Forum - View topicEP. REVIEW: GeGeGe no Kitarō
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Gurren Rodan
 Posts: 263 |
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Even if Mana is strong enough to one-shot the generals, I think the more significant issue is that Mana wouldn't want to. Considering her trauma from annihilating Catgirl, and her general fondness of yokai, Mana would probably be horrified to discover if she could still manifest those abilities. Depending on how dire and complicated events in this arc become, though, Mana's powers might end up being a vital tool in the collective heroes' arsenal; plus, (and this is total speculation) there might be other ways for Mana to wield the power that are less destructive. Her great-grandmother was an exorcist; just what all did that entail? ...Again, though, it would probably take some major convincing to get Mana to do it - which, frankly, I'm all in favor of, since that sounds like prime material for character drama. Mana's relationship with Kitaro and Catgirl is really the heart of this show, and it would be neat for Mana to have a chance to save her two friends instead of the other way around for once (it might even be a natural progression, since Mana still had to be saved in the nanashi climax, but provided the ultimate resolution to the crisis herself). |
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Cab329
Posts: 132 |
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I have to give some serious credit to the show, I was not expecting to to sympathize with Chartomi (not-Logan Paul) But the new episode was really good and Daddy Eyeball’s message reared me up since I’m still stuck in that “don’t know what really makes me happy” stage.
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Gurren Rodan
Posts: 263 |
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This is, what, Charatomi's third major appearance, after the very first episode and the Ubumi episode? It's neat that they've kept his character around; it gives the show that extra bit of coherence which is a treat.
I, too, couldn't help sympathizing with Charatomi a little bit; don't get me wrong, he was an absolute jerk and he seriously endangered a lot of people, but I can see where he was coming from, and being aware that Japanese work ethic can be especially taxing, it's no surprise Charatomi was daunted by it and reacted so negatively. It appears Catgirl is as aggressive as ever again. Her meetup with Mana seemed kind of awkward, though. I suppose we've all had times when we just didn't know what to talk about, but I wonder if either of them might still be harboring guilt over the past. I'm probably overthinking this, but it could make for interesting content down the road. |
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Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11429 |
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This seems to be the year of "being the protagonist of your own story." I think I've heard that at least 3 times now, though I don't recall ever hearing it before Mob Psycho 100 II.
He sure got off scott free, considering all the fires his stunt caused. Even if no people died, he's got deaths on his hands, and probably some homelessness too. Also, that's not how snow machines work, but suspension of disbelief and all. 
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yuna49
 Posts: 3804 |
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Definitely the best episode in some time, probably since 47, and one of the best stand-alone stories of the series. Had some Mononoke Hime vibes with its progress vs. nature theme. Like Miyazaki's film this episode of Kitarou provides no easy answers.
I believe this is the first time when human technology defeated a demon. I wonder if that will become a recurring theme this season. Kitarou has become a much more introspective and uncertain protagonist of late. He seems less sure that his role in the world should be protecting humans from yokai. His dislike for most humans, other than Mana, leads him to wonder why he should be slaughtering his fellow yokai for their sake. He's always been mixed on the human/yokai relationship, but his misgivings seem heightened since the events that ended the Nanashi arc. |
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Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11429 |
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54
Oh gods, I can't believe Rat Man ate his toe jam. >.< That was sad. Dorotabo and the project (and perhaps the town) died and no one got what they wanted. That said, Dorotabo's beef seems misplaced. It was his own son who ruined everything, so he's got no reason to take it out on those who came after. It would've been a better tale if his land actually had been stolen. Not sure why the viewer rating on this is so low. 2.1? |
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Merida
 Posts: 1945 |
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I don't think Dorotabo cared much about the classic (human) definition of "ownership". To him this was still his land. Sad as they are, i actually prefer these episodes where the lines between "right" and "wrong" are blurry and there's no easy solution to the conflict.
People have shitty taste? Or they just enjoy "downvoting" shows out of spite, who can say... |
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Neko-sensei
Posts: 285 |
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I finally had time to watch episode 54, and it was indeed as good as everyone told me it would be. I was particularly impressed by the storyboarding, which is among the most dramatic in the show: obviously the shot in the opening from inside the cab of the truck as the mud gathers and attacks is great, but I really I loved the sense of claustrophobia in an episode set almost entirely in an open field—and the match fade between the excavator sitting idle in at the construction site and Kurose sitting hunched in his chair at the office was a thing of absolute genius.
The next episode looks to be super-fun, but judging by the pattern of this show so far I fully expect one of the next three episodes to make me cry like a baby. |
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Gurren Rodan
Posts: 263 |
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The production values seemed to be stepped up a little bit this episode, too: animation was a little smoother and more expressive than others recently.
This was definitely a sad episode, and I appreciate the moral ambiguity presented. The crew president isn't wrong for trying to support the city and his family, and the Dorotabo isn't really wrong for wanting to protect its former land. Sadly, with neither party willing to back down, poor Kitaro ends up being the one to make the hard decision. That no one involved really got what they wanted in the end was a unique choice even for this show so far. |
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Kiskaloo
 Subscriber Posts: 79 Location: Seattle |
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And with Episode 55, Ge Ge no Kitaro becomes a sketch comedy...
And yet it worked. |
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Merida
Posts: 1945 |
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^I dunno, i found the "ah, those were the days when you could abuse people without repercussions!" message quite...puzzling. The episode had its funny moments but mostly it was a pretty uncomfortable watch and definitely subpar for this show.
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Princess_Irene
ANN Reviewer
 Posts: 2619 Location: The castle beyond the Goblin City |
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Yeah, about all I can say for episode 55 is that it reminded me of my favorite poem in the fifth grade:
Its fangs were red with bloody gore, its eyes were red with menace, it battered down my bedroom door, and burst across my bedroom floor, and with a loud, resounding roar said, “ANYONE FOR TENNIS?” (By Jack Prelutsky, from the collection The New Kid on the Block) |
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steelmirror
 Posts: 342 |
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So I finally made it through this show from the beginning, a marathon I've been fitting in between work and life since Rebecca's last couple of reviews made me want to give Kitaro another shot. And it was as good as I was hoping it would be!
Episode 55 was a bit uncomfortable for me too, but I didn't get a message that Hihi was right, just that he was wrong but a product of a different time. He doesn't have a place in this time anymore, and for good reasons, but it's still a bit tragic that someone can find themselves ostracized from their own society just by aging out of the changing mores. To be clear again, I'm not saying that his blatant and distressing physical abuse in the guise of coaching WASN'T awful. It was. But the show had some sympathy for him despite that, which was uncomfortable to watch and I'm still not sure how I feel about it. But using the yokai metaphor to explore another kind of alienation (elderly folks being castigated for values they aren't going to change at this point) was still an ambitious and interesting thing to attempt. As a side note, the parody of all the different kinds of overblown harassment reads more harsh as viewers here in the US than it was probably intended in Japan. I was aware of blood type harassment and nuuhara being buzzwords, but not karaoke hara, though I don't doubt it's a things. It's sort of like how every political scandal over here gets "-gate" appended to it by media hacks, which everyone groans about and makes fun of but still happens every time anyway. In Japan, you just slap a "-hara(ssment)" on the end of any mildly annoying or jerkish or just contentious behavior, to the point that it's become something of a self-parody at this point. That was the joke, and not simply trying to make light of real abuse of power and harassment, as some of my friends thought at first viewing. *the more you know!* |
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Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11429 |
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Well, at least the new coach wasn't Rat Man, I guess. Does this mean that Wally Wall has stopped hanging out over Mana's bed or has he just picked a new target to stalk? ;D I did enjoy Catgirl's wonderment that no one seemed to notice that Wally is a wall.
I dunno, while I commend them for trying, this series doesn't have a very good track record with social issues like these. |
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Cab329
Posts: 132 |
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Yeah, last week was hard for me since I get the message they were going for but...oof. There are other ways to handle it.
It especially hit me hard because I knew coaches like that. In fact, one summer multiple athletes in my state wound up hospitalized or dead because their coaches denied them water for messing up...they didn’t even lose their jobs in case you’re wondering and my own school’s wrestling program was insane and had a few athletes get injured in ways they still haven’t recovered from as adults. So yeah, if the show would have just had a moment where hihi got WHY what he did was wrong, that would have been an improvement (like have his former student come forward and accuse him) In any case, THIS WEEK’S EPISODE WAS AMAZING!!! I love villains who use music to control people and Elite/Johnny was a really great villain. I really enjoyed the camaraderie he had with Ratman and how despite him being an absolute monster, he was very sympathetic. Also, Ratman’s farts 
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