Yo-kai Watch[b][c] is a role-playing video game series and associated media franchise created and developed by Level-5. The first video game in the main series was released for the Nintendo 3DS in 2013.[1] Three main sequels and several spin-offs, on both Nintendo consoles and mobile platforms, have been released, with Nintendo handling international releases until 2019. 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. Yo-kai Watch Logo of the series, with the word "YO-KAI" written in a yellow font and the O made to resemble the eponymous device, with a multicolored face and white hands; and the word "WATCH" in a red font, with the C being stylized. The words are surrounded by a tapering black wisp. Created by Akihiro Hino Original work Yo-kai Watch (2013)[a] Owner Level-5 Years 2012–present Print publications Book(s) The Yo-kai Watch Guide (2014) Comics Manga series (2012–2023) Films and television Film(s) Yo-kai Watch: The Movie (2014) Yo-kai Watch: Enma Daiō to Itsutsu no Monogatari da Nyan! (2015) Yo-kai Watch: Soratobu Kujira to Double no Sekai no Daibōken da Nyan! (2016) Yo-kai Watch Shadowside: Oni-ō no Fukkatsu (2017) Yo-kai Watch: Forever Friends (2018) Yo-kai Watch Jam the Movie: Yo-Kai Academy Y – Can a Cat be a Hero? (2019) Yo-kai Watch♪ the Movie: How Nate and I Met Nyan!♪ M-Me Too~♪♪ (2021) Yo-kai Watch♪: Jibanyan vs. Komasan - The Big Amazing Battle, Nyan (2023) Animated series Yo-kai Watch (2014–2018) Yo-kai Watch Shadowside (2018–2019) Yo-kai Watch! (2019) Yo-kai Watch Jam - Yo-kai Academy Y: Close Encounters of the N Kind (2019–2021) Yo-kai Watch♪ (2021–2023) Games Video game(s) Video games Miscellaneous Toy(s) Merchandise Official website Official website Six manga adaptations have also been produced; one, a series that began serialization in Shogakukan's CoroCoro Comic from December 2012 to April 2023,[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 generated $2 billion in retail sales, making it one of the highest grossing media franchises of all time.[7] 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.[8] 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.[9] The basic plot of most media is that the main character, either Nathan "Nate" Adams or Katie Forester, obtains a Yo-kai Watch through Whisper, a butler Yo-kai. They then befriend Jibanyan, a nekomata 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 series's run, other Yo-kai were introduced. Characters edit In most English-language Yo-kai Watch media, the character names are changed to new names. In the Shogakukan Asia English manga published in Singapore and other Southeast Asian countries, the original Japanese names are used.[10] Nathan "Nate" Adams / Keita "Keta" Amano (天野景太 / ケータ, Amano Keita / Keta)[11] Voiced by: Haruka Tomatsu (Japanese); Johnny Yong Bosch[12] (Season 1-2), Griffin Burns[13] (Season 3), Meyer DeLeeuw (Blasters) (English) Nathan "Nate" Adams is a 11-year-old fifth-grade student who is average at most things, which bothers him. However, he is active, cheerful and well-liked by his classmates and he has a crush on Katie. While bug hunting in the forest to find a rare bug to impress Katie, he discovers a capsule machine under a sacred tree, from which he frees Whisper and is given the Yo-kai Watch, which allows him to see and befriend Yo-kai and obtaining Yo-kai Medals to summon them into battle against mischievous Yo-kai. In the shōjo manga series, he does not possess a Yo-kai Watch and is unaware of the existence of Yo-kai.[14] Katie Forester / Fumika "Fumi-chan" Kodama (木霊文花 / フミちゃん, Kodama Fumika / Fumi-chan) Voiced by: Aya Endō (Japanese); Melissa Hutchison[12] (Season 1-2), Reba Buhr[15] (Season 3) (English) Katie Forester is a 11-year-old fifth-grade student who is Nate's childhood crush and classmate, she is very popular and highly intelligent, but afraid of failing to meet her mother's standards. She is often admired by her fellow male students, particularly Nate. In contrast to Nate's Yo-kai Watch, Katie's Yo-kai Watch is shaped like a pocket watch with a floral design, which she wears as a pendant around her neck. In the shōnen manga series and in a dream Whisper has in episode 67 of the anime series, she does not possess a Yo-kai Watch and is unaware of the presence of Yo-kai. Katie is also featured in the Mini Corners, where Kyubi tries to win unsuccessfully over her heart. Barnaby "Bear" Bernstein / Gorōta "Kuma" Kumashima (熊島五郎太 / クマ, Kumashima Gorōta / Kuma) Voiced by: Tōru Nara (Japanese); Paul Greenberg[12] (Season 1-2), Tony Azzolino (Season 3) (English) Barnaby "Bear" Bernstein is Nate's friend and classmate who appears intimidating, but in reality is friendly and sensitive. He has a younger sister named Bearmie who lives in America and has a boyfriend (uncle in English version) named Arnold. Edward "Eddie" Archer / Kanchi Imada (今田干治 / カンチ, Imada Kanchi) Voiced by: Chie Satō (Japanese); Brent Pendergrass (Season 1-2), Bryce Papenbrook (Season 3) (English) Edward "Eddie" Archer is Nate's friend and classmate who often hangs out with Bear and wears headphones. He is the son of wealthy designers, and does not believe in the paranormal and is skilled with technology. Hailey Anne Thomas / Inaho Misora (未空イナホ, Misora Inaho) Voiced by: Aoi Yūki (Japanese); Erika Harlacher (English) Hailey Anne Thomas is a self-proclaimed otaku girl with the same age as Nate in the school who is introduced in Yo-kai Watch 3, shōnen and shōjo manga series and the anime series's second season. Hailey Anne loves science fiction and outer space. After Usapyon tricks her into buying the Yo-kai Watch Model U Prototype, she agrees to help him build a rocket to make his former owner Dr. Hughly's dreams come true. Afterwards, they start a detective agency to investigate Yo-kai "crimes" in the city of Sparkopolis.[16] Summer Adams / Natsume Amano (天野ナツメ, Amano Natsume) Voiced by: Mone Kamishiraishi (movie), Aoi Yūki (anime) Summer Adams is a 13-year-old junior high schooler, Nate and Katie's daughter and Tate's older sister. She nearly drowned in a river when she was young, but was saved by a Yo-kai named Seiryuu.[17] In Yo-kai Watch Shadowside: Oni-ō no Fukkatsu, she is chosen by the Yo-kai Watch Arcane, allowing her to used Yo-kai Keystones to harness the power of summoning Yo-kai and also allows them to transform through either Lightside or Shadowside forms. Alongside Cole and Bruno, she fights against the Oni King Rasen and the Onimaro to protect humans and Yo-kai. In Yo-kai Watch Shadowside, she runs the Yo-kai Detective Agency alongside Cole and Bruno. Cole / Touma Tsukinami (月浪トウマ, Tsukinami Tōma) Voiced by: Yudai Chiba (movie), Yoshiaki Hasegawa (anime) Cole is a 13-year-old junior high schooler who, growing up, he was often alone because his parents were away overseas.[17] As a result, he was often bullied by his peers and over time became antisocial and hateful towards others. In Yo-kai Watch Shadowside: Oni-ō no Fukkatsu, he is cursed by one of Rasen's Onimaro followers and given the Kigan Gear, which he uses to spread evil and malice. Later in the film, he is redeemed by Summer and Bruno and the Kigan Gear transforms into the Yo-kai Watch Ogre, which allows him to transform into four Progenitor Yo-kai and used Sacred Armorys to possession summon Sword Bearer Yo-kai. In Yo-kai Watch Shadowside, he runs the Yo-kai Detective Agency alongside Summer and Bruno. Bruno / Akinori Arihoshi (有星アキノリ, Arihoshi Akinori) Voiced by: Mutsumi Tamura Bruno is a 13-year-old apprentice shaman and the oldest of the Arihoshi siblings, who have used Yo-kai in fortune telling for many generations. Unlike Summer and Cole, he is capable of using spells and incantations. He also possesses the Yo-kai Watch Animas, allowing him to used Celestial Disks to summon Celestial Yo-kai.[18] In Yo-kai Watch Shadowside, he runs the Yo-kai Detective Agency alongside Summer and Cole. Tate Adams / Keisuke Amano (天野ケースケ, Amano Keisuke) Voiced by: Haruka Tomatsu Tate Adams is a 11-year-old fifth-grade student, Nate and Katie's son and Summer's younger brother, He does not believe in supernatural phenomena. In Yo-kai Watch Shadowside: Oni-ō no Fukkatsu, he is cursed by the Onimaro virus and turned into a Kaodeka Oni, but is cured after Rasen is defeated by Cole and the Onimaro virus is eradicated from the city. Whisper (ウィスパー, Wisupā) Voiced by: Tomokazu Seki (Japanese); Joey D'Auria (Season 1-2), Michael Sorich (Season 3) (English) Whisper is a Yo-kai of the Slippery Tribe who becomes Nate's self-appointed butler after he frees him from the capsule he was imprisoned in 190 years and helps him to understand the Yo-kai World and its interactions with the human world. Whisper claims to be very knowledgeable about Yo-kai, but in reality relies heavily on a tablet computer called the Yokai Pad (妖怪パッド, Yōkai Paddo) to look up information. He often dismisses Nate's suspicions that a Yo-kai is involved with mysterious occurrences in his life, only to be proven wrong almost instantly. Following an incident with the Yo-kai Watch Model Zero, Nate can switch between the different Yo-kai Watch models by putting his arm inside Whisper's mouth. In the anime, it is revealed he was a Yo-kai named Nonuttin (Shittakaburi (シッタカブリ; from shittakaburi (知ったかぶり, "know-it-all")) in Japan), whose belches cause people to claim to know all about things when they actually do not. When he was Nonuttin, he worked alongside Ishida Mitsunari (Shogun Waitington in English). Jibanyan (ジバニャン; from jibakurei (地縛霊, "residual haunting") and nyan (にゃん, "meow")) Voiced by: Etsuko Kozakura (original series), Takaya Kuroda[18] (Shadowside) (Japanese); Alicyn Packard (Season 1-2)[12] Kira Buckland (Season 3) (English) Jibanyan is a nekomata Yo-kai of the Charming Tribe who is the ghost of the cat Rudy (Akamaru (アカマル) in Japanese). Rudy was the pet of a teenager named Amy until he died after being hit by a truck while crossing an intersection. He has since become a residual haunting and possesses people to make them cross the street without waiting for the signal so he can try to fight the cars and avenge his death. When Nate believes that Jibanyan is brave for his actions, Jibanyan is surprised and overwhelmed with joy and befriends Nate. He later ends up staying at Nate's house, where he often spends his time eating his favorite chocolate bars or worshipping his favorite idol group, Next HarMEOWny. Jibanyan had assumed that Amy called him lame for dying, but after being sent back in time by the two Yo-kai Kin and Gin of the Wicked Tribe, he learns that she was actually referring to herself and that he had died saving her from being hit by a truck as she crossed the intersection to meet with her friends. Jibanyan can transform into different Yo-kai under certain circumstances. While possessed by Roughraff, Jibanyan becomes the bōsōzoku-inspired Baddinyan, who thinks he is doing bad things but is actually not scary. When he gets a cold, he becomes Thornyan (トゲニャン), who is green and grows cactus-like spikes that shoot out when he sneezes. In Yo-kai Watch 2, he can fuse with Whisper to create Buchinyan (ブチニャン). When Nate receives the Yo-kai Medal of the Legendary Yo-kai Shogunyan, Jibanyan becomes possessed by his legendary spirit and takes on the appearance of a samurai. Komasan (コマさん; from komainu (狛犬)) Voiced by: Aya Endō (original series), Daisuke Hirakawa[18] (Shadowside) (Japanese); Melissa Hutchison (English) Komasan is a lion dog Yo-kai of the Charming Tribe from the countryside who Nate and Whisper meet while he is visiting the city for the first time. He is Komajiro's older brother, but when the shrine he used to guard was knocked down for construction, he tried to adapt to life in the city. However, he is overwhelmed by its sights and sounds and his love for soft serve ice cream. He is featured prominently in the anime series and is one of the main protagonists of Yo-kai Watch Blasters and its sequel Yo-kai Watch Blasters 2. In the anime, his "Mini Corner" segments feature him adapting to life in the city while working in a toy company and falling in love with a manga artist. In Japanese, he tends to use Mongē (もんげー) as an exclamation and ends his sentences with zura (ズラ), while in the English dub, he speaks in a country dialect and often exclaims "Oh my swirls!" when amazed. In Yo-kai Watch: Enma Daiō to Itsutsu no Monogatari da Nyan!, he and Komajiro gain an adoptive human brother named Komasaburo. In Yo-kai Watch 2, the player can get a special version of Komasan who has a frog-mouth pouch (がまぐちポーチ, gamaguchi pōchi). Komajiro (コマじろう, Komajirō; -jirō (二郎) is a common name component in Japan traditionally given to the second born son in the family) Voiced by: Aya Endō (Japanese); Alicyn Packard (English) Komajiro is a lion dog Yo-kai who is Komasan's younger brother and also of the Charming Tribe. He is more outgoing and ready to experience the city than Komasan, and has adapted to city life better than him. In Yo-kai Watch: Enma Daiō to Itsutsu no Monogatari da Nyan!, he and Komasan gain an adoptive human brother named Komasaburo. Usapyon / USApyon (USAピョン; from "USA", usagi (うさぎ, "rabbit"), and pyonpyon (ぴょんぴょん, "bouncing")) Voiced by: Kotori Shigemoto (Japanese); Katie Leigh (Season 3), Danilo Diniz (Season 3 - Portuguese), Melissa Hutchison (Blasters) (English) Usapyon is a Merican Yo-kai of the Shady Tribe who introduces Hailey Anne to Yo-kai. Despite wearing a rabbit-shaped astronaut suit with rabbit ears on the helmet, he is not a rabbit. When Hailey Anne pushes him too far, he becomes outraged and activates his "Invader Mode" (ベイダーモード, Beidā Mōdo) to start firing his laser gun everywhere thus Hailey Anne say sorry. In life, he was an otter named Chibi (チビ), who was taken in by rocket scientist Dr. Hughly and poised to be the first small animal to survive going into space, but was killed in a rocket malfunction he accidentally caused. As a Merican Yo-kai, Usapyon wants to make Hughly's dream a reality by making a new rocket powered by Yo-kai Medals, seeking out Hailey's help to build it. Various toys, such as the eponymous Yo-kai Watch and Yo-kai Medals, have been produced based on the series, receiving high commercial success.[92] Hasbro released a toy line based on the series worldwide in December 2015.[93] 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.[94] In January 2018, McDonald's began offering Yo-kai Watch toys in US Happy Meals, alongside the much more popular Shopkins. The original Yo-kai Watch game received a score of 36/40 from Famitsu,[95] with its sequel Yo-kai Watch 2 also scoring 36/40.[96] 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).[97] In 2014, Yo-kai Watch's manga in CoroCoro Comic won the 38th Kodansha Manga Award in the Best Children's Manga category.[98] In the following year, it also was awarded the Best Children's manga at the 60th Shogakukan Manga Awards.[99] Series mascot Jibanyan was at the center of artwork for the 2014 holding of the World Hobby Fair,[100] was chosen as the kids goodwill ambassador of the Hawaii Tourism Board in Japan in 2015,[101] and was one of the 8 "Olympics Ambassadors" for the 2020 Summer Olympics.[102] 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[96] and the anime was surpassing Pokémon in the TV rankings; being compared to it[103] and being dubbed the "Pokémon Killer".[98] 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.[99] 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."[104][105] They were the second most popular characters in Japan, in a survey by Video Research Ltd.[106] Explanations for its popularity ranged from catchy songs and dances,[107] to being something parents and kids could enjoy together,[98] to "weird adults" not being interested in it.[108] Hino himself said that it was the relatable characters and situations relatable to modern kids that made it popular.[8] This also translated into toy sales, racking in 55.2 billion yen for Namco Bandai.[109] 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.[110] Other merchandise had to wait longer because of the long licensing wait times.[108] This demand made it the second highest product in Nikkei Trendy that year.[111] It was a top seller in many other areas as well: The Yo-kai Watch Guide was the number one book in 2014,[112] its first theme song, Geragerapo no Uta, was the number 50 song on the Oricon Singles Chart,[113] and the movie had the highest opening of any Japanese film since 2000.[114] Yo-kai Watch even had a special segment on Kohaku Uta Gassen,[115] Japan's most viewed music program.[116] Marc Steinberg, writing in Animation: An Interdisciplinary Journal, analyses Yo-kai Watch as an effective media mix that mobilized children toward collection-based consumption through anime, games, watches and medals.[117] Decline edit 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[108] and there was less visible excitement among children.[118] 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[119] and the third version of the game launched with half of what the first versions sold with 337,979 units.[120] The toy sales were 10.4 billion yen in 2016 and estimated to be at 6.3 billion yen in 2017.[98] 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 Sun and Moon for the 3DS.[121] 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.[118][108] Barder and Sato of Siliconera also mentioned oversaturation, with it being Sato's main focus.[98] 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,[122] 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.[123][124] The franchise is also popular in Europe, with the original game's sales out pacing the Japanese release as of October 2016.[125] See also edit GeGeGe no Kitarō, a Japanese manga series with several Yo-kai Watch crossovers, including Yo-kai Watch Shadowside: Oni-ō no Fukkatsu and Natsuhiko Kyogoku's novel series USO Makoto Yōkai Hyaku Monogatari.[126] Metalions [ko], a South Korean 3D animated series in which characters use wrist summoning devices called Infinity Watches that summon Metalions and with Archean Stones can temporarily upgrade and combine them Power Battle Watch Car (aka Wrist Racers), a South Korean 3D animated series in which characters use WatchCars, AI cars that are controlled via wristwatches, in WatchCar Battle League competitions