Yo-kai Watch Shadowside Oni-o no Fukkatsu^{[lower-alpha 1]} is a 2017 supernatural anime film produced by OLM, Inc. and distributed by Toho. It is the fourth film in the Yo-kai Watch film series, following the 2016 film Yo-kai Watch: Soratobu Kujira to Double no Sekai no Daibōken da Nyan!, and features characters from Shigeru Mizuki's GeGeGe no Kitarō manga. It is directed by Shinji Ushiro and written by Yoichi Kato, with Level-5 president Akihiro Hino overseeing the production and script.^[3][4] It was released on Japanese theaters on December 16, 2017 and on DVD on July 4, 2018.

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Quick Facts Yo-kai Watch Shadowside: Oni-ō no Fukkatsu, Japanese name ...

Yo-kai Watch Shadowside: Oni-ō no Fukkatsu
Japanese theatrical release poster
Japanese name
Kanji	映画 妖怪ウォッチ シャドウサイド 鬼王の復活
Transcriptions Revised Hepburn Eiga Yōkai Wotchi Shadōsaido Oniō no Fukkatsu
Directed by	Shinji Ushiro
Screenplay by	Yoichi Kato Akihiro Hino (supervisor)
Based on	Yo-kai Watch by Level-5 GeGeGe no Kitarō by Shigeru Mizuki
Music by	Kenichirō Saigō
Production company	OLM, Inc.
Distributed by	Toho
Release date	December 16, 2017 (2017-12-16) [1]
Running time	94 minutes
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese
Box office	¥2.04 billion[2]

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The movie takes place 30 years after the events of the anime.^[5] The original series' protagonist Keita Amano (known as Nathan "Nate" Adams in English) was a wielder of the Yo-kai Watch, and through it he befriended Yo-kai and fulfilled many great deeds. But as he grew up and married Fumika Kodama (his crush in the first series ,also known as Katie Forester in English), he lost his ability to see Yo-kai. The Yo-kai Watch's existence threatened to disturb the balance between the human world and the Yo-kai World, so it was cast away into oblivion beyond time and space. Soon, the story of the Yo-kai Watch became but a legend. But then, many years later, a comet heralds the arrival of a new threat. An epidemic Yo-kai virus known as Onimaro begins spreading and infecting people with malevolent intentions, turning them into Kaodeka Oni and causing chaos throughout the city. With the end near, only the ones chosen by a new Yo-kai Watch can save both Yo-kai and humans from certain destruction and rekindle the bonds between them.^[6]

First announced on the screening of Yo-kai Watch: Soratobu Kujira to Double no Sekai no Daibōken da Nyan! greeting event on December 4, 2016.^[9] The film was first revealed in the July Issue of Shogakukan's CoroCoro Comic magazine, which also revealed the new Lightside and Shadowside forms of the Yo-kai featured in the film.^[10] The film's official plot and characters were revealed in the official movie website alongside the staff working on the movie.^[11] Akihiro Hino stated the movie is a "completely new horror comedy" that would be scarier in tone compared to the previous films, but still have humor. As well, the new characters would have darker backstories and Yo-kai would have Lightside and Shadowside forms.^[12] Level-5 later announced in September that the film would be a crossover with the manga series GeGeGe no Kitarō, with veteran voice actor Masako Nozawa reprising her role as Kitaro.^[13][14]

In later announcements for the film, the voice actors for the two main characters were revealed, with Yudai Chiba voicing Touma and Mone Kamishiraishi voicing Natsume.^[8] In October 27, the main movie website was updated, revealing more voice actors who would reprise their roles in the film. However, Takaya Kuroda and Daisuke Hirakawa were revealed to be the new voices of Jibanyan and Komasan, replacing Etsuko Kozakura and Aya Endō respectively. The voice actors for Medama-Oyaji, Neko-Musume and Nezumi Otoko were also revealed, and a second promotional video was released.^[7]

Series composer Kenichirō Saigō wrote the film's score for its original release. The film's ending themes are titled Yuki no Hi no Saikai (雪の日の再会, "Snowy Day Reunion") by Kota Okamoto and Yōkai Taisō Dai-ichi GeGeGe no Kitaro ver. (ようかい体操第一 ゲゲゲの鬼太郎Ver., Yōkai taisō dai ichi gegege no kitarō Ver., "Yo-kai Exercise No.1 GeGeGe no Kitaro ver.") by King Cream Soda.

The film was released in Japan on December 16, 2017 and on DVD on July 4, 2018. Early pre-orders of movie tickets allowed viewers to obtain an Lord Acala Amulet Card, which can be scanned through the Nintendo 3DS to obtain the character in Yokai Watch Busters 2.^[15][16]

The film earned 399 million yen in its first week, debuting 2nd in the Japanese box office behind Star Wars: The Last Jedi.^[17] It stayed in the 2nd spot within the 2nd and 3rd week, before falling to 5th place.^[18][19][20] Within the span of 8 weeks, it earned more than ¥1,863,413,400.^[21]

Though no new films were announced in the film's post-credits scene, it is followed by the anime series Yo-kai Watch Shadowside, which premiered on April 13, 2018.^[22] Yo-kai Watch: Forever Friends, a film serving as a prequel to the original anime series, was released in Japanese theaters on December 14, 2018.^[23]