fascinating read, I’m looking forward to the rest of the series!
if I may, might I suggest Dr Marc Steinberg’s book Anime Media Mix? its discussion of the anime industry and its configurations through an analysis of the mobility of animated characters between different media - the media mix - could be interesting to your project; it specifically talks about Pokémon as well, offering a political economy and media studies perspective
I just read the introduction and it is incredibly well written! The text flows very naturally and my eyes slid over the letters at such a speed, before I noticed I reached the end of the Intro.
There is something fascinating and captivating about the link between mythology and Pokémon; as someone not much into literature, this series makes me excited to read more!
Not entirely Pokémon by Pokémon... sticking to the original 151 and not covering every single one. Not sure what I'd say about Krabby, for instance -- it's a crab.
But going to try to cover the most interesting first generation creatures.
This looks promising. I am excited to read anything that hunts for the missing link between The Classic of Mountains and Seas (a very ancient Chinese monster collecting text) and the original Pokémon.
Saved to read soon! A detailed anthropological deep dive into tropes from a children's cartoon is honestly the exact kind of academic work I want (and need!) to read, super excited to dig into this.
I never got into Pokemon (but my kids did)...but I did grow up with tales of Yokai (and Kitaro as the tamer of Yokai) so I'm super stoked to see all of the connections between the two!
There's also something to be said about the drawings from history...there's a recently released game called Inkulinati that was inspired by drawings of beasts in medieval books (like the dragon, though sadly, I don't think there is a dragon in that game...yet). Wouldn't it be fun if there was a Yokai version of that game?
I cannot even begin to stress how excited I am for this reboot. (Particularly as someone who spent far too much of her childhood doodling cartoon bestiaries!)
The way that myth, history, popular culture, and even personal memories are all skillfully woven together makes this work incredibly rich and captivating!
I'm excited about the launch of this newsletter. It looks like it's going to be a fascinating journey! I have only tangential interest in Pokemon (my kids, 28 and 23, have loved it most of their lives), but I have White's bestiary on my shelf amidst a bunch of other medieval folkloric texts, so I'm eager to see the connections.
fascinating read, I’m looking forward to the rest of the series!
if I may, might I suggest Dr Marc Steinberg’s book Anime Media Mix? its discussion of the anime industry and its configurations through an analysis of the mobility of animated characters between different media - the media mix - could be interesting to your project; it specifically talks about Pokémon as well, offering a political economy and media studies perspective
I am sorry if you already know all this!
Thanks so much for the suggestion.
I just read the introduction and it is incredibly well written! The text flows very naturally and my eyes slid over the letters at such a speed, before I noticed I reached the end of the Intro.
There is something fascinating and captivating about the link between mythology and Pokémon; as someone not much into literature, this series makes me excited to read more!
Thanks so much.
The whole premise is a gem. I did some works on Kirin for my ghostwriting gig. Wonder if any Kirin reference going to come up anytime soon...
I’d love to see a Pokémon by pokemon analysis of the mythos!!
Not entirely Pokémon by Pokémon... sticking to the original 151 and not covering every single one. Not sure what I'd say about Krabby, for instance -- it's a crab.
But going to try to cover the most interesting first generation creatures.
This looks promising. I am excited to read anything that hunts for the missing link between The Classic of Mountains and Seas (a very ancient Chinese monster collecting text) and the original Pokémon.
In that case, you're definitely in the right place.
Greaaat sir, excited for the next part
I am very excited to read this series!
Saved to read soon! A detailed anthropological deep dive into tropes from a children's cartoon is honestly the exact kind of academic work I want (and need!) to read, super excited to dig into this.
Hope you enjoy reading it!
I love this idea!
I never got into Pokemon (but my kids did)...but I did grow up with tales of Yokai (and Kitaro as the tamer of Yokai) so I'm super stoked to see all of the connections between the two!
There's also something to be said about the drawings from history...there's a recently released game called Inkulinati that was inspired by drawings of beasts in medieval books (like the dragon, though sadly, I don't think there is a dragon in that game...yet). Wouldn't it be fun if there was a Yokai version of that game?
I know there's a Pokémon competitor called Yokai Watch.
I cannot even begin to stress how excited I am for this reboot. (Particularly as someone who spent far too much of her childhood doodling cartoon bestiaries!)
Thanks so much. Grateful for your support.
The way that myth, history, popular culture, and even personal memories are all skillfully woven together makes this work incredibly rich and captivating!
Great intro! Looking forward to reading and learning more about Pokemon!
Thank you. Were you into it, back in the day, or were you too old by the time it came out in the US?
I should have gotten into it, but I didn’t have a Game Boy or a Super Game Boy for my SNES, so it passed me by.
I tried one of the GBA iterations years later, but I didn’t see the appeal.
Nevertheless, I love history, and I think exploring each individual Pokemon’s “origin story,” if you will, is a fantastic idea.
I see.
I hope this post has gone some way towards explaining what that appeal is.
This is really fun— I’m excited to see what you come up with!
Thanks so much.
I can tell you that Bulbasaur, Pokemon #001, is up next!
Do you have a favorite from Gen 1?
This is brilliant stuff! I never even played Pokemon, but I can hardly wait to hear more. And of COURSE it’s the makings of a terrific book.
Turning this into a book one day is definitely the dream.
Great read! Looking forward to following along as you go through the pokemon! Fascinating stuff.
Thank you.
I'm excited about the launch of this newsletter. It looks like it's going to be a fascinating journey! I have only tangential interest in Pokemon (my kids, 28 and 23, have loved it most of their lives), but I have White's bestiary on my shelf amidst a bunch of other medieval folkloric texts, so I'm eager to see the connections.
Thanks so much. A lot of connections there. White's bestiary is a key resource going forward.
I hope this post has at least partially explained why people love Pokémon.