Yo-kai Watch (manga)

is a manga series written and illustrated by , based on Level-5's franchise with the same name. The series primarily follows Nate Adams (Keita 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 their ''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.

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, one based on the '' Yo-kai Watch Blasters'' video game, and one based on the '' Yo-kai Watch Jam: Yo-kai Academy Y: Encounter with N'' TV-series.

Main characters

The VIZ translation uses western character names, while the Singapore English translation uses Japanese character names.

Nathan "Nate" Adams / – 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.

– Nate's self-appointed Yo-kai butler, who had been trapped in a ''gashapon'' machine for over one-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.

– 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''. 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.

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. The series ended serialization on April 21, 2023.

In April 2015, Viz Media announced that they 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. A trailer for the English series was uploaded to the official ''Yo-kai Watch'' YouTube channel later on October 5. 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.

In North America, the first two volumes of the series were released on November 2, after pre-orders were made available on October 27.

There is a separate English translation in Singapore, published by Shogakukan Asia.

Volumes

Currently the ISBNs reflect the versions released in the US.

There was a special edition of Volume 1, released with a Yo-kai medal, in Singapore.

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 ndnice 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.

The series won the award for Best Children's Manga at both the 38th Kodansha Manga Awards and the 60th Shogakukan Manga Awards.

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.

References

External links

* at Viz Media
*

{{Shogakukan Manga Award - Children

Manga series
2012 manga
Children's manga
Shogakukan manga
Manga based on video games
Viz Media manga
Winner of Kodansha Manga Award (Children)
Yo-kai Watch