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Nopperabō (のっぺらぼう or のっぺら坊 Nopperabō) is a faceless yōkai. He loves people's faces and will absorb them to steal their face. He first appeared in the Shonen Magazine story Nopperabō.

Appearance[]

He is a yōkai without eyes and nose on face.

Personality[]

Soul Tempura is his favorite food.

History[]

Shonen Magazine/First Anime[]

Nopperabō appears in episode #45 of the first anime adaptation, Nopperabō.

1985 Anime[]

Nopperabō appears in episode #16 of the third anime adaptation, Yōkai Nopperabō.

1996 Anime[]

Nopperabō first appears in episode #7 of the fourth anime adaptation, Yōkai Nopperabō. He appears again in episode #21, Oshiroi-Babaa and Nopperabō.

2018 Anime[]

Nopperabō is shown in the opening of the sixth anime during the tug-o-war scene. He appears in the background throughout the series and is seen to be good friends with Kitarō and the others.

He is among the crowd of yōkai 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 only repeat elsewhere. Soon followed by Kitarō as he explains how grave the consequences are if Japan becomes a part of Backbeard's empire. This causes the crowd to look at one another, until their attention is drawn to Kitarō as he stands on his resolve to fight.[1]

His main appearance is in episode #44, Masquerade Nopperabō. He got acquainted with Atsushi Kitajima, a member of a popular idol unit, and enjoyed talking as a friend. To Atsushi, he said that he would like to see him directly, but he directed Kitarō towards Atsushi. When Atsushi realized Nopperabō was the one who texted him, he flees away from fearfully, but when Atsushi was attacked by Oshiroi-Babaa, Nopperabō tried to protect him.[2]

Other Media[]

Powers and Abilities[]

Face Stealing: In the fourth anime, he describes his technique of face stealing as being "smoother" than that of Oshiroi-Babaa.

Combat Skill

Go Go Punch (ゴーゴーパーンチ Gōgō Pānchi): Nopperabō rushes at his opponent and delivers a quick punch to their face.[2]

Legend[]

The Nopperabō (のっぺらぼう or のっぺら坊), or faceless ghost, is a Japanese legendary creature. They are sometimes mistakenly referred to as a mujina, an old Japanese word for a badger or raccoon dog. Although the mujina can assume the form of the other, nopperabō are usually humans. Such creatures were thought to sometimes transform themselves into nopperabō in order to frighten humans. Lafcadio Hearn used the animals' name as the title of his story about faceless monsters, probably resulting in the misused terminology.

Nopperabō are known primarily for frightening humans, but are usually otherwise harmless. They appear at first as ordinary human beings, sometimes impersonating someone familiar to the victim, before causing their features to disappear, leaving a blank, smooth sheet of skin where their face should be.

Zunberabō is often regarded as either an alias or a subspecies of Nopperabō.

References[]

Navigation[]

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Yōkai Rally
Manga
1968 Anime
1985 Anime
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(GeGeGe no Kitarō: Yōkai Japan Rally 3D)
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1968 Series Yōkai and other Mystical Beings
Kitarō and Allies
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1971 Series Yōkai and other Mystical Beings
Kitarō and Allies
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1985 Series Yōkai and other Mystical Beings
Kitarō and Allies
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Jigoku
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1996 Series Yōkai and other Mystical Beings
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2018 Series Yōkai and other Mystical Beings
Kitarō and Allies
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