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Kitaro: Drawn and Quarterly Edition #2
Kitaro Meets Nurarihyon
" Kitaro is a fun, eerie romp into Japan's supernatural world." - -School Library Journal, YALSA Great Graphic Novel for Teens
The second in a seven-volume series of the best of Shigeru Mizuki's Kitaro comics, designed with a kid-friendly format and price point!
Kitaro Meets Nurarihyon is the second volume in the adventures of Shigeru Mizuki's bizarre yokai boy Kitaro and his gaggle of otherworldly friends. These seven stories date from the golden age of Gegege no Kitaro , when Mizuki had perfected the balance of folklore, comedy, and horror that made Kitaro one of Japan's most beloved characters.
In Kitaro Meets Nurarihyon , Kitaro and his father, Medama Oyaji, face off against one of their most powerful enemies--the self-styled Yokai Supreme Commander known as Nurarihyon. Over the course of this volume, Kitaro takes on the swamp-dwelling Sawa Kozo, the mysterious Diamond Yokai, and the sea giant called Umizato, and wages a double feature of battles against the bizarre Odoro Odoro. Finally, Kitaro journeys to hell itself in the infamous and surreal story "Hell Ride."
In addition to more than 150 pages of Mizuki's all-ages monster fun, Kitaro Meets Nurarihyon includes bonus "Yokai Files" that introduce Japan's folklore monsters and a "History of Kitaro" essay by the translator Zack Davisson. If you found the world of yokai fascinating in The Birth of Kitaro , you will find even more to love in Kitaro Meets Nurarihyon !
The second in a seven-volume series of the best of Shigeru Mizuki's Kitaro comics, designed with a kid-friendly format and price point!
Kitaro Meets Nurarihyon is the second volume in the adventures of Shigeru Mizuki's bizarre yokai boy Kitaro and his gaggle of otherworldly friends. These seven stories date from the golden age of Gegege no Kitaro , when Mizuki had perfected the balance of folklore, comedy, and horror that made Kitaro one of Japan's most beloved characters.
In Kitaro Meets Nurarihyon , Kitaro and his father, Medama Oyaji, face off against one of their most powerful enemies--the self-styled Yokai Supreme Commander known as Nurarihyon. Over the course of this volume, Kitaro takes on the swamp-dwelling Sawa Kozo, the mysterious Diamond Yokai, and the sea giant called Umizato, and wages a double feature of battles against the bizarre Odoro Odoro. Finally, Kitaro journeys to hell itself in the infamous and surreal story "Hell Ride."
In addition to more than 150 pages of Mizuki's all-ages monster fun, Kitaro Meets Nurarihyon includes bonus "Yokai Files" that introduce Japan's folklore monsters and a "History of Kitaro" essay by the translator Zack Davisson. If you found the world of yokai fascinating in The Birth of Kitaro , you will find even more to love in Kitaro Meets Nurarihyon !
192 pages, Paperback
Published October 11, 2016
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90 people want to read
About the author
Shigeru Mizuki
743 books332 followersShigeru Mizuki (水木しげる) was a Japanese manga cartoonist, most known for his horror manga GeGeGe no Kitaro. He was a specialist in stories of yōkai and was considered a master of the genre. Mizuki was a member of The Japanese Society of Cultural Anthropology, and had travelled to over 60 countries in the world to engage in fieldwork of the yōkai and spirits of different cultures. He has been published in Japan, South Korea, France, Spain, Taiwan, the United States and Italy. He is also known for his World War II memoirs and his work as a biographer.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
August 10, 2017
If nothing else, this book has taught me how to spell "Nurarihyon" without looking at the title for reference. Just don't ask me to pronounce it. And if I tried to say, "Nurarihyon meets Cthulhu and Nyarlathotep," aloud, I fear my tongue would spontaneously combust ...
In this book, we have more stories featuring Mizuki's legendary Gegege no Kitaro. Kitaro is a young boy who helps humanity when yokai--Japanese spirits and monsters--get out of hand. Being a yokai himself, Kitaro has an array of supernatural powers at his call.
This is lighter in tone than much of Mizuki's previous work that's appeared in English, but please don't mistake less seriousness as indicating lesser quality. These tales are all kinds of spooky fun, wildly imaginative. Recommended!
In this book, we have more stories featuring Mizuki's legendary Gegege no Kitaro. Kitaro is a young boy who helps humanity when yokai--Japanese spirits and monsters--get out of hand. Being a yokai himself, Kitaro has an array of supernatural powers at his call.
This is lighter in tone than much of Mizuki's previous work that's appeared in English, but please don't mistake less seriousness as indicating lesser quality. These tales are all kinds of spooky fun, wildly imaginative. Recommended!
January 29, 2018
The second in Drawn and Quarterly's collection of Kitaro narratives. This one is similar to the first, introducing a variety of strange yokai, along with the fair weather friend Nezumi Otoko, and having Kitaro battle the more destructive yokai in defense of the human world.
March 4, 2022
The second star is only for the spirit of the thing. The stories are full of incredibly lazy writing and the art is more rushed looking than I can remember.
How was the first book entertaining yet this so bad?
How was the first book entertaining yet this so bad?
February 18, 2018
Quick recap: Kitaro is the last surviving member of the Ghost Tribe, a once populous group of yokai (Japanese spirits/monsters.) His father lives on in the form of an eyeball and advises the young fellow. Together with his untrustworthy friend Nezumi-Otoko (“Rat-Man”) and sometimes other friendly monsters, Kitaro acts as a mediator between humans and yokai. (This being a comic book, often this mediation involves deadly combat.)
This is the second volume of Drawn & Quarterly’s collection of stories from Shigeru Mizuki’s classic GeGeGe no Kitaro series of children’s horror manga. It has a continuation of the history of the manga, and a handy guide to the yokai appearing in this volume in the back.
The lead story is also the one that titles this volume. Traditionally, the nurarihyon is a humanoid creature that shows up at your house and acts as if he’s an invited guest. As long as he’s there, he demands the best in food, luxuries and entertainment. Only when the nurarihyon has finished abusing your hospitality and departs do you suddenly realize you never actually invited him in or even know who he was.
But this particular Nurarihyon is actively evil. He hates humans and commits acts of terrorism while appearing to be a harmless old man. Nurarihyon despises yokai that want to be friends with humans, and especially Kitaro. He runs into Nezumi-Otoko one day at the pachinko parlor, and pretends to befriend the greedy rat-man in order to lure Kitaro into a trap.
After several twists and turns, Kitaro manages to trick Nurarihyon and his accomplice Jakotsu Baba (Snake Bone Granny) into a time machine and strands them in prehistory. (In the anime, Nurarihyon manages to return more than once, acting as the Big Bad for a couple of larger stories.)
A kappa (water goblin) is the antagonist in “Sara Kozo”, though his motive is a bit more sympathetic. The sara kozo’s secret song was stolen by rock musicians who used it to become famous, but paid no royalties. Knowing that he has no standing in the human court system, the sara kozo decided not to sue, but instead just kidnap the thieves. Kitaro has to get them back.
The two stories that end this volume are connected. In “Odoro Odoro”, a mad scientist attempts to find a cure for baldness, but turns himself into a malevolent hairball that thirsts for the blood of children. Mind you, not all their blood, but since he can’t afford to have them reveal what’s going on, the Odoro Odoro has been stuffing them into the Spirit World for safekeeping. Kitaro apparently vanquishes the monster at the end of the story.
But in “Odoro Odoro Versus Vampire”, it turns out the creature survived. It steals Kitaro’s soul and makes him its slave. While Kitaro is away, Nezumi Otoko becomes the mostly willing servant of Dracula IV, descendant of the famous Dracula and himself a vampire. Eventually, the two monsters meet and engage in fierce battle. Medama Oyaji (Eyeball Dad) plays a larger role than usual, as Kitaro is out of action for most of the story.
The art ranges from cartoony to detailed, displaying the artist’s range. This volume is suitable for horror-loving readers from fourth grade on up. (Some sensitive parents might find it too scary.)
This is the second volume of Drawn & Quarterly’s collection of stories from Shigeru Mizuki’s classic GeGeGe no Kitaro series of children’s horror manga. It has a continuation of the history of the manga, and a handy guide to the yokai appearing in this volume in the back.
The lead story is also the one that titles this volume. Traditionally, the nurarihyon is a humanoid creature that shows up at your house and acts as if he’s an invited guest. As long as he’s there, he demands the best in food, luxuries and entertainment. Only when the nurarihyon has finished abusing your hospitality and departs do you suddenly realize you never actually invited him in or even know who he was.
But this particular Nurarihyon is actively evil. He hates humans and commits acts of terrorism while appearing to be a harmless old man. Nurarihyon despises yokai that want to be friends with humans, and especially Kitaro. He runs into Nezumi-Otoko one day at the pachinko parlor, and pretends to befriend the greedy rat-man in order to lure Kitaro into a trap.
After several twists and turns, Kitaro manages to trick Nurarihyon and his accomplice Jakotsu Baba (Snake Bone Granny) into a time machine and strands them in prehistory. (In the anime, Nurarihyon manages to return more than once, acting as the Big Bad for a couple of larger stories.)
A kappa (water goblin) is the antagonist in “Sara Kozo”, though his motive is a bit more sympathetic. The sara kozo’s secret song was stolen by rock musicians who used it to become famous, but paid no royalties. Knowing that he has no standing in the human court system, the sara kozo decided not to sue, but instead just kidnap the thieves. Kitaro has to get them back.
The two stories that end this volume are connected. In “Odoro Odoro”, a mad scientist attempts to find a cure for baldness, but turns himself into a malevolent hairball that thirsts for the blood of children. Mind you, not all their blood, but since he can’t afford to have them reveal what’s going on, the Odoro Odoro has been stuffing them into the Spirit World for safekeeping. Kitaro apparently vanquishes the monster at the end of the story.
But in “Odoro Odoro Versus Vampire”, it turns out the creature survived. It steals Kitaro’s soul and makes him its slave. While Kitaro is away, Nezumi Otoko becomes the mostly willing servant of Dracula IV, descendant of the famous Dracula and himself a vampire. Eventually, the two monsters meet and engage in fierce battle. Medama Oyaji (Eyeball Dad) plays a larger role than usual, as Kitaro is out of action for most of the story.
The art ranges from cartoony to detailed, displaying the artist’s range. This volume is suitable for horror-loving readers from fourth grade on up. (Some sensitive parents might find it too scary.)
March 26, 2018
This was my first time reading a Kitaro book, and one of my first times reading a proper manga. I'm partially reviewing the book, partially the character/series, and partially manga itself.
So what can I say so far? Well, Kitaro or GeGeGe no Kitarō is an old, famous manga series, and pretty, pretty, pretty weird stuff. Kitaro is a powerful, seemingly invulnerable Yokai, which translates into many things, but we could say a monster/spirit creature. He looks like a 12 year old with a weird mop-top covering one eye. What is his purpose? I don't know. He seems to be a good guy, but he just kind of wanders around beating up other Yokai and saying weird things. His father is a walking, talking eyeball, who feeds Kitaro eyeball soup. His friend/frenemy/mentor looks a bit like a cat, and is covetous, lecherous and violent.
The art is inconsistent. It's often odd and interesting, and it reminds me of 'Looney Tunes'. Indeed, Kitaro reads like some of the more out-there Looney Tunes episodes (which may reflect the influence American cartoons had on manga). Sometimes it's beautiful, and sometimes it's drawn differently from panel to panel to the point where heads don't look like heads and you can't really tell what's going on.
What else? There are poison pee attacks, portals to hell, hair monsters, and most battles are resolved in a few seconds. Picture a weirder, much, much faster-paced 'Dragon Ball'.
It was an experience, and it left me with things to ponder and new horizons, but I don't see myself reading much more.
October 1, 2022
I was in the mood for some yokai again, so I read the third volume of the Kitaro series. My thoughts really haven't changed much, though. I will say at least that Kitaro doesn't always seem to be developing new super abilities to defeat his foes in this volume. Nevertheless, I still don't find the stories that compelling. Sometimes the defeat of the enemies seems to come out of nowhere, and the characters just aren't that interesting either. At least the rat man character doesn't come across as quite so dastardly here. Given that he is Kitaro's friend, in previous volumes, where he is so deeply untrustworthy, it was hard to understand why Kitaro would spend time with the guy at all. Here at least he seems to be less of a jerk I thought.
Anyway, for those who like yokai, I think these books still have something to enjoy. I love the crazy detailed backgrounds, and it definitely is interesting seeing the various kinds of monsters appear. I just don't really care about the characters much and don't find the stories very clever.
Anyway, for those who like yokai, I think these books still have something to enjoy. I love the crazy detailed backgrounds, and it definitely is interesting seeing the various kinds of monsters appear. I just don't really care about the characters much and don't find the stories very clever.
June 5, 2020
This is going to be a general review for the series, with perhaps a few specific comments thrown in. In general, I love the series and I love the character of Kitaro. I love being introduced to new yokai in each volume, I love relationship Kitaro and his dad have (except in Kitaro the Vampire Slayer), and I love how consistently inconsistent Nezumi Otoko is and always wonder why they keep him around the way they do. It might be because they count on him switching sides and then count on his incompetence to help them defeat the bad guys. Kitaro was my gateway drug into the world of Shigeru Mizuki and he has since become one of my favorite mangaka.
I love his depiction of Odoro Odoro. In general, his monster designs are fantastic!
I love his depiction of Odoro Odoro. In general, his monster designs are fantastic!
May 31, 2025
More adventures of Kitaro and the yokai
So... the title makes it seem like Nararihyon is going to play a bigger role in the series (maybe be a recurring character) but then Kitaro sends him back in time because apparently time travel is also something yokai can do.
There's also a chapter that flashes back to when Kitaro was still living as a human. Personally, I would've put them in chronological order, but seeing as this is a monster-of-the-week formula, I don't think it matters too much since most of the chapters don't really connect beyond the main characters.
This series has 7 volumes.
So... the title makes it seem like Nararihyon is going to play a bigger role in the series (maybe be a recurring character) but then Kitaro sends him back in time because apparently time travel is also something yokai can do.
There's also a chapter that flashes back to when Kitaro was still living as a human. Personally, I would've put them in chronological order, but seeing as this is a monster-of-the-week formula, I don't think it matters too much since most of the chapters don't really connect beyond the main characters.
This series has 7 volumes.
November 7, 2019
I love monster stories combined with comedy stories, and not only do Kitaro manga stories fall right into that sweet spot, they have the added bonus that I get to enjoy creative takes on all sorts of folkloric yokai figures I know little if anything about. This is the second volume of the D&Q reprints of this series, and thankfully far from the last - I will keep reading these as long as they keep printing them!
March 17, 2017
One of many in this classic manga series on the yokai. As all of Mizuki's Kitaro tales, a bit dark and violent - more of a series for youth than the young ones.
October 2, 2020
More weird and cool and beautifully drawn, nasty but fun, yokai zef from Shigeru Mizuki.
January 4, 2023
Kitaro sends Mr. Yamada and friend back to the Age of Mammoths. Kitaro helps a young boy get his father back.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 2, 2023
Weird and wacky, with some bizarre yokai.
June 28, 2024
The stories are simplistic. Perhaps something is lost in translation.
The art looks simple but conveys everything pretty well.
The art looks simple but conveys everything pretty well.
February 21, 2017
Enjoyable monster stories from Shigeru Mizuki, although they're kind of odd to modern eyes, since they're paced so differently from the comics that we're used to. Still fun to read though, especially whenever Mizuki comes up with some crazy, weird monster design.
October 19, 2016
Mizuki is by far one of my favorite mangaka and I love everything Kitaro. This volume does contain some of his earlier works which are a bit rough around the edges with some often confusing panel layouts. My main reason for dropping a star is that I don't think this is the best way to reproduce Kitaro. I don't know why D&Q won't just release translated volumes of the Japanese books. I'd rather have all the stories in chronologically published order than this hodgepodge shotgun approach. Characters are introduced in random order which may confuse readers who don't understand these are just collections of stories and not reproductions of the Japanese releases.
January 26, 2017
Some people like Chi, others like Punpun. Me, I might like the mayhem of Kitaro.
February 2, 2017
EH. Well collected. Still, Kitaro is random.
March 6, 2023
Not as good as the first volume, but it's still Kitaro at the end of the day so 4 stars.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews