Mizuki

:For the author, see Shigeru Mizuki.
Mizuki (水木 Mizuki) is a human and Kitarō's adopted father who raised him during his early childhood.
==Appearance==
Mizuki is an average salaryman, depicted most of the time with a black suit. In the Gegege no Nazo movie, he has a scar in his left eye.
==Personality==
==History==
===Manga/Hakaba===
Mizuki works at a blood bank and is sent on an investigation by his boss Hageyama to find out how yōkai blood ended up in their supply. He discovers that the blood came from someone living at his address, but the only other person at his house is his mother. He learns from his mother that there is an abandoned house further back on their property, so he investigates it and meets a pregnant yōkai woman and her husband who is dying of a skin disease. He learns that they are the last survivors of the Ghost Tribe and that the wife sold her blood so they could make ends meet and support their child. After the ghost family begs him to not report them, he finally agrees to look the other way until their child is born, but when he goes to check on them they have both died.The Ghost Family, Hakaba Kitarō
He buries the wife, who was still pregnant when she died. Soon after, the child is born and crawls out of the grave. Mizuki is horrified by the child and throws him at a grave, which blinds the baby and leaves him to die in the graveyard. The husband comes back to life as a little eyeball creature (Medama-Oyaji) and leads his son, who he names "Kitarō", to Mizuki's house. Upon seeing the child, Mizuki has a change of heart and adopts him, telling his mother he was left on their doorstep.The Ghost Family: Hakaba Kitarō, Hakaba Kitarō
About six years later, Kitarō has grown into a creepy child who the other kids find horrifying. Mizuki's mother complains to him that Kitarō has been sneaking out at night, so he follows him one night and sees him meet up with Medama-Oyaji and run off to the cemetery. He loses them while trying to hide and finds only Kitarō's geta on a patch of dirt. Mizuki confronts Kitarō back at the house and Kitarō tells him that he and his father have been using a special ticket to travel to Jigoku at night. Mizuki confiscates the ticket and punishes Kitarō but then goes back to the cemetery to see if the ticket works. He goes to the spot he lost Kitarō and suddenly sinks into the ground.
Mizuki finds himself trapped in Jigoku, as the ticket is one-way for humans. He remains in Jigoku until Hageyama dies and Kitarō and Medama-Oyaji escort him there. Medama-Oyaji agrees to bring Mizuki back to the human realm as thanks for raising his son.An Appointment with Death, Hakaba Kitarō Upon returning to the surface, Mizuki continues to work at the blood bank and allows Kitarō and Medama-Oyaji to live with him out of fear for what will happen to him if he doesn't (his mother had been committed while he was in Jigoku). Two days later, he meets and drinks with Trump Omoi, recounting his experiences with him.The Vampire Tree and the Neko-Musume, Kitarō's Night Tales
Mizuki is mostly absent from Kitarō's adventures after that, although he does agree to write an introduction for Neko's TV performance. In the manga he is last seen discussing their poor financial situation with Kitarō, Medama-Oyaji and the Fake Kitarō before Kitarō tangles with Mizugami.Mizugami-sama Comes to Town, Kitarō's Night Tales He is not seen during Mizugami's attack on the house nor is he ever seen again afterward, leaving his fate unclear. In the "Hakaba" anime, however, he is shown to get caught by Mizugami's water during the attack on the house. Though he reaches out and calls for Kitarō to help him, Kitarō instead runs off to save himself, and Mizuki is soon washed away and dissolved by the Mizugami.Hakaba Episode 6, Hakaba Kitarō anime
===2018 Anime===
When asked what compels Kitarō to help mankind against evil yōkai, Medama-Oyaji mentions how Mizuki raised Kitarō when he was a baby. Because of this, Kitarō's way to express his gratitude towards him was becoming an ally of mankind.GeGeGe no Kitarō (2018): Episode 1 Though no further mention of him and their relationship has been made, it can be assumed that their relationship was a lot warmer than in the original manga.
===The Birth of Kitarō: Mystery of GeGeGe===
The movie is directly linked to the 2018 series, so his relationship with gegero and kitarou is much warmer than in the manga.
===Akuma-kun (2023)===
==Trivia==
*Mizuki's character in The Birth of Kitarō: Mystery of GeGeGe was partially based on characters from the 1956 Japanese film I Will Buy You.Hidenobu Kiuchi, Gō Koga, Touko Yatabe, Masahiro Haraguchi, 2023, 鬼太郎誕生 ゲゲゲの謎 謎の解明まであと7日, Animage, December 2023, p.79, Tokuma Shoten
==References==
==Navigation==
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