Tetsuo Hara illustrates a Pokémon card: Hokuto no Ken art comes to the TCG

The Pokémon Company announced this Friday that Tetsuo Hara, creator of Fist of the North Star, has illustrated a card for the Pokémon Trading Card Game. It is the special art rare card "Maxie's Passion," which will be part of the Hadō Seeker expansion, scheduled for release on November 27.

Hara said he hopes fans enjoy this illustration as much as the "Palafin EX" card he drew in December 2024. This is not the first time the manga artist has collaborated with the franchise, and his unmistakable style meets a universe far removed from Kenshiro's once again.

A card on display at the Pokémon Center

The original Maxie illustration will have its own space at the Pokémon Center MEGA TOKYO in Ikebukuro. It will be on display from November 30, 2026 to January 11, 2027, a chance to see the artist's work up close outside the pages of manga.

From Fist of the North Star to the Pokémon TCG

Tetsuo Hara is known for works such as Fist of the North Star, Fist of the Blue Sky, Kedamono Damono: Keiji-den, and Ikusa no Ko - Oda Saburō Nobunaga Den. His muscular, dramatic style marked a whole generation of shōnen and seinen readers.

In recent years he has diversified his collaborations: in 2023 he contributed art for Magic: The Gathering, and he also made promotional illustrations for Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga and for McDonald's Japan. He is currently a board member of Coamix Inc.

The Maxie card is a special art rare, one of the most sought-after categories in the TCG. With Hara behind the pencil, it is likely to become one of the most chased pieces in the expansion.

A collaboration that crosses audiences

The Pokémon TCG has been opening its illustrations to outside artists for years, but a name so tied to classic action manga rarely appears. For Hara's readers, seeing his style on a Pokémon card creates a strange mix: the drama of his characters translated to a small, collectible format.

The Hadō Seeker expansion arrives on November 27, and the Maxie card looks to be one of its biggest draws. We'll see if the secondary market responds with the same intensity that any piece signed by an author of this level usually awakens.