Review: Yo-kai Watch 10 (by Noriyuki Konishi)

 My Rating: 4 stars

 

As I mentioned during my review of Book 9 back in April, my nephew is a huge Yo-kai Watch fan and over the years, he has amassed quite a large collection of Yo-kai Watch memorabilia.  It just so happens that my nephew also loves to read and of course, being the bookworm that I am, my job is to read him a bedtime story every night.  One of the book series that we’ve been working through is the Yo-kai Watch manga series written and illustrated by Noriyuki Konishi.  Upon finding out that Book 10 is scheduled to come out early next year (in January 2019) and knowing that my nephew can’t wait to read the latest in the series, I’ve been checking Edelweiss religiously in the hopes that I would be able to obtain an advance copy.  Fortunately, Book 10 was indeed available and I was able to get approval pretty quickly (thank you Viz Media)!

Similar to the previous books in the series, each chapter features a different Yo-kai character and a backstory of sorts explaining how they come to meet Nate Adams and his trusty Yo-kai sidekick Whisper.  Our beloved cat Yo-kai Jibanyan is of course featured in every chapter (there is a segment in this book that pokes fun at the fact that Nate always summons Jibanyan, as though he is the only Yo-kai he knows, lol!) – which of course is perfectly fine for us (my nephew and myself), since Jibanyan is our favorite character.  One thing that stood out to us with this book is that it had a slightly different format than the ones before it in that this one has alternating chapters where only Jibanyan has an encounter with a new Yo-kai on his own and then when he is summoned by Nate in the next chapter, whatever state Jibanyan happened to be in from his previous encounter is carried into that chapter (for example, if Jibanyan had gotten into a fight with another Yo-kai in the “him only” chapter, he would appear in the next chapter with his face swollen from the fight) – so in a way, the chapters were linked up, with some chapters being continuations of the ones before it.  Both of us actually like this format, as it changes things up a bit, plus the “Jibanyan only” chapters are shorter and less wordy so are much funnier.

Of course, as usual whenever we read these Yo-kai comics, my nephew and I loved being able to spend some time with our favorite Yo-kai characters and laughing uncontrollably at their hilarious antics!  This entire comic series is a “must-read” for all Yo-kai watch fans!  Even if we don’t necessarily learn anything new or particularly profound when reading these (though some of the stories do have specific lessons and messages they try to get across), the pure fun and entertainment value – not to mention being able to spend quality time reading with my nephew – make this an absolutely worthwhile read.  As with the other books, we can’t wait to add the physical copy of Book 10 to our collection once it releases in January!

Received ARC from Viz Media and Level-5 via Edelweiss.