Yo-Kai Watch is on Netfix Canada – Kind Of

I had heard recently from a source who had spoken with series creators Level 5 that Yo-Kai Watch would be making it’s Netflix debut sooner rather than later.  So when I woke up this past weekend and my 6-year-old and I sat down for our regular Saturday Netflix search we were very happy to see the show in the recently added section. Then we pressed play.

This is not the show my son has become accustom to, but rather the original Japanese version dubbed for an english audience.  It doesn’t seen to matter to him but for me I found it a curious choice.  This is a new brand trying to get a foot hold in North America and this premier could really confuse kids (their far and away main audience). While the voice changes can be over looked, the name changes made for the western release aren’t reflected in this series.

I am assuming a lot of cable cutting families will be seeing the show for the first time on Netflix Canada, and will in turn not know the (North American) names of some of the most compelling characters in the series.  This could make the Hasbro merchandising play a bit more difficult and Marketing more will be an essential part of any success they could have.

With the recent release of the highly addictive Yo-Kai Watch Wibble Wobble app on Android and iOS the push to be a real player in time for the 2016 Christmas season appears to have begun.  With a second wave of toys and a new card game on the horizon the battle for department store shelf space has just begun and it remains to be seen if Yo-Kai Watch can hold their own against North American stalwarts.

Regardless of what version of the show is on, I’m glad to no longer need to search Youtube for bootlegged copies of the show.  If you haven’t seen it before, give it a watch (pun intended) and let me know what you think of my sons favourite show in the comments.

*Update*

I’m not sure if it was a glitch or not but all episodes now appear to be the North American English first version of the show.  Basically disregard most of this article.