Yo kai Watch

Plot

One day while searching for insects in the woods near the town of Springdale, Arkansas (Sakura New Town in the Japanese version), a boy named Nate (Keita) comes across a peculiar capsule machine next to a sacred tree. When he opens one of the capsules up, it brings forth the ghostly Yo-kai Whisper who gives Nate a special device known as the Yo-kai Watch. Using this, Nate is able to identify and see various different Yo-kai that are haunting people and causing mischief. Joined by the cat Yo-kai Jibanyan, Nate and Whisper start befriending all sorts of Yo-kai which Nate can summon to battle against more ill-intentioned Yo-kai that happen to live in his town, causing terrible trouble. He also goes on adventures around the town with his Yo-kai partners to help his human friends Bear (Kuma), Eddie (Kanchi), and Katie (Fumi-chan; also the choice for the female player character in the video games) deal with their various problems often caused by other Yo-kai.

Later on, a new girl named Inaho moves into town, being in a different homeroom class from Nate. She receives her own Yo-kai Watch and meets the space Yo-kai USApyon, who wants her help in restoring the happiness of a scientist he accidentally upset. They then open up a detective agency to investigate many Yo-kai "crimes" plaguing the city.

In the video game Yo-kai Watch 3, Nate, Inaho and their befriended Yo-kai team up with Mac to stop a common threat.

Gameplay

Yo-kai Watch is a role-playing video game where the player searches around Springdale (Sakura New Town) for Yo-kai using the 3DS's touchscreen. Players befriend Yo-kai by giving them a food that they like before, beginning, and/or during battle, and after defeating the Yo-kai it approaches the player character and gives them its Yo-kai Medal, allowing it to be summoned at will. Yo-kai can also be acquired through an in game Crank-a-kai by collecting in-game coins or using Play Coins. Certain Yo-kai are necessary for completing the game's main quest, and special rare Yo-kai are acquired through various subquests. Yo-kai have the capability to evolve into more powerful versions of themselves if they reach a certain level, or they can evolve by combining with particular items or other Yo-kai. The Yo-kai are divided amongst eight different tribes, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. There are also Legend Yo-kai that can only be obtained by collecting a particular set of Yo-kai listed in the Yo-kai Medallium, a compendium of the different Yo-kai the player has encountered or befriended, as well as Boss Yo-kai that cannot be befriended in the original game, but can become the player's friends in Ganso and Honke.

When the player encounters a Yo-kai, they enter into battle with it using six Yo-kai that the player has befriended previously. The touchscreen is used during battles to rotate amongst the player's Yo-kai in battle at will. It is also used either to clear up status effects on the player's Yo-kai or to charge up the Yo-kai's special abilities.

A common in-game event is "Oni Time" (Terror Time), where the player character enters a nightmare realm where they look for treasure chests with special items in them all while trying to avoid being seen by other Yo-kai. If spotted, the player is chased by the powerful Oni Yo-kai Gargaros (Red Oni in the Japanese version), who can easily wipe out the player's party unless they can escape. It is possible to defeat Gargaros, but only if the player's Yo-kai are particularly powerful. The player can also encounter similarly powerful Namahage Yo-kai if the player crosses the street on a red light, but the encounter may be beneficial if the player follows the rules.

Players can also participate in several side quests for experience and bug-catching and fishing minigames to obtain special items.

Yo-kai Watch 2 expands the areas to be explored with nearly 100 new Yo-kai in the present day of the Kemamoto region and the past, where he meets traditional Yo-kai and the predecessor to the Yo-kai Watch.

Video games

The Yo-kai Watch video game was announced by Level-5 at the 2011 Tokyo Game Show. It was released in Japan for the Nintendo 3DS on July 11, 2013. As of February 2014, the game had sold over 500,000 retail copies. In January 2014, Level-5 filed for a trademark in the United States for "Yo-kai Watch" and released it to retail stores and the Nintendo eShop on November 6, 2015. Nintendo announced that they would be publishing the game in North America for a Holiday 2015 release.

The Data Carddass game Yo-kai Watch: Tomodachi UkiUkipedia (妖怪ウォッチ ともだちウキウキペディア) was first location tested in late December 2013, and debuted at the Next Generation World Hobby Fair Winter 2014 before being released in early 2014. The game is played much like Bandai's other Data Carddass games, in which the player uses an interface resembling a slot machine to determine the events of a battle between 3 of the player's Yo-kai against 3 enemy Yo-kai, after the player sought them out on the game interface. Winning the game awards the player a card that can be used for future Tomodachi UkiUkipedia play.

A sequel, Yo-kai Watch 2, was released in Japan on July 10, 2014 in two editions; Ganso (元祖) and Honke (本家, both can be translated as "original"). CoroCoro Comic began running a contest for readers to design a new form for the game's mascot Jibanyan that would appear in the new game as well as in the manga in CoroCoro. These were revealed to be Buchinyan, a fusion of Jibanyan and Whisper available in an update to the original game (as well as adding special Komasan and Tsuchinoko partners), and Fuyunyan, a heroic Yo-kai that is central to the plot of the games. Ganso and Honke will also feature Yo-kai that are unobtainable in the other version, including boss characters. Other new features include Z Medals, old Medals, train travel, bike racing, climbing poles, and a "spooky red box" that causes the player to fart or rewards a special item. In collaboration with Tomodachi UkiUkipedia, the arcade game will feature unique local Yo-kai representing eight regions of Japan, that can be used in Yo-kai Watch 2 by using a code found on the game's prize card. On December 13, 2014, a third edition of Yo-kai Watch 2 subtitled Shinuchi (真打, Shin'uchi, "Headliner") was released in Japan, featuring characters and scenarios not initially included in Ganso and Honke. As of November 2014, the Ganso and Honke editions had sold a combined 2,881,810 copies. The Ganso and Honke versions sold over three million copies in 2014, making it the best-selling video game in Japan in 2014.

A spin-off game, Yo-kai Watch Busters (妖怪ウォッチバスターズ, Yōkai Wotchi Basutāzu) was first announced in the April 2015 issue of CoroCoro Comic, allowing up to four players to cooperate in battling boss Yo-kai. The first two versions of the game, Aka Neko-dan (赤猫団, "Red Cat Troupe") and Shiro Inu-tai (白犬隊, "White Dog Corps"), were released on July 11, 2015. Announced alongside Yo-kai Watch Busters was the upcoming third game in the main series, Yo-kai Watch 3 which features two main characters playable at the same time. Keita and his family have moved to the United States to the fictional town of Saint Peanutsburg, where new American-themed "Meriken" (メリケン) Yo-kai can be found. The other half of the game focuses on Inaho Misora, introduced to the anime series in the Second Season, and her partner Yo-kai Usapyon. Accompanying these games' releases were announcements of Yo-kai Sangokushi (妖怪三国志, lit. "Yo-kai Three Kingdoms") in collaboration with Koei Tecmo's Romance of the Three Kingdoms series as well as several mobile games.

In August, a collaboration with Ubisoft to release a special version of the Just Dance series was announced, set to feature songs from the anime's soundtrack, was released on December 5, 2015. A free expansion for the two Yo-kai Watch Busters games called Getto-gumi (月兎組, "Moon Rabbit Team") was released on December 12, 2015, adding characters and settings featured in second anime feature film Yo-kai Watch: Enma Daiō to Itsutsu no Monogatari da Nyan!.

Main series

Spin-offs

Smartphone apps

Manga

Six manga adaptations based on the series have been published by Shogakukan. A shōnen manga series by Noriyuki Konishi began serialization in CoroCoro Comic from December 15, 2012. This series has been licensed by Viz Media under its Perfect Square imprint. A shōjo manga series by Chikako Mori, titled Yo-kai Watch: Exciting Nyanderful Days (妖怪ウォッチ～わくわく☆にゃんだふるデイズ～, Yōkai Wotchi ~Wakuwaku Nyandafuru Deizu~), began serialization in Ciao magazine from December 27, 2013. A yonkoma series by Coconas Rumba, titled 4-Panel Yo-kai Watch: Geragera Manga Theater (4コマ妖怪ウォッチ ゲラゲラマンガ劇場, Yonkoma Yōkai Wotchi Geragera Manga Gekijō), began serialization in CoroCoro Comic SPECIAL from October 2014. Another yonkoma series by Santa Harukaze, titled Yo-kai Watch 4-Panel Pun Club (妖怪ウォッチ 4コマだじゃれクラブ, Yōkai Wotchi Yonkoma Dajare Kurabu), began serialization in CoroCoro Ichiban! from April 2015. A shōnen and seinen manga series by Shō Shibamoto, titled Komasan 〜A Time for Fireworks and Miracles〜 (コマさん 〜ハナビとキセキの時間〜, Komasan 〜Hanabi to Kiseki no Jikan〜), began serialization in HiBaNa on April 10, 2015 and ended on September 10 of that year. A manga series based on Yo-kai Watch Busters by Atsushi Ohba began serialization in CoroCoro Comic in June 2015 and ended in October of that year. A new comic series was announced in January 2017, courtesy of IDW Publishing, and will be released in April 2017.

Anime

A television anime series based on the game, produced by OLM, began airing in Japan on TX Network on January 8, 2014. Some of the episodes has a "Mini-Corner" which features one of the main Yo-kai characters. On April 7, 2015, Level-5 unveiled a promotional video for a second season of the anime series, which premiered in July 2015. The second season features a new protagonist named Inaho Misora and her Yo-kai companion USApyon. It also features new models of the Yo-kai Watch called the "Yo-kai Watch U". and Yo-kai Watch Dream. The third season of the anime series premiered on January 6, 2017.

A movie, Yo-kai Watch: The Movie (映画 妖怪ウォッチ　誕生の秘密だニャン！, Eiga Yōkai Wotchi: Tanjō no Himitsu da Nyan!), was released in Japan on December 20, 2014.

A second movie, Yo-kai Watch the Movie: The Great King Enma and the Five Tales, Nyan! (映画 妖怪ウォッチ エンマ大王と5つの物語だニャン！, Eiga Yōkai Wotchi: Enma Daiō to Itsutsu no Monogatari da Nyan!), was released in Japan on December 19, 2015.

Dentsu Entertainment USA announced in April 2014 that they were seeking broadcast and merchandising partners in North America for the anime. At the premiere of the Yo-kai Watch film, Level-5's president Akihiro Hino announced that the Yo-kai Watch anime would begin broadcast internationally in 2015. He also jokingly requested Etsuko Kozakura and Tomokazu Seki, who voice Jibanyan and Whisper respectively, to "study English". Viz Media Europe has licensed the series in Europe, Russia, Africa and Philippines. The Fusion Agency has acquired the licensing and merchandising rights for the series in Australia and New Zealand. MarVista Entertainment has licensed the series in Latin America. The series began airing in North America on Disney XD on October 5, 2015 and in Australia on 9Go! on December 14, 2015. VIZ Europe announced that it will premiere in the UK and Ireland on Cartoon Network on April 23, 2016. An alternative English dub began airing on Cartoon Network Asia and Toonami Asia in Asian countries from June 27, 2015. The alternative English dub uses the original Japanese names.

The series is being released on DVD box sets, along with rental-only DVDs, in Japan by Kadokawa Media Factory. Every episode to date is available for streaming on multiple video on demand services in Japan, such as Hulu and Rakuten Video SHOWTIME. The dub is available for streaming on Netflix and Watch Disney XD in North America. In November 2015, Yo-kai Watch's official YouTube channel began uploading the dub to the site for free streaming in the United States and Canada. Each episode (except for the first episode) stayed up for a week, then put on private as a new episode was added. Additionally, the channel uploaded the dubbed Yo-kai recap segments the day their corresponding episodes aired on Disney XD, since they were omitted from the TV airings for time.

There has been criticism of the way the Yo-kai Watch has been edited when the series was broadcast in the USA and the UK. A review of the series on Anime UK News highlighted cuts made. For example, in Season 1, Episode 6: "In the original version, Nate is hosting a sleepover with his friends Bear and Eddie and together, the three of them discretly watch a late night TV show featuring the idol group 'Next HarMEOWny' frolicking at a water park, with the Yo-kai Signibble constantly changing the channel, much to their chagrin. This scene was already edited for the North American broadcast, adding additional clothing to the idols and changing the alternate show from a body-builder series to a cooking show, but Cartoon Network [UK] went a step further for the UK broadcast and removed all references to the idol group, leading viewers to believe that Nate and his friends were sneaking around at night to watch a cooking show with Signibble occasionally turning off the TV, leaving us with a story more unrealistic than the franchise's core premise." The same review also highlights other changes including: "forty seconds of cuts in the second episode relating to a toilet humour-driven storyline and a brief cut from the third showing Manjimutt, a Yo-kai with a person's face and a toy poodle's body, urinating on a lamppost – which changes the implication of his arrest seconds later."

Music

The music for both the games and anime series is composed by Ken'ichirō Saigō. The following themes are used in both the video games and anime series. All opening themes are performed by King Cream Soda, with lyrics by m.o.v.e vocalist Motsu. The anime themes are also dubbed into English for its North American broadcast.

Japanese

English

Opening themes:

Ending themes:

Merchandise

Various toys, such as the eponymous Yo-kai Watch and Yo-kai Medals, have been produced based on the series, receiving high commercial success. Hasbro released a toy line based on the series worldwide in December 2015. In July 2016, Square Enix's MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn held a special crossover event lasting until October which allowed players to gather Medals from existing in-game battles and exchange them for minions modeled after the franchise's titular Yo-kai as well as weapons inspired by them.

Reception

The original Yo-kai Watch game received a score of 36/40 from Famitsu, with its sequel Yo-kai Watch 2 also scoring 36/40. Yo-kai Watch 2 has sold over 5 million units across all three of its versions.

In 2014, Yo-kai Watch's manga in CoroCoro Comic won the 38th Kodansha Manga Award in the Best Children's Manga category. In the following year, it also was awarded the Best Children's manga at the 60th Shogakukan Manga Awards.