Movie
Description
Appearing in the 2007 *GeGeGe no Kitarō* anime, Aobouzu (or Ao to allies) has a slender build, fair skin, long blue hair, and bushy blue eyebrows with light chin stubble. A horn marks his forehead, beneath which rests a perpetually closed third eye. He wears blue robes fastened with a purple obi sash, red cloth gauntlets with silver metal plates on the backs, and often dons a woven Sandogasa hat while traveling.
Aobouzu avoids formal goodbyes, usually slipping away quietly after visits. He suffers from severe navigational difficulties, frequently getting lost and relying on Yobuko for directions.
His history includes a brief manga appearance in *Kitarō Yawa*. In the 2007 anime, he features prominently in episode 17 ("Wandering Priest Aobouzu") and episode 85. Episode 85 reveals a significant past event through a flashback: Aobouzu calmed a young Kitarō whose uncontrolled yōkai powers had devastated a village, forging a lasting bond that leads Kitarō to address him affectionately as "Ao-niisan" (Big Bro Ao). He also appears in the film *GeGeGe no Kitarō: Nippon Bakuretsu!!* (2008) and briefly in the live-action film *The Great Yōkai War*.
His primary ability involves his third eye, generating realistic illusions that deceive adversaries; notably, he tricked Nurarihyon into believing he had fatally stabbed Kitarō when only Kitarō's foot was injured. Aobouzu also demonstrates proficiency in combat using a rokushakubō (six-foot staff). His equipment includes this staff and talismans.
The character draws from Japanese folklore, specifically the aobōzu yōkai documented in Toriyama Sekien's 18th-century *Gazu Hyakki Yakō*. While Sekien's illustration depicts a one-eyed priest near a thatched hut without text, the aobōzu is considered a precursor to the one-eyed hitotsume-kozō yōkai. The "ao" (青) in his name may reference inexperience, suggesting the archetype of an understudied priest. Shigeru Mizuki's design reuses elements from *Yokai Monsters: Spook Warfare* and shares facial similarities with Gōsuke from the 1996 anime.
Aobouzu avoids formal goodbyes, usually slipping away quietly after visits. He suffers from severe navigational difficulties, frequently getting lost and relying on Yobuko for directions.
His history includes a brief manga appearance in *Kitarō Yawa*. In the 2007 anime, he features prominently in episode 17 ("Wandering Priest Aobouzu") and episode 85. Episode 85 reveals a significant past event through a flashback: Aobouzu calmed a young Kitarō whose uncontrolled yōkai powers had devastated a village, forging a lasting bond that leads Kitarō to address him affectionately as "Ao-niisan" (Big Bro Ao). He also appears in the film *GeGeGe no Kitarō: Nippon Bakuretsu!!* (2008) and briefly in the live-action film *The Great Yōkai War*.
His primary ability involves his third eye, generating realistic illusions that deceive adversaries; notably, he tricked Nurarihyon into believing he had fatally stabbed Kitarō when only Kitarō's foot was injured. Aobouzu also demonstrates proficiency in combat using a rokushakubō (six-foot staff). His equipment includes this staff and talismans.
The character draws from Japanese folklore, specifically the aobōzu yōkai documented in Toriyama Sekien's 18th-century *Gazu Hyakki Yakō*. While Sekien's illustration depicts a one-eyed priest near a thatched hut without text, the aobōzu is considered a precursor to the one-eyed hitotsume-kozō yōkai. The "ao" (青) in his name may reference inexperience, suggesting the archetype of an understudied priest. Shigeru Mizuki's design reuses elements from *Yokai Monsters: Spook Warfare* and shares facial similarities with Gōsuke from the 1996 anime.