All illustrators/Tomokazu Komiya
Tomokazu Komiya, born 1973, has been drawing Pokémon cards since the Japanese Expansion Sheet 1 — his first English cards appeared in Neo Genesis — and his work is the most polarising in the hobby. The wobbly line and the odd colour are not a limitation. They are the point.
Quick answer
CardSpicy records 356 Pokémon card printings credited to Tomokazu Komiya — 253 of them in the English run, 72 Japanese printings outside it, 269 with an official card image. The English run spans 1999–2026. 12 of those printings have a Simplified Chinese card. The printings include 31 Japan-only or promo sets. The highest-priced of the artist’s Simplified Chinese cards is $259.99 in PSA 10.
Who they are
Komiya is a practitioner of Primitivism, an art movement that takes its cues from prehistory, tribal art and children’s drawing. He has said as much about his own cards, and the community has generally taken him at his word. Alongside the TCG he has illustrated several Pokémon Tales books and produced artwork for Pokémon games and merchandise.
In 2023 he contributed to the Pokémon × Van Gogh collaboration, painting Sunflora after Van Gogh’s Sunflowers and Smeargle after his Self-Portrait as a Painter — an unusually direct pairing of an artist’s stated influences with the source they came from.
Every card credited to Tomokazu Komiya
Every printing we can attribute to this artist, shown card by card: English first, then the Japanese printings that never had an English release, then the sets that only ever ran in Japan. Each printing is listed under its own language rather than merged, because a Japanese original and its English release are different cards to a collector. Cards whose official image is not in the open card databases are still listed, and say so.
- Original Era 2 (1999)
- Neo Era 20 (2000–2002)
- e-Card Era 23 (2002–2003)
- ADV / EX Era 50 (2003–2007)
- Diamond & Pearl Era 6 (2008)
- Platinum Era 13 (2009)
- HeartGold & SoulSilver Era 8 (2010)
- Black & White Era 11 (2011–2013)
- XY Era 28 (2014–2016)
- Sun & Moon Era 29 (2017–2019)
- Sword & Shield Era 34 (2020–2023)
- Scarlet & Violet Era 20 (2023–2025)
- Mega Evolution Era 4 (2025–2026)
- Promotional cards 4 (2005–2022)
- Other sets 1 (2004)
English printings 253
Every English printing credited to Komiya, grouped by era and then by set.
Original Era
2 cards
1999 · 1 set
Neo Era
20 cards
2000–2002 · 4 sets
e-Card Era
23 cards
2002–2003 · 3 sets
ADV / EX Era
50 cards
2003–2007 · 12 sets
Diamond & Pearl Era
6 cards
2008 · 2 sets
Platinum Era
13 cards
2009 · 4 sets
HeartGold & SoulSilver Era
8 cards
2010 · 4 sets
Black & White Era
11 cards
2011–2013 · 7 sets
XY Era
28 cards
2014–2016 · 12 sets
Sun & Moon Era
29 cards
2017–2019 · 11 sets
Sword & Shield Era
34 cards
2020–2023 · 15 sets
Scarlet & Violet Era
20 cards
2023–2025 · 12 sets
Mega Evolution Era
4 cards
2025–2026 · 3 sets
Promotional cards
4 cards
2005–2022 · 4 sets
Other sets
1 card
2004 · 1 set
Japanese printings outside the English run 72
Japanese printings in sets with no English equivalent release — including the early promotional and half-deck releases where several of his first cards appeared.
Sword & Shield Era
15 cards
2021–2022 · 12 sets
Scarlet & Violet Era
19 cards
2022–2025 · 14 sets
Japan-only and early promotional sets 31
Sets that exist only in Japanese, or that ran as promotions and were never part of an English expansion. No official card image exists in the open databases for these, so they are listed without artwork rather than with a stand-in.
Expedition
8 cards
Vending
11 cards
VS
6 cards
Tyranitar Half Deck
1 card
Storm Emeralda
1 card
Fan Club promo
1 card
PLAY Promo
1 card
SM-P Promo
1 card
New Garura Parent/Child promo
1 card
Their Simplified Chinese cards
Simplified Chinese cards credited to Komiya, with our price data.
| Card | Printing | No. | PSA 10 | Ungraded | Shop |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gengar | 151C | #94 | $259.99 | $3.21 | Find this Card for Me |
| Snorlax And Eevee GX | CSM2cC | #171 | $183.11 | $107.19 | Find this Card for Me |
| Haunter | 151C | #93 | $38.41 | $2.21 | Find this Card for Me |
| Gastly | 151C | #92 | $26.00 | $1.99 | Find this Card for Me |
| Pikachu | 30th Celebration | #26 | — | $16.99 | Find this Card for Me |
| Wiglett | CSV6C | #39 | — | $2.49 | Find this Card for Me |
| Wimpod | CSM2aC | #50 | — | $1.28 | Find this Card for Me |
| Noibat | CSV10C | #180 | — | — | Find this Card for Me |
| Porygon-Z | CS3bC | #97 | — | — | Find this Card for Me |
| Steenee | CS3bC | #11 | — | — | Find this Card for Me |
| Venipede | CSV8C | #128 | — | — | Find this Card for Me |
| Toedscool | CSV5C | #8 | — | $1.99 | Find this Card for Me |
Prices are PriceCharting sale values in US dollars, PSA 10 where a graded sale exists and ungraded where it does not. They move.
Their career in the TCG
Thirty years in, the volume is large: 253 English printings across 95 sets, plus Pokémon artwork outside the cards. Within the Simplified Chinese run he is credited on 12 priced cards, where the Chinese-exclusive printings in particular have pulled his cards up the index.
- 1973Born in Japan.
- 1998First cards, in the Japanese Expansion Sheet 1.
- 2000First English cards, in Neo Genesis.
- 2023Contributes Sunflora and Smeargle to the Pokémon × Van Gogh collaboration.
Style and technique
Komiya works by exaggeration. Faces and bodies are pushed out of proportion, with the attention going to the eyes or to the length and shape of the head. Colour is either saturated to the point of flatness or drawn from a range the rest of the set is not using, which throws the subject forward against its background.
The technique also carries feeling rather than only character. He will use soft blotches of colour to make a scene placid and deep, pooled colour with rapid brushwork to make it dominant — so the same Pokémon can appear sleepy in one set and unnerving in another. Very few TCG illustrators change register that far within a single career.
Frequently asked questions
How many cards by this illustrator does CardSpicy list?
CardSpicy lists 356 printings credited to Tomokazu Komiya on this page. Official card images are available for 269 of them.
Does this illustrator have Simplified Chinese cards?
Yes. CardSpicy prices 12 cards by Tomokazu Komiya in Simplified Chinese, each as a PSA 10 Gem Mint value.
Which card by this illustrator is the most valuable?
The highest-priced Simplified Chinese card CardSpicy lists for this illustrator is $259.99. That is a recorded PSA 10 Gem Mint value, not an asking price.
When did this illustrator first appear in English?
The English printings CardSpicy records for this illustrator run from 1999 to 2026.
Are any printings released only in Japan?
Yes. CardSpicy records 72 printings released only in Japanese, outside the English run, and 31 sets released only in Japan or as promos.
Sources
- Bulbapedia, “Tomokazu Komiya”
- Bulbapedia card index, Category: Illus. by Tomokazu Komiya (309 cards)
- TCGdex card database, illustrator credits by printing (253 English printings)
- PriceCharting Simplified Chinese sales via our own card index
Card attribution comes from the illustrator field recorded in the card databases; where a single card was reprinted across many sets, each printing is counted separately.
Cards by Tomokazu Komiya in our card index
CardSpicy tracks 1 of this artist’s printings as full card pages, each with its PSA 10 population and market history:
- Psyduck (XY-P) PSA 10 ≈ $5,417
See also the full card index — every card CardSpicy tracks, ranked by PSA 10 value.