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ANIME ActionPocket Monsters

REVIEWS

• 

  TK8878

  69/100
  A short & decent introduction to Pokémon.

  

  Spoiler-free review

  Review in brief:

  Though Pokémon: The Origin is decidedly too short for its own good, it still manages to tell a concise and entertaining tale that doesn't require the viewer to have prior experience with the franchise to enjoy (though I would imagine that it helps). As someone outside the fandom, I would feel comfortable suggesting it to a general audience given the lack of commitment needed to partake.

  Review in full:

  Again, the most noticeable thing about this anime is how short it is. Having at least 6 episodes instead of just 4 would have done it wonders (though at the same time its shorter run-time makes it easier to watch in one sitting). Regardless, while it could've used its time a little more efficiently it still used it well. Instead of showing the entire journey it takes a number of key portions in that journey and takes some time to flesh them out, which actually makes it feel more whole.

  While serious Pokémon fans might berate it for taking this approach, I'd say that for something this short it would've been a bad thing for it to have tried to show the entire journey. Sure, we don't see most of the 150-odd Pokémon that Red sets out to catch or all of the gym battles and so forth, but we do get to see enough of these things to know that they're being done and what it looks like.

  _Pokémon: The Origin shows Pokémon fighting just long enough to leave PETA members appalled._

  For people familiar with the game it allows the show to go deep enough to tap into their nostalgia, while for those of us who never played Pokémon it offers an idea of what it feels like to be engrossed in the game without stagnating itself on the (seemingly) repetitive side of things where you throw balls at monsters and then train them into all-powerful fighters to throw at more monsters for hours on end.

  That's not to say it's a flawless approach either. It still doesn't leave much time for most characters to develop or flesh out, and of course it's harder to get invested in a story that's only half-shown. Still, at the end of the day the journey itself was preserved through its highlights.

  The production values were not exactly memorable, yet did their job proficiently. Animation-wise Pokémon: The Origin does offer rather appealing visuals (though not breathtaking) without making it difficult to see the world it draws up as the game it represents. The music & sound do their jobs well enough. If they offered anything nostalgic I was not in the position to pick up on it.

  Verdict:

  Pokémon: The Origin could've gone from good to great with more time to develop, but it managed to use it's short time well enough to at least be enjoyable. It's a decent watch if you're thinking about checking out Pokémon but don't want to sink too much time into a game or different anime.

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• 

  MegaTheRealOne

  65/100
  Red Did All This In Such a Short Time, So What's Your Excuse, Ash?

  (Originally Reviewed on Serializd)

  If you are even someone who is slightly familiar with the franchise to an extent, then you would know that there is a LOT of different Pokémon media out there for fans to consume. Of course, there are the gargantuan amount of video games that are still being made all the way to this very day, but of course, there is also manga, toys and plushies, books, and of course, TV shows and movies. However, unlike many other video game franchises, who usually just get a couple of movies or TV shows adaptations at best and nothing more, ever since its inception, Pokémon has received a RIDICULOUS amount of adaptions in those forms of media, to the point where there are currently 24 different films for the series, and there are also multiple TV shows that were made of it, with the main show, simply being called Pokémon, going ever since the 90's and having almost 1,300 episodes............... GOD DAMN. As someone who has loved Pokémon ever since he was a kid, I have always been curious about checking out these shows past the capacity of just "watching it a couple of times as a kid", but I mean.... how would I do that?! There is so much content that this series has put out in terms of TV shows, to the point where if I started now, I would have grandchildren by the time I finish! Oh well...... I guess if I do wanna get started on this series, I suppose the best place to start would be from the beginning chronologically, and there's literally no better place to do that then with Pokémon Origins.

  For those that don't know, this was a mini series that was made back in 2013 for the series, and rather then focusing on the mainline anime storyline or any of the characters in that show, this one primarily adapts the story of Pokémon Red and Blue, showing the journey that Red goes on throughout that game and the trials and tribulations he faces along the way....... or at least, a good chunk of them. I figured I would go ahead and give this one a shot first because not only is it one of the shortest series we ever got from these TV adaptations, but it is also the one I would probably be the most familiar with, since it almost solely focused on the original generation of this series and the Pokémon in it, one of which I have been very familiar with for a long time. So, I went ahead and went through it all in one sitting, and........ it was good... but nothing more. I wasn't expecting anything too crazy or huge from this series, considering Pokémon usually saves that for their films and such (from what I have heard), but it does run into some of the same problems that other video game anime adaptations cause, causing it to feel somewhat lacking, yet still a decent watch overall.

  The story is what you would expect, strictly following most of the same plot points from the original games, which does work out well for all of the stuff they focus on, but this does cause some problems that I will get into later, the characters were alright, with Red being a decent protagonist for this kind of series, and everyone else acts like you would expect them to, with no real wonderful or standout characters to see from this lineup, the voice acting is also alright, where I didn't find many of the voices to be that bad, but you can clearly tell they weren't putting that much effort into the dubbing, which is to be expected from this kind of series, the animation is decent, having a pretty good art style and having some great moments to be seen throughout, especially during the Pokémon battles, but most of it is pretty typical for these kinds of anime to the surprise of nobody, and of course, the Pokémon look spot-on with their game counterparts, being both just as adorable and terrifying as you would expect, and I love them all.

  One thing I did sort of like about this series compared to the brief other Pokémon adaptations I have seen is how this one isn't more so focused on being funny or cartoony, but more so about really going on this journey. It does focus a lot on what it means to be a Pokémon trainer, how people interact and treat Pokémon in this world, and there are quite a few moments and scenes that feel pretty dark for this kind of show, which is something that I was surprised to see. Of course, there are plenty of moments where the main show does focus on the Pokémon trainer journey while having these serious moments too, but those were usually spliced in with comedy and regular Pokémon shenanigans a lot of the time, while this one just ditches those entirely to focus on this main tone, and I think it works pretty well. It does get you connected with the way this world works, and how these characters view approaching the challenge of taking on battles or just simply taking care of their Pokémon.

  Unfortunately though, that in itself can't save it from its one, detrimental flaw that makes it so that I can't like this show anymore then I already do: the lack of content. Like I mentioned before, this was merely a mini series, consisting of only 4 22-minute episodes, and seeing as the show is that short, it skips over a LOT of content from the original games, primarily just showing brief moments from several little montages in each episode, only meant to get people caught up on where Red has been and what he has been doing since the last episode. This may not be seen as that big of a deal to some, but this really did bother me, as it never did make it so that I could get properly connected to whatever was going on throughout the show apart from some battles, and it mostly felt like I was just watching a "Greatest Moments" compilation of this kid's journey rather then the full extent of it. Of course, this isn't that big of a deal, considering that Pokémon has never really had that complex or deep of a story, and they do cover some pretty important points in the game, such as the takedown of Giovanni and the encounter with Mewtwo, but it doesn't feel like quite enough to get me fully invested in everything that is going on here. Yes, there are episodes that are pretty good, great even, but those can't save it from the main problem that it suffers from for me, which is quite a shame, especially since I would've been down to watch a whole series with this set-up, where they flesh out the characters more and focused on other elements of the game's story, but that is just not the case.

  Overall, despite the extreme lack of content and some blandness that can be seen here or there, this was still a pretty decent adaptation of the original Pokémon games, and a good watch all around, giving plenty of what Pokémon fans want out of this kind of show, plenty of exciting battles, plenty of Pokémon to admire, and just the right amount of heart and soul to where I can say I still enjoyed what I saw here. I would definitely recommend it for those that are big fans of the Pokémon series, as well as those who specifically really love the original games or any of their remakes, because while this won't floor you with how it adapts those games, it should still be a short but sweet little show that will have you smiling by the end of it all. But anyways, now that I have finally covered something in this giant franchise, I must now mentally prepare myself for whenever I will eventually tackle the actual Pokémon anime.......... in 10-20 years. You'd be crazy to think I would be ready for it now.

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