Yokai Watch - The New Pokemon!
by hanxanth
Yes, you heard right! Your local AADL is getting the Yokai Watch manga! Yokai Watch is the new phenomenon that's sweeping Japan and, thanks to the 3DS game getting an English release back in November, it's sweeping through America too. Starting as a game (just like Pokemon) and expanding into a TV show (just like Pokemon), Yokai Watch has also recently started releasing various merchandise and manga (just like Pokemon). Meet Nate, a young boy who wanders into an old forest behind his local shrine and finds the yokai named Whisper, a type of ghost. He gives Nate a Yokai Watch that lets him see the yokai that are all around his home town. So follow Nate along as he meets new yokai, befriends them, and captures them so that they can fight at his side! (just like Pokemon)
At this point you may be asking, what are yokai? Basically, yokai are strange creatures in Japanese folklore. They come in all shapes and sizes and do all sorts of different things. For example, a prominent character in the Yokai Watch series is Jibanyan, who is based off of the yokai nekomata, a type of cat yokai with two tails who can do things like control fire and walk on it's back legs. Or you have Kyubi, based on the kitsune, a fox yokai who can do magic, shape shift, and becomes very powerful after it grows it's ninth tale (which is when it becomes called a kyuubi). These are animal ones, but there are also yokai that look like umbrellas, ghosts, or giant skeletons! These yokai and more are all available for your entertainment in Yokai Watch!
If you want to learn more about yokai, check out this website by Matthew Meyer. It contains an encyclopedia of yokai (in English) with Matthew's awesome drawings. And check out his personal website for other information, including his two books on yokai. Be careful though, Yokai Watch makes the yokai seem really cute and friendly, but quite a few of the original yokai and their stories can be a little creepy or scary!
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