Yo-Kai Watch

[areaseven]

Yo-Kai Watch (妖怪ウォッチ)
Level-5/OLM Digital/Dentsu/TV Tokyo, 2014-present
Coming to America in 2016 via Dentsu USA and Hasbro
Directed by Shinji Ushiro (Strait Jacket, Blessing of the Campanella)
Created by Level-5 (Dark Cloud, Inazuma Eleven)
Running Time: 24 minutes per episode
Not Rated (suggested TV-Y7). Contains some crude humor and mild language.

Cast
Haruka Tomatsu (Mileina in Mobile Suit Gundam 00, Micott in Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn) as Keita Amano
Tomokazu Seki (Domon in Mobile Fighter G Gundam, Van in The Vision of Escaflowne) as Whisper
Etsuko Kozakura (Ryo-ohki in Tenchi Muyo!, Tamama in Keroro Gunso) as Jibanyan
Aya Endo (Sheryl Nome in Macross Frontier, Mirai Kamiki in Gundam Build Fighters Try) as Fumika "Fumi" Kodama
Toru Nara as Gorota "Kuma" Kumashima
Chie Satou (Bo-chan in Crayon Shin-chan) as Kanchi Imada

Synopsis
On a hot summer day, while hunting for insects, Keita Amano stumbles upon an old gashapon machine by a tree. Upon acquiring a capsule, he unleashes a ghost named "Whisper", who gives him a "Yo-Kai Watch" - a device that enables him to see other supernatural spirits. Together with the ghost cat Jibanyan, Keita and Whisper set off to solve supernatural problems around town.

Story: B
For the past year or so, Yo-Kai Watch has become the most popular children's anime in Japan, with every tourist spot selling souvenirs with Jibanyan on them (even more so than Hello Kitty or any other established character). The theatrical feature released last Christmas broke box-office records to earn over US$55 million. So what's the fuss?

Nothing, really.

Yo-Kai Watch is simply Pokémon with ghosts. You have your typical adolescent protagonist teamed up with a couple of mascots. But after watching the first couple of episode, you realize how down-to-earth the storylines are. Episode 1 deals with a ghost who is miserable because of an argument with her husband, so she indirectly causes Keita's parents to fight over, well, pudding. And it's up to Keita to sort things out with the ghost. Yeah, this is all silly stuff, but it works out very well in this series.

Perhaps the show-stealer is Jibanyan, a ghost that haunts a crosswalk because he was once a cat that was hit by a truck years ago. The impact must have been so great that he doesn't remember his former name. Because of the incident, he struggles to stop every truck crossing that intersection, only to end up on the other side of town. Once you get to know the truth behind the incident, you'll definitely tear up.

Animation: B
Nothing really special about the animation and character designs, but for something designed for children, this will suffice.

Soundtrack: B
Try getting the opening theme out of your head. I challenge you.

Sub vs. Dub
Coming in 2016.

The Bottom Line
Yo-Kai Watch is already a massive hit in Japan, but will it be the next Pokémon when it arrives Stateside? Only time will tell.

Links
Official Site (Japanese)

Official Site (U.S.)

References
Anime News Network

Edited January 21, 2016 by areaseven

[areaseven]

I really hope they don't use this as the U.S. opening theme.

[areaseven]

This looks really tempting.

[areaseven]