Video Games
- One of the tutorials says "Can friendship bloom on the battlefield?" a reference to Metal Gear Solid, where one of the characters, Otacon, asks "Can love bloom even on the battlefield?"
- The Gourd Pond Museum contains several, including a model that says "Praise the Sun!" and a statue of a one-winged angel.
- A spin-off called Yo-kai Watch Blasters blatantly parodies Ghostbusters, right down to including a Boss Yo-kai called "Whismallowman" that combines the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man with Whisper. Sadly these had to get altered in the localization. The same game also includes Robonyan #28. Robonyan #28 has a slight recolor for Moon Rabbit Team, known as Robonyan 3000. While it continues the reference to Gigantor, Robonyan 3k is based on Black Ox.
- Mr. Barton, the science teacher at Nate's school, is a borderline Lawyer-Unfriendly Cameo of the human form of Shuu Iwamine from Hatoful Boyfriend. Both of them have mousy brown hair that they wear back in a ponytail, lavender shirts they wear beneath white labcoats, and red half-frame spectacles. The only difference between them is that Shuu wears a striped tie and his half-frame spectacles are on top,
while Mr. Barton has a yellow tie and his half frames are on the bottom◊. Oh, and both of them are creepy doctors who work at schools. It is confirmed by Hatoful Boyfriend's creator, Hato Moa, to be an amazing coincidence. - The Yo-kai Watch U announces a "SOIYA!" with the orange Tough tribe.
- One of Blizzaria's win poses is the Caramelldansen.
- At the beginning of Yo-kai Watch: Wibble Wobble, Whisper remarks that the Wib Wobs are "wibbly wobbly, timey whimey things".
- The arcade has pop'n music-looking cabinets, along with a "Vokaloid" poster with a character similar to (a recolored) Hatsune Miku.
- Yo-kai Watch 2 and Z medal poses features Jibanyan's unlockable Soultimate Moves. They are all based on classic comedy visual gags. Nyaiiin (Nyaight) is based on Ken Shimura's "Aiin!", Nyoeeh (Nyext) is a reference to Iyami's "Sheeeh!", and Komanyachi (Victory) is a parody of Takeshi Kitano's "Komanechi!".
- Also in Yo-kai Watch 2, Master Nyada being a reference to Yoda is expanded, complete with phrase shoutouts (such as "May the hose be with you", which Whisper suggests is a mispronunciation of a mystical force, only for Nyada to correct that he really does mean "hose") and even the sidequests featuring him are broken into trilogies, a nod to Star Wars trilogy premieres.
- In the English dub, Nyada is given a Yiddish accent, a reference to Yogurt, another Yoda parody.
- Then in Yo-kai Watch Blasters, Captain Thunder accesses his Serious Mode by calling a shot from a satelite with seems like the Death Star. Even more, the chapter which he is the Boss of has a picture like the franchise logo, and even an introductory text like those of the movies!
- Similarly, the opening of Moon Rabbit Crew is modeled after the opening crawl of Star Wars.
- In Yo-kai Watch 2: Psychic Specters, there is a sidequest titled "The Darknyan", filled with references like a Butler Yo-kai and a comic book of "the dark heroes".
- Yo-kai Watch 3 features a parody of The X-Files called "The Y Files", complete with its own Agent Mulder and Agent Scully. Renamed Blunder and Folly in the English localization.
- Update 2.0 of Yo-Kai Watch 3 has the Enma Note sidequests, featuring Enma as the mysterious "Big E"... and yes, the Enma Note does kill Yo-kai, and eventually makes everyone's memories of them fade.
- Update 3.0 of Yo-Kai Watch 3 has the Koma Name sidequest, with a big shout-out at the end.
- In the Update 4.0 of Yo-Kai Watch 3 and Yo-kai Watch Blasters 2, among the new Yo-kai introduced, there is Indiana Jaws. There's also his assistant Shovulcan.
- The Soultimate moves of the 'Merican Ninja Yo-kai Nunchucky and Shurikenny are "Float Like a Butterfly" and "Sting Like a Bee". Referencing famed boxer Muhammad Ali. These were changed in Yo-kai Watch 3.
- Mermaidyn's Japanese Soultimate is a reference to the 1984 song "Nagisa no Haikara Ningyo" by Koizumi Kyouko.
- The final boss of Yo-kai Watch 3's story is The Ghoulfather, a clear reference to The Godfather. His battle theme is even a remix of the iconic Nino Rota theme.
- Hailey Anne is a big fan of the Sailor Cuties series, a combination of Sailor Moon and Pretty Cure.
- Oridjinn bears a resemblance to Dr. Manhattan.
- Though it's not apparent from his Japanese name (Warunolin), the Yo-kai Deadcool is a very clear parody of Deadpool, right down to Breaking the Fourth Wall.
- The third game features a boss named Rongo Swirls. Said boss is a Liverpool-accented drummer.
- For the tanuki Yokai Slackoon, three of the possible preset nicknames for it are Nook, Timmy, and Tommo.
- Dr. Maddiman's three turtle Yo-kai friends/pets are named Squirty, Warty, and Blaster. A clear reference to the Squirtle line from Pokémon.
- YW3 introduces a boxer Yo-kai that changes references depending on the side of the Pacific. In Japan he's called Annojoe, a reference to Tomorrow's Joe. In the West he's called Rocky Badboya, referencing the Rocky film franchise.
- The ending credits to Yo-kai Watch 2 namedrop Beyoncé and the Man of Steel.
Anime
- They get the obvious one out of the way in ep. 2, with Nate holding out his Tattletell medal and yelling "Getto!" in the Japanese version.
- There's also Jibanyan's favorite band, called "Nya-KB" in the Japanese version and "Next HarMEOWny" in the English version, in reference to Fifth Harmony.
- Nate uses Fire Tornado in one episode. He's even wearing Raimon's soccer uniform.
- In #5 of the dub, Whisper says "My gosh, it's full of stars!" when he is being exorcised, referencing 2001: A Space Odyssey
- Manjimutt's dream of being a movie star involves a bat-like suit. Bonus points for doing a Goomba Stomp on a Car Cushion.
- One for the creators when Whisper refers to fart-inducing Cheeksqueek's pollution level as "Level-5!" Cheeksqueek also does a particularly familiar dance.
- In the first episode, Jibanyan shouts "Eye of the Tiger!" right before getting hit by a truck in the English version.
- When Jibanyan gets turned into Baddinyan, he makes several references to songs:Baddinyan: I don't care about my bad reputation!Baddinyan: And if you don't believe me, just watch!Baddinyan: I'm bad to the bone!note
- Robonyan is a big shout-out to Terminator. He even says the famous phrase "I'll be back" and references the Terminator's death in Terminator 2: Judgment Day in the recap.
- In the dub, when Dazzabel Inspirits Nate's mom to dress in ridiculous clothing, his mom wonders out loud if she'll get mistaken for Lady Gaga.
- #19 finally has Jibanyan turn his Paws of Fury into a straight-up Fist of the North Star homage. In the original Japanese series, it's called "Hyakuretsu Nikukyuu", a reference to Kenshiro's "Hokuto Hyakuretsu Ken".
- Also, there's the "Dog of the North Star", segment featuring Komasan as Kenshiro doing justice in an earth ravaged in 200X, with a Bat played by Whisper. With an spoofed Hokuto Shinken... complete with a BGM reference.
- In #207, upon being enraged by Jibanyan eating the Chocobar he meant for Katie, Nate gives him a Hokuto Shinken-style barrage of fistcuffs, complete with art shift.
- #25, Jibanyan's owner's friends are named Sayaka and Miki in the Japanese version.
- The opening of episode 25 parodies The Twilight Zone (1959), with Whisper wearing the same attire as the host Rod Serling and mentioning the "Yo-kai Zone".
- The end of #26 has Peckpocket filching Whisper's tablet and running for it Road Runner style.
- Komasan's police mini-series is titled Springdale Five-Yo. In Japan, it's instead named Taiyo ni Hoero, Zura!, a reference to the popular Taiyo ni Hoero! Japanese Drama.
- The font for School Lunch Gourmet is stylized like the High School Musical logo.
- In #33, Kappa calls himself "pretty fly for a kappa guy", referencing The Offspring's song "Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)".
- In Episode #39, most of the music and poses related to the Yo-kai Failian are a shout out to the 70's Pink Lady song called "UFO"
- The Show Within a Show "Space Wars". The Big Bad Emperor Krill has the prerequisite armor and breathing sounds.
- On the subject, both of Usapyon's modes are Vader Mode and Emperor Mode in Japan.
- #42 mentions a popular show about "Dracula", but if the sheriff costume isn't enough of a hint, the poster art we see of the cast of the show pretty much screams The Walking Dead.
- # 43, Professor Vacant is a direct parody of Professor Layton, another Level-5 property, complete with having the same Catchphrase: "That's what a gentleman does."
- #44, The title, "Hangin' with Mr. Crabbycat", is a reference to Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, right down to the same logo style. The short itself parodies the Japanese series 3-nen B-gumi Kinpachi-sensei.
- #46, as Whisper describes Supoor Hero's ability of making people poor, he says he's responsible for phrases like "I live in a van down by the river".
- #49, the Christmas Special, has Komasan and Komajiro get Santa Claus' toy-distributing duties. One of the toys in the sack is most certainly Optimus Prime. Hilarious in Hindsight now that Hasbro has licensed the show!
- The army of "Rubeus J" is made up of bootleg Shocker combatants.
- #54. Yokai Furdinand can grow anyone's hair to ridiculous length, while some folks like Yo-kai get crazy hairstyles instead - Jibanyan gets one that's straight out of The Rose of Versailles (with rose motif in case you missed it.)
- #56. Katie's final joke in "Yo-kai Pupsicle": "I was frozen. I let it go."
- #57. Whisper states that Daiz causes people to go "Dave's not here man"
- #60. The toilet-dwelling Toiletta learns to up her game, which includes emerging from the screen via playing a cursed DVD.
- In #63, When Bruff goes away on a steam train, Whisper asks "Are you going to wizard school?".
- In the first movie, the conveniently blue-and-white cat Hovernyan pulls out a stone that lets the user travel through time from his belt just like how Doraemon pulls gadgets out of his pocket. Even Whisper points this out after it happens:Whisper: What's with the Doraemon act?
- Also from the movie is the Big Bad, modeled after the one from A Chinese Ghost Story, and another -nyan type, Master Nyada.
- On the dub side, Whisper wonders if the Yo-kai following them was a moose or a flying squirrel.
- #68 has the Yokai Negasus, which resembles Pegasus, and possessing Nate brings up a star-filled sky and makes Nate do a familiar martial arts pose.
- In the online-only dub episode recaps, Nate has one that doubles as an Actor Allusion for his English VA of Johnny Yong Bosch: It's recap time!
- In the School Lunch's segment's fried chicken episode, Nate is lucky and gets 3 big pieces of chicken and compares it to a game deck as reference to Yu-Gi-Oh!. Making the reference even more obvious, Nate is wearing a duel disk, the cards resemble Duel Monster cards and Nate wears his jacket like a cape similar to Yami Yugi.
- Nate is often playing a handheld video games and the system looks just like the Nintendo 3DS, the same system we play Yo-kai Watch on. In addition, he states a game he's playing is called "YOLO Watch", making it a Shout Out to themselves.
- Hailey is fan of Pretty Guardian Sailor Piers to the point of having action figures. One particular intended purchase leads her into getting a Yo-kai Watch U and meeting Usapyon, which leads to...
- Also, she pulls a volume of DeDeDe no Detaro when learning Usapyon is a Yo-kai.
- Made Hilarious in Hindsight when Kitaro and his family themselves appeared in the fourth movie in the flesh.
- A shark Yo-kai is named Steve Jaws and was president of a company called "Yopple". He is replaced by Mark Shachiberg. There's also a shopping website called "Yomozon".
- Mog Burger is a parody of McDonald's right down to having a yellow "M" for its logo.
- #64's recap is a parody of Tensai Bakabon where Whisper plays the role of the broom-toting Rerere no Oji-san.
- In #87, Puppiccino makes a pose similar to Joseph Joestar and then leaves with Manjimutt into a "Bizarre Adventure".
- In #157, while suspecting something about how the girls in their class spend their Valentine, they assume posses and shift in the same style as JoJo's. This happens again in #207, but this time they assume the shocked expressions of the Stardust Crusaders.
- In #197, Robonyan stops time in a similar manner to DIO, complete with the iconic phrase "Soshite Toki wo Ugokidasu".
- In #98, Whisper reacts in shock to not getting the model U upgraded soon... by turning into a Berserk EVA-01 and then into a MP Eva. Bonus points for the BGM shoutout.
- In #119, Robonyan F is once again stabbed in the butt by B3-NK1. When he starts to malfunction, for a split second, he transforms into the six Matsuno brothers.
- An odd recursive shout out in #119 has Keita's F1 car have "Nathan Adams" written on the side.
- In #166, in an in-universe meeting to decide a new mini-series, one of the ideas pitched is Great Teacher Onizuka, with the "Oni" in the title referencing Gargaros as teacher Onizuka.
- In #167, one of the ideas pitched in another meeting is Mission Nyanpossible, complete with a musical reference (which is present in one of the Soundtracks).
- In #172, another idea for a miniseries, this time by Hailey, is Usapyon no Daibouken, complete with an overworld map reference.
- In #187, Whisper points at Gorgeouss Ambassador with the same face and the same manner as Moguro Fukuzo.
- In #189, Directator invites D-Stroy to star in his new movie project: Shin Dodzilla.
- In the Blasters T storyline of #193, when Jibanyan prepares to test the Yo-kai Sniper, he makes a face reminicing of Golgo 13.
- The Y movie has one big homage to the works of Nayutan Seijin; a Yo-kai featured in the movie references the Andromedako featured in "Alien Alien", and the theme song "Meteor" is done in his usual style of songs.
- In #200, a bodyswapped Nate and Hailey encounters each other at the stairs and references Your Name. Whisper lampshades how ridiculous the two making the reference is, which him repeating the "zen" syllable referencing Zenzenzense, the main theme for the movie.
American Comic Book
- In #2, Jibanyan and Whisper reenact a famous pose from Supa Hot Fire (specifically the first GIF).
- The first and third segments of S5E22 are an extended one to the Roadrunner cartoons, with Tsuchinoko taking the place of the Roadrunner, and first Whisper, then Nate and Jibanyan(and finally all three of them) in Wile E. Coyote's place. The same episode also features Whisper saying "Yokai don't need to take no tests!", and his face briefly turning into Nezumi-Otoko/Ratman's, as a nod to the lyrics from Spooky Kitaro.
