So, this is the interesting thing Ranko teased a couple of days ago! She started to write a series of articles for a webzine called Daily Bibibi (日刊ビビビ, Nikkan Bibibi) (nice name), and she will talk about whatever she wants, as much as she wants! Here is a translation of her first post, where she introduces herself and talks about GeGeGe no Kitaro!
Hello, Daily Bibibi readers. For those of you who don’t know me, nice to meet you. Oh, happy new year. It’s 2021.
My name is Ranko, and I belong to a circle called BUTAOTOME. I enjoy my life mainly by singing songs and creating derivative works.
A circle is a group of people who want to do what they like together. I wrote that we are a group of creators in my profile, but that’s about it.
The members are me, the human Ranko, the polar bear Comp, who plays bass guitar, composes music and does various other things, and the rabbit Ranko no Ane, who does illustrations, produces goods and such. We try to make you happy.
In this series of articles, I would like to share a piece of my fun life with you. I hope you will join me.
So! Here’s the theme of the first episode.
Do you all know “GeGeGe no Kitaro”?
It is based on a manga by Shigeru Mizuki, and the anime has been aired for six seasons over the past 50 years. There is also an anime called Kitaro of the Graveyard.
Of course, I love the original manga, but this time I’d like to talk about the anime.
I first encountered Kitaro when I was in preschool.
The third season, which was made during the 80′, was being rerun, and watching it, I became fascinated by the existence of youkai and longed for their mysterious world.
When I was approached by “Daily Bibibi”, I decided that I would definitely choose this theme for my first article.
Because in GeGeGe no Kitaro, there is a character called “BiBiBi no Nezumi Otoko” (Rat Man)!
Nezumi Otoko is a friend of Kitaro’s, but he always brings problems to Kitaro and his friends. He is a so-called troublemaker. But he is also a lovable character with a bit of a quirk that makes him hard to hate.
Why do I look like this in this picture?
It may not be an exaggeration to say that Kitaro is a kind of role model for me.
In the third season, there is a human girl named Yumeko-chan.
At the end of the opening, Kitaro stands in front of Yumeko-chan and protects her, and when I saw that, I saw myself in Kitaro instead of Yumeko-chan.
(There is also a girl named “Mana” in the sixth season, which ran until last year. I like how the third and sixth seasons are structurally similar, with the coexistence of humans and youkai as one of the themes)
In other words, I thought, “I want to become a hero”. Now that I think about it, though.
This is something that goes along with my ideal as a vocalist.
If you ask me why I sing, the first answer would definitely be “because it’s fun,” but the second answer might be “I want to become someone’s hero”.
I’m really embarrassed because I haven’t said these things very often.
Anyway, that’s how I feel when I watch Kitaro.
The encounters between youkai and humans are genuinely interesting, the contents are in step with the times, and sometimes it’s satirical. The sixth season is very modern and interesting in that sense, so I highly recommend watching it. It’s available on Netflix and other streaming services.
I’m sorry to say that this is the first installment of the series, but it seems to be like this every time.
I hope you enjoy it.