ゲゲゲの鬼太郎 ブルーレイディスク

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 Gegege no Kitaro manga, which debuted in 1959, reintroduced 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 Gegege 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.

Gegege 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 Gegege 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 seems 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). His father (Riju Go) gains possession of a magical talisman that is said to be forged by the goddess Tenko (Koyuki). The talisman houses the spirits of mad Shogun Oda Nobunaga and Christian warrior Amakusa Shiro among others, and is 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 is 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 costumes 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 Gegege no Kitaro it's impossible to not make comparisons to two other recent films that also dealt with Yokai, Miike Takashi's Yokai Daisensou remake (AKA: The Great Yokai War) 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 Gegege no Kitaro seem to be just bland "man-in-a-suit" types which would look 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, including 'You', Koyuki, Nishida Toshiyuki, Dave Spector, Nakamura Shido, Kanbe Hiroshi, Takeshima Yasunori, Fuji Takashi, Yanagisawa Shingo, and Tani Kei. However, 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 is another bright spot. Tanonaka Isamu, who 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 are 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 are also very good in their roles although they aren't given much screen time.

Overall Gegege no Kitaro seems 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, Gegege no Kitaro is a bit of a disappointment. (JMaruyama 2007)

images courtesy of http://www.bespara.jp/