Ghibli Blog: Studio Ghibli, Animation and the Movies: Isao Takahata: GeGeGe no Kitaro (1971)

GeGeGe no Kitaro is a popular manga comic that has spawned a number of TV anime series over the years. The first series was produced by Toei Doga and ran from 1968-1969. A second series, this time in color, was created in 1971. Isao Takahata had a minor involvement on this show, directing episode 62 of the original series and episode 5 of the second.

Takahata also directed the opening and ending sequences for the 1971 series, making this his final work with Toei Doga before leaving with Hayao Miyazaki and Yoichi Kotabe to A Productions to join Yasuo Otsuka for Lupin the 3rd and Pippi Longstockings. A Youtube video of this has been posted below.

Currently, there are no complete episodes of the 1968/1971 GeGeGe series on Youtube, but complete box sets are available in Japan for the price of a kidney or any other major organ. One of these days, one of us will have to bite the bullet and purchase those, if only so that we can finally see the Paku-san episodes. Until then, we have his credit sequences to enjoy and share.