I was back at Scotland Loves Anime for the second time this year, accompanied by Girdy (who is determined to see every single film again for SLA 2024), and this time it was for Birth of Kitarō: The Mystery of GeGeGe.
The film is a prequel to the 2018 anime series GeGeGe no Kitarō – but I didn’t know that at the time of booking. Neither did Girdy, so I think it’s safe to say neither one of us had done our research.
It was only when sitting down to look at the anime series it prequels, and learn a little more about this film, that I realised it’s quite popular. On paper, it’s pretty impressive, having been nominated for the Japan Academy Prize. It was also apparently made to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Shigeru Mizuki’s birth.
However, in practice, I’m afraid this anime newbie found the ‘dark fantasy’ Birth of Kitarō: The Mystery of GeGeGe to be grim grim grim, and not enjoyable with it.
The story and characters
The story… what do I say about the story? There definitely was one, and it was arguably well written. It ambled along, from grim plot point to grimmer plot point. I felt uncomfortable watching it as it did so, with themes of murder, rape, incest, a touch of genocide, and more.
Here’s the official synopsis:
Mizuki, a bank employee, goes to Nagura village on a secret mission. Gegero also goes to the village searching for his wife. In the Ryuga clan, who are secretly manipulating Japan, there is a struggle for the successor’s position. Suddenly, a clan member is murdered. This is the beginning of a horrifying chain of supernatural events.
If you’re unfamiliar with this film, which was originally released almost a year ago, taking a look at the below poster will give you a PRETTY GOOD IDEA of how grim this film is. Dark, graphic, full of ghosts and zombies and grudges.
The characters weren’t bad. Gegero was my favourite, because he was interesting, calm and a bit magical. He also was searching for his wife, whom he loved very much. Mizuki was your classic good character.
As for the baddie reveal, it wasn’t really much of a reveal, but the character still made me angry. I didn’t particularly like the tone of the movie as a whole, and it was all a bit off-putting.
The look and feel
The film is full of eerie visuals – some of it really quite picturesque – but at the same time, I wasn’t sitting in the cinema remarking on how much of a feast for my eyes it was. I think the story and the utter grimness of it distracted me too much.
Maybe I wasn’t in the right frame of mind. Maybe I wasn’t as prepared as I should have been, and reading up on the movie before I attended might have helped. But I just felt either bored and/or uncomfortable throughout this film, and like I wanted to get up and leave (I didn’t).
I think if you like dark anime verging on the overly grim, this is a good shout – especially if you’re already invested in the 2018 anime and manga, in which case you might be able to better connect to it emotionally.
Here’s the trailer to give you a better idea of the look and feel of the movie:
Overall, this particular anime just wasn’t for me – and as a relative newbie to anime, I can confidently say this has been my worst experience yet.
But that’s a personal response to the grimness of the movie, and maybe not the best judgement to go by if you’re trying to decide whether to watch it (at least I’m self aware that mine probably isn’t the popular opinion here).
🍻 Sponsor: Cheers, Dusk Wave Arts and Barheim, the beer tower defence game, for enabling our Scotland Loves Anime trip.
Have you seen the Birth of Kitarō: The Mystery of GeGeGe? Do you have a different opinion on the movie, and would I have enjoyed it more if I’d watched the anime series first? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.
