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Karura (
Appearance[]
In the manga, Karura is a tall, humanoid god wearing a ornate crown on his forehead and Tang Dynasty China-style armor. He has spiky hair that stands up, big, angry eyes with bushy eyebrows, pointy ears, a pointed mouth like a bird's beak, wings on his back, and a crescent above his torso adorned with flames. He often wields a magical flute in his hands.
Personality[]
In most adaptations, he has a wise and protective-like nature to those that pray for him.
In the fourth anime, he warned about humanity's arrogance and recognized Medama-Oyaji's love for his son.
In the Yōkai Sen-Monogatari, he has a more arrogant attitude, looking unfavorably on yōkai, as unlike other adaptions he initially refuses to honor the Kitarō Family's request to save Kitarō from the Gyūki's curse on the grounds that they're yōkai. But he ultimately has a change of heart upon hearing Medama-Oyaji's love for his son, even giving the eyeball yōkai credit for teaching him a lesson.
History[]
Karura is an Indian god that sealed away the Yōkai called Gyūki in Japan 80,000 years ago. His appearances in the series are as the arch-nemesis of the Gyūki and sometimes the Mikoshi-Nyūdō. He is one of the 28 Attendants of the 1000-armed Kannon. He has also participated in the cosmogonic creation.
Manga[]
Karura appears in the Shonen Magazine story, Gyūki. After villagers pray to his shrine, he appears after many centuries to reseal Gyū-Kitarō. He lures the yōkai by playing a flute, and makes him fall into a volcano. He later captures Gyūki's true form inside a bag and tells Medama-Oyaji where Kitarō is. Him and the villagers reseal Gyūki inside a mound topped with a large stone. He tells the village it won't be his problem if they forget what the stone is for and accidentally reawaken Gyūki again after many years, and vanishes into the shrine.
1971 Anime[]
Karura appears in episode #15 of the second anime, Gyūki.[1] In this adaptation, he is actually shown flying out of his shrine, and even makes an invisible shield to protect him and the villagers from the Gyūki. When he lures him into the volcano, he walks instead of flying like in the manga.
1985 anime[]
He appears in episode #42 of the third anime adaptation, Yōkai Gyūki.[2]
1996 anime[]
He appears in episode six of the fourth anime adaptation, Runaway! Kitarō-Gyūki. [3]
Yōkai Sen-Monogatari[]
In Yōkai Sen Monogatari, Karura was said to be among the gods who assisted in the creation of heaven and earth in ancient times. When Kitarō is possessed by the Gyūki and goes on a rampage, the Kitarō Family visit him shrine to pray for his help in stopping Gyūki Unfortunately, Karura refuses to heed their request and orders them to leave and figure out the problem for themselves, even manipulating the gravity around them when they refuse to back down. But upon hearing Medama-Oyaji's plea of how much Kitarō means to him, he lets them go and agrees to save Kitarō, capturing the Gyūki's true form inside a bag and sealing it within the Gyūki Rock. He returns to his shrine, but not before giving Medama-Oyaji commendation for humbling a god like himself.
2007 anime[]
He appears in episode #14 of the fifth anime adaptation, Kitaro Dies?! Gyūki Reborn.[4] In this adaptation, he first appears as a statue in a shrine, and doesn't save the villagers from Gyūki's attack. He then appeared offscreen to save Kitarō as he was about to sacrifice himself to defeat Gyūki, telling him about how much he loved his father and friends. He is only seen here flying while holding the bag containing Gyūki's true form, and is only acknowledged by Medama-Oyaji.
2018 anime[]
He appears in episode #22 of the sixth anime adaptation, Berserk!! The Terrifying Yōkai Gyūki.[5]
Powers and Abilities[]
Flight: By using the pair of feathery wings on his back, Karura is able to fly, seemingly without the need to constantly flap them.[5]
Expert Flutist: Karura is able to play an alluring tune on his flute, capable of attracting the attention of the Gyūki and making it follow him.[5]
Vanishing: After sealing the Gyūki back in Gyūki Rock and warning the humans to never open it again, he vanishes from sight and presumably goes back to his shrine.[5]
Equipments[]
Flute: Karura wields a magical flute that is used to subdue threats like the Gyūki.
Talisman:
Legend[]
Illustration of Garuda by Shigeru Mizuki.
Karura is a modified incarnation of Garuda in Hinduism and Buddhism.
Trivia[]
- In GeGeGe no Kitarō Yōkai Yōchō, Garuda appeared instead of Karura.
- In the Drawn & Quarterly releases, he is simply called "Kami".
- In the 1996 anime, Karura is specified to be a foreign god, however it's unclear if this means he directly came from another country, like India or China, to seal the Gyūki, or merely just a reference to his real life history, or even a reference to his divine status.