Yo-kai Watch (manga)
Japanese manga series by Noriyki Konishi
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Yo-kai Watch (妖怪ウォッチ, Yōkai Wotchi) is a manga series written and illustrated by Noriyuki Konishi, based on Level-5's franchise with the same name. The series primarily follows Nathan "Nate" Adams (Keita "Keta" Amano in the Japanese and Singapore English versions), who gets the titular Yo-kai Watch, which allows him to see Yo-kai, who are otherwise invisible to the human eye. The series was serialized by Shogakukan in its CoroCoro Comic magazine in Japan from December 2012 to April 2023. Viz Media publishes the series in North America under their Perfect Square imprint, whereas Shogakukan Asia publishes the series in Singapore and Kazé publishes it in Spain and France.
| Yo-kai Watch | |
North American English cover art of the series' first volume, showing Whisper (left) and Nathan "Nate" Adams (right) | |
| 妖怪ウォッチ (Yōkai Wotchi) | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Comedy, Fantasy[1] |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Noriyuki Konishi |
| Published by | Shogakukan |
| English publisher | |
| Magazine | CoroCoro Comic |
| Original run | December 15, 2012 – April 21, 2023 |
| Volumes | 23 |
| Anime television series | |
| Directed by | Shinji Ushiro |
| Produced by | Yoshikazu Beniya (TV Tokyo), Kiyofumi Kajiwara |
| Written by | Yoichi Kato |
| Music by | Kenichiro Saigo |
| Studio | OLM Team Inoue |
| Licensed by |
|
| Original network | TXN (TV Tokyo), BS Japan, AT-X, Kids Station |
| English network | |
| Original run | January 8, 2014 – March 30, 2018 |
| Episodes | 214 |
| Anime television series | |
| Yo-kai Watch Shadowside | |
| Directed by | Fumiya Hōjō |
| Written by | Yōichi Katō |
| Music by | Kenichiro Saigo |
| Studio | OLM Team Inoue |
| Original network | TXN (TV Tokyo, TV Osaka) |
| English network |
|
| Original run | April 13, 2018 – March 29, 2019 |
| Episodes | 49 |
| Anime television series | |
| Yo-kai Watch! | |
| Directed by | Ryousuke Senbo |
| Written by | Yoichi Kato |
| Music by | Kenichiro Saigo |
| Studio | |
| Original network | TXN (TV Tokyo), BS Japan, AT-X, Kids Station |
| Original run | April 5, 2019 – December 20, 2019 |
| Episodes | 36 |
| Anime television series | |
| Yo-kai Watch Jam - Yo-kai Academy Y: Close Encounters of the N Kind | |
| Directed by | Fumiya Hojo |
| Written by | Akihiro Hino |
| Music by | Kenichiro Saigo |
| Studio | OLM Team Inoue |
| Original network | TXN (TV Tokyo), BS Japan, AT-X, Kids Station |
| English network | |
| Original run | December 27, 2019 – April 2, 2021 |
| Episodes | 64 |
| Anime television series | |
| Yo-kai Watch♪ | |
| Studio | OLM Team Inoue |
| Original network | TXN (TV Tokyo), BS Japan, AT-X, Kids Station |
| Original run | April 9, 2021 – March 31, 2023 |
| Episodes | 98 |
| Manga | |
| Yo-kai Watch: Exciting Nyanderful Days | |
| Written by | Chikako Mori |
| Published by | Shogakukan |
| English publisher |
|
| Magazine |
|
| Original run | December 27, 2013 – present |
| Volumes | 3 |
| Manga | |
| 4-Panel Yo-kai Watch: Geragera Manga Theater | |
| Written by | Coconas Rumba |
| Published by | Shogakukan |
| Magazine | CoroCoro ComicCoroCoro Comic SPECIAL |
| Original run | August 30, 2014 – June 30, 2018 |
| Volumes | 3 |
| Manga | |
| Yo-kai Watch: 4-Panel Pun-Club | |
| Written by | Santa Harukaze |
| Published by | Shogakukan |
| Magazine | CoroCoro Ichiban! |
| Original run | April 2015 – present |
| Volumes | 3 |
| Manga | |
| Komasan 〜A Time for Fireworks and Miracles〜 | |
| Written by | Shō Shibamoto |
| Published by | Shogakukan |
| Magazine | Hibana |
| Original run | April 10, 2015 – September 10, 2015 |
| Volumes | 1 |
| Manga | |
| Yo-kai Watch Busters | |
| Written by | Atsushi Ohba |
| Published by | Shogakukan |
| Magazine | CoroCoro Comic |
| Original run | June 2015 – October 2015 |
| Volumes | 1 |
| Video games | |
| |
| Anime films | |
Multiple other manga series also based on the Yo-kai Watch franchise have been released, such as one focusing on Nate's love interest, Katie Forester (Fumika "Fumi-chan" Kodama in the Japanese and Singapore English versions),[7] one based on the Yo-kai Watch Blasters video game,[8] and one based on the Yo-kai Watch Jam: Yo-kai Academy Y: Encounter with N TV-series.[9]
Plot
Main characters
The VIZ translation uses Western character names, while the Singapore English translation uses Japanese character names.[10]
Nathan "Nate" Adams / Keita "Keta" Amano (天野景太 / ケータ, Amano Keita / Keta) – An 11-year-old 5th grader who acquires a Yo-kai Watch while bug hunting in the Mount Wildwood forest. He's portrayed as a relatively average and straightforward character.[11]
Whisper (ウィスパー, Wisupā) – Nate's self-appointed Yo-kai butler, who had been trapped in a gashapon machine for over nine-hundred years before being freed by Nate. In addition to giving Nate the Yo-kai Watch, he also explains the different characteristics and traits of Yo-kai when he and Nate run into them.
Jibanyan (ジバニャン, Jibanyan) – A cat-like Yo-kai, who Nate and Whisper met at an intersection in Nate's residence, Uptown Springdale. Prior to becoming a Yo-kai, Jibanyan was called Rudy (Akamaru) and was the pet cat of a girl named Amy (Emi). One day, Rudy was run over by a truck in the intersection where Jibanyan would later meet Nate and Whisper, causing him to become a Yo-kai.
Background and release
Yo-kai Watch was written and illustrated by Noriyuki Konishi, a Japanese writer from Nagasaki Prefecture, previously known for his work on manga adaptations of series such as AM Driver and Mushiking: King of the Beetles.[1] At the time of the Yo-kai Watch franchise's announcement, the manga, among other media, had already been planned in an attempt to make the franchise long-lasting.[12]
The series first began serialization in CoroCoro Comic, published by Shogakukan, on December 15, 2012, over 5 months before the release of the first Yo-kai Watch video game.[13][14] The series ended serialization on April 21, 2023.[15]
In April 2015, Viz Media announced that it would start publishing Yo-kai Watch in English under their Perfect Square imprint, starting September later the same year, in conjunction with the release of other Yo-kai Watch media and merchandise.[16] A trailer for the English series was uploaded to the official Yo-kai Watch YouTube channel later on October 5.[17] As a teaser to the series' release, Viz Media distributed samples of the series' first volume through some retailers as a part of Halloween ComicFest 2015.[18]
In North America, the first two volumes of the series were released on November 2, after pre-orders were made available on October 27.[19]
There is a separate English translation in Singapore, published by Shogakukan Asia.[20]
Volumes
Currently the ISBNs reflect the versions released in the US.
| No. | Original release date | Original ISBN | English release date | English ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | June 28, 2013 | 978-4-09-141655-1 | Singapore: July 1, 2015 US: November 3, 2015 | 978-1-4215-8251-1 |
| 2 | December 27, 2013 | 978-4-09-140018-5 | Singapore: September 23, 2015 US: November 3, 2015 | 978-1-4215-8252-8 |
| 3 | March 25, 2014 | 978-4-09-141709-1 | Singapore: November 27, 2015 US: January 5, 2016 | 978-1-4215-8273-3 |
| 4 | July 25, 2014 | 978-4-09-141793-0 | US: March 1, 2016 Singapore: March 25, 2016 | 978-1-4215-8274-0 |
| 5 | October 28, 2014 | 978-4-09-141817-3 | US: May 3, 2016 Singapore: June 2016 | 978-1-4215-8275-7 |
| 6 | February 27, 2015 | 978-4-09-141876-0 | Singapore: End of September 2016 US: December 6, 2016 | 978-1-4215-9217-6 |
| 7 | June 26, 2015 | 978-4-09-142006-0 | US: March 7, 2017 Singapore: April 2017 | 978-1-4215-9218-3 |
| 8 | September 28, 2015 | 978-4-09-142102-9 | Singapore: November 2017 US: January 2, 2018 | 978-1-4215-9691-4 |
| 9 | February 26, 2016 | 978-4-09-142119-7 | Singapore: May 2018 US: July 3, 2018 | 978-1-4215-9753-9 |
| 10 | June 24, 2016 | 978-4-09-142175-3 | January 8, 2019 (US only for this and further volumes) | 978-1-4215-9754-6 |
| 11 | August 5, 2016 | 978-4-09-159232-3 | May 14, 2019 | 978-1-4215-9755-3 |
| 12 | April 28, 2017 | 978-4-09-142389-4 | September 12, 2019 | 978-1-9747-0310-4 |
| 13 | September 28, 2017 | 978-4-09-142530-0 | January 14, 2020 | 978-1-9747-0311-1 |
| 14 | November 28, 2017 | 978-4-09-142637-6 | May 12, 2020 | 978-1-9747-0312-8 |
| 15 | May 28, 2018 | 978-4-09-142710-6 | September 8, 2020 | 978-1-9747-0608-2 |
| 16 | July 26, 2019 | 978-4-09-143046-5 | January 12, 2021 | 978-1-9747-1858-0 |
| 17 | October 28, 2019 | 978-4-09-143109-7 | May 11, 2021 | 978-1-9747-1881-8 |
| 18 | July 28, 2020 | 978-4-09-143209-4 | September 14, 2021 | 978-1-9747-1485-8 |
| 19 | August 27, 2021 | 978-4-09-143339-8 | August 9, 2022 | 978-1-9747-3210-4 |
| 20 | December 27, 2021 | 978-4-09-143367-1 | January 10, 2023 | 978-1-9747-3424-5 |
| 21 | April 27, 2022 | 978-4-09-143390-9 | May 9, 2023 | 978-1-9747-3697-3 |
| 22 | December 27, 2022 | 978-4-09-143575-0 | January 9, 2024 | 978-1-9747-4300-1 |
| 23 | May 26, 2023 | 978-4-09-143615-3 | June 18, 2024 | 978-1-9747-4571-5 |
There was a special edition of Volume 1, released with a Yo-kai Medal, in Singapore.[21]
Reception and sales
Rebecca Silverman of Anime News Network rated the series' first two English volumes a B−, praising the book's "comfortable narrative patterns for kids [and] nice humor", while criticizing its localization for being "highly formulaic". Silverman was also positive towards the series' art, rating it a B and calling it "deceptively simple and very expressive". Silverman also noted that Konishi would frequently illustrate "grotesquely bulging eyeballs", among other "icky imagery", which she felt made it "thrillingly disgusting" for child readers.[22]
The series won the award for Best Children's Manga at both the 38th Kodansha Manga Awards and the 60th Shogakukan Manga Awards.[23][24]
Throughout 2014, Yo-kai Watch sold over 2.58 million copies in Japan across its different volumes, ranking it as the 20th best-selling manga series on Oricon's Annual Book Ranking that year.[25]