Yokai/Youkai can mean a ghost, monster, demon, spirits, phantom or strange apparition. This word was derived from the Chinese kanji: Yao Guai, 妖怪 (yao means demon/monster and guai means weird).
We see lots of these monsters in various Anime, such as Yu Yu Hakusho, D.Grayman, Blood+, Shounen Onmyouji, Ghost Hunt, Inuyasha and more.
The translation for Yokai I've seen most is "Demon", or "Monster". A good example is Inuyasha, he is known as half-demon. But, is the word "Demon" the same as what we're used to? No. I believe Demons in Anime translated from Yokai are very different. They're more like monsters, than demons that burn in hell. I think by watching many Anime with the concept of demons, people have adapted a different meaning to that word.
Is Demon a good translation for Yokai? I actually can't think of a better word. Monsters also have its own meaning in English, so I don't think it would fit all the time, since Yokai can be anything that's seen as a creature, that's strange. However, many Yokai are really not that scary and can just be big looking creatures or even animals. In Yu Yu Hakusho, Yokai are
Yokai (in this case, Yaoguai) is also portrayed a lot in Wuxia as well, especially in mythological and game-based series like Chinese Paladin, Xuan Yuan Sword and Strange Tales of Liaozhai. In those shows, usually a Yaoguai is not a human (huh, of course!) and they are some form of animal spirit. Some of them may be nasty, for example - we may call it a spider demon, others can appear to be good, like a mermaid spirit.
(She's known as the butterfly spirit in Chinese Paladin, but she is grouped as a monster)
Many shows have debated whether Yokai/Yaoguai are good or evil. In shows like Xuan Yuan Sword and Chinese Paladin, those so-called Demons often show human emotions. Often, humans in the shows have impure thoughts and turn evil. That started the talk of, "if humans go down the wrong path, and demons want to be kind, then what's the difference between the two?"
This is explored in great detail with Ningke from Xuan Yuan Sword, as she was a demoness, yet she had good in her heart.
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