Friday night, suburban Tokyo. All through the week, the eager Japanese public have been waiting to hear what flavor the mystery Pokémon McFlurry will be. Options ranged from the reassuringly pleasant to the downright bizarre - after all, this is coming from a country that brought wasabi Kit Kat into the world (which we've tried, and, to our surprise, found to be not as utterly horrendous as we suspected). It honestly wouldn't have surprised us if 'Gengar sweet potato' was the winner (which, incidentally, is also a flavour of Kit Kat in Japan), but we digress.
You see, Japan loves a good collaboration and there's no better time than a big movie release. With Pokémon 20 - I chose you! In cinemas this weekend, McDonald's and the Pokemon company thought they would have some fun conjuring up some wacky Pokémon-themed flavours of the popular summer treat. This is coming from a company that thought it was totally acceptable to put double chocolate sauce on French Fries a few years back (which we also tried - it was foul) so part of us assumed that Charmander's spicy pepper or even Bulbasaur's broccoli would prevail. Of course, it wasn't meant to be, and the brand's stalwart icon Pikachu emerged victorious, becoming immortalized in ice cream form as 'choco banana'.
Friday night in Tokyo. we queued up amongst salary men and students on an unbearably humid night. An employee carries down a stack of Pikachu-faced containers. We were hedging our bets, as we wondered if it wasn't due for release until tomorrow. We look up at the cashier - this is it, it's our turn. We nervously point to the menu. Before we could utter the second syllable she says the magic word 'Pika!' and we both smile the kind of smile that only the joy of Pocket Monsters can bestow. We inspect at the cup; we've heard that each one features a different expression - ours is filled with happiness, which is nice.
Then we gaze inside the container and discover, much like Michael Douglas' character in the movie Falling Down, that we've fallen foul of some textbook false advertising on McDonald's part. It looks very little like the delicious McFlurry shown on the menu, but it is at least very banana-ry and satisfying, with the chocolate pieces melting into a goop we could just about spoon without resorting to a straw.
We sadly didn't get the chance to truly savour it - such is the Japanese summer - and we'll always think about what could have been. Bulbasaur, given the choice... we would have chosen you.
Comments 39
Looks like Pikachu has been chucked in a mincer
Argh, you ruined my first ever chance at a first on any forum ever!
That's just gross! I want to love it.....but....I can almost taste the grotesque banana mush just looking at it....eww.
i knew we've been eating pikachu this whole time...
At first it looks like Pikachu's brains, then the promo shows Pikachu's bum. 😵
Is it wrong to think this looks utterly delicious
Customers complain when there are mice in the kitchen, but are more than happy to eat minced electric mouse meat? Okay...
Looks like a nice chocolate-banana mcflurry to me. Do people actually hate this?
It's a Hallucination.
Okay...
Would you like to eat Pikachu shaped Birthday cake too ?
Remember, you have to cut the Pikachu... I mean the cake first.
I wish I could have sampled more of Japan's crazy Kit Kats. Ginger Ale was my favorite one all the way back from 2009. Also, good to know Japan's food items don't live up to the photos either. Ahh...marketing...
Pikachu is saying, "you're eating what came out of my backside".
What you actually got served looks disgusting.
@NEStalgia Luckily, there is no reward for being first.
Lol looks like we will be eating frozen pika brains with an Electric taste.
@ericflapjack No reward except for the eternal glory of being immortalized as a legend in a video game forum thread about Pikachu being thrown in a blender and served in McDonalds food.
For some people, it's the little things that matter....
Yeah. I think I'd rather just buy some vanilla ice cream, out on some chocolate sauce and serve it with a banana.
So this is what happens when you transfer a Pokemon in Pokemon Go and you get a 'candy'
""Can anybody tell what's wrong with this picture?""
The brown part of Pickachu's tail looks like a butt crack, making me think of the goat story in Castlevania.
All McFlurrys are terrible.
This is not a McFlurry. This is a McFurry.
@chewytapeworm
Pikachu got a challenger from McDonald Indonesia.
BANANA...!!!
@NEStalgia
McFurry ??
Just looking at that mush reminds me why I never eat at McDonalds. Their food just looks so unappealing.
Glad I wasn't planning on having lunch today... Thanks Nintendolife.
@Anti-Matter OMG it's a real thing?!?!
Also, that caramel popcorn McFlurry seems quite possibly even more disgusting than the Pika Poo above.
I love chocolate and banana together. Hopefully see something similar soon in the UK!
Can you blend it? Pokémon Edition
Will Burger King be doing a Digimon ice lolly?
Apparently this is where the Pokemon GO Candy Grinder Leads...
"Try MY tail on the new MCflurry! i promise you it will taste like slowpoke's!"
-Pikachu, typically oblivious to the fact that his latest marketing stunt will cost him more than he bargained for. But hey, it's for the kids right?
The Japanese summer must truly be hot if Pikachu melted into a cup....
I'm not a fan of bananas in ice cream, but it doesn't look THAT bad.
The hate for sweet potato is crazy. People don't seem to realize that Japan's purple sweet potato is a very different flavor from western sweet potato. The Japanese one is more of a sweet flavor often seen in snack items, rather than the savory-sweet dinner item we're used to.
EDIT: Saw a minor typo and it bothered me, so I fixed it.
I’m about to finger the bottom of this Pikachu McFlurry......
should I go Facebook Live?
That's pretty lame. I could get a banana McFlurry right now if I wanted. Probably the only difference is that there would be a Minion on the cup instead of Pikachu.
@Anti-Matter While the stuff they sell is not as crazy as that, McDonalds here in Germany also has a Despicable Me 3 promotion going on with banana flavored desserts.
They never look as advertised. They have pictures of ice cream swirled above the rim of the cup sprinkled with delight. What you get is a cup of ice cream that's been blended with crushed whatever you chose and a spoon stuck in the middle.
On a side note, anyone try that Raspberry Ripple Iced Cooler? It's nothing like the picture either. Rather than actual Raspberry Ripple you get a cup that's had raspberry sauce squirted around the inside and then runny ice cream poured in to give the illusion it's Raspberry Ripple. You can't taste the sauce because it stays on the outside even after you drink it. Never believe the pictures, folks.
Think I'll stick with Ben & Jerry's Chunky Monkey. Pure bliss.
Mmm that looks tasty, especially since Ben and Jerry's Chunky Munky is mah favorite and banana ice cream is sadly under utilized.
Your noble sacrifice to science is greatly appreciated.
@ChibiNinja
Are you talking about ube?
This is why you don't put Pokemon in a Blender Folks! Were it a DQ Blizzard instead, it would be awesome. I never visit McDonald's, ever...
Looks disgusting but tastes good! That is Mcdonald's for ya!
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