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Wanyūdō (輪入道 Wanyūdō, lit. Wheel Monk) is a giant head yōkai who appears in the "GeGeGe no Kitarō" franchise. He has been portrayed as both and ally and an antagonist of Kitarō.

Appearance[]

Personality[]

History[]

Shonen Magazine/1968 Anime[]

Wanyūdō first appears in the Shonen Magazine story "Diamond Yōkai". In the story, he lives in a cave in Jigoku with an entrance to the human world. He transforms human victims into diamonds with his light ray and eats the diamonds. Nezumi-Otoko discovers the cave and plots to steal the diamonds with two humans. Wanyūdō soon attacks and turns the two men into diamonds. He is defeated by Kitarō, who had accompanied Nezumi-Otoko in order to investigate the cave, when Kitarō dodges the light ray in front of a mirror, causing the ray to bounce off and turn Wanyūdō into diamonds instead.

In 1683, during the night, Wanyūdō set the city of Edo on fire under Tarōbō's command, spewing fire from his mouth as he went around. This fire would eventually be known as the"Yaoya Oshichi Arson Incident".[1]

1985 Anime[]

He appears in the fifth episode of the third anime adaptation, Diamond Yōkai Wanyūdō!.

1996 Anime[]

He appears in the fifth episode of the fourth anime adaptation, Diamond Yōkai Wanyūdō.

2007 Anime[]

Unlike the previous adaptations, Wanyūdō is portrayed as a friendly yōkai and an ally of Kitarō. His most known appearance is in episode #90, New Year's Great Rampage! Kitarō-Kasha, where Kitarō and the others assumed that Kasha, one of his employees, had been stealing the mochi from humans during new years. After Kasha had stormed out, Wanyūdō explains to them that he was telling the truth and had not stolen anything. Later he is informed by Shirobōzu, another employee of his, about what Kasha did and they help Kitarō and Kasha stop Hata-Onryō, the real thief who stole the mochi. Afterwards Kitarō and Kasha reconcile, where the three have become part of the 47 Yōkai Warriors, he and Shirōbōzu are amazed as they look at their marks. He becomes the representative of Kyoto Prefecture.[2]

He later appears in GeGeGe no Kitarō: Nippon Bakuretsu!!. Wanyūdō appears as one of the multitude of Yōkai parading through cities due to Yato-no-Kami's influence, flying around and setting multiple buildings ablaze. He is later returned to where he came from after Hana agrees to follow Yato-no-Kami. Later, he appeared among the discovered Yōkai Warriors to help Kitarō fight off Yato-no-Kami.[3]

2018 Anime[]

He appears in episode #13 of the sixth anime adaptation, The Desired Diamonds! Wanyūdō's Trap. Sometime before, he met Nezumi-Otoko and formed a partnership, where both can benefit from each, being that he consumes the human souls while Nezumi-Otoko sell the diamonds.

In an underground cave, Wanyūdō arrives from a different tunnel, crystallizes the current tour group Nezumi-Otoko brought and consumes their souls. Happy with how their partnership is going, he states how they are like two cogs that fit perfectly with each other. This goes on for quite some time, as he comments that human greed never ceases to amaze him, glad that he can fill his stomach with many human souls. When Nezumi-Otoko brings three members of a Diamond Syndicate, he is called and crystallizes one of them, but is stopped soon enough. When he hears that he can eat more human souls than he can now, he strikes a deal with them. They bring him more and more humans, where he desires for even more and grows impatient. He eventually decides to crystallizes the miners and eventually the two syndicate members, leaving him with Nezumi-Otoko, who tries to talk him out of it but fails. Just as he is about to crystallize him, he struck by Kitarō's Geta, having heard of him before, he realizes that with his soul he can easily satisfy his stomach. The two begin to fight, where their battle leads them into a tunnel, he manages to hit Kitarō turning his lower half into diamonds. He is about to finish him off, when Nezumi-Otoko intercepts it with a van, he aims again for Kitarō, but he reflects the beam at him with a mirror. Because of this he is crystallized, killing him and all the souls he consumed return to their human form.[4]

Live-Action Film[]

Wanyūdō appears as an ally in the 2007 live-action film. He is an old friend of Konaki-Jijii's and Kitarō asks him to power the Phantom Train so that he can take Mika and Kenta Miura to see their father one last time in Yomi. Wanyūdō asks for something in return because it will cost him a year's worth of yōkai energy to do so. Though Kitarō has no money, Wanyūdō agrees to pay as long as he helps him with a problem he refuses to divulge until after the job is done.

At the end of the film, Konaki-Jijii brings the depowered Wanyūdō to the GeGeGe House and makes his request: for Kitarō to mend his relationship with his wife Rokuro-Kubi. They are seen dancing together during the dance scene at the start of the ending credits.

The Great Yōkai War[]

Powers and Abilities[]

Carbon Ray (炭素光線 (たんそ こうせん) Tansokōsen): Wanyūdō has the ability to fire carbon rays from his mouth and turn his targets into diamonds. Afterward, he eats the souls of his victims.

Soul Stealing:

Fire Breath:

Flame Circle:

Accessory Transmutation:

Legend[]

Various folklore purports Wanyūdō as the condemned soul of a tyrant daimyo who, in life, was known for having his victims drawn on the back of an oxcart. He is said to guard the gates of Hell and to wander back and forth along the road between this world and the underworld, scaring townsfolk as he passes and stealing the souls of anyone who gets too close in order to bring them to Hell with him. A woman once tried to catch a glimpse of Wanyūdō, and she saw that it had torn off and devoured the legs of her baby.

References[]

Navigation[]

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Yōkai Baseball Team
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1968 Series Yōkai and other Mystical Beings
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1985 Series Yōkai and other Mystical Beings
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1996 Series Yōkai and other Mystical Beings
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2007 Series Yōkai and other Mystical Beings
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2018 Series Yōkai and other Mystical Beings
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