Yo-kai Watch: Shadowside animation series

is the second series of the Yo-kai Watch animation that takes place shortly after the fourth movie. It is a Japanese horror-action-comedy series. It premiered on April 13, 2018 in Japan with the first two episodes being a one-hour special. Compared to the original series, Yo-kai Watch: Shadowside is more plot-driven and serious in tone, while it still retains the sense of humor, it aims to cause widespread appeal across all age groups. The episodes are all singular 30-minute episodes, compared to the original series having one-to-four segments in the episode runtime.

The animation series set 30-years after the original series and follows the fifth-grader Keisuke Amano, the son of Nathan Adams and Katie Forester. He does not believe in anything related to supernaturnal activities, such as ghosts, UFOs, or even Yo-kai. He noticed that his older sister Natsume Amano, one of the protagonists of the series and the fourth movie, has been coming home late and decided to tail her. He discovers that Natsume goes to a Yo-kai Detective Agency were Natsume is forced to involve Keisuke in her activities. The other main cast members from the fourth movie, Touma Tsukinami, and Akinori Arihoshi also are the protagonists of the series.

Episodes will broadcast on Friday at 6:25 p.m. on TV Tokyo, however, the first episode premiered on 5:55 p.m.

Pre-release information
The February issue of CoroCoro Comics announced information about the new animation series as the "Shadowside Project". On February 15, 2018, the official website of Yo-kai Watch announced that the animation series will enter a new arc starting on April 13, 2018 as a one-hour special.

Important notes

 * Nathan Adams is no longer the main protagonist of the series, as he is now the father of Natsume and Keisuke as well the husband of his childhood friend and crush Katie Forester.
 * Yo-kai Medals no longer exist in the series to summon Yo-kai, as it is replaced with key-shaped items named Arks.
 * Episodes are not split in three to five segments as it is story driven, the story is set in only one episode.
 * Compared with the original series that has a lighter tone, this series has a more darker tone showing that it is more a series than a.
 * The main cast has a different voice cast than the voice cast from the movie.

Themes

 * Opening theme
 * Toki wo Matou  (Phantom Gangleader, The Bicycle Ridden by the Dead - present) 


 * Ending theme
 * Funky Boogie Bar (Phantom Gangleader, The Bicycle Ridden by the Dead - present)