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Pikachu Lookalike Discontinued in Japan

by Pedro Hernandez - August 12, 2011, 2:49 pm EDT
Total comments: 20 Source: (Kotaku), http://kotaku.com/5829843/goodbye-pikachu-rip+off-...

The eco-friendly creature was too similar to the Pokemon mascot.

Eco-chan, a character created to promote the environment by Japan's Yamaguchi Prefecture, has been retired to due claims of the character being too similar to Pokemon's Pikachu.

The character has the same facial features as Pikachu, but painted green in order to fit with the message of nature protection. The media started noticing the similarities between the two characters, forcing the city to retire the mascot costume. The original character illustrator claimed that they didn't know who Pikachu was when creating the character.

The illustration of the character, however, will still be present in marketing material.

Talkback

Ryan CannonAugust 12, 2011

"The original character illustrator claimed that they didn't know who Pikachu was when creating the character"

How stupid does he think we are?

SesshaAugust 12, 2011

Yeah that sounds believable

TJ SpykeAugust 12, 2011

Unless he created the character in 1995, he is BSing it. Pikachu is recognizable be almost everyone, even those who never touched a Pokemon game. In Japan it's even more true.

NWR_pap64Pedro Hernandez, Contributing WriterAugust 12, 2011

I'm calling BS on the whole "Don't know who Pikachu is" as well. Unless the guy is a hermit and has cut himself from civilization, and only comes out when he is commissioned to create crappy characters for promotions. :p

FlipsterAugust 12, 2011

Man I would love to raid whatever storage locker that costume is being kept in =p

ShyGuyAugust 12, 2011

lol, getting a pokemon banner ad on this article.

Change the nose and mouth, no problem.

famicomplicatedJames Charlton, Associate Editor (Japan)August 12, 2011

Well, if the guy was over say, 70, he might not know who Pikachu was.

Mop it upAugust 12, 2011

Pikachu isn't a very unique character, things like those eyes and cheeks seem common with Japanese characters. I could see someone creating a character like Greenachu there who hasn't seen Pikachu. I have no idea if that's true or not in this case, but it is possible.

GKAugust 13, 2011

Look closer to Pichu to me...

zachs1997August 13, 2011

his tail needs to be the recycling sign

NWR_pap64Pedro Hernandez, Contributing WriterAugust 13, 2011

Quote from: famicomplicated

Well, if the guy was over say, 70, he might not know who Pikachu was.

True, but if there was a team behind it all, someone must have realized that Eco-chan looked like Pikachu.

LithiumAugust 13, 2011

It's the extremely rare grass type Pichu, I thought it only existed in legend

CericAugust 13, 2011

Its someone in a Pichu costume with a slight green tint to the Photo.

Make it Super Green and A recycling symbol tail and give it some claws.

KDR_11kAugust 13, 2011

It may be a simple and pretty standard Japanese design but they could've picked a different animal than a mouse. Ecolis has three different Japanese-designed eco monsters and none of them look like Pikachu.

ShyGuyAugust 13, 2011

Nintendo should have capitalized on this and made it a special downloadable Pokemon. I googled Pichu and it does look more like that.

KDR_11kAugust 13, 2011

You never played Smash Bros Melee?

ShyGuyAugust 13, 2011

I bought it used once but the disc was broken, so I returned it. I was then going to buy it at Target out of their $20 section but they told me it was $30. So I got fed up and decided I wouldn't buy it until I found it for $20 or less. I never did.

Mop it upAugust 13, 2011

You've no excuse anymore.

http://www.gamestop.com/gc/games/super-smash-brothers-melee/17824

ShyGuyAugust 13, 2011

I gave my sister my gamecube and my Wii still needs a disc repair.

zachs1997August 13, 2011

shy guy you can do it your self and buy the disk drive on ebay for $10. not the disc drive the disk sensor

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