It was announced that illustrator Chiharu Sakazaki and the Pokémon Company will be unleashing an adorable set of goods which are exclusive to the Pokémon Centers in Japan titled “Pokémon Nonbiri Life” which translates to “Pokémon Carefree Life”. The goods range from tote bags, small pouches, mascot plushies, hoodies, and socks.
Sakazaki is no stranger to collaborations goods as she has teamed up with JR East in the past to create the penguin character that we see on our JR East Suica passes. You can even see the JR Penguin influence in the Piplup character plush that is part of this collaboration. The twist that she puts on the character designs is not a major difference from the original designs, but they have “something” to them. They’re absolutely adorable.
I’m not sure about you, but I really love all of the collaborations that The Pokémon Company does with artists throughout Japan. They add a very unique taste to the franchise and lets fans see what their favorite characters would look like if they were being created by someone else.
The “Pokémon Nonbiri Life” set of goods will be available in the Pokémon Centers throughout Japan starting on February 8th, 2020. If you’re going to be in the area, live in Japan, or have a friend that’s going to be near a Pokémon Center and you’re looking to get your hands on these goods, you’d be good off letting them know or be making your way to the Pokémon Center as they release, because they’re likely to sell out in a blink of an eye. Much similar to the “Graffiti Pikachu” which was available at the Shibuya Pokémon Center in Parco when it opened up in November. They have still yet to restock them.
As I mentioned above, the goods will be available starting on February 8th at Pokémon Centers nationwide in Japan. If you could pick any artist to do a collaboration with the Pokémon Company, who would you want to see make a series?