, is a name of a

costumed character A costumed performer or suit performer wears a costume that usually, (but not always) covers the performer's face, typically to represent a non-human character such as a mascot or cartoon character. These range from theme park "walk-around" or "m ...

played by Tomoaki Imakuni and created for the promotion of ''

Pokémon (an abbreviation for in Japan) is a Japanese media franchise managed by The Pokémon Company, founded by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures (company), Creatures, the owners of the trademark and copyright of the franchise. In terms of ...

'' series related products and services. Imakuni? appeared in many promotional live events conducted in Japan between 1997 and 2002, although his visibility has since declined.

Activities

Imakuni? has written songs for the

Pokémon anime (an abbreviation for in Japan) is a Japanese media franchise managed by The Pokémon Company, founded by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures, the owners of the trademark and copyright of the franchise. In terms of what each of thos ...

, and is known for singing in Japanese commercials for the franchise. He is also credited as a designer for

Nintendo 64 The (N64) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo. The successor to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, it was released on June 23, 1996, in Japan, on September 29, 1996, in North America, and on March 1, 1997, in Europe and Au ...

game ''

Pokémon Stadium ''Pokémon Stadium'', known in Japan as is a strategy video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. First released in Japan on April 30, 1999, it was later released as the first ''Stadium'' title in Western regions the foll ...

'' and

Nintendo DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens working in tan ...

game '' Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia''. Imakuni? is listed as the illustrator on several cards for the

Pokémon Trading Card Game The , abbreviated as ''PTCG'' or ''Pokémon TCG'', is a collectible card game developed by Creatures Inc. based on the ''Pokémon'' franchise. It was first published in October 1996 by Media Factory in Japan. In the US, it was first published by ...

. In 2003, he performed in the non-Pokémon related song , with animation produced by Creatures for

NHK , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee. NHK operates two terrestri ...

Minna no Uta , literally ''Everyone's Songs'' (English title: ''Songs for Everyone''), is a five-minute NHK TV and radio program which is broadcast several times daily. The program started on April 3, 1961. It is one of NHK's long-running programs. The pr ...

. Like most of the Japanese ''Pokémon'' songs up to that point (including anime opening and ending songs), this was composed by

Hirokazu Tanaka , also known as Chip Tanaka, is a Japanese musician, composer, sound designer, and executive who pioneered chiptune music. He is best known as one of Nintendo's in-house composers during the 8- and 16-bit era of video games. Tanaka also had a role ...

. While live appearances have declined, Imakuni?'s activity continued through a now-defunct blog run by

Creatures Inc. is a Japanese video game company affiliated with Game Freak, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company, and one of the owners of the Pokémon franchise. It was founded by Tsunekazu Ishihara in November 1995, with the assistance of then-president of HAL ...

as well as an active Twitter account. Imakuni's first appearance in the trading card game was in the Pokémon Card GB video game for Game Boy Color, which was released in Japan in 1998 and internationally in 2000. In the game, Imakuni appears as an opponent and has his own set of unusual and whimsical cards. Imakuni's likeness also appeared on several actual Pokémon cards. One of the most well-known cards featuring Imakuni is the "Imakuni?'s Doduo" card. This card, released in the Base Set of the trading card game, depicts Imakuni riding a Doduo and has humorous and unconventional effects.

Appearance

Over the years, he has had several costumes, all which have round,

Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is an animated cartoon Character (arts), character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime mascot of The Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red sho ...

-style ears. #Round ears, black costume with "イマクニ？"

embroider Embroidery is the craft of decorating fabric or other materials using a needle to apply thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as pearls, beads, quills, and sequins. In modern days, embroidery is usually seen on c ...

ed on the front. (1996–early 2000s) #Curly round ears, black costume with "イマクニ？" on an

LCD screen A liquid-crystal display (LCD) is a flat-panel display or other electronically modulated optical device that uses the light-modulating properties of liquid crystals combined with polarizers. Liquid crystals do not emit light directly but in ...

on the front of his costume. #Round curly ears, silver costume with "イマクニ？" on the front of his costume.

Pokémon Trading Card Game

Imakuni? appears as an enemy in the ''

'' for the

Game Boy Color The (commonly abbreviated as GBC) is a handheld game console, manufactured by Nintendo, which was released in Japan on October 21, 1998 and to international markets that November. It is the successor to the Game Boy and is part of the Game ...

, as well as the game's 2001 Japan-exclusive sequel. The game also features a

Trainer Card Trainer may refer to: Entertainment * ''Trainer'' (album), an album released by Plaid in 2000 * ''Trainer'' (TV series), a British TV series *'' The Trainer'', a 2009 British play written by David Wilson and Anne Aylor *'' Trainer!'', a 2013 Germ ...

of the same name, which has been ranked among the worst and strangest cards in the Pokemon Trading Card Game, due to its mechanic being harmful to the player who uses it. A physical printing of the card was first distributed to 2,000 winners of a 1997 contest hosted by magazine

CoroCoro is a Japanese monthly manga magazine published by Shogakukan, established on May 15, 1977. Its main target is elementary school-aged boys, younger than the readers of shōnen manga. Several of its properties, like ''Doraemon'' and the ''Pokémo ...

, where Imakuni? appeared in a two-page feature answering questions about the card game. The Imakuni? card was later given an English reprint in the 2016 set

Generations A generation is "all of the people born and living at about the same time, regarded collectively." Generation or generations may also refer to: Science and technology * Generation (particle physics), a division of the elementary particles * Gen ...

. A related card, ''Imakuni?'s Doduo'', was also released in the subsequent 2016 set XY – Evolutions.

References

External links

*
Archived website
https://pokemonsrom.com/ Video game musicians Pokémon {{Japan-musician-stub