Netflix has announced a new Pokémon series is set to launch on the platform, but fans of the franchise have been left hugely divided. In celebration of Pokémon Day on Monday (February 27), the streaming giant confirmed new series Pokémon Concierge is coming soon.
The stop-motion animated series is Netflix’s first collaboration with The Pokémon Company and is produced by Dwarf Studios, the Japanese animation studio behind 2019’s Rilakkuma and Kaoru. Little is known about the series, other than it follows Haru, a concierge at the Pokémon Resort, and her interactions with Pokémon and their owners who visit as guests.
Announcing the series, Minyoung Kim, Vice President of Netflix Content in Asia, said: “Netflix is looking forward to delighting fans in Japan and around the world with ‘Pokémon Concierge,’ an entirely new visual and storytelling experience featuring ground-breaking stop-motion animation set in the Pokémon world in close collaboration with The Pokémon Company. We’re also excited to reveal this new series on Pokémon Day and provide fans with even more things to look forward to on this special holiday celebrating the popular franchise.”
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First launched in 1996, the hit franchise centres on creatures known as Pokémon – an abbreviation of Pocket Monsters – and the Pokémon Trainers who catch, train, care for, and battle with them. It started life as a video game on the original Game Boy, and soon became a massive, global multimedia franchise.
It spawned a hugely popular trading card game and countless TV shows and feature-length films, with iconic duo Pikachu and his human trainer Ash Ketchum becoming cemented in popular culture for almost three decades. Pokémon is now one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time, and more than 43.2 billion Pokémon cards had been sold worldwide as of March 2022, according to the Pokémon website.
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Since Pokémon Concierge was revealed, fans have flocked to social media to share their opinions on the new series, and they are hugely divided. On Twitter, @mauwau18 said: “It’s either good or absolutely awful.”
@StoneColdAu said: “They ruined Pokémon.”
@JonezZone_ added: “Cringe.”
@obliiiivion simply said “No, thanks,” while @Souleimane668 predicts the series will “flop.”
Other fans have been more enthusiastic, as @D1V1D3DxFLASH1 said: “Just what we wanted hell yeah.”
@danielemadi98 said: “This looks so cute, can’t wait!”
@austin_comics echoed: “I love how this looks.”
@toonzach2000 added: “Stop-motion. Say no more.”
A release date for Pokémon Concierge is yet to be confirmed.
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