
Yo-kai Watch Shadowside: The Return of the Oni King
2017

Representation Score
Limited
2014
Not RatedDirector
Shigeharu Takahashi, Shinji Ushiro, Mark Risley
Runtime
97 minutes
Average Rating
No ratings yetNew Showbiz Analysis
The film operates as a conventional genre piece designed for a broad family audience. It prioritizes brand consistency and the preservation of a supernatural ecosystem over exploring complex identity issues. While the world is populated by a wide variety of spirits, these entities serve the requirements of the fantasy genre. They do not function as vehicles for representing multiple aspects of identity or critiquing systemic power dynamics. Ultimately, the narrative adheres to established character archetypes and traditional storytelling standards, focusing on character-driven heroism within a stable, familiar framework.
Category Breakdown
The film centers on a traditional adventure story focused on friendship. It does not include non-conforming gender identities or narratives that question the assumption that everyone is straight or cisgender.
Male characters drive the plot, including Nate Adams and his grandfather. While a female character serves as a central antagonist, the film follows typical adventure conventions regarding leadership roles.
Set in a Japanese context, the cast is primarily Japanese. The various Yo-kai species act as a fantasy ecosystem rather than a deliberate exploration of ethnic diversity.
The story emphasizes a cohesive social fabric between humans and spirits. It focuses on protecting the timeline and existing social order rather than challenging traditional structures.
Characters function as archetypal heroes and villains within a high-fantasy setting. There is no evidence of characters with disabilities being portrayed with a significant role in driving the story.
Present on Screen
Limited or Absent
Official Synopsis
When the evil Yo-Kai Kin, Gin and Bronzlow makes the Yo-Kai Watch disappear from time so they can help Dame Dedtime prevent humans and Yo-Kai from being friends, Nate Adams finds help in the Yo-Kai Hovernyan, who takes Nate, Whisper and Jibanyan 60 years to the past, when the Yo-Kai Watch was first invented by Nate's grandfather, Nathaniel Adams, while he was a boy. Together, the 2 boys fight Dame Dedtime and her evil Wicked Yo-Kai minions to save the world from her evil plans.

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