The upcoming Pokémon cards booster pack Hadou Seeker, set to launch on November 27, has revealed the SAR artwork for Crasher Wake's Passion. In a surprise crossover, the card was illustrated by Tetsuo Hara, the legendary artist behind Fist of the North Star.
This marks Hara's second time creating artwork for Pokémon cards. The official site also published a special interview in which he shared the creative thinking and behind-the-scenes story behind his latest card.
Crasher Wake is the Water-type Gym Leader of Pastoria City in the Sinnoh region, as well as the larger-than-life wrestling persona known as the Torrential Masked Master. He lives for the energy of a hard-fought battle, and his outfit makes his pro-wrestling background impossible to miss.
During the interview, Hara was asked about his first reaction when he was invited back to illustrate a second Pokemon card.
Hara explained that when he drew Palafin ex in Hero Form, he wanted to preserve the character's signature Pokemon appeal while adding his own brand of power and coolness. Striking the right balance took considerable effort, and the experience has stuck with him ever since.
This time, however, he was drawing a professional wrestler. With the experience of his previous card behind him, Hara had a much clearer sense of how far he could push his own style—and he had a great time doing it.
Hara said he spent a lot of time considering how to portray Crasher Wake's imposing build and muscles. Because his artwork emphasizes realism, he had to decide exactly how far to take the character's physique. His original design was even more muscular, but after considering how fans already viewed the character and revising the piece several times, he gradually toned it down. He hopes viewers will notice the careful balance in the finished artwork.
Hara also revealed that his original plan was to show Crasher Wake's entire body from a dramatic low angle as he stood inside a wrestling ring. That composition made the character's head look too small, however, so he switched to a forward-leaning pose that put more focus on his expression.
As the illustration took shape, Hara had a sudden thought: what if he added afterimages of hands in the background? That could give the piece more of his signature style, so he kept adding more and more. Drawing that many hands was painstaking, but he simply could not stop piling them on. Halfway through, he even caught himself thinking, “I shouldn't have started this!” he recalled with a laugh.
Getting the size and proportions of every hand right was another major challenge, forcing him to revise them repeatedly. Still, Hara felt the artwork would not truly look like his work without them. The process was tough, but he believes the final result is a piece worthy of sharing with fans. In the language of his own artistic universe, he described it as the “Thousand-Hand Afterimage Fist!”
Every new Pokémon cards release sends collectors scrambling, and Hadou Seeker looks set to be no exception. Plenty of fans are probably already preparing their wallets for another round of pack openings.
Hara clearly enjoyed returning to Pokemon, and he even joked that he would like to tackle a third card. Perhaps future sets will bring him back—or invite even more celebrated cartoonists and illustrators into the mix. Either way, another collaboration like this would have fans talking.