With human faces staring out of their mouths, overly long legs, and dead eyes, these Pikachus aren’t exactly cute.
The Yokohama Pikachu Outbreak is one of the highlights of the year for Pokémon fans in Japan. With dozens of enormous and extremely huggable Pikachus making appearances all across the City of Yokohama and with Eevee even joining the fray this year, what’s not to love?
The popularity of the event, which draws millions of people every year, has caused other places to try to replicate the adorable Pikachu costumes seen in the various parades throughout the event. Sadly, however, some of those costumes don’t quite hit the mark, like this parade of Pikachus seen at a Chinese mall recently.
These are actually decent interpretations; they’re not particularly creepy, but there is something a little off about these guys. Their eyes are a little too close together, and from a distance the pink of their mouths is not very visible, so they don’t look like very happy Pikachu. They also lack the pudgy cuddliness of the Yokohama Pikachu, so I don’t think many people would really want to hug these guys.
They are a little better than this Pikachu, whose face is pretty accurate, but whose body is strangely triangular. When you zoom in, there’s also a little face peeking out, but that’s not quite as alarming as those shockingly human legs.
The face isn’t really visible in that costume from a distance, but up close, it’s a little disconcerting. It actually seems to be a pretty common discount Pikachu costume, since the costumes below also have human faces staring out at you from the mouth of what should be an adorable Pokémon. Up close, however, they look like evil monsters that consume human souls.
▼ “Saaaaveee meeee!”
Even more alarming is this photo of a Pikachu with a hand coming out of its mouth, as if the human soul it consumed is trying to escape!
If you can forget that image, though, and if you can get past seeing creepy faces in the Pikachus’ mouths, these particular costumes do look pretty accurate. The faces are well constructed and the legs aren’t too long, and their bodies, while not perfectly round and plump, are fat enough to look like a real Pikachu. From a distance, they pass.
They also look like they’re happy to be there, unlike this sad Pikachu, also found in China. It looks like it’s been through some serious stuff, but it’s trying real hard to stay positive.
This Pikachu found in Guangzhou, on the other hand, is happy, but someone needs to make it a sandwich, because it looks like a skinny potato with a head.
China is also not the only place where Pikachu costumes are somewhat ragged. This Pikachu spotted in Mexico also missed the mark a bit, with its paper balloon body, and the freakishly blurry human face just visible in its plastic-covered mouth.
And this British Pikachu is…well…It looks happy, and that’s what matters.
Yes, Japan’s official Pikachu costumes will probably be number one for the foreseeable future, but that doesn’t mean all Japanese Pikachu designs are spot on. Just recently Mister Donut produced some Pikachu-shaped donuts that were too uncute to keep on the market, so Japan is not infallible, either. But we love Pikachu enough to keep on loving it, no matter how it looks, right? It’s what’s on the inside that counts.
Source: Twitter/@dnonta7 via Hachima Kiko, Twitter/@xchina4 via Nintendo Soup
Featured Image: Twitter/@not_you_die