Along with Tezuka Osamu (Astro Boy, Jungle Taitei), Hasegawa Machiko (Sazae-san), Ishinomori Shotaro (Kamen Rider, Kikaider) and Fujio Fujiko (Doraemon, Pa-Man, Obake Q-Taro), Mizuki Shigeru is among one of the most prolific Japanese manga artists of his time. His "Ge Ge Ge No Kitaro" manga, which debuted in 1959, re-introduced Japanese children and adults to the fantastical, spooky and sometimes horrific folklore of the Japanese "yokai" (ghost spirits).
The fascinating mythology of the yokai is rooted in Japan's ancient past but was captured by ukiyo-e (woodblock print) artists during the Edo period (1603-1868) in elaborate, colorful and wondrous art which is much sought after even now. Drawing from this rich world of ghoulish and haunting imagery by artists like Toriyama Sekien and Aotoshi Matsui, Mizuki created "Ge Ge Ge No Kitaro", which told the story of a ghost boy born in a cemetery from the womb of his dead mother and who used his supernatural abilities to protect humans from the mischief and torments of other Yokai like himself.
"Ge Ge Ge No Kitaro" proved to be Mizuki's most popular character, so much so that the manga series lasted more than a decade in print and spawned five different anime series (1968-1969, 1971-1972, 1985-1988, 1996-1998, 2007) and several movies (mostly anime "Eiga-ban" versions of the series). There is even a museum dedicated to Mizuki and his creation in the town of Sakaiminato in Tottori Prefecture, Japan. The "Ge Ge Ge No Kitaro" theme, which cleverly remarked at how carefree a ghost's life can be, is still fondly remembered by adults.
Motoki Katsuhide's live action version is just the latest installment to come to light and While all the elements from the manga and anime are here, this version unfortunately doesn't have the charm or fun.
Pop idol Wentz Eiji (one half of singing duo WaT along with Koike Teppei) plays the ghostly hero, Kitaro. Wentz plays a slightly older version of the character, who in the manga and anime is generally supposed to be an eternally young elementary aged kid. From the grey fright wig to the tattered uniform and wooden "geta" shoes, Wentz looks ridiculous. What may have worked in anime doesn't seem to translate well to live action.
The movie in fact seemed very much a Disney-like kid's movie with much of the action toned down and more of the slapstick variety than frightening or thrilling.
The main story revolves around a young boy, Miura Kenta (Uchida Yuka) and his father's (Riju Go) possession of a magical talisman that was said to be forged by the goddess Tenko (Koyuki) and in which housed the spirits of mad Shogun Oda Nobunaga and Christian warrior Amakusa Shiro among others. The talisman was protected by a pack of "Bakke Kitsune" (Ghost Foxes) whose leader, Sora Gitsune/Sky Fox (Hashimoto Satoshi) obsessively wants to retrieve it back so he can use its power to become a god.
Wentz makes for a passable if albeit uninteresting Kitaro and his disinterested acting style was more than a bit boring. The pretty Inoue Mao makes for a slightly more interesting character and love interest as Miura Mika but her scenes are too few and ultimately she is relegated to just the "girl in peril". Uchida Yuka is a cute kid but he is frankly annoying as Kenta.
I was pretty surprised at how silly and cheap some of the costuming and SFX/CGI effects in general looked. One can't help but be disappointed considering the missed opportunities at bringing to life Mizuki's unique yokai designs which were so spooky in the manga.
When reviewing "Ge Ge Ge Kitaro" it's impossible to not make comparisons to two other recent films that also dealt with Yokai - Miike Takashi's "Yokai Daisensou" remake and Shiota Akihiko's "Dororo" both of which were much better films technically and story wise.
Whereas "Yokai Daisensou" and "Dororo" succeeded in bringing to life the mythical creatures of Japan like Kappa, Tengu and other ghosts, the yokai in "Ge Ge Ge No Kitaro" seem to be just bland "man-in-a-suit" types, and looked much more at home on children's "Tokusatsu" TV than on the big screen.
Surprisingly, a number of recognizable Japanese "talento" (stars) make guest cameos as various Yokai, among which were 'YOU', Koyuki, Nishida Toshiyuki, Dave Spector, Nakamura Shido, Kanbe Hiroshi, Takeshima Yasunori, Fuji Takashi, Yanagisawa Shingo, and Tani Kei but their efforts don't really save the film and amount to mere interesting and comical diversions from the lackluster story.
Kitaro's inner circle of friends and associates was another bright spot. Tanonaka Isamu who has voiced Kitaro's wise father, Medama No Oyaji, in most of the anime versions, once again does the honors here. Oizumi Yo (Gamera 2, Udon) is hilarious as the treacherous Human-Yokai hybrid Nezumi Otoko. Much like Dr. Zachary Smith of "Lost In Space", his constant scheming and cowardly antics were much amusing. Tanaka Rena (Drugstore Gal, GTO, Tokyo Marigold) is also great as Neko Musume, the cat-like "girl friend" of Kitaro. Muroi Shigeru (Makoto, Out) as Sunakake Baba and Hazama Kanbei (Out) as Konaki Jiji were also very good in their roles although they weren't given much screen time.
Overall "Ge Ge Ge Kitaro" seemed squarely geared towards undemanding kids and tweens who just want to watch kid friendly entertainment but to those like myself who were hoping for slightly more edgier entertainment in the spirit of the anime series or other ghost movies like "Ghostbusters", "Ge Ge Ge Kitaro" was a bit of a disappointment.
The fascinating mythology of the yokai is rooted in Japan's ancient past but was captured by ukiyo-e (woodblock print) artists during the Edo period (1603-1868) in elaborate, colorful and wondrous art which is much sought after even now. Drawing from this rich world of ghoulish and haunting imagery by artists like Toriyama Sekien and Aotoshi Matsui, Mizuki created "Ge Ge Ge No Kitaro", which told the story of a ghost boy born in a cemetery from the womb of his dead mother and who used his supernatural abilities to protect humans from the mischief and torments of other Yokai like himself.
"Ge Ge Ge No Kitaro" proved to be Mizuki's most popular character, so much so that the manga series lasted more than a decade in print and spawned five different anime series (1968-1969, 1971-1972, 1985-1988, 1996-1998, 2007) and several movies (mostly anime "Eiga-ban" versions of the series). There is even a museum dedicated to Mizuki and his creation in the town of Sakaiminato in Tottori Prefecture, Japan. The "Ge Ge Ge No Kitaro" theme, which cleverly remarked at how carefree a ghost's life can be, is still fondly remembered by adults.
Motoki Katsuhide's live action version is just the latest installment to come to light and While all the elements from the manga and anime are here, this version unfortunately doesn't have the charm or fun.
Pop idol Wentz Eiji (one half of singing duo WaT along with Koike Teppei) plays the ghostly hero, Kitaro. Wentz plays a slightly older version of the character, who in the manga and anime is generally supposed to be an eternally young elementary aged kid. From the grey fright wig to the tattered uniform and wooden "geta" shoes, Wentz looks ridiculous. What may have worked in anime doesn't seem to translate well to live action.
The movie in fact seemed very much a Disney-like kid's movie with much of the action toned down and more of the slapstick variety than frightening or thrilling.
The main story revolves around a young boy, Miura Kenta (Uchida Yuka) and his father's (Riju Go) possession of a magical talisman that was said to be forged by the goddess Tenko (Koyuki) and in which housed the spirits of mad Shogun Oda Nobunaga and Christian warrior Amakusa Shiro among others. The talisman was protected by a pack of "Bakke Kitsune" (Ghost Foxes) whose leader, Sora Gitsune/Sky Fox (Hashimoto Satoshi) obsessively wants to retrieve it back so he can use its power to become a god.
Wentz makes for a passable if albeit uninteresting Kitaro and his disinterested acting style was more than a bit boring. The pretty Inoue Mao makes for a slightly more interesting character and love interest as Miura Mika but her scenes are too few and ultimately she is relegated to just the "girl in peril". Uchida Yuka is a cute kid but he is frankly annoying as Kenta.
I was pretty surprised at how silly and cheap some of the costuming and SFX/CGI effects in general looked. One can't help but be disappointed considering the missed opportunities at bringing to life Mizuki's unique yokai designs which were so spooky in the manga.
When reviewing "Ge Ge Ge Kitaro" it's impossible to not make comparisons to two other recent films that also dealt with Yokai - Miike Takashi's "Yokai Daisensou" remake and Shiota Akihiko's "Dororo" both of which were much better films technically and story wise.
Whereas "Yokai Daisensou" and "Dororo" succeeded in bringing to life the mythical creatures of Japan like Kappa, Tengu and other ghosts, the yokai in "Ge Ge Ge No Kitaro" seem to be just bland "man-in-a-suit" types, and looked much more at home on children's "Tokusatsu" TV than on the big screen.
Surprisingly, a number of recognizable Japanese "talento" (stars) make guest cameos as various Yokai, among which were 'YOU', Koyuki, Nishida Toshiyuki, Dave Spector, Nakamura Shido, Kanbe Hiroshi, Takeshima Yasunori, Fuji Takashi, Yanagisawa Shingo, and Tani Kei but their efforts don't really save the film and amount to mere interesting and comical diversions from the lackluster story.
Kitaro's inner circle of friends and associates was another bright spot. Tanonaka Isamu who has voiced Kitaro's wise father, Medama No Oyaji, in most of the anime versions, once again does the honors here. Oizumi Yo (Gamera 2, Udon) is hilarious as the treacherous Human-Yokai hybrid Nezumi Otoko. Much like Dr. Zachary Smith of "Lost In Space", his constant scheming and cowardly antics were much amusing. Tanaka Rena (Drugstore Gal, GTO, Tokyo Marigold) is also great as Neko Musume, the cat-like "girl friend" of Kitaro. Muroi Shigeru (Makoto, Out) as Sunakake Baba and Hazama Kanbei (Out) as Konaki Jiji were also very good in their roles although they weren't given much screen time.
Overall "Ge Ge Ge Kitaro" seemed squarely geared towards undemanding kids and tweens who just want to watch kid friendly entertainment but to those like myself who were hoping for slightly more edgier entertainment in the spirit of the anime series or other ghost movies like "Ghostbusters", "Ge Ge Ge Kitaro" was a bit of a disappointment.
