Iza’s Pikachu

You see someone walking through Tokyo with a Pikachu on their head and you have two choices: assume they’re in costume, or accept that this person has simply decided to live this way. Iza chose the latter. That’s actually her head. That’s how she moves through the world.

Pokémon GO happened a few years back—everyone was walking around hunting invisible creatures. Most people got bored and moved on. But some didn’t. For Iza, the craze didn’t end; it deepened. What started as a casual interest became this: a Pikachu permanently affixed to her skull, the natural result of not pretending to outgrow something you love.

There’s something about Tokyo that makes this work. The city’s full of people expressing their particular obsessions openly—you see it everywhere if you look. Fashion, street art, the way people dress for what actually interests them rather than what’s acceptable. Iza fits right in, just pushing it further than most. It’s not irony. It’s commitment.

What gets me is that this isn’t performative. She’s not doing it for attention or the camera. She’s just this devoted to something, and she let it show. Most of us hide what we actually care about, curate ourselves into something more palatable. Iza didn’t.

I don’t know if that’s admirable or insane. Probably both.