Nintendo has announced plans to release Pokemon t-shirts for adults under its “Pokemon 151” line. This means not only larger sizes, but also designs catering to older audiences as well. And I for one welcome this desire to match actual aesthetics with anime/video game t-shirts.

Anime t-shirts and wearable merchandise in general tend to suffer from the recurring dilemma of simply Not Looking Good. This is especially a problem with any sort of non-Japanese t-shirt release, as the design usually just ends up being a stock image pasted onto the front of the shirt with no regards for the overall look. It’s like delivering a punchline with no setup.

This is why I was so pleased with the Eureka Seven t-shirts that came with the DVDs. It’s like someone understood the importance of subtlety (and in some cases when NOT to be suble) when designing them.

So yes, anime t-shirt makers, please learn from Pokemon 151.

Except for COSPA and Uniqlo. You guys are swell. Most of the time at least.