Nostalgic Pokemon scenes light up night sky in drone show at Japan amusement park

TOKYO/KANAGAWA - The night sky was illuminated with Pokemon during a drone show at the Yomiuriland amusement park, which straddles the cities of Inagi in Tokyo and Kawasaki in Kanagawa prefecture, on Feb 27.

The show was staged to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Pokemon franchise, which trace back to the Pokemon Red Version and Pokemon Green Version games, which launched in February 1996.

Since then, the Pokemon media franchise, which includes an animated series, movies and games, featuring “little monsters” that attract children, as well as adult superfans, has been enjoyed around the world.

The show was planned by The Pokemon Company in Tokyo to express gratitude to Pokemon fans and live-streamed on its official YouTube channel.

Music played as a total of 1,500 drones equipped with LEDs danced across the sky above the park, showing scenes from games from 30 years ago. The show concluded with a message saying that Pokemon “will continue to connect the world”, drawing applause from the audience.

The Yomiuri Shimbun also distributed a promotional edition of the newspaper on Feb 27 at PokePark KANTO, a permanent outdoor Pokemon attraction at the amusement park, commemorating the 30th anniversary of the series.

Many visitors received the special paper, which included a photo of themselves with Pokemon taken at the outdoor attraction. The service is available through March 1.

Mr Toshinobu Nakaseko, 34, a childcare worker from Tokyo, said he has enjoyed Pokemon games since the release of the first game title, adding: “I want to show this off to the children at the nursery school.” THE JAPAN NEWS/ASIA NEWS NETWORK