Cuddly Pokemon and the Demons That Spawned Them
Horrifying murderous creature, I choose you!
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Horrifying murderous creature, I choose you!
Read Full Article
Cuddly Pokemon and the Demons That Spawned Them
- Thread starter Robert Rath
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- Mar 31, 2010
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Great article, I've always found myths from any culture a fascinating window into what their values and life was like. Something interesting I've observed from reading both western and eastern myths is that western heroes tend to be focused on using their wits or skills to solve a problem whereas eastern heroes tend to have a much greater focus on virtue, particularly loyalty to a parent or social superior, though this is anecdotal.
Hmmm...this article ties in quite nicely with this:
Game Theory: PokƩmon, Jynx Justified [http://www.screwattack.com/shows/partners/game-theory/game-theory-pokemon-jynx-justified]
MatPat recently did this on the origins of Jynx...and this article seems to be more such origins. BTW...is it just me, or is Thunderus based on traditional depictions of the Japanese thunder god, Raiden? (Not to be confused with the MK depiction.)
CAPTCHA: sun tzu says
Well, whatever he says...I'm definitely listening! Just, uh...tell him to stay away from a Vlad "The Impaler" Tepes if he can. Trust me on this one.
Game Theory: PokƩmon, Jynx Justified [http://www.screwattack.com/shows/partners/game-theory/game-theory-pokemon-jynx-justified]
MatPat recently did this on the origins of Jynx...and this article seems to be more such origins. BTW...is it just me, or is Thunderus based on traditional depictions of the Japanese thunder god, Raiden? (Not to be confused with the MK depiction.)
CAPTCHA: sun tzu says
Well, whatever he says...I'm definitely listening! Just, uh...tell him to stay away from a Vlad "The Impaler" Tepes if he can. Trust me on this one.
[http://s91291220.onlinehome.us/formica/artist-terajin.jpg]Haha, a series taking creatures like tengu and kitsune and nekomata and making them adorable and only superficially related to the source material.
How silly.
How silly.
I love reading the pokedex entries because of how messed up they are.
-If you see Articuno while lost in the mountains, it's an omen you're going to freeze to death.
-Sableye steals the souls of people.
-Banette gets energy for curses by stabbing it's self with needles.
-Darkrai gives people horrific nightmares (unintentionally of course)
Let's not forget Absol, who's whole reputation is a bringer of natural disasters.
-If you see Articuno while lost in the mountains, it's an omen you're going to freeze to death.
-Sableye steals the souls of people.
-Banette gets energy for curses by stabbing it's self with needles.
-Darkrai gives people horrific nightmares (unintentionally of course)
Let's not forget Absol, who's whole reputation is a bringer of natural disasters.
Cool stuff. I like that I actually knew a few of these.
Also, I remember that attack of Lombre's being used in Doomsday Arcade.
>_> It's always super effective.
Also, I remember that attack of Lombre's being used in Doomsday Arcade.
>_> It's always super effective.
That was really cool. I'd only known of a few.
I think Mawile is by far the creepiest and coolest thing there. I always thought there must have been a story behind that pokemons weird-ass design.
I still find Hypno's pokedex description really creepy, how it once kidnapped a child.
I think Mawile is by far the creepiest and coolest thing there. I always thought there must have been a story behind that pokemons weird-ass design.
I still find Hypno's pokedex description really creepy, how it once kidnapped a child.
Yeah, there are literally thousands of examples like this. It's pretty pervasive culturally.Formica Archonis said:
WHAT THE...? It looks like Hurricane Sandy hit Wonka's Factory.Rakor said:Japanese culture is fun. >
Also, regardless of backstory...
Still the creepiest pokemon.
Yeah, there are some seriously messed up Pokedex entries, a lot of which have little or nothing to do with Japanese folklore, but it's likely that the culture of Yokai inspired the devs.Eclipse Dragon said:I love reading the pokedex entries because of how messed up they are.
-If you see Articuno while lost in the mountains, it's an omen you're going to freeze to death.
-Sableye steals the souls of people.
-Banette gets energy for curses by stabbing it's self with needles.
-Darkrai gives people horrific nightmares (unintentionally of course)
Let's not forget Absol, who's whole reputation is a bringer of natural disasters.
Believe it or not, in Hawaii I actually grew up with stories of the kappa since Japanese migrants transplanted a lot of their ghost lore to the islands. People also see the noppera-bo, the faceless ghost, though in Hawaii we tended to call it the Mujina - which in Japan is a name for a type of shape-changing tanuki that often changes into a noppera-bo.Neronium said:
great article man, iv always had a fascination with myths folklore and urban legends of all kinds. and the japanese yokai are no exception to that, i just think its awesome that these stories and all the wonderful creatures that inhabit them are being preserved for the general public, so that its not just folklorist,historians and geeks like myself that remember them.
The Touhou series turns the yokai into quasi-dark anime girls; Pokemon turns them into fluffy animals. I am noticing a trend here.
I was hoping this one would come up.PunkRex said:
Or this twisted thing!... stuff of nightmares.
See, I remember catching that fellow on a Friday a couple of years ago, thinking that it was adorable and would be a great addition to my team.
Then I read on the Pokedex that it tries (and fails) to kidnap children and/or send them to the underworld.
... He was my favorite member on the team from then on.
I'm not so sure about this article, some of the links are tenuous at best. Both of the lores are large enough that having some crossover isn't surprising. For example, comparing lombre to kappas just because of the lily pad is ridiculous, the pokemon is more strongly rooted in Mexican culture than anything else.
On the other hand, the details around Frosslass were much more compelling, I believe that the author was accurate in this instance. Enough background was given and direct connections between the pokemon lore and folklore were highlighted. However, for every other point, I remain utterly unconvinced that the author isn't just making things up.
Essentially, the article would be better for having more detail, which given three pages, I feel should be present.
On the other hand, the details around Frosslass were much more compelling, I believe that the author was accurate in this instance. Enough background was given and direct connections between the pokemon lore and folklore were highlighted. However, for every other point, I remain utterly unconvinced that the author isn't just making things up.
Essentially, the article would be better for having more detail, which given three pages, I feel should be present.
Touhou doesn?t count because they only look cute there all still evil assholes especially chen and mystia (I know you showed aya but she?s only kind of a ***** not really evil)the only reason I think they look like that is because they guy who made touhou cant draw to save his life so instead of trying to draw youkai he threw up his hands said there all shape shifters anyway and turned all of the evil monsters into little girls.Formica Archonis said: