Search “Akitsu Taira” on the Limitless TCG database and you get zero results. Search “Taira Akitsu” and the catalog opens up — 85 Japanese-language printings and counting, credited to an Osaka-based illustrator whose card work spans Sword & Shield’s Trainer-class portraits through the Scarlet & Violet era.
This guide covers what’s actually documented about Taira Akitsu — the name spelling, the debut card, the wider catalog — and then checks that catalog against our own PSA 10 inventory to see which of Akitsu’s cards are currently listed (as of 2026-08-12).
We could not locate a dedicated artist-spotlight interview or biography for Taira Akitsu, and unlike some illustrators in our ongoing series, no confirmed real name, birth year, or public exhibition history exists in the sources we checked. What can be documented reliably is the card catalog itself — verified set by set, number by number, against the Limitless TCG database — and that’s the approach this guide takes rather than filling gaps with guesswork.
Taira Akitsu (秋津たいら) is an Osaka-based Pokemon TCG illustrator whose first card was Vulpix from the Sword & Shield expansion. The Limitless database credits 85 Japanese-language printings and 66 English-language printings to the name “Taira Akitsu” (not “Akitsu Taira”). Four of their cards are currently listed (as of 2026-08-12) in our PSA 10 catalog, including Garchomp V CSR (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order) at ¥25,503 and Korrina’s Focus SR at ¥17,984.
Who Is Taira Akitsu?
Taira Akitsu (Japanese: 秋津たいら) is an Osaka-based illustrator who has contributed artwork to the Pokemon Trading Card Game, per Bulbapedia. Their first card was Vulpix, released as part of the Sword & Shield expansion — Bulbapedia does not specify a particular subset or print beyond that, so this guide won’t guess further.
Pronouns for Taira Akitsu are limited to what Bulbapedia states directly: the wiki refers to the illustrator as they/them, with no other pronoun documented anywhere in the sourced material. This guide follows that convention throughout, referring to Akitsu by name or with “they/their.”
One spelling note worth flagging for anyone searching card databases on their own: the credit line in the Limitless TCG database reads “Illustrated by Taira Akitsu.” A search for the reversed “Akitsu Taira” returns zero results in both the English and Japanese Limitless databases. If you’re cross-referencing a card yourself, search “Taira Akitsu” exactly.
Card-count methodology varies by source and shouldn’t be mixed. Bulbapedia’s own tally lists 60 cards illustrated by Taira Akitsu. The Limitless TCG database, searched separately, returns 66 cards in its English-language listing and 85 in its Japanese-language listing — three different counting methods tracking overlapping but not identical sets of printings, so none of the three numbers should be presented as “the” total card count.
For readers following our ongoing illustrator series, Taira Akitsu’s profile sits alongside other artist guides covering KEIICHIRO ITO, Mitsuhiro Arita, and Naoki Saito, each with their own dedicated writeup and PSA 10 stock check.
The Card Catalog
Eight representative printings from the Limitless Japanese-language database give a sense of the range Taira Akitsu has worked across — from a Character Super Rare Pokemon-V card to Supporter Trainer illustrations to a Shiny Rare from the Scarlet & Violet era.
| Card | Set (JP code) | Number | Rarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Garchomp V (ガブリアスV) | Battle Region (S9a) | 84 | Character Super Rare |
| Korrina’s Focus (コルニの気合い) | Rapid Strike Master (S5R) | 79 | Secret Rare |
| Melony (メロン) | Silver Lance (S6H) | 83 | Secret Rare |
| Opal / Poplar (ポプラ) | VMAX Climax (S8b) | 269 | Secret Rare |
| Janine’s Secret Art (アンズの秘技) | Night Wanderer (SV6a) | 84 | Secret Rare |
| Manaphy (マナフィ) | VSTAR Universe (S12a) | 178 | Art Rare |
| Slowpoke (ヤドン) | Shiny Treasure ex (SV4a) | 219 | Shiny Rare |
| Kingdra (キングドラ) | VMAX Climax (S8b) | 190 | Character Holo Rare |
Two things stand out reading this list together. Korrina’s Focus, Melony, and Janine’s Secret Art all land in the Secret Rare tier of their respective sets. And Garchomp V, Opal/Poplar, and Kingdra run through the VMAX Climax and Battle Region sets specifically, both from the Sword & Shield era where Bulbapedia places the illustrator’s debut.
The Trainer-Class Supporters
Three of the cards above — Korrina’s Focus, Melony, Janine’s Secret Art — are worth a closer look on their own terms.
Korrina’s Focus (コルニの気合い) comes from Rapid Strike Master (S5R), numbered 79 and rated Secret Rare on Limitless. It’s one of two Taira Akitsu cards currently listed (as of 2026-08-12) at the Secret Rare tier, and at ¥17,984 it sits in the middle of our four matches by price.
Melony (メロン) is the Silver Lance (S6H) 083/070 Secret Rare — not to be confused with a separate Melony print in the later VMAX Climax set (274/184), which is not credited to Taira Akitsu. The Silver Lance print is currently our lowest-priced Taira Akitsu listing (as of 2026-08-12) at ¥11,329.
Janine’s Secret Art (アンズの秘技) comes from Night Wanderer (SV6a) 84, also a Secret Rare. Unlike Korrina’s Focus and Melony, this one is not currently listed (as of 2026-08-12) as a graded PSA 10 copy.
A Look at the Cards
Six of the catalog’s Japanese printings, each individually confirmed on its Limitless card page as “Illustrated by Taira Akitsu.”
The Melony card is a useful example of why exact collector numbers matter when shopping by illustrator. There’s a separate Melony print in the same VMAX Climax set — 274/184 — that is not credited to Taira Akitsu on Limitless. Only the Silver Lance (S6H) 083/070 Secret Rare print above is verified as Akitsu’s work; the set-number pairing is what tells the two apart, not the character name alone.
The remaining three cards in the gallery span a wider range of rarity tiers. Opal / Poplar (ポプラ) at 269/184 in VMAX Climax is a Secret Rare, sitting alongside Kingdra at the higher end of that set’s numbering. Manaphy (マナフィ) at 178/172 in VSTAR Universe (S12a) carries Limitless’s Art Rare label, a different rarity label from the set’s Secret Rares. Kingdra (キングドラ) at 190/184, also in VMAX Climax, is labeled Character Holo Rare — a different rarity slot again from the two Secret Rares already covered in this gallery, which is a reminder that this eight-card sample spans multiple rarity tiers.
Beyond the Cards
Outside the main TCG line, Bulbapedia credits Taira Akitsu with 11 illustrated cards appearing in Pokemon Trading Card Game Pocket — a separate mobile-game product with its own card pool, tracked independently from the 66/85-card Limitless counts above.
Bulbapedia’s external links list a Pixiv profile (pixiv.net/en/users/11819) and a Twitter account (@sasimin) for the illustrator. We’re citing those links as Bulbapedia documents them; we haven’t reviewed the content of either account, so this guide stops at the link itself rather than characterizing what’s posted there.
Unlike some illustrators covered elsewhere in our series, there is no artist-spotlight interview or feature profile publicly available for Taira Akitsu that we could locate and verify. Everything in this guide traces back to Bulbapedia’s summary article and direct card-by-card confirmation on the Limitless TCG database — no secondary commentary, ranking, or stylistic analysis beyond what those two sources state outright.
Because Pokemon card listings are usually organized by character or set rather than artist, the easiest way to confirm a specific Taira Akitsu print is to match both the set code and the collector number against the Limitless database — character name alone isn’t enough, as the two Melony prints above show.
In Our PSA 10 Vault
We checked Taira Akitsu’s catalog against our own PSA 10 inventory directly, matching by set code and collector number rather than character name. Four cards matched.
| Card | Grade | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Garchomp V 084/067 CSR | PSA 10 | ¥25,503 | View Product → (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order) |
| Korrina’s Focus 079/070 SR | PSA 10 | ¥17,984 | View Product → |
| Melony 083/070 SR | PSA 10 | ¥11,329 | View Product → |
| Vaporeon Master Ball Mirror SV8a 030/187 | PSA 10 | ¥14,191 | View Product → (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order) |
The Vaporeon listing is worth a short explanation: it’s the Master Ball Mirror print of Terastal Festival ex 030/187, which shares the same set, collector number, and illustration as the Limitless SV8a #30 entry credited to Taira Akitsu — Master Ball Mirror is a parallel-print designation, same set, number, and illustration, not a different piece of artwork.
None of the other catalog entries covered above — Opal/Poplar, Janine’s Secret Art, Manaphy, Slowpoke, or Kingdra — are currently listed (as of 2026-08-12) as a graded PSA 10 copy. Browse the full PSA 10 card list if one of those is what you’re after, or use the Quick Order page below to flag interest for when a copy surfaces and gets graded.
Where to Buy Taira Akitsu Cards from Japan
Four Taira Akitsu-illustrated cards are currently listed (as of 2026-08-12) in our PSA 10 catalog.
View Product → (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order)
For the wider graded catalog, browse our PSA 10 collection to filter by set and price. For anything not currently in stock, or for a mixed order across sealed product and singles, the Quick Order page is the fastest way to build a request. If you’re comparing illustrator profiles, our KEIICHIRO ITO guide and Mitsuhiro Arita guide cover other artists in the same series.
Because all four of the cards in the table above are graded singles, availability at any given price point is a snapshot as of 2026-08-12. If a card you’re after isn’t currently listed, the Quick Order page remains the easiest way to register interest for when a new copy is graded.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Taira Akitsu?
Taira Akitsu (秋津たいら) is an Osaka-based illustrator who has contributed artwork to the Pokemon Trading Card Game, per Bulbapedia. Their first card was Vulpix from the Sword & Shield expansion. Bulbapedia refers to the illustrator as they/them.
Is “Taira Akitsu” the correct spelling for card credits?
Yes. The Limitless TCG database uses “Taira Akitsu”. Searching the reversed order, “Akitsu Taira,” returns zero results in both the English and Japanese Limitless databases.
How many Pokemon cards has Taira Akitsu illustrated?
Counts vary by source and methodology. Bulbapedia’s own tally lists 60 cards. The Limitless TCG database separately lists 66 cards in its English-language search and 85 cards in its Japanese-language search. These three figures track overlapping but not identical print runs and should not be summed.
Did Taira Akitsu illustrate any Pokemon TCG Pocket cards?
Yes, per Bulbapedia, Taira Akitsu has illustrated 11 cards appearing in Pokemon Trading Card Game Pocket, tracked separately from the main TCG counts.
What Taira Akitsu cards are currently listed as PSA 10 (as of 2026-08-12)?
As of 2026-08-12, four cards were listed: Garchomp V 084/067 CSR (¥25,503), Korrina’s Focus 079/070 SR (¥17,984), Melony 083/070 SR (¥11,329), and the Vaporeon Master Ball Mirror print of Terastal Festival ex 030/187 (¥14,191). All four are graded PSA 10 and listed on our product pages.
Are both Melony prints in VMAX Climax illustrated by Taira Akitsu?
No. Only the Silver Lance (S6H) 083/070 Secret Rare print is credited to Taira Akitsu on Limitless. A separate Melony print, 274/184 in VMAX Climax, is not in Taira Akitsu’s credited card list.
Has Taira Akitsu given any public interviews?
Not that we could locate and verify. Unlike some illustrators in our series, there is no confirmed interview or artist-spotlight feature publicly available for Taira Akitsu. This guide relies on Bulbapedia’s summary article and direct confirmation on individual Limitless TCG card pages.
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