GeGeGe no Kitarō
The film is considered a loose remake of the 1968 film "", but also draws influence from Mizuki Shigeru's "GeGeGe no Kitarō" manga series of the same name. All three are retellings of the famous Japanese tale of Momotarō, which features the title character driving a group of demons away from Kikaigashima with the help of native animals. While these previous adaptations have been read mostly as nationalist narratives, with the native "yōkai" driving out invading forces, "The Great Yōkai War" has been read instead for the clash between Japan's traditional landscape and its modern culture. This is largely due to the film's use of "kikai" (機械, lit. "machine monsters"), created by Katō fusing the "yōkai" with machines, and the absence of invading Western or otherwise foreign forces.