Jibanyan

is a Fire-attributed D-ranked cat Yo-kai of the Charming tribe. According to the Yokai Medallium, its bio for Jibanyan says "After being run over by a truck, he inspirits an intersection and seeks to get his revenge on passing trucks  . ''

Jibanyan is popularly known as the mascot of the Yo-kai Watch franchise, as well being a game mascot of Yo-Kai Watch, Yo-Kai Watch 2: Ganso and Honke, Yo-Kai Watch 2: Shin'uchi, and Yo-Kai Watch Busters: Red Cat Team.

Biology
Jibanyan is a red and white coloured cat with a chip in his left ear. He has yellow coloured eyes with large black pupils, his nose and inner-ears are dull shade of pink. Attached to his collar is an aquamarine coloured bell, matching the flames at the end of his two tails. He was red and had a curved muzzle instead of a wavy muzzle, he also had white inner ears and paws tips with a regular tail and also had a belt before he was a Yo-Kai.

Before Jibanyan died due to a car accident, he was a normal cat named Akamaru that was adopted by a girl named Amy.

Personality
As a Yo-Kai, he resorts to possessing people to fight on-coming trucks after numerous failed attempts to do so by himself. Luckily, he is stopped and befriended by Nate and Whisper and decided to move into their house. He initially shows a michievous and carefree suide, easily breaking the rules and ultimately, nearly, being exorcised and having to be saved by Nate. However, he quickly makes amends shortly thereafter.

Jibanyan has an affinity for chocolate bars and anything related to his favorite music group, "Nextharmeowny." Jibanyan is also eager to fight over other Yo-Kai when needed, as shown in Signibble's assault at Nathan's sleepover. Also, he is quick to take action in dire moments, such as trying to force summoning when Nathan is possessed by Babblong and trying to prove superior than Robonyan, his robotic counterpart.

First Season
In Episode 1, he was a normal cat owned by a young girl named Amy. The pair were inseparable and loved one another dearly. Though upon dying and becoming a ghost he had faint recollections of Amy standing over his dead body calling him a loser. Due to how upset he was over the ordeal, he chose to repress the memory, including his name he had as a living cat. He haunted the crosswalk he died at and would possess people to fight on-coming cars and trucks as a means of seeking revenge. There he met Nate whom he befriended an soon came to live with.

In Episode 25, it is shown what really happened. He was sent back in time by the malicious pair of Yo-Kai named Kin and Gin. He relived the days he spent with Amy, where it was revealed that she wished to be a Fashion Designer. He himself thought she would be great, but as a cat he was unable to tell her. Later they went over to the intersection, the place where he had got hit by a car when walking across. It turns out though, that Amy was supposed to die instead, as chosen by the Yo-Kai resembling Grim Reapers. But Kin and Gin appeared before him, slowed time and told him that they did this so he could have a second chance and he can change the outcome (however, this was a ruse in order to separate him from Nate). But Jibanyan refused and rammed into Amy, to push her out of the way and allow him to get hit. However, instead of calling him a loser, it turns out that Amy was calling herself this out of shame for what happened, as she held tight his mangled corpse and burst into tears. When his spirit ascended from his body, he called out "Goodbye, Amy" to her, and she heard him and turned and looked. After realizing he can say a few last things to her, he told her she'd be a great designer. Akameru then went back to being Jibanyan and returned home to Nate.

Nate Adams
Nate befriends Jibanyan when he discovers him possessing people on the crosswalk. Jibanyan takes it upon himself to live in Nate's home after overwhelming amounts of cat Yo-Kai begin to inhabit the area. Despite stirring up a bit of trouble at first, he becomes a welcomed part of Nate's daily life and a close friend. Due to this, Jibanyan is usually the first Yo-Kai Nathan thinks to summon when confronting a problem. When Jibanyan was about to kiss Fusasa-tan from NyaKB, Nate summoned him to fight Hanahojin.

Whisper
Whisper and Jibanyan have a bit of a light-hearted rivalry and tend to bicker often. Regardless, they seem to be fairly good friends.

Amy
Jibanyan's owner before he died. Amy named him Akamaru and spent most of her time relaxing with him and taking him along when going out. She loved her kitten dearly during their time together. She called him lame (though she was referring to herself) after hearing that he died by a truck, that is why he tries to defeat the truck.

Nextharmeowny
A musical idol group consisting of young girls dressed in cat-themed attire, they are a plug for the group AKB48. Jibanyan is an enormous fan of theirs and strives to collect massive amounts of merchandise pertaining to them. He longs to meet them in person, win their hearts with his cuteness, and perhaps even receive a kiss or some pettings.

In-Game Locations
Yo-Kai Watch: Jibanyan is befriended in the game's storyline.

You can get additional Jibanyans at the Infinite Inferno in the 5th Circle.

In other languages

 * Japanese: ジバニャン Jibanyan
 * Korean: 지바냥 Jibanyang
 * Chinese: 地縛喵 (Hong Kong) or 吉胖喵 (Taiwan)

Trivia

 * Jibanyan has many different versions of himself, through fusions or not even related through Jibanyan.
 * Jibanyan is the only Yo-Kai that can change his Soultimate with having four versions in all, which also includes his S rank version.
 * Jibanyan's Soultimate ("Paws of Fury") in the Japanese version of Yo-kai Watch did not feature the attack being enunciated when performed. The English version of Yo-kai Watch has Jibanyan call out the attack, though it is not done with no real reason: this was featured in the Japanese versions of Yo-kai Watch 2.

Origin
Jibanyan wears a haramaki around his stomach, or "belly wrap". The word originally referred to a type of chest armor, but in modern times it describes a tube of thick cloth worn around the waist to keep the body warm during winter. It used to be regarded as an old-fashioned, unstylish article of clothing, but it recently saw new popularity in Japan.
 * Jibanyan's design is likely based off of the Nekomata, a cat that when converting into a Yo-Kai has their tail partially split. Most nekomata in popular media exaggerates how far the tail splits, sometimes giving a nekomata two full-fledged tails.

Name Origin
His name is a combination of and nyan, a Japanese onomatopoeia for the sound commonly made by cats.