Shigeru Mizuki

A young boy with a troubled home life becomes "chosen," and he stumbles into the middle of a great war of yōkai (a class of mythological creatures), where he meets a group of friendly yōkai who become his companions through his journey. Now he must fight to protect his friends and free the world of the yōkai from oppression. The yōkai originate in Japanese folklore and range from the cute and silly to the disturbing.

A young boy with a troubled home life becomes "chosen," and he stumbles into the middle of a great war of yōkai (a class of mythological creatures), where he meets a group of friendly yōkai who become his companions through his journey. Now he must fight to protect his friends and free the world of the yōkai from oppression. The yōkai originate in Japanese folklore and range from the cute and silly to the disturbing.

1955. Kitaro's father, Medama Oyaji, comes to Yagura Village in search of his missing wife. The village was ruled by the Ryuga clan, which controls Japan's political and business circles behind the scenes. Mizuki, who works at a blood bank, visits the village with a secret mission to mourn the death of the head of his family, and meets Kitaro's father. While an ugly fight unfolds over the succession of the head of the family, a member of the family is brutally murdered at the village shrine. It was the beginning of a terrifying chain of events.