Spooky Kitaro 4 (partially found Animax Asia English dub of anime series; late 2000s)
An image from a TV bumper for Spooky Kitaro 4, provided by the official Animax Asia YouTube channel.
Status: Partially Found
Spooky Kitaro 4, sometimes simply abbreviated to Spooky Kitaro, is the name of the English dub of the fourth Gegege no Kitaro anime produced by the TV company Animax Asia. Despite airing on a popular network, very little is known about the dub, including the names of most voice actors and those who were involved during production. Despite having 114 episodes dubbed into English, only an 18 second audio clip and promotional material have surfaced.
Synopsis
A synopsis of the plot, from Animax Asia's official website:
"Kitaro is an adorable young boy who has returned from the dead as a "yokai". When he discovers that the human world is in peril from evil beings bent on destroying it, he embarks on a journey to help save the human world. Possessing special powers - needle hairs that act as weapons, antenna hairs for detecting spiritual activities, magic wooden sandals and no fear of death. Kitaro will travel to the human world whenever he receives a letter from a troubled human. Fortunately, Kitaro is not alone on this journey. Standing with him in his battles is his father, a human struck by a strange disease that caused his body to wither away, reducing him to simply an eyeball with a tiny body, as well as his friends and loyal companions, who lend him a helping hand in his adventures. Watch the mystery unfold as Kitaro strives to stop the evil beings from harming the human world."[1]
One notable change is that both Kitaro and his father were once human and were transformed into yokai, which differs from the original source material. It is unknown why this change was made, though it may have been for localization purposes.
Episodes
The fourth Gegege no Kitaro series has 114 episodes, each with a run time of approximately 25 minutes. Many theorized that Animax Asia decided to dub only the last half of the series, but this was later disproved. The series was split into two parts, with Spooky Kitaro 4 (Part 2) premiering on September 23rd, 2009. [2] Part 2 had a schedule date of Mondays to Fridays at 7:30pm.[3] Part 1 is believed to have premiered sometime in March of 2008. [4] It's unknown just how long Spooky Kitaro 4 was televised; However, a clip that has surfaced shows that it was on the air in December of 2011.
Cast & Crew
Many of the cast and crew involved with the dub are unknown. Sarah Hauser is credited as the voice of Kitaro, with Michael Pizzuto credited as Kitaro’s father, Medama Oyaji. (Though his name is shortened to simply Oyaji)[5] Voice Actress Emily Woo Zeller has a voice credit for Spooky Kitaro listed on her website, but it is unknown what character she voiced.[6]
On April 16th, 2021, Richard Magarey (known by his stage name "Ladybeard") would join the Trash Taste podcast on YouTube. Here, he would reveal that he voiced the character of Nezumi-Otoko for Animax Asia.[7]
Availability
It's believed that full episodes of the dub used to be available online, but have since been taken down. Some credence to this theory comes from a tweet from Japanese Twitter user @himesyara1409. In one tweet, they link to a YouTube video titled "Spooky Kitaro 10 minutes Switcheroo to Zero", and discuss the English dubbing.[8] However, attempts to revive the YouTube link they've provided have not been successful.
Other evidence to back up this theory includes a comment left by a guest on PhilAnime.com back in April of 2010:
"I’m also falling in love with Spooky Kitaro 4. It’s completely different from the anime I watch, so that’s a good sign! Animax Asia is showing Spooky Kitaro 4 online, so fans can now watch it anytime. Woohoo! :)"[9]
This guest then links to Animax Asia's official website for the show. However, much like the YouTube links, these videos have not been archived.
A television bumper was uploaded by the official Animax Asia website on September 8th, 2009, and has been provided below. Due to the upload date, it's believed to be a promo for Part 2, rather than Part 1.
On September 30th, 2021, YouTube user Gokumon Classic would upload a 30 second promo of Spooky Kitaro 4 onto his channel. This second promo is for the premiere of Part 1. Some voice clips can be heard throughout the promo, but most are muffled by sound effects and other outside noises. For unknown reasons, the promo contains footage from the third Gegege no Kitaro anime series.
On August 27th, 2022, Internet Archive user "Media-Monster" would upload a fragment of the dub from Episode 56 onto the site. The source comes from a YouTube video posted by the channel "Kanata" titled "インド - ゴアで見たテレビ - ゲゲゲの鬼太郎", which depicts someone filming their TV screen as the show plays. The original video features a heavy strobe-effect from the TV screen, so "Media-Monster"'s upload uses footage from the DVD Box Set of the series. The video by "Kanata" was originally uploaded on December 14th, 2011, and is currently the only available footage of the dub that has surfaced.
Dub Audio
TV Commercials & Promos
Gallery
A promotional image from the opening sequence.
A promotional image featuring scheduling information.
A promotional image from the ending sequence.
References
- ↑ Animax Asia’s archived website that provides a synopsis for Spooky Kitaro 4. Retrieved 12 Jun '20
- ↑ Information about Spooky Kitaro 4 (Part 2). Retrieved 4 Dec '21
- ↑ A Facebook post by Animax Asia about Spooky Kitaro 4.
- ↑ An article from the South China Morning Post discussing Part 1 of Spooky Kitaro 4. Retrieved 4 Dec '21
- ↑ Information on cast and crew who worked on the dub from the Anime News Network. Retrieved 13 Jun '20
- ↑ Website of Voice Actress Emily Woo Zeller Retrieved 13 Jun '20
- ↑ Richard Magarey discusses his involvement with Animax Asia on the Trash Taste podcast. Retrieved 08 Dec '21
- ↑ A tweet by user @himesyara1409 that seems to reference a Spooky Kitaro episode. Retrieved 4 Dec '21
- ↑ A comment left by a user on PhilAnime.com discussing the availability of the series. Retrieved 9 Apr '24