The movie takes place 30 years after the events of the original anime.[5] The original series's main protagonist Keita Amano (known as Nathan "Nate" Adams in English) was a wielder of the Yo-kai Watch, and through it he befriended Yo-kai and fulfilled many great deeds. But as he grew up and married Fumika Kodama (his childhood friend and crush in the first series, also known as Katie Forester in English), he lost his ability to see Yo-kai. The Yo-kai Watch's existence threatened to disturb the balance between the human world and the Yo-kai World, so it was cast away into oblivion beyond time and space. Soon, the story of the Yo-kai Watch became but a legend. But then, many years later, a comet heralds the arrival of a new threat. An epidemic Yo-kai virus known as Onimaro begins spreading and infecting people with malevolent intentions, turning them into Kaodeka Oni and causing chaos throughout the city. With the end near, only the ones chosen by a new Yo-kai Watch can save both Yo-kai and humans from certain destruction and rekindle the bonds between them.[6]
Plot
Once, a boy befriended Yo-kai through the Yo-kai Watch, but later lost the ability. Thirty years later, Touma awakes to find his parents aren't home from work again, while a news report comments on an unusual comet. Meanwhile, Natsume stops to save a child from drowning, while nearby adults act strangely and make morbid remarks. She remembers how she once nearly drowned in the same river, but was saved. Akinori is going to school, but spots the comet in the sky. His grandma, Mitsue, confirms that it's a sign of an Onimaro invasion. The two hunt down a prototype Yo-kai Watch to battle them.
In the Yo-kai World, Lord Ananta is outraged that he isn't recognised as ruler after deposing Enma. Touma is scouted by some Onimaro, possessing him and allowing him to defeat three thugs. The trio offer to give him power to make the world stop ignoring him. He agrees, and they summon the Onimaro leader, who possesses Touma. Mitsue explains how the Onimaro feast on humanity's impulses, driving their victims into a frenzy and killing them. The Onimaro gift Touma with the Kigan Gear, a wrist device that allows him to control Onimaro, who begin possessing humans and mutating them into Kaodeka Oni. Zazel then frees Lord Enma.
Natsume's friend Saki warns her that she could've died, but Natsume brushes it off, attributing her survival to a Key-shaped charm. Natsume finds the Yo-kai butler Whisper, testing candidates for the Yo-kai Watch, who instructs her how to use it. Mitsumata Nozuchi is summoned and begins to chase her, but Akinori appears and gifts her a Yo-kai Ark, a device for summoning Yo-kai. She summons Himoji, who defeats the giant Yo-kai. Natsume dismisses the group and returns home, but her mother and brother have become Kaodeka Oni. She summons Mitsumata Nozuchi, now calling himself Micchy, and petrifies them. Recognizing the threat the Onimaro pose, Natsume agrees to help.
Touma leads the Onimaro, but the Kigan Gear tightens its grip, hurting him. Meanwhile, Natsume befriends Jibanyan. Enma and Zazel are intercepted by Ananta, who believes he can use the Fudou Raimeiken sword to control the Onimaro's King, Rasen. As Touma's condition worsens, worrying the Onimaro trio, Natsume and her companions confront him. Meanwhile, Enma defeats Ananta, and convinces him to help them. Touma's forced to flee as the pain intensifies, and the Onimaro Leader realizes Touma can't lead and decides to kill him. The three Onimaro interject, so he attempts to kill them too, but is forced to flee by Micchy.
The group enlist the help of Kitaro to save Touma, revealing to Touma that people did care about him. The Kigan Gear is converted into a Yo-kai Watch, and Touma uses it to separate the Onimaro from their victims. However, Rasen appears and absorbs the Onimaro, setting his sights on the city. Enma summons the Raimeiken to Touma, and they manage to convince the spirit to help them. Their attacks are ineffective and Rasen hurls Natsume into the sea. However, her charm turns out to be an Ark, and she is rescued by Seiryuu, who had saved her from drowning. He and his Yo-kai friends break Rasen's armor, and with the help of a fused Enma and Ananta, Touma uses the power of the Raimeiken to behead Rasen. The King still lives, and impales Touma with a crystal, but he finishes the Oni before he can hurt Natsume. Touma dies from his wounds, but the Onimaro trio have come to care for him, sacrificing their lives to restore his.
The Yo-kai return home, and Enma declares Ananta his official successor. The children return to their families, and Natsume's father is revealed to be Nate. Elsewhere, the Yo-kai Shutendoji is revealed to have been responsible for the Onimaro arriving early, having planned to use the chaos to locate "the Princess."
Mone Kamishiraishi as Natsume Amano (天野ナツメ, Amano Natsume)[b]. She is Nate and Katie's daughter, who nearly drowned in a river when she was young, but survived after someone saved her.[8] She is chosen by the new Yo-kai Watch, the Yo-kai Watch Arcane, allowing her to harness the power of summoning Yo-kai to protect both Yo-kai and humans from the Demon King Rasen.
Yudai Chiba as Touma Tsukinami (月浪トウマ, Tsukinami Tōuma)[c]. He is a junior high schooler who has become isolated since his parents are often away at work.[8] Due to this, he is often bullied and harbors hatred towards people, never wanting to mingle with them, which only makes him feel alone and ignored. He forms a bargain with Demon King Rasen's followers and becomes an agent of the Onimaro, wielding the Kigan Gear to spread evil and malice. Later in the film, the Kigan Gear transforms into the Yo-kai Watch Ogre, allowing him to transform and fight against the Onimaro and Rasen.
Mutsumi Tamura as Akinori Arihoshi (有星アキノリ, Arihoshi Akinori)[d]. He is a shaman in training and the oldest of the Arihoshi family, who has used Yo-kai in their fortune telling for many generations. He is capable of using magic and uses spells and incantations to take down Yo-kai.[7]
Ako Mayama as Mitsue Arihoshi (有星みつえ, Arihoshi Mitsue), Akinori's grandmother.
Masako Nozawa as Kitaro (鬼太郎, Kitarō), a Yo-kai kid who is the last remaining member of the Ghost Tribe. He lives with his father, Medama-Oyaji (目玉おやじ) (voiced by Bin Shimada) and looks after humans while acting as a mediator between them and Yo-kai. He becomes involved with the Onimaro invasion and the arrival of the Demon King Rasen, assisting Natsume and Touma in stopping him.
Akio Ōtsuka as Nezumi Otoko (ねずみ男), a rodent-like human and Yo-kai hybrid and Kitaro's friend, though he sometimes backstabs him and his friends through his vile schemes.[7]
Yuko Minaguchi as Neko-Musume (ねこ娘), a human-like Yo-kai who is close friends with Kitaro and transforms into a monstrous catgirl when angry. She harbors a slight crush on Kitaro and despises Nezumi Otoko.[7]
Other members of the Kitarō Family except for Nurikabe (ぬりかべ, Nurikabe); Konaki-Jijii (子泣きじじい, Konaki-Jijii) (voiced by Kōzō Shioya), Sunakake-Babaa (砂かけばばあ, Sunakake-Babaa) (voiced by Hiroko Emori), and Ittan-Momen (一反もめん, Ittan-Momen).
Jun Fukuyama as Lord Ananta (蛇王カイラ, Jaō Kaira), a humanoid Yo-kai and a longtime rival of Lord Enma, who wishes to become the new king of the Yo-kai World. He initially has an antagonistic role, but comes to help the protagonists fight Rasen.
Unshō Ishizuka as Demon King Rasen (鬼王・羅仙, Oniō Rasen), a powerful Yo-kai who feeds upon human "malice" and can harness humans and Yo-kai's "inner darkness" to control them. He has continually antagonized humanity, and his followers seek to resurrect him in the present.
Yoshimitsu Shimoyama as the Onimaro Leader (鬼まろリーダー, Onimaro Rīdā), the Onimaro leading the preparations for Rasen's awakening, and in charge of selecting human heralds.
Production
First announced on the screening of Yo-kai Watch: Soratobu Kujira to Double no Sekai no Daibōken da Nyan! greeting event on December 4, 2016.[9] The film was first revealed in the July Issue of Shogakukan's CoroCoro Comic magazine, which also revealed the new Lightside and Shadowside forms of the Yo-kai featured in the film.[10] The film's official plot and characters were revealed in the official movie website alongside the staff working on the movie.[11] Akihiro Hino stated the movie is a "completely new horror comedy" that would be scarier in tone compared to the previous films, but still have humor. As well, the new characters would have darker backstories and Yo-kai would have Lightside and Shadowside forms.[12] Level-5 later announced in September that the film would be a crossover with the manga series GeGeGe no Kitarō, with veteran voice actor Masako Nozawa reprising her role as Kitaro.[13][14]
In later announcements for the film, the voice actors for the two main characters were revealed, with Yudai Chiba voicing Touma and Mone Kamishiraishi voicing Natsume.[8] In October 27, the main movie website was updated, revealing more voice actors who would reprise their roles in the film. However, Takaya Kuroda and Daisuke Hirakawa were revealed to be the new voices of Jibanyan and Komasan, replacing Etsuko Kozakura and Aya Endō respectively. The voice actors for Medama-Oyaji, Neko-Musume and Nezumi Otoko were also revealed, and a second promotional video was released.[7]
Music
Series composer Kenichirō Saigō wrote the film's score for its original release. The film's ending themes are titled Yuki no Hi no Saikai (雪の日の再会, "Snowy Day Reunion") by Kota Okamoto and Yōkai Taisō Dai-ichi GeGeGe no Kitaro ver. (ようかい体操第一 ゲゲゲの鬼太郎Ver., Yōkai taisō dai ichi gegege no kitarō Ver., "Yo-kai Exercise No.1 GeGeGe no Kitaro ver.") by King Cream Soda.
Release
The film was released in Japan on December 16, 2017 and on DVD on July 4, 2018. Early pre-orders of movie tickets allowed viewers to obtain an Lord Acala Amulet Card, which can be scanned through the Nintendo 3DS to obtain the character in Yokai Watch Busters 2.[15][16]
Reception
The film earned 399 million yen in its first week, debuting 2nd in the Japanese box office behind Star Wars: The Last Jedi.[17] It stayed in the 2nd spot within the 2nd and 3rd week, before falling to 5th place.[18][19][20] Within the span of 8 weeks, it earned more than ¥1,863,413,400.[21]
Sequel
Though no new films were announced in the film's post-credits scene, it is followed by the anime series Yo-kai Watch Shadowside, which premiered on April 13, 2018.[22]Yo-kai Watch: Forever Friends, a film serving as a prequel to the original anime series, was released in Japanese theaters on December 14, 2018.[23]
^Yo-kai Watch Shadowside: Oni-ō no Fukkatsu (映画 妖怪ウォッチ シャドウサイド 鬼王の復活, Eiga Yōkai Wotchi Shadōsaido Oniō no Fukkatsu, lit. Yo-kai Watch Shadowside the Movie: Resurrection of the Demon King)
^Summer Adams in many English releases of Yo-kai Watch
