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Jibanyan

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Jibanyan
Yo-kai Watch character
File:Jibanyan artwork for Yo-kai Watch 2.png
Official artwork of Jibanyan
First appearance
Based onNekomata
Designed byAkihiro Hino
Portrayed byJapanese
In-universe information
SpeciesCat
GenderMale
FamilyAmy (former owner)
OriginSpringdale

Jibanyan (ジバニャン), formerly Rudy (アカマル), is a main character and mascot in the multi-media franchise Yo-kai Watch. Designed by Akihiro Hino, Jibanyan is a cat-like Charming tribe Yo-kai who's, notably, shown a strong liking towards chocolate bars.[1] Jibanyan has appeared in most Yo-kai Watch media, including the video games, the manga, and the TV-series.

Jibanyan first appeared in the Yo-kai Watch manga in December of 2012, only to appear in the video game seven months later in 2013.

Biography

Prior to becoming a Yo-kai, Jibanyan (then named Rudy) was the pet cat of a young girl named Amy. One day, Rudy was run over by a truck.[2] As Rudy was dying, he mistakenly thought he heard that Amy was disappointed with how easily he died, which caused Rudy (who had then become the Yo-kai Jibanyan) to actively fight trucks at an intersection in Uptown Springdale in order to make it up to Amy.[3] One day, Jibanyan meets Nate Adams while fighting trucks at an intersection. After hearing that Adams believes Jibanyan was brave for his actions, the two form a friendship. Later, Jibanyan spends the majority of his time at Adams's house.

In a distant future from when the Yo-kai Watch games take place, Jibanyan is transformed into Robonyan (ロボニャン), a robotic version of himself.[4]

Development

Jibanyan's backstory of being run over by a truck is based on an actual event experienced by Level-5's CEO and designer of Jibanyan, Akihiro Hino, when he was a child.[2] During Jibanyan's English localization, some people at Level-5 thought that Jibanyan's backstory of being hit by a car should be changed, however, Hino refused as he thought it was crucial to Jibanyan's story.[5] Jibanyan's future robotic self, Robonyan's catchphrase is a reference to the T-800 Terminator from the Terminator franchise.[4]

In an interview with Game Informer in 2015, Hino stated that Jibanyan was his favorite Yo-kai Watch character.[6]

Merchandise and other appearances

File:Jibanyan toy.jpeg
A toy of Jibanyan at Hasbro's Yo-kai Watch space at Toy Fair in 2016.[7]

Hasbro released multiple toys featuring Jibanyan during their partnership with Level-5 from 2015 to 2016.[8][9] Similarly, Bandai (who releases the Yo-kai Watch toys in Japan) have also released merchandise of Jibanyan.[10] A licensed party board game based on Jibanyan was released by Megahouse in April 2015.[11] The GameStop pre-orders for the first Yo-kai Watch game came with a Jibanyan pin.[12] A limited edition Nintendo 3DS XL featuring Jibanyan was made available on July 10, 2014.[13] A Jibanyan Nintendo 3DS theme was made available on My Nintendo on September 16, 2016.[14] In January 2016, the chocolate bars Jibanyan eats in the series were physically released for a limited time.[15]

Jibanyan appeared in the form of a mecha in the Nintendo 3DS game Little Battlers eXperience.[16] Jibanyan was at the center of artwork for the 2014 holding of the World Hobby Fair.[17] Jibanyan has appeared in multiple collaborations between Level-5 and the fast food company McDonald's.[18][19][20] In 2015, Jibanyan was chosen as the kids goodwill ambassador of the Hawaii Tourism Board in Japan.[21] In 2018, Jibanyan, along with other Level-5 characters, appeared as crossover characters in a Japan-only collaboration between Level-5 and Everybody's Golf.[22] In 2019, Jibanyan and Lord Enma appeared as crossover characters in Monster Strike.[23] Jibanyan was one of the 8 "Olympics Ambassadors" for the 2020 Summer Olympics. Jibanyan also appeared on merchandise promoting the event.[24] In 2016, 2017, and 2020, Jibanyan and other Yo-kai Watch characters appeared as crossover characters in an event in Final Fantasy XIV.[25]

Reception

Jibanyan is widely considering "cute" and "adorable."[26][27][28] Brian Ashcraft, writing for Kotaku, noted how Jibanyan was Yo-kai Watch's most popular character.[29] Darren Nakamura of Destructoid listed Jibanyan as one of the best video game characters introduced in 2015.[30] Niconico News ranked Jibanyan as the best character voiced by Etsuko Kozakura.[31] Destructoid's Chris Carter praised the Jibanyan T variant of Jibanyan that debuted in Yo-kai Watch Busters 2.[32] Nintendo Life praised the conversations that the player could have with Jibanyan when riding the train in Yo-kai Watch 2.[33] GamesRadar+ stated that Jibanyan was one of their most wanted characters for the crossover fighting video game series Super Smash Bros.[34]

References

  1. ^ "ジバニャンの大好物を商品化した「ジバニャンのチョコボー」に期間限定でプレミアム版が登場". 4Gamer.net. January 29, 2016. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
  2. ^ a b Davis, Ben (December 2, 2015). "The tragic backstory of Yo-Kai Watch's Jibanyan is based on a real-life incident". Destructoid. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
  3. ^ Ostermiller, John (April 2017). Transcendent Pandemonium: Reconnecting (the Americanization of) Yōkai Watch with Its Roots in Japanese Folklore (PDF). University of San Francisco. p. 94.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  4. ^ a b Stimson, Eric (June 29, 2015). "Arnold Schwarzenegger to Meet Yo-kai Watch Robot at Japanese Premiere". Anime News Network. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
  5. ^ Grubb, Jeff (November 17, 2015). "Level 5 boss on Yo-Kai Watch, localizing car accidents, and the Pokémon comparison". VentureBeat. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  6. ^ Wallace, Kimberely (November 5, 2015). "Learn All About Yo-Kai Watch From Level-5 President Akihiro Hino". Game Informer. GameStop. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  7. ^ Fahey, Mike (February 17, 2016). "There Are So Many More Yo-Kai Watch Toys Coming You Guys". Kotaku. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  8. ^ Frank, Allegra (February 4, 2016). "The Yo-kai Watch Is Just What The Smartwatch Market Needs". Polygon. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  9. ^ Fahey, Mike (December 27, 2015). "Forget The Apple Watch, The Yo-Kai Watch Toys Are Here". Kotaku. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  10. ^ Katsuta, Tetsuya (April 4, 2014). "「妖怪ウォッチ」、ジバニャン、ロボニャンのプラモデル登場". GAME Watch. Impress Corporation. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
  11. ^ Katsuta, Tetsuya (April 20, 2015). "「チョコボーとるニャー！」 ジバニャンのパーティゲーム登場". GAME Watch (in Japanese). Impress Corporation. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
  12. ^ Lada, Jenni (October 5, 2015). "Yo-Kai Watch GameStop Pre-Orders Come With Jibanyan". Siliconera. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
  13. ^ Sato (May 19, 2014). "Yo-kai Watch Getting A Limited Edition 3DS XL Starring Jibanyan". Siliconera. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
  14. ^ Carter, Chris (September 16, 2016). "This Yo-Kai Watch Jibanyan 3DS theme on My Nintendo is the best". Destructoid. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
  15. ^ "『妖怪ウォッチ』ジバニャンの大好物のお菓子"チョコボー"がちょこっと豪華なプレミアム版になって期間限定で登場！". Famitsu (in Japanese). January 29, 2016. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  16. ^ Sato (May 3, 2018). "Yo-kai Watch's Jibanyan Appears As A Cute Cat Armor Girl In Little Battlers eXperience Spinoff". Siliconera. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
  17. ^ Dong, Bamboo (November 18, 2014). "Yōkai Watch's Jibanyan Ousts Pikachu From the World Hobby Fair Spotlight". Anime News Network. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
  18. ^ Whritenour, Jacob (December 20, 2017). "Yo-Kai Watch Toys Coming to McDonald's Happy Meals". Hardcore Gamer. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
  19. ^ Chapman, Paul (August 12, 2015). "McDonald's Japan Offers Spooky "Yo-Kai Watch" Fry Cases". Crunchyroll. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  20. ^ Ashcraft, Brian (October 21, 2016). "Yokai Watch Characters Working At McDonald's". Kotaku. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
  21. ^ "ジバニャンがハワイ州観光局キッズ親善大使に就任！　『妖怪ウォッチ』×ハワイ州観光局のコラボが実現". Famitsu (in Japanese). March 2, 2015. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
  22. ^ Sato (May 24, 2018). "Watch Jibanyan Play Golf With Professor Layton And Others In Everbody's Golf's Level-5 Collab". Siliconera. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
  23. ^ "【モンスト】ジバニャンやエンマ大王も手に入る『妖怪ウォッチ ぷにぷに』コラボイベント開催！"コラボだしん！"のテレビCMも公開". Famitsu App (in Japanese). October 11, 2019. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
  24. ^ Anderson, Jenna (September 5, 2017). "The Tokyo 2020 Olympics May Have A Full-On Anime Parade". ComicBook. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
  25. ^ Beck, Adam (August 19, 2020). "Final Fantasy XIV Yo-kai Watch Event Returns Today". Hardcore Gamer. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
  26. ^ Khaw, Cassandra (April 26, 2016). "Yo-Kai Watch review". Eurogamer. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  27. ^ Carter, Chris (May 16, 2016). "See how the new battle system works in Yo-Kai Watch 3". Destructoid. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  28. ^ Morishita, Masaaki (2016). From Eerie to Endearing: Yokai in the Arts of Japan. p. 1.
  29. ^ Ashcraft, Brian (January 20, 2015). "Predicting Anime Characters' Future Appearance Is Easy". Kotaku. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
  30. ^ Nakamura, Darren (December 17, 2015). "The best new characters of 2015". Destructoid. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
  31. ^ "声優・小桜エツコのハマり役だったアニメキャラランキング". Niconico News (in Japanese). October 30, 2018. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
  32. ^ Carter, Chris (November 29, 2016). "My God, Indiana Jones Jibanyan is amazing". Destructoid. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
  33. ^ Sleeper, Morgan (September 29, 2017). "Yo-kai Watch 2: Psychic Specters Review". Nintendo Life. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
  34. ^ Prell, Sam (March 23, 2018). "20 characters we want to see in Super Smash Bros. on Switch". GamesRadar+. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
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