Editing Pokémon (section)

==Reaction to Pokémania (1999–2000)==
[[File:Pikachu on New Yorker cover, Nov 1 1999.jpg|right|thumb|235px|1 November 1999, cover of ''[[The New Yorker]]'', which depicts a [[Pikachu]] carrying away a bag overflowing with money while [[trick-or-treating]]. Artwork by [[Harry Bliss]].]]

<!-- Intro -->
In 1999 and 2000, ''Pokémon'' was an unprecedented, ubiquitous [[fad]] in the Western world. ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine described it as "a multimedia and interactive barrage like no other before it".<ref name="Chua-Eoan_Larimer_(1999)" /> The franchise, primarily aimed at children, elicited mixed responses from parents and teachers, some of them critical. In a 2004 essay, anthropologist Christine R. Yano even claimed that the reactions at one point constituted a [[moral panic]].<ref>{{Harvc | first=Christine R. | last=Yano | year=2004 | chapter=Panic Attacks: Anti-Pokémon Voices in Global Markets | in=Tobin | p=115}}</ref>

<!-- Criticism of the trading cards -->
The bulk of the criticism on ''Pokémon'' was directed at [[Pokémon Trading Card Game|the trading cards]],<ref name="Brougère_(2004)_p187-188">{{Harvc | first=Gilles | last=Brougère | year=2004 | chapter=How Much Is a Pokémon Worth? Pokémon in France | in=Tobin | p=187-188}}</ref> in particular the [[booster pack]]s, sealed packages of 11{{efn|name=boosters}} randomly inserted cards that were sold separately from the main sets. The cards are of varying scarcity, the most valuable being the "holofoil cards" (also called "holographic" or "foil cards"), in which the illustrations of the Pokémon have a shiny overlay effect. The rare cards can only be found in booster packs, and the rarest ones are very infrequently included. [[Joseph Tobin]] noted that rarity in this case is "artificially created", and "effectively a form of gambling" in which children need to repeatedly purchase booster packs to get more rare cards.<ref>{{Harvc | first1=David | last1=Buckingham | author-link1=David Buckingham (academic) | first2=Julian | last2=Sefton-Green | year=2004 | chapter=Structure, Agency, and Pedagogy in Children's Media Culture | in=Tobin | p=26}}</ref> {{ill|Gilles Brougère|fr}} described a cynicism among adults that corporations could apparently, "out of thin air", ascribe value to cards which they saw as valueless, thereby "deceiving vulnerable young consumers and garnering excessive profits".<ref name="Brougère_(2004)_p187-188" />

<!-- Disruption at and bans from schools, class-action lawsuit -->
As the franchise's popularity grew, children began taking their ''Pokémon'' cards to school for trading and playing. Soon, the cards were alleged to be "disrupting learning, poisoning playground friendships and causing such distraction that some children forget their homework, tune out in class and even miss school buses as they scramble to acquire one more card".<ref>{{Cite news | first=Melissa | last=Healy | title=Backlash Builds as Schoolyards Evolve Into Pokemon Trading Pits | work=[[Los Angeles Times]] | date=16 October 1999 | url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-oct-16-mn-22915-story.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221201223008/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-oct-16-mn-22915-story.html | archive-date=1 December 2022 | url-status=live}}</ref> The cards were "turning the playground into a black market",<ref>{{Cite AV media | title=1999 MSNBC Pokémon News | publisher=WalVault | time=2:13 | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Dl7YF5Mr8Q&t=133s | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240408202254/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Dl7YF5Mr8Q | archive-date=8 April 2024 | url-status=live | via=YouTube | quote=... but turning the playground into a black market, where they buy and sell rare cards. | ref={{harvid|MSNBC Pokémon item|1999}}}}</ref> with card swaps sometimes inciting conflicts. Certain children engaged in "aggressive trading",<ref name="Schools_ban_Pokémon_cards">{{Cite web | title=Schools ban Pokémon cards | website=[[BBC News]] | date=14 April 2000 | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/713270.stm | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030224014051/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/713270.stm | archive-date=24 February 2003| url-status=live | quote=It puts enormous pressure on parents who want their children to have everything.}}</ref> tricking other (often younger) kids into unfair deals, forcing teachers to arbitrate.{{efn-ur|Attributed to multiple references:<ref>{{Cite news | first=Jim | last=Fitzgerald | title=Kids Told to Pocket Their Pokemons | work=[[Los Angeles Times]] | date=30 May 1999 | page=21 | url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-may-30-mn-42491-story.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230325203634/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-may-30-mn-42491-story.html | archive-date=25 March 2023 | url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news | first1=Mike | last1=Johnson | first2=Anne | last2=Davis | title=Expelled: Pokemon prove powerless against principals Disruptions prompt some schools to ban popular trading cards | work=[[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]] | date=15 September 1999 | page=1 | url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/261007853/A125DDA815B841F7PQ | url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news | first=Bill | last=Cole | title=Parents and principals confront Pokemon | work=[[Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, Illinois)|Daily Herald]] | date=28 September 1999 | page=1 | url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/309933592/9295E215436B43F0PQ | url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news | first=Sharon R. | last=King | title=A monstrous success: The craze for Nintendo's Pokemon has created preteen mob scenes in malls across the United States | work=[[National Post]] | date=27 April 1999 | page=C12 | url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/329381956/8BB890BB97D64553PQ | url-access=subscription}}</ref>}} Some parents expressed their concerns about the craze, but feared that their children would be ostracized if they were to deny them ''Pokémon'' products.<ref name="Schools_ban_Pokémon_cards" /><ref>{{Cite news | first=Felicia R | last=Lee | title=Who's Afraid of the Pokemon Monster? | work=[[The New York Times]] | date=24 October 1999 | page=CY1 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/10/24/nyregion/coping-who-s-afraid-of-the-pokemon-monster.html | url-access=subscription | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150527104853/https://www.nytimes.com/1999/10/24/nyregion/coping-who-s-afraid-of-the-pokemon-monster.html | archive-date=27 May 2015 | url-status=live | quote=Parents feel that if they don't give in to this widespread phenomenon they risk their kids being ostracized}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news | first=Valerie J. | last=Nelson | title=Wait—Who Is Catching Whom? | work=[[Los Angeles Times]] | date=2 October 1999 | page=1 | url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-oct-02-ca-17653-story.html | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210406175907/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-oct-02-ca-17653-story.html | archive-date=6 April 2021 | url-status=live | quote=Peer pressure has a lot to do with it. (...) [I]f you don't have it, you're not cool.}}</ref> In the US, the ''Pokémon'' cards ended up "almost universally banned" from school grounds.<ref>{{Harvp|Allison|2006|p=254}}.</ref> Similar bans occurred in Canada,<ref>{{Cite news | title=Panic over Pokemon | work=[[The Ottawa Citizen]] | date=12 November 1999 | page=A18 | url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/240312091/DBA84613CF054E66PQ | url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news | title=Kids, adults getting extreme to land Pokemon cards | work=[[Whitehorse Star]] | date=13 December 1999 | page=16 | url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/362083008/D9BA4C9E237D470APQ | url-access=subscription}}</ref> Australia,<ref name="schoolyard_bad_behaviour">{{Cite news | first=Rachel | last=Mealey | title=Pokemon craze blamed for schoolyard bad behaviour | work=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]] | date=22 November 1999 | url=http://www.abc.net.au/pm/s67800.htm | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001020183020/http://www.abc.net.au/pm/s67800.htm | archive-date=20 October 2000 | url-status=dead}}</ref> New Zealand,<ref>{{Cite news | first=Phil | last=Hamilton | title=Pokemon cards good for kids, says school | work=[[The Evening Post (New Zealand)|The Evening Post]] | date=10 April 2000 | page=1 | url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/314679446/390254D4D577481APQ | url-access=subscription}}</ref> and European countries.<ref name="Schools_ban_Pokémon_cards" /><ref name="Montgomery_(2000)">{{Cite news | first=David | last=Montgomery | title=Crimes lead to Pokemon curb calls | work=[[The Scotsman]] | date=25 April 2000 | page=5 | url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/326776929/1AFA6141C5F5403CPQ | url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{Harvc | first=Gilles | last=Brougère | year=2004 | chapter=How Much Is a Pokémon Worth? Pokémon in France | in=Tobin | p=198}}</ref> In September 1999, US-based law firm [[Milberg]] filed a [[class-action lawsuit]] against Nintendo of America, Wizards of the Coast, and 4Kids. The suit claimed that the booster packs constitute a form of lottery and promote gambling in kids.<ref>{{Cite news | first=David M. | last=Halbfinger | title=Suit Claims Pokemon Is Lottery, Not Just Fad | work=[[The New York Times]] | page=B5 | date=24 September 1999 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/09/24/nyregion/suit-claims-pokemon-is-lottery-not-just-fad.html | url-access=subscription | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091006061514/https://www.nytimes.com/1999/09/24/nyregion/suit-claims-pokemon-is-lottery-not-just-fad.html | archive-date=6 October 2009 | url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news | author=[[Bloomberg News]] | title=Suit Claims Nintendo Fosters Illegal Gambling Through Pokemon Cards | work=[[Los Angeles Times]] | date=23 September 1999 | page=3 | url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-sep-23-fi-13349-story.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200619070952/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-sep-23-fi-13349-story.html | archive-date=19 June 2020 | url-status=live}}</ref> [[Susan Estrich]] noted that similar lawsuits had been filed against trading-card makers in the US, without success.<ref>{{Cite news | first=Susan | last=Estrich | author-link=Susan Estrich | title=Who's doing the real gambling here? | work=[[Tampa Bay Times]] | date=27 September 1999 | url=https://www.tampabay.com/archive/1999/09/27/who-s-doing-the-real-gambling-here/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210406184231/https://www.tampabay.com/archive/1999/09/27/who-s-doing-the-real-gambling-here/ | archive-date=6 April 2021 | url-status=live}}</ref> The ''Pokémon'' card suit is not known to have gone to court, and is believed to have been settled.{{efn|In her 2006 book ''Millennial Monsters'', [[Anne Allison]] mentions the card suit and writes, within parentheses, that it "was eventually settled out of court".<ref>{{Harvp|Allison|2006|p=255}}.</ref> However, she does not cite a source for this. The full sentence does contain an inline citation to a ''[[New York Times]]'' piece, but this article doesn't state that the case was settled.}}

<!-- Criticism of the anime series and The First Movie -->
The [[Pokémon (TV series)|''Pokémon'' anime series]] was criticized by some as "cheap Japanese animation"<ref name="Allison_(2006)_p261">{{Harvp|Allison|2006|p=261}}.</ref> that is "violent"<ref name="Plotz_(1999)" /><ref>{{Harvc | first1=Dafna | last1=Lemish | first2=Linda-Renée | last2=Bloch | year=2004 | chapter=Pokémon in Israel | in=Tobin | p=172}}</ref><ref>{{Harvp|MSNBC Pokémon item|1999}}. Event occurs at 1:20. "Parents should not have their kids ... have anything whatsoever to do with Pokémon, because the message is violence."</ref> and has "little educational value".<ref>{{Harvc | first=Gilles | last=Brougère | year=2004 | chapter=How Much Is a Pokémon Worth? Pokémon in France | in=Tobin | p=190}}</ref> Michelle Orecklin of ''Time'' dismissed the TV series as "less a cartoon than a half-hour exercise in Pokémon product placement".<ref>{{Cite magazine | first=Michele | last=Orecklin | title=Pokemon: The Cutest Obsession | magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |  date=10 May 1999 | volume=153 | issue=18 | page=42 | url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/articles/0,3266,23915,00.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000407054418/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/articles/0,3266,23915,00.html | archive-date=7 April 2000 | url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Anne Allison]] wrote that even those within Pokémon's US marketing team agreed that the anime's visuals were "not especially sophisticated" compared to [[Disney]] cartoons.<ref name="Allison_(2006)_p261" /> ''[[Pokémon: The First Movie]]'' premiered in the United States on 12 November 1999, and in European countries in February 2000. While a huge box-office success, the film was received negatively by several Western film critics.<ref>[https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/pokemon_the_first_movie_mewtwo_vs_mew/reviews?type=top_critics ''The First Movie''] at [[Rotten Tomatoes]].</ref><ref>[https://www.metacritic.com/movie/pokmon-the-first-movie---mewtwo-strikes-back!/critic-reviews ''The First Movie''] at [[Metacritic]].</ref> ''[[The Guardian]]'' decried it as a "contemptuously cheap animated cash-in on the monster kids' craze".<ref>{{Harvc | first1=David | last1=Buckingham | author-link1=David Buckingham (academic) | first2=Julian | last2=Sefton-Green | year=2004 | chapter=Structure, Agency, and Pedagogy in Children's Media Culture | in=Tobin | p=27}}</ref> The American adult animated series ''[[South Park]]'' satirized ''Pokémon'' in the episode "[[Chinpokomon]]", aired on 3 November 1999. In the episode, the titular media franchise is portrayed as a low-quality line of products that is part of an evil plan by the Japanese government to invade the US. ''South Park'' co-creator [[Matt Stone]] commented that, at the time, ''Pokémon'' was "scary huge".<ref>{{Cite AV media | title=South Park – Season 3 {{pipe}} Commentary by Trey Parker & Matt Stone | publisher=CommentaryCentral | via=YouTube | time=36:48 | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IrdXno04B8&t=2208s | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240124111757/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IrdXno04B8 | archive-date=24 January 2024 | url-status=live}}</ref>

<!-- Concerns about crass commercialism and obsessive behaviour among children -->
Author Chris Kohler wrote that ''Pokémon'' was considered "ruthlessly commercial", and that it "program[med] children to be consumers of anything and everything Pokémon".<ref>{{Harvp|Kohler|2004|p=241}}.</ref> [[CNN]] quoted child psychiatrist John Lochridge as worrying that "Pokémon's creators and marketers deliberately set out to create a fantasy world so compelling that children would quickly become obsessed". He believed that kids were being "brainwashed", and said: "I have had parents tell me that they cannot get their kids to do anything except Pokémon, so this stuff seems to really capture their minds, in a way".<ref name="Lockridge_(1999)" /> These concerns were countered by psychologist [[William Damon]], who told ''[[Newsweek]]'' that obsessing is in fact a normal part of a child's neurological development. It should concern parents only when the obsession gets dangerous or excessive.<ref>{{Cite news | first=Pat | last=Wingert | title=The Age Of Obsession | work=[[Newsweek]] | date=17 October 1999 | url=https://www.newsweek.com/age-obsession-168356 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230604082008/https://www.newsweek.com/age-obsession-168356 | archive-date=4 June 2023 | url-status=live}}</ref> An [[op-ed]] in the New Zealander newspaper ''[[The Dominion Post (Wellington)|The Dominion Post]]'' claimed that the anti-Pokémon sentiment was particularly American: "The backlash, which seems largely confined to the United States, may be no more than the sound of the world's leading cultural imperialist gagging on a taste of its own medicine".<ref>{{Harvc | first=Christine R. | last=Yano | year=2004 | chapter=Panic Attacks: Anti-Pokémon Voices in Global Markets | in=Tobin | p=119-120}}</ref>

<!-- Crimes -->
As Pokémania built, Western media started reporting on several crimes associated with ''Pokémon''. These included violence<ref name="schoolyard_bad_behaviour" /><ref name="Cox_(1999)">{{Cite news | first=Meki | last=Cox | title=Pokemon Creates Crime Wave | work=[[AP News]] | publisher=[[Associated Press]] | date=11 December 1999 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201228212225/https://apnews.com/article/f94d69a25a157bcee83190aa75c058a2 | url=https://apnews.com/article/f94d69a25a157bcee83190aa75c058a2 | archive-date=28 December 2020 | url-status=dead}}</ref> (including two reported stabbings),<ref>{{Cite news | first=Ingrid | last=Peritz | title=Pokemon craze leads to schoolyard stabbing | work=[[The Globe and Mail]] | date=28 October 1999 | page=A1 | url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1135803822/65702F462B9F48F4PQ | url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news | first1=Robert | last1=Gearty | first2=Bill | last2=Hutchinson | title=Boy stabbed over Pokemon | work=[[New York Daily News]] | date=11 November 1999 | page=7 | url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/313710574/22FBE84343E948C6PQ | url-access=subscription}}</ref> burglaries,<ref>{{Cite news | first=Edward C. | last=Fennell | title=Teen arrested in Pokemon card theft | work=[[The Post and Courier]] | date=1 December 1999 | page=4 | url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/373895240/23F645FAA88A4EADPQ | url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name="Pokemon_card_crime">{{Cite news | title=Pokémon card crime | work=[[BBC]] | date=9 May 2000 | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/741144.stm | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090619155004/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/741144.stm | archive-date=19 June 2009 | url-status=live}}</ref> robberies<ref name="Montgomery_(2000)" /><ref name="Cox_(1999)" /> (some at knifepoint),<ref name="Clothier_(2000)">{{Cite news | first=James | last=Clothier | title=Boys robbed of Pokemon cards at knifepoint | work=[[Daily Mail]] | date=18 April 2000 | page=37 | url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/321107852/29C5AFB16D4D493FPQ | url-access=subscription | quote=[The] playground craze from Japan has now hit fever pitch.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news | first=Geraint | last=Smith | title=Boy, 6, robbed at knifepoint for Pokémon cards | work=[[Evening Standard]] | date=23 May 2000 | page=20 | url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/329327422/14091CE286A04612PQ | url-access=subscription}}</ref> and shoplifting.<ref>{{Cite news | first=Jennifer | last=Gerrietts | title=Pokemon theft in city follows national trend | work=[[Argus Leader]] | date=17 February 2000 | page=A1 | url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/873187799/766E1E66FAAB4F11PQ | url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news | first=Nick | last=Morrison | title=Pokemon craze sparks fear of crime outbreak | work=[[The Northern Echo]] | date=19 April 2000 | page=4 | url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/328889385/3A33E3503F25490FPQ | url-access=subscription}}</ref> Almost all these incidents were connected to the ''Pokémon'' cards, and the individuals involved were almost always underage. In the US, the incidents peaked in November 1999.<ref name="Yano_(2004)_p121" /> In England, ''Pokémon''-related delinquency reached a head in April 2000.<ref name="Clothier_(2000)" /><ref>{{Cite news | title=Pokémon upsets heads and parents | work=[[BBC News]] | date=24 April 2000 | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/724805.stm | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071022172847/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/724805.stm | archive-date=22 October 2007 | url-status=live}}</ref> High prices on the [[grey market]] were a motive behind some of the crimes, "posing a great temptation for older kids and bullies to take advantage of weaker children".<ref>{{Cite web | first=Todd | last=Venezia | title=Pokemon Craze Sweeping Kids Into Courts | website=APBnews.com | date=17 November 1999 | url=http://www.apbnews.com/newscenter/breakingnews/1999/11/17/pokemon1117_01.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000305112039/http://www.apbnews.com/newscenter/breakingnews/1999/11/17/pokemon1117_01.html | archive-date=5 March 2000 | url-status=dead}}</ref> At specialty shops and online auctions, a rare ''Pokémon'' card could be bought and sold for $50 or more (c. ${{Inflation|US|50|1999}} in {{Inflation/year|US}}).<ref>{{Harvp|Estrich|1999}}: "But there may be one "rare" card in a packet, a Kabutops or a Japanese Mew, that in the secondary market could go for as much as $50."</ref><ref>{{Cite news | first=James R. | last=Hagerty | title=The Pokemon Craze Yields Another Parental Anxiety | work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] | date=22 September 1999 | page=A1 | url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB937953097105580923 | url-access=subscription | archive-url=https://archive.today/20230228212845/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB937953097105580923 | archive-date=28 February 2023 | url-status=live}}</ref>

<!-- Positive reactions, cited benefits -->
Aside from the negative reactions, many media also cited alleged beneficial effects of ''Pokémon''.<ref>{{Harvc | first1=David | last1=Buckingham | author-link1=David Buckingham (academic) | first2=Julian | last2=Sefton-Green | year=2004 | chapter=Structure, Agency, and Pedagogy in Children's Media Culture | in=Tobin | p=24-26}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news | title=Experts reveal: Pokemon Mania is actually good for your kids | work=[[Woman's World]] | date=7 December 1999 | url=https://www.theescapist.com/pokemon10.htm | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041222232746/http://www.theescapist.com/pokemon10.htm | archive-date=22 December 2004 | url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news | first=Lynn | last=McMillen | title=The good side of Pokemon: Psychologist says fad teaches kid about life | work=[[The Morning Call]] | date=8 November 1999 | page=D01 | url=https://www.mcall.com/1999/11/08/the-good-side-of-pokemon-psychologist-says-fad-teaches-kids-about-life/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230325204234/https://www.mcall.com/1999/11/08/the-good-side-of-pokemon-psychologist-says-fad-teaches-kids-about-life/ | archive-date=25 March 2023 | url-status=live}}</ref> It was noted that the video games and the cards require children to read, memorize, calculate, and plan out a strategy.<ref name="Mcfarland_Parvaz_(1999)" /><ref name="Hatakeyama_Kubo_(2000)_p246-247" /><ref>{{Cite news | first=Jacqueline L. | last=Salmon | title=For Youths and Parents Alike, the Hunt Is On for Pokemon | work=[[Los Angeles Times]] | date=17 June 1999 | url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-jun-17-cl-47641-story.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210406182500/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-jun-17-cl-47641-story.html | archive-date=6 April 2021 | url-status=live}}</ref> Both encourage socialization, and trading Pokémon requires negotiating skills.<ref name="Lockridge_(1999)" /><ref name="Baylis_(1999)" /><ref name="Liu_(1999)" /> [[Stephanie Strom]] wrote in ''[[The New York Times]]'' that the ''Pokémon'' anime taught children "traditional Japanese values – responsibility, empathy, cooperation, obedience, respect for elders, humility".<ref>{{Cite news | first=Stephanie | last=Strom | author-link=Stephanie Strom | title=Japanese Family Values: I Choose You, Pikachu! | work=[[The New York Times]] | date=7 November 1999 | page=4 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/11/07/weekinreview/ideas-trends-japanese-family-values-i-choose-you-pikachu.html | url-access=subscription | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090408213246/http://www.nytimes.com/1999/11/07/weekinreview/ideas-trends-japanese-family-values-i-choose-you-pikachu.html | archive-date=8 April 2009 | url-status=live}}</ref> [[Anne Allison]] interviewed various American parents during Pokémania. She found that while most of them were "utterly mystified" about ''Pokémon'', few were overly worried about it, instead meeting the craze with "befuddled acceptance". Allison also notes that the [[Columbine High School massacre]] occurred during Pokémania (on 20 April 1999), causing violent television, music, and games to be scrutinized. Compared to these media, she notes, ''Pokémon'' is in fact rather tame.<ref>{{Harvp|Allison|2006|p=250-251}}.</ref>

<!-- Differences between Japan and the West -->
In contrast, ''Pokémon'' received far less criticism in its native country of Japan. Anthropologist Christine R. Yano attributes this to [[cultural differences]], which includes: 1) greater acceptance of exuberant [[consumerism]] – to buy is to be a good citizen; 2) less focus on [[media influence]] – instead, [[Education in Japan|Japan's educational system]], [[Education in Japan#Bullying|bullying]], and dysfunctional families are more often the target of attention; 3) less separation between child- and adulthood – what is suitable for adults is not necessarily considered unsuitable for kids; 4) Pokémon being permeated with ''[[kawaisa]]'' ([[cuteness]]), a hallmark of Japanese culture; 5) Japan's core religions, [[Buddhism]] and [[Shinto]], are less moralizing in nature.<ref>{{Harvc | first=Christine R. | last=Yano | year=2004 | chapter=Panic Attacks: Anti-Pokémon Voices in Global Markets | in=Tobin | p=110-113}}</ref> However, [[Oliver Burkeman]] wrote in ''[[The Guardian]]'' that the ''Pokémon'' cards were also banned from some Japanese schools.<ref name="Burkeman_(2000)" />