Hello again. Well, it’s time to cover more Yo-Kai Watch; seeing as how Level-5 wants to localize the sequels despite the first game only selling 120,000 copies as of this writing; which is pretty abysmal for a handheld with an install base of 15 million in the US alone. The TV ratings and merchandise sales have also been decisively less than they have been in Japan as well; so I thought it would be apropos to cover the last episode they’ve dubbed so far; to prep for the planned European launch next month. So, let’s open it up.
We open on the first segment, “Yo-Kai Espy” as Nate, Eddie, and Bear lament that humiliating secrets have been spilled about them by Katie. Nate flunked another test; Eddie wants to be in a boy band (what is this, 1997?), and Bear is in love.
The dubbing is still pretty bad; with the voice acting being incredibly stiff and the mouth flaps being incredibly choppy. It’s worth noting that Japan animates the mouth flaps before the ADR is done, so they have to follow the same practices, despite the dub writers’ flagrant disregard for them.
Anyway, they see a beautiful woman walk by; complete with sexy music playing, despite the fact they’re around 11 years old. Ew.
Then, Nate is in a hurry to get home because he has to take a leak. Again? I know this is written for younger audiences, but how many times to you have to rely on toilet humor? It’s the primary reason I’m not doing the Fidgephant episode; because I need more to work with than that.
It’s revealed to be the work of the titular Espy, whose power is revealing embarrassing secrets about someone. That’s all well and good; but even though she can also levitate, doesn’t she have any other cool psychic powers? Setting things on fire by thought? Making people’s heads explode? Crushing cars just by gesturing your hands?
Yet again, they reduce this potentially creative yokai to just one joke; which has been one of my key complaints with Yo-Kai Watch since I first found out about it. Maybe I’m just way too used to the humor style of Sgt. Frog, Mitsudomoe and Shin Chan; but this doesn’t really do anything for me.
When Whisper scoffs at Jinbanyan’s predilection for Next Har-meow-ny (I can’t believe I just typed that); Jinbanyan fires back with “like you’re solving the energy crisis!” Well, he is full of hot air. See, I can do it too, it’s not hard.
Then, for some reason, Whisper is revealed to think Nate looks like a turnip; which he quickly denies. Nate then says “Don’t even try!” I guess someone got guerrilla recordings of Johnny Yong Bosch in his trailer and it made the final cut. I must also point out he’s not a bad voice actor; it’s just that he’s being given worse direction than when we was recording lines behind the helmet and mask of a Power Ranger!
As he determines how to stop Espy; he remembers his bladder, to which she responds she doesn’t
“appreciate bathroom innuendo.” Tell that to the writers; it seems to be one of their major sources of “humor.”
Nate then rationalizes he just has to think about the most disgusting thing he can to stop her. Of course!
It turns out that the most disgusting thing is just Nate changing his underwear again and again. You have no idea how tricky it was to screen cap this, especially since this gag is way too shotaro for my tastes. Thanks, Hino. Thanks a bunch.
So, we close this segment on Nate rushing home to use the bathroom.
For the sake of argument, I’m skipping the expository narration to talk about the alternate theme song; which was part of the initial trailer. It was written by animation veteran Jeff “Swampy” Marsh; who worked on Rocko’s Modern Life and co-created Phineas and Ferb; two shows that are actually funny. Sadly, this is actually worse than the usual “Laugh out Loud” theme. Call me crazy, but lyrics that contain phrases like “trip you up, give you a flat tire or make your socks go missing in the dryer” lack the ability to get one pumped the way the Pokémon theme, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers or the 1987 version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles can (all of which have been remixed for newer versions of these series, by the way). Yet, despite the fact that many critics and fans have said otherwise; David H. Steinberg and Keetgi Kogan have outright said “it doesn’t matter.” Having recently finished Gravity Falls; and also seeing how good Star VS The Forces of Evil and Star Wars Rebels are; I vehemently disagree. Just because a child might like this doesn’t mean this is all you have to show them.
We open the next segment; “Yo-Kai Peckpocket” as Bear swipes a piece of food from his alleged friend, Eddie. Again, I know the point of the show is to help teach life lessons to the target audience; but would it have killed them to make it a bit more subtle in its messages? You’re making Cool Cat Saves the Kids look like Inside Out!
He then takes a ball from some other kids on the playground! Our hero, ladies and gentlemen!
So, Nate reveals that the cause is the titular Peckpocket of the Eerie class. He looks like an overstuffed Marshmallow Peep and sounds like Pee-Wee Herman (by the way, looking forward to his new movie on Netflix, should be fun).
He even willingly offers Whisper to this overgrown Furby! Remind me why I’m supposed to like this guy, again?
Yet, Peckpocket declines on the grounds that he’s no fun. Well, that was pointless.
Nate summons Jinbanyan, who’s too hungry to engage Peckpocket. Again, is it really a surprise that kids here aren’t taking to the series the way they are in Japan? With Sun and Moon on the horizon; I heavily expect Pokémon to continue its growing appeals to older fans like me while also maintaining its popularity among today’s kids as well.
Peckpocket then swipes Jinbanyan’s supply of chocolate bars. Yeesh, this is making Dora the Explorer look like friggin’ Jessica Jones!
He then decides to summon Tengloom of the Shady class; but that doesn’t turn out so well either.
He’s so useless, Peckpocket steals everything, even the geta right off his feet! Well, that was pointless.
Then, he decides to summon Roughraff. Oh joy; more outdated beatnik talk from this discount Treecko!
Yet, he seems incredibly eager to take on Peckpocket. Of course! It’s always great when an overweight Prinplup decides to fight a rejected Killer Instinct character!
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| FULGORE! RIPTOR! FIGHT ON! |
Somehow; Roughraff is able to steal back everything from the chocolate to Tengloom’s belongings; but not before Peckpocket takes his own stuff. This includes a chain; a set of knuckle-dusters, a can of hairspray, a comb; a switchblade, and some kind of drink I can’t identify. You know, for kids!
Their quarrel continues till sunset; with all sorts of crap that came from Arceus-knows-where strewn all over the playground. There’s only a couple minutes left in this deuce, so I’m just going to gloss over their dialogue here.
All things considered, Peckpocket presents Nate with his Yo-Kai Medal and the two head off for milkshakes. For the sake of argument; I’m going to omit the Komasan segment to talk about the prospects for the European launch.
While the US launch has been a bit of a nonstarter; the European launch is going to be an even bigger puzzle to solve. Even though the video game market here had to contend with competition from many anticipated titles; with more to come, Europe is an even more unique market. From time to time; a game that does well in the US often doesn’t in the UK, and vice versa. Notably, during the great crash of 1983; the UK was less affected due to being early adopters of PC gaming, to the point where console gaming caught on slower there than it did after after the US launch of the Nintendo Entertainment System. On top of that, prices for games tend to be different than for their western counterparts; making the emphasis on long-term play much more crucial.
As for the anime; the reception to dubs produced in the US is often middling to ones produced in the UK itself. At best, folks there are indifferent to how they’re handled; at worst, they’re considered downright atrocious. Notably, there’s fandubs online that actually do a much better job in terms of writing and voice acting than who Viz chose to handle this anime. Even the normally effervescent Johnny Yong Bosch seems embalmed; most likely stymied by bad direction from Steinberg and Kogan.
Furthermore, this is the season finale for the dub so far. Given how poor ratings have been, it remains to be seen how Level-5 will localize the sequels; to say nothing of a dubbed second season. So, I probably won’t be doing more Yo-Kai Watch until after the European launch on April 29, so I can gauge to see how it’s doing there. Long story short, while there is a small fanbase here in America; it’s nowhere NEAR as popular as it is in Japan, which I’m officially attributing to the media trying to shotgun the franchise into “the next Pokémon” when it could have been sold better on its own merit. If they had done that, I would not have written at length about it. Instead; when many stores pitched it as an alternative to a new mainline Pokémon game, fans went with spinoff title Super Mystery Dungeon instead; which has been lauded as the best Mystery Dungeon yet among fans and sold better.
Just as well, because this anime really hasn’t done the game any favors here. Despite the animation being very well-made and some occasional creative yokai designs; the story makes no goddamn sense and the voice acting is subpar at best. It’s fitting that I did this finale; as it caps off a dub to a series that’s at best, mediocre; and at worst, utterly insufferable.
I’m going to need a little bit to determine what I’m going to do next; as well as a cold drink. See you, space cowboy.
Too bad you won't be continuing Yo-Kai Watch recaps, as these are hilarious to read.
ReplyDeleteAnd yeah, sales for merchandise are probably low. I went to Gamestop the other day to pre order the Ryu and Famicom R.O.B. amiibo. In the checkout line, there's a box full of Yo-Kai Watch medals. A few days later when I went back to get some download codes, the box was still full, in fact they were probably untouched.
I think another problem is Disney getting the series, and goes to show how Disney and anime don't go hand in hand. Unless Studio Ghibli is slapped on it somewhere, Disney doesn't care about the anime altogether. In fact the only time I can recall when anime was treated right on Disney was when they aired some Pokemon D&P movies.
As for th UK launch, it just depends how well the public will react towards YW. I know on UK gaming sites people seem hyped, but that's about it. I do know that some anime are HUGELY popular in some places more than others (For example, unlike in the US, Saint Saiya is more popular in Latin America than in the US).
With YW, I just wonder "What will people think about the series 1p years from now?" It will probably be remembered fondly in Japan, but other places, not so much. With Pokemon20 still going on, I wonder what Level 5 will do for Yo-Kai's 10th anniversary.