Kitaro

March 1, 2014

Gr 9 Up-First published in the 1960s, this popular series organized Japan's many yokai (spirit monster) tales into a clear narrative, resetting them in contemporary times with added social commentary. Yokai are spirits that often cause mischief or harm, but the novel's half-boy, half-yokai hero Kitaro protects humans from their ill effects. Kitaro battles and defeats a blood-sucking tree and a monster who attacks with an army made from his own organs, among others. His closest ally is his father, who exists as an eyeball in the boy's empty left eye socket. The brief chapters highlight the whimsy, fantasy, and horror of Japanese folklore, and manga fans will spot the origins of many of the format's tropes, including shape-shifters, cuddly monsters, and mecha battles. Teens may overlook this title for more familiar, modern series: the illustrations are less angular and more cartoonish than the art found in much of current mainstream manga. However, booktalks of these strange, charming stories, along with connections to folkore in favorite series such as Akihisa Ikeda's "Rosario + Vampire" and Yellow Tanabe's "Kekkaishi"(both Viz Media), should find this volume an appreciative audience.-Lisa Goldstein, Brooklyn Public Library

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 15, 2013

Originally published in the late 1960s, Mizuki's "Kitaro" series became immensely popular in Japan as horror/humor classics and spun off numerous videos and games. An introduction by Matt Alt (Yokai Attack!) describes Mizuki's enduring legacy. Main character Kitaro looks like a cute little tyke, but he's really a 350-year-old yokai: a supernatural spirit being. Missing an eye that acts as host to his yokai dad (currently reduced to the form of an anthropomorphic eyeball), Kitaro is quick to help whenever humankind and other yokai rub one another the wrong way. In adventures mischievous, inventive, and eerie, the eyeball father and son pair outwit a French vampire, help a village end a cat infestation, force a kid baseball team to return his magical bat, end a plague of vampire trees living on human blood, and drive off a bunch of Western yokai who want to rule the world. VERDICT While a bit grisly, Mizuki's creation will appeal to tweens up through adults who enjoy spooky/goofy oddities.--M.C.

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2013
Grades 7-10 Mizuki's manga tales about yokai, the monster spirits of Japanese folklore, started off humbly but later ballooned in popularity, cementing Mizuki's status as a master of the art. This collection features stories published between 1967 and '69, which are revered as classics by Japanese Gegege no Kitaro fans. Kitaro's background as a children's comic is obviousthe plots are often random, much like a child making up stories. But that randomness has its own charm, especially when combined with the broadly cartoonish art. Kitaro, the yokai boy whose father is an eyeball that lives in Kitaro's empty left socket, is a charmingly droll figure who believes in protecting human beings, even when they don't want his help. Matt Alt's introduction offers background on Mizuki, and Zach Davisson provides a yokai glossary. The obvious audience is classic-manga fans, but none of the tales are too graphic for an older child who loves slightly scary storiesany deaths are of the cartoon varietythough libraries should note that there is some nonsexual, nongraphic frontal nudity.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)