GeGeGe no Kitarō (2007) (original) (raw)

The fifth anime was aired from April 1, 2007 to March 29, 2009, replacing Digimon Savers on the Sunday 8 AM timeslot, until it was replaced by Dragon Ball Kai on April 5, 2009. It ran for 100 episodes. This series was notable for portraying Neko-Musume as a main rather than supporting cast member and for taking place primarily at the setting of Yōkai Yokochō.

Story[]

"Hello, humans. My name is GeGeGe no Kitarō. If strange or mysterious things happen around you, it is undoubtedly the work of a yōkai. In many cases, yōkai just cause mischief or will only threaten humans. However, please be careful. I can't guarantee that there are other yōkai that will understand you humans like we do. There are yōkai that target and attack humans. It would mean serious trouble if you came across them. Standing your ground with human abilities alone will not be enough. The truth is, yōkai are amazing. Honestly, my friends and I are allies of humans; we're the ones that solve incidents by defeating evil yōkai. With that being said, if anything scary happens, please call out for me! My dad, Neko-Musume, Sunakake-Babaa, Konaki-Jijii and the others will continue to protect you from fearsome yōkai! Next time, we will appear in front of you!"

About[]

As established with the title of the first epsiode, "The Street Where Yōkai Dwell", this series stood out for focusing primarily on the lives and struggles of the yōkai like on Yōkai Yokochō. The style mixes social commentary and pop culture trends, and each episode starts with Kitarō narrating to the audience in a darkened area to build anticipation for the story.

Other unique elements to this series include the depiction of Kitarō as several decades old but still with the body of a child. He is also more willing to punish humans who commit wicked deeds, especially if children are involved. Neko-Musume is promoted from supporting cast to main heroine and appears in every episode along with Kitarō and Medama-Oyaji. In contrast, Nezumi-Otoko has a significantly smaller role, whereas in the past he appeared in all but a couple of episodes throughout the other four adaptations. Although his basic treatment was unchanged, there were several episodes early on where he barely appeared or didn't appear at all. There are also several episodes that are treated as sequels to classic stories, or episodes that are adaptations of classic stories but have a mostly original plot. In the episodes that referenced past cases, the exact details of the cases were left unclear, and elements from the original stories were mixed in with the new plot. For example, in episode #3 they mention having fought Yasha in the past and implications are made he is the same character from the fourth series. Writer Keiichi Hasegawa claims to not be aware of the referrences, but head writer Riku Sanjō has suggested it's easier for the fans to think it's the older characters.

The Yōkai Post is used less frequently, and more often it is Neko-Musume who informs Kitarō of yōkai activity.

Yōkai who had usually only made a handful of appearance in past adaptations, such as Kawauso and Azuki-Arai, are given far more screen time and battle appearances, though as a result of this, the regular Kitarō Family members have a somewhat smaller presence. Weapons like the Yōkai Ocarina and close human allies like Yumeko Tendō or Yūko Murakami are absent this time around, although there is a recurring human character in Makoto Washio. However, the team of Nurarihyon and Shu-no-Bon were brought back as the main antagonists. Unlike previous adaptations, Nurarihyon is depicted as a completely legitimate threat with very few comical moments, although he does show a shred of humanity. He was also depicted with more regular minions other than Shu-no-Bon and even gathered some as the series progressed. The Western Yōkai, who had always made only one appearance in previous adaptations, were also made recurring antagonists. Other long term plans of the series included the 47 Yōkai Warriors, allies of Kitarō's representing each of the 47 prefectures of Japan who were to be introduced gradually.

In an interview with "Otona Anime", Sanjō expressed interest in building the show to run for several years, but the series was abruptly cancelled to make room for the series "Dragon Ball Kai". A lot of stories were left unsettled and so many staff and voice actors of the series referred to the cancellation as a hiatus. In the outro for the final episode, Kitarō even implies the series may continue at a future date. Following the cancellation, Kitarō's voice actress Minami Takayama and other staff members teamed up with Shigeru Mizuki to begin campaigning for a continuation of the series, even campaigning at the World Yōkai Association's annual event in Kyoto at the Toei Kyoto Studio Park.

The entire series was shot digitally, in contrast to the previous series which didn't go digital until episode 64. It was broadcast in widescreen for the terrestrial broadcast and it was displayed in high definition, though this was actually done with upscaling. It was originally cut to full screen for analogue broadcasts, but in December 2008 this changed to letterbox.

Theme Songs[]

Opening

1. GeGeGe no Kitarō - Shigeru Izumiya (Ep. 1~51)
2. GeGeGe no Kitarō - The 50 Kaitenz (Ep. 52~100)

Endings

1. Urameshi Ya - Hidekazu Nagai (Ep. 1~26)
2. Yōkai Yokochō GeGeGe Bushi - Junichi Suwabe (Ep. 27~51)
3. Kakumei no Uta ~Diggin'~ - Rock'a'Trench (Ep. 52~64)
4. Natsu no Mamono - Tsuru (Ep. 65~76)
5. Star Fruits - Merengue (Ep. 75~89)
6. Mikazuki to Kitakaze - Hi Lockation Markets (Ep. 90~100)

Soundtrack

• TV GeGeGe no Kitarō Original Soundtrack (2007, 39 tracks)

Cast[]

Main Cast
Minami TakayamaasKitarō	Isamu TanonakaasMedama-OyajiYoualtepuztli	Hiromi KonnoasNeko-Musume	Wataru TakagiasNezumi-OtokoShibaten

Main Cast
Keiko YamamotoasSunakake-BabaaShisa	Naoki TatsutaasKonaki-JijiiNurikabe	Jōji YanamiasIttan-Momen

Main Recurring Cast
Yūko MaruyamaasKawauso	Haruna IkezawaasAmabie	Machiko ToyoshimaasRokuro-KubiKuro	Sara NakayamaasYobuko	Yasuhiro TakatoasKasa-BakeWildKyūso	Hideyuki TanakaasBakerō

Recurring Cast
Toshio FurukawaasAobōzu	Tomoko NakaasOhaguro-BettariJion-Ō	Masato HiranoasAbura-Sumashi	Takeshi KusaoasMakoto Washio	Hikaru MidorikawaasKuro-Karasu

Recurring Cast
Takeshi AonoasNurarihyon	Katsuyuki KonishiasShu-no-BonAzuki-AraiDracula III	Reiko SuzukiasJakotsu-Babaa	Masami KikuchiasKamaitachi

Recurring Cast
Daisuke GōriasEnma-Daiō	Masashi HiroseasGokan-Ō	Eiji TakemotoasSō-Daiō	Hidekatsu ShibataasBackbeard	Ai NonakaasZambia

Semi-Recurring Cast
Fumihiko TachikiasAkamata	Isshin ChibaasLangsuyar	Daisuke KishioasPo	Masumi AsanoasMiu	Hiro ShimonoasKai

Semi-Recurring Cast
Mayumi TanakaasNurikabe-NyōbōKemedama	Hisao EgawaasTsurube-Otoshi	Kōji YadaasIdo-Sennin	Naomi KusumiasYagyō-sanDai-Tengu	Masaya TakatsukaasTsurube-Bi	Daisuke SakaguchiasTofu-Kozō

Semi-Recurring Cast
Mie SonozakiasAoi	Rumi KasaharaasYuki-Jorō	Jōji NakataasYadōkai	Bin ShimadaasQi	Chikao ŌtsukaasHakusanbō

Main Cast Notes[]

• Isamu Tanonaka once again reprises his role of Medama-Oyaji, as he had for all previous adaptations.
• Wataru Takagi had previously voiced guest characters in the 1996 adaptation.
• Keiko Yamamoto reprises her role of Sunakake-Babaa from the 1971 and 1996 adaptations. She also reprises her role of Shisa from the 1985 adaptation.
• Jōji Yanami reprises his role of Ittan-Momen from the 1985 adaptation.
• Naoki Tatsuta reprises his role of Nurikabe from the 1996 adaptation.
• Takeshi Aono, Hidekatsu Shibata and Daisuke Gōri reprise their respective roles of Nurarihyon, Backbeard and Enma-Daiō from the 1985 adaptation. Gōri had also previously voiced Shu-no-Bon in the 1996 adaptation.
• Toshio Furukawa, Mayumi Tanaka and Hideyuki Tanaka would go on to voice Nezumi-Otoko, Sunakake-Babaa and Backbeard respectively in the 2018 adaptation.

Guest Cast[]

Voice actors who voiced main characters in previous adaptations are listed bold.

• The 50 Kaitenz - Themselves
• Mai Aizawa
• Kenji Akabane
• Hidemi Anzai
• Yoshiyuki Arai - Tanaka
• Kae Araki
• Tomohisa Asō - Kyōkotsu and others
• Ai Bandō
• Chafūrin - Pii
• Shigeru Chiba
• Chō
• Misato Fukuen
• Kōhei Fukuhara - Tengu Police, Sara-Kozō 3 and others
• Kenji Hamada
• Kōji Haramaki - Kaminari-Kubi and others
• Kōichi Hashimoto
• Kumiko Higa
• Ryō Hirohashi - Zashiki-Warashi and others
• Yukiko Hirotsu
• Aya Hisakawa
• Nobuyuki Hiyama - Mahi Mahi
• Katsuhisa Hōki - Jubokko
• Mitsuaki Hoshino
• Kazuya Ichijō
• Atsushi Ii
• Chigusa Ikeda
• Michihiro Ikemizu
• Naoki Imamura
• Tetsu Inada
• Fumiko Inoue
• Kikuko Inoue
• Norihiro Inoue - Count Dracula
• Tarō Ishida - Elite
• Unshō Ishizuka - Makura-Gaeshi
• Kanae Itō
• Hiroshi Iwasaki - Tsujigami
• Mitsuo Iwata - Kubire-Oni
• Hirohiko Kakegawa
• Akemi Kanda
• Tomoko Kaneda - Nami-Kozō
• Hidehiko Kaneko - Kappa, Tengu and others
• Yoshihiro Kanemitsu - Tengu Police and others
• Yui Kano
• Yūta Kasuya - Gremlin, Sara-Kozō 2 and others
• Emiri Katō
• Masako Katsuki - Osakabe-hime
• Nanaho Katsuragi - Numa-Gozen
• Tomoko Kawakami Gorgon
• Machiko Kawana
• Yōko Kawanami
• Miyuki Kawashō
• Yasuhiko Kawazu
• Mami Kingetsu - Shiro-Kihatsu, Futakuchi-Onna
• Atsushi Kisaichi - Hidemaru, Kyushu Kappa and others
• Reiko Kiuchi - Kamanari, Kenji
• Michitaka Kobayashi
• Rika Komatsu
• Yuka Komatsu
• Takehiro Koyama - Tanuki
• Takehito Koyasu - Panther
• Rie Kugimiya
• Motoko Kumai
• Taiten Kusunoki - Shōkera
• Hōko Kuwashima - Dodomeki, Honeta
• Mitsuaki Madono - Gion-Ō, Itsu-Maden
• Ai Maeda
• Noboru Maeda - Yamada
• Yui Makino
• Mami
• Eiji Maruyama
• Yasunori Masutani
• Daisuke Matsubara
• Naoko Matsui - Gahi, Fuguruma-Yōbi and others
• Kōhei Matsumoto - Funa-Yūrei, Kappa and others
• Midori Matsuo - Herself
• Ako Mayama - Iso-Onna
• Shinichirō Miki - Hitotsume-Kozō
• Yūko Mita
• Hiroaki Miura
• Shunzō Miyasaka
• Kōki Miyata - Kinoshita
• Hiromu Miyazaki - Yuki-Otoko and others
• Toshiyuki Morikawa
• Masakazu Morita - Balmond
• Yasuo Muramatsu - Keukegen
• Takeshi Mori - Mōryō and others
• Takashi Nagasako - Mikoshi-Nyūdō, Yoshinaga
• Hiroshi Naka - Anagura-Nyūdō
• Mai Nakahara
• Kazuya Nakai
• Ryōhei Nakao
• Ryūsei Nakao - Onmoraki
• Kaori Nazuka
• Kōta Nemoto - Funa-Yūrei and others
• Hitomi Nibatame
• Kumiko Nishihara - Pepeko, Akaei
• Hiromi Nishikawa
• Chinami Nishimura
• Tomomichi Nishimura
• Tamotsu Nishiwaki
• Keiichi Noda
• Kenji Nomura - Kimura
• Yūsuke Numata
• Mahito Ōba - Dorotabō
• Mitsuru Ogata - Azuki-Hakari
• Hiroshi Okamoto
• Tōru Ōkawa
• Ryōtarō Okiayu
• Makiko Ōmoto
• Masaya Onosaka - Amefuri-Kozō, Hiderigami
• Fumiko Orikasa - Sayako Tsukino
• Shinichirō Ōta
• Ryūzabrō Ōtomo - Yasha, Kurobōzu, Bake-Tōrō, Golem
• Akio Ōtsuka
• Chiwa Saitō
• Kimiko Saitō
• Shirō Saitō - Gyūki
• Yuka Saitō
• Takahiko Sakaguma
• Takahiro Sakurai - Neko-Shō
• Kaoru Sasajima - Hanako
• Ai Sasaki
• Yūko Sasamoto
• Akemi Satō
• Chie Satō
• Masaharu Satō
• Satomi Satō - Kijimuna and others
• Yūko Satō - Mashiro
• Ikuya Sawaki - Umizatō
• Yumiko Shibata
• Yū Shimaka
• Junko Shimakata - Baby
• Naomi Shindō
• Kōzō Shioya
• Ryōko Shiraishi
• Umeka Shōji
• Yōko Sōmi - Hone-Onna
• Keiichi Sonobe
• Yumi Sudō
• Hisayoshi Suganuma
• Junichi Suwabe - Bake-Zōri
• Kiyonobu Suzuki - Osore
• Masami Suzuki - Yōkai Castle and others
• Masaru Suzuki
• Takuma Suzuki
• Reiko Takagi
• Sanae Takagi
• Hirofumi Tanaka - Mōryō, Tengu Police and others
• Ikuko Tatsu
• Nobuo Tobita - Amamehagi
• Kōichi Tōchika - Uwan
• Mai Tōdō
• Yasuhiko Tokugawa
• Yumi Tōma - Baby
• Michie Tomizawa - Kuro-Kihatsu
• Mariko Tonomura
• Rie Tozuka
• Masa'aki Tsukada
• Kyōsei Tsukui - Nobiagari
• Shinpachi Tsuji - Iwanabōzu
• Mahito Tsujimura
• Makoto Tsumura
• Hidenari Ugaki - Shiro-Uneri, Evil Spirit
• Megumi Urawa
• Misa Watanabe - Hari-Onago
• Takehiko Watanabe
• Eiji Wentz - Boyfriend
• Kappei Yamaguchi
• Mayumi Yamaguchi
• Jin Yamanoi
• Keiichirō Yamamoto
• Wakana Yamazaki
• Saki Yasuda - Kijimuna and others
• Takahiro Yoshimizu
• Yukana
• Satsuki Yukino

Episodes[]

| 009 | The Ghost Train Goes to the Other WorldYūrei Densha Anoyo Iki(ゆうれい電車あの世行き) | 2007-05-27 | Keiichi Hasegawa | Hiroyuki Kakudō | Yōsuke Yabumoto | | | --- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------- | ---------------- | --------------- | --------------- | | | | | | | | | |

| 034 | Yōkai Yokochō's Cruise to HellYōkai Yokochō no Jigoku Nagashi(妖怪横丁の地獄流し) | 2007-11-25 | Keiichi Hasegawa | Tomoharu Katsumata | Yōsuke Yabumoto | | | --- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------- | ---------------- | ------------------ | --------------- | | | | | | | | | |

Staff[]

Movies[]

• Gekijouban GeGeGe no Kitarō: Nippon Bakuretsu!! - Released December 13, 2008.

Revival attempts[]

Riku Sanjō revealed on an interview for Otona-Media that the fifth anime was planned to be at least 126 episodes in total and potentially up to 150 episodes. Its abrupt end was due to several causes; Bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers severely declined sales of related items of many animes hence the sponsors made Tōei to lose its budget, and correspondingly, it was their timing to promote Dragon Ball series for upcoming Hollywood adaptation, thus the end of the fifth anime was decided to release DragonBall Kai just before the release of GeGeGe no Kitarō: Nippon Bakuretsu!! despite the fifth anime had stable audience rates. Voice actors and anime staffs formed a petition team called Team Gegege (ゲゲゲ組 Gegege-Gumi) to try to revive the fifth series and the team was supported by Mizuki Profuction and World Yokai Association. However, deaths of voice actors including Isamu Tanonaka and Daisuke Gōri and Takeshi Aono impacted on their project, and the team was dismissed. However, Riku Sanjo later hired staffs and voice actors for his later work of Digimon Xros Wars (Digimon Fusion). The casting of Hakaba Kitarō also influenced casting of Digimon Fusion.[1][2] The discontinueing of the fifth anime also resulted in the transfer of Digimon Fusion to TV Asahi's timeslot, as the show was planned to be set in the 9AM slot after the fifth anime.[3]

Mizuki wrote on his book My Days (Japanese) that while Mizuki Production had some incomes thanks to a hit of GeGeGe no Nyōbō series, Mizuki was wondering that it might be the end of the fifth anime, and he passed away in 2015. It was in 2018 after the Dragon Ball Super that GeGeGe no Kitarō made the next comeback on TV slot.

Team Gegege's T-Shirt with autographs of voice actors

DVD Covers[]

First Episode[]

【公式】ゲゲゲの鬼太郎（第5期） 第1話「妖怪の棲む街」

References[]

1. ↑ Hiroyuki Kakudō, 2012, あとはヤマトパパの部下が当時のアシスタントプロデューサー、現クロスウォーズのプロデューサの桜田と当時演出助手の地岡君で、バンダナ頭は前に上げた写真でもわかるかも。彼は劇中の2002年クリスマスより早く演出デビューして後に墓場鬼太郎の監督となったのでした。 on Twitter
2. ↑ TV Asahi Corporation, October 2, 2010,「アニメ制作潜入ツアー！！「デジモン」ができるまで」
3. ↑ ドラゴンボールリバイバルの陰で