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Yo-kai Watch Gets 2nd Film Next Winter
posted on by Egan Loo
Level-5's Yo-kai Watch franchise is getting a second film next winter. The announcement comes as 721,422 advance tickets have been sold for the first film, Yo-kai Watch: Tanjō no Himitsu da Nyan! (Yōkai Watch the Movie: It's the Secret of Birth, Meow!), as of October 26. This is the highest number of advance tickets sold in the entire 82-year history of the film's distributor TOHO. TOHO says it aims to make Yo-kai watch a long-running hit series in the vein of such beloved franchises as Doraemon, Crayon Shin-chan, Detective Conan, and Pokémon.
The first film will open on December 20:
Narrator: The yo-kai watch — a wristwatch that allows the wearer to see yo-kai — has suddenly disappeared.
Villain: We've stolen the yokai watch.
Keita: The Kemamoto village where my grandmother lives has a legend... the clue should be here.
Fuyunyan: This is destiny. I want you to go back in time to 60 years ago to save my friends.
Keita: My... grandfather?
Yo-kai: Let's go!
Narrator: Chasing the yo-kai watch that has disappeared...to the world of the past.
Keita: No way... you are...?
Text: A destined encounter
Fuyunyan: Because Keizo stopped making the yo-kai watch, the yo-kai watch in a later time has disappeared.
Keizo: I'm not qualified to have friends.
Text: In order for the yo-kai watch to be restored
Villain: Such a nuisance!
Ubaune: Do away with them!
Text: Summon the courage
Keita: Jibanyan!
Text: Now is the time to stand up.
Master Nyaada: Now is the time to use the force.
Text: Guest voice actor: Ken Shimura
Ubaune: You're halfhearted!
Text: Guest voice actor: Ainosuke Kataoka
Yukippe: Don't hold it all in alone.
Text: Guest voice actress: Haruka Shimazaki
Text: Andー
Keizo: If your friends are important, save them yourself!
Text: Whatever happens
Jibanyan: Save me!
Keita: Jibanyan!
Text: Protect your friends.
Keita: I won't lose!
Cast: Yo-kai Watch: The Movie: It's the Secret of Birth, Meow!
Whisper: That was interesting wasn't it? Let's go to the movie theater. Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye.
The film will star Haruka Tomatsu as Keita Amano, Tomokazu Seki as Whisper, Etsuko Kozakura as Jibanyan, and Yūki Kaji as Fuyunyan. Other cast members include Tohru Nara as Kuma, Aya Endō as Fumika Kodama, and Chie Satou as Kanchi Imada. Guest stars include AKB48 member Haruka Shimazaki as Yukippe, kabuki actor Ainosuke Kataoka as Ubaune, and actor and comedian Ken Shimura as Master Nyaada. Yoichi Kato will provide the scripts for the film, while Ken'ichirō Saigō will compose the soundtrack. Oriental Light and Magic is animating the film.
Game developer Level-5 announced the Yokai Watch franchise in 2011 with a game, manga, and anime already planned. The franchise's first game for the Nintendo 3DS debuted in Japan in July 2013, and two versions of the Yo-kai Watch 2 3DS game shipped in July. A third version titled Yo-kai Watch 2: Shinuchi (Yo-kai Watch 2: Headliner) will ship on December 13, and will tie in to the upcoming film. The anime premiered this past January. The manga has four volumes that have sold 1.5 million copies.
Dentsu Entertainment USA is offering the anime to broadcast and merchandising partners in the Americas. Other game franchises from LEVEL-5 Inc. — Professor Layton and Inazuma Eleven — also inspired films.
Source: Nikkan Sports
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