Did you know that Abra, Kadabra and Alakazam was targeted by conservative Christian groups as representing anti-Christian aspects of the franchise?
Oh yeah. A pastor from Palm Beach, Florida refered to the symbols on their head as “a pentagram” and claimed the symbol on their chests were representing Nazi Germany’s SS-symbol. (And while we’re at it, I noticed something weird researching this case. Check out the Kiss logo.)
Also, an Israeli “psychic”-magician, Uri Gellar, who claimed to bend spoons with his mind, sued Nintendo saying Kadabra’s Japanese name was an “unauthorized appropriation of his identity”.
Geller sued for 100 million dollars, but lost.
Sucks for him, I guess.
The madness doesn’t stop here, people.
The Pokémon Jynx was claimed to be a negative racial stereotype of African-Americans.
Jynx design was then changed from being originally black, to purple. They also had to recolor Jynx as dark gray rather than black in the manga.
But racism is not all, several animal groups have tried to ban Pokémon, saying it resembles cockfights, and is promoting animal cruelty. *sigh*
In Saudi Arabia in 2001, they banned the Pokémon franchise, claiming it encouraged gambling and promoted Zionism. Some other outspoken, fundamentalist Muslims claimed that Pokémon was a Jewish conspiracy that was intended to brainwash Muslim children to make them renounce their faith. These same groups claimed that the word «Pokémon» is a phrase that means «I am Jewish«.
And of course, the “Evolution vs. Creationism” conflict was also commonly brought up.
> What’s your view on this? Do you agree with any of the statements?
Sources:
Bulbapedia
Wikipedia, Pokémon, Video game controversies
Makabrakadavra 