Gegege no Kitaro (2007 Film)
Gegege no Kitaro is a 2007 Japanese fantasy adventure film released by Shochiku. Based on Shigeru Mizuki's classic manga series originally published between 1959 and 1969, the film brings Japanese folklore creatures known as yokai into a modern live-action setting through a combination of computer-generated imagery, animation, and practical production elements.
Background and Plot
The story follows Kitaro, a half-human and half-yokai entity orphaned as a child who resides in Gegege Forest. Alongside his eyeball father and bickering companions Nezumi Otoko and Neko Musume, Kitaro dedicates his time to maintaining peace between the human and yokai worlds. The central narrative involves Kitaro attempting to rescue a high school girl named Yumeko and stopping a powerful magical stone from falling into malicious hands.
Directed by Motoki Katsuhide from a screenplay by Daisuke Habara, the film adapts characters from Japanese mythology. Special effects were handled by Centro Digital Pictures. The production spawned subsequent related titles, including Gegege no Kitaro: Kitaro and the Millennium Curse in 2008 and the animated feature Gegege no Kitaro: Nihon Bakuretsu!! also released in 2008.
Cast
The film features an ensemble cast portraying various human and supernatural characters:
- Eiji Wentz as Kitaro
- Mao Inoue as Mika Miura
- Rena Tanaka as Catgirl (Neko Musume)
- Yo Oizumi as Ratman (Nezumi Otoko)
- Shigeru Muroi as Sand Witch
- Kanpei Hazama as Old Man Crybaby
- Go Riju as Haruhiko Miura
- Ruka Uchida as Kenta Miura
- Satoshi Hashimoto as Kuko (Fox)
- Toshiyuki Nishida as Wanyudo
- You as Rokurokkubi
- Koyuki as Tenko
