Worlds are colliding…

Well, after a year and two months we have what I believe to be a first for Gegege no Kitarou 2018.  Two major recurring plotlines are colliding here (I suppose if you want to include Nanashi-Backbeard you could, but for me Nanashi rises above the level of a recurring plotline).  I was not a fan of the Western Youkai arc, so the return of Backbeard isn’t something I greeted with a lot of enthusiasm.  That said, though, this was a solid episode and in fact, probably better than the vast majority of the ones in that arc.

We in fact have a direct continuation of last week’s ep featuring the proletarian vampire Elite, this time featuring one of those nobles he talks about.  That would be the vampire La Seine (the great Tobita Nobuo, making his first appearance in this series after guest shots in the ’96 and ’07 versions).  He’s responsible for a string of blood-draining incidents in Japan, which he’s accomplishing with the help of his assistant Mammoth (played by Kujira, who likewise appeared in those two earlier versions of GGGnK and has already turned up in this one).

Truth be told, I think Elite was both a more formidable opponent and a more interesting character than La Seine – both his methods and the chip on his shoulder gave him a charisma and relatability.  La Seine, on the other hand, is a pretty traditional Eastern European vampire avatar, and his vanity makes him vulnerable (and predictable) in ways Elite was not.  It’s never made clear here whether Elite was acting on Backbeard’s orders in collecting blood, but there’s no doubt La Seine is – a virtual appearance by Agnes (courtesy of Sunakake-baba) makes that clear.

It was nice to see (if not touch) Agnes again – she ended up being one of the more winning elements of the Western Youkai arc.  I’m not so crazy about her message though, if it means we’re destined to go through another Backbeard revival.  In the meantime the showdown between Kitarou and La Seine is fairly interesting.  The vampire seems to get the better of Kitarou the first time around, and manages to trap him in a containment cube which Mammoth helpfully buries deep underground.  But Kitarou’s chanchanko keeps up the good fight – this powerful talisman is a key part of Kitarou’s repertoire, and in fact remains something of a mystery.  I don’t think it actually contains Kitarou’s soul as Mammoth theorizes (it’s purportedly made of the souls of other Ghost Tribe members) but the connection is definitely deep and profound.

Seeing La Seine terrorized by the chanchanko was frequently hilarious, and it was intended to be.  I quite liked Mammoth’s role in all this – despite physically suggesting a big, dumb brute, Mammoth is actually quite smart, often smarter than La Seine, in fact.  Now, what would have happened if Mana hadn’t found the cube before Mammoth dug it up and La Seine destroyed it?  That I don’t know – nor do I know how she knew where to look – but in the second go-around, Kitarou has La Seine’s number and it’s not even close.

Another unknown?  Just what Kitarou would have done if Isurugi Rei hadn’t shown up when he did.  Frankly Rei (who I don’t much like) was correct in pointing out that if Kitarou had let La Seine go, he just would have ended up sucking blood in some other country.  But would Kitarou have been prepared to destroy a defeated opponent pleading for his life (or at least having it pleaded for by his henchman)?  I’m sure Kitarou wouldn’t have destroyed Mammoth but La Seine, that’s a tougher call.  Rei’s parting shot that Kitarou’s “softness” would lead to his downfall certainly had the ring of foreshadowing to it, but that’s a theme that’s been lurking in Gegege no Kitarou from the very beginning.