Anyone who's a fan of Pokémon probably knows that Japan has plastered the lovable critters faces in virtually every inanimate object available – including
trains,
school buses, and even
airplanes. The upcoming POKÉMON with YOU train (yes, that capitalization is intentional), however, takes the trend a little bit further by featuring a full Pokémon-inspired interior and special play carriage with the theme of a "Pokémon forest" for rambunctious children!
Of course, these images are an artist's interpretation and do not reflect what the final train will look like exactly, but it will probably be fairly similar to what's pictured above and below.
Now, I can safely say that I would definitely ride the POKÉMON with YOU train if given half a chance, but I'm not really impressed with the color scheme, especially those horrid bright-colored seats in the first illustration. Yuck!
If I were the president of The Pokémon Company (and I clearly should be), I would've utilized the gorgeous designs used in the
Pokémon Time merchandise series exclusive to Pokémon Centers in Japan. Well, at least the outside looks pretty adorable:
The POKÉMON with YOU train is part of the
POKÉMON with YOU program, which was established as a way to spread happiness to the children of Japan after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. It will run in the Tohoku region of Japan (the Northern section of Honshu, Japan's main island, which was most affected by the disaster last year), consist of two cars, and have 100 different Pokémon featured throughout. The first week of service, December 22nd to the 28th, will be exclusive to victims of the disaster, following that it will be open to the public for 160 days. That means it'll still be running when I visit Japan in June! Now, if only I could find a reason to go to Tohoku and a child to bring along so I don't come off as a total weirdo...
I wonder if the stewards will wear Pokémon-themed uniforms like the attendants on the Pokémon planes?
Note: I've just switched to Disqus for comments, so please let me know what you think of it!
1. Discuss is pretty groovy except it opens the post that you are commenting on in a new page so you have to back up out if you wanna scroll though the whole blog, which isn't so user friendly for new comers to your site.
ReplyDelete2. Yes, you should definately be the president of the Pokemon company Anne!
3. I agree that a chibi looking scheme like the Pokemon Time series would look totally cool.
4. I could totally sneak on the train as a kid in a Pikachu outfit... You get 6 ft tall children in Japan right? :P.
5. The crew should dress up as Pokecenter nurses!!! =D.
Hmm I don't know if I'm seeing the same thing as you are when it comes to the Disqus comments, Billy! Everything seems to show up on the same page for me. If we find this is more cumbersome than the original commenting style then I'll change back after a week or two.
ReplyDeleteI would make a good president, eh? ;) And what a good idea about the crew being nurses! That would be awesome! And maybe the conductor (is that what they still call them? I'm not sure!) could wear a lab coat like one of the professors? That'd be adorable!
And gosh, I didn't know you were so tall! I bet you'd definitely stand out in Japan!
1. Ahh I haven't tried using Disqus on my home PC yet, I'm using my work PC :).
ReplyDelete2. Hells yeah you would, you'd make a right groovy pres, and you could make people refer to you as Mr.President, which would never get old for me!
3. Aha, Look at us getting all arty and creative; coming up with our own ideas for the Pokemon train! We should be a team you and I, the most awesomest team ever :).
4. And yeah, I am pretty tall I guess, it's a proud moment when you are one of the tallest people you know.
Awwww how cute! I'm so addicted to Pokemon lately!! Japan alsways has the best ideas xD
ReplyDeleteHey Bryan told me that you have a PSvita.
I only own Touch my Katamari for my vita.
Are there any games for vita you would recommend to me?
On my list are:
-Uncharted Golden Abyss
-Gravity Rush
-Dynasty Warriors Next
-New Little Kings Story
-Dokuro
-The new Hatsune Miku game (If it ever gets to Europe)
Greetings from Germany :D
Well, you have a pretty solid list of games there, LIzzi! I'm sure you'd be happy with any of them. I personally have only played a bit of New Little King's Story and Dokuro, and I think Dokuro in particular is a really lovely little title that feels right at home on the Vita.
ReplyDeleteAlso, even though I personally haven't played it yet, you really can't go wrong with Gravity Rush! A lot of people whose opinions I trust say it's a must-have for Vita owners :)
Hope that helps!