GeGeGe no Kitarō

GeGeGe no Kitarō
Kitarō and his yōkai friends.
ゲゲゲの鬼太郎
Genre	Supernatural, Horror, Black comedy
Manga
Written by	Shigeru Mizuki
Published by	Kodansha
Demographic	Shōnen
Magazine	Weekly Shōnen Magazine
Original run	1960 – 1969
Volumes	9
Anime television series
Directed by	Isao Takahata
Written by	Masaki Tsuji
Music by	Taku Izumi
Studio	Toei Animation
Original network	Fuji Television (JOCX-TV (Tokyo Tower Channel 8))
Original run	January 3, 1968 – March 30, 1969
Episodes	65 (List of episodes)
Anime television series
Directed by	Isao Takahata
Written by	Masaki Tsuji
Music by	Taku Izumi
Studio	Toei Animation
Original network	Fuji Television (JOCX-TV (Tokyo Tower Channel 8))
Original run	October 7, 1971 – September 28, 1972
Episodes	45 (List of episodes)
Anime television series
Directed by	Osamu Kasai (1-108) Hiroki Shibata (109-115)
Written by	Junki Takegami
Music by	Masahiro Kawasaki
Studio	Toei Animation
Original network	Fuji Television (JOCX-TV (Tokyo Tower Channel 8))
Original run	October 12, 1985 – March 21, 1988
Episodes	115 (List of episodes)
Anime television series
Directed by	Daisuke Nishio
Written by	Shun'ichi Yukimuro
Music by	Kaoru Wada
Studio	Toei Animation
Original network	Fuji Television (JOCX-TV (Tokyo Tower Channel 8))
Original run	January 7, 1996 – March 29, 1998
Episodes	114 (List of episodes)
Anime television series
Directed by	Yukio Kawazu
Written by	Keiichi Hasegawa
Music by	Katsumi Horii
Studio	Toei Animation
Original network	Fuji Television (JOCX-TV (Tokyo Tower Channel 8) and JOCX-DTV (Tokyo Tower Channel 21))
English network	SEA Animax Asia
Original run	April 1, 2007 – March 29, 2009
Episodes	100 (List of episodes)
Anime television series
Kitarō of the Graveyard
Directed by	Kimitoshi Chioki
Written by	Yoshimi Narita
Music by	Kaoru Wada
Studio	Toei Animation
Original network	Fuji Television (JOCX-TV (Tokyo Tower Channel 8) and JOCX-DTV (Tokyo Tower Channel 21))
Original run	January 10, 2008 – March 20, 2008
Episodes	11
Live-action film
Directed by	Katsuhide Motoki
Produced by	Chihiro Kameyama
Written by	Katsuhide Motoki Daisuke Habara
Music by	Yūta Nakano
Studio	Shochiku
Released	April 28, 2007 (2007-04-28)
Runtime	105 minutes
Live-action film
Kitaro and the Millennium Curse
Directed by	Katsuhide Motoki
Written by	Mitsuhiko Sawamura
Studio	Shochiku
Released	July 12, 2008 (2008-07-12)
Runtime	115 minutes
Anime film
GeGeGe no Kitarō: Explosive Japan!!
Directed by	Gō Koga
Written by	Riku Sanjo
Music by	Seiji Yokoyama
Studio	Toei Animation
Released	December 13, 2008
Runtime	85 minutes

GeGeGe no Kitarō (ゲゲゲの鬼太郎^?), originally known as Kitarō of the Graveyard (墓場の鬼太郎, Hakaba no Kitarō^?), is a manga series created in 1960 by Shigeru Mizuki. It is best known for its popularization of the folklore creatures known as yōkai, a class of spirit-monster to which all of the main characters belong. This story was an early 20th-century Japanese folk tale performed on kamishibai. It has been adapted for the screen several times, as anime, live action and video games. However, an anime series of Kitarō of the Graveyard did not air until January 2008, running in Fuji TV's Noitamina slot. The word "Ge Ge Ge" (ゲゲゲ) in the title is a cackling noise in the Japanese language.

GeGeGe no Kitarō focuses on the young Kitarō - the last survivor of the Ghost Tribe - and his adventures with other ghouls and strange creatures of Japanese mythology. Along with: the remains of his father, Medama-Oyaji (a mummified Ghost tribesman reincarnated to inhabit his old eyeball); Nezumi-Otoko (the rat-man); Neko-Musume (the cat-girl); and a host of other folkloric creatures, Kitarō strives to unite the worlds of humans and Yōkai.

Many storylines involve Kitarō facing off with myriad monsters from other countries, such as the Chinese vampire Yasha, the Transylvanian Dracula IV, and other such non-Japanese creations. In addition to this, Kitarō also locks heads with various malevolent Yōkai who threaten the balance between the Japanese creatures and humans.