| Kitaro | 
 enlarge | List Price: $19.98
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Avg. Customer Rating:   (based on 2 reviews)
Sales Rank: 80626
Category: DVD
Actors: Eiji Wentz, Yo Oizumi, Mao Inoue, Renna Tanaka, Kanpei Hazama
Director: Katsuhide Motoki
Publisher: Navarre Corporation
Studio: Navarre Corporation
Brand: KITARO (DVD MOVIE)
Label: Navarre Corporation
Format: Anamorphic, Color, Dubbed, Dvd-video, Ntsc, Subtitled, Widescreen
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), English (Dubbed), Japanese (Dubbed)
Rating: Unrated
Media: DVD
Running Time: 103 minutes
Number Of Items: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6
MPN: CARTON QTY 30
UPC: 787364814794
EAN: 0787364814794
ASIN: B0019D3DD8
Release Date: October 28, 2008
Theatrical Release Date: 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
In modern-day Japan, the worlds of the humans and the yokai often collide, and usually not in the most pleasant of manners.
Half-human and half-yokai, one-eyed Kitaro (Wentz Eiji) lives with his eyeball father and his bickering friends, Nezumi Otoko (Oizumi Yo) and Neko Musume (Tanaka Rena), in Gegege Forest where he dedicates his time to maintaining peace between humans and yokai.
But when a magical ball of power ends up in the wrong hands, Kitaro must recover it or both worlds could fall into grave danger.
Mizuki Shigeru's beloved manga series, KITARO (Ge Ge Ge no Kitaro), has seen numerous small and big screen adaptations since the 1960s, but this 2007 film is without a doubt the most visually stunning effort yet. Directed by Katsuhide Motoki (Drugstore Girl) with a screenplay from Habara Daisuke (Hula Girls), KITARO is set in a delightful world populated by Japanese folklore creatures called yokai, demon spirits with supernatural powers. Yokai come in many shapes and forms with the film bringing them to life in a fanciful fusion of CG, animation, and live-action, with everything from cat spirits to walking eyeballs roaming through ancient forests and modern Japan.
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KITARO News and DVD/Blu-ray Features September 19, 2008
Information about KITARO, photos from the film, and details on DVD/Blu-ray specs and bonus features (including details not listed on Amazon) can be found at:
http://www.scifijapan.com/articles/2008/09/14/kitaro-on-region-1-dvd-and-blu-ray/
All-out monster battle! June 5, 2008
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
"Ge ge ge no Kitaro" is one of those Japanese mega-hits that never really seems to find an audience in the US. In fact, calling it a mega-hit is something of an understatement. Kitaro is a national icon on the same terms as Hello Kitty! or Mickey Mouse. The creator, Mizuki Shigeru, has his own museum and a road lined with bronze statues of his famous creations, most famous of which is Kitaro.
This 2007 is the latest adaptation of the popular character, using modern CG effects to bring to life the bizarre cast of characters, almost all of whom are traditional Japanese monsters called yokai. These monsters are as familiar to every Japanese person as goblins, trolls and elves are to Western audiences, and have appeared in a multitude of other films such as the Mizuki-inspired and Miike Takeshi-directed The Great Yokai War
The story is typical of a Kitaro adventure. Greedy developers want to buy an old apartment building so they can kick everyone out and build a supermarket. The developers are having a tough time, so they hire Nezumi otoko to get some yokai and help them scare everyone away. After some scary events, one of the spunky kids who live in the apartment calls up Kitaro to help them in their fight and save the apartment. Kitaro recruits his old allies Neko Musume and the gang, and get to work saving the day.
As far as an adaptation goes, they did a decent job. The various yokai look the best they every have, and Kitaro's father, a small eyeball who walks around and takes baths in tea cups, is spot-on perfect. It's definitely a kid's flick, so don't expect too much in terms of story and depth. Everything is done pretty much tongue-in-cheek, and played for laughs rather than frights.
My only real complaint is the casting of pretty-boy Eiji Wentz as Kitaro. Half-Japanese, half-German, Wentz is just a standard issue "talento" in Japan, with out any real ability other than making young girls giggle and swoon. Because of this, they had to drastically alter the appearance of Kitaro from the comics and animation, so instead of the one-eyed motley faced little monster, we now have "dream boat Kitaro" complete with human love-interest and all that.
I'm a big "Ge ge ge no Kitaro" fan, so I am willing to forgive a lot just to see my favorite character frolicking about in lovely CG. Even Wentz wasn't enough to kill this flick for me, and I had a good time watching it. People unfamiliar with the character might not get as much out of it, but it is still a fun little popcorn flick for kids.
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