Youkai Watch

I managed to watch 50 episodes in about a week!

People on the internet will tell you that this tries too hard to be the next Pokémon. But that's not true at all, this show doesn't want to be anything like Pokémon. Youkai Watch tends to be more of a comedy series with various skits than an anime about a teenage boy going on an adventure.

Don't expect much of story, but the anime has a lot of charm to it. This anime is very self-aware and most of the jokes and skits are actually really funny. Some jokes tend to get old after a lot of episodes, but they always find a way to keep the show refreshing, even after 50 episodes. You can clearly see that the creators have a lot of fun making this anime. read more

The Youkai Watch anime now lacks an English subbing group for it. This is a shame as the anime is funny to watch and is currently one of the top ten children anime in Japan's Kanto region. I hope this review may be able to help change things as clearly a number of people (including myself) enjoy it. I plan to watch on and probably pick up the Japanese language at the same time, even if it will take ages for a group to pick this up again.

Youkai is a term for Japanese spirits, ghosts and monsters. A "Youki-pedia" series, this anime depend a lot on slapstick jokes and unexpected twists for humour/entertainment. Elements of the show may be paralleled with Pokemon, except that one does not catch Youkai, one befriends them. The protagonist, Keita, unwittingly frees Whisper (a ghost Youkai) through inserting a coin into a gashapon machine. Whisper decides to follow and help him out of gratitude and gives Keita a Youkai watch to see other Youkai. They get into various Youkai-exploring adventures and collect Youkai friendship medals along the way.

Although children will enjoy this series the most, there will be people of other ages who will be able to appreciate its light-hearted nature. As of Episode 4, this show's story uses a few fixed formulas (typical to child-friendly anime) that vary slightly each episode.

1) Gaining medals from a friendly youkai who drops by to say hi.
2) Introduction to a friendly youkai who may have problems of their own and/or cause problems for real people.
3) Solving of the youkai's problems sometimes, but not always.
4) Introduction to backstory of the youkai's past lives before becoming a youkai.
5) Youkai battle, usually against a troublemaking or scary youkai that engages in battle with a summoned friendly youkai.
6) Youkais-of-the-week: Recap of the medals that Keita obtained (Usually 2-3 of them).
7) A special portion where a Youkai featured gets into all sorts of funny situations.

The music is typical for a normal anime series. The summoning sequence is thankfully not boring to watch as there will be eight (excluding one special) different kinds depending on the youkai medal type. Characters have their own special characteristics which create for dramatic and humorous effects in the show.

Overall, this anime is not amazing, but it will be entertaining to watch if you are interested in Youkai or supernatural things, want something light-hearted/funny to watch and can find your inner child to watch such an anime. read more

Youkai Watch. It's an anime you may have heard of, a lot of people compare it to Pokémon partially due to it's growing popularity in Japan overshadowing Pokémon's. However, this anime is not actually as similar to Pokémon as it seems.

Both series center around a boy in a world filled with monsters, but the main difference is that their stories and interactions are presented completely differently. They both function as kids 'monster of the week' series but Pokémon is filled with epic battles and plots about evil teams wanting to take over the regions. In contrast, Youkai Watch is a pure humor anime consisting of multiple skits per episode with no real plot or purpose. That is not to say Youkai Watch is good or bad, but if you're expecting an epic quest or any overall plot, you'll most likely be disappointed. The series is about Keita's daily life and interactions with youkai, plain and simple. Occasionally there will be plot but it's few and far between.

The anime tends to follow the same structure as the episodes go by, but the series manages to keep most of the jokes refreshing. Some jokes can grow stale but it stays entertaining for the most part. The humor is mainly self-aware, it's a series that is aware that the premise and characters can get ridiculous and embraces it. As such, the jokes can rely on slapstick humor and ridiculous circumstances. For me, the humor rarely fell flat though that will possibly not be the case for you. Still, if you're looking for such a light-hearted humor anime, this may be an anime worth considering.

Another difference between Youkai Watch and Pokémon: Keita, the protagonist, is completely normal. In fact, the only truly unique thing about him is the fact that he can see and interact with youkai. He's constantly referred to as 'normal' and 'average' by his classmates, which I find to be a nice touch to the anime. Keita is more relatable to most children than most protagonists who have something special, a power or being the Chosen One. He's simply an ordinary boy who stumbled upon a gachapon machine by accident.

Even these youkai don't help him out that much- for the most part they just cause him trouble. His 'butler' Whisper is incompetent and knows little about youkai and the series' mascot, Jibanyan, rarely ever wins fights he's summoned to. So really, even his special skill serves to hinder him more than it helps.

He is also not a boy made entirely of moral fortitude and a will to do the right thing like many other kids anime. He can be troublesome and naughty at time, but he can also have many moments of wanting to do the right thing. Again, it serves to make Keita represent an actual child more, which is a nice change from the generic protagonist.

In fact, character is one of Youkai Watch's strong points. Although there tends to be little character development due to it's lack of plot, the characters are full of charm and each character is unique. Each youkai has has their own distinct personalities and abilities which helps prevent the repetitive format from growing stale.

The art and sound are average, typical for most kids anime. It's not amazing but it still has it's own charm.

Overall, I think the series is worth picking up if you're looking for a lighthearted humor anime, or are fond of anime featuring numerous different monsters. Just don't expect any real plot and you'll be fine. read more