Trivia / Yoko Tsuno

• Creator Backlash: A minor case concerning the shifter, Monya's time machine. Leloup loves to invent and draw new vehicles with each story, while the shifter can't really evolve since it is the last piece of technology from an advanced (and Ret-Gone) future and Leloup grew bored of it. As a result, the shifter is not used in later stories even when involving time travel, and a time machine from the 30's was introduced instead.
• Died During Production: Discussed by Leloup. Much like Hergé, he said that he doesn't want the series to continue after his passing.
• Keep Circulating the Tapes: Good luck finding the prequel novel The Foam of the Dawn at a decent price. It was last printed in 1999.
• Long-Runners: Yoko Tsuno started in 1972 and is still being made today.
• Out of Order: The English translations by Cinebook were done in a random order at first, with some adaptations to take the new order into account (e.g. Yoko telling her mother she will visit Hong Kong at the end of Daughter of the wind instead of referencing Poky - to her mother's confusion - in the original text), until the translation of The Curious Trio, after which they stuck to the original order. Of course this means the English translations now feel as if the series was rebooted halfway through, with a reversal of Art Evolution and Morning Dew disappearing without explanation.
• Recycled Script: The Spider who Stole was originally written for defunct series Jacky et Célestin. Leloup rewrote it with Yoko and Pol.
• Technology Marches On: In Wotan's fire, being able to connect to all databases in the world to gather information on people is presented as an extraordinary and novel feat. The book dates back to the eighties after all.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Ever since Yoko came out, there have been at least three attempts to make an Animated Adaptation, but no agreement could be reached (one of these became Team Galaxy). In fact, Myna was created specifically as a tie-in with one of the animated series. In the end, Leloup just gave up.
  • The Time Spiral was at first envisioned as taking place on a starship where an alien creature was let lose, before Leloup changed it as being too dark, and too similar to the first Alien movie which had been released in the meantime.
• Working Title: The Astrologer of Bruges was originally entitled The Alchemist of Bruges.
• Write What You Know: Yoko's adoption of Morning Dew mirrors Leloup's own adoption of a little Korean girl.