Dansaburō-Danuki (団三郎狸) is a tanuki and a member of Gyōbu-Danuki's 808 Tanuki army. He first appears in the Shonen Magazine story The Great Tanuki War.
Appearance
Personality
Out of all the 808 Tanuki, Dansaburō was the most violent and irritable, essentially the stereotype of Japanese manliness. Without hesitation, he would always club Kitarō over the head if he wasn't satisfied with his attitude. Like all the other 808, he was fiercely loyal to Gyōbu-Danuki.
History
Shonen Magazine/First Anime
Dansaburō first appears when 808 apprehend Kitarō, Nezumi-Otoko and the prime minister. He takes it upon himself to punish anyone who's attitude or responses he isn't satisfied with by clubbing them over the head. When the group is taken to meet the Gyōbu-Danuki, it is Dansaburō who moves the rock sealing the entrance to the 808 Tanuki lair. During Kitarō's first battle with the Yō-Kaijū, Dansaburō defeats him and Ittan-Momen, seemingly killed the latter. He then decides to start wearing Ittan-Momen like a loincloth, but Ittan-Momen actually survived and strangles Dansaburō to death.
In the anime version, he leads the initial tanuki assault on Kitarō, before apprehending him and Nezumi-Otoko with the rest of the 808 later on. Though still as rough as in the manga, he shows a degree of submissiveness to the Silk Hat Tanuki. When Kitarō comments on the size of the tanuki's underground lair, Dansaburō tells him that "Japan is just as big underground as it is above ground", a line original said by a nameless tanuki in the manga. He suffers the same fate in the anime as he does in the manga.
Third Anime
In the third anime his name is Danjūrō-Danuki (団十郎狸) and he first appears alongside Gyōbu-Danuki and Silk Hat Tanuki while construction work goes on outside of their lair. Once the construction work accidentally unseals the 808, Danjūrō and the other 808 go to the surface and watch as the Gyōbu-Danuki uses his magic to destroy the construction equipment. When the Kitarō Family unseal the tanuki lair to undo Kitarō's curse, Danjūrō knocks out Sunakake-Babaa with a club while the rest of the Family is taken down by the other 808. He later uses the captured Ittan-Momen as a loincloth and then drops Kitarō and Medama-Oyaji into the underground lake with the Ōnamazu. While Ittan-Momen still strangles Danjūrō, he survives the attack and later attempts to join the final battle only to be forced back into the cave by Mammoth-Otoko, who places a boulder in front of the entrance for Sunakake-Babaa to reseal.
Fourth Anime
In the fourth anime he is listed in the credits only as Headband Tanuki (鉢巻狸, Hachimaki-Danuki). His story goes basically the same as in the original manga story. He again survives Ittan-Momen's strangulation but later turns to stone with the other 808 when Medama-Oyaji reseals their lair.
Fifth Anime
In the fifth anime he was called Dansaburō-Mujina (団三郎ムジナ). He is one of the chosen 47 Yōkai Warriors and represents Niigata Prefecture. Due to the fifth anime adaptation's sudden cancellation at 100 episodes, he is among the 23 Yōkai Warriors that were not revealed aside from the movie, GeGeGe no Kitarō: Nippon Bakuretsu!!.
Sixth Anime
Abilities
Legend
References
| |
|---|
| Gyōbu-Danuki (leader) • Silk Hat Tanuki • Kimono Tanuki • Dansaburō-Danuki |
| Strength |
| Kōryū • Ōnamazu |
Template:47 Yōkai Warriors