Ever since it began in the '90s, the Pokémon franchise has introduced several classic monsters. These include iconic creatures like Mewtwo, Charizard, Jigglypuff and of course, Pikachu. Many of these monsters debuted in the series' first-generation, going on to star in several episodes of the anime.

One Pokémonwith a particularly controversial history, however, is Jynx. A rather odd-looking Generation 1 monster, Jynx stood out for her humanoid and arguably racist design. This prompted Gamefreak to make notable changes to her look, making her an infamous entry in the Pokédex.

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Jynx and Blackface

Jynx from Pokémon's controversial original design.

Unlike most other Pokémon, who are clearly more animalistic in nature and design, Jynx has a strangely humanoid appearance. This gives her the look of a rather zaftig, thick woman in a long red dress with long blonde hair and plump lips. Most glaring in this design, however, was her skin tone. Her face has no discernible features besides her eyes and mouth, with her original design making her face entirely pitch black. Combined with her thick lips and large eyes, this drew comparisons in the West to blackface caricatures.

One recurring critic was African-American cultural critic Carole Boston Weatherford, who pointed out the similarities to blackface, Little Black Sambo and drag. These criticisms saw many episodes with Jynx altered in their Western releases, with episode #250 of the anime not being aired in the West due to Jynx's prominence in the story. Gamefreak, the company behind Pokémon, would change Jynx's look starting with the second generation of the video game franchise. This involved changing her black skin to purple, lessening the obvious comparisons to blackface.

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Ganguro Girls

While blackface is the immediate allusion made with Jynx's design, there are other explanations for her potential unsettling looks. One explanation by some fans is that Jynx's appearance is based on Ganguro Girls, a cultural phenomenon in Japan where young girls bleach or color their hair while spray tanning their skin to a dark extreme. The flower accouterments sometimes worn by followers of this subculture also somewhat resemble Jynx's dress. This is still an unlikely explanation, however, as Ganguro Girl culture developed after Jynx's creation.

Another, much more plausible explanation comes from, ironically enough, Nordic culture. Some have put forth the idea that she may be based on the Norse god Hel, who ruled the ice realm and was sometimes depicted with a darkened face. This is supported somewhat by Jynx being an Ice-type Pokémon and her design recalling a cliche Viking "fat lady" from an opera. Later sprites and animations in the games would even have the Pokémon singing, backing this theory up.

Likewise, Dutch culture has a holiday symbol called Zwarte Piet, a dark-skinned being who assists their equivalent to Santa Claus. Some have compared Jynx to him, given their similar appearances and Jynx having a similar role in a Christmas episode. However, this certainly doesn't help matters as international audiences have remarked at the potentially racist nature of Zwarte Piet.

The final theory again stems from native Japanese culture and involves the yokai Yama-uba. This is a mythological Japanese spirit known for wearing a red dress and having long light-colored hair, thick lips, dark skin, and control over snow. This matches up exactly with Jynx's design, and ironically, Yama-uba is even used as a slur toward members of the Ganguro culture. This is easily the best explanation, albeit one that's not as well known. Due to this, Jynx may always be remembered as the world's first racist Pokémon.

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