The "real version" of "Kitaro Birth: The Mystery of Gegege," the sixth season of the TV anime "Gegege no Kitaro," based on the manga by the late Shigeru Mizuki, was released on October 4th, and it was revealed that the "real version" recorded a box office income of about 156 million yen in three days. The number of moviegoers was about 97,700, and it was ranked third in the movie attendance rankings (according to Kogyo Tsushinsha) from October 4th to 6th.
The "real version" is "the horror story that the production team originally envisioned," and among the retake cuts, there are cuts that revive the horror scenes that were originally envisioned in the storyboard. "Kitaro Birth: The Mystery of Gegege" was rated PG12 (those under 12 years of age require parental or guardian advice and guidance), but the real version is rated R15+ (not for viewing by those under 15 years of age).
"Kitaro Birth: The Gegege Mystery" was released to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Mizuki's birth. This is the first time in about 15 years that a feature-length film version of "Gegege no Kitaro" has been released since "Gegege no Kitaro: Japan Explodes!!," which was released in December 2008 as a feature-length film version of the fifth season of the TV anime. Kitaro's father (formerly Medama Oyaji) and Mizuki are the main characters, and "the story of Kitaro's fathers" is being told for the first time. Released on November 17, 2023, it was a hit, grossing over 2.78 billion yen, and was also a hot topic when it was selected for the Outstanding Animation Award at the 47th Japan Academy Awards.
