Thursday, August 7, 2014

Stand Back, I'm A Pokemon Master

You've come to the wrong neighborhood.
I lied, actually. I'm retired. I'm a retired Pokemon Master. But then again, hundreds of thousands of children from my generation can probably say the same. Ongoing fans, rejoice, though! In the Land of the Rising Sun, the passion still burns strong, and young fans are renewed. The television series is still going strong, and new movies and games still pop up sporadically. Pokemon even has its own morning talk show thing, hosted by a fairly well known model/celebrity.
Be that as it is, it's not surprise that the top of the Roppongi Hills Mori Arts Tower has been turned into a giant Pokemon fandom center in celebration of the, like, 40th movie or something. Alright, the 17th. Whatever the case, it's been deemed that this event calls for a great celebration, so the observation deck floor of the towering building is now filled with thematic art and sketches by the creator of the series as well as fun games for children and the disabled. Shall I take you through one such delightful activity?
 Yes, yes I believe I shall.
 Behold! It's a labyrinth of Pokemon! If you encounter a turn, you have to turn. And you end up with one of four different Pokemon at the exit! Okay, to be fair, it's a game for young children, but it's amazing that the presenters will let any adult try with a straight face. Somewhere in here, there's something insightful to be said about rediscovering your inner child and getting giddy about something that used to be all the rage a decade and a half ago. You'll notice soon enough that most of the crowd here is actually not small children.

 A Pikachu-themed restaurant has also temporarily been opened on the observation deck floor. Going there on a Saturday afternoon, though, proved to be tantamount to queuing for a Disneyland ride. It actually costs 15$ to even have access to the observation deck floor, so I wasn't to keen on spending much more on dinner and having to wait in line on top of that, so I skipped this time around (a rarity, I know!) But it seemed to me that the food was actually really neat looking in terms of presentation! Yeah, that actually looks like Pikachu, alright. I've learned after my fair share of themed restaurants though, that presentation doesn't equal delicious taste, and you're only paying for the former. But what would I know!


 And of course, exit through the gift shop. Rumor around town is that if you do visit the tower at a certain time, you can meet Pikachu, in giant mascot form, but I had no such luck, though I did harbor a secret hope that I'd find him waiting in here. Still, I can think of a person or two back in Canada who would want something from this kind of gift shop, but I abstained this time around. In real life unlike in the games, you can't just nab yourself Pokemon without paying a pretty dollar. As my parents would know.

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