A selection of the very best GeGeGe no Kitaro TV anime episodes will begin airing weekly in Japan starting on April 6, 2025. The rebroadcasted episodes will air on Fuji TV and other Japanese TV stations.
The episodes will be chosen by all voice actresses of Kitaro throughout the years, from series 1-6. The rebroadcast takes over the time slot left open by the conclusion of Run For Money: The Great Mission since April 2023.
The lineup of actresses choosing the favorite episodes to air include selectors Masako Nozawa (Series 1 and 2), Keiko Toda (Series 3), Yoko Matsuoka (Series 4), Minami Takayama (Series 5), and Miyuki Sawashiro (Series 6). The rebroadcast will also include a discussion from each of the voice actresses on their chosen episode.
A new key visual drawn by The Birth of Kitaro: The Mystery of GeGeGe character designer Toko Yatabe has also been released. It features the late series creator Shigeru Mizuki in his studio, surrounded by different versions of Kitaro from past iterations of the anime series.
The most recent The Birth of Kitaro: The Mystery of GeGeGe anime film premiered in Japan on November 17, 2023 and grossed a total of 2.79 billion yen (US$19.11 million). It was in the running for Best Animated Movie at the 47th Japan Academy Award, taking home an Excellence Award.
The film was created as part of the 100th year Birth Anniversary project for Shigeru Mizuki. 2025 will mark 10 years since his passing.
The GeGeGe no Kitaro franchise first began in 1933 as a kamishibai street show. It was then turned into a 1960 rental manga series that was renamed to Hakaba no Kitaro in 1965. The series was again renamed to GeGeGe no Kitaro in 1967 and continued its serialization in several magazines afterwards until its conclusion in 1970. Drawn & Quarterly releases select manga chapters of the manga series in English.
The manga has inspired six different anime series since 1968, with the most recent entry airing in 2018. It has also inspired several live-action films and video games.
Synopsis:
Nearly twenty years into the 21st century, people have forgotten the existence of Yokai. When a number of unexplainable phenomena plague adults of the human world with confusion and chaos, thirteen-year-old Mana writes a letter to the Yokai Post in search of answers, only to be greeted by Ge Ge Ge no Kitaro.
