I just learned yesterday that Pikachu, my favorite Pokemon, was originally designed not by Ken Sugimori (he only finalized the design), but by a female graphic designer named Atsuko Nishida.
Also after googling her, I found out that she’s also designed Sylveon–another favorite PKMN of mine. She’s also illustrated some very pretty Pokemon cards!!
Thank you Ms. Nishida! :-) May you get more credit and love for your contribution to the Pokemon franchise.
as a camera shy person myself, knowing she hides behind plushies is just amazing
Her and Yoko Taro are legends at hiding from cameras. xD
Here’s some other Pokemon she’s designed, for anyone curious:
and not to derail this post into anything overtly political, but: If it weren’t for a woman in the gaming industry, we wouldn’t have freakin’ Charizard. I feel like that’s something more people should know about!
