Gegege no Kitarou (1971)

Kitarou, a ghost, spends his afterlife helping humans in need of his skills. He thwarts the plans of evil spirits who live to torment humanity.

Kitarou, a ghost, spends his afterlife helping humans in need of his skills. He thwarts the plans of evil spirits who live to torment humanity. This time, Kitarou's friend Megumi is in need of his help. Her father, a botanist, went to Baruru Island to study the plant life there, and was subsequently kidnapped by evil spirits. It's up to Kitarou to save him.

The origins of Kitarou.

As civilization advances, people are beginning to lose the consideration and kindliness for Nature. This has incurred the wrath of the ghosts who are becoming increasingly unhappy with the selfishness of the human kind. However, there is a conflict of interests within the ghosts in which one extreme opposes the humans completely while another extreme desires the co-existence of humans and ghosts. Kitaro and his family belongs to the latter category and yearns to seek mutual understanding between the humans and ghosts. Kitaro's fight for love and hope continues.