Ever since his tiny pixelated face burst onto our screens and made his way into our hearts, Pikachu remains one of the most recognisable video game characters out there in the world. Even if you've never played a Pokémon game or watched the Pokémon anime, you know the basics of Pikachu - he's cute, he speaks only in "pikas" and "chus", and if you upset him, he'll give you... quite the shock.
Anyway, with several video game depictions (plus a movie where he's voiced by Ryan Reynolds) on the way, it comes as no surprise that some food outlets have tried to cash in on this adorable little mouse's marketability. But most of them probably depicted the little shocker a little better than what's shown here.
So, with Pikachu being a Japanese invention, you'd think that a Japanese donut shop creating Pikachu donuts would be a slam dunk, but they've been forced to shelve their creations after everyone complained their sweet treats looked nothing like the character we know and love.
This is from Mister Donut in Japan. If you couldn't tell from the name or from the video above, they do delicious donuts and sweet treats, and they're taking advantage of this latest Pikachu craze by introducing a set of delicious Pikachu donuts for us to enjoy. They look almost too cute to eat... almost.
But ladies and gentlemen, life is full of disappointments, and in the hustle and bustle of a busy donut shop, Mister Donut is failing to get the necessary authenticity with their Pikachu donut. In fact, if you wanted a terrifying David Lynch version of everyone's favourite electric mouse, then I have the perfect donut for you.
Now, I can't quite read Japanese, but I can probably guess that this doesn't translate to: "I am happy with the authenticity of this Pikachu donut." While the mouth and cheeks are adorable and chubby, Pikachu's eyes are far too high on his forehead, and they make me really uncomfortable.
But unfortunately, this gets much worse before it gets better.
You'd think it would be easy to recreate Pikachu's likeness on a dessert... but you'd be wrong.
Did... did it suddenly get really cold in here? This Pikachu donut is staring into my soul, and I can't handle it. "Belch while ye may," I can hear him whispering, even though his mouth does not move. "The same fate awaits you, and all too soon."
This one also weirds me out quite a bit. This Pikachu features a discoloured, manic eye, staring off into the distance as if it was looking for some semblance of mercy or reason. He looks like he lost it in a fight, and it makes for a kind of sweet, but ultra depressing, treat.
After scarring so many of their customers, Mister Donut's parent company, Duskin, announced they were pulling the donuts from shelves so they wouldn't traumatise donut and Pokémon lovers across Japan. They are, however, on their way back, hopefully with a bit stricter quality control this time around.