I like how this show uses ancient Japanese Culture to our Western Culture. If you didn't know Yokai are Japanese folktales explaining how you feel and everything and I kind of like that idea on a show. Some of the episodes do seem a bit lazy but it honestly seems like something I enjoy watching with my younger brother. The dubbing isn't the best but I've seen worse and the comedy is just plain fun for kids. I know a lot of people say it's a copy of Pokemon but I feel like it's special in it's own way and it's mostly just comedy.
15 Reviews
A good show but lazy at some points
maryann_blair10 August 2016
Nate Adams is a 10 year old who goes all around Springdale trying to catch mythical Japanese monsters known as Yokai. Too find these creatures he needs to use the Yokai Watch, a device that lets you see them but what ensues is hilarious. The things I don't like about this anime is (1) Some of the same voice actors are used on other characters (2) The dubbing is a little bit on the bad side with lips sometimes out of control and (3) There is really no plot for this show, it is just Nate going around and catching different Yokai. Episode 25 of season 1 is a must watch as it is very serious and heart-warming but most of the show is goofs and some action but I think that is good. This show deserves a watch I am sick and tired of people treating this creative show like Pokémon, let me give you one thing its nothing like it and that is the truth.
Mediocre show, nothing GOOD OR AMAZING
weedeegames17 June 2016
Yokai watch has an aesthetically pleasing design when it comes to the character design of humans but the monsters look awful.One of the things Pokemon got right was having their monsters that appealed to both genders of all ages. But I could never imagine a young girl becoming interested in this monstrosity. The story-line is pretty weak and nothing exactly shines out making it unique from any other monster catching anime.Just another BOY who catches something. I think the soundtrack is decent and I actually like the theme song but, this show will fail if they don't change it up. Everyone going into this show will compare it to Pokemon whether you like it or not so it has to AIM to be better than the show. It just seems like Ben Ten and Pokemon had a child, nothing more.
Innovative and refreshing, but very Japanese
joachim00529 June 2016
Yo-Kai Watch is an amazing show, one of the best Anime series aimed at at all ages recently. Instead of your usual collect-them-all Anime with the "motivated and always developing" main character stereotype eager to catch all the monsters, this show does the exact opposite: Main character that just wants a normal life, together with a rather useless sidekick. The show focuses more on comedy rather than action/drama, which is also new for this genre.
However, I understand why some people may be thrown off by it, as it's full of jokes requiring you to know a bit about the Japanese culture, even in the English release. But best of all, most of these jokes are adult oriented. The "Manjimutt" character is based on a drunk Japanese business man, which is why his face is always red. Shibanyan is basically an "Otaku", which is shown by his hardcore fascination of Japanese idols and fandom of Japanese manga. There's also a creature named "Hidabat", a creature that hates the light and shuts themselves inside the house all day in a depressed state, which is a direct reference to people known as "Hikikomori", a huge social problem in Japan.
There's also a few "innocent" jokes that you may not get if you don't have a clue about Japan, like the Japanese Metro Trains, the tradition of handing out tissues with ad fliers (the characters thought they were trading cards) and a bunch of puns on Japanese brands, like "BookOn" and "Aoyaru".
If you're an adult and know enough about Japan to understand the jokes, this will be amazing. Even great for kids, who won't care if they miss a couple of jokes. But for everyone else... it may be a bit hard to enjoy.
However, I understand why some people may be thrown off by it, as it's full of jokes requiring you to know a bit about the Japanese culture, even in the English release. But best of all, most of these jokes are adult oriented. The "Manjimutt" character is based on a drunk Japanese business man, which is why his face is always red. Shibanyan is basically an "Otaku", which is shown by his hardcore fascination of Japanese idols and fandom of Japanese manga. There's also a creature named "Hidabat", a creature that hates the light and shuts themselves inside the house all day in a depressed state, which is a direct reference to people known as "Hikikomori", a huge social problem in Japan.
There's also a few "innocent" jokes that you may not get if you don't have a clue about Japan, like the Japanese Metro Trains, the tradition of handing out tissues with ad fliers (the characters thought they were trading cards) and a bunch of puns on Japanese brands, like "BookOn" and "Aoyaru".
If you're an adult and know enough about Japan to understand the jokes, this will be amazing. Even great for kids, who won't care if they miss a couple of jokes. But for everyone else... it may be a bit hard to enjoy.
Nearly Got My Embrace
elusivedom12 February 2016
Warning: Spoilers
I saw a few moments of an episode of this show. In it, a cat (possibly Jibanyan) is wearing a straw hat, and magically conjures biscuits for a boy and another character to eat. Although the boy and that another character eat the biscuits merrily, the cat isn't happy for some reason and therefore expresses disgust. I don't know what happens next as I leave the screen to do something else.
After those moments, I looked on websites, such as Wikipedia, to know more about the show. After that brief research, I can't say that I embrace it. The graphics are colorful and futuristic. The nature probably does suit for all ages. The characters are okay but characters like Jibanyan and Komasan could use boys to perform their speaking roles.
After those moments, I looked on websites, such as Wikipedia, to know more about the show. After that brief research, I can't say that I embrace it. The graphics are colorful and futuristic. The nature probably does suit for all ages. The characters are okay but characters like Jibanyan and Komasan could use boys to perform their speaking roles.
Pretty underrated kids anime I have ever seen
WeAreLive23 July 2018
I did a review on this but I felt I was a bit too hot head about it and ever since there has been a lot of changes towards the show. So i thought of starting fresh and writing a new one.
It's no lie that I have been a fan of Yo Kai watch for a really long time. All I have to say is it's a good show for kids and adults to laugh and enjoy.
Just to get one thing clear Yo Kai Watch is NOT a ripoff of Pokemon or even Digimon it is just doing it's own thing and it is mostly a comedy like anime then action. There is action involved and heartwarming scenes but not as many however, it is still watchable and a whole load of fun. Yes I have to admit there are some bad episode and few of them can come off too lazy but majority the episodes are good.
This show is based on Japanese folklore which include supernatural monsters, spirits and demons. These are called Yokai which are monster like supernatural creatures that may inspirit you and cause you to do thing you would unexpectedly do or change your behaviour in a very odd way. Once the individual has been uninspired they would have no memory of there action.
Another thing which I do like is the animation it works well with the each scene and it is suit quite well with the art style. Both character and Yo Kai designs are very well drawn. I also think the characters are very well developed and I do think they are very likeable once when you get used to them.
As for the dubbing it's not bad and unpopular opinion but I personally think Johnny Yong Bosch was very good as Nate, I do agree on some stage or other its not easy for a grown to sound young i.e Dee Bradley Baker from many different cartoons even now he is good at voicing young boys from any age. He might not be as good as Dee is but it's still an appropriate voice for an 11 year old and doesn't come off annoying or irritating whats so ever. The rest of the cast apart from the person who voiced Eddie are perfectly fine.
But sometime in December or January due to budget cuts the whole cast got fired and new voice actors took over. The new voice actors okay Griffin Burns pretty good as Nate even though it's not as good as Johnny Yong Bosch's voice but it's still a good performance, Kira Buckland is somewhat close to Alicyn Packard's voice as Jibanyan. However, Whispers new voice actor.................................................I am sorry but no Michael doesn't sound anything close to Joey whatsoever. Michael is a good voice actor don't get me wrong Michael is a good voice, i.e I enjoyed his role as The White Coat on Coppelion but his voice as Whisper is just bad. But I do think Bryce Papenbrook is better as Eddie then Brent Pendergrass ever was.
The dub is nowhere near bad as how 4Kids used to dub as one person here thinks. 4Kids were nothing more then an excuse to dub anime as they cenored too much even small bearable things. (Changing rice ball to donuts seriously??) or (having pointing fingers instead of guns). This person also in compared this to Attack on Titans which I see no logic in. When they completely too different scenes. Apart from having a lead male protagonist and both English and Japanese voice actors of Eren are involved in this show. That's all I can think of. However, I have to thank this person for getting me into One Punch man and FLCL. As for the whole 4Kids and the One Piece thing which a few people have mentioned I am going to leave a link here if you want to learn the full story about that: http://onepiece.wikia.com/wiki/4Kids_Entertainment Not trying to pick on anyone but there was another revier who claimed this anime is worse than Teen Titans Go!, PPG 2016 and Sonic Boom which was just a nonsense in my opinion. I am not into sonic so I have no word about sonic boom but Teen Titans Go! is nothing but an insult towards DC animation's legacy and useless kiddy garbage and it deserves to stay that way and PPG 2016 I may not be a fan but it is a massive slap in the face to the original fans. Yo Kai Watch is nothing like the two shows which I have mentioned.
However, I feel that when Disney are dubbing this they seem to cenor even the smallest things. I get that somethings have to be appropriate for a USA and UK audience like not having nudity, alcohol, smoking or drugs in the kids show. But when Disney are doing it they so miss out a lot of details. They don't cenor as much as 4Kids but still.
I get that Japanese voice can be irritating to listen to, I am not a fan of the voice acting in the Japanese voice acting but trust me it would be worth it better theme tune, more mature and better story in detail. Unless if Viz could release uncut version with the same voice actors from both eras. I am afraid this might be the logical option. I forgot to mention the English dub missed out an entire segment which is another reason to watch. the Japanese version. Try it you won't regret it. Watch an episode of the english dub and watch an episode of the english subbed and see how different it is.
The only other drawback to the show is the Yo Kai Exercise which in my opinion is just the cringiest thing I have ever seen. But other that it's a pretty good anime for young kids and people like monster collecting animes especially if you are into Pokemon and Digimon.
It's no lie that I have been a fan of Yo Kai watch for a really long time. All I have to say is it's a good show for kids and adults to laugh and enjoy.
Just to get one thing clear Yo Kai Watch is NOT a ripoff of Pokemon or even Digimon it is just doing it's own thing and it is mostly a comedy like anime then action. There is action involved and heartwarming scenes but not as many however, it is still watchable and a whole load of fun. Yes I have to admit there are some bad episode and few of them can come off too lazy but majority the episodes are good.
This show is based on Japanese folklore which include supernatural monsters, spirits and demons. These are called Yokai which are monster like supernatural creatures that may inspirit you and cause you to do thing you would unexpectedly do or change your behaviour in a very odd way. Once the individual has been uninspired they would have no memory of there action.
Another thing which I do like is the animation it works well with the each scene and it is suit quite well with the art style. Both character and Yo Kai designs are very well drawn. I also think the characters are very well developed and I do think they are very likeable once when you get used to them.
As for the dubbing it's not bad and unpopular opinion but I personally think Johnny Yong Bosch was very good as Nate, I do agree on some stage or other its not easy for a grown to sound young i.e Dee Bradley Baker from many different cartoons even now he is good at voicing young boys from any age. He might not be as good as Dee is but it's still an appropriate voice for an 11 year old and doesn't come off annoying or irritating whats so ever. The rest of the cast apart from the person who voiced Eddie are perfectly fine.
But sometime in December or January due to budget cuts the whole cast got fired and new voice actors took over. The new voice actors okay Griffin Burns pretty good as Nate even though it's not as good as Johnny Yong Bosch's voice but it's still a good performance, Kira Buckland is somewhat close to Alicyn Packard's voice as Jibanyan. However, Whispers new voice actor.................................................I am sorry but no Michael doesn't sound anything close to Joey whatsoever. Michael is a good voice actor don't get me wrong Michael is a good voice, i.e I enjoyed his role as The White Coat on Coppelion but his voice as Whisper is just bad. But I do think Bryce Papenbrook is better as Eddie then Brent Pendergrass ever was.
The dub is nowhere near bad as how 4Kids used to dub as one person here thinks. 4Kids were nothing more then an excuse to dub anime as they cenored too much even small bearable things. (Changing rice ball to donuts seriously??) or (having pointing fingers instead of guns). This person also in compared this to Attack on Titans which I see no logic in. When they completely too different scenes. Apart from having a lead male protagonist and both English and Japanese voice actors of Eren are involved in this show. That's all I can think of. However, I have to thank this person for getting me into One Punch man and FLCL. As for the whole 4Kids and the One Piece thing which a few people have mentioned I am going to leave a link here if you want to learn the full story about that: http://onepiece.wikia.com/wiki/4Kids_Entertainment Not trying to pick on anyone but there was another revier who claimed this anime is worse than Teen Titans Go!, PPG 2016 and Sonic Boom which was just a nonsense in my opinion. I am not into sonic so I have no word about sonic boom but Teen Titans Go! is nothing but an insult towards DC animation's legacy and useless kiddy garbage and it deserves to stay that way and PPG 2016 I may not be a fan but it is a massive slap in the face to the original fans. Yo Kai Watch is nothing like the two shows which I have mentioned.
However, I feel that when Disney are dubbing this they seem to cenor even the smallest things. I get that somethings have to be appropriate for a USA and UK audience like not having nudity, alcohol, smoking or drugs in the kids show. But when Disney are doing it they so miss out a lot of details. They don't cenor as much as 4Kids but still.
I get that Japanese voice can be irritating to listen to, I am not a fan of the voice acting in the Japanese voice acting but trust me it would be worth it better theme tune, more mature and better story in detail. Unless if Viz could release uncut version with the same voice actors from both eras. I am afraid this might be the logical option. I forgot to mention the English dub missed out an entire segment which is another reason to watch. the Japanese version. Try it you won't regret it. Watch an episode of the english dub and watch an episode of the english subbed and see how different it is.
The only other drawback to the show is the Yo Kai Exercise which in my opinion is just the cringiest thing I have ever seen. But other that it's a pretty good anime for young kids and people like monster collecting animes especially if you are into Pokemon and Digimon.
Here I Thought 4Kids is Bad at Dubbing Anime...
superoshavinereturns9 August 2016
I tried to give this Pokémon rip-off a chance, but watching this series reminds me very much of when 4Kids used to dub anime. The theme song and the other songs in this anime are very reminiscent of the awful theme songs 4Kids would write for their anime (see "One Piece" theme song).
As great of a voice acting talent as Johnny Yong Bosch is, he's horribly miscast as Nate. His voice is too mature-sounding for 10-year-old Nate. Oddly while it worked for Nobi in Doraemon, it just doesn't work here.
The writing here is "typical children's show" writing...as in it's pretty mediocre. Adults will find the writing to be very juvenile and children will find it to be dull due to how "Japanese" the show feels. Perhaps this is why the franchise is not taking off very well in America.
Overall, you won't find this anime interesting. May I recommend something like the "Pokémon" anime or (if you're looking for something more mature) "FLCL" or "One Punch Man."
As great of a voice acting talent as Johnny Yong Bosch is, he's horribly miscast as Nate. His voice is too mature-sounding for 10-year-old Nate. Oddly while it worked for Nobi in Doraemon, it just doesn't work here.
The writing here is "typical children's show" writing...as in it's pretty mediocre. Adults will find the writing to be very juvenile and children will find it to be dull due to how "Japanese" the show feels. Perhaps this is why the franchise is not taking off very well in America.
Overall, you won't find this anime interesting. May I recommend something like the "Pokémon" anime or (if you're looking for something more mature) "FLCL" or "One Punch Man."
A Poor and Shallow Attempt at Children's Entertainment
dpvia5497 August 2016
I suppose I should at least explain what Yo-Kai Watch is about. It's about this kid that has to find ghosts with a watch (yeah, just go with it) in order to stop them from terrorizing the town's citizens. It's kinda like if someone looked at Ghostbusters (the original 1984 film; not the crappy reboot that was made this year), Pokèmon, and a few elements from Ben 10, but take away any charm and fun that those franchises have. I have watched at least five episodes of this show (mostly because I was watching over a kid that a friend of mine wanted me to babysit) and from an adult point of view, this was really hard to sit through. I thought the music is really awful especially the Yo-Kai exercise song. The Yo- Kai themselves are lame, generic, and have absolutely no personality and no soul to them. Johnny Yong Bosch, who as great of a voice actor he is, is just horribly miscast and his voice just doesn't fit at all. As for the rest of the voice acting, it doesn't get better. In fact, It's some of the worst voice acting I've seen in years that 4-Kids would be proud of. The animation is okay. Nothing terrible (aside from the ugly, atrocious CGI that they used for the closing credits; the one that has the Yo-Kai Exercise song), but not particularly special either. And the writing in this show has no charm and no wit. Overall, it's a Pokèmon rip-off, but without anything that makes that series fun or enjoyable. You want to watch an anime that does the monster-collecting concept right? Go watch Pokèmon. Or better yet, watch Digimon (which I would argue that Digimon is a way better anime than both Pokèmon and especially Yo-Kai Watch). You want to watch a good anime that's a little more mature? Fist of The North Star, Yu Yu Hakusho, the original Dragon Ball anime trilogy (Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, and Dragon Ball GT), the many different incarnations of Gundam (personal favorites being Gundam Wing and Mobile Fighter G Gundam), Berserk (1997 series), Sailor Moon, Dirty Pair (either of them), and so many others to choose from. There's plenty of better anime out there if you take the time to look for them. And Yo-Kai Watch is definitely not one of them. If you're an adult and watches anime, I'd say give this show a pass. It's not worth a single minute of your time.
*P.S. I don't hate this show, because it's not dark and violent like Attack On Titan (BTW AOT isn't the only anime people watch) as one user on here assumes (you know who you are). If you happen to come across his reviews on both Yo-Kai Watch and Attack on Titan, just pay no mind to him.*
*P.S. I don't hate this show, because it's not dark and violent like Attack On Titan (BTW AOT isn't the only anime people watch) as one user on here assumes (you know who you are). If you happen to come across his reviews on both Yo-Kai Watch and Attack on Titan, just pay no mind to him.*
I Found The Answer
katzensteinmichael18 November 2016
When I got into this show, I felt like this show could do something no other show can do. And that is finding the answers to any problem in animated movies and cartoons. You gotta ask yourself, why are these characters being stupid, annoying, and ignoring their surrounding? The answer: a Yo-Kai. Here's a few examples: Roughraff could be the answer to the main characters in Da Boom Crew are speaking in slang, Illoo could be the answer to Patrick being unaware that the carnival rides he thinks are hooks in Hooky, Compunzer could be the answer to shows that have characters tell bad jokes, and Noway being the answer to Cyborg and Beast Boy saying no to responsibility. I would recommend Yo-Kai Watch if you want to find the answers to why characters in some animated movies and cartoons aren't acting like you think they need to act. Also which is better the Yo-Kai Watch or the Omnitrix
This Show Makes Me Sick!
smashingzelda5 October 2016
Let's start off with an "original" production called... Yo-Kai Watch. Where do I start with this show First off, the voice acting is bad, and I mean really bad. Everyone sounds annoying and bored. Second, the jokes are bad... They fall into 4 categories: cringeworthy, Dull, Weird and Creepy... And they also have bathroom jokes that fall into the pandering category. Third, all the characters are clichéd just like many other crappy Disney shows. The thing that's always irked me is I know this shows trying to be original but Disney Channel corporatized the show to be a ripoff of Pokemon. Fourth problem, the animation. The main animation usually is fine but the color palette usually uses 5 shades: pastel yellow, blues, reds, browns and greens. But the CGI animation is horrible! The CGI animation looks like the 3DS game except that was on a 3DS so it was excusable. That's just lazy. They also have their sappy moments. Don't watch this abomination! Luckily, it hasn't gotten a lot of views, reruns and commercials.
God, you guys are pathetic!
blbbg122 February 2016
What the hell is wrong with you, guys? Mediocre? Worse than a 4Kids dub? Shame on all of you! I'm so sick of everyone liking overrated shows like "Attack on Titan". That anime is garbage! Well anyways, This anime is based off a video game series about a young boy named Nate Adams and he has to find ghosts with a watch and stop them from tormenting the town residents. It's basically Ghostsbusters meets Pokemon. It's a nice anime, especially to kids. It's not as "adventurous" as Pokemon but it's an enjoyable anime, nonetheless. Don't listen to some of these dumbass morons! This is a not a bad kids anime. Sure it has it's own problems but it's not horrible, unlike Bakugan or Dinosaur King. People only hate it because it's not like Attack on Titan, which is one of the worst anime shows ever made!
P.S. Stop praising Attack on Titan. It's godawful with zero character development. At least YW has a decent story.
P.S. Stop praising Attack on Titan. It's godawful with zero character development. At least YW has a decent story.
Human behaviour explained, good values with a funny twist
adriana-albarella1 April 2022
Me and my 2 boys love this show, we laugh out loud, very funny. It's different from the usual Pokemon anime and its copies because it is not a battle of good versus evil, but about people being people - with the bad behaviours being influences by the Yokai. It tells the sad stories of some yokai, explaining why they cause a certain bad behaviour (each one does something different than the other) and in the end it is mostly about fighting these bad behaviours through friendship, love, understanding and forgiveness. Some episodes are just silly, but in a good way. It is not violent, and is cute to watch. Streaming platforms should put these back, as its content is way better than average animations I see offered by Netflix and Prime...
Will Smithsper
reaganklippstein12 July 2022
Fun to watch when you just want to relax and melt your brain. Everyone keeps commenting on the dub, but i watched it with subtitles so i can't say much on that. I was a little annoyed by the repetitive toilet humor, buts it's a kids show so really what did I expect? American kids shows have that kind of humor all the time, Japan just tends to be more blunt with it so people tend to get thrown off. Not much to say other than i love the komasan skits, liked it when i was 8 and i still like it now. That's good enough for me. As long as you aren't the kind of person to look too far into plot and be annoyed by episodic type shows, give it a shot.
My Childhood in a Nutshell
lavallionjds20 December 2022
I don't know why everyone is calling this show bad. This show is my Childhood. When I was in 5th grade, this show was my favorite thing ever. And after watching it recently, I really appreciated the first two seasons for shaping my childhood. Plus, my boi Johnny Young Bosch of Ichigo fame voices the main character in the first two seasons. I love this show to death. I may have not have loved the third season, but the first two shaped my childhood like no other show. Amazing voice acting, creative scenarios, top notch jokes, and a banger of a theme song. This show is the reason why I got into both the Yo-Kai Watch game series and even Pokémon.
See also
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