That whole episode may as well have been called “To Comiket With Love”.
This reboot’s legions of otaku fans can rejoice – Catchick-Mana is officially canon. Of course so is bestiality and child-cardboard idol, but that won’t let the doujin writers pause in their celebrations. Countless doujin have already been written in anticipation of this moment, and even a few in anticipation of some development in the “main” pairing too. But Gegege no Kitarou isn’t really that sort of show, so it’s not going to serve up that sort of thing to its viewers without a healthy serving of salt.
Without any question its great tentpole episodes stand out, but I think the way Gegege no Kitarou 2018 handles material like this week’s ep is just as important in why it stands out as a remarkable series. It would be so easy for an episode like this to be a throwaway, an amusing trifle. But as is so often the case, it was anything but. This was really smart, extremely savvy about the franchise’s mythology and unsparing in having fun at its expense, and pretty darn edgy too. It was comedy with intent, and as it happens beautifully animated too.
The anchor for the ep was a terrific comic performance by Takato Yasuhiro – who’s got a long history with GGGnK, including this version – as Iyami (sheeeh!). Iyami has appeared many times over the decades and this version was actually toned down from some of his really weird stuff in earlier incarnations, but still pretty over-the-top. After being awoken by a couple of lost explorers, he sets off an a quest to spread his love throughout the world – starting with the (un)lucky Kitarou and Konaki-jiji, who happen to be nearby mushroom hunting.
It’s Neko-musume who’s at the heart of all this craziness, as she’s just mustered her courage to bring Kitarou a pot of nabe when he turns up thoroughly infused and asks her out on a date. She has no idea what’s just happened so naturally takes him at face value, and Ratman, Daddy Eyeball, Nurikabe and Ittan-momen – with Mana in tow – decide to spy on them. I love the device the episode uses to show us Neko-musume’s ever-changing emotional state – it’s both adorable and very funny. Medama-oyaji is thrilled that his son is finally in love, but shocked when he gets distracted by all the other young ladies before Catchick shows up and reveals himself to be every bit the player Ittan-momen said he could be.
What follows is pretty much divinely-inspired craziness. Ittan-momen starts hitting on women on the guise of being addled by Iyami (he’s not). Konaki-jiji tries to get Catchick to take a sake bath with him. Wally Wall blushes and waxes eloquent. Little boys hit on advertising standups, and women confess to dogs. And best of all for the doijun circles, Mana finally comes right out and makes a play (chuuu!) for Neko-musume. There’s also a very nice bit where Sunakake-baba has a heart-to-heart with Neko-musume on the subject of unrequited love, and Neko-musume decides to take the hard path rather than the easy one.
Really, it’s all great – hilarious and self-referential, usually at the same time. Even the method of resolution is hilarious, as Catchick defeats Iyami by going right for his weak point (which is canon for the character, by the way). I don’t know whether she and Kitarou will ever actually make progress without the benefit of love magic, and frankly I’m not sure I want them to – that would change the chemistry among the cast in ways that might not be good for the story. But as a way to have fun with the idea, an episode like this one is pure genius. Gegege no Kitarou 2018 proves once again it’s a reboot for the ages.
Robert Black
September 9, 2019 at 4:49 amIf Iyami’s magic brings out the natural impulses a person already has, then it is perfectly reasonable to have young boys falling for a cardboard idol, since it’s fairly normal for boys (and men sometimes, sadly) of a certain maturity to fall in love with idealized representations of women rather than with real women. It’s also not unheard of for some women (and some men, for that matter) to be “in love” with a pet instead of with a person.
That said, you can also make the assertion that Mana is going through a phase that is fairly typical for girls of a certain maturity, to “fall in love” with another girl. I personally am not sure how “natural” such a phase really is, but it was stated explicitly in Kampfer and is implied in a number of other anime series, so I know there are people in the anime world who believe in it.
The unspoken punch line of the episode is that even though traditional romance isn’t Kitaro’s thing, he really *does* love Neko, so much so that he put his own soul on the line to get her back from Hell. This episode really upped the stakes for what’s going to happen when Neko finds out about that.
Guardian Enzo
September 9, 2019 at 7:26 amI’ve never doubted Kitarou loved her (the same way he loves all his inner circle) but I don’t think he’s capable of romantic feelings at this point.
As for Mana, I pretty much agree. I mean, she wears a neko t-shirt and has a neko screensaver and generally worships the ground Neko-musume walks on. I think it’s perfectly natural – Catchick is a little (well a lot, but it seems like a little) older, she’s cool and tough, and Mana is a bit of a youkai otaku to begin with.
Robert Black
September 9, 2019 at 12:00 pmIn the real world, I don’t really buy the “it’s just a phase” thing. It probably is for some people, but I’ve known too many people for whom it wasn’t. In the anime world, what I do or don’t believe isn’t as important as what the creative team believes. I suspect in this case, the creative team believes they can hold the audience’s attention best by never answering conclusively.
Guardian Enzo
September 9, 2019 at 12:38 pmAnd if they do, I believe them to be correct!
ElCid
April 15, 2020 at 4:57 amHonestly, the whole trope where someone clearly has romantic or sexual feelings for someone of the same gender but it’s written off as totally platonic “hero worship” or whatever seems like it was born from the “romantic friendship” concept that sadly exists in real-life Japanese society. It’s what closed-minded parents and teachers tell themselves to explain why their daughters/female students are acting like they’re into each other–surely it’s all just practice for a “real” relationship, a cute little phase they’ll grow out of when they’re older and ready to find a man to marry. Which of course causes many lesbians or bisexual girls with female preference to avoid the relationships they actually desire, so they don’t disappoint anyone by not being “normal”. That or they go right ahead and be themselves well into adulthood, only to be labelled as troubled, mentally ill or outright sexual predators. Hell, this whole ass-backwards scenario is exactly what Yuri Kuma Arashi was actually a commentary on. This sort of thing is also why there are anime where a straight girl “makes an exception” for another girl, or why there are clearly lesbian characters who say they wish the object of their affection was a man. And don’t even get me started on how Darling in the Franxx handled the subject…
tl;dr: There’s no such thing as a “romantic friendship phase”, and I’d personally prefer to believe Mana’s feelings for Neko-Musume are a bit more genuine than that.
Collectr
September 10, 2019 at 9:48 pmI quite like GeGeGe Kitarou in its comic mode, and I particularly liked how this episode gave some screen time to all the side characters (usually, it’s just Nezumi). Great comic turns from Kitarou-as-Lothario, Mana as love-struck Neko-chan groupie, Wally Wall and the the others; but Sand Witch’s conversation with Neko-musume was the quiet and poignant center. There’s risk in pursuing love, but there’s cost to standing aside.
Enamelthyst
September 21, 2019 at 6:37 pmI know I’m two weeks behind on this show, but I just have to mention that it was this episode, for some reason, that finally made me realize why Neko-Musume usually wears high heels: anatomically speaking, cats walk on their toes!
Guardian Enzo
September 21, 2019 at 8:13 pmHmmm… Never really thought of that. They do of course (so do dogs, among other animals).
ElCid
April 15, 2020 at 5:42 amI’d like to add as well, one of the funniest moments IMO was when Konaki-Jiji uses Nurikabe to pull the old kabe-don maneuver on Sunakake-Baba, prompting Nurikabe to remark in amazement “Nurikabe-don!”