The mega-hit franchise's first feature film Yo-Kai Watch: Tanjyo no Himitsuda-Nyan! (The secret of the invention) is finally released in Japan today on December 20. At the premiere event, LEVEL-5 president and CEO, Akihiro Hino revealed that the TV anime will be soon aired worldwide, including the U.S. and Europe.
He also confirmed that Jibanyan and Whisper's names will stay the same, while other yokais' will be changed. It's the same case with Pikachu in the Pocket Monster/Pokémon series, who is keeping its original name in the international versions. Hino then asked Etsuko Kozakura (voice actress for Jibanyan) and Tomokazu Seki (Whisper) to learn English for the expected international expansion of the Yokai boom.
The travel-themed film has sold over 1.06 million advance tickets at theaters across Japan, and its
estimated total including all other ticket sales windows is about 2 million. According to distributor Toho,
the film is expected to finish its run with around 6 billion yen, or if more suuccessful, very close to the
top-grossing One Piece film, One Piece Film Z's 6.87 billion yen in 2012. Toho has already decided to
produce the second anime feature film for the next winter.
I suspect the release of the anime will coincide with the release of the game. So are you guys excited for the anime, the game or both? Do you think it'll be a smash hit internationally?
Well this is a good sign for the games coming to the West
They are.
"They played us like a damn fiddle!" - MGS5
"Finish your mission, prove your loyalty." - MGS3
"We could take a s*** on you from such a height, you'd think God himself has crapped on you!" - GTA: SA
Currently Playing: The Phantom Pain.
Wait, what? They're gonna have the same actor and actress for the main characters in the international release...speaking in a language they apparently don't already know?! Why?! Seriously, just hire a decent English-speaking native to do the roles and...or do they mean they might have to speak more English in the Japanese version going forward? That would make more sense actually. -_-;
Wait, what? They're gonna have the same actor and actress for the main characters in the international release...speaking in a language they apparently don't already know?! Why?! Seriously, just hire a decent English-speaking native to do the roles and...or do they mean they might have to speak more English in the Japanese version going forward? That would make more sense actually. -_-;
tbh, it isn't impossible that this will work. In Detective Conan, when they had a long case take place in London, they actually hired people to improve the actor's English acting, instead of being hilarious and awful. If they do that, it might work out well.
Idk man. The design of these monsters seem very... Japanese. Most of the main ghosts or whatever seem fairy faithful to most of the Japanese mythology they come from. A lot of Pokemon and Digimon were based on Japanese mythology but were much more stylized and fantasy. I know all these series of from Japan, obviously but the designs of the monsters doesn't show it as much in other shows. I can't help but feel this will be off putting for most kids in the west.
But maybe I'm just being cynical. I love Pokemon so I'm willing to check this out.
Yo-kai Watch will air on Disney XD later this year. Here's the article.
SANTA MONICA, Calif., June 23, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — Dentsu Entertainment USA, Inc. has entered into an agreement with Disney XD in the U.S. to telecast 26 half-hour episodes of the Japanese brand phenomenon YO-KAI WATCH™, it was announced jointly today by LEVEL-5, Inc. and Dentsu Entertainment USA, Inc.
Based on an original concept by LEVEL-5, Inc., the hit comedy-adventure YO-KAI WATCH is a joint production effort by LEVEL-5, Inc., Dentsu Inc., and TV TOKYO Corporation. LEVEL-5 will be leading rights management and marketing coordination for the franchise, under a newly formed Los Angeles-based company.
YO-KAI WATCH is an animated comedy series that follows the hilarious misadventures of an average human boy and his involvement with the mischievous Yo-kai all around him. Our young hero obtains a special watch, empowering him to discover and summon the mysterious Yo-kai, befriend them, and then work together to solve everyday problems… problems that are often caused by other trouble-making Yo-kai!
The program will air on Disney XD and some of its Disney XD-branded platforms, providing multiple opportunities for engagement with the franchise. Since it was first introduced just 18 months ago, YO-KAI WATCH has become one of the most popular franchises of all time in Japan:
The program has been the top-rated animated show for kids 4-12 years old on TV TOKYO.
The franchise has over $1.5 billion in retail merchandise sales – in addition to games, music and publishing.
Over 7.5 million units of Nintendo 3DS video games have been distributed.
Mr. Akihiro Hino, President of LEVEL-5, Inc., said, "When we were creating the world of YO-KAI WATCH for TV and video games, we thoroughly researched kids' perspectives, to capture what they are worried about in everyday situations. In YO-KAI WATCH, each challenge they face is caused by a certain Yo-kai – a concept that is highly relate-able for kids, and we are looking forward to introducing this exceptional content in the US and abroad."
"Programs with such proven and broad appeal like YO-KAI WATCH are few and far between," said Marc Harrington, Senior Vice President, Global Strategy and Development, Dentsu Entertainment USA, Inc. "We are very excited to be working with Disney XD on the program's U.S. debut!"
In North America, leading global play company Hasbro, Inc. will introduce an innovative YO-KAI WATCH toy line in Spring 2016, and will roll out to additional markets by the end of that year.
In recent news, Mar Vista Entertainment was granted media, licensing and merchandising rights for Latin America.
Disney XD makes sense. Don't know if they'll censor things like 4Kids or Nicktoons (seriously, Nicktoons censored the already censored 4Kids dub of Yugioh and DBZ). Didn't Disney XD bring back Xiaolin Showdown, a show that was on Kids WB when that was still a thing (RIP)?
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