Kitaro

Director: Katsuhide Motoki
Actors: Eiji Wentz, Yo Oizumi, Mao Inoue, Renna Tanaka, Kanpei Hazama
Studio: Navarre Corporation
Category: DVD

List Price: $19.98
Buy New: $10.80
You Save: $9.18 (46%)


New (36) Used (10) from $7.19

Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars 2 reviews
Sales Rank: 80616

Format: Anamorphic, Color, Dubbed, Dvd-video, Ntsc, Subtitled, Widescreen
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), English (Dubbed), Japanese (Dubbed)
Rating: Unrated
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 103 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6

MPN: CARTON QTY 30
UPC: 787364814794
EAN: 0787364814794
ASIN: B0019D3DD8

Theatrical Release Date: 2007
Release Date: October 28, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Kitaro

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Customer Reviews



4 out of 5 stars KITARO News and DVD/Blu-ray Features    September 19, 2008
Keith (CA)
Information about KITARO, photos from the film, and details on DVD/Blu-ray specs and bonus features (including details not listed on TvBoxset) can be found at:

http://www.scifijapan.com/articles/2008/09/14/kitaro-on-region-1-dvd-and-blu-ray/


4 out of 5 stars All-out monster battle!    June 5, 2008
Zack Davisson (Seattle, WA, USA)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful

"Ge ge ge no Kitaro" is one of those Japanese mega-hits that never really seems to find an audience in the US. In fact, calling it a mega-hit is something of an understatement. Kitaro is a national icon on the same terms as Hello Kitty! or Mickey Mouse. The creator, Mizuki Shigeru, has his own museum and a road lined with bronze statues of his famous creations, most famous of which is Kitaro.

This 2007 is the latest adaptation of the popular character, using modern CG effects to bring to life the bizarre cast of characters, almost all of whom are traditional Japanese monsters called yokai. These monsters are as familiar to every Japanese person as goblins, trolls and elves are to Western audiences, and have appeared in a multitude of other films such as the Mizuki-inspired and Miike Takeshi-directed The Great Yokai War

The story is typical of a Kitaro adventure. Greedy developers want to buy an old apartment building so they can kick everyone out and build a supermarket. The developers are having a tough time, so they hire Nezumi otoko to get some yokai and help them scare everyone away. After some scary events, one of the spunky kids who live in the apartment calls up Kitaro to help them in their fight and save the apartment. Kitaro recruits his old allies Neko Musume and the gang, and get to work saving the day.

As far as an adaptation goes, they did a decent job. The various yokai look the best they every have, and Kitaro's father, a small eyeball who walks around and takes baths in tea cups, is spot-on perfect. It's definitely a kid's flick, so don't expect too much in terms of story and depth. Everything is done pretty much tongue-in-cheek, and played for laughs rather than frights.

My only real complaint is the casting of pretty-boy Eiji Wentz as Kitaro. Half-Japanese, half-German, Wentz is just a standard issue "talento" in Japan, with out any real ability other than making young girls giggle and swoon. Because of this, they had to drastically alter the appearance of Kitaro from the comics and animation, so instead of the one-eyed motley faced little monster, we now have "dream boat Kitaro" complete with human love-interest and all that.

I'm a big "Ge ge ge no Kitaro" fan, so I am willing to forgive a lot just to see my favorite character frolicking about in lovely CG. Even Wentz wasn't enough to kill this flick for me, and I had a good time watching it. People unfamiliar with the character might not get as much out of it, but it is still a fun little popcorn flick for kids.