It just so happens I was walking up in the mountains today (an early spring visit to the ume blossoms and Hokura Jinja) and passed through a bamboo thicket or two.  They can certainly be mysterious places, and among the most atmospheric spots in Japan (Kyoto has a few magnificent ones) – especially when it’s windy and the trunks of the closely-packed bamboo clatter against each other with a sound unlike any in nature.  It’s a fascinating plant (a grass, not a tree) with a fascinating biology, and quite important in Japanese culture for thousands of years.

I can’t say that I’ve ever run across any Mannendake myself, but there is something sort of human about these giant grasses, so it’s hardly surprising such legends have sprung up over the centuries.  This week’s story finds Kitarou invited (by Nezumi-otoko, who’s already been enlisted to help) to investigate the disappearances of several humans in a bamboo thicket deep in the mountains.  Kanai Masahiko (Handa Yuusuke, a rare newcomer to GGGnK 2018) seems reluctant to go along with the development plans being pushed by his wife Kiyomi (Kobori Yurie, likewise new to the franchise) and land developer Kubota-san (Numata Yuusuke, ’96, ’07, various ’18).

I’ll say this for Masahiko-san, he’s a good actor – he certainly gets Medama-oyaji wrapped up in his story (the funniest moment of the episode).  The key to the mystery is Masahiko’s father Daikichi (Aomori Shin, ’96 and ’18), who loved the bamboo thicket and lived in it until his disappearance 10 years earlier.  There are layers and layers to Masahiko’s deception here, though ironically the one true aspect of his story is that he wants to stop development of the thicket – it’s just that his reasons could hardly be more different than his stated ones.

The Mannendake (Nishimura Tomomichi, ’96, ’07 & ’18) is real of course, and when he finds out that the son of the man he considered his only friend murdered him and has been lying about it, it’s fair to say he’s none too pleased.  This is not one of Gegege no Kitarou 2018’s more subtle or powerful episodes, but it does pack a very clear reminder that Kitarou doesn’t act out of any implicit duty to protect humans – if the human is in the wrong and refuses to own their transgressions, Kitarou is content to let the slighted youkai act as they see fit.  In this instance it’s hard to muster much sympathy for Masahiko, because he certainly had it coming.