Ge Ge Ge no Kitarô is a manga of monstrous creatures by Mizuki Shigeru (1992- ), formerly a creator of kamishibai (pcture-story show). The story of Kitarô first appeared in the rental comic magazine Yokiden [Weird and Monstrous Stories] in 1959 and was published in series under the title of Hakaba Kitarô [Kitarô of Graveyard]. The story began to be serialized in the comic magazine Shûkan Shônen Magajin [Weekly Boys’ Magazine] in 1965. At first the title was Hakaba no Kitarô [Kitarô of Graveyard] and it was later published in book form under that title in May 1967. The title of the serialization was changed to Ge Ge Ge no Kitarô in November 1967 and subsequently the title of the book was also changed likewise in March 1968. It reached nine volumes.
In the original rental magazine version Kitarô is born in a pitiful
way. His parents, who belonged to phantom family, die of a disease. Incredibly,
Kitarô was born after his mother was buried. Worrying about Kitarô, his father possesses an eyeball and revives as an eyeball father to live with Kitarô. In the first volume of Ge Ge Ge no Kitarô, the episode of Kitarô’s birth is omitted and the story evolves around Kitarô and his eyeball father and their conflicts with other monsters, giving it a more cheerful atmosphere than the original version. Various kinds of monsters appear in the story, above all, the character of buck-toothed, goggle-eyed and filthy Nezumi Otoko (a ratman) made a strong impression on readers. According to Mizuki, Nezumi Otoko reflects his own image. Kitaro’s character was based on a prewar kamishibai. Mizuki created his original monster story out of it.
The story of Kitarô had been subsequently serialized in magazines
and published in book form frequently. It was serialized again in Shûkan Shônen Magajin in 1986.
A characteristic of Ge Ge Ge no Kitarô is that it dealt with Japanese folklore monsters, not western ones such as Dracula or the werewolf. It is a significant work which established the monster story genre in the history of manga for boys. Connected with the popular culture including kamishibai and rental manga, it is read widely to this day. A bilingual version was published by Kodansha International.
|
