History YMMV / GeGeGeNoKitaro

* LesYay: Mana Inuyama of the 2018 idolizes Neko-Musume immensely.

** Sakaiminato, Shigeru Mizuki's hometown, exists even in the sixth anime universe, as the hometown of Mana Inuyama's parents and place of her summer vacations. Furthermore, even ''Shigeru Mizuki Road'', in the real Sakaiminato a celebration of Shigeru's creativity and fame showcasing bronze statues of Kitarō and all the yōkai in the show, does exist in the fictional Sakaiminato, albeit with a different but still heartwarming motivation.
** Kitarō's father, old Medama-Oyoji steps up to bat in one episode. When Kitarō is defeated, Medama-Oyaji steps up and regains his old form, looking like an adult Kitarō with silver hair, stating he intends to protect his son no matter what, before royally wrecking the MonsterOfTheWeek.
** [[spoiler: Kitarō is forced to slay an ancient yōkai, wishing to be laid to rest along a princess he cared for in a distant past. He's [[SuicideByCop forced to oblige]], and the yōkai is turned into a bronze statue, guarding the princess grave for eternity, but Kitarō decides he should stop being alone and forlorn even if dead, and, along with the townspeople, turns the solitary road in which their graves lie into a ''Yōkai Road'' filled with statues of himself, his friends and every other friendly yōkai in the [=GeGeGe=] Forest, keeping company to the poor, forlorn yōkai]]
** Mana's relationship with the inhabits of [=GeGeGe=] Forest sticks out. By being a sweet, friendly and persistent girl, she manages to get through to Kitarō and his friends, becoming a treasured part of their family. In particular, Neko Musume bonds immensely with her and is highly protective of Mana.
** During Halloween, when the western Vampire Carmilla attacks, Mana is out to celebrate the holiday with Neko Musume...dressed up as her friend, which ends up giving her a great deal of courage and fortitude.

''For YMMV related to ''Hakaba Kitarō'', see [[YMMV/HakabaKitaro its page]].''

''For YMMV related to ''Hakaba Kitarō'', see [[YMMV/HakabaKitaro its page]].

** Even better: ''Kitarō's Night Tales'' featured a beautiful cat girl named [[MeaningfulName Neko]] for several chapters. Aside from her reactions to rats or ratlike things, she otherwise looked like a regular human girl. Perhaps her ''Hakaba'' counterpart started leaking into her design? [[WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids You know, for kids!]]

* {{Adorkable}}: Nezumi Otoko, despite being a {{Jerkass}} and TheFriendNobodyLikes, can come off as this in times due to his endearing character design.

* Adorkable: Nezumi Otoko, despite being a {{Jerkass}} and TheFriendNobodyLikes, can come off as this in times due to his endearing character design.

* OlderThanTheyThink: Western viewers were certain that the vlogger causing trouble by breaking talismans in the 2018 premiere was supposed to be a callout on the Creator/LoganPaul incident, and even nicknamed him as such. In reality, it was a common plot in the series to show reckless humans messing with things they thought were harmless and paying the price; this version just added in a social media component to keep up with the times. Given the AnimationLeadTime (the Logan Paul video had been posted 4 months prior to the premiere), it's unlikely it was a direct reference, but the ValuesResonance definitely makes it stick out.

** Mizuki, in most incarnations of the myth, was an hard working man tasked by Medama Oyagi to care for a newborn Kitarō, the last child of a now extinct tribe of powerful yōkai died while hiding from mankind: Shigeru Mizuki had always been known for its interest for the supernatural, and he published an illustrated Encyclopedia of Japanese yōkai. In a way, he fostered the latest myth, a new ghost story for the XX and the XXI century, and by doing so he ensured the entire Japanese mythology wouldn't die, as through Kitarō many young children will learn about the past.

** Sakaiminato, Shigeru Mizuki's hometown, exists even in the sixth anime universe, as the hometown of Mana Inuyama's parents and place of her summer vacations. Furthermore, even ''Shigeru Mizuki Road'', in the real Sakaiminato a celebration of Shigeru's creativity and fame showcasing bronze statues of Kitarō and all the yōkai in the show, does exist in the fictional Sakaiminato, albeit with a different but still heartwarming motivation

* SugarWiki/SuperlativeDubbing: The series' had a relatively large following in Latin America thanks to the dub version of the 1996 series, much like other series' having been dubbed in the early to late 90s (like ''Anime/DragonBallZ'', ''Anime/SailorMoon'' or ''Manga/SlamDunk'', to name a few).

** [[ForTheEvulz Tamamo-no-Mae]], the [[{{Kitsune}} Nine-Tailed Fox]], is the last, and worst, of the Four Traitorous Yokai Generals and the one who massacred the Kidoshu village, leaving only one survivor. Escaping the underworld, Tamamo-no-Mae overflows it with souls to empower herself, using her doubles to [[TheVamp seduce world leaders]] so she may start a war between Japan and another nation to flood the netherworld with even more souls for power until she unleashes them on Earth, gloating how she will destroy both worlds in her quest for power.

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: All seasons tend to lay on the morals rather thickly, but they often are poignant and important. Most common being the dangers of greed and apathy towards the environment and other people.
** The 2018 revival also tackles the difficult subject of the [[WorldWarII/{{WarInAsiaAndThePacific}} Pacific War]] and its lack of clear definition in Japanese curriculum. This is especially surprising as much of Japanese media tends to either ignore or straight up deny wrongdoing during that time period.

* FamilyUnfriendlyAesop: From the 2018 series: Looks ''are'' important, not just for how others perceive you, but for how you perceive yourself.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: In Japanese mythology, the Nurarihyon is a rather benign yōkai best known for being a moocher. ''[=GeGeGe=] no Kitarō'' reinterprets him as a devious villain with FantasticRacism against humans, with the 80s series makes him the recurring villain, and eventually the BigBad.

* {{Anvilicious}}: The 2018 series hits you on the head with a big one right out the gate: don't play in traffic, and ''never'' put SocialMediaBeforeReason.

* {{Moe}}: Bubbly, and kind hearted Mana Inuyama of the 2018 series.

** Even better: ''Kitarō's Night Tales'' featured a beautiful cat girl named [[MeaningfulName Neko]] for several chapters. Aside from her reactions to rats or ratlike things, she otherwise looked like a regular human girl. Perhaps her ''Hakaba'' counterpart started leaking into her design?
* HolyShitQuotient: After spending a season as a simple MonsterOfTheWeek series, episode 11 shakes things up in a major way. An army of Tanuki invade Japan [[spoiler: and [[TheBadGuyWins actually succeed]], in the process petrifying Kitarō and releasing a monstrous Yokai Beast that destroys part of Tokyo.]]
** The ''Great Yōkai War'' itself: [[spoiler: a single member of the alliance of Western yokai, Wolfgang the Wolfman, is effortlessly able to slay every single Malay Yōkai, the last group of them in front of Kitaro, smash Nurikabe to pieces, beat Neko-Musume and Sunakake-Babaa fighting him together with Konaki-Jijii stuck on his back and almost kill Kitarō himself before Kitarō is told to shoot at him with silver bullets. The Western Yokai's reaction? Send a healed Wolfgang back to the [=GeGeGe=] Forest with Victor Frankestein, Carmilla and Adel to get revenge]].
** The ''Great Yōkai Alliance'': Nurarihyon allied with [[spoiler: Backbeard]] who declare war on humans and attack them, causing great damage and casualties. This then result into the anti-youkai act bill to be passed and humans fighting back against youkai terrorists. Kitarō try to calm things by contacting the prime minister to form an alliance against the youkai extremists but [[spoiler: instead he end up being shot to death in front of his friends and the episode ends with Ratman joining the Great Yōkai Alliance because while he hates it, he hates the humans who are responsible for Kitarō's death even more.]] [[WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids You know, for kids!]]

** The ''Great Yōkai Alliance'': Nurarihyon allied with [[spoiler: Backbeard]] who declare war on humans and attack them, causing great damage and casualties. This then result into the anti-youkai act bill to be passed and humans fight back against youkai terrorists. Kitarō try to calm things by contacting the prime minister to form an alliance against the youkai extremists but [[spoiler: instead he end up being shot to death in front of his friends and the episode ends with Ratman joining the Great Yōkai Alliance because while he hates it, he hates the humans who are responsible for Kitarō's death even more.]] [[WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids You know, for kids!]]

* EarWorm: ''Ge... ge... ge ge ge no [[HaveAGayOldTime geee...]]''

** Neko Musume is without a doubt the most well-known outside of Japan. Many people know her without knowing the series. Turned UpToEleven with the 2018 anime in Western territories, more than partly due to it having a readily available English release.

* CompleteMonster: In the 2018 anime, [[{{Oculothorax}} Backbeard]] is the wicked ruler of the western {{Yokai}}. A monstrous tyrant who intends to complete the Brigadoon and convert humanity to his zombified Yokai slaves, Backbeard exterminates the Hantu of Malay for not submitting to him, attacking Gegege Forest to massacre the [[FantasticRacism Japanese Yokai]] within, and sends his servants to cause chaos throughout Japan. Also attempting to force the young witch Agnes to sacrifice herself, Backbeard had forced her mother to do the same to protect her and her sister Adele, who Backbeard likewise is fine with sacrificing to complete the Brigadoon. Backbeard shows no regard for any collateral damage, trying to kill Kitaro's young human friend Mana, gloating that nothing matters but submission to him.

** Kitarō's father, old Medama-Oyoji steps up to bat in one episode. When Kitar&#333 is defeated, Medama-Oyaji steps up and regains his old form, looking like an adult Kitarō with silver hair, stating he intends to protect his son no matter what, before royally wrecking the MonsterOfTheWeek.

** Kitar&#333's father, old Medama-Oyoji steps up to bat in one episode. When Kitar&#333 is defeated, Medama-Oyaji steps up and regains his old form, looking like an adult Kitar&#333 with silver hair, stating he intends to protect his son no matter what, before royally wrecking the MonsterOfTheWeek.

** Mana's relationship with the inhabits of [=GeGeGe=] Forest sticks out. By being a sweet, friendly and persistent girl, she manages to get through to Kitar&#333 and his friends, becoming a treasured part of their family. In particular, Neko Musume bonds immensely with her and is highly protective of Mana.

* HeartwarmingInHindsight: When asked by people why he helps out humans so much, Kitarō responds that it's because a man named Mizuki was kind to him and his people when they needed it. You could probably say the same of youkai tales in general, due to "some guy named (Shigeru) Mizuki" contributing to youkai tales being popular with the public again instead of letting those tales die out.

*** [[spoiler: Kitarō is forced to slay an ancient yōkai, wishing to be laid to rest along a princess he cared for in a distant past. He's [[SuicideByCop forced to oblige]], and the yōkai is turned into a bronze statue, guarding the princess grave for eternity, but Kitarō decides he should stop being alone and forlorn even if dead, and, along with the townspeople, turns the solitary road in which their graves lie into a ''Yōkai Road'' filled with statues of himself, his friends and every other friendly yōkai in the [=GeGeGe=] Forest, keeping company to the poor, forlorn yōkai]]

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: All seasons tend to lay on the morals rather thickly, but they often poignant and important. Most common being the dangers of greed and apathy towards the environment and other people.

* CultClassic: The franchise has only managed to reach cult status outside of Japan, though it's slowly becoming more popular thanks to the 2008 anime and especially the 2018 anime with its official Website/{{Crunchyroll}} subs.

** The ''Great Yōkai War'' itself: [[spoiler: a single member of the alliance of Western ghouls, Wolfgang the Wolfman, is effortlessy able to slay every single Malay Yōkai, the latter of them in front of Kitaro, smash in pieces Nurikabe, beat Neko Musume and Sunakake Baba fighting him together with Konaki Jijii stuck on his back and almost kill Kitarō himself before Kitarō is told to shoot at him with silver bullets. The Ghouls' reaction? Send a healed Wolfgang back to the [=GeGeGe=] Forest with Victor Frankestein, Carmilla the Queen of the Vampires and a witch to get revenge]].
* LesYay: Mana Inuyama of the 2018 idolizes Neko Musume immensely.

** [[spoiler:After being [[BackFromTheDead revived as a child, Mini-Neko Musume]] is absolutely bursting with Moe.