GeGeGe no Kitarō

Episode 30

While the ongoing Western Yokai Arc hasn't been quite as effective as GeGeGe no Kitarō is when it focuses more on using yokai to tells stories about the human world, this episode gets major credit for its nods to the original source for Carmilla, the novella of the same name by Irish author J. Sheridan Le Fanu. Carmilla the novel follows John Polidori's 1819 short story The Vampyre and predates Bram Stoker's Dracula by twenty-six years – and even more interesting for an 1872 piece, it strongly implies that Carmilla herself is a lesbian and that she and protagonist Laura are in a romantic relationship. That's what makes this episode's focus on schoolgirls at a movie such a nice tip of the hat to the character's namesake – unlike with the arguably more famous Victor Frankenstein, Carmilla's story sticks close to her original tale and suggests that she's only interested in turning attractive young women. (You'll notice that Rat Man's turning is done by one of Carmilla's new vampettes, not Carmilla herself.) When she's fighting Cat Girl at the end, Carmilla speaks of putting “a pretty collar” on her and keeping her as a pet – a statement rife with sexual innuendo, especially if you're familiar with the novella.

That aside, this is a bit lackluster as Kitaro episodes go. There are some wonderful moments, like Mana dressing up as Cat Girl for Halloween and Cat Girl and Rat Man's active resentment of Halloween because it's an imported holiday and doesn't celebrate Japanese yokai (Agnes is a bit confused on that front too). Seeing Mana hold her own with a fire extinguisher against a horde of new vampires so that Cat Girl can go off and find Carmilla is another good scene. Not only does it show us Mana's bravery and ability to hold her own in a dangerous situation, but it also touches on why Halloween is a holiday so many people hold on to even when they've ostensibly outgrown it: she can do anything because she's dressed as Cat Girl. Costumes can be a source of power, a balm to anxiety, because they allow you to feel like you're someone else. That's why magical girls transform and superheroes put on their spandex and capes – if you can't be recognized as yourself, perhaps you can be someone else for a while. It's something that's covered in Yui Sakuma's manga Complex Age about adult women cosplayers, but plain old Halloween fills the same need in countries where it's celebrated American-style. That's what Cat Girl, Rat Man, and Agnes aren't getting, and why would they? They're the stronger ones people are dressing up as.

It's a shame that only one line really delves into that aspect of the story, because I feel like it would have been stronger with more focus. As it stands, however, the scene where Agnes and Kitaro have to cooperate to break Carmilla's spell (which has Cat Girl and Mana trapped in an alternate dimension) is still a good reminder about how everyone is going to have to work together to take Backbeard out. Right now the army's greatest weapon is how well they know Agnes and what she's likely to get up to. If she can work with, rather than against or simply alongside, Kitaro and the other yokai of the GeGeGe Forest, they have a much better chance of surprising their enemies.

Next week, however, it looks like we're going to take a break from this storyline and delve back into Japanese folklore with a story about “forgotten” yokai. This will be an interesting chance to see if my theory about the effect of belief on yokai lifespans holds any water.

Rating: B

GeGeGe no Kitarō is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.