Shinya Komatsu Pokemon Cards Guide: AR, SAR & PSA 10s

Who Is Shinya Komatsu?

Shinya Komatsu is a Pokemon Trading Card Game illustrator whose earliest confirmed Japanese-language credit, per Limitless TCG’s individual card pages, is a Character Rare Octillery in VMAX Climax (S8b), released December 3, 2021. Komatsu’s English-language debut followed in 2022 with Octillery’s printing in Brilliant Stars.

A search of Limitless TCG’s artist database for Komatsu’s name currently returns 27 Japanese-language card credits, running from that 2021 debut through the current Scarlet & Violet era. The catalog covers a mix of Illustration Rares (AR), Special Art Rares (SAR), and one Special Art card on a Pokemon V, alongside the original Character Rare debut — a spread that puts Komatsu among the illustrators regularly assigned AR- and SAR-slot artwork in recent Japanese sets.

Within the seven cards catalogued in this guide, the rarity spread breaks down as one Character Rare, one Special Art card on a Pokemon V, four Illustration Rares, and one Special Art Rare. Three of those seven — Octillery, Machamp V, and Magnezone — predate the Scarlet & Violet numbering system entirely, sitting in Sword & Shield–era Japanese sets (the S-prefix codes). The remaining four — Alakazam ex, Garbodor, Horsea, and Frillish — carry SV-prefix codes and fall inside the current Scarlet & Violet print run, which is where the bulk of Komatsu’s more recent, higher-rarity work sits.

Career Span: VMAX Climax to White Flare

Octillery’s Character Rare printing in VMAX Climax (S8b, released December 3, 2021) is Komatsu’s earliest credit on Limitless TCG’s Japanese database. From there, the catalog runs through Time Gazer’s Machamp V (April 2022), VSTAR Universe’s Magnezone (December 2022), Pokemon Card 151’s Alakazam ex (June 2023), Ancient Roar’s Garbodor (October 2023), Night Wanderer’s Horsea (June 2024), and, most recently in the verified list, White Flare’s Frillish (June 2025).

Magnezone S12a 193/172 AR

Garbodor SV4K #075 AR

Horsea SV6a 067/064 AR

Frillish SV11W 124/086 AR

The seven cards profiled here each come from a different set, spread across roughly three and a half years from the S8b debut to the most recent verified White Flare printing.

None of the seven sets above repeat — each credited card comes from a different Japanese-language release, which means collecting a full run of Komatsu’s verified catalog also means collecting across VMAX Climax, Time Gazer, VSTAR Universe, Pokemon Card 151, Ancient Roar, Night Wanderer, and White Flare individually rather than finding multiple credits inside any single box.

Beyond the Cards: Pokemon TCG Pocket

Komatsu’s work also extends to the mobile app Pokemon Trading Card Game Pocket, where the illustrator is credited with 8 cards starting from the Genetic Apex expansion, including Tentacool, Diglett, Ducklett, Snom, Bidoof, and Dragonair, per Serebii’s Pocket Cardex. That digital catalog runs separately from the 27 Japanese-language main-set credits covered above — the two card pools don’t overlap, and Pocket cards aren’t sold as physical product.

Other biographical or professional details for Komatsu are not independently verifiable from the sources checked for this guide, so this article covers TCG and TCG Pocket credits only.

Komatsu in Our Vault: Two Graded PSA 10s

Both of the chase-level Komatsu cards in this guide are currently in stock as graded singles:

Both are currently listed as graded singles. Both ship from Tokyo with tracked delivery, the same standard we apply to sealed product. If you’re deciding between a graded copy and a raw one for a Komatsu print, our PSA 10 vs. raw Japanese cards guide covers the tradeoffs in more depth — condition risk, price gap, and what grading actually verifies.

For the sealed product behind these pulls, each card’s home set is available as a booster box:

Dieses Set kaufenSV2A-Pokemon 151 Japanese Pokemon Booster Box

¥46,361Auf Lager

Versand aus Tokio mit Sendungsverfolgung

Produkt ansehen

The rest of Komatsu’s catalog can be sourced as sealed booster boxes rather than graded singles: Time Gazer (S10D) currently listed at ¥15,225, VSTAR Universe (S12a) at ¥33,280, Ancient Roar (SV4K) from ¥10,400, Night Wanderer (SV6a) from ¥10,400, White Flare (SV11W) from ¥20,800, and VMAX Climax (S8b) at ¥39,900.

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