Yo-kai Watch (manga)

{{Main article|List of Yo-kai Watch characters}}

The VIZ translation uses western character names, while the Singapore English translation uses Japanese character names.{{cite web|url=https://shogakukan.asia/yo-kai-watch-7/|title=Yo-kai Watch 7|publisher=Shogakukan Asia|accessdate=2023-04-23}}

Nathan "Nate" Adams / {{nihongo|Keita Amano|天野景太|Amano Keita}} – An 11-year-old 5th grader who acquires a Yo-kai Watch while bug hunting in the Mount Wildwood forest. He's portrayed as a relatively average and straightforward character.{{cite web|author=Sato|url=https://www.siliconera.com/meet-the-awesome-youkai-and-characters-of-youkai-watch/|title=Meet The Awesome Youkai And Characters Of Youkai Watch|publisher=Siliconera|date=May 22, 2013|access-date=March 22, 2021}}

{{nihongo|Whisper|ウィスパー|Wisupā}} – Nate's self-appointed Yo-kai butler, who had been trapped in a gashapon machine for over one-hundred years before being freed by Nate. In addition to giving Nate the Yo-kai Watch, he also explains the different characteristics and traits of Yo-kai when he and Nate run into them.

{{nihongo|Jibanyan|ジバニャン|Jibanyan}} – A cat-like Yo-kai, who Nate and Whisper met at an intersection in Nate's residence, Uptown Springdale. Prior to becoming a Yo-kai, Jibanyan was called Rudy (Akamaru) and was the pet cat of a girl named Amy (Emi). One day, Rudy was run over by a truck in the intersection where Jibanyan would later meet Nate and Whisper, causing him to become a Yo-kai.

Yo-kai Watch was written and illustrated by Noriyuki Konishi, a Japanese writer from Nagasaki Prefecture, previously known for his work on manga adaptations of series such as AM Driver and Mushiking: King of the Beetles. At the time of the Yo-kai Watch franchise's announcement, the manga, among other media, had already been planned in an attempt to make the franchise long-lasting.{{cite web|last=Kohler|first=Chris|url=https://www.wired.com/2015/12/yo-kai-watch/|title=Yo-Kai Watch Is Engineered to Be Your Kid's Next Obsession|website=Wired|publisher=Condé Nast|date=December 4, 2015|access-date=March 22, 2021}}

The series first began serialization in CoroCoro Comic, published by Shogakukan, on December 15, 2012, over 5 months before the release of the first Yo-kai Watch video game.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.famitsu.com/news/201211/15024458.html|title=『妖怪ウォッチ』のマンガ連載が2012年12月15日よりスタート|magazine=Famitsu|language=Japanese|publisher=Enterbrain|date=November 15, 2011|access-date=March 22, 2021}}{{cite web|last=Arai|first=Yosuke|url=https://www.4gamer.net/games/142/G014209/20121115094/|title=「妖怪ウォッチ」の漫画連載が12月15日発売の月刊コロコロコミックでスタート。ゲームのストーリーを先取りできるかも|website=4Gamer.net|language=Japanese|publisher=Aetas|date=November 16, 2011|access-date=March 22, 2021}} The series ended serialization on April 21, 2023.{{cite web|last=Cayanan|first=Joanna|title=Noriyuki Konishi's Yo-kai Watch Manga Ends in 23rd Volume (Updated)|url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2023-04-25/noriyuki-konishi-yo-kai-watch-manga-ends-in-23rd-volume/.197469|website=Anime News Network|access-date=October 5, 2023|date=April 25, 2023}}

In April 2015, Viz Media announced that they would start publishing Yo-kai Watch in English under their Perfect Square imprint, starting September later the same year, in conjunction with the release of other Yo-kai Watch media and merchandise.{{cite web|last=Loveridge|first=Lynzee|url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2015-04-06/viz-media-adds-yo-kai-watch-manga-to-perfect-square-imprint/.86542|title=Viz Media Adds Yo-kai Watch Manga to Perfect Square Imprint|publisher=Anime News Network|date=April 6, 2015|access-date=March 22, 2021}} A trailer for the English series was uploaded to the official Yo-kai Watch YouTube channel later on October 5.{{cite web|last=Creegan|first=Dermot|url=https://hardcoregamer.com/2015/10/10/new-video-provides-a-sneak-peak-at-the-yo-kai-watch-manga/171509/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151012182205/http://www.hardcoregamer.com/2015/10/10/new-video-provides-a-sneak-peak-at-the-yo-kai-watch-manga/171509/|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 12, 2015|title=New Video Provides a Sneak Peak[=sic] at the Yo-Kai Watch Manga|publisher=Hardcore Gamer|date=October 10, 2015|access-date=March 22, 2021}} As a teaser to the series' release, Viz Media distributed samples of the series' first volume through some retailers as a part of Halloween ComicFest 2015.{{cite web|last=Lada|first=Jenni|url=https://www.siliconera.com/yo-kai-watch-manga-samplers-being-given-away-for-halloween-comicfest/|title=Yo-Kai Watch Manga Samplers Being Given Away For Halloween ComicFest|publisher=Siliconera|date=October 28, 2015|access-date=March 22, 2021}}

In North America, the first two volumes of the series were released on November 2, after pre-orders were made available on October 27.{{cite web|last=Whritenour|first=Jacob|url=https://hardcoregamer.com/2015/10/27/yo-kai-watch-manga-pre-orders-now-open/174178/|title=Yo-Kai Watch Manga Pre-Orders Now Open|publisher=Hardcore Gamer|date=October 27, 2015|access-date=March 22, 2021}}

There is a separate English translation in Singapore, published by Shogakukan Asia.{{cite web|url=http://shogakukan.asia/yo-kai-watch-1-4/|title=Yo-kai Watch 1|publisher=Shogakukan Asia|accessdate=2023-04-23}}

{{expandsection|date=April 2023}}

Currently the ISBNs reflect the versions released in the US.

{{Graphic novel list/header

|language = Japanese

|secondlanguage = English

}}

{{Graphic novel list

| VolumeNumber = 1

| OriginalRelDate = June 28, 2013

| OriginalISBN = 978-4-09-141655-1

| LicensedRelDate = Singapore: July 1, 2015
US: November 3, 2015

| LicensedISBN = 978-1-4215-8251-1

| ChapterList =

}}

{{Graphic novel list

| VolumeNumber = 2

| OriginalRelDate = December 27, 2013

| OriginalISBN = 978-4-09-140018-5

| LicensedRelDate = Singapore: September 23, 2015
US: November 3, 2015

| LicensedISBN = 978-1-4215-8252-8

| ChapterList =

}}

{{Graphic novel list

| VolumeNumber = 3

| OriginalRelDate = March 25, 2014

| OriginalISBN = 978-4-09-141709-1

| LicensedRelDate = Singapore: November 27, 2015
US: January 5, 2016

| LicensedISBN = 978-1-4215-8273-3

| ChapterList =

}}

{{Graphic novel list

| VolumeNumber = 4

| OriginalRelDate = July 25, 2014

| OriginalISBN = 978-4-09-141793-0

| LicensedRelDate = US: March 1, 2016
Singapore: March 25, 2016

| LicensedISBN = 978-1-4215-8274-0

| ChapterList =

}}

{{Graphic novel list

| VolumeNumber = 5

| OriginalRelDate = October 28, 2014

| OriginalISBN = 978-4-09-141817-3

| LicensedRelDate = US: May 3, 2016
Singapore: June 2016

| LicensedISBN = 978-1-4215-8275-7

| ChapterList =

}}

{{Graphic novel list

| VolumeNumber = 6

| OriginalRelDate = February 27, 2015

| OriginalISBN = 978-4-09-141876-0

| LicensedRelDate = Singapore: End of September 2016
US: December 6, 2016

| LicensedISBN = 978-1-4215-9217-6

| ChapterList =

}}

{{Graphic novel list

| VolumeNumber = 7

| OriginalRelDate = June 26, 2015

| OriginalISBN = 978-4-09-142006-0

| LicensedRelDate = US: March 7, 2017
Singapore: April 2017

| LicensedISBN = 978-1-4215-9218-3

| ChapterList =

}}

{{Graphic novel list

| VolumeNumber = 8

| OriginalRelDate = September 28, 2015

| OriginalISBN = 978-4-09-142102-9

| LicensedRelDate = Singapore: November 2017
US: January 2, 2018

| LicensedISBN = 978-1-4215-9691-4

| ChapterList =

}}

{{Graphic novel list

| VolumeNumber = 9

| OriginalRelDate = February 26, 2016

| OriginalISBN = 978-4-09-142119-7

| LicensedRelDate = Singapore: May 2018
US: July 3, 2018

| LicensedISBN = 978-1-4215-9753-9

| ChapterList =

}}

{{Graphic novel list

| VolumeNumber = 10

| OriginalRelDate = June 24, 2016

| OriginalISBN = 978-4-09-142175-3

| LicensedRelDate = January 8, 2019
(US only for this and further volumes)

| LicensedISBN = 978-1-4215-9754-6

| ChapterList =

}}

{{Graphic novel list

| VolumeNumber = 11

| OriginalRelDate = August 5, 2016

| OriginalISBN = 978-4-09-159232-3

| LicensedRelDate = May 14, 2019

| LicensedISBN = 978-1-4215-9755-3

| ChapterList =

}}

{{Graphic novel list

| VolumeNumber = 12

| OriginalRelDate = April 28, 2017

| OriginalISBN = 978-4-09-142389-4

| LicensedRelDate = September 12, 2019

| LicensedISBN = 978-1-9747-0310-4

| ChapterList =

}}

{{Graphic novel list

| VolumeNumber = 13

| OriginalRelDate = September 28, 2017

| OriginalISBN = 978-4-09-142530-0

| LicensedRelDate = January 14, 2020

| LicensedISBN = 978-1-9747-0311-1

| ChapterList =

}}

{{Graphic novel list

| VolumeNumber = 14

| OriginalRelDate = November 28, 2017

| OriginalISBN = 978-4-09-142637-6

| LicensedRelDate = May 12, 2020

| LicensedISBN = 978-1-9747-0312-8

| ChapterList =

}}

{{Graphic novel list

| VolumeNumber = 15

| OriginalRelDate = May 28, 2018

| OriginalISBN = 978-4-09-142710-6

| LicensedRelDate = September 8, 2020

| LicensedISBN = 978-1-9747-0608-2

| ChapterList =

}}

{{Graphic novel list

| VolumeNumber = 16

| OriginalRelDate = July 26, 2019

| OriginalISBN = 978-4-09-143046-5

| LicensedRelDate = January 12, 2021

| LicensedISBN = 978-1-9747-1858-0

| ChapterList =

}}

{{Graphic novel list

| VolumeNumber = 17

| OriginalRelDate = October 28, 2019

| OriginalISBN = 978-4-09-143109-7

| LicensedRelDate = May 11, 2021

| LicensedISBN = 978-1-9747-1881-8

| ChapterList =

}}

{{Graphic novel list

| VolumeNumber = 18

| OriginalRelDate = July 28, 2020

| OriginalISBN = 978-4-09-143209-4

| LicensedRelDate = September 14, 2021

| LicensedISBN = 978-1-9747-1485-8

| ChapterList =

}}

{{Graphic novel list

| VolumeNumber = 19

| OriginalRelDate = August 27, 2021

| OriginalISBN = 978-4-09-143339-8

| LicensedRelDate = August 9, 2022

| LicensedISBN = 978-1-9747-3210-4

| ChapterList =

}}

{{Graphic novel list

| VolumeNumber = 20

| OriginalRelDate = December 27, 2021

| OriginalISBN = 978-4-09-143367-1

| LicensedRelDate = January 10, 2023

| LicensedISBN = 978-1-9747-3424-5

| ChapterList =

}}

{{Graphic novel list

| VolumeNumber = 21

| OriginalRelDate = April 27, 2022

| OriginalISBN = 978-4-09-143390-9

| LicensedRelDate = May 9, 2023

| LicensedISBN = 978-1-9747-3697-3

| ChapterList =

}}

{{Graphic novel list

| VolumeNumber = 22

| OriginalRelDate = December 27, 2022

| OriginalISBN = 978-4-09-143575-0

| LicensedRelDate = January 9, 2024

| LicensedISBN = 978-1-9747-4300-1

| ChapterList =

}}

{{Graphic novel list

| VolumeNumber = 23

| OriginalRelDate = May 26, 2023

| OriginalISBN = 978-4-09-143615-3

| LicensedRelDate = June 18, 2024

| LicensedISBN = 978-1-9747-4571-5

| ChapterList =

}}

{{Graphic novel list/footer}}

There was a special edition of Volume 1, released with a Yo-kai medal, in Singapore.{{cite web|url=https://shogakukan.asia/yo-kai-watch-1-special-edition-3/|title=YO-KAI WATCH 1 Special Edition |publisher=Shogakukan Asia|accessdate=2023-04-27}}

Rebecca Silverman of Anime News Network rated the series' first two English volumes a B−, praising the book's "comfortable narrative patterns for kids [and] nice humor", while criticizing its localization for being "highly formulaic". Silverman was also positive towards the series' art, rating it a B and calling it "deceptively simple and very expressive". Silverman also noted that Konishi would frequently illustrate "grotesquely bulging eyeballs", among other "icky imagery", which she felt made it "thrillingly disgusting" for child readers.{{cite web|last=Silverman|first=Rebecca|url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/review/yo-kai-watch/gn-1/.95883|title=Yo-kai Watch GN 1 & 2 Review|publisher=Anime News Network|date=November 30, 2015|access-date=March 23, 2021}}

The series won the award for Best Children's Manga at both the 38th Kodansha Manga Awards and the 60th Shogakukan Manga Awards.{{cite web|last=Loo|first=Egan|url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2014-05-08/yo-kai-watch-baby-steps-win-38th-kodansha-manga-awards|title=Yo-kai Watch, Baby Steps Win 38th Kodansha Manga Awards|publisher=Anime News Network|date=May 8, 2014|access-date=March 22, 2021}}{{cite web|last=Nelkin|first=Sarah|url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2015-01-21/yo-kai-watch-be-blues-win-60th-shogakukan-awards/.83532|title=Yo-kai Watch, Be Blues Win 60th Shogakukan Awards|publisher=Anime News Network|date=January 21, 2015|access-date=March 22, 2021}}

Throughout 2014, Yo-kai Watch sold over 2.58 million copies in Japan across its different volumes, ranking it as the 20th best-selling manga series on Oricon's Annual Book Ranking that year.{{cite web|url=https://www.oricon.co.jp/entertainment/ranking/2014/bookrank1201/index06.html|title=オリコン2014年 年間"本"ランキング|trans-title=Oricon 2014 Annual Book Ranking|language=Japanese|publisher=Oricon|date=December 1, 2014|access-date=March 23, 2021}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{Official website|https://www.viz.com/yo-kai-watch|Yo-kai Watch}} at Viz Media
• {{ANN|manga|17140}}

{{Yo-kai Watch|state=expanded}}

{{Kodansha Manga Award - Children}}

{{Shogakukan Manga Award - Children}}

Category:Manga series

Category:2012 manga

Category:Children's manga

Category:Shogakukan manga

Category:Manga based on video games

Category:Viz Media manga

Category:Winner of Kodansha Manga Award (Children)

Category:Yo-kai Watch