The following is a guest article by zoniken! Be sure to also check out his Pixiv. For more information on how to submit a guest Dream Smasher article, click here.
Last time, I made the “Case for” article of Yo-kai Watch’s Jibanyan’s entry. In that article, I explained that one reason for his exclusion is that he lacks movesets. However, as many viewers commented with many ideas and suggestions, I have determined that I was wrong on that point. Not just that Jibanyan can possibly borrow moves from other Yo-kais for Smash, but as I further researched the series through its games, anime and manga, I have realized that Jibanyan can do many things other than only using his Soultimate attack. What else could he do if he joined Smash? As this also being the celebration of Yo-kai Watch 2: Boney Spirits/Fleshy Souls being released in the West on September 30th, and Yo-kai Watch 3: Sushi/Tempura being released in Japan on July 16th, I’ll once again introduce the star of Yo-kai Watch, Jibanyan the Cat Yo-kai as a Dream Smasher.
Who is Jibanyan?
Jibanyan is a D-Ranked Cat Yo-kai in a Charming Tribe and lives in a fictional town in Japan called Springdale/Sakura New Town. He is also the main mascot of more than 600 Yo-kais in the series. During his lifetime, he was named Rudy/Aka-maru by his former owner Amy, but he got run over by an oncoming truck. Since Amy called him “lame” upon his death (actually she was referring to herself according to the anime and Yo-kai Watch 2), he became a Yo-kai to take revenge against any oncoming trucks, in an effort to prove to his former owner how strong he had become. Due to this effort on never giving up his dreams, he later befriended the main protagonist, Nathan Adams/Keita Amano or Katie Forester/Fumika Kodama (depending on the gender you choose from the beginning), and aids them whenever they need him by granting them his Yo-kai Medal. In Yo-kai Watch 3: Sushi/Tempura, he later followed Nate (while Katie has been replaced by the new female protagonist Inaho Misora) to USA’s St. Peanutsburg due to his father’s relocation, and assists him with solving Yo-kai problems at his new hometown. In many spin-offs, he also works as a member of Yo-kai Watch Busters, as well as the role of Romance of the Three Kingdom’s Liu Bei in Yo-kai Watch Sangokushi. He also made a crossover appearance in Square Enix’s Final Fantasy XIV as a battle axe designed as himself.
History & Importance to his series/Nintendo
Whether he’s busy or dull, he’s ready to join Smash at any time! (image source)
Level-5 and Nintendo have a long relationship since they released the first Professor Layton and the Curious Village for DS in February 2007, as Level-5 mainly focused on selling third party games for the Nintendo handheld system. After the success of both Professor Layton and Inazuma Eleven, Yo-kai Watch was later released for the 3DS in July 2013, while the localized version was released in November 2015. The game became a successful release, selling over 1.33 million copies and leading to the release of Yo-kai Watch 2: Ganso/Honke in July 2014, which successfully sold over 3 million copies. Although the localized version of the first Yo-kai Watch didn’t earn a million seller of the total of 121 thousand copies, Level-5 has announced that the localized Yo-kai Watch 2: Boney Spirits/Fleshy Souls will be released in September 2016, which proves that the series is actually popular and quite successful in the West. Although there are few series that have been released from Bandai’s arcades to smartphone apps, including PS3/PS4/PC for a crossover with Final Fantasy XIV, Yo-kai Watch has always been in the Nintendo franchise as it released 6 titles for both 3DS and Wii U. The popularity was even strong as it created a social phenomenon in Japan, resulting in wins over their rival franchise, the Pokémon series.
Just like how Pikachu is to Pokémon, Jibanyan is the main mascot of the series. He is not a generic monster that you see in the fields, but has a backstory of his tragic past of dying in a car accident and a goal to defeat any cars to prove that he’s the strongest cat. Not only that, he can be easily obtained in the beginning of the game as a starter Yo-kai, but also played as a main protagonist in many spin-offs when his human friends Nate/Katie aren’t involved. As both Yo-kai Watch and Pokémon became rival franchises, many fans suggested to see a crossover battle between both Jibanyan and Pikachu in some form, and Smash Bros. would be the best case for their match to be settled on.
How will Jibanyan play?
Sprite by TheAnvil. Colours by Nantendo.
Color Palettes:
- Original red color, yellow belt, cyan tail flames
- Hovernyan color: Blue fur, black belt, red tail flames
- Thornyan color: Green fur, orange belt and tail flames
- Tomnyan color: Yellow fur, red & blue belt, blue eyes and tail flames
- Baddinyan color: Purple fur, brown belt, green tail flames
- Sailornyan color: Pink fur, navy belt, blue eyes and tail flames
- Shogunyan color: Cyan fur, yellow belt and tail flames
- Robonyan color: Dark gray fur, gray belt, yellow eyes, red tail flames
Although there are many cat Yo-kais other than Jibanyan (including his fusion evolutions) in every series, Jibanyan’s design will be kept in his original form with his iconic hara-maki belt, while borrowing other cat Yo-kai’s fur color, belt color, etc. as his alternate colors. Unlike Pokémon, Yo-kai Watch doesn’t provide specific heights and weights in every Yo-kai’s data; however, it is possible that Jibanyan’s height may be closer or similar to Pikachu’s height, but much lighter as Jigglypuff since he’s a ghost. He may have small legs which may make one assume that he’s a slow character, but he can run at the average speed of a human being, possibly close to Mario’s. He can jump the same height as Pikachu as he can move freely in air in an average speed, but as he hates water, he cannot swim as he’ll quickly drown within 3 seconds. He may not be powerful either as being the D-Rank Yo-kai which makes him a weak fighter for both strength and defense, but his special moves can gain more damage than his regular attacks. Much more, he’ll be close ranged melee fighter than a projectile shooter, and he’ll be a fire-based fighter since he’s a fire-type Yo-kai in the actual games. Also, not just that he’ll be borrowing other Yo-kai’s movesets, but he’ll be using some multimedia references from the anime and manga, such as using Whisper as a weapon.
Stats:
- Can he Crawl: Yes
- Can he Wall Jump: Yes
- How many jumps do they have: 2
- Is there any exclusive abilities he has*: No
- Weight Class: E
- Height Class: E+
- Speed Class: C
Yo-kai Watch Universe Icon
Kirby’s Jibanyan Hat
(Both created by zoniken)
| Move Name & Action |
Image & Description |
| Entrance | 
As the Yo-kai Watch’s lens appear to scan Jibanyan’s vision, a purple smoke will burst out and he’ll jump out from it as he call out his name “Jibanyan!!” |
| Idle Stance | 
He’ll simply bounce left and right, without making any fighting poses. |
| Idle Pose 1 | 
He’ll simply tuck his hands into his hara-maki belt. |
| Idle Pose 2 | 
He’ll yawn as he’s bored. |
| Walking | Without flailing his arms, he’ll be using his small legs walking in an average speed. |
| Running | 
Jibanyan will be flailing his arms and towing his body a little forward while running in an average speed. His eyes will be more determined than the picture shows. |
| Jumping | 
Jibanyan will jump and fall while spreading his arms widely. While committing a second jump, he’ll flip forward when he’s moving forward, and he’ll do the backflip when moving backwards. |
| Crouching & Crawling | Similar to Pikachu’s crouching and crawling, he’ll lay down on his belly and crawl forwards and backwards with his small arms and legs. |
| Guarding | He’ll cover his head with his small arms to guard. |
| Front Roll &
Back Roll |
Rather than rolling on the ground, he’ll flip jump forward to dodge the attack. He can also do a backflip too when moving backwards. |
| Jab
(Sharp Claws) |
 
Using the attack patterns from both original Yo-kai Watch series and Yo-kai Watch Busters, he’ll use his claws to attack. He’ll first scratch from his right claw (left image), then his left, and finally using his both hands to finish (right image), meaning he’ll be attacking 3 times. However, this will force Jibanyan to move one step forward each. |
| Dash Attack
(Sliding Dive) |
Similar to the image above, he’ll do a slide attack by face diving into the ground. |
| Forward Tilt
(Tail Whip) |
He’ll use his flaming twin tails to whip his opponent. It also contains the burning effect. |
| Up Tilt
(Sharp Upperclaw) |
Using the attack pattern from Yo-kai Watch Busters, Jibanyan will use a uppercut claw attack that’s similar to Mario and Mega Man’s up tilt attack. |
| Down Tilt
(Mouse Snatcher) |
Scratches his opponent while crouching like he’s snatching a mouse. |
| Forward Smash
(Whisper Hammer) |
This move originated in the Coro Coro manga version of Yo-kai Watch. As he pulls out Whisper, he’ll start spinning him around like a lasso to charge power, and swing him to attack his opponent from a long distance, dealing heavy damage. Charging this move also contains damage effect, so opponents who come near him can be damaged, as this move is similar to Corrin’s forward Smash. |
| Up Smash
(Spirit Dance) |
A Soultimate attack borrowed from Komasan. Similar to Samus’s Hellfire, he’ll be blasting his cyan colored tail flames as a wave upwards. |
| Down Smash
(Inferno) |
A Soultimate attack borrowed from Kyubi. Similar to Mega Man’s Flame Blast, he’ll blast two fire pillars on both sides to attack his opponents. |
| Neutral Aerial
(Spin Attack) |
He’ll round up his body and spin to attack, similar to Pikachu and Sonic’s neutral aerial attack. |
| Forward Aerial
(Fire) |
He’ll use his fire technique to blast his opponent in air, giving them a strong blow. |
| Backward Aerial
(Kicks of Fury) |
This move originated from the Coro Coro manga version of Yo-kai Watch. He’ll activate his Soultimate attack Paws of Fury, but using his legs instead. It’ll continuously hit an opponent behind him, but it won’t deal big damage. |
| Up Aerial
(Burning Onigiri Slash) |
A Soultimate attack borrowed from Yakionigiri. He’ll pull out a flaming katana sword and slash his opponent upwards. |
| Down Aerial
(Crash Fall) |
Jibanyan will turn his head down and dive to attack his opponent. It’s a stall-then-fall effect that can meteor smash. However, he’ll bury himself once he crashes into the ground (as image above). |
| Grab & Pummel
(Tail Burn) |
Jibanyan will grab his opponent and use his flame tail to continuously burn his opponent. |
| Forward Throw
(Whisper Bat) |
Similar to the image above, Jibanyan will pull out Whisper and smash his opponent away like a homerun bat. It’s not as powerful as Whisper Hammer, but it can easily blow his opponent far away. |
| Backward Throw
(Karate Throw) |
Jibanyan will use a karate throw to throw his opponent away. |
| Up Throw
(Sky Pounder) |
He’ll rapidly punch his opponent upward and uses an uppercut to blow his opponent away to the sky. |
| Down Throw
(Ground Pounder) |
He’ll rapidly punch his opponent on the ground and uses a fierce attack to blow his opponent away. |
| Neutral Special
(Paws of Fury) |
He’ll use his iconic Soultimate attack as his neutral special. If you continue pressing the button rapidly, he’ll continue attacking until you stop pressing the button. Unlike any of the regular rapid punching attacks, this contains bigger damage, and he’ll use a final powerful punch to blow his opponent away. However, this is a short range attack, so it won’t be effective against opponents who are far away. |
| Custom Neutral 1
(Claws of Fury) |
This move is the claw version of his Soultimate attack, which contains more damage than his original move. However, this move doesn’t have the rapid button mechanic, and it doesn’t have a final blow to finish his opponent. |
| Custom Neutral 2
(Stretch of Fury) |
This is the stretched version of his Soultimate attack, which can reach far distances. This move can continue attacking by pressing the button rapidly. However, the damage differs according to opponent’s distance; closer distance contains larger damage, while the farther distance is weaker. |
| Side Special
(Guts Straight Paw) |
A Soultimate attack borrowed from Hovernyan. Holding the button can charge his power, and thrust out his punch by releasing the button, or automatically once the power is charged for two seconds. The fully maxed charge contains more damage than releasing the button. Can only travel the set distance. |
| Custom Side 1
(Blazing Fist) |
A Soultimate attack borrowed from Blazion. Similar to Marth and Lucina’s custom neutral 2 (Dashing Assault), Jibanyan can perform a dashing and flaming punch attack. Holding the button can charge his power, and once the power is charged for two seconds, he’ll dash forward to attack his opponent from a far distance with a burning effect. Releasing the button during charging can adjust his dashing distance, but weakens the power. However, this move is not as powerful as the original side special as it doesn’t contain the shield breaker effect. |
| Custom Side 2
(Loving Slap) |
A Soultimate attack borrowed from Tattletell. Similar to Jigglypuff’s Slap, he’ll simply slap his opponent while moving a little forward. It is a short ranged attack and doesn’t deal a large damage, but contains the shield breaker effect. It also shoots hearts when hit, but those have no effect. |
| Up Special
(Whisper Float) |
He’ll pull out Whisper and grab his tail as Whisper flies up in air. This will help Jibanyan return to the stage after falling, and it will fly higher at a fast pace for at least 3 seconds. However, it won’t let you move sideways as freely . |
| Custom Up 1
(Whisper Copter) |
Similar to Whisper Hammer, he’ll pull out Whisper and spin him around really fast to fly in the air like a propeller. This move will help Jibanyan move freely left and right, and Whisper himself contains the damage effect if the opponent touches him. However, unlike Whisper Float, this cannot fly higher in air. Also, he will scream for help. |
| Custom Up 2
(Whisper Jump) |
He’ll pull out Whisper, but rather than grabbing him to fly, he’ll immediately stomp him to jump higher instead, similar to Sonic’s Spring Jump and Mega Man’s Rush Coil. But unlike those, Whisper won’t stay in his position while on ground, as he’ll disappear after he lands on the ground or hits his opponent as he contains damage effect. |
| Down Special
(Blaze Bomb) |
 
He’ll pull out an item from Yo-kai Watch 2’s Yo-kai Watch Busters mini game. Once he places it on the ground, it will explode within 3 seconds. The damage is big and it’ll blow opponents far away. |
| Custom Down 1
(Signibble Trap) |
 
He’ll pull out an item from Yo-kai Watch 2’s Yo-kai Watch Busters mini game. It won’t explode once he places it on the ground, but similar to Sensor Bombs, it’ll create a large shockwave to electrify whoever comes near it. Although it doesn’t contain the damage effect, it’ll paralyze opponents. |
| Custom Down 2
(Chibi-Chibi Rocket) |
He’ll pull out USApyon’s Chibi-Chibi Rocket from the upcoming Yo-kai Watch 3: Sushi/Tempura. Unlike the image above, it’ll be a small-sized rocket, similar to Hocotate Bomb. Once placed on the ground, it’ll launch up within 3 seconds, and after 5 seconds offscreen, it’ll fall down and explode once it hits the ground. The rocket itself contains the damage effect, which will drag touched opponents upwards offscreen, and blow opponents away with its explosion. However, unlike the Hocotate Bomb, it doesn’t contain the meteor smash effect. |
| Final Smash
(Million Times Back Paws) |
Once Jibanyan obtains the Smash Ball, he’ll fuse with Whisper and evolve into Buchinyan. In this form, he’ll immediately activate his Soultimate attack that’ll spread forward entirely, giving opponents multiple amounts of damages. As the attack lasts 5 seconds, he’ll shoot out one large final blow from his fisted paw and blast his opponents away instantly. After he’s done with this attacks, he’ll defuse with Whisper as he turns back to normal, and Whisper will disappear out from the stage. |
| Up Taunt | 
He’ll start performing a dance from Yo-kai Watch’s iconic “Gera Gera Po Song” along with him singing “Gera Gera Po ♪”. |
| Side Taunt | 
Similar to Yoshi’s taunt, he’ll start spinning around as he chases his tails. |
| Down Taunt | He’ll pull out a fish and eat it for 2 seconds. |
| Victory Pose 1 | 
He’ll do his summon dance. (video source) |
| Victory Pose 2 | 
Once he bounces up, he’ll perform his rapid punching action. |
| Victory Pose 3 | He’ll be lying down and eating a fish. |
| Crowd Cheer | Female crowds will be cheering him as they all shout out “JI-BA-NYAN!!!” There will be an emphasis on the “NYAN!” part, almost like a cat is saying it. |
Jibanyan’s victory music will be Yo-kai Watch 2: Boney Spirits/Fleshy Souls’ victory music.
So, there you have it! These are Jibanyan’s movesets that I could think of throughout my research, and how he could play in Smash. As Jibanyan doesn’t have any particular movesets in the actual game, it would be possible that he can borrow other moves from other Yo-kais for Smash, like how characters like Ness and Mega Man borrow moves from other characters. But remember, although Yo-kai Watch’s popularity is growing a little in the West, it’s still no different that many western fans voting for Professor Layton as a Level-5 candidate. However, it is possible that both Professor Layton and Jibanyan can both join, like how Capcom and Sega brought two characters from their games. But time will tell whether Level-5 have any interest to join Smash for the first time.
“So tell me bro, am I eligible to join Smash nyan?”
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Dream Smashers …or Nightmare Smashers?
I can tell a lot of effort went into this, and I like the moves you’ve adapted from other Yo-Kai. This certainly feels like a pretty playable character, with maybe just one exception. I get that he’s a ghost, but lighter than Jigglypuff? Jigglypuff is already lighter than the rest of the cast by a decent margin (the second lightest character, Mewtwo, is 6 points heavier). I appreciate it being faithful to the character, just prepare for my Ganondorf to KO it at 30% 😀
Jokes aside, I do see this working. While Jiggs works by floating around opponents attacks, Jibanyan could take a more direct approach, stuffing approaches with multi-hit attacks and using his down special to keep opponents where he wants them. I think there’s a good enough flow between the moves to keep momentum and not have to worry about his low weight until he gets hit. Good article!
The Yo-kais that I’ve chose to borrow from are mainly fire-typed Yo-kais, since Jibanyan is a fire-type Yo-kai. Also I thought using Whisper as a weapon was a good idea, since Whisper will be fighting alongside with Jibanyan as well in some meanings. (lol)
I’ve never said “than” Jigglypuff but “as” Jigglypuff, which his weight is similar to Jiggs. As in evidence, as Jibanyan gets hit by an oncoming vehicle, he gets blown away in a very far distance. Of course its been expressed in a cartoony way, but I think that’s how it explains that he’s very light as he’s easily to blow away. However, as I said in the article, unlike Pokemon, Yo-kais doesn’t have specific heights and weights in their profiles, so its unknown how tall or heavy Jibanyan really is, which I decided to make it similar to his rival Pikachu. But I agree he won’t stand against the KO King Ganondorf’s attacks. (lol)
The strategy that you came with does look useful to protect Jibanyan’s weakness. As you say, it may possibly work in the actual game. But one thing I’m kinda worried about is, I wonder how Sakurai will view Jibanyan as…a video game character or an anime character? Yo-kai Watch series has became more of an anime-based series since many anime references are added to the later games, which have quite disappointed few fans because the staffs decided to remove few parts out from the game like the first female protagonist due to the anime’s influence and staff’s disapproval. If that’s the case and if Sakurai views Jibanyan as an anime character, then there may not be a possibility to let Jibanyan join the game. But we may not know, because Yo-kai Watch is still part of the video game history, so maybe Sakurai will think about it if there’s a possibility though.
Thank you for the wonderful comment!
Sorry for the late comment since I was busy at my job (which I’ve done a terrible result today… 🙁 ), but thank you for posting my Dream Smasher article! I have found out some image’s size didn’t kept the same as my original draft. Probably Google Doc have so many errors that doesn’t support on few parts, or I might doing something wrong instead…
But still, once again, thank you so much!