The Complete History of ANA’s Pokémon Jets: 1998–2026

All Nippon Airways (NH), Japan’s flag-carrying titan and the largest airline in the country, has long operated its aircraft as instruments of cultural diplomacy as much as commercial transport. On May 28, 2026, the Tokyo-based carrier unveiled the livery designs for two of its three forthcoming Pokémon anniversary jets — the “Pokémon Jet Red” and “Pokémon Jet Green” — in a milestone that marks three decades of an extraordinary partnership with The Pokémon Company and coincides with ANA’s 40th year of international flight operations. The announcement confirms that the Red livery, applied to a Boeing 787-8 (registration JA819A), will enter domestic service from late July 2026, while the Green livery, assigned to a Boeing 787-9 (registration JA923A), will fly international routes on a date to be confirmed. A third aircraft, the “Pokémon Jet Blue,” a Boeing 737-800, is confirmed but its livery has not yet been publicly disclosed.

This latest chapter, however, does not stand alone. It is the newest installment in a sweeping narrative of visual identity that has seen ANA transform its fuselages into canvases for Japanese popular culture, Hollywood franchises, environmental advocacy, and Olympic patriotism. Since 1998, when the airline launched the world’s first Pokémon Jet in concert with the theatrical release of Pokémon: The First Movie, ANA has applied special liveries to dozens of aircraft — from Star Wars droids and anime swordsmen to Hawaiian sea turtles — accruing in the process a reputation as perhaps the most livery-prolific major airline on earth. This article traces that evolution in full, contextualising the 2026 Pokémon anniversary jets within a tradition that has, for nearly three decades, made boarding an ANA flight an unexpectedly theatrical proposition.

Photo: Yamaguchi Yoshiak | Wikimedia Commons

Aviation Nose Art: History, Meaning, and Iconic Designs

ANA’s 1998 Pokémon Debut

In July 1998, ANA unveiled the world’s first Pokémon Jets, timed to coincide with the release of Pokémon: The First Movie. The inaugural aircraft was a Boeing 747-400D, registered JA8965, and its full-body Pokémon livery — depicting a parade of franchise characters across a white fuselage — was unlike anything the commercial aviation world had seen at the time.

Two additional jets — both Boeing 767-300s — were painted later in 1998 with the same design, carrying registration numbers JA8569 and JA8578. This first set of liveries was retired in 2001. Yet the appetite of both ANA and its passengers for themed aircraft proved insatiable. The airline continued to introduce new Pokémon iterations across subsequent years, cycling through Boeing 747-400Ds, 767-300s, a 777-300, and eventually the Dreamliner family.

As such, the carrier has painted 11 aircraft in special Pokémon promotional liveries over the years prior to the 2026 announcement, the first of which was unveiled in 1998. In the years that followed, ANA additionally painted:

four Boeing 767-300s
one Boeing 747-400
three Boeing 747-400Ds
one Boeing 777-300
one Boeing 787-9.

Photo: Jesper Rautell Balle | Wikimedia Commons

The Pikachu Jumbo Era From 2004 to 2013

By the mid-2000s, ANA had refined its approach to themed aircraft, deploying them not merely as press-release fodder but as calculable drivers of domestic passenger interest. The ANA Pikachu Jumbo, coloured in a distinctive yellow, flew for the first time in May 2004 between Osaka and Tokyo. Its companion, the “Ohana Jumbo” — whose name translates to “flower” in Japanese and which depicted Grass-type Pokémon and the Pichu Brothers across its fuselage — entered service the same year on the same route.

Both aircraft served Japanese domestic networks for nearly a decade before operational retirement. The Pikachu Jumbo livery was retired on October 8, 2013, along with the Ohana Jumbo, as both aircraft retired from service, ending the Boeing 747’s decade-long title as the series flagship. This retirement also marked the effective conclusion of ANA’s first Pokémon era — the airline would not produce a new Pokémon livery for a further decade, returning to the franchise only in 2023.

The Star Wars Project from 2015–2026

In 2015, ANA launched its Star Wars Project, a tie-up with the famous movie franchise. Over time, it launched four aircraft with special Star Wars liveries.

In 2015, All Nippon Airways (ANA) unveiled a special Star Wars-themed livery featuring the iconic R2-D2 droid. This unique design transformed a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner into a flying tribute to the beloved film character. The R2-D2 livery mirrored the droid’s classic blue, white, and silver colour scheme. The aircraft, registered JA873A, was delivered from Boeing’s Charleston facility in September 2015 and entered service on long-haul routes, including the Tokyo Haneda International Airport (HND)–Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) corridor.

In partnership with the movie franchise, ANA painted a total of four aircraft in special Star Wars liveries:

the Boeing 787-9 R2-D2
a 777 in BB-8 livery
a 777 in C-3PO livery
a 767 in a combined C-3PO/R2-D2 livery.

The R2-D2 jet was, at the time of its introduction, the first commercial aircraft in the world to bear a Star Wars character livery — a distinction that generated substantial global media attention and elevated ANA’s brand profile far beyond its traditional Asia-Pacific audience.

The R2-D2 jet’s retirement in August 2025 drew considerable emotional response from both the aviation community and Star Wars fans. Commenting on the retirement via social media, an ANA spokesperson stated (and was quoted in Jedi News):

“It’s a bittersweet moment for us. The R2-D2 ANA Jet has served us well, but like all droids, it eventually needs to power down. R2’s mission to bring joy to passengers around the world is complete, and it’s earned a well-deserved rest.”

The aircraft completed its final round-trip service between Tokyo Haneda and Washington Dulles on 6 August 2025. Prior to its withdrawal, the R2-D2 jet conducted something of a farewell world tour, flying to Paris, Frankfurt, Houston, Vienna, Los Angeles, and Munich over its final weeks in livery.

The special liveries were such a large commercial success that they inspired multiple other airlines to explore their own Star Wars tie-ups, resulting in a second wave of special liveries on multiple aircraft types globally.

Key Star Wars Fleet Details

R2-D2 ANA JET — Boeing 787-9, registration JA873A; entered service September 2015, retired August 2025; operated routes including Tokyo Haneda–Washington Dulles (NH101/NH102).
BB-8 Jet — Boeing 777-300ER, registration JA789A; Star Wars BB-8 character livery on a wide-body long-haul aircraft.
C-3PO Jet — Boeing 777-200ER, registration JA743A; operated domestic routes as of the project’s conclusion phase; scheduled for retirement in early 2026.
Combination Livery Jet — Boeing 767-300ER, registration JA604A; featured both R2-D2 and BB-8 characters.

Photo: Kentaro lemoto | Wikimedia Commons

ANA And the Anime Livery Wave (2021–2024)

While the Star Wars project wound down, ANA moved quickly to identify a successor franchise partnership rooted in domestic Japanese popular culture. The anime series Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba provided that vehicle. ANA Group began its collaboration with the anime in December 2021, and the first aircraft with “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba” livery entered service on domestic routes on January 31, 2022.

At the time of the second aircraft’s announcement, Junko Yazawa, Executive Vice President of Customer Experience Management & Planning at ANA, stated:

“ANA and ‘Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba’ are both high-profile cultural ambassadors for Japan, and we are excited about continuing our partnership to promote domestic travel.”

The collaboration ultimately extended across six aircraft spanning two platform types. ANA revealed two different Boeing 767-300ERs within the span of two months in early 2022:

The first livery (JA616A) features the primary cast of the anime on a white fuselage
The second livery (JA608A) showcases the characters from the specific Kimetsu no Yaiba story arc.

A third Demon Slayer livery was launched in September 2022 on a Boeing 777-200ER (registration JA745A). The design, based on an original illustration drawn exclusively for the ANA aircraft, depicts characters Tanjiro, Rengoku, and Tengen in a dynamic pose.

In July 2023, ANA further extended the collaboration by introducing three DHC8-400 turboprops with Demon Slayer liveries, operating on domestic routes, with all three aircraft entering service by the end of that month. Passengers aboard these smaller aircraft received specially designed stickers that activated augmented reality photo frames — an early indicator of ANA’s growing ambition to integrate digital interactivity into its physical livery programmes.

ANA repainted all of its Demon Slayer liveries in 2024, concluding a collaboration that, across roughly three years, spanned six aircraft, two aircraft types, and an original illustrated design created exclusively for a fuselage.

ANA’s Environmental Advocacy Over the Pacific (2019–Present)

Few livery programmes in commercial aviation history have attracted the level of sustained critical acclaim accorded to ANA’s “Flying Honu” Airbus A380 fleet. The three superjumbos — each painted in a distinct colour scheme representing different aspects of Hawaii’s natural environment — operate exclusively on the Tokyo Narita International Airport (NRT)–Honolulu Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL) route and constitute the world’s only fleet of themed A380s assigned to a single route.

ANA announced in March 2017 that it had selected “FLYING HONU” as the theme for its limited edition livery on its Airbus A380. The final design was selected from among 2,197 submissions from around the world, received during an open design contest. The Honu — the Hawaiian green sea turtle — carries deep cultural significance in Hawaiian tradition as a symbol of good fortune and longevity.

ANA took delivery of its initial A380, painted in the Flying Honu livery, at the Airbus delivery centre in Toulouse, France, on March 20, 2019. This elaborate paint scheme covers a surface of 3,600 square metres and took the Airbus team 21 days to apply, using 16 different shades of colour.

ANA’s three Flying Honu A380s are each themed with a different colour: blue to represent Hawaii’s blue skies, green for the crystal-clear Pacific Ocean water around the state, and orange for the island sunsets. When the airline received its second A380, Executive Vice President Yutaka Ito described the paint job as a “visually distinct livery that evokes the folklore and traditions of Hawaii.”

The aircraft configuration on the Flying Honu is notable in its own right:

Seating configuration: 520 seats across four classes
First Class: 8 suites
Business Class: 56 seats
Premium Economy: 73 seats
Economy Class: 383 seats
Special amenity: ANA COUCHii seat, the first convertible economy-to-bed product in Japan
Multi-purpose room available for nursing mothers and families
Route: Exclusively Tokyo Narita (NRT) to Honolulu (HNL)

ANA’s pathway to acquiring the A380 was notably indirect. Japanese carrier Skymark Airlines had originally ordered the aircraft, and when Skymark filed for bankruptcy protection, ANA agreed to take delivery of the jets as part of a broader financial arrangement. The airline thus became Japan’s first A380 operator somewhat reluctantly, before deploying the type with considerable creative investment.

Pokémon’s Modern Renaissance At ANA: The Pikachu Jet NH and Eevee Jet NH (2023)

Following the hiatus between 2016 and 2023, ANA and The Pokémon Company resumed their collaboration with the launch of the Pikachu Jet NH on June 4, 2023, as part of the Pokémon Air Adventures project. The Pokémon Air Adventures initiative — known in Japan as the Flying Pikachu Project — was conceived as a multi-airline, multi-country programme aimed at promoting global exploration through Pokémon-themed travel experiences.

The “Pikachu Jet NH” aircraft features a livery designed for ANA in which the Sky High Pokémon Rayquaza is depicted across the entire fuselage. Charizard, Latias, Latios, Vivillon, and other flying-type Pokémon from across the franchise move together with Pikachu toward the nose of the aircraft. Pokémon are also hidden inside the engine housings.

Weeks after the Pikachu Jet NH entered service, ANA and The Pokémon Company announced the Eevee Jet NH, a Boeing 777-300ER (registration JA784A). The Eevee Jet NH entered commercial service on August 31, 2023, operating international routes to London, New York, and San Francisco.

The Eevee Jet NH livery depicts Eevee and its evolutions — including Vaporeon, Jolteon, and Flareon — moving forward into the future alongside Pikachu. In a statement marking the Eevee Jet’s launch, ANA outlined:

“The ANA Group believes in connecting people and communities through travel and is delighted to introduce the ‘Eevee Jet NH’ along with the ‘Pikachu Jet NH,’ with shared hopes to rekindle the delight of travelling.”

The immersive in-cabin experience common to both jets includes:

Pokémon-themed headrest antimacassars in economy and premium economy
Branded paper cups and napkins
Flight attendant aprons featuring Pokémon character designs
Commemorative boarding certificates for passengers
Pokémon-themed in-flight safety video, extended in December 2024 to all ANA domestic and international flights

Both the Pikachu Jet NH and the Eevee Jet NH are scheduled to be repainted in base colours in 2028.

Pokémon Jet Red And Green on the 30th-Anniversary Trilogy

The event that repositions ANA’s livery evolution as a living, ongoing story arrived on May 28, 2026. On that date, ANA unveiled the designs for the first two of three planned anniversary jets: “Pokémon Jet Red” and “Pokémon Jet Green“. The announcement, carried simultaneously on ANA’s official channels and across global aviation media, confirmed what enthusiasts had anticipated since the February 2026 initial announcement: three connected aircraft liveries, each referencing a classic first-generation Game Boy title.

Pokémon Jet Red

The Pokémon Jet Red is a Boeing 787-8, registered as JA819A. Ten unique Fire-type Pokémon feature from nose to tail along both sides of the aircraft, including Charmander, Fuecoco, and Tepig. Inside the cabin, Fire-type Pokémon appear on printed headrest antimacassars and on service items such as cups and napkins.

The aircraft is scheduled to enter domestic service from late July 2026, operating routes from Tokyo Haneda International Airport (HND) to Sapporo (New Chitose Airport, CTS), Hakodate, Osaka (Itami Airport, ITM), Takamatsu, Matsuyama, Hiroshima, Fukuoka, Nagasaki, Kagoshima, Okinawa (Naha Airport, OKA), Miyako, and Ishigaki. It will also connect Osaka Itami to Sapporo, Okinawa, Miyako, and Ishigaki.

Pokémon Jet Green

The Pokémon Jet Green livery is applied to a Boeing 787-9, registration JA923A, and will operate international routes. Its service launch date had not been confirmed as of the May 28, 2026 unveiling.

Pokémon Jet Blue

A third aircraft, the Pokémon Jet Blue, will be a Boeing 737-800 focused on domestic services. No design details or service commencement date had been disclosed as of late May 2026.

ANA will operate the new Pokémon Jets on both domestic and international routes for the first time in approximately ten years. The three designs are intended to connect thematically, telling a cohesive narrative that spans the three aircraft — a structural ambition that distinguishes this cohort from any previous ANA livery programme.

ANA’s Pokémon Jets in Regional Context

The breadth of the Pokémon Air Adventures initiative extends well beyond ANA and provides important context for understanding why the 2026 anniversary jets carry such weight. ANA’s relationship with Pokémon has, over the years, inspired a notable wave of imitators across the Asia-Pacific region.

Other airlines across Asia — including China Airlines of Taiwan, Korean carrier T’Way Air (recently renamed Trinity Airways), and Garuda Indonesia — have also sported Pokémon-themed liveries in recent years. Scoot of Singapore became the first non-Japanese airline to introduce a Pokémon Jet in 2022. Though ANA’s use of these liveries ended in 2016, the scheme was subsequently revived by Solaseed Air in 2020, and by Air Do and Skymark Airlines in 2021.

The proliferation of Pokémon liveries across Asian carriers reflects a broader truth about the economics of themed aircraft: when executed with institutional commitment, they generate earned media coverage and social sharing that would cost considerably more to replicate through conventional advertising. It is this combination of livery and passenger-experience elements that has made Pokémon franchise aircraft and other kawaii-themed liveries — such as EVA Air’s Hello Kitty planes — so effective for airline brands. These designs help airlines connect with fans by demonstrating genuine appreciation for the cultural icons they carry.

ANA’s 2026 trio, however, carries additional symbolic significance that competitors cannot replicate: the airline launched the world’s first Pokémon Jet in 1998 and has maintained the deepest and longest institutional partnership with The Pokémon Company of any airline. The 30th-anniversary jets are, in this sense, a claim of origination as much as a commercial campaign.

Other Notable ANA Special Liveries: Gundam, Olympic Jet, And “Inspiration of Japan”

ANA’s special livery tradition is not reducible to its Pokémon and Star Wars chapters alone. Several other notable schemes have adorned its aircraft across the past two decades.

In 2010, ANA announced a collaboration with the popular animated television series Gundam with the “Gundam Jet,” celebrating the 30th anniversary of Gundam model robot kits. The livery (registration JA755A) features stickers of the Gundam robots and was repainted in 2012.

ANA has served as the official airline of the Japanese Olympic Committee since 1992. For the Tokyo 2020 Games, it introduced the “HELLO 2020 JET,” a brightly coloured livery spanning the full length of the fuselage and including depictions of famous Japanese landmarks — including a prominent Mount Fuji — alongside illustrations of leading Olympic sports disciplines.

The “Inspiration of Japan” livery, a more restrained but commercially important scheme, adorns ANA’s standard mainline fleet and evokes the philosophy of Japanese hospitality — omotenashi — through a modified tail design and the carrier’s service tagline. This design brings forward the ethos of ANA’s services, emphasizing luxury, comfort, and the spirit of Japanese hospitality.