History Manga / GegegeNoKitaro

* PeekaBangs: Kitaro.

''[=GeGeGe=] no Kitarō'' is a well-known (in Japan) manga and anime that is largely credited for bringing back knowledge of traditional yōkai and folktales to modern generations. Written by Shigeru Mizuki, it was originally known as ''HakabaKitaro'' (Kitaro of the Graveyard). The story focuses on the adventures of yōkai boy Kitaro, who fights for peace between the yōkai and humans using a variety of strange abilities and tools. "Ge ge ge no ge" is a sound effect meant to represent ghostly laughter.

* AntiHero: Believe it or not, Kitaro and Medama-Oyaji were this in the beginning as seen in 'Kitaro Night Tales', which basically follows "HakabaKitaro's" storyline with a few deviations here and there. Kitaro was a very creepy child who mostly cared about his father, pretty girls and making money to survive; he was, more or less, a younger Nezumi Otoko. Medama-Oyaji tricked Mizuki into falling down a hole to Hell when the man called the cops on them. This can be seen as a bit of DisproportionateRetribution since Mizuki raised Kitaro from infancy despite his creepy nature. Thankfully, they showed him the way back to the world of the living.

* CameBackWrong--Medama-Oyaji is technically a Type 4: He died at the very beginning of the series, but when Kitaro emerged from his mother's grave (long story) concern for the newborn son (again, long story) resurrects him... however the only part of the body that hadn't decayed by that point was his left eye, which formed into the Medama-Oyaji that everyone is familiar with. This grissly origin of both Medama and Kitaro can be viewed in the much darker {{Hakaba Kitaro}}'s first episode. Although Hakaba is a mostly separate continuity to Gegege, Kitaro's origin in both is essentially the same.

* DarkerAndEdgier--The 2008 anime ''HakabaKitaro'' took the series back to its horror roots and away from kid friendliness.

The original manga ran for about five years, between 1966 and 1970, and multiple versions have been written since, developing a rather different canon as the series progressed. (Kitaro especially is much weirder and much less child-friendly in the original.) The different anime versions have been running more or less from 1968 to the present, with the most recent series starting in 2008. It has also been adapted into multiple live-action versions and video games, as well as earning a place in several theme parks, like Fujikyu Highland. The creator's hometown of Sakaiminato has also been marked with multiple statues of the various characters in recognition of the series' influence.

* AntiHero: Believe it or not, Kitaro and Medama-Oyaji were this in the beginning as seen in 'Kitaro Night Tales', which basically follows "HakabaKitaro's" storyline with a deviations here and there. Kitaro was a very creepy child who mostly cared about his father, pretty girls and making money to survive; he was, more or less, a younger Nezumi Otoko. Medama-Oyaji tricked Mizuki into falling down a hole to Hell when the man called the cops on them. This can be seen as a bit of DisproportionateRetribution since Mizuki raised Kitaro from infancy despite his creepy nature. Thankfully, they showed him the way back to the world of the living.

* NamesTheSame: Partially averted. Well-known NewAge musician Kitaro took that stage name in honor of this manga, but written with different kanji.
* NoExportForYou Almost none of the manga has been translated into English. This is beginning to change; partly thanks to scanlations, and partly because in the summer of 2013 an official English translation was ''finally'' released by Drawn & Quarterly, though it's only one volume of carefully selected stories.

* DawsonCasting--The most recent live-action movie went out of its way to simulate the look of the 1980s anime version, except that Kitaro and Neko-Musume were played by adults. This was "justified" in-story as them having hit puberty without the older yōkai having noticed, but the actors were still clearly older than the age their characters were.
** Also BeautyEqualsGoodness; the ButNotTooForeign actor playing Kitaro was {{Bishonen}} instead of short and creepy looking.

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Gegege.jpg

* HeyItsThatGuy: the live action movie has [[Film/KamenRiderTheFirst Cobra Kaijin]], [[Series/BakuryuuSentaiAbaranger Rijie]], [[RedCliff Gan Xing]] and [[TheLastSamurai Taka.]]

* NoExportForYou Almost none of the Manga has been translated into english, not even through scanlantions.
** This is beginning to change, slowly but surely with scanlations.

* PrehensileHair: Kitaro's hair can be used as a rope. The Yasha in each series is a strangling hair monster.

* HeyItsThatGuy: the live action movie has [[KamenRiderTheFirst Cobra Kaijin]], [[Series/BakuryuuSentaiAbaranger Rijie]], [[RedCliff Gan Xing]] and [[TheLastSamurai Taka.]]

* HeyItsThatGuy: the live action movie has [[KamenRiderTheFirst Cobra Kaijin]], [[BakuryuuSentaiAbaranger Rijie]], [[RedCliff Gan Xing]] and [[TheLastSamurai Taka.]]

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation--In Japanese mythology, the Nurarihyon is a rather benign yōkai best known for being a moocher. ''GeGeGeNoKitaro'' reinterprets him as a devious villain.

* EarWorm: ''Ge... ge... ge ge ge no [[HaveAGayOldTime geee...]]''
** Considering the subject matter, this doubles as HellIsThatNoise.

* FetishFuel--Aoi, the beautiful yuki-onna from the 2007 series.

* MemeticMutation--[[http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/beako-damn-all-you-lolicon You damn lolicons!]]

* NightmareFuel: Some of the more evil youkai are ''creepy''.

* DidNotDoTheResearch--The series features an "American yokai" called the ''Buckbaird''. They probably meant the European ''Bugbear''.

* ProgressivelyPrettier: In the 2000s series, Cat Girl goes from a squat, weird-looking... thing with a bowl cut and mouth full of needle-like teeth to a pretty girl with an attractive, if tomboyishly scruffy hairstyle, CuteLittleFangs and the figure of a ballerina. She's also a red-haired Caucasian now for some reason, too.

That's the simple explanation. The reality is that if you've never heard of this series, it's because it doesn't often show up in Western media because it is ''just plain weird.'' The weirdness starts off with Kitaro himself: a "ghost boy" who is missing one eye. The empty socket is usually covered by his hair, and usually houses Medama-Oyaji, literally an [[FacelessEye eyeball with a body]], who is also his father. (Yes, really.) Kitaro also has remote-controlled geta sandals, a detachable hand, and a spiky hair vest which he can use to attack enemies, as well as a few other abilities. Other characters in the main ensemble, as described by TheOtherWiki:

* {{Dracula}}: At least three Draculas have been seen: the original Dracula, Dracula II and Dracula IV.

* HalfHumanHybrid--In the 2007 series, Sunakake Baba explains this as reason for Nezumi-Otoko's questionable relationship with other yōkai and his penchance for dabbling in human society.

** This is beginning to change, slowly but surely.

* ToyShip: Kitaro and Neko Musume, but only in appearance, since they're both over 100 years old.

''GeGeGe no Kitarō'' is a well-known (in Japan) manga and anime that is largely credited for bringing back knowledge of traditional yōkai and folktales to modern generations. Written by Shigeru Mizuki, it was originally known as ''HakabaKitaro'' (Kitaro of the Graveyard). The story focuses on the adventures of yōkai boy Kitaro, who fights for peace between the yōkai and humans using a variety of strange abilities and tools. "Ge ge ge no ge" is a sound effect meant to represent ghostly laughter.

''Ge Ge Ge No Kitaro'' is a well-known (in Japan) manga and anime that is largely credited for bringing back knowledge of traditional yōkai and folktales to modern generations. Written by Shigeru Mizuki, it was originally known as ''HakabaKitaro'' (Kitaro of the Graveyard). The story focuses on the adventures of yōkai boy Kitaro, who fights for peace between the yōkai and humans using a variety of strange abilities and tools. "Ge ge ge no ge" is a sound effect meant to represent ghostly laughter.

* {{You Dirty Rat}}: Nezumi Otoko