crunchyroll and was just picked up for domestic home video release by Sentai Filmworks.

Mizuki’s early work as a Kamishibai saw him telling the story of Hakaba Kitaro (or Kitaro of the Graveyard), written originally by Masami Itou in 1933. Mizuki was asked by his Kamishibai employers in 1954 to continue this story and so he did. Mizuki rendition of the classic serial was supposedly popular, but the Kamishibai industry itself was quickly on its way out, and Mizuki began work as a Rental Manga creator, at first struggling, until eventually he caught a break with turning Hakaba Kitaro into a manga series in 1960. For the uninitiated, Rental Manga was a concept of its time, since many people in postwar Japan could still not easily afford luxuries; much of their entertainment was actually rented, and not bought, so after paying a very small amount of yen to read a manga you would return it to the store, sort of similar to the library system.It was under a system like this that a lot of famous manga got their early starts. 

GeGeGe no Kitaro circa 1968. The first time Kitaro and friends
made it onto television.

Of course, Rental Manga eventually became an antiquated thing of the past too, and as times changed, Mizuki more or less, kept the serialization going for Kitaro through different publishers and into the more modern concept of manga to be purchased. Throughout those years Hakaba Kitaro would transform into GeGeGe no Kitaro (i.e. Crickity Creak Kitaro or Spooooky~ Kitaro - with GeGeGe (ゲゲゲ) being a Japanese Onomatopoeia meant for scary locations) to better differentiate Mizuki’s rendition of the stories and accent other changes made during that time to the characters and tone of the manga. The name change in 1967 was solidified with the first TV anime in the following year, and the concept of the series from Kitaro being an indifferent observer of yokai and human alike into a full blown hero, and protector of humans from yokai; whose dream is for the peaceful coexistence of the two—made the series more action driven, and children loved it for that. 

But what about Kitaro himself, I’ve written at length about some background info, but some of you may be scratching your head at just what Kitaro is. Well the gist of the story more or less is that it follows a one eyed ghost boy named Kitaro, whom was birthed in a graveyard, and is the sole remaining member of the yurei zoku (or Ghost Tribe). Kitaro is accompanied by Medama-oyaji (or Daddy Eyeball) aka what is left of his father: once a full ghost man (mummy?) himself now all that remains of this spirit is his eyeball, albeit, it is anthropomorphic, at least. 

The two try their best to keep the delicate order of peace between the supernatural yokai (creatures of traditional Japanese folklore) and humans, while making sure the Ghost Tribe doesn't die out. Kitaro is able to fight back when needed through some moderate powers of his own such as shooting his own hair out like projectiles but he mostly gets by through clever gadgets he has. Together they encounter many returning characters such as Kitaro’s best friend and worst enemy Nezumi Otoko (or Rat-man), and others in their large ensemble cast of folklore creatures spanning not just from Japan, but even China, Europe, and America. It becomes a who’s-who of supernatural stories each week, and it’s easy to see how such a simple premise can carry a long way, especially with such rich detail on the folklore and all the creatures present in the series. 

Promotional artwork for the 2008 noitaminA television anime: Hakaba Kitaro. This adaptation
 showed the original, more darker version of the story that had not yet been brought to television.

It’s a bit unsettling, maybe even a bit creepy, but Mizuki’s writing remains a perfect balance of playful yet morbid all at the same time—with a fun sense of humor that never detracted from the overall tone. Perhaps more importantly though, is that Mizuki never shied away from being real in his work. Death obviously plays a huge role in every culture's folklore and Mizuki didn’t try to sugarcoat it, instead he embraced it in his stories. Death was a part of life, and the catchy Kitaro theme song that’s been on TV and in karaoke bars since the late 1960’s joyously boasts about how the characters never have to take tests or quiz, and how they never get sick again. Mizuki's depiction of the undead weren’t in pain, or unhappy, quite the contrary, the afterlife was a never ending party. Even the depictions of the afterlife as well, while true to the classic decor that one might expect out of hell: dark, eerie, otherworldly, and forbidding—wasn't all despair. No, instead the afterlife seemed to stick very close to being just another phase of life; and while we miss those who are separated from us, we all will eventually go there.

I always felt that death wasn’t something Mizuki wanted people to fear—in fact, fear in general seemed oddly missing from his Kitaro series. While it did indeed incorporate horror elements, especially that of American horror comics, and definitely may have spooked younger audiences, the take-away may not be what it seems on the surface, as it was actually the yokai, other supernatural entities, and folklore creatures who were on the end of extinction, not us humans. It was modernity that had weakened them and taken away their homes. Mizuki was the one who famously said that electricity did in the yokai more than anything else, as they can’t stand the bright city lights. This interestingly mirrors real life in a lot of ways as Mizuki watched on to see his country transform to become more western, and more “modern.” The folklore that he loved and grew up with was almost lost entirely to Japan, as it was thought to be more akin to their old, rustic ways of living, maybe even a bit hick-ish, actually. In a very literal sense modernity had all but wiped away the yokai, if not for Mizuki’s love and encyclopedic knowledge of the almost forgotten folklore, and how he brought it back into everyone’s homes with his manga, who knows what culture might have been lost otherwise.

Ushio & Tora, a 1990 manga with a currently (2015) airing anime. One of the many Yokai
anime and manga franchises that follows Mizuki's basic framework.

GeGeGe no Kitaro’s success lead to a boom in horror and yokai related stories in the mainstream media of Japan from then on, and many, many imitators came out riding its coattails in the late 60’s and early 70’s. Some of these imitators were rather good, being fondly remembered even today and have had their own reboots and sequels throughout the years, while others … are probably best left in the past anyways. Even more noticeable however is not the boom in horror/yokai themes that were created back then but the direct effect that Mizuki had left on that genre in total. Even to this day the basic backbone of every modern-day setting yokai story can be traced back to what Mizuki had written. Manga and anime like Kekkaishi, Natsume’s Book of Friends, Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan, Ushio & Tora, and Yo-Kai Watch, just to name a few examples—all follow in Mizuki’s footsteps that modernity has taken away the yokai’s strength and their homes, that humans have overpopulated and almost wiped away their presence, and that even worse, we choose to not believe in them anymore.  

It’s hard to cry when the man who taught you not to fear death passes away; especially when he lived a fascinating and full 93 years, and will no doubt be remembered through his work for generations. Yet I was sad all the same when I did learn of his passing, and ever since then it gnaws at me that I haven’t seen any mainstream English anime or manga site really even do anything about it. There exist some great blog posts dedicated to Shigeru Mizuki for those who wish to read them, but sadly it seems his passing was all about ignored the next day by most. This really is what got me to write about him today, even if it’s the middle of December and doesn’t fit well with the Holiday Season. I do promise that next week will see something a bit more chipper and inline with the season, but for today, let's just remember what Mizuki has done, and be thankful for how much he helped to shape anime and manga, and maybe even a bit of Japanese culture, himself by keeping those old rustic stories alive. I know that while I'm playing my Yo-Kai Watch game in the coming weeks that I’ll feel a bit different knowing that they guy who debatably started it all is no longer with us. May he himself now party on for all eternity, in the afterlife he told us so many times before not to fear.