Twenty-seven years after its creation, Pokémon will finally have a live-action adaptation. TV Tokyo and The Pokémon Company have announced a live-action drama series, Put Adventure in Your Pocket, based on the world-famous pocket monsters.
Pokémon is a huge Japanese media franchise that originated from a pair of role-playing games by Game Freak based on the original concept by the company’s founder, Satoshi Tajiri. The game was first released on Game Boy in 1996. And when it turned out to be a big hit, it spawned a manga series, a trading card game, an anime, and several movies. Now, a live-action adaptation is about to come.
TV Tokyo’s official website announced its first “Pokémon human drama,” Put Adventure in Your Pocket. It also revealed that Nanase Nishino, a former female idol group Nogizaka46 member and a Pokémon lover herself, will lead the series as Madoka.
What is Pokémon live-action drama about?
Put Adventure in Your Pocket follows the story of Madoka, who moves to Tokyo to chase her dream. However, things will change after she plays Pokémon again for the first time in 20 years.
Madoka grew up in Mashiro watching Pokémon and playing Pocket Monster Red with her siblings. After graduating from a local university, she started working at a fish cake company. She later moved to a small advertising agency in Tokyo to be the creator she wanted to be since she was young.
However, reality is far from the fantasy she has been dreaming of. She even ends up working on a presentation that holds the agency's future. But as her mom sends her a package that contains her old Game Boy Pocket and the Pocket Monsters Red that she used to play, a new adventure is about to begin.
Who is Nanase Nishino?
Nishino is a 29-year-old actress, model, TV host, and a former idol in Japan. She was seen in the movie Asahinagu and the drama series Denei Shojo: Video Girl Ai. Currently, she co-hosts the Fuji TV variety show Lion no Goo Touch.
Talking about her role in Put Adventure in Your Pocket, Nishino told TV Tokyo that she was surprised to receive an offer to lead the live-action adaptation of Pokémon after telling a friend she would love to work on the franchise someday. She then revealed she had played most of its games, from the first generation to the latest.
Nishino described her character in the series as someone who loves to take action and do things on her own with the support of everyone around her. And with this new offering, she’s confident that viewers will love it with its many stories to tell.
Put Adventure in Your Pocket will be released every Thursday night, starting on October 19, at 11:30 PM JST on TV Tokyo. It remains to be seen if it will have an international broadcast. But considering the franchise’s success around the world, it may not be far from happening. For sure, many want to see this series globally.
