Japanese parents can turn their baby into Pikachu, rent Pokémon kimono at photo studio【Photos】

New outfits combine the art of Pokémon with the traditions of the Shichi-Go-San festival.

After nearly 25 years as one of Japan’s top entertainment franchises, Pokémon now has multigenerational appeal, and is approaching the point where pop culture can start to blend with traditional culture. The latest example of that happening: a new line of Pokémon kimono!

The rental kimono are the result of a team-up between the Pokémon franchise and Japan’s Studio Alice children’s photo studio chain. A total of four designs have been created for the Shichi-Go-San (literally “Seven-Five-Three”) festival, when parents take their three, five, and seven-year-old children to their local Shinto shrine to pray for their health and future prosperity.

Since kids make their shrine visits dressed in kimono, the outing is usually coupled with a trip to a photo studio to snap mementos for parents and grandparents, which is why Studio Alice is involved with the kimono rental project. Girls usually make their visits at the ages of three and seven, and the three-year-old Pokémon kimono (for kids around 100 centimeters [39 inches] in height) has Pikachu as its star, accompanied by Mew and a few other species.

For seven-year-olds (120-130 centimeters), there’s the Eevee kimono, featuring its myriad evolutions.

Boys, on the other hand, do their Shichi-Go-San shrine visits at five years old, and their choices (sized at 110 centimeters), shine the spotlight on Charizard and Legendary Pokémon Rayquaza.

▼ Charizard is accompanied by many of the original starter trio’s evolutions…

▼ …while Rayquaza’s kimono has nods to several other extra-rare, extra-powerful Pocket Monsters.

If you want to go beyond the cuteness of dressing your kid up in Pokémon kimono and just dress them up like Pokémon, Studio Alice is once again ready to help with its Pikachu baby photo costume.

This time around, the outfit is sized for children between 70 and 80 centimeters in height, which Studio Alice says works out to ages between three and 12 months. The studio is also offering three different Pokémon backgrounds for your Pika-baby photos.

The Pikachu baby costumes (for in-studio use only) will be the first to become available, on April 19. The wait for the kimono is going to be a bit longer, as Shichi-Go-San is a fall celebration, with the Pikachu, Eevee, and Charizard designs becoming available for in-studio use on August 1, and for day-use rentals on September 11, the same day the Rayquaza version becomes available for both in-studio and day use. Studio Alice will start taking kimono reservations, though, on April 20.

Related: Studio Alice
Source, images: PR Times
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