Unico is anything but a horror series, so it’s hard to imagine ghosts and spooky things with this little unicorn. Through his travels, he’s met plenty of mythical creatures, fairies, gods and goddess, and so on. We can assume that Unico has dealt with supernatural beings at some point, right?
For this “ghastly” spotlight, I wanted to showcase another comic from the First Grader version of Unico, which features the cast dealing with canned ghosts. Now, if you’re unfamiliar with this version of Unico comics, they were written for school-aged children from 1980 to 1984 and feature short comics with silly adventures and plenty of jokes and puns.
This episode of Unico will be no different.
And just to note, I’m using the term “ghosts” instead of obake for this post, but know that most of these creatures are actually different kinds of monsters, spirits, demons, and so on. Obake are a type of yokai that sometimes have human or animal-like appearances and various abilities, but it’s a generic term used for many kinds of spiritual creatures. If you’re ever interested in learning more about yokai and Japanese folklore, I definitely recommend award-winning translator, writer, and folklorist, Zack Davisson’s books.
Full of Ghosts!
The comic titled, Full of Ghosts (おばけがいっぱい; Obake ga ippai), was originally published in the September 1981 issue of Shougaku Ichinensei magazine and begins with Esuo’s mother receiving a mid-year gift for ochugen. Ochugen1 is a gift-giving tradition in Japan meant to show appreciation to those who are significant in your life. These gifts can be from coworkers, family, friends, or anyone else.
While Esuo is hoping for melons as a gift, as fruit is a popular item during summer, his mother is surprised to find several cans with ghosts and monsters inside. An odd gift, right? Well, Esuo’s mother wants to throw the cans away, but Esuo begs to have them. This is where the trouble begins.
Unico is often the voice of reason in these situations and warns Esuo not to open the cans. And unsurprisingly, Esuo doesn’t listen to Unico and opens the first can, titled “Ghost Voices.” Once the can is opened, several spooky cries and creepy laughter fill the room. When the sounds are over, Esuo is ready for the next can.
The next can he grabs has “Rokurokubi” written on it. Rokurokubi2 are spiritual creatures with long necks that stretch out, but when Esuo opens the can, the poor thing had been stuck in there so long its neck was stiff. After pouring hot liquid into the can and waiting a few minutes, its neck softens and stretches out nicely.
The next few cans were rotten leftovers. The ghosts smelled horrible and appeared to be decaying. Esuo didn’t find them scary at all, so the ghosts offer up a can that would most certainly frighten the young boy.
Once again, Unico warns Esuo not to open it, but he doesn’t listen. The boy opens the can, and a knife wielding demon appears. Unlike the other canned monsters, a toorima has appeared and traps Esuo, Ragon, and Unico in their own cans. Toorima3 are demons who bring misfortune to people, and that’s exactly what it’s doing!
The demon’s goal is to kidnap every child it can get its hands on, but Unico won’t let that happen. He pierces the can with his horn and breaks free. Unico saves Esuo and Ragon, but as the toorima notices them escaping, Unico grows big enough to stomp down on the creature.
As the friends head back home, Esuo acknowledges these events keep happening because he always wants things. The three reach home to find Esuo’s mom holding another package, only this time it’s from Esuo’s school. Esuo is excited to see what he received but is immediately disenchanted when he finds nothing but schoolwork to do during summer break. While we have no clue who sent the canned ghosts, we know Esuo should have listened to Unico.
Other Ghosts and Creatures
There are plenty of other times Unico has dealt with ghosts, especially while living in Japan. In one chapter, Unico rescues several monsters from a zoo. In another, Unico and friends deal with an obnoxious snow woman (yuki onna). When Unico is up against a pied piper fellow, he uses a magical trumpet he created to attract dozens of ghosts and monsters, where a few comically attack the man.
Let’s not forget the infamous demon (or devil) many fans remember, which is Akuma-kun (also known as Beezle to Western audiences). His first appearance was in the chapter titled Unico and Solitude (ひとりぼっちのユニコ; Hitoribocchi no Unico) in the January 1978 issue of Sanrio’s Lyrica magazine. This little guy still appears in merchandise today and is another popular character in the Unico franchise. Whether you’re acquainted with him through the original manga or through the first movie, Akuma-kun was a lonesome fellow who Unico befriends. Many fans relate to this little guy.
Another devil I like to bring up is Sataa from the Sanrio Gift Book series published in October 1978 titled I’m a Devil, Actually (ほんとうは悪魔なんだけど). Believing Unico to also be a devil because of his horn, Sataa befriends Unico and is excited to have a fellow friend. Of course, Unico corrects Sataa’s mistake and is then promptly kicked out of the Sataa’s home for not being a devil. Unico lingers, still wanting to be friends with Sataa.
While Akuma-kun and Sataa share similarities, their stories are quite different and I’ll discuss these two in a later spotlight post.
If you’ve seen Unico in the Island of Magic, you’ll remember the obake children Cherry and Unico meet in their quest to find the Sphinx. The children are from the Ghost Valley (or Valley of the Demons in Western translations) and have parents who turned into living puppets thanks to Cherry’s brother Tolby. As you can tell from the screenshot above, the children are a variety of monsters, but completely harmless.
There are many other instances of Unico and his friends dealing with ghosts, but I hope this was a fun post for you to read during this spooky month. Until next time!
Notes:
- 1. To learn more about ochugen, please check out this post that explains in greater detail. What is Ochugen?(お中元) All about Japan’s summer gift giving custom. ↩︎
- 2. To learn more about rokurokubi, please check out this post that explains in greater detail. Rokurokubi | Yokai.com ↩︎
- 3. 通り魔 (Toorima) ― While I explained what type of demon this is, I’d like to point out that this term is used for people who commit horrible crimes due to substance use or mental illness, as if they’re possessed by a demon. They often use weapons like knives to attack innocent people. The word toorima translates to “street demon,” and has been used to describe criminals as far back as the 1950s before mental illnesses were better understood. While I’m not certain, the demon that appears might have been a pun on the word. ↩︎