Pokemon Brings Back Original Anime Style in New Short

By Nick Valdez

Pokemon has brought back the original anime's art and design style with a stunning new short! The franchise is celebrating its 25th Anniversary in a number of huge ways as Pokemon has collaborated with a number of big name artists for all sorts of releases that have included new video games, art, anime specials, music videos, fashion, and more. Now the franchise is collaborating with an artist they have tapped in the past for some cool Uniqlo designs in a series of special new exhibits hitting in Japan over the next few weeks. But this exhibit kicked off in a pretty cool way.

Pokemon has teamed up with artist Daniel Arsham (who previously illustrated some exclusive art for the franchise in a UNIQLO collaboration) for a new series of exhibits hitting Japan that showcase the artist's Pokemon sculptures that have been warped by time in certain ways. Previously celebrating the new exhibit with a special promo that saw a return to the anime's original look for Ash Ketchum and Pikachu, now the franchise has dropped a full short for the "A Ripple in Time" exhibit complete with English subtitles. You can check out the special short below: 

Directed by Pokemon anime series director Kunihiko Yuyama (who worked together with Daniel Arsham, who also makes an appearance in the short in the first battle against Ash), "A Ripple in Time" sees Ash and Pikachu in the midst of a heated battle that soon sees them swept up in a special portal that takes them to a strange new place full of mysterious statues. Those statues themselves can be found in the art exhibits popping up all over Tokyo in the next few weeks, but thankfully international fans can see a bit of this art for themselves with this new short. 

Ash has undergone a number of makeovers through the years, but the first iteration of the character is one fans often look back on the most when it comes to the more memorable moments of the anime. The franchise has seen some far bigger moments since the original run, but it's hard to deny how much power this original Ash has that it sparks so much nostalgia. But what do you think? Would you want to see more of this original art style in the future? Let us know all of your thoughts about it in the comments! You can even reach out to me directly about all things animated and other cool stuff @Valdezology on Twitter!

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