Animated "Kitaro" movie gets 6 regional versions

[Tokyograph News]

The animated movie "Gegege no Kitaro: Nihon Bakuretsu!!" (directed by Go Koga) will mark a first in Japanese film history. It is getting a total of 6 different versions, each catering to a specific region in Japan.

One of the changes between versions is the character of Neko Musume, who will have a different appearance according to the area the movie is screened in. For example, in Hokkaido/Tohoku she will resemble a yukinko ("snow sprite"), in the Kinki region she will be a maiko (apprentice geisha), and in Kyushu/Okinawa she will look like a shisa (a lion/dog-like creature). Ideas for the other regions (Kanto/Koshinetsu, Chubu/Hokuriku, Chugoku/Shikoku) are still being discussed, though an Akihabara maid version has been listed as a possibility for the Kanto area.

The overall plot of the film will be constant across all versions, though various scenes will be different. In total, several minutes of animation are expected to change for each version.

The idea was proposed by production staff as a special project for the 40th anniversary of the "Gegege no Kitaro" anime series. Fuji TV's current incarnation of the anime will also be part of the project starting in September, with different spirits from all over Japan facing off against spirits from other countries. Through a voting process on the show's website, fans will be able to decide which ones make their appearance, and the whole ensemble will unite for the first time in the movie, which opens in December.

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