Informed Species

I'd disagree with any pokemon being listed; they're fantasy creatures and a vast majority of them draw from multiple inspirations. For example, Zubat is a bat, sure, but it's also based on the belief that bats are blind, thus unlike real bats they lack eyes. Wooloo is a sheep, but is also round and rolls like a soccer ball. Even Magikarp draws from a handful of fish species and that "carp leaping over a waterfall" legend.

Here's an example I have just removed from the Western Animation subpage:

• Ben 10 (Franchise):Wildmutt is sometimes compared to a dog (eg, "Goodbye and Good Riddance" or Ben 23 calling him "Dognabbit"), although the similarity seems faint and not very noticeable. The only thing I can compare him to is Ashbeast from <i>Risen</i>.

Any disagreements?

Nope. I agree with your edit reason.

Are the Arthur examples ever referenced in-series, or are they just Word of God? That should be clarified.

This was added to the anime and manga folder.

• Zig-zagged in Doraemon with the titular character, who's supposed to be a robot cat despite looking nothing like one. However, a flashback in the manga's volume 6 reveals that Doraemon used to have ears and was colored yellow, and does resemble a cartoon cat, before an accident turns him into what he looks like for the rest of the show. Compare Doraemon past. vs. present◊.

I'm pretty sure your average person can tell Doraemon is a cat upon seeing his design.

Honestly, I thought Doraemon was a seal the first time I saw him.

As a kid, I actually thought Doraemon was an alien of sorts

And then, a later manga story reveals him to be a robot cat, and I was like, "that's not how a cat looks like..."

Same here.

Yeah, I think he is one of the most famous examples that actually count.

The first time I saw Doraemon, I didn't realize he was a cat until I was told - I just assumed he was some kind of Cartoon Creature or something

Edited by Zanreo on Dec 23rd 2022 at 1:05:00 PM

"Nothing" like a cat is an exaggeration, because he does have the whiskers, but I agree that minus the ears he does like more like a cartoon seal than anything else. I think the example keeps.

Speaking of Pokemon, would the monster biting Slowbro's tail count?

I know that in Pokedex entries and supplementary material like the anime, it's shown to be a Shellder that was transformed by a chemical reaction with a Slowpoke tail. However, not only does Slowbro's shell like nothing like a Shellder, but in the actual games proper, the shell appears out of nowhere when Slowpoke evolves, no Shellder required. So how can we really call it a Shellder at face value?

Then again, the games themselves often state it is a Shellder, and Informed Species seems to be meant for real life species, so I'm probably just mildly venting. What do you think?

Edited by KaabiiFan13 on May 27th 2023 at 10:26:46 AM

I guess that might be one of the few Pokemon examples that possibly would count, since Shellders already have an established look, but I feel like some kind of "creature's look drastically changes" trope would be better? The "appearing out of nowhere" part would just be a case of Gameplay and Story Segregation like mentioned

From Norm of the North.

• Informed Species: Norm's design looks way too cartoonish and dog-like to a polar bear like him.

I feel like your average person can identify Norm as a polar bear even if they aren't told he's one.

I saw the page image and can tell he's a polar bear.

Just stealth complaining (and his design isn't even that bad), he's very obviously a cartoonish polar bear.

Yeah, he clearly looks like a polar bear. Easy cut

I know nothing about the work, and the page image is very clearly a polar bear.

I removed the example.