Let’s get this party started.

And so we begin the final act of this 2018 incarnation of Gegege no Kitarou, before it goes into hibernation (on TV at least) until 2029 or so.  Be it one cour or two I’m not certain, but what’s clear is that Toei has saved what in GGGnK terms is the top dog for last.  As big bads go Nurarihyon is among the biggest in youkai mythology, both specific to this franchise and otherwise.  I think it would be fair to say he’s not a universally popular antagonist among fans of the series, but all the early signs are looking pretty damn positive.

One interesting thing this mythology has done is link all the recurring villains in this series together – each succeeding one has had some role in facilitating the threat that came before it.  In thus instance, Nurarihyon was the one who freed the Four Treasonous Generals from their underworld prison – though all Great King Enma is able to say for sure is that a “youkai with a red face” (Nurarigyon’s flunky Shu-no-Bon, played by 2007 veteran and general anime legend Chou) was spotted in the area just before the quartet were released.  That’s fine – the one pulling the strings has no intention of staying anonymous for long.

As Medama-oyaji bathes in houjicha and Kitarou basks in the rare peace of an autumn’s day, you know trouble is just around the corner.  Nurarihyon is already weaving his web in the human world, and showing a decidedly modern approach in doing so.  We meet him as he’s trying to bribe a Diet member into approving a golf course development, and then blowing the man up in his car when he refuses (like that ever happens here) the bait.  I have to admit a certain thrill the first time we hear a line delivery from the great Ohtsuka Akio – one of the handful of greatest seiyuu of all-time.  It’s a tantalizing taste of the possibilities for what’s to come.

Ohtsuka can certainly do bombast with the best of them, but he’s so good he transcends his own type.  His Nurarihyon is quietly menacing – you can still hear the massive screen presence that is Ohtsuka’s voice, but it’s held in reserve.  Nurarihyon is very old and very powerful, and he’s playing the long game here to be sure.  He certainly doesn’t care about golf courses or the money it takes to buy their approval – he has larger goals in mind, and they involve the fragile balance between humans and youkai.

As it happens, one youkai does care very much about this golf course specifically.  That would be Tsuchi-korobi (Mamiya Yasuhiro, making his GGGnK debut).   That’s because the construction workers are cutting down the oak forest he spent 300 years growing into his home.  The construction boss brings in Kitarou to help, but it’s clear immediately there’s a big misunderstanding between them.  He thinks he’s hiring a youkai exterminator, but what he’s getting is something very, very different.

This is about as arch-typical as a Gegege no Kitarou story gets – youkai and humans in conflict when the modern world encroaches on an ageless youkai enclave.  Tsuchi-korobi is a pretty straightforward fellow – he doesn’t seek out conflict with humans but has no qualms about squishing them (or Kitarou) if they get in his way.  Eventually Kitarou manages to force a standoff with him (knot bad) and buy himself a chance to try and resolve the situation peacefully.  It does get resolved – but not through Kitarou’s powers of persuasion.  Nurarihyon pulls the plug on his own project and wins over Tsuchi-korobi in the process – which was obviously his intention all along.  Long game…

In many ways this seems like a good arc to end the 2018 version on, because it seems the conflict between Kitarou and Nurarihyon will test the fundamental question of the series – does Kitarou’s way of being really stand a chance?  No matter what else happens Gegege no Kitarou always seems to come down to that, and Nurarihyon is powerful enough to put what Kitarou stands for to its sternest test yet.  With a new villain, an excellent new ED and one of the best seiyuu ever, the last waltz begins.

ED 7: “Aru Wake nai no Sono Oku ni” by Maneki-kecak