Shōkera (しょうけら Shōkera, lit. Mole Cricket Spirit) is a yōkai.
Appearance[]
In the 2007 anime, Shōkera appears as a green-skinned yōkai, with brown hair that is styled upward, pointy ears, eyes with yellow sclerae and small black pupils. He has black pointy finger nails and a long red tongue. His only pieces of clothing are the sharp white-blue teeth necklace, the pale red violet wrists bands, matching loincloth and the pair of brown boots.[1]
Within the 2018 anime, Shōkera appears as a yōkai with a slim build and thin limbs, having three digits per limb and three protrusions pointing upward.[2]
Personality[]
History[]
Manga[]
Shōkera is one of the several Yōkai who helps Sara-Kozō abduct the members of the Poor Boys.[3]
He later appears in the story Yōkai Police vs The Heinous Yōkai Shōkera. He breaks out of Yōkai Prison and runs away to the human realm to find a dead body to possess. However, the corpse he hides in belonged to career criminal Matsugorō Daimon and he soon finds himself hunted by the police. While evading Kitarō, he is scratched by a claw, and his blood clots, freezing him in place. Now trapped in Daimon's body, he is arrested by the human police.
2007 Anime[]
Shōkera's introduction.
He appears in episode #16 of the fifth anime adaptation, Yōkai are Game Masters?!.[1]
He later appears in GeGeGe no Kitarō: Nippon Bakuretsu!!. Shōkera appears as one of the multitude of Yōkai parading through cities due to Yato-no-Kami's influence. He is later returned to where he came from after Hana agrees to follow Yato-no-Kami.[4]
2018 Anime[]
Shōkera being vanquished by Kitarō.
Because of a mistake Nezumi-Otoko made, a Shōkera is vanquished by Kitarō under the request of a client.[2]
Powers and Abilities[]
Legend[]
Shōkera's illustration by Shigeru Mizuki.
The Shōkera is a large three-toed Yokai who lurk on rooftops. It is believed to have connections to an esoteric Japanese folk religion called Kōshin that has origins in Taoism. They only appear on special nights called kōshin machi, which occurs every sixty nights in the Kōshin faith. They spy through windows, doorways, or skylights in houses, hunting for impious behavior and pouncing down viciously. They attack those who recite prayers all night to prevent the Sanshi, three spiritual worms who report their deeds, from leaving their body. Little else is known about the Shōkera, because the Kōshin is no longer a widespread religion and that victims of Shōkera attacks would only be implicating themselves as wicked by admitting to seeing one.[5]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 GeGeGe no Kitarō (2007): Episode 16
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 GeGeGe no Kitarō (2018): Episode 56
- ↑ GeGeGe no Kitarō (Shonen Magazine): Sara-Kozō
- ↑ GeGeGe no Kitarō: Nippon Bakuretsu!!
- ↑ Yōkai.com - Shōkera