Hakaba Kitarou

The concept of Youkai has stood the test of time for hundreds of years, and whether or not they truly exist has been a thought pondered throughout its history. However, knowing the truth about their existence isn’t as important when Youkai have undoubtedly played an influential role in Japanese art, history, culture, and identity. Youkai can be found everywhere in modern art, especially being referenced or playing huge roles in video games and anime. The modern revitalisation of Youkai can be traced back to the heavily influential manga Gegege no Kitarou by Shigeru Mizuki, which popularised Youkai culture in the mainstream in the 1960s. Gegege ... no Kitarou’s idea of Youkai was that of creatures who had stories to be told, creatures that needed to be understood. Kitarou, the main character of the series, made it his mission to allow Youkai and humans to live in harmony. He wants to befriend both sides in the hopes that youkai and humans can understand each other. The themes and ideas represented in Gegege no Kitarou were undoubtedly incredibly influential, with anime like Natsume Yuujinchou and even Youkai Watch sharing a lot of common themes with Kitarou.

Hakaba Kitarou represents almost none of these ideas. In fact, this series is almost the complete opposite of everything Gegege no Kitarou and its subsequent influences stood for. It’s actually impressive how different Hakaba is from its counterpart. So, the question now is: just what exactly is Hakaba Kitarou?

Not to be confused with the renaming of the Weekly Shounen Magazine version of Hakaba Kitarou, which changed to Gegege no Kitarou in 1967, Hakaba Kitarou’s anime adapts the stories told in the Kashi-hon release of Hakaba Kitarou in 1959. This version of the story is much more gruesome and cynical than its counterpart, and this is seen most clearly in its characters. Hakaba’s take on the character of Kitarou is that of a self-fulfilling asshole, only seeking to perform actions that benefit himself and no one else. This is reflected in the episodes where Kitarou straight-up curses other humans, something you never see his future counterpart do. But, to give him credit where credit is deserved, Kitarou specifically curses those who are greedy and cause harm to others. But still, Kitarou doesn’t seek to unite Youkai and humans; on the contrary, he seems to have fun seeing humans being tormented. Throughout the anime, Kitarou seems to take a backseat, not really intervening with the Youaki or humans. This is an interesting difference from Gegege, since Kitarou in the main series acts as a hero who’s there to save the day. While there are moments where Kitarou’s humanity is shown, like in the Neko Musume story, Kitarou never shows any sign of alignment. He’s neither good nor bad, creating this moral ambiguity that the viewer can never be certain about.

Hakaba isn’t afraid to show death in the most gruesome of ways possible, with many of its characters dying a horrible, and I mean horrible, death. There’s even a character who is a clone of Kitarou who just randomly dies one episode and never shows up again, which I found to be rather humorous looking back. This grim and macabre portrayal of death is one with very little subtlety, often used as the answer to greed and corruption within its world. My problem with this is the lack of substance to convey any other interesting ideas or messages. Hakaba Kitarou has very little value for human life, so much so that it is in complete opposition to the themes of Gegege no Kitarou. However, this is only a personal complaint, since this portrayal of death is certainly an aesthetic choice in conjunction with the anime as a whole.

One thing you may immediately notice upon watching Hakaba Kitarou is that its art style is awfully familiar. Takashi Kurahashi, the art director of Mononoke, also played the role of the art director of Hakaba Kitarou. Many of Mononoke’s visual sensibilities can be found within Hakaba with the choice of colouring, shading, and texture of the drawings, as well as general shot composition with a focus on still wide angles that help create an eerie atmosphere during certain scenes. The sound design is also particularly noticeable, with a focus on the use of classical Japanese instruments and sound effects to assist with the overall eerie atmosphere. Hakaba Kitarou consistently has an unsettling aura to it, one that is only matched by the likes of Mononoke. It helps that the entire aesthetic style of Hakaba complements the overall atmosphere and pacing in a way that is incredibly unique to itself.

If the sound of macabre themes and gruesome portrayals of death all wrapped within a creepy and atmospheric art style sounds interesting to you, then I highly recommend giving Hakaba Kitarou a watch. While it may be a huge departure from Gegege no Kitarou, and by huge, I mean a complete 180, Hakaba Kitarou is a great little series separate from the main decade-long anime franchise and provides an interesting insight into what Kitarou could’ve been.

Those who are frequent with Japanese Occultism must know about Kitarou and Nurarhiyon because they have been famous for their anime adaptation. And those who love to dwell in Japanese Ghost stories must have heard of or watched Ge Ge Ge no Kitarou (Spooky Kitarou) in their life. So what is different between Hakaba Kitarou (Graveyard Kitarou)- HK for short - and Ge Ge Ge no Kitarou (Spooky Kitarou) - GKfor short? Well, GK has been serialized and reanimated from the 1960s till 2018 almost 5 to 6 times and every time it has been about the haunting ghosts creating problems for normal humans and ... Kitarou will save the day by purging these 'Bad Ghost or Demon, Obāke. But what about HK? Well, it's a new concept by Shigeru Mizuki sensei, the mangaka of these anime's manga, who crafted a new Kitarou who is not your hero but the Ghost Child. Watching GK, I have always wondered... There are ghosts in this anime but why is it not 'Spooky' as the title suggests? Umm... It is for children who got scared easily by any horror tale or story. GK is like the friendly Ghost stories that any grandparents would like to tell their grandchildren. But HK is not like that because it redefines the Kitarou from his horrified beginning from his birth and how this newborn child with the blood of Ancient Ghost Descendant or Clan will bring some spooky phenomenon to this world.
For the story, I would like to give it - an 8, because it distinctly differs from the GK, and though some of the stories like Horror ride of the broken rail car, or Johnny the Vampire have been adapted from original work they hold their uniqueness in the retelling of the story and somewhat gloomy environment.
For art, I should've given 9 but 8 would be sufficient. To talk about art, I have watched the black and white version of the 1960s up to the vibrant colorful version of 2007, each adaptation has brought its individualism but what is most amazing about HK is that it doesn't follow the old pattern but it brings out the very eerieness in the background of the very story. The darkened screen with less vibrant but effectively dense colors gives HK its very own horror surroundings.
Sound... Well, it is 8 for me, again! Background music or Soundtrack gives you the spookiness of its own. You know, you're watching a horror anime but is it horror anime if there is no eerie sound of screeching door or heavy wind? HK gives you that pleasure.
Character.... I'll say 9!! Why? Because I liked it that much! By omitting the original group of Kitarou's team members like Ittan Mommen and 3 more ghosts, this anime didn't lack any proficiency. But it did include Nezumi Ōtoko and somewhat Neko Onna in their sense. Without Nezumi Ōtoko there will never be anime comedy in Kitarou. And this Child Kitarou was like the Kitarou you'll never imagine because he's selfish, non-reliable and a problem child and that makes the difference.
Enjoyment? Well, I enjoyed it very much that's why it's 8 from me, and you know why is that, right?
Overall it stands at 8. Well, nobody is perfect but still, it's worth a try to give a modern adaptation a chance because you don't know how different may your perspective may change...
Please give it a try...

Hakaba Kitarou is the sixth adaptation of the original Hakaba Kitarou manga, which is more known as Gegege no Kitarou. It is a rather strange series that has a nice blend of comedy and horror. From the description and art, it may seem "kiddie", like the other Gegege no Kitarou adaptations, but it is far from it. This series has quite a sense of humor, so those who like dark comedy may like this series.

Story: Hakaba Kitarou does not actually have an overarching plot. Most of the episodes can stand on their own, and there is very little connection between what happens from the ... previous episode to the next one, with the exception of one or two of the episodes. The titular character, Kitarou, is the last living descendant of the Ghost Tribe, and it is basically a story of his various encounters with different supernatural beings. The story in each of the individual episodes are interesting and a bit peculiar. The only downside though is that they become repetitive after the halfway point. A few of the later stand alone episodes felt like they were following a standard formula with variations here and there.

Art: The art director, Takashi Kurahashi, is the same guy who did the wonderful art direction in Mononoke. I loved it there and I loved it here. The art style fits nicely in this series and is very distinct as each of the monster designs are original and unique. The series tends to use dark, gloomy colors, which nicely sets up the atmosphere, but when it uses brighter colors, it makes those colors more vibrant. This series also uses a lot of camera angles so the animation may seem a bit stiff in some parts.

Sound: This series uses its soundtrack effectively to set up the atmosphere and mood. And unlike a lot of anime soundtracks, where they use musical scores and pieces, this soundtrack uses a lot of sounds. One of such often heard sounds is the clucky wood-hitting-on-wood sound. They also nicely utilize ghostly, supernatural sounds. The opening is very catchy, upbeat, and different from your usual OP, as it shows panels of the manga. It has also become one of my favorites. The ending, however, could have been better and is a bit bland compared to its wonderful opening. The voice acting is also very good, though I was a bit surprised at first by how low Kitarou sounded when he first spoke. His chuckle is very creepily well done.

Characters: The majority of the cast are morally ambiguous. No one is entirely good and no one is entirely bad. You first have Kitarou, who is definitely not your average goody good shoe protagonist. He does things based almost purely on his own benefits. Then you have Nezumi Otoko, also called the Rat Man, who shows some antagonistic tendencies towards Kitarou, but is not exactly one. He is rational, and like Kitarou, does things if it benefits him. The side characters also show various shades of gray. It sounds as if I'm giving a lot of praise to the characters, but it works more like a double-edged sword. Although Kitarou and Rat Man's antics are amusing, I found myself not really caring for them for the most part. I should also warn that this series tends to kill off its character with little to no regard, so that may make it hard to feel for them.

Enjoyment: I found some episodes amazing, I found exactly two of the episodes disappointing (the ones with a certain cat girl), and the others ranged from very good to decent. Many of the episodes could be hit or miss, so it basically comes down to whatever floats your boat. I enjoyed the majority of the episodes, save for the two that I thought were disappointing.

Overall: I felt that this series did very well in how it sets up its atmosphere and weirdness. It was unique, had great art direction and an exceptional soundtrack, though the characters was what I felt as its weak point. They were not necessarily bad characters; I just didn’t care for most of them. Who knows, maybe others will love them. The plot could have been a bit better in some of the episodes, but as a whole, it's unique as it is. Though, the series does leave certain things unexplained, but I guess they could always use the 'it's supernatural' explanation. Definitely a good and unique series, though it may not float everyone's boats. Final verdict: 7/10