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EP. REVIEW: GeGeGe no Kitarō


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Chrono1000





PostPosted: Mon Apr 16, 2018 5:19 pm Reply with quote
The show is well animated and they have done a good job of modernizing it. That the other characters explain things to Mana helps with the obscure yokai information though the show does expect viewers to have basic knowledge about yokai. I like the character design for Catchick though it is amusing that Crunchyroll used the old manga translation for her name.
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yurihellsing





PostPosted: Mon Apr 16, 2018 8:21 pm Reply with quote
Chrono1000 wrote:
The show is well animated and they have done a good job of modernizing it. That the other characters explain things to Mana helps with the obscure yokai information though the show does expect viewers to have basic knowledge about yokai. I like the character design for Catchick though it is amusing that Crunchyroll used the old manga translation for her name.


when it comes to character names I don't believe there are any translations it's not like they translate names like Sakura is it?
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dm
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 16, 2018 8:49 pm Reply with quote
I'm wondering if they couldn't do better than "Cat Chick" in translating "Nekomusume" myself (why not "Kitty"?). I noticed that Mana's "Neko-oneesan" got a different translation (was it "Cat Girl"?), but I don't remember what it was.

The battles seem like set-pieces for children, but I'm enjoying everything around them, and the fact that episode 3's battle wasn't a foregone conclusion was especially nice.
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Merida



Joined: 21 Feb 2012
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 17, 2018 12:36 am Reply with quote
Being new to the franchise, i'm finding this show surprisingly charming so far. It's obviously aimed at younger children, but the characters are interesting and less annoying than in similar anime and both, the OP and ED songs are endlessly addictive.
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Hiroki not Takuya



Joined: 17 Apr 2012
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 17, 2018 1:26 am Reply with quote
Yes, this show comes off as thoroughly charming and succeeds well in feeling like a spooky campfire story (also has the catchiest opener!). In analyzing the first few yokai, I was struck that Miage-Nyuudo was a stand-in for fear of typhoons since his power is wind and Mana is uniquely able to defeat him by shouting "I can see past you!" That is, she isn't afraid that he brings the end of the world because there is a future beyond his destructive wake.
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Chrono1000





PostPosted: Tue Apr 17, 2018 2:06 pm Reply with quote
yurihellsing wrote:
when it comes to character names I don't believe there are any translations it's not like they translate names like Sakura is it?
That is usually true though some of the yokai names are meant to be a bit humorous which is probably why they got translated for the manga release back in 2002. The problem is that the manga translator went overboard with the comedy and that is very noticeable with Catchick. It is possible that the licensor was involved in which case Crunchyroll might want to consider carefully explaining to them why that name really needs to be changed.

dm wrote:
I'm wondering if they couldn't do better than "Cat Chick" in translating "Nekomusume" myself (why not "Kitty"?).
Catgirl is the direct translation for Nekomusume but since they are adding honorofics to the names I think Neko-san sounds good.
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Princess_Irene
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 17, 2018 3:34 pm Reply with quote
Chrono1000 wrote:
It is possible that the licensor was involved in which case Crunchyroll might want to consider carefully explaining to them why that name really needs to be changed.


It's particularly odd since the recent releases by Drawn & Quarterly use "Cat Girl" for the character. It creates a disconnect between the two that's definitely a little off-putting if you're watching this while keeping up with the new translations.
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Alan45
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 17, 2018 4:04 pm Reply with quote
The third episode seems to be using Cat girl and not Catchick. It might be an aberration, or possibly someone listened to complaints.
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medama_oyaji



Joined: 05 May 2013
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 17, 2018 6:05 pm Reply with quote
Princess_Irene wrote:
Chrono1000 wrote:
It is possible that the licensor was involved in which case Crunchyroll might want to consider carefully explaining to them why that name really needs to be changed.


It's particularly odd since the recent releases by Drawn & Quarterly use "Cat Girl" for the character. It creates a disconnect between the two that's definitely a little off-putting if you're watching this while keeping up with the new translations.


The Drawn & Quarterly releases use "Neko Musume," and the translator has been pretty vocal about his preference to not translate the names.

The names Catchick, Rat Man, Wally Wall, etc did appear previously in the Kodansha Bilingual Comics editions, published in Japan.
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Princess_Irene
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 17, 2018 6:35 pm Reply with quote
medama_oyaji wrote:


The Drawn & Quarterly releases use "Neko Musume," and the translator has been pretty vocal about his preference to not translate the names.


Argh yes, you're right. I got mixed-up there. I actually do prefer the untranslated names, but I'll still take "girl" over "chick."
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Javelin401



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PostPosted: Wed Apr 18, 2018 10:12 am Reply with quote
"Rat Man" sure reminds me of a "Dr. Suess" creation...!
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Gina Szanboti



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PostPosted: Mon Apr 23, 2018 9:18 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
It also seems likely that the fruit was somehow enchanted to make Yuta desire it – he should have suspected that taking anything from the land of the otherworldly people would be a mistake, plus he's been told explicitly by Kitaro not to touch anything.

Why would they be enchanted to be tempting? Yama Jijii doesn't want people to take them.

Yuta was also told to stay close and not run around, but he immediately did the opposite, because, as Daddy Eyeball pointed out, he's a kid and kids are curious about everything. If Yuta was feeling a little hungry, add that to a child's curiosity and <pluck> fruit's going in the pocket.

My main concern during the whole sequence was whether Yuta was going to eat it or not. That seems like a bad idea by itself (see Izanami no kami, et al), but coupled with Yama Jijii's anger, what would've happened if he had?

It's kinda funny what a stick in the mud Kitaro is. Very Happy
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Princess_Irene
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 24, 2018 6:10 am Reply with quote
Gina Szanboti wrote:

Why would they be enchanted to be tempting? Yama Jijii doesn't want people to take them.


It's a pretty common theme in world folklore - sort of like a test of virtue. Can the (stupid) human resist temptation? Or will the supernatural being have to punish them even though they don't want to, for the human's own good?
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dm
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 30, 2018 2:47 pm Reply with quote
I couldn't help but wonder if Kaminari-sama as energy source wasn't a jab at nuclear power, especially post-Fukushima.
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yuna49



Joined: 27 Aug 2008
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 30, 2018 2:52 pm Reply with quote
Gina Szanboti wrote:
It's kinda funny what a stick in the mud Kitaro is. Very Happy

Maybe Mana-chan can liven him up a bit, but you're right, he certainly has strong beliefs and a willingness to lecture others. Still, Kitarou's concerns about humans and yokai mixing are likely based on real experience and not just prejudice.

It's not like Kitarou inherited that character trait from his father either!
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