Riding high on the Winter Olympic buzz today, Tokyo revealed the official mascots for the 2020 Summer Games. 2,042 individuals and groups submitted designs for the characters, but these two were selected by children in elementary schools across Japan. Their names are TBD, but they are said to be “very good friends” who “respect each other” (lol).

Think they look familiar? There’s no mistaking the similarity to one of Japan’s biggest media exports, Pokémon.

 

Image: Plusle & Minun | Pokemon

Image: Meowstic | Pokemon

 

The design of the characters was meant to symbolize Japanese tradition and innovation. The blue character has a “strong athletic figure” and sense of “justice”, while the pink character is a cherry-blossom inspired superhero. OK, so Japan still has a way to go in the feminism department – but otherwise these characters are totes adorbs, and we can’t wait to see the merch they’ll be on.

Filed under: 2020, Olympics, Summer Games, tokyo