A new animated short by online anime series Pokemon: Twilight Wings producer Yoshiyuki Koie and director Taku Inoue reimagines the video game Pocket Monsters in a very different style of the classic Looney Tunes cartoon.
The new Poketoon starring Scraggy and Mimikyu, titled Chase the Beans, is crafted by a team of veteran Pokemon anime animators. The cartoon opens with its title set against a backdrop of coloured circles, similar to those used in the introduction of the Warner Bros. animated cartoon series, Looney Tunes.
The short story sees Scraggy on the hunt for food as he follows a trail of beans onto a train where he encounters the playful Mimikyu, who immediately interrupts his search for snacks and causes chaos in every single frame.
Shared through the Pokemon Kids TV channel on YouTube, the short provides an entertaining showcase at how the franchise could be have been had it debuted decades ago. The short might help to fill the hole left behind by the Pokémon anime TV series, which has been temporarily put on hold due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
The latest season premiered in Japan with a one-hour special in November of last year. The new episodes follow Ash, Pikachu and new companion, Gou, on their globetrotting adventures from the Kanto to the Galar region, the setting of the Pokémon Sword and Shield games.