Jibanyan

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 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
Yo-kai Watch character
Official artwork of Jibanyan
First appearance
Based onNekomata
Designed byAkihiro Hino
Portrayed byJapanese
In-universe information
SpeciesYo-kai
GenderMale
FamilyAmy (former owner)
OriginSpringdale

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
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. 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.
  4. 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.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.