A music video by a Japanese dance group, Tokyo Gegegay, was released in late August on YouTube and quickly reached 4 million views in September. The video titled “Gegegay no Kitarō (ゲゲゲイの鬼太郎)” is simply entertaining. Many viewers say the video is “quite addictive.” The music features a melody line from Shigeru Mizuki’s masterpiece “GeGeGe no Kitarō (ゲゲゲの鬼太郎),” a Japanese old school comic from the 1960s.
Most Japanese recognize the melody as it was the opening theme for the TV and movie animation versions of the comic. Leader of the dance group, Munetaka Maki, aka MIKEY, arranged the well-known melody for this dance performance. Each dancer performs as a yokai (Japanese spirit-monster) character from the comic.
Tokyo Gegegay, led by MIKEY, along with four girls — BOW, MARIE, MIKU, and YUYU — debuted in 2013 after winning the DANCE@HERO JAPAN 5th SEASON contest. MIKEY has been in Japanese show business for years as a choreographer. The four other dancers were top students at MIKEY’s dance school. Their unique dance moves are a combination of hip-hop, the robot, vogue and kabuki. They have been producing several music videos since 2013, including “Sayonara Darling” and “Ideology,” while performing on TV, stage and in competitions in Japan. “Gegegay no Kitarō” is their first million-view hit for them, which is bringing them attention from overseas.
The movie is available at TOKYO GEGEGAY YouTube Channel
