‘Pokemon’ Just Dropped A Dozen Hilarious Anime Easter Eggs

Pokemon‘s anime series has been running for a long time, but it’s still finding new ways to surprise fans especially in the newest Sun & Moon incarnation of the series where Ash is more out to have fun.

The latest episode of the series went all out in terms of Easter Eggs with shoutouts to Star Wars, Revolutionary Girl Utena, and as fans have broke down, characters voiced by Jesse’s voice actress Megumi Hayashibara.

In the latest episode of the series, Jesse is taking on a fake identity and toys around with a couple of personas. But the kicker is that each of these Jesse-laced personas is a shout-out to characters Hayashibara voiced over the years.

The references include the likes of Himiko Shinobibe from Mashin Hero Wataru, female Ranma Saotome from Ranma ½, Atsuko “Nuku Nuku” Natsume from All Purpose Cultural Cat Girl Nuku Nuku, Rei Ayanami from Neon Genesis Evangelion, Hello Kitty, Lime from Saber Marionette J, Faye Valentine from Cowboy Bebop, Ai Haibara from Detective Conan, Minky Momo from Magical Princess Minky Momo, Dr. Atsuko “Paprika” Chiba from Paprika, and it’s all capped off with the arguably most recognizeable role, Lina Inverse from Slayers.

The play the gang is a part of in the latest episode opened the series up for all kinds of great references, and fans are definitely having fun breaking down all the Easter Eggs. One of them even reaches all the way back to the 1956 manga Tetsujin 28-go. The greatest thing about all of this too is that it’s reflective of the kind of fun Sun & Moon often has with its world.

If you haven’t kept up with the current run of the anime, Pokemon the Series: Sun & Moon is described as such, “What starts as a summer vacation in the tropical Alola region turns into the next exciting chapter in Ash Ketchum’s quest to become a Pokémon Master! There’s plenty for Ash and Pikachu to explore in this sunny new region, with exciting new Pokémon to discover and interesting people to learn from along the way—including the cool Professor Kukui and the fun-loving Samson Oak.

More new faces will help guide Ash’s Alolan adventure, in the form of a group of skilled Trainers—Kiawe, Lana, Mallow, and Sophocles—and a mysterious research assistant called Lillie. Frequent foes Team Rocket have also made the trip to Alola, looking to swipe some high-powered new Pokémon. But they have some heavy competition on the villainy front: the ruffians of Team Skull, who delight in causing chaos and may have more sinister intentions…”