There are lots of reasons why people enjoy Pokemon. Some like to follow the anime, while others are involved in competitive battles. The reason why I like Pokemon, however, derives from the strong sense of character design that the series bestows upon its monsters.
Pokemon draws inspiration from a variety of sources, some of the most fruitful of which come from our natural world. Biological processes are emulated, such as the progression from caterpillar to butterfly that Caterpie, Metapod, and Butterfree represent. Chinchou and Lanturn resemble abysmal fish. Reuniclus is a freakin' giant amoeba, complete with organelles! There are hundreds of other organisms upon which the series bases monsters off of, and it's always a joy to see which ones will be recruited in each new batch. Previously, I used to be annoyed by some of the obvious expies between generations (Pidgey is Taillow is Starly... you get my point), but it's a cool idea once you realize that similar but different species tend to occupy the same ecological niches in different geological areas of the real world. It's all incredibly familiar, yet fun, interesting, and new at the same time.
Although the way that Pokemon reflects the natural world has really captured my heart, I really must give credit to the monsters based instead off of legends or technology or objects or even subcultures. It says something that I've learned a lot about Eastern mythology by reading up on Arcanine or Ninetails. And some of these monsters simply look cool; Porygon, Drifloon, Gothitelle, and Honedge are some of my favorites here, but I'm sure that you have others that you personally enjoy.
What I think separates Pokemon's design philosophy from that of Digimon, another series that tries to take cues from a wide variety of sources, is that Pokemon tend to be more simply designed. Compare Charizard to MetalGreymon, the latter of which, even if he isn't rendered with bulging muscles or popped veins, has A LOT more going on. While this approach tends to be flashier, I think Pokemon ultimately succeeds from an aesthetic-based perspective because it's a lot easier to tell what themes a monster is supposed to represent and, in the long term, tends to be a lot easier on the eyes because there isn't so much input to process.
Here's hoping Pokemon continues to be a creative delight for years to come!
A Creative Cornucopia of Ideas
There are lots of reasons why people enjoy Pokemon. Some like to follow the anime, while others are involved in competitive battles. The reason why I like Pokemon, however, derives from the strong sense of character design that the series bestows upon its monsters.
Pokemon draws inspiration from a variety of sources, some of the most fruitful of which come from our natural world. Biological processes are emulated, such as the progression from caterpillar to butterfly that Caterpie, Metapod, and Butterfree represent. Chinchou and Lanturn resemble abysmal fish. Reuniclus is a freakin' giant amoeba, complete with organelles! There are hundreds of other organisms upon which the series bases monsters off of, and it's always a joy to see which ones will be recruited in each new batch. Previously, I used to be annoyed by some of the obvious expies between generations (Pidgey is Taillow is Starly... you get my point), but it's a cool idea once you realize that similar but different species tend to occupy the same ecological niches in different geological areas of the real world. It's all incredibly familiar, yet fun, interesting, and new at the same time.
Although the way that Pokemon reflects the natural world has really captured my heart, I really must give credit to the monsters based instead off of legends or technology or objects or even subcultures. It says something that I've learned a lot about Eastern mythology by reading up on Arcanine or Ninetails. And some of these monsters simply look cool; Porygon, Drifloon, Gothitelle, and Honedge are some of my favorites here, but I'm sure that you have others that you personally enjoy.
What I think separates Pokemon's design philosophy from that of Digimon, another series that tries to take cues from a wide variety of sources, is that Pokemon tend to be more simply designed. Compare Charizard to MetalGreymon, the latter of which, even if he isn't rendered with bulging muscles or popped veins, has A LOT more going on. While this approach tends to be flashier, I think Pokemon ultimately succeeds from an aesthetic-based perspective because it's a lot easier to tell what themes a monster is supposed to represent and, in the long term, tends to be a lot easier on the eyes because there isn't so much input to process.
Here's hoping Pokemon continues to be a creative delight for years to come!