Having received a letter saying "We are being attacked by the youkai Mannendake," Kitaro travels to a bamboo grove deep in the mountains. The owners of the bamboo grove, a married couple, Masahiko and Kiyomi, Kubota from the tourism association, and Ratman are waiting for him. They wanted to turn the bamboo grove into a tourist spot, but they say that the former owner of the grove, Daikichi, as well as others, have gone missing. As soon as Kitaro steps foot in the grove, he senses youkai energy. A warning to humans is written in blood in the grove, but the study in Daikichi's mansion within the grove is full of bamboo leaves... Suddenly, Masahiko falls silent. When they turn to look, Masahiko has been turned to bamboo...!?
After my dad disappeared,
I came here a few times.
أتيت إلى هنا عدّة مرات
.بعد اختفاء والدي
Nach dem Verschwinden meines Vaters
bin ich ein paarmal hierhergekommen.
Vine aquí varias veces desde 
que desapareció mi papá.
Vine aquí varias veces desde
que desapareció mi padre.
Je suis venu ici plusieurs fois
depuis la disparition de mon père.
Dopo che mio padre è scomparso,
mi è capitato di venire qui alcune volte.
Depois que o meu pai desapareceu,
eu vim aqui algumas vezes.
Я приходил сюда несколько раз 
после исчезновения папы.