Yo-kai Watch (Japanese: 妖怪ウォッチ, Yōkai Wotchi)[b] is a Japanese media franchise created and developed by Level-5. The franchise's main work is the role-playing video game series of the same name, the first of which was released for the Nintendo 3DS in 2013.[1] Three main sequels and several spinoffs, on both Nintendo and mobile platforms, have been released. In December 2019, the franchise expanded to PlayStation with the release of Yo-kai Watch 4++. An associated toy line is produced by Bandai for the Japanese market, while Hasbro formerly sold the toys under license in the Americas and Europe.
Six manga adaptations have also been produced; one, a series that began serialization in Shogakukan's CoroCoro Comic from December 2012 to December 2022,[2] was an award winner. An anime television series produced by OLM, Inc. aired in Japan from January 8, 2014, to March 30, 2018, and was a ratings success, boosting the franchise in popularity,[3] and began airing in North America from September 2015.[4][5] An animated film, Yo-kai Watch: The Movie, was released on December 20, 2014, with seven more films being produced since then. As of 2022, the game series has sold over 17 million copies worldwide.[6]
While the franchise is popular in Japan and Europe, it failed to meet Level-5's expectations in North America. Nonetheless, the franchise's North American launch was successful, with the original 3DS game selling 400,000 units, backed by the toys and the broadcast of the English dub on Disney XD in the United States. However, interest in the Yo-kai Watch franchise has since steadily declined.
The franchise was first conceived as a Doraemon IP, something that could last over a long period of time. Akihiro Hino, CEO of Level-5, researched extensively what makes a franchise long-lasting, and came up with Yo-kai Watch.[7]
Yo-kai Watch revolves around befriending Yo-kai that are haunting the city, which are based on traditional yōkai, but often with clever twists. If one befriends a Yo-kai, they get their Yo-kai Medal, an object that allows one to summon Yo-kai. With these, they can summon Yo-kai to either fight other Yo-kai, befriend others, or solve everyday tasks.[8]
The basic plot of most media is that the main character, either Nate or Katie, obtains a Yo-kai Watch through Whisper, a butler Yo-kai. They then befriend Jibanyan, a cat Yo-kai who haunts an intersection because he thinks his owner from when he was alive named Amy called him lame for getting hit by a truck. During the anime's run, other Yo-kai were introduced.
The main video game series are role-playing video games where the player befriends Yo-kai and fights evil Yo-kai that seek to rule the world, with emphasis placed on fighting and befriending Yo-kai. Yo-kai Watch and Yo-kai Watch 2 have a battle system revolving around using the 3DS's touchscreen to rotate amongst the player's Yo-kai. All Yo-kai have powerful moves called Soultimates, with some being offensive and some being supportive.[9] In Yo-kai Watch 3, the battle system was changed to a grid-based movement system, with the added ability to use the Dream Link and the Yo-kai Blaster against foes during battle.
The first game in the main series, Yo-kai Watch, was announced at the 2011 Tokyo Game Show[10][11] and first released in Japan on July 11, 2013.[12] It sets the foundation for the rest of the video game franchise, introducing its main mechanics. The game was released in North America on November 6, 2015, and in Europe on April 29, 2016.
The second main game in the series, Yo-kai Watch 2, was released in Japan on July 10, 2014, as two versions: Ganso and Honke.[13][14][15] These versions are known in English as Bony Spirits and Fleshy Souls. Yo-kai Watch 2 adds several new areas, such as Kemamoto/Harrisville, and nearly 100 new Yo-kai to befriend, both in the present day and the past. The plot revolves around the protagonist going back in time 60 years to meet their grandfather, who made the predecessor to the Yo-kai Watch, and fighting against the Wicked Yo-kai. A third version, Shinuchi, known in English as Psychic Specters, was released on December 12, 2014[16] to coincide with the first Yo-kai Watch film, Yo-kai Watch: Tanjō no Himitsu da Nyan!. Psychic Specters features characters and scenarios not included in Bony Spirits and Fleshy Souls.[17][18]
Bony Spirits and Fleshy Souls were localized in English and released on September 30, 2016, in the United States [19] and on April 7, 2017, in Europe.[20] They received the Oni Evolution update on September 14, 2017,[21] and gained compatibility with save data from Psychic Specters on September 29, 2017.[22]
In Japan, Yo-kai Watch 3 was announced alongside Yo-kai Watch Busters in April 2015 and released on July 16, 2016, with two versions: Sushi and Tempura. The game features two protagonists: Nate Adams and Hailey Anne, each with their own story. Nate's story focuses on him and his family moving from Springdale to the United States, which is called BBQ in the localized version, to the fictional town of St. Peanutsburg, where new American-themed "Merican" (メリケン) Yo-kai are found. Hailey Anne's story focuses on her meeting her partner Yo-kai Usapyon and opening a detective agency with him.[23][24] These two stories converge in the game's latter half as the two team up to face a greater threat called the Ghoulfather. A third version, Sukiyaki, was released in Japan on December 16, 2016, combining Sushi and Tempura into one game and adding additional features.[25]
On September 27, 2018, Nintendo of America announced that Yo-kai Watch 3 was getting a localized release outside of Japan. It was released on December 16, 2018, in Europe and on February 8, 2019, in North America. The localized version was based on Sukiyaki, and as such contains the features it added.
An enhanced version, Yo-kai Watch 4++, was later released as paid downloadable content and at retail for both the Switch and PlayStation 4 on December 5, 2019.[27]
Level-5 confirmed during the Anime Expo 2019 that an English localization was under consideration, but due to the shutdown of American branch Level-5 Abby,[28] the status of the game's localization is currently unknown.
A spin-off game, Yo-kai Watch Blasters (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 alongside Yo-kai Watch 3, allowing up to four players to cooperate in completing missions and battling boss Yo-kai.[29] 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. A free expansion called Getto-gumi (月兎組, "Moon Rabbit Crew") was released on December 12, 2015, adding characters and settings featured in the second film, Yo-kai Watch: Enma Daiō to Itsutsu no Monogatari da Nyan!.[30]
A sequel, Yo-kai Watch Busters 2: Secret of the Legendary Treasure Bambalaya (妖怪ウォッチバスターズ2秘宝伝説バンバラヤー, Yōkai Wotchi Basutāzu 2 Hihō Densetsu Banbarayā), was released in two versions, (ソード, "Sword") and (マグナム, "Magnum"), on December 16, 2017.[31] They are compatible with save data from the first Busters games as well as the three versions of Yo-kai Watch 3.[32]
The first game was localized in English regions as Yo-kai Watch Blasters and released on September 7, 2018.[33] The games were released under the names Red Cat Corps and White Dog Squad.[33] A free update for both games, Moon Rabbit Crew, was released on September 27, 2018.[34]
Busters 2 has not been localized into English, and most likely will never be because the Nintendo 3DS's production was discontinued.
Other associated games
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 similar to Bandai's other Data Carddass games, as the player uses an interface resembling a slot machine to determine the events of a battle between three of the player's Yo-kai and three enemy Yo-kai. Winning the game awards the player with a card that can be used in future Tomodachi UkiUkipedia play.
Yo-kai Sangokushi (妖怪三国志, lit. "Yo-kai Three Kingdoms") was announced alongside Busters and Yo-kai Watch 3 in April 2015. Sangokushi was made in collaboration with Koei Tecmo's Romance of the Three Kingdoms series as well as several mobile games.
In August 2015, 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.[35] Titled Yo-kai Watch Dance: Just Dance Special Version (妖怪ウォッチダンス JUST DANCE スペシャルバージョン, Yōkai Uotchi Dansu: Jasuto Dansu Supesharu Bājon), it was released exclusively in Japan for the Wii U on December 5, 2015.
On June 27, 2018, Level-5 and GungHo Online Entertainment announced in a special live stream the release of Yo-kai Watch World. Before the same-day release of the game, Level-5 teased it online as a "game that will shock the world". Said to compete with Pokémon Go, it featured new gameplay mechanics as well as battle sequences similar to the original 3DS games. Currently, it is only able to work within Japan, as other locations do not mostly work outside of Japan. Service for Yo-kai Watch World was discontinued on December 23, 2022.
Console-based spin-offs
Yo-kai Watch Blasters (Nintendo 3DS, 2015) – released worldwide (outside Korea) on September 7, 2018, with Moon Rabbit Crew update released on September 27, 2018
Six manga adaptations based on the series have been published by Shogakukan. A 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 for its North American releases up to Volume 10, and is now directly from Viz Media as of Volume 11.[36] The manga is licensed in French by Kazé.
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.[37] In this series, it was based on the alternate timeline, in which Katie Forester would receive the Yo-kai Watch. This is in contrast to the main timeline, where Nate Adams is the primary.
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), has been serialized in CoroCoro Comic SPECIAL from August 30, 2014, to June 30, 2018.
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 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 the seinen manga magazine Hibana on April 10, 2015, and ended on September 10 of that year.
A manga series based on Yo-kai Watch Blasters by Atsushi Ohba began serialization in CoroCoro Comic in June 2015[38] and ended in October of that year.
A comic book series was announced in January 2017, courtesy of IDW Publishing, and was released in May 2017.[39][40]
Noriyuki Konishi version
Loosely based on the main Yo-kai Watch series, a manga series by Noriyuki Konishi started serialization before the release of Yo-kai Watch on the 3DS, and the debut of the original Yo-kai Watch anime. In the series, the art style was different from the current designs, like the early design of the Yo-kai Watch, and also has different character personalities. As the games and anime were released, the manga kept the art style, but the characters also slowly developed over time.
Volume 16 transitioned the manga into the current "Yo-kai Watch!" anime timeline, while still keeping the art style of the previous edition.
An anime television series based on the game, produced by OLM, aired from January 8, 2014, to March 30, 2018, in Japan and began airing on Disney XD on October 5, 2015.[41][42] It is more comedic in tone, and has several segments per episode, with most focusing on Nathan "Nate" Adams solving problems caused by Yo-kai. Some episodes have a "Mini-Corner" featuring one of the main Yo-kai.
On April 7, 2015, Level-5 unveiled a promotional video for the series' third season, which premiered in July 2015. The third season features a new protagonist named Hailey Anne Thomas and her Yo-kai companion Usapyon, as well as new models of the Yo-kai Watch called the "Yo-kai Watch Model U"[43] and the "Yo-kai Watch Dream". The season premiered on January 6, 2017, and entered a Busters Arc in July.[44] In February 2018, a sequel series called Yo-kai Watch Shadowside started airing after the original series ended on March 30, 2018, with its first two episodes broadcast as an hour-long special on April 13, 2018.[45] The series lasted for 49 episodes, ending on March 29, 2019.
A revival series known as Yo-kai Watch! ran from April 5, 2019, to December 20, 2019, in Japan.[46] It is a continuation of the original series that introduces new Yo-kai while serving as a sort of prologue to the fourth movie, as Nate receives the Yo-kai Watch Elder Version K, which resembles the Yo-kai Watch Elder used in Yo-kai Watch Shadowside. While mostly based on the original series, it features elements from Shadowside, such as the Yo-kai Arks and the Shadowside Tribes.
Yo-kai Watch Jam: Yo-kai Academy Y: Close Encounters of the N Kind ran from December 27, 2019, to April 2, 2021, as a sequel and continuation of the sixth movie.[47][48]
Another revival series, Yo-kai Watch ♪ started airing on April 9, 2021, in which Nate now uses a "enhanced" version of the original Yo-kai Watch which can recognize all types of medals.[49]
In the course of the franchise's history, eight Yo-kai Watch movies have been made. The first, Yo-kai Watch: The Movie, was released in Japan on December 20, 2014,[50] The second film, Yo-kai Watch: Enma Daiō to Itsutsu no Monogatari da Nyan!, was released in Japan on December 19, 2015,[51] and the third film, Yo-kai Watch: Soratobu Kujira to Double no Sekai no Daibōken da Nyan!, a live-action animated film, was released in Japan on December 17, 2016[52] The fourth film, Yo-kai Watch Shadowside: Oni-ō no Fukkatsu, released in Japanese theatres on December 16, 2017.[53] A fifth movie, Yo-kai Watch: Forever Friends, released in Japanese theatres on December 14, 2018. A sixth movie, Yo-kai Watch Jam the Movie: Yo-Kai Academy Y - Can a Cat be a Hero?, was released in Japanese theatres on December 13, 2019.[54] A seventh movie, Yo-kai Watch♪ the Movie: How Nate and I Met Nyan!♪ M-Me Too~♪♪, was released in Japanese theatres on November 12, 2021. It is based on the Yo-kai Watch ♪ series and features re-edited versions of segments from the anime, as well as some original content.[55] An eighth movie, Yo-kai Watch♪: Jibanyan vs. Komasan - The Big Amazing Battle, Nyan, was released in Japan on January 13, 2023, based on the Yo-kai Watch♪ series and used as its two-part finale.[56]
At the premiere of the Yo-kai Watch film, Level-5's president Akihiro Hino officially 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".[61][62]
In North America
Dentsu Entertainment USA announced in April 2014 that they were seeking broadcast and merchandising partners in North America for the anime.[63] The anime began broadcast as a 26-episode season on Disney XD on October 5, 2015,[64] with the official Yo-kai Watch YouTube channel posting episodes a month later.[65] Since the show had performed well, a second season (no relation to the Japanese second season) with an additional 50 episodes was broadcast on August 1, 2016.[66][67] The third season premiered on July 2, 2018, on Disney XD in the United States, and ended on December 29, 2018. In 2019, Disney XD removed the Yo-kai Watch anime from its lineup due to declining ratings; but eventually returned to the network in a weekend-only timeslot in January 2020, re-taking the place of a previous replacement, Inazuma Eleven: Ares. The first season's first volume was released on DVD by NCircle Entertainment on February 26, 2019,[68] and one version of that set comes with a free comic book.[69] The first season's second volume was released on September 3, 2019.[70]
The first movie was also brought over, as a special screening one day screening, on October 15, 2016. This was only in the US, via Fathom Events. Those who attended got a Hovernyan medal.[71]
Outside of the US, the first season and the movie used to be available to stream on Netflix, but as of now, it is no longer available to stream.[72]
The English version of the anime dub used a cast from Sprite Animation Studios for the first two seasons, but they were replaced in the third season with actors from SDI Media due to budget costs and low ratings on Disney XD.[73]
Viz Media Europe has licensed the series in Europe, Russia, and Africa. They premiered the anime in the UK and Ireland on Cartoon Network on April 23, 2016.[74][75] In France it showed on three different stations: Boing in April, 2016, Gulli in September, 2016, and Cartoon Network France in March, 2017. Other countries it aired in are Germany and Austria (Nickelodeon), Spain and Africa on Boing, Belgium and the Netherlands on Nickelodeon, and Israel on Noga. Cartoon Network also has it airing on their Portugal, Turkey, Poland and the Nordic, Central and Eastern Europe feeds, starting in Spring 2016.
Viz has also hired Bulldog Licensing and German brand-management company m4e to represent the brand in the UK and German-speaking territories, respectively.[76]
Asia
An alternative English dub began airing on Cartoon Network Asia and Toonami Asia in Asian countries from June 27, 2015.[77] The alternative English dub uses the original Japanese names.
The Fusion Agency acquired the licensing and merchandising rights for the series in Australia and New Zealand.[78] It aired in Australia on 9Go! on December 14, 2015.
Music
The music for the games and anime series is composed by Level-5 employee Kenichiro Saigo. The following themes are used in both the video games and anime series. In the original anime, 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.
Various toys, such as the eponymous Yo-kai Watch and Yo-kai Medals, have been produced based on the series, receiving high commercial success.[80]Hasbro released a toy line based on the series worldwide in December 2015.[81] In July 2016, Square Enix's MMORPGFinal 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.[82] In January 2018, McDonald's began offering Yo-kai Watch toys in US Happy Meals, alongside the much more popular Shopkins.
Reception
The original Yo-kai Watch game received a score of 36/40 from Famitsu,[83] with its sequel Yo-kai Watch 2 also scoring 36/40.[84]Yo-kai Watch 2 won the Grand Prize in the Japan Game Awards. It also won 3 other awards: The Best Sales Award, and two Excellence Awards (for the 2nd game and its third version).[85] In 2014, Yo-kai Watch's manga in CoroCoro Comic won the 38th Kodansha Manga Award in the Best Children's Manga category.[86] In the following year, it also was awarded the Best Children's manga at the 60th Shogakukan Manga Awards.[87]
Series mascot Jibanyan was at the center of artwork for the 2014 holding of the World Hobby Fair,[88] was chosen as the kids goodwill ambassador of the Hawaii Tourism Board in Japan in 2015,[89] and was one of the 8 "Olympics Ambassadors" for the 2020 Summer Olympics.[90]
Seibu Series train: Yo-Kai Watch
When the anime first aired, in 2014, the franchise became popular in Japan. By February, the first game, which originally sold only 53,654 copies, was at over 500,000 shipped[84] and the anime was surpassing Pokémon in the TV rankings; being compared to it[91] and being dubbed the "Pokémon Killer".[86] By the second game's release, the first game had sold 1,195,287 copies and the second game surpassed that at release at 1,316,707 copies. The third version also impressed, at 1,244,171 units.[87]
Even the president of Level-5, Akihiro Hino, was surprised by Yo-kai Watch's popularity. "While I did believe that it would get its break, honestly, to have it come this far, where the children of Japan would get so hopped-up on Yo-kai, to the point where all the goods would sell out, is something I didn't expect."[92][93] They were the second most popular characters in Japan, in a survey by Video Research Ltd.[94] Explanations for its popularity ranged from catchy songs and dances,[95] to being something parents and kids could enjoy together,[86] to "weird adults" not being interested in it.[96] Hino himself said that it was the relatable characters and situations relatable to modern kids that made it popular.[97]
This also translated into toy sales, racking in 55.2 billion yen for Namco Bandai.[98] Yo-kai Watch toys were frequently out of stock; people having to wait in lotteries to get a Yo-kai Watch and search hard for medals.[99] Other merchandise had to wait longer because of the long licensing wait times.[96] This demand made it the second highest product in Nikkei Trendy that year.[100]
It was a top seller in many other areas as well: The Yo-kai Watch Guide was the number one book in 2014,[101] its first theme song, Geragerapo no Uta, was the number 50 song on the Oricon Singles Chart,[102] and the movie had the highest opening of any Japanese film since 2000.[103] Yo-kai Watch even had a special segment on Kohaku Uta Gassen,[104] Japan's most viewed music program.[105]
By 2015, sales had started to fall to numbers ranging from around a quarter to 1/8 of what they were the previous year. Prices were cut[96] and there was less visible excitement among children.[106] By the time the third games were released, in 2016, it was on a downward slope with the game launching with about half of what the second games did, with 632,135 units[107] and the third version of the game launched with half of what the first versions sold with 337,979 units.[108] The toy sales were 10.4 billion yen in toy sales and estimated to be at 6.3 billion yen in 2017.[86] This was largely due to hype building for two games that were coming from Nintendo's Pokémon franchise, the Pokémon Go smartphone app and Pokémon Sunand Moon for the 3DS.[109]
In addition to the wake of Pokémon's renewed popularity, analysts had a few other theories on why Yo-kai Watch was falling. Ken Hōri of The Business Journal and Ollie Barder of Forbes thought it was mainly distribution issues; products that were ordered from the summer vacation were over stocked, because of the six-month waiting period for copyright approvals. Another reason he had was that the toys had incompatible medals with later watches, leading to a loss of interest.[106][96] Barder and Sato of Siliconera also mentioned oversaturation, with it being Sato's main focus.[86]
Unlike in its native Japan where it experienced a short period of great popularity, Yo-kai Watch had an overall underwhelming performance in the United States. Although it got off to a promising start in that region, with the original game selling at least 400,000 units there as of 2016,[110] the sequel, Yo-kai Watch 2, sold less than 200,000 copies in comparison. Meanwhile, Disney XD's English broadcast of the anime series has estimated only 100,000-300,000 viewers per episode, and was removed from the network's schedule in 2017. Despite the franchise's unsatisfactory western response, it maintains a cult following with attempts to revive the franchise such as #SaveYoKaiWatch which trended on Twitter.[111] The franchise is also popular in Europe, with the original game's sales out pacing the Japanese release as of October 2016.[112]
Notes
^The game's release was preceded by the manga series of the same name, which debuted in 2012.
^Trademarked in Japan as Youkai Watch and Yokai Watch
^Valentine, Rebekah (October 12, 2020). "Level-5 has virtually halted operations in North America". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved February 21, 2023. In July of 2019, Level-5 International America confirmed it was closing its design department, laying off two employees, though at the time the company said this was "not a large-scale restructuring."
^"『妖怪ウォッチバスターズ2 ソード／マグナム』2バージョンの限定妖怪が明らかに！ 各種特典も公開" [Announcing the yo-kai of Yo-Kai Watch Busters 2 exclusive to Sword and Magnum versions! Various benefits also published]. Famitsu. October 13, 2017. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
^"主題歌情報を公開！". 妖怪ウォッチJam「妖怪学園Y ～Nとの遭遇～」 テレビ東京アニメ公式 (in Japanese). December 26, 2019. Archived from the original on January 28, 2021. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
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