For anybody who thought (or indeed hoped) that the Pokemon phenomenon was at long last drawing to a close, I suggest you think again. As it seems that the brightly coloured beasties are far from finished. Quite the opposite in fact.
For starters it was announced last month that a Pokemon theme park will open next year along with the 2005 Aichi Expo. And to keep fans content until then, ANA has just unveiled a Pokemon jet.
Here’s a drawing of the aircraft’s paint job in all its glory.
And here’s the equally gaudy real life version.
Now I must say that I was really surprised when Pokemon really, ahem, took off. But now several years down the line there are games galore, mountains of merchandise, and a soon to be opened theme park.
Why?