Maruge

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Maruge
Name
Japanese	丸毛
Meaning	Hairball
Profile
Species	Yōkai
Gender	Male
Age	Alive during the Edo Period
Abilities	Transmogrification
Family	Unnamed Children
First Appearance
Manga	Geta Battle (1968)
Anime	Series 1 Episode 44 (1968)
Portrayals
1968 anime	Jōji Yanami
1971 anime	Keiichi Noda (Ep. 2) Sanji Hase
1985 anime	Yoku Shioya
1996 anime	Yūsuke Numata
2007 anime	Yūsuke Numata

Maruge (丸毛, Hairball) is a hairy yōkai who appears semi-frequently in the GeGeGe no Kitarō franchise. He first appeared in the Shonen Magazine chapter Geta Battle.

Appearance

Maruge is a small ball of fur with stubby little arms and legs. He has two eyes on his face and a mouth on top of his head hidden under his hair. His hair is usually brown. In the 6th anime it is red.

In the 2007 anime, Maruge appears largely the same with little difference. He is a round yōkai with short limbs and a pair of large eyes that is covered in short yellow hair.

History

Shonen Magazine / First & Second Anime

According to Sakabashira, before even Medama-Oyaji was born he kidnapped Maruge's children and held them hostage in order to use him as a slave. Maruge's job was to pose as a piggy bank and run off with people's money once he was full. He eventually pulled this trick on Fairy Hanako and she enlisted the help of Kitarō. Maruge was eventually apprehended by Nezumi-Otoko and brought to the GeGeGe House, where he secretly removed Kitarō's geta off of his feet and glued on a pair of fake geta, in actuality the real body of Sakabashira. After the fake geta forced Kitarō to travel to Sakabashira's lair to be destroyed by the rest of Sakabashira, Maruge confessed everything to Medama-Oyaji and told him where to find the real geta. After Kitarō is saved and Sakabashira is destroyed, Maruge is reunited with his family.

Maruge also appeared during the Yōkai Cloth ordeal. He informs Kitarō about Qi's castle and later helps Medama-Oyaji infiltrate to save Cloth Kitarō. During the final battle, when Qi turns into a cloud of poison and chases everyone down, Maruge tells Nezumi-Otoko to sprinkle the Cloth Powder he stole into the cloud, turning Qi into a Yōkai Cloth.

Maruge continues to appear as a side or background character throughout the manga. While he is usually an ally of Kitarō's, he does make a quick appearance in The Great Yōkai Trial as one of the yōkai against Kitarō. He and Kawauso are scolded by Medama-Oyaji, who reminds them that Kitarō is always willing to help them.

2007 Anime

He appears in episode #15 of the fifth anime adaptation, Work! Medama-Oyaji.

2018 Anime

Maruge is seen in the sixth anime opening during the tug-o-war scene.

Maruge is among the crowd gathered around the GeGeGe House, trying to drive Agnès out of the forest. He listens as Medama-Oyaji warns that if they drive her out then the tragedy Malay yōkai will repeat somewhere else. Soon followed by Kitarō as he explains how grave the consequences are if Japan becomes a part of Backbeard's empire. Causing the crowd to look at one another, until their attention is drawn to Kitarō as he stands on his resolve to fight.

USO MAKOTO Yōkai Hyaku Monogatari

Maruge was one of characters that were summoned by "Japan Yōkai Promotion Committee" to fight against evils although his actual role in the combat was not specified.

Powers and Abilities

Hair Hardening

Lock Picking

Legend

While Maruge is an original character created by Mizuki, the story Geta Battle does provide him with a legend. The Maruge was around during the Edo period and would hide it's eyes and limbs and reveal it's mouth. People would mistake it for an odd looking piggy bank, but when they went to put a coin in, the Maruge would bite their fingers.

Trivia

• In the Drawn & Quarterly English releases of the manga, Maruge's name is written as Maruke.
• A creature with a similar appearance to Maruge appears in the story Miage-Nyūdō, but it is referred to in-story as an insect.