Reverse Mochi Murder

:For the attack of the same name by Medama-Oyaji, see Medama-Oyaji/Abilities
Reverse Mochi Murder (逆餅殺し, Gyaku-Mochi-Goroshi) is a GeGeGe no Kitarō story that first appeared as a chapter of the Shonen Sunday run. The title is a reference to a technique used by Medama-Oyaji in the story. In some trade paperback collections, it has been reprinted under the title Kasha (火車).
It has been adapted for the 1971, 1985, 1996, and 2018 anime versions of "GeGeGe no Kitarō".
==Characters==
*Kitarō
*Medama-Oyaji
*Nezumi-Otoko
*Kōkichi
*Kasha
==Plot==
In a remote mountain village, a funeral procession occurs for a woman. Suddenly, a Yōkai arrives, steals the corpse and escapes. Kōkichi, the son of the woman, is distraught and asks for help to get back his mother's body. An elder says that they cannot as they are helpless against a Yōkai. The boy still wants to get help, so the elder tells him of someone who can fight Yōkai, Kitarō.
Three days go by and Nezumi-Otoko visits the town, wondering what is going on. The townsfolk inform him that the boy went off to find Kitarō and has not returned since. Nezumi-Otoko swindles them into giving him money, 100 yen, to find Kitarō, calling people at their lowest suckers. When he finds Kitarō and coincidentally, Kōkichi. Medama-Oyaji explains that the one who stole his mother's corpse is a Kasha. He tells his son to be cautious, as he remembers an old saying for this Yōkai, which means that it will eat the internal organs and leave the skin. Kōkichi cries, without his mother's body then she will not rest in peace. Medama-Oyaji notes that her lost soul will turn into a Kasha. He forbids Kitarō to get involved, but Nezumi-Otoko counters that he should help. Ultimately, Kitarō decides to stop the Kasha. Medama-Oyaji tells him to take him out fast and hard.
They go to the mountain, where Kitarō and Kasha face each other. Kasha taunts Kitarō, saying that he was here before and he will be here after. An explosion occurs, and "Kitarō" shoots "Kasha" with his Hair Needles. Medama-Oyaji sees through this, and announces that Kitarō lost. He explains to Nezumi-Otoko that the Kasha absorbed some of Kitarō's body, which means he can synchronize with the Yokai boy's spirit energy and switch bodies.
Kasha grabs Medama-Oyaji, telling him to shut up as Nezumi-Otoko runs away. He squeezes the eyeball in his hand and plans to stop him. Kasha drops him into some Mochi and begins pounding it, he calls this Mochi Murder. Just as he's about to eat it, eyeballs form from the Mochi and and begin flying around him. He tries to run away but the eyeballs swarm him until he is incapacitated and it turns into Mochi.
Nezumi-Otoko inspects it and finds something trying to escape and grabs it. Medama-Oyaji pops out from the Mochi and tells him that that is the Kasha's soul that he pushed out of Kitarō's body. He tells him that Kitarō's soul is in the Kasha's body and they need to put it back in the mochi to revive him. Nezumi-Otoko complies, putting Kasha's soul through his nose. This causes Kitarō's soul to shoot out and back into his body. Nezumi-Otoko wants to charge Kōkichi for bringing him back the Kasha's body as well, which the father says that he deserves a reward. However, Kitarō slaps Nezumi-Otoko, reminding him that they do not charge people for helping them.
As they walk home, Medama-Oyaji recalls the powers of Kasha, along with his deadly ability to turn people into mochi and eat them. He remarks that there is no coming back from that, so he countered with a Reverse Mochi Murder. Kitarō wonders why the Kasha wanted corpses, which his father answers that they need unblessed souls to increase their numbers. Kōkichi thanks Kitarō for his help and the village was peaceful once more.
==Remakes==
===Manga===
*4th Grade Learning Magazine - Kasha (火車のまき)
===Anime===
;1971 Anime
:Episode 23 - Reverse Mochi Murder (aired March 9, 1972)
;1985 Anime
:Episode 62 - Yōkai Kasha's Reverse Mochi Murder!! (aired January 17, 1987)
;1996 Anime
:Episode 45 - Mochi Murder! Yōkai Kasha (aired November 17, 1996)
;2018 Anime
:Episode 38 - New Year's Man-Eating Fable Kasha (aired January 6, 2019)
Category:Manga chapters
Category:Shonen Sunday