Recap: Yo-Kai Watch Shadowside The Movie- Return of the Oni King

Happy Halloween, and welcome to my final Yo-Kai Watch recap. It's been a long, strange journey to cover this series; but I'm glad to finally be finished with it. So, let's open up "Yo-Kai Watch Shadowside The Movie: Return of the Oni King!"

Thirty years have passed since the events of the original "Yo-Kai Watch" series. In that time, the people who could see yokai have lost their ability to do so, and the watches themselves have either been destroyed or lost to the sands of time. I rather like this approach, as it not only makes the world unique; it actually draws in the viewer rather than hammering them into submission. Now, a new evil arises as the story begins.

Within the first 10 minutes of screentime, we also get an organic introduction to our three main characters: Touma, a young man who is lonely due to his parents being away on business. Akinori, the eldest son of a family of fortunetellers. Last, but definitely not least is a young woman named Natsume; who almost drowned when she was a little girl, but was saved by a figure she can't remember. Also, I'm intentionally not mentioning her family name for now: we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

As Natsume rescues a child from drowning and Akinori looks for a way to combat dark forces known as “Onimaro,” it turns out that King Enma and the emperor have been overthrown and imprisoned by a being named Kaira! Not quite as cool as Loki, but an improvement over other adversaries already, and we haven’t even seen the titular “Oni King” yet.

Enma then confers with Nurarihyon’s essence in his cell; saying that the time has come for a new generation to wield the Yo-kai Watch and stop the Onimaro before it’s too late! While there are still some silly elements (which I will address); I am pleased the story is making an effort to take its plot more seriously and write its cast like characters; not just toys. That is also still there, and I will address the development of Yo-kai Watch 4 on Nintendo Switch later.

Later that day, Touma runs afoul of some punks outside the arcade; who incorrectly think he’s broke just because he only has 3,000 yen (about $30 USD) in his wallet. Based on what we find out later and how nice his apartment is; the opposite is true. He’s as loaded as a rapper drinking Cristal out of an oversized pimp cup.

I'm gettin' jacked, I'm breakin' myself! I can't believe they're takin' Warren's wealth!

Just then, the Onimaro take control of Touma! He not only beats up the thugs, when one of them swings a pipe at him, a pair of yokai arms bend the pipe as if it were made of rubber!

Upon noticing Touma's plight, three smaller Onimaro ask if he'd like to make a deal with them. Oh, this is going to be good!

We've got friends on the other side!

Touma, feeling alone and ostracized because of his background, agrees after being coerced by a strange figure in a cloak who deems him a shadow. 

We all dance in fire, trapped in this machine!

Elsewhere, as Akinori tries to track a signal he found; his grandmother explains that the "onimaro" are an otherworldly yokai virus that brings out the more aggressive traits of the beings they infect, which proves fatal when they go far enough. This carries over into the TV series, and I rather like how this is addressing one of my major gripes I had with the series: it only dealt with how yokai were responsible for minor inconveniences, and this one instead shows how they could cause much greater problems. Moreover, the writing has changed to my preferred style of writing for children: treating them like adults with less experience; and not pulling punches in doing so. I don't know how dubbing this movie or the show would go; but I'm pegging this film at a PG-13 or at least a hard PG in the vein of a Star Wars or Indiana Jones film.

Back with Touma, the onimaro bestow him with an otherworldly device known as the "kigan gear." It does look quite nasty, and we will see how later.

Akinori and his grandmother then determine the signal on the radar belongs to a familiar butler in white. Wait till you see: I think you'll be pleasantly surprised even if you're a detractor of the series like I am known to be.

Natsume is on her way home from school, and she comes across a capsule machine in an alley! As I have said many times this year, no truer video game quotes have been spoken than this: "Ah, shit. Here we go again."

Whisper appears, and I must say rather like the changes they made to him; both in looks and personality: not only does he have a ghostly formal suit, but he has a much more deadpan performance akin to Alfred Pennyworth or Geoffrey from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. He bestows the new Yo-Kai Watch upon Natsume, and apparently it pops off the wrist of whoever it doesn't want to wield it. So, kind of like Excalibur or Mjolnir, it chooses who it deems worthy. Natsume, however, wants no part of these shenanigans; stating that "none of this has been making sense this whole time!"

Natsume would be excellent at Cinema Sins.

Yet, after run-ins with more of the Onimaro and the watch rejecting Akinori as its owner; Natsume still doesn't believe in the paranormal; and decides to go home. Something very familiar about this, and you'll find out why in a moment.

She walks in the front door of her home, and she finds her mother and brother Keisuke looking like brutish ogres; who want to have her for dinner in more ways than one.

Oh brother: not Meat Loaf again!

Upon realizing how serious this is, she puts on the Yo-Kai Watch to help her family; and we find out her surname is Amano! That's right, she's the daughter of Keita Amano. I am glad that she seems to be smarter than her father was at her age. I guess maybe Keita matured later on, and I will come back to this point later. Moreover, having the hero's home and/or family targeted to coerce them into the conflict is a classic narrative device; having been used in countless films from The Searchers to Star Wars and many others.

With help from Himoji's new forms, Keisuke and Mrs. Amano are turned to stone and placed in the middle of the park for now. A temporary solution, but with the Onimaro getting ready to strike under a blood moon, they must find a permanent one, and they need more help from other yokai to fight the forthcoming Oni King.

Elsewhere, Touma has used the Onimaro and Kigan gear to not only take control of the delinquents that attacked him earlier; but also the police! The next stop is the airport, so they can spread their hate plague around the world! It's stuff like this that's why I have to send my shoes and all my electronics through the checkpoint.

I have waited my entire life for this.

One little thing before I move on: in addition to the new watch, the medals have been instead replaced with keys known as "arks," which can summon the "light side" or the titular "shadowside" form of each yokai depending on which way they're turned into the watch before the wearer says the incantation to do so. It's kind of like this series' version of the familiars in Ni no Kuni, and I will address this further as we go.

Now, they go to enlist the help of another yokai, their old friend Jibanyan! However, much has changed about this cat in 30 years. Least of all, he not only can win fights against those pesky trucks; but he cuts one in half! That's a lot of damage!

Though he's much stronger than before, what hasn't changed is that he will help them for two tons of chocolate. Are we talking standard, or metric tons? Before that can be answered, another truck narrowly clips Natsume while she's trying to save a kitten; and knowing how he died and became a yokai, changes his mind and crushes the truck! NOW THAT'S A LOT OF DAMAGE!

So, while Jibanyan joins everyone else headed to the airport; Enma and Nurarihyon go to find a sword that can help stop the Oni King in a place known as the Chamber of Dreams!

They're then confronted by Kaira, who engages Enma in a battle over the sword; as well as who should be the true ruler, given how Kaira was half-human!

This Game of Thrones spinoff pitch is kind of milquetoast.

I must say, the animation has been impressive on this series on the whole since I started recapping it; and this movie I'm ending on is no exception. It may not be Ghibli or Trigger, but the work on this new version really shows off what the series is truly capable of. To me, writing this anime off as a "traditional battle show" is about as accurate as calling The Lord of The Rings a mere "fantasy novel:" technically accurate, but it tends to understate the overall impact of the work itself.

Back in the human world, everyone is trying to slip into the airport and confront Touma; and even Jibanyan's "light side" form is definitely an improvement over the Beanie Baby knockoff he used to be. While there are still some flashbacks to his past, they are thankfully not the main focus anymore.

Also, it turns out that Natsume has known Touma since they were younger! This plot thread thankfully isn't as forced as the other films' backstories; and is a simple way of telling the audience "pay attention, this is going to be important later."

Yet, Jibanyan is not enough to stop Touma and his army; and Akinori uses the ark that belongs to Kyuubi! This beast has certainly made its way around shonen anime and video games: Ninetales, Renamon and its forms, the spirit trapped inside Naruto: I can do this all day, fellas.

Yet, even with the effects of the Kigan Gear taking their toll on Touma; he's still able to trap everyone else! Akinori then pulls out another ark that could help free them. Also, the way he refers to it as a memento from his mother: that line seems to imply that his parents are dead, and his grandmother is his guardian; kind of like a reversal of Rei Hino and her grandfather in Sailor Moon.

Back in the Cavern of Dreams, Enma wins his duel with Kaira; but it turns out the sword can't be taken by force, and the previous one who wielded it demands to know why they want it!

What is your name? What is your quest? What is your favorite color?

It turns out the ark belongs to this anime's version of Komasan, who now looks more like the "komainu" (lion dog, roughly tranlsated) he's based on as well as a downscaled version of Ameratsu from Okami.

He's able to dissolve the shield by urinating on it, and I honestly don't mind one bit of toilet humor as long as it doesn't permeate the whole movie. Even the show itself hasn't done it as much with this version, save for one doing something naughty with a tea kettle; getting them in hot water with S&P in more ways than one even in Japan. If they dub this anime, I definitely think they should just put it up for online streaming and cut out the middleman.

Touma's condition is also worsening, and while Enma is able to stave off the worst of the effects of the Kigan gear for now; they need to find a solution within the next hour before the darkness kills him. Unfortunately, there's only one yokai who can do that, and he's not among them. So, they must find him and convince him to help save Touma. His name is Kitaro of the ghost tribe. I have waited a long time to talk about this, and I am glad that I finally have a chance to do so.

So, Akinori, Natsume and Jibanyan venture into the GeGeGe Forest to seek Kitaro's help. While I may not be the biggest fan of this series overall, I can tell how much the late Shigeru Mizuki influenced this work; so this crossover was a natural move. It's also not for nothing that this year also saw a relaunch of the series just in time for its 50th anniversary; and the first episode was a swipe at a certain douchenozzle making an ass of himself and the infamous viral video in Aokigahara Forest.

On that note, Nezumi, rodent-like con artist that he is; tries to pass himself off as Kitaro; and demands 300,000 yen (about $30,000 USD) for his help! Even after half a century, he's still as unscrupulous as Watto.

Mind tricks don't work on me- only money!

Right on cue, a familiar sounding pair of geta come clicking up the walkway, and the real Kitaro tells Nezumi to knock it off.

One of us! One of us! ONE OF US!

We even get one of the few Jibanyan variants I actually don't mind: Kitanyan, who is sporting Kitaro's vest and hairstyle! As time went on, they became less like Pikachu analogs and more like the absurd amounts of color-swapped ninjas in Mortal Kombat.

Ultimately, Kitaro and his father the eyeball agree to help save Touma; and it turns out the Kigan gear is causing this. Much like in previous versions, the "ahoge" hair on the top of Kitaro's head stands straight up when he finds the source of danger.

I knew those smart watches would be the death of us all.

Kitaro can indeed help break the curse on the surface, but he needs someone else to go into Touma's subconscious and help him through his traumatic memories. He also needs someone who he knew to get through to him, so that means Natsume must help her friend uncover the truth about this past. So, this movie's own little slice of Inception, basically.

Natsume is able to enter Touma's memories and discover the truth about what's going on: she is not only able to visit him on his seventh birthday; but she also discovers the source of his darkness; and bring her own light to guide him! I daresay that this is actual character development and an interesting story!

His parents also discovered the source of the otherworldly pathogen, but this also reveals the true source of the "onimaro" virus! While I do think the "overworked parents" cliche has been largely unworkable for the last decade or so, this is somewhat more understandable.

Touma also tried to run away from home as a child, but is encouraged to open the door to his apartment by Natsume, finding his parents waiting for him! Touma, moved by the truth about his past, breaks down crying in his mother Mafuyu's arms!

With his darkness vanquished and some help from Kitaro's vest, Touma is free from the control of the Kigan Gear as it transforms into the Yo-Kai Watch Ogre!

However, this joy is short-lived when we get the titular return of the Oni King, Rasen! Once again, the heavy use of video game-like CGI in the third act is the one flaw I have with this movie. I am actually glad that they delayed Yo-Kai Watch 4 to 2019, as the strength of the realistic environments is undercut by the animation having a choppier framerate than one of my old PS1 games. There's a reason why Pokémon is doing the simple style of Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee before the real Generation VIII, after all.

I will admit that the traditional animation is still great, and I do kind of like how Rasen cuts a building in half to make a space for his throne as the final battle begins.

It turns out that the source to use the Immovable Sword of Thunder is not "power," but "Harmony," as they're finally able to free the sword as the final battle begins!

I HAVE THE POWER!

The sword can also be turned into a handy keychain, much like fellow Level-5 IP Snack World! Isn't that something?

Yet, even with the help of other yokai, Rasen still throws Natsume into the river! Get ready... Here it comes!

Her keepsake becomes another ark, which summons the Azure Dragon, Seiryu! OK: the campy CGI notwithstanding, the Kohaku parallels are now complete.

Yet, even with the kindred spirits, it isn't enough to stop Rasen! This final act is becoming yet another example of a video game I'm not actually playing; though this time it doesn't drag down the quality of the movie as a whole. 

With the help of Kaira, Nurarihyon and a plea on social media to all the yokai they can find; Rasen's armor is finally destroyed! So this movie's Spirit Bomb is also a Twitter bomb. OK. 

With Rasen's armor gone, Fudo Myoho is able to strike a killing blow with the Iron Hammer Thunder Cut! OK, even as someone who's not a big fan of this series; I have to admit that's pretty awesome.

Still, it turns out that Rasen's head still has some life in it, and he runs through Touma with a spike! ... Wow, that's dark; but close to what I wanted, and I will explain more on why in a moment.

Even with the spike in his chest, Touma is still able to use the last of his strength to stab Rasen's head with the Immovable Sword of Thunder! 

Yet, as he falls back to earth; Touma succumbs to his stab wound, and dies among the company of Natsume and Akinori, calling them his friends in his final moments! This is definitely one of the things I wanted from this movie, and in addition to the series it kickstarted; it reminds me a lot of the 1986 Transformers movie, the first two TMNT movies from the 1990s and the numerous Pokémon films in how it handles the material they have. I'm not covering Forever Friends, but hopefully they'll be able to keep up that kind of change.

Moved by Touma's sacrifice, the remaining three Onimaro named Ogu, Togu and Mogu give their energy so he can live. It may not be Pokémon tears or Cable's time machine, but you make do with what you've got.

So, as the snow falls on the ground; Enma, Kaira and Nurarihyon return to the Yokai Realm while the other yokai decide to remain as protectors of New Sakura Town; tying into the events of the TV series. I haven't seen every episode since it started, but I still feel it's a massive improvement over the previous anime. It reminds me a lot of a smaller scale YuYu Hakusho or how they might potentially make an anime adaptation of Ni No Kuni.

As the credits roll, Touma decides to take his new lease on life to reconcile with his parents over Christmas dinner. I guess this can be considered a Christmas film in the same way Die Hard, Batman Returns or most of Shane Black's filmography is; even as the more traditional holiday films are slowly making way for the likes of Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle.

Natsume also decides to go have Christmas dinner with her family. What have we here: matching sweaters? 

We then close on Keita coming home, and it turns out that in the 30 years since the original, he married Fumiko and scored twice. 

Ooh, this is just too good!

"Yo-Kai Watch Shadowside The Movie: Return of the Oni King" is a strong start to the next phase of Yo-Kai Watch, and the first part of the anime that I think is legitimately good. While I don't think I will ever like this series the same way I do Pokémon, it has taken the first step to me considering it a worthy opponent. I don't know what the future holds for both series, but I definitely know between Generation VIII, #PokémonLetsGo and Yo-Kai Watch 4; it will definitely be interesting to see how they all play out.

Here is my final advice to Level-5 regarding the planned localization of Yo-Kai Watch 3 next year: your first priority is convincing people that your product is worth investing in. Regardless of what changes you'll be making, what you've already done with the anime and the previous games forces you to remain in the same timeline. So do that: fix that timeline. Move forward with the soft reset of the licensing deals and ditch the elements that aren't working. For now, hold off on localizing Snack World, Megaton Musashi and Inazuma Eleven Ares: you don't have time for that now. The "international failure" stigma has long since replaced the "Pokémon ripoff" accusations; so this is a key chance to try and change that. With the main installments and #PokémonLetsGo moving on to the Switch, think less about "capitalizing" and more about reaching out to people that aren't ready to upgrade from the 3DS yet. If possible, try to lock down the new voice cast for more content. Most of all, with the budget cuts in effect; forgo dubbing the third movie and giving the live-action scenes costly reshoots in favor of dubbing this movie instead; then release the TV anime for online streaming to avoid dealing with more absurd edits forced on you by S&P. It's been a Hell of a journey to cover this anime, but I'm glad to finally be done with it. I will be going out of town for Halloween again this year, but I will have something planned for Halloween night to be posted while I'm down there. That's all for now. Bang.