Hi e4! Do you know this Pikachu? If not, can you help me translate Japanese?
The context: I’ve always been particularly fond of the Pikachu art/design used for the Pocket Pikachu packaging, guides, stickers, etc. of that era. I had seen somewhere that it’s by Sugimori, but I can’t track down that source, or any source for that matter. An image of a guide book on Art of Pokemon has no artist credit, only citing an Instagram page that seems to have taken down their post of it. There’s also a very similar (but not identical) Pikachu slapped on the cover of the Nintendo Power Red & Blue guide in front of other Sugimori art, which is probably where the misattribution stems from.
I know that back in the day the individual artists weren’t always credited on licensed materials, let alone the plethora of fan created/unofficial publications. I could assume it was by Nishida, but similarity isn’t proof of origin, as we know from the Carddass art. And since when were folks like us satisfied with assuming?
I’ve finally come across an eBay listing for a Japanese guide book that has a photo of the credits/publisher page, and my Google translate app says a cover designer and illustrator are listed! I don’t want to rely on its translation of the names because… Well, it’s Google translate, lol. It could be that they aren’t anyone well known, maybe they’re pseudonyms, heck they might not even be the real/original artists. But if there’s a chance to find out who made my favorite iteration of the yellow rodent, I gotta know!
So, can anyone translate the text in the image below, and/or chime in if you do happen to know the artist?
