There is no denying that 90s America was obsessed with boobs. Just look at any of the movies around that time, and see how often they manage to shoehorn them in. It appears that even Pikachu was almost tarred with the boob stick when it was imported from Japan.
There were rumours of boob Pikachu floating around the internet for some time. So, Gamespark decided to get to the bottom of it. Was it just a ridiculous joke, or had imported Pikachu almost been racked up?
There was a possibility of a translation issue. Breasts and chest are the same word in Japan, so there could have been a mix-up there. Either way, the journalist wanted to get to the bottom of what it all meant. At the very least, they wanted to know what the plan for Pikachu localisation in the US entailed.
Busty Furry Pikachu
It turns out, the cute electric mouse we all know and love now almost never came to be. A deep dive into Pikachu localisation revealed that the boobs weren’t lost in translation. During an interview about the gold and silver era of Pokémon, CEO Ishihara and the creator, Satoshi Tajiri, were both interviewed.
Speaking about the Americanization of the brand, they said there was talk of a design change for the iconic Pokémon. “According to Ishihara, when he showed the Pokémon to the American staff, they said it was ‘too cute,’ and he was shown an illustration of a Pikachu character that was ‘shaped like a tabby cat with big breasts.'”
The translation issue still stood, but the next statement cleared up any confusion. The interviewer asked, “Does it look like the girls cosplaying as Pikachu at Comiket? (laughs),” Ishihara said that it did indeed.
As the interview went on, it appeared that the localization of Pikachu had numerous other variations. There wasn’t just a busty Pikachu. There was also a tall, muscular version. The US had tried desperately to alter its image for a US audience.
I am so pleased that the creative team managed to keep the little yellow mouse we all know and love today. Boobachu would be so weird.