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To celebrate Pokémon anime’s 20th anniversary, superfan redoes his fan art from 20 years ago

Richard Simmonds Aug 3, 2017
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Art and Pokémon stand the test of time; or, how to do a Pokémon remake properly without ditching characters.

Last month brought something that either delighted or terrified Pokémon fans: the release of a movie retelling the initial Pokémon anime story arc. The revisiting of Ash’s first meeting with the most famous Pocket Monster, Pikachu, coincided with the 20th anniversary of the anime’s start. For those of you outside Japan who haven’t been able to see it yet, here’s a trailer to whet your appetite.

Hard as it is to believe that a full twenty years have passed since the debut of the Pokémon anime, so much has changed (for example Brock and Misty’s unexplained disappearance in the new film). And yet, for one Pokémon fan, Twitter user @nue_junk, something has stayed the same. He still eschews the outside to work on his art.

Twenty years ago, as a young boy of only seven years old, he drew a rather fantastic Pokémon illustration in a sketchbook he filled to the brim with Pokémon drawings, revealed now like time capsule proof of his unchanging fandom. Following in the footsteps of the reboot-like new movie, he vowed to remake his childhood artwork to share on social media alongside his more recent work. On the left of his tweet is the 20-year-old original, and the redone picture (with the removal of a second Kabutops who’d snuck into the piece) has also been coloured, resulting in the image on the right of his tweet.

▼ Click on the images to see them in their full-sized glory.

ポケモン映画20周年なので、ちょうど20年前描いた自分の絵をリメイクしてみる。

当時7歳のぼくよ。お前は休み時間はいつも外で遊ばずに自由帳に絵を描いている子だったね。27歳のぼくも休みの日はいつも外に出ずに絵を描いてはSNSにあげる子に育ったぞ。 pic.twitter.com/GIBqeGg1kn

— ヌエ (@nue_junk) July 30, 2017

We’re all allowed to grow a bit misty-eyed when reminiscing, and @nue_junk has this message to his younger self:

“You were a child who spent all of his free time not going out playing, but drawing pictures in your sketchbook. As a 27 year-old too, you’ll grow up to be someone who spends all of their free time not going out and drawing pictures to post on social media.”

@nue_junk has really ramped up the cuteness of the Pokémon in both his drawings, especially with his own take on Pikachu. With so much going on the picture, it’s worth getting a closer look at parts, such as this scene where Flareon is blasting a poor Exeggcute with fire.

FF外から失礼します！このイラストとても素敵ですね😭😭✨20年の時を経て...！
ちなみにわたしはブースターの火炎ほうしゃで燃やされて黒焦げのタマタマがすごく可愛いと思いました！😍😍(画像お借りしました)
これからもどんどんイラスト描いてください...！ pic.twitter.com/Sj4KVaNK3v

— なつ🍒 (@damenakodan02) August 1, 2017

With the original 151 monsters and two new additions in his remade drawing, how many can you find and name? And if you were wondering which Pokémon is his favourite, it’s Medicham.

Of course, as time has passed so has the technology that can be used to render Pokémon, as these realistic monsters show. And if you prefer a touch more realism in your hand-drawn Pokémon, have a look at these beauties.

Source, featured image: Twitter/@nue_junk