A big milestone for a monster success story

Your reaction to the next sentence will reveal plenty about your position in pop culture when it comes to youth culture fixations and parental exasperations: Hey, did you know this is an exciting and historic week in the world of Pokemon?

For those of you still with us, Pokemon celebrates its 10th anniversary Tuesday with “the Party of the Decade” (their words) at Bryant Park in New York City that will feature games, giveaways, costumed characters, a stage show, etc. What exactly is Pokemon? The answer begins with Satoshi Tajiri, a game designer whose nickname as a kid in a Tokyo suburb was “Dr. Bug,” a nod to his fondness for collecting insects. Tajiri turned that quirk into a global phenomenon when he designed a video game for Nintendo’s Game Boy that involved collecting magical “pocket monsters” (hence “pokemon”) that could be pitted against one another in bloodless competition.

That has led to a dizzying array of elaborate card games, more video games, movies, anime, manga and an insider mythology that rivals the universe of George Lucas for its sway over youngsters. Holly Rawlinson, vice president of licensing for Pokemon USA, said Tajiri’s brainchild endures because of the “elegance”of the original game and the allegiance of every other permutation to that “core of the brand.”

Rawlinson said this is also why outsiders are flummoxed by the whole thing. “There is always a logic to the brand that spreads across all platforms and Pokemon fans, especially those who dive deep

Separate but thriving. The Cartoon Network is adding Pokemon to its roster of shows, its 24-city mall tour tying into the anniversary, there are talks of a new theatrical Pokemon release and, on Friday, the Pokemon animated show will give voice to the pocket monsters for the first time. “It’s a big deal -- no one knows what their voices sound like,” Rawlinson said. “It’s no longer a fad, especially now with anime and manga established as genres here in the U.S. After 10 years, the biggest year for Pokemon is the next one.”

-- Geoff Boucher