You've probably heard of banned Pokémon cards.

If not, don't worry. I'll explain it quickly.

But if these cards are banned for international release, then why did no one bat an eye when they were first released in Japan?

I'll share my best guesses and give you a list of all the banned cards while I'm at it!

Long story short.

These cards were first released in Japan. When the international release came later, the artwork of these cards got changed.

Same card, different art: Japanese release vs. worldwide release.

The Pokémon community calls these Japanese versions banned or censored.

That's the gist of it.

Most of this is my own theory, not confirmed fact.

Drawn peeking up a girl's skirt from a manhole, that's why this one got banned.

The illustrator himself has denied the eyes were meant to look up her skirt, so it's possible this was never intentional to begin with, hence the reason why it wasn’t rejected.

However…

Here's the part that makes me doubt that: the girl is wearing loose socks, and those weren't just a random design choice at the time.

Adults in Japan actively frowned on them, tied to a broader moral issue around the sexualization of teenage girls happening in Japan right around then.

So you've got that specific detail, plus Grimer's eyes aimed exactly where they are, on the same card. I leave the judging up to you guys.

A naked silhouette, no getting around why this one's banned.

My best guess as to why it was accepted in Japan: nudity in Japan didn't automatically get read as sexual the same way it does in the West. Different cultures, especially back in the day.

Still…

The cards are made for kids first. So I get why the international version got changed.

It looks like she's flipping off the viewer.

My best guess as to why it wasn't "banned" in Japan is that the gesture just wasn't widely read as offensive in Japan at the time. The meaning caught up to the card, I guess.

Different kind of issue with the next two. Not a pose this time, just something sitting in the background.

Had a manji symbol removed from the background since it looked like a Nazi symbol.

Why I think it was accepted in Japan: in Japan the symbol is not related to the Nazi symbol at all. It's an old Buddhist symbol, still used on maps to mark temples.

I saw these symbols in Taiwan as well during my holidays. So there was nothing to really "notice" during the Japanese release.

Had a full graveyard in the background with tombstones and crosses, which got wiped for the international release.

Two things probably played into why Japan didn't blink at it. First, Christians make up less than 1% of Japan's population, so a cross in the background just doesn't carry the same religious weight it does in the West. A graveyard reads more as a spooky atmosphere than anything else.

Second, Pokémon were originally supposed to be actual monsters, as the name implies (Pocket Monsters). Early Japanese releases leaned into that a lot more than later ones did, so a card with a slightly creepy graveyard vibe fit right in at the time.

This next one's a whole different category. Not a pose, not a symbol, just the color.

Recolored from black to purple after the anime blew up in the US. Critics said the design echoed racist caricatures.

This actually happened to three separate cards, not just one: the original Base Set Jynx, and two Sabrina's Jynx versions from Gym Heroes and Gym Challenge.

My best guess, backed by a few Japanese sources: Jynx was based on "ganguro gyaru," a huge Japanese fashion trend at the time famous for their deep tan, bold makeup and bleached hair (but other sources contradict this, so I’m not sure).

Last group. This time it's not about how something looks, it's about what's actually happening in the scene.

The banned card I still want.

Points its arm-cannon straight at the camera like it just fired.

My best guess as to why it was approved in Japan and banned in the rest of the world: Japan has extremely strict gun laws, basically no gun culture at all. A weapon pointed at the camera probably just doesn't land the same way there as it could somewhere else.

Both show off an in-game casino slot machine a little too literally for a kids' card game, which got them changed for international release.

My theory on why Japan didn't blink: Pokémon's own games already have kids gambling at the Game Corner, so neither card was crossing a line Japan hadn't already crossed itself.

But to be fair, the English versions stay pretty close to the original Japanese artwork.

Swapped out over a cow udder.

Honestly, I still don't have a real theory for why it was fine in Japan but was banned for international release. Probably just a stricter review process once it left the country. Or maybe the same reason Misty's Tears got a pass in Japan.

If you've got a better theory than mine on any of these, let me know please!

There's something about owning a card that literally wasn't allowed to exist outside Japan.

I've got the Grimer, the card-flip card and Moo-Moo Milk. The one I actually want and don't have yet is Magmortar. This card is from 2012, way later than the rest, and not that many people talk about this one compared to the classics.

Tell me your favorite by replying to this email! Mine is the Magmortar for sure, but the moo-Moo Milk is pretty fun as well.

If you want to stay up to date in between issues, check out my Instagram

Bye for now! :)