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

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  • Alternative Character Interpretation:
    • Did Ogu, Togu and Mogu offer to dispose of Touma in order to secretly save him, or did they genuinely plan on finishing him off, just giving him a kinder death than the Onimaro Leader would have? The fact they wouldn't have had a way to save him from the Kigan Gear does lend some credence to the latter.
    • When Rasen absorbs the Onimaro, they're all clearly struggling against it and don't want to be absorbed. The only exception to this is the Onimaro Leader, who's not struggling in the slightest and almost seems to be moving towards him. Is he genuinely loyal and would give his life for his boss? Does he just despise humanity that much to the point he'd give his life to aid their extermination? Does he know resistance is futile, and would rather just go out with dignity? Given he dies shortly after, we'll never know the answer.
  • Anti-Climax Boss: For all he gets built up, there's no final showdown between the Onimaro Leader and the protagonists. He's simply absorbed by Rasen and then killed when the Oni King is blown up.
  • Big-Lipped Alligator Moment: When Kitaro appears, his presence causes Jibanyan to turn into Kitaronyan, a Jibanyan variant with Kitaro's hair and outfit. This doesn't amount to anything and isn't even registered by anyone other than Jibanyan himself. He goes back to being fine in the next scene he's present in.
  • Catharsis Factor: After all the shit the Onimaro put Touma through, it's satisfying to watch Touma cleave through Rasen, and by proxy the Onimaro he absorbed, like butter. Even more so when he stabs him in the head and blows him pieces.
  • Complete Monster:
  • Contested Sequel: Opinions on the movie and its characters, story, and overall darker tone vary quite a bit. Some think it is little more than a long advertisement for Shadowside, others find it So Okay, It's Average, and still others find it to be the best movie in the franchise. The one thing most fans agree on is that the movie’s action sequences are top-notch.
  • Ensemble Dark Horse: Shadowside Blizzaria, alongside her fellows, appear for about a minute before Rasen takes them out. This hasn't stopped her being one of the most well received characters from the film, for being rather more attractive than she was in the original.
  • Hilarious in Hindsight: The premise of the film is Natsume, Akinori and Touma beating up Oni royalty. It makes the reveal that Natsume herself is the reincarnation of an Oni King, and Akinori and Touma her bodyguards, pretty funny.
  • Spiritual Successor: The film resembles GeGeGe no Kitarō even more now thanks to its darker tone and less stylized Yo-kai. It also helps that the film itself is a crossover with Kitaro.
  • Trapped by Mountain Lions: It's short, but the scenes as part of the Kitaro Crossover are generally agreed to take up too much time. Natsume and Akinori seek his help, and then have to try and deduce which Kitaro character is which, including a scene where they almost get scammed by Nezumi Otoko. This is all occurring while Touma is slowly dying an agonizing death as a result of the Kigan Gear. A lot of people wish the scenes would have been slimmed down even more so that the time could be better spent elsewhere.
  • What Do You Mean, It's for Kids?: While it was certainly marketed as "Yo-kai Watch: Darker and Edgier," the film isn't overly dark, and many feel it can only really be called as such by comparison. However, the scenes following Rasen's arrival, where he cuts and draws blood from Natsume, hurls her into the ocean, and Touma, who is 13, gets stabbed clean through the heart and almost dies, definitely fit the bill. It's the bloodiest (or at least human blood anyway) that the franchise has ever gotten.
  • They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character: The officials who aided Ananta in deposing Lord Enma appear to be people of great renown, but they only receive a single mention and a scene during the credits, where half of them have their back to the camera.
  • They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: Ananta's rebellion and imprisonment of Lord Enma is left entirely offscreen, which some people find especially unfortunate as its stated he actually had support from major Yo-kai World officials.
  • Unexpected Character: The Yo-kai cast are who you'd expect: Jibanyan, Hungramps, Whisper, Komasan etc. However, not a lot of people were expecting Slimamander, Azure Dragon, and Papa Bolt. The former two hadn't even appeared in the anime, while the latter was a very minor character.

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