2015- Dub changes and Direct doughnut jokes
As I pointed out in my postmortem of the series; the year 2015 was when plans were set in motion for the localization of the franchise; which had started in Japan in 2013 with the first video game, then its sequels and anime series in 2014. The toyline, including the eponymous watch were to be handled by Hasbro. The TV series would debut on Disney XD for its English dub, and the first video game would be published by Nintendo for the 3DS. On paper, this should have been a recipe for success. Though I was one of the people expressing skepticism at the idea, others were confident about the series being a hit outside Japan; which includes Level-5 head and series creator Akihiro Hino. He was so sure about the success that the third game was even developed specifically to appeal to players in the west. We will come back to this in a later bullet point, but for now; the series launched in the fall of 2015. The results were… mixed at best. The anime, already having the uphill battle of being aired on Disney XD rather than the main Disney Channel (let alone Nickelodeon or Cartoon Network); ended up peaking at 500,000 viewers; and even though the series is currently in reruns as of this writing, there is no word on a fourth season or other content being formally confirmed for an English dub. It certainly didn’t help that the series’ humor didn’t translate well to English. Though not the first series to face this hurdle by any means, there were critiques of inconsistent editing and vocal performances. Though Johnny Yong Bosch as Nate (Keita in Japan) and Joey D’Auria as Whisper were praised in the cast; most of the cast consisted of relatively unknown figures with few, if any credits to them. The video game only sold 71,000 copies at launch in November 2015; and only sold 440,000 copies overall, much less than the 1 million it sold in Japan. The toyline was also pushed back to 2016; and it certainly didn’t help with how the game was advertised. Sure, the ads and Nintendo Directs did point out how the yokai could cause things like competitiveness, dance fever and an immense appetite for doughnuts on Bill Trinien’s part; but it didn’t really explain what they were to the uninitiated. Though yokai in Japan are as ubiquitous as zombies or vampires here; it was a mistake to suggest they weren’t spirits; ghosts or monsters, when they are in fact all of these things in Japanese folklore. This brings me to what happened the following year in 2016.
2016- “Blooming flowers” get eclipsed by “Sun and Moon”-sized milestones and other JRPG sequels
By the year 2016, “Yo-Kai Watch 3” was slated for release in Japan that summer; and even though the first game didn’t exactly set the Western world ablaze, Level-5 and their partners were still moving full steam ahead for the localizations of “Yo-Kai Watch 2: Bony Spirits and Fleshy Souls” (“Ganso and Honke” in Japan); the games that kickstarted the series in Japan, selling 6 million copies combined across all its versions. They also greenlit more toys from Hasbro, and nearly doubled the episodes of the second season of the anime to 50 from the 26-episode first season. When previewing the games at that year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo, Hino himself claimed that the series would follow the same pattern it did in Japan; and that it would “bloom like a flower” within six months to a year upon the sequels’ relase. Unfortunately, 2016 would prove to be the year where the opposite happened. The release date for “Yo-Kai Watch 2” ended up coinciding with the release of “Final Fantasy XV,” a game which started life as the spinoff title “Versus XIII” before being retooled into a full main installment during development. The latter title ended up selling 6 million copies in its initial launch window; and has sold over 8 million to date. The first movie in the series was also dubbed into English, after seeing its initial release in Japan in 2014. I will also make a side note that an unknown individual claimed that much like the later Shadowside movie, Nate lost his memories with the Yo-Kai Watch; which actually raises further questions than the ones I did in my recap of the movie. Yes, I know that’s technically another way it loosely adapts the second game; but that doesn’t make it any less absurd, nor does it mean I have to like it. That rationale only gets you so far, and it didn’t even last until the 10-minute mark for me. Likewise, despite the second game refining some issues with the first; there was some criticism for how it relied on the first game’s content for the first stretch of the main quest. To date, “Bony Spirits and Fleshy Souls” have only sold 220,000 copies domestically; about half of what the first game did and far less than the 3 million copies they sold in Japan. Though the series was often being hyped as “the next Pokémon,” the 20th anniversary of the series proved its resilience; giving Pikachu the same timeless appeal as fellow Nintendo icons such as Mario, Link and Samus Aran. First, the 3DS eShop gave the original games a release on Virtual Console for the first time that February. Second, the “Pokémon Go” mobile app helped get a whole new generation of fans into the series when it launched on iOS and Android phones that summer. Finally, the seventh generation kicked off with “Pokémon Sun and Moon” that November, garnering acclaim from critics, fans and players alike. To date, the games have sold over 16 million copies; placing them among the bestselling games on the 3DS. “Yo-Kai Watch 3” also launched in Japan that summer, selling a respectable 1.3 million copies across multiple versions; but still a marked decline from the second game. While the title was meant to appeal to American players, it would take a long time to reach them, and we will get to that.
2017- “Psychic Specters” get KO’d by Sun and Moon “Ultra” Combo, “Shadowside” Rising
In 2017, the third version of “Yo-Kai Watch 2,” known as “Psychic Specters” (“Shinuchi” in Japan) released about a year after the previous versions in the US. Though this did end up being the most polished of the three versions of the game; it also ended up being another title that dropped in sales to 120,000 copies; 100K less than previous versions and well under the JP sales of over 2 million. By contrast, “Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon” have sold over 7.6 million copies since their launch in November 2017; also roughly a year after the launch of the previous titles. This also caused Hino, who was initially optimistic about the future of the series; to reconsider by aiming at older players. This led to the release of the “Shadowside” series, which takes place 30 years after the events of the main one. That being case, it does make sense that the ones who could see yokai have lost the ability to do; and the other watches were either destroyed or lost to the sands of time. I am among those who consider the movie to be good and the subsequent TV series to be better than the main one. Though still having some toys and humor, the focus is much greater on story, characterization and supernatural horror elements. In many respects, it’s kind of like a smaller-scale version of “YuYu Hakusho.” Though the movie underperformed at the Japanese box office compared to previous ones, it did make enough money to justify the TV series and another film the following year; which will be addressed in the next heading.
2018- “Blasters” get tangled in the web of PS4 “Spider-Man,” “Forever Friends” Flops at Box Office
The year 2018 marked the most noticeable decline for the series yet, in both Japan and the US. The anime returned for a third season of its English dub that July; but with one catch: due to budget cuts amid declining ratings (the series regularly trailed Disney’s other shows; and lagged behind both Pokémon and Beyblade on the Disney XD Anime Block), the whole cast was replaced with actors sourced from Canada. Multiple segments, totaling 18 episodes worth of content ended up not getting English dub. The last episode dubbed to date aired that December, and the entire year of 2019 did not see any new episodes; with “Inazuma Eleven Ares” being dubbed instead. That will come up again later, as I’m about to tell you about not just the future of the series, but what potentially lies ahead for Level-5 as even fans are starting to express concerns about the company as a whole. For now, the spinoff “Yo-Kai Watch Blasters” launched in September 2018; the same day as the spectacular Insomniac “Spider-Man” game on Playstation 4. The games only sold 70,000 copies at best in North America, a fraction of what “Spider-Man” sold and far less than the 2 million the games did in Japan. The fifth film, “Yo-Kai Watch Forever Friends” released that December in Japan. While I have stated before I am retired from recapping stuff and don’t wish to cover it; I do consider the movie to be legitimately good. Sadly, the movie outright flopped at the Japanese box office upon release, making considerably less than the previous installments. What I wondered before was coming to pass, and somehow; I didn’t feel the way I was expecting to.
2019- “Yo-Kai Watch 3” Gets “Switched” Out for a “Kingdom” “Resident,” reboots and sequels fall on the “Maker’s” “Sword and Shield”
After nearly three years, “Yo-Kai Watch 3” finally saw release on the Nintendo 3DS on February 8. The game’s NA release was based on the Japanese “Sukiyaki” port (essentially the “Game of the year” edition of the game), while also containing content from the “Sushi and Tempura” versions. On top of a fourth game debuting later that year after being delayed from 2018, new anime debuted after “Shadowside” concluded. Hino’s intent was to keep the series a hot commodity, including putting Jibanyan with other Japanese media characters… promoting the Tokyo Olympic Games? Cart before the horse, Level-5.
In 2017, the third version of “Yo-Kai Watch 2,” known as “Psychic Specters” (“Shinuchi” in Japan) released about a year after the previous versions in the US. Though this did end up being the most polished of the three versions of the game; it also ended up being another title that dropped in sales to 120,000 copies; 100K less than previous versions and well under the JP sales of over 2 million. By contrast, “Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon” have sold over 7.6 million copies since their launch in November 2017; also roughly a year after the launch of the previous titles. This also caused Hino, who was initially optimistic about the future of the series; to reconsider by aiming at older players. This led to the release of the “Shadowside” series, which takes place 30 years after the events of the main one. That being case, it does make sense that the ones who could see yokai have lost the ability to do; and the other watches were either destroyed or lost to the sands of time. I am among those who consider the movie to be good and the subsequent TV series to be better than the main one. Though still having some toys and humor, the focus is much greater on story, characterization and supernatural horror elements. In many respects, it’s kind of like a smaller-scale version of “YuYu Hakusho.” Though the movie underperformed at the Japanese box office compared to previous ones, it did make enough money to justify the TV series and another film the following year; which will be addressed in the next heading.
2018- “Blasters” get tangled in the web of PS4 “Spider-Man,” “Forever Friends” Flops at Box Office
The year 2018 marked the most noticeable decline for the series yet, in both Japan and the US. The anime returned for a third season of its English dub that July; but with one catch: due to budget cuts amid declining ratings (the series regularly trailed Disney’s other shows; and lagged behind both Pokémon and Beyblade on the Disney XD Anime Block), the whole cast was replaced with actors sourced from Canada. Multiple segments, totaling 18 episodes worth of content ended up not getting English dub. The last episode dubbed to date aired that December, and the entire year of 2019 did not see any new episodes; with “Inazuma Eleven Ares” being dubbed instead. That will come up again later, as I’m about to tell you about not just the future of the series, but what potentially lies ahead for Level-5 as even fans are starting to express concerns about the company as a whole. For now, the spinoff “Yo-Kai Watch Blasters” launched in September 2018; the same day as the spectacular Insomniac “Spider-Man” game on Playstation 4. The games only sold 70,000 copies at best in North America, a fraction of what “Spider-Man” sold and far less than the 2 million the games did in Japan. The fifth film, “Yo-Kai Watch Forever Friends” released that December in Japan. While I have stated before I am retired from recapping stuff and don’t wish to cover it; I do consider the movie to be legitimately good. Sadly, the movie outright flopped at the Japanese box office upon release, making considerably less than the previous installments. What I wondered before was coming to pass, and somehow; I didn’t feel the way I was expecting to.
2019- “Yo-Kai Watch 3” Gets “Switched” Out for a “Kingdom” “Resident,” reboots and sequels fall on the “Maker’s” “Sword and Shield”
After nearly three years, “Yo-Kai Watch 3” finally saw release on the Nintendo 3DS on February 8. The game’s NA release was based on the Japanese “Sukiyaki” port (essentially the “Game of the year” edition of the game), while also containing content from the “Sushi and Tempura” versions. On top of a fourth game debuting later that year after being delayed from 2018, new anime debuted after “Shadowside” concluded. Hino’s intent was to keep the series a hot commodity, including putting Jibanyan with other Japanese media characters… promoting the Tokyo Olympic Games? Cart before the horse, Level-5.
That aside, the US release of “Yo-Kai Watch 3” met arguably the biggest irony of the franchise. The 3DS was slowly making way for the Nintendo Switch; and the game launched just 10 days after the release of “Kingdom Hearts III” and a mere two weeks after the release of the remake of “Resident Evil 2.” The game ended up being subject to a much smaller print run than the first two titles, making it hard to find outside the eShop or paying high prices at online resale. To date, the game has only sold 4,000 copies domestically; despite the game receiving the highest marks of the series from critics and players alike. Even I admit it’s the most polished of the three main games, even if I don’t put it on the same pedestal as others.
After the 2019 “Yo-Kai Watch!” (note the exclamation point) finished its run; a new series debuted with a movie that December: “Yo-Kai Watch Jam Project,” which led to a TV anime of its own. In this version, the yokai are humanized; and the watch turns them into superheroes. In essence, it’s like a smaller-scale version of “My Hero Academia” by way of “My Little Pony: Equestria Girls.” While I have yet to find data on how the TV series is doing, nor the toys; the movie was unfortunately another box office disappointment, making only about half of what the previous year’s entry did against competition from the Japanese releases of “Frozen II,” “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” and “Jumanji: The Next Level.” The year also saw the release of “Yo-Kai Watch 4” in Japan on the Nintendo Switch, finally launching on June 20 after six months of delays. Though the game did launch at #1, it also saw a marked decline from the previous games.
Just eight days later, however; “Super Mario Maker 2” launched, and at 2.4 million copies; it sold more in its first three days than “Yo-Kai Watch 4” did in its first five months. To date, “Super Mario Maker 2” has sold 3.9 million copies; a figure that “Yo-Kai Watch 4” has yet to reach a tenth of. Factoring in the base game as well as the expansion that released later that year; the game has only sold approximately 380,000 copies to date. Even a port of the original game has failed to make a splash on the Switch, selling just 10,000 copies at launch and not having any further numbers reported since then. On November 15, despite some controversial behaviors in the fandom and skeptics of the changes from previous titles; “Pokémon Sword and Shield” set a new record with 6 million copies sold. To date, the games have sold over 16 million copies across all versions; more than a quarter of the Switch’s current install base of 52 million. Bringing up “Super Smash Bros. Ultimate” (17.7 million sold) and “Mario Kart 8 Deluxe” (22.9 million sold) would just be overkill. This has also impacted Level-5’s other IPs to a degree as well, which brings me to my final heading.
2020- What’s next for the series and Level-5?
Though Akihiro Hino has expressed interest in localizing “Yo-Kai Watch 4” and the anime movies related to the game’s plot; since he announced this at Anime Expo last year, not much else has been said. “The Snack World” also saw release this Valentine’s day, with both the game arriving on Nintendo Switch and the anime on Crunchyroll. Regrettably, while official numbers have yet to be confirmed; the game regularly trailed other releases that weekend, including “Darksiders: Genesis,” “Dreams,” “Street Fighter V: Champion Editon” and the live-action adaptation of “Sonic the Hedgehog.” In fact, NPD has confirmed the best-selling new release of that month was the “Yakuza Remastered Collection.” The “jara” toys were also not localized, with the NFC features being outright removed from the Western release in favor of in-game features. “Inazuma Eleven: The Great Road of Heroes” has faced a very troubled development since it began life as “Inazuma Eleven Ares”, with the game still yet to have a new release date confirmed beyond “2020.” It’s also set to face competition from the upcoming “Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions,” based on the revered anime and manga of the same name. Many have also expressed concern over the future of Level-5 and its IPs, which is something I share despite not being as big a fan as others. Not just existing ones such as “Professor Layton” and “Ni No Kuni,” but upcoming titles such as “Megaton Musashi” and “Ushiro.” “Dark Cloud” and its sequel are still under Sony’s control. “Dragon Quest” is still mainly the doing of Square-Enix, with the company only being a co-developer. Even someone like me, who once posited that “Yo-Kai Watch” was beyond saving when it originally launched stateside five years ago; is worried about them potentially facing complete ruin. I honestly don’t want to see the company as a whole go under: while not everything I’ve played from them is the best in terms of gameplay, they are good at coming up with creative concepts as a whole. I do submit, however; that both need to seriously re-evaluate their long-term plans if they want to continue.
While Hino claims “Yo-Kai Watch” as an “all-ages” series in his aim, I am taking the opportunity to refute this claim. You see, I don’t define that term merely as just being appropriate for them; I also see it as appealing to them all. Right off the bat, the franchise was in a unique situation where its success in Japan was largely attributed as being kids enjoying it for reasons “weird adults” did not. This can also be reflected in the humor not translating well to overseas audiences, and the gameplay experience often lacked challenge for older players. By contrast, similar series such as “Pokémon,” “Digimon” and “Yu-Gi-Oh” have multiple generations of fans young and old; and active competitive circuits. “Dragon Ball” and its lead Goku have had a sort of timeless appeal of a “childlike love and fantasy;” if you will. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has managed to revitalize the superhero film as a viable family genre, with merch of all age ranges (I’ve seen the Stark Gauntlet in every price from the $30 basic model to a $300 Legends prop replica). I’ve often spoken of the “Star Wars” saga as being one of the few series that’s simple enough for a child to follow, yet complicated enough that it has been extensively discussed for years; and will likely continue to be analyzed for decades. The “Super Smash Bros.” series has had some of the biggest reach even against more “serious” fighting games like “Street Fighter” and “Mortal Kombat.” “Yo-Kai Watch,” however; has had such a strange journey just over the past few years; especially when expanding outside Japan that I shall instead suggest that it has an uncertain audience.
That being the case, I have this to say about long-term plans for both the future of the series and Level-5: your first priority is re-establishing trust among players and consumers, as it’s clear that the current strategy of releasing multiple titles in less than a year and semi-annual retools of the anime isn’t working for the long-term prospects of “Yo-Kai Watch”. If you do go forward with localizing
“Yo-Kai Watch 4” and the movies key to its plot; market them as a soft reboot of the franchise overseas. Since the “Snack World” series is on Crunchyroll, have the movies and potentially the “Shadowside” TV series streamed online as opposed to more traditional outlets; maybe just with subtitles instead of an English dub (something which is possible given the release of the series that way in some territories via Animax Asia). Even with all the delays facing the new “Inazuma Eleven,” getting the game in a state that’s finished enough to ship is your top priority on that one. Continue development of “Professor Layton” and “Ni No Kuni,” as those series still have fanbases overseas. Even though I am interested in “Ushiro” and “Megaton Musashi,” don’t try to immediately shotgun them into “the next big thing.” Just release and promote them modestly, and let audiences make their own judgment. I honestly believe you can turn this around.
If all else fails, I honestly don’t harbor the same feelings I once did five years later. I don’t want to see things go the way of countless other series and companies. If the EN release of “Yo-Kai Watch 4” is still happening, I will write an update and/or follow-up to this. That will be all for now. Stay safe, reject fear, embrace facts.
Just eight days later, however; “Super Mario Maker 2” launched, and at 2.4 million copies; it sold more in its first three days than “Yo-Kai Watch 4” did in its first five months. To date, “Super Mario Maker 2” has sold 3.9 million copies; a figure that “Yo-Kai Watch 4” has yet to reach a tenth of. Factoring in the base game as well as the expansion that released later that year; the game has only sold approximately 380,000 copies to date. Even a port of the original game has failed to make a splash on the Switch, selling just 10,000 copies at launch and not having any further numbers reported since then. On November 15, despite some controversial behaviors in the fandom and skeptics of the changes from previous titles; “Pokémon Sword and Shield” set a new record with 6 million copies sold. To date, the games have sold over 16 million copies across all versions; more than a quarter of the Switch’s current install base of 52 million. Bringing up “Super Smash Bros. Ultimate” (17.7 million sold) and “Mario Kart 8 Deluxe” (22.9 million sold) would just be overkill. This has also impacted Level-5’s other IPs to a degree as well, which brings me to my final heading.
2020- What’s next for the series and Level-5?
Though Akihiro Hino has expressed interest in localizing “Yo-Kai Watch 4” and the anime movies related to the game’s plot; since he announced this at Anime Expo last year, not much else has been said. “The Snack World” also saw release this Valentine’s day, with both the game arriving on Nintendo Switch and the anime on Crunchyroll. Regrettably, while official numbers have yet to be confirmed; the game regularly trailed other releases that weekend, including “Darksiders: Genesis,” “Dreams,” “Street Fighter V: Champion Editon” and the live-action adaptation of “Sonic the Hedgehog.” In fact, NPD has confirmed the best-selling new release of that month was the “Yakuza Remastered Collection.” The “jara” toys were also not localized, with the NFC features being outright removed from the Western release in favor of in-game features. “Inazuma Eleven: The Great Road of Heroes” has faced a very troubled development since it began life as “Inazuma Eleven Ares”, with the game still yet to have a new release date confirmed beyond “2020.” It’s also set to face competition from the upcoming “Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions,” based on the revered anime and manga of the same name. Many have also expressed concern over the future of Level-5 and its IPs, which is something I share despite not being as big a fan as others. Not just existing ones such as “Professor Layton” and “Ni No Kuni,” but upcoming titles such as “Megaton Musashi” and “Ushiro.” “Dark Cloud” and its sequel are still under Sony’s control. “Dragon Quest” is still mainly the doing of Square-Enix, with the company only being a co-developer. Even someone like me, who once posited that “Yo-Kai Watch” was beyond saving when it originally launched stateside five years ago; is worried about them potentially facing complete ruin. I honestly don’t want to see the company as a whole go under: while not everything I’ve played from them is the best in terms of gameplay, they are good at coming up with creative concepts as a whole. I do submit, however; that both need to seriously re-evaluate their long-term plans if they want to continue.
While Hino claims “Yo-Kai Watch” as an “all-ages” series in his aim, I am taking the opportunity to refute this claim. You see, I don’t define that term merely as just being appropriate for them; I also see it as appealing to them all. Right off the bat, the franchise was in a unique situation where its success in Japan was largely attributed as being kids enjoying it for reasons “weird adults” did not. This can also be reflected in the humor not translating well to overseas audiences, and the gameplay experience often lacked challenge for older players. By contrast, similar series such as “Pokémon,” “Digimon” and “Yu-Gi-Oh” have multiple generations of fans young and old; and active competitive circuits. “Dragon Ball” and its lead Goku have had a sort of timeless appeal of a “childlike love and fantasy;” if you will. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has managed to revitalize the superhero film as a viable family genre, with merch of all age ranges (I’ve seen the Stark Gauntlet in every price from the $30 basic model to a $300 Legends prop replica). I’ve often spoken of the “Star Wars” saga as being one of the few series that’s simple enough for a child to follow, yet complicated enough that it has been extensively discussed for years; and will likely continue to be analyzed for decades. The “Super Smash Bros.” series has had some of the biggest reach even against more “serious” fighting games like “Street Fighter” and “Mortal Kombat.” “Yo-Kai Watch,” however; has had such a strange journey just over the past few years; especially when expanding outside Japan that I shall instead suggest that it has an uncertain audience.
That being the case, I have this to say about long-term plans for both the future of the series and Level-5: your first priority is re-establishing trust among players and consumers, as it’s clear that the current strategy of releasing multiple titles in less than a year and semi-annual retools of the anime isn’t working for the long-term prospects of “Yo-Kai Watch”. If you do go forward with localizing
“Yo-Kai Watch 4” and the movies key to its plot; market them as a soft reboot of the franchise overseas. Since the “Snack World” series is on Crunchyroll, have the movies and potentially the “Shadowside” TV series streamed online as opposed to more traditional outlets; maybe just with subtitles instead of an English dub (something which is possible given the release of the series that way in some territories via Animax Asia). Even with all the delays facing the new “Inazuma Eleven,” getting the game in a state that’s finished enough to ship is your top priority on that one. Continue development of “Professor Layton” and “Ni No Kuni,” as those series still have fanbases overseas. Even though I am interested in “Ushiro” and “Megaton Musashi,” don’t try to immediately shotgun them into “the next big thing.” Just release and promote them modestly, and let audiences make their own judgment. I honestly believe you can turn this around.
If all else fails, I honestly don’t harbor the same feelings I once did five years later. I don’t want to see things go the way of countless other series and companies. If the EN release of “Yo-Kai Watch 4” is still happening, I will write an update and/or follow-up to this. That will be all for now. Stay safe, reject fear, embrace facts.
