Gegege no Kitaro Film And Akuma-kun Anime Reveal Parts of Teaser Visual

It’s been more than five years since Shigeru Mizuki passed away, but his works still remain popular among the fantasy and comedy-horror genres. 

Two of his most famous manga, Gegege no Kitaro and Akuma-kun, paved the way for other demon and spirit-related stories while continuing to build a name for themselves.

These two franchises grew rapidly by producing various adaptations like anime and video games which are still quite the buzz among the veterans and the newbies alike. The series made their debut in the 1960s and are now back with some exciting and scary stuff.

Shigeru Mizuki’s Gegege no Kitaro, and Akuma-kun franchises, have revealed a part of their upcoming anime film and series installments.

The first one is of the Gegege no Kitaro anime film titled ‘Kitaro Tanjo: Gegege no Nazo’ (Kitaro Birth: the Mystery of Gegege). The film will most likely dive deep into the protagonist Kitaro’s early life and birth.

The visual shows someone’s fingers are covering something. It is most likely Kitaro’s fingers covering a part of his face, probably his left eye socket, which is hollow. Moreover, the entire image looks like a rough manga-style sketch.

Kitaro is a yokai boy (demon boy) who wishes humans and yokai to live peacefully together and consistently works on it. With his other yokai friends and allies, Kitaro battles vicious spirits who want to bring chaos to the world and ruin the relationships between humankind and demonkind.

Being the last survivor of the Ghost Tribe, Kitaro is mighty and is over 350 years old. The anime series and previous films always showed his present-day adventures, and the film will be digging into his roots and answering the mystery behind his birth.

The second teaser visual is of the new Akuma-kun anime series that will be based around the story’s iconic characters but with a refreshing animation style.

The visual features a fearsome demon eye, and the blood-red color makes it even scarier. 

The anime centers around a boy, Shingo Umoregi, a prodigy who appears once every 10,000 years. Due to his knowledge about demons, Shingo is nicknamed ‘Akuma-kun’ by his friends.

Like any other protagonist, Shingo or Akuma-kun strives for peace among humanity and wants all humans to live happily. The twist is that Shingo believes that he can only achieve this goal by harnessing the power of the demons. 

The franchise was made into an anime back in the 1980s, and now that it’s coming back, we couldn’t be any more excited for it. Junichi Sato, who directed the original anime in 1989, will be coming back as the director for the new one, making it even more special.

Both the film and the films are part of Shigeru Mizuki’s 100th birth anniversary celebration. Gegege no Kitaro film and Akuma-kun series are two of the four big projects planned for commemorating the late mangaka’s birth.

It is so exciting that the younger generation can sit and enjoy these stories with their parents or grandparents who were fans of Mizuki’s work. He truly connects generations with his engaging yet straightforward stories, and I cannot wait for them to come out.

About Gegege no Kitaro

Gegege no Kitaro, known initially as Hakaba Kitaro, is a manga series by Shigeru Mizuki published in 1960. The manga is famous for being a horror comedy and features demons, spirits, and folklore from many cultures.

The story revolves around a yokai boy (demon boy), Kitaro, the last surviving member of the Ghost Tribe. Together with his other yokai friends, Kitaro strives for peace between the humans and the demons.

Source: Toei Animation

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