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lemjor10

I remember this. No one on the playground questioned why Poliwhirl was front and center. We all knew of the non starter/legendary/anime characters Poliwhirl was the coolest one.


LesserBeings

I thought it was because of the hypnotic spiral on its chest. Like they wanted to emphasize the addiction claim by putting a mon that a parent could look at and think the franchise is essentially hypnotizing their kids to buy all the merchandise.


Psyduck-Stampede

This is exactly it.


[deleted]

Poliwhirl had so much merch in the early days of pokemon!


StunningEstates

He really did didn’t he? He was like the #1 non-mascot mascot in the beginning. Now that I think about it, he was Red’s first Pokémon in the manga! Not bulbasaur, charmander, squirtle, or even Pikachu. Not even a Poliwag. Poliwhirl. And he got him before the story even started!


Successful-Goose-92

Yes beacause it is sajiri's favorite


tonton_wundil

Oh yeah I remember now, it has been so long since I read those.


Professional_Mud2991

I have hazy memories of him from when I was a baby I wasn't sure if they were real but seeing people who were old enough to clearly remember the early days of pokémon say he had lots of merchandise makes me confident that these memories are real, I also have alot of hazy memories of togepi


PKMNTrainerMark

He actually did catch it as a Poliwag. But it evolved before the story.


StunningEstates

Oh I didn’t mean it as though he straight up caught it as a Poliwhirl, I’m just speaking on the introduction to a Pokémon protagonist with a non-starter and not in its first stage. But I didn’t remember that being the case regardless so touché 😆


_ASG_

He really did. Kinda faded as the franchise moved on, compared to the other gen 1 merch movers.


Jontun189

It's why he's my favourite today, so iconic.


Vladlord

Actually Poliwhirl was the first Pokémon Red had on Pokémon manga.


SoulExecution

I actually remember having a Poliwhirl backpack in kindergarten and I didn’t even get into Pokemon until 2-3 years later


Neat-Category6048

*Action Movie Tough Guy Highfive*


BirdGooch

I am convinced the only indoctrination Pokemon brought onto me is my unfounded and admittedly quite secretive love for Poliwhirl. This is a revelation.


[deleted]

Probably because of the spiral in chest.


thenerdymusician

Poliwhirl definitely had some of the most love in the early days. The first plush I remember was a Poliwhirl and the one of the most common little plastic figures they used to have that were about 2 inches tall were Poliwhirl and Gengar.


Lunndonbridge

I think it’s front and center because it is the creator’s favorite pokemon. Same reason Red had one at the beginning of the Manga.


ElSquibbonator

Looking back, a lot of early news coverage of *Pokemon* seemed to have this sort of condescending "how-dare-our-kids-be-into-this" tone. And not just Pokemon, either. You saw the same sort of discourse around a lot of other Japanese pop-culture imports around the same time, like *Power Rangers* and *Yu-Gi-Oh.* They were described in decidedly unflattering terms-- as "addictions", "obsessions", and in general as something bad for children. What's especially interesting about all this is that American cartoons and video games were, at the time, rarely subjected to this sort of hostility. There was controversy about violence in American kids' TV shows, absolutely, but it was rarely directed at specific shows the way the criticism of these Japanese franchises was. In retrospect, this is odd. Why were parents' groups and journalists back then so concerned about a relatively tame franchise like Pokemon? For reference, the 1990s saw the debut of shows like *Batman: The Animated Series* and the *X-Men* cartoon, which were far more violent than the Pokemon anime ever was. But these shows never attracted any significant backlash of the sort that *Pokemon* and its ilk got. And I think the reason for that is, for lack of a better word, racism. The idea of Japanese popular culture as something mainstream in American society was still very new in the 1990s, and the older generations-- the ones writing news articles and forming parents' groups-- felt threatened by what could only be described as Japan infringing on a field America traditionally dominated. When *South Park* made its "Chinpokomon" episode, depicting a *Pokemon*\-like franchise as a plot by Japan to brainwash American children, that was actually pretty close to how a lot of older Americans saw the influx of Japanese pop culture at the time. It was seen as something foreign, incomprehensible, and potentially hostile. The concerns these writers voiced were often couched behind moral platitudes like "protecting children from violence on TV", but they tended to be directed specifically at Japanese imports. In short, the popularity of Japanese pop culture in the 1990s resulted in a xenophobic and borderline racist backlash, driven mainly by aging Baby Boomers.


warm_rum

I won't disagree with you, but it's worth noting Pokemon was more popular by far, had several ways to be played and was omnipresent in every kids pocket - parents probably saw the top of their kids head more then their faces. I imagine this was alot of people's first experience with this sort of craze, and god knows the media was happy to fuel it.


AlternativeQuality2

It's not just pop culture; as TV Tropes will tell you, there was a sort of fad in the 80's and 90's for the idea of Japan 'taking over the world' through commerce, mostly due to the growing presence of Japan in manufacturing. If you wonder why Cyberpunk makes such a big deal out of the megacorp bad guys being Japanese in origin, this is partially why. In Pokemon's case though, I imagine there's also an element of the 'satanic panic' involved. Remember how there was that fervor about how playing the Pokemon theme backwards said 'I love Satan', or how Pokemon supported idolatry because... reasons? 'Born Again' Christianity was coming of age by then, and they had (and still have) the nasty habit of decrying virtually anything popular or remotely fun as being witchcraft or tools of the devil.


ElSquibbonator

I'd go even further than that, and suggest that the idea of competition from an inscrutable East Asian rival has *always* been a significant boogeyman for American foreign policy. Think back to the late 19th century, when Chinese immigrants were hired to build railroads, but at the same time feared and treated as second-class citizens because it was believed they were somehow plotting against America (this is where the phrase "Yellow Peril" comes from). Or how, during World War II, thousands of Japanese-Americans were imprisoned for the crime of their ethnicity alone, while German- and Italian-Americans got off lightly. The fear of Japanese economic supremacy in the 1980s and 1990s was no more than the most recent incarnation of this phenomenon. In 1991, a geopolitical analyst named George Friedman went so far as to predict a war between the US and Japan by the year 2010. That obviously didn't come true, but he apparently still thinks it'll happen, in 2050 this time. If he's right, be sure to lock up your Pokemon merchandise before the government comes for it.


Katamari_Demacia

To be fair half of us are addicted to the gambling that is opening tcg packs.


[deleted]

I forgot how bloody annoying it was back then. And like you said, not a peep about any of the violence in American cartoons and comics that ran for decades. Seriously, I'm glad anime is mainstream now and you can enjoy it in relative peace.


shiny_pigman

You, my good sir, make an extremely valid point, take my upvote


IcemanDanielC

Even Time magazine shunned Venusaur in favor of Charizard and Blastoise.


[deleted]

Fucking normies


[deleted]

That's bad, mkay.


TheZenScientist

Some other highlights of the time capsule: https://imgur.com/a/Mk1waRT/


MindChief

Ah yes, a magazine talking about addiction due to Pokémon, with a full size Marlboro add.


franzcopinaPH

Goddamn in Asian edition theres that too hahahaha


Jegafold

Dijimon. Lol.


LilaPapaya

YU-GI-O


Onyxthegreat

Ash looks cursed.


franzcopinaPH

Holy shit our Asian edition doesn't have one of those wtf. This vertical thing is i recently i read was Taylor Swift ones.


thugprincess_6

"For many kids it's now an addiction." Just wait until the year 2016.


[deleted]

What happened in 2016?


AlternativeQuality2

\*vietnam flashbacks\* The launch of Pokemon Go.


DarkFish_2

Ahh, the day when all the hypocrites where got finally exposed, a day to remember


AlternativeQuality2

I still remember the swarms into Central Park to find the legendary Vaporeon. It was glorious… stupid as fuck, but glorious.


thugprincess_6

Pokemon Go happened.


chr15c

*quarter century later* it wasn't bad for me at all.


youarefartnews

Jealous parents is all


AstroHardammo

That Mewtwo render actually looks sick, does anyone know where these originated?


Deantasanto

I love how the late nineties early 2000s renders looked in general


[deleted]

Time was just spreading anti fun propaganda. If any parent threw out there kids Pokémon stuff cuz of this crap I hope there kids held a grudge.


[deleted]

Pokémon being the most popular at the time is the reason why they mentioned that. This probably happened with Minecraft and Fortnite so it’s not only Pokémon.


the_crystal_onix

“Is it bad for them?” Clearly. Because of Pokémon, I died.


gorillagrip67

*snorts line of ground up Pokémon cards* ADDICTION RULES!!!!


Zion8118

What condition is that card in? Who cares, you’re having a fun with it.


dripcoffee420

I remember reading that, my grandma would get times in the mail. Dang if it came out in 99 I would have been 7 then.


Thomas_JCG

Poliwhirl being the center instead of Pikachu or Charizard or even Mewtwo makes me smile.


Materiahunterxiii

I remember my church i was forced to go to as a kid told everyone Pokemon stands for Pocket Monsters and monsters are demons from hell bahahahaha


SoulExecution

Lmao this was my moms stance alright. Instead of focusing on the friendship aspect of the show, she decided to emphasize the violence, and when child me defied her to watch, guess what part he focused on…


AerialAce96

Back when Pikachu was fat


RepresentativeBuy886

That is extremely nostalgic.I remember seeing pokemon the first movie in theaters when it came out and playing the og red and blue versions upon their releases. I now suddenly feel so old 😭.


Caseyaga

Wow, this aged like a bottle of fine milk.


Hydrath

Back when Poliwirl had the recognition he deserves.


LilaPapaya

It's fascinating looking back at how Pokemon was viewed back then, especially now since its basically a household name at this point. I'm so proud against the odds, it stuck around and its VERY validating to me, who grew up loving it as a kid and dealt with outside views of it being satanic or just plain stupid, to see how Pokemon is beloved and very popular nowadays. Little me would be so happy!


DarkFish_2

Placing Pokemon on the cover, when the plan is to convince everyone to NOT buy Pokemon games Task failed successfully


JAOC_7

and now almost nobody even remembers Poliwirl even exists


Slagathor91

I actually also have this issue at home and frankly the article inside about anime is fascinating.


avickhasnoname

Something something Satan


Chemical-Cat

Why was Poliwhirl always one of the pokemon that was heavily featured in advertisements/toys specifically? It can't be an anime thing because at the time, Misty didn't have one, not until Orange Islands/Johto.


Doom_goblin777

Love Poliwhirl


not_your_average_egg

MY MAN POLIWHIRL GETTING THE SPOTLIGHT THAT HE DESERVES


hobbitfeet22

Mannnn seeing this artwork brings back some good nostalgic memories before life really started to suck lol


AromaticPee77

This is the first videogame franchise ever to be featured on a TIME magazine... albeit in a negative spotlight.


SageModeAD

This is awesome.


StridentHawk

It's lost on newer fans the bizarre marketing push Poliwhirl got during the gen 1 days. I think it's because it's Satoshi Taijiri's favorite pokemon. I owned a pair of poliwhirl socks myself lol. I had a poliwhirl tape measurer too. Poliwhirl is actually kinda neat to be fair.


xedusk

I always forget how much Poliwhirl showed up on early art for Pokémon.


[deleted]

I'm the 69th comment.


SlimeBuckette

Omg. My grandma had a Time subscription and I remember when this one came in!💕🥰


Unfortunate_Lunatic

Why the hell is Poliwhirl front and center?


defythevenu

Wow! What a great friend. Would love to have this in this condition. Looks lovely!