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Review Pocket Monsters: The Origin

Part one -
* I like how there's a start and save menu.
* Red's face when Charmander went into his arms was funny.
* I like how Nidoran male used a Super-Effective move to take down Geodude, instead of there being a last-second normal attack or something.
* The Game feel of the Gym Battle and music really seemed done right for an anime version of the game.
* Red vs Green was ok, couldn't really tell if it was a KO or them just ending the battle.

Part two -
* The Gym battles recap was ok, I do wish they had extended it just a bit for each one but not too much. It was pretty cool though.
* I like how the ghost Marowak was very, very close in design to what the game showed it as.
* I like how they gave the full background of what happened to Marowak.
* It was sad to see what happened, and them reuniting.

Part three -
* Giovanni's eyes sure looked odd when they were suddenly black in a couple of parts...
* Interesting how it took several Pokemon to take down Rhyhorn, and then Charizard beats Rhydon at the last moment.
* The Gym Battle was very epic, with Jolteon surprisingly going down easily
* Rhyhorn sure was powerful. :eek:

Part four -
* The Elite 4 battles were a bit short, but what was shown was pretty cool.
* I liked how Green vs Red ended with Charizard vs Blastoise, and Charizard's Mega Punch was cool.
* Charizard vs Mewtwo was an ok battle, I do like how the Mega evolution looked, plus Mega Charizard X looked epic in this anime special.

Overall I really liked the 4-part special, and how well it followed the outline of the Gen. I games. It had a very different feel, but a good one.
 
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The special was done very well, no particular complains.

I like how desperate Red was, when he was battling Brock's Onix. He kept using his fodders and they all got KO'd. In the end, he had to use his starter who had a type disadvantage. That was so me :p
 
I really enjoyed this as a whole - though it's annoying that we didn't get the chance to see a decent length battle until right at the end with Mewtwo - in which seeing it trying to run from a move that always hits was great. In the first battle between Red and Green it certainly felt like they'd thrown out the turn based nature of the moves - though the latter battles felt more like that. I laughed a lot at Red sending out Metapod, but the end result of String Shot slowing Onix down enough was a nice outcome.

Part two with the Pokemon Tower was by far my favourite - though it also adds to how confusing Cubone's Pokedex entries are, when it has the same skull on its head before its mother died for him as after. Really well done overall and really helped drive the hatred of Team Rocket that Red ran on in the rest of the special.

The little bits of the games that were only shown for a few seconds were standouts for me - it's just nice to see things like Red trying to pick throwing a stone or the bait to the Chansey, or TMs/HMs being basically MiniDiscs, the things that don't really suit the main anime that we got to see here. The Magikarp salesman was awesome.

It did bug me how Red changed all his Pokemon except the starter right the way through - I personally like the idea of winning the League in games with the team I build up as I go around, as opposed to late captures at higher levels closer to the league. I suppose it helped the storyline of Red being close with Charizard - but it's just as annoying as Ash getting that extra little bit out of Pikachu all the time and winning against the odds through the power of friendship, only with the rest of Red's Pokemon seeming expendable.

A while back I posted a poll asking about how Ash would approach things, and it seems in the Origins special the community treated the idea of making a device that was able to capture any Pokemon as a bad thing - at least in the hands of Team Rocket. I certainly like that Red didn't use one to capture Mewtwo (which is what the majority of those playing the games probably do), even if shoving the Gen VI MegaCharizard into the plot of a retelling of the original game story was the alternative.

Still don't know how Red fits all that stuff in his backpack though. Likewise not seeing him walk up to and be confused by a minor ledge and not be able to jump over it and not see him totally blocked on his path by a tree.

They should have hinted at one of the Mew glitches in the background of the closing credits.

All up - I wouldn't want this to have been the anime of the series, but it certainly felt like the games being brought to life - and got me tempted to get Pokemon Red out and play it again. I still am left thinking that introducing Mega Charizard still isn't reason enough for this to come now - there's got to be something else in the pipeline for the original games? This doesn't make me even more excited about X and Y, it makes me nostalgic to play the old games.

Looking forward to the dub so I can catch any storyline I missed and they'll have my money if they release it on Blu-Ray.

As an aside, I always liked the theory that Cubone were child in the pouch of Kangaskhan - with that being the mother whose skull they wore.
 
I didn't liked the stuff about Red's Pokémon being KOed and still winning at the last minute. It makes me feel that Red is a terrible Trainer who only trains his Charizard. Plus it happened more than once, I mean, there are other ways to put suspense in a Pokémon battle...
 
About the battles, they really did a sloppy job of giving emphasis on Charizard, as it have more screentime than any other Pokémon and it's almost like Red's ace-in-the-hole. And that also made the matches having to be too quick for the other Pokémons, as they'd lose too quickly, as if Red had only trained well Charizard...

Man, this thing had so much potential and they simply fail to notice it... Because of the limit of episodes to cover the whole Gen1 arc, they skipped through alot of stuff and rushed through a few others, making this a good but at the same time kind of unfulfilling experience...
And yes, getting a few pointers from the Manga Pokémon Special could also help... That is, if a miracle happens and they decide to make a full series of this... To which I honestly don't hold much hopes...
 
I was shocked by this as well!

I was under the impression that Pokemon abilties would be in the special considering the art designs seem to be based on FireRed/Leafgreen but that wasn't the case...

When Rhyhorn used what looked like a Thunderbolt I was like Giovanni f'ed up now! Volt Absorb will take care of this!

But I was fooled...
 
AWESOME! CHARIZARD X IS MINE! The other one was Y though. I was watching the special again... I wonder if the box art, game quotes and stuff are localized based on the US version if it airs on Pokemon TV... "RED saved the game!"

Love that part...

The whole special is the best! I had to watch 1 episode per 1 hour so I watched it for 4 hours with breaks.... I HIGHLY WATCHED IT FOR GAMERS WHO KNOW WHAT THE 1ST GENERATION IS... 20/10!
 
Okay, I've finished with Pokémon THE ORIGIN. Was it good? Yes. Was it the best animated Pokémon ever? Not by any means.
But here's a simple number based review:

Animation: 7/10 Only the last part, made by OLM, was impressive, well drawn and well animated the rest of it was pretty mediocre, and both humans and pokémon looked derpy time to time. OLM is the only studio that can handle Pokémon.

Music: 10/10 My pal Masuda never lets me down with his music, and his masterpieces were well re-orchestrated for this special.

Story/Characters: 7/10 I've never been that much of a fan of the Kanto storyline, it just reflects on that.

As a whole: 8/10. Definitely enjoyable, and something different. Followed the games too forcefully for its own good, making battles look quick, repetitive, and uninteresting for the most part, minus the battle between Mewtwo and Mega Charizard X.

However, it was interesting to see the game mechanics being used in anime, but this just confirms me, how it really doesn't work in this format that well. I liked it, but I'm still happy we have our standard anime Pokémon alongside this. I welcome new specials however.

I was also surprised and happy for myself, because I understood almost all of it, minust some details. I'm getting good at understanding spoken Japanese.
 
Also... did Mega Lizardon X use Swift? I don't think it has that attack.

Gen I TM.

Like Mega Punch & Kick that 'zard used.

See this is what I don't get... this thing was faithful enough to Generation I to the point that it completely ignored current possible movesets and abilities (and I imagine it was using the Gen I type-chart) and then it went and used the Mega Evolutions?
 
Well, I just watched the first episode and, what can I say, that fight between Squirtle and Charmander was grueling! I've never felt so involved and uncomfortable in one of these battles in Pokemon. Ever. The stakes felt authentic, and I was absolutely stunned. The portions where they save the game just made me squeal with joy! My nostalgia is abundantly clear as I watch this, a Pokemon anime with real stakes and development. This is my dream come true. The animation is beautiful. I love the cries. I'm going to miss them. I never felt they should talk with their names, it always felt ridiculous and against the lay of the games. The voice work was fantastic, Red was brilliant and I loved Oak's actor. Blue sounded like a snooty jerk, as he should.

Then the gym fight between Brock and Red; truly spectacular. He actually won a badge! Using Metapod with string shot to slow Onyx down was brilliant, and then being forced to use Charmander at the end. A feat I know all too well from the fact that I chose Charmander as my own starter. The HP bars was a beautiful touch. Overall, this special is a lovingly crafted, worthwhile trip through Generation One that pays tribute to the classic games that began this franchise, and introduces a whole new generation into the events and characters I fell in love with. I truly feel at home with this anime. It's what I've always wanted. Now to search for the remaining three episodes.
 
Animation: 7/10 Only the last part, made by OLM, was impressive, well drawn and well animated the rest of it was pretty mediocre, and both humans and pokémon looked derpy time to time. OLM is the only studio that can handle Pokémon.

Hey, give Production I.G. some credit, I think they did a great work. The battles in the first episode were pretty good.
On the other hand, the animation in the Cubone episode was terrible, it was like watching your average pokemon episode. That battle between Jolteon and Koffing was just awful.
 
Animation: 7/10 Only the last part, made by OLM, was impressive, well drawn and well animated the rest of it was pretty mediocre, and both humans and pokémon looked derpy time to time. OLM is the only studio that can handle Pokémon.

Hey, give Production I.G. some credit, I think they did a great work. The battles in the first episode were pretty good.
On the other hand, the animation in the Cubone episode was terrible, it was like watching your average pokemon episode. That battle between Jolteon and Koffing was just awful.

I don't give Production I.G. any credit when they produce mediocre and uninteresting animation. My hopes were up because I know how good they can be, but no. Their part was the most boring one anyway.
OLM knows how to do Pokémon, you could see it clearly in this special.

And oh yeah, that battle between Koffing and Jolteon was awful, it was done worse than some not-so-well animated pokémon episodes.
The only battle that was seriously entertaining and interesting to watch was the battle between Mewtwo and Charizard X. Others were too game-like, Red just threw pokémon after pokémon on the field and then it was over as quickly as it began [and then won with Charizard.] Regular pokémon anime can definitely handle battles better, and now this just makes it clear - game-like battles don't work in the anime that well.
 
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The only battle that was seriously entertaining and interesting to watch was the battle between Mewtwo and Charizard X.

I found it really interesting to see Mewtwo actually fight with its body even if it was still using psychic moves. Seeing it run away from Swift rather than fly away as they would in every other Mewtwo special was perfect. I can finally see how Mega Mewtwo X could actually be part fighting.
 
So there's this:

Orchid: "Oh, a Hitokage, huh?"
Red: "That's right. My dad named me "Red" because he really wanted me to become a man with a heart that burns like a red-hot fire. So for my first pokemon I'll go with the firey one who fits my name."
Orchid: "I see. So Green, does that mean you'll choose Fushidane because it's a green plant pokemon?"
Green: "Hmph. I'm not going to choose my pokemon based on some girly reason like that. If Red goes with fire, then I'll choose water."

...which will have to be completely written for the dub because they're going with the stupid Green -> Blue thing.

Pianoplaynfool said:
Is there a way to catch it again in Japan? I don't have TV Tokyo at my house and regardless, I was at the gym while it was airing.

Wait for KidsStation to air it, maybe?

The DVD / Blu-ray's coming out in December so if you can wait two months you could watch it then.
 
I kinda like the whole special itself. The animation is very unique compared to the other Pokemon series thanks to XEBEC. The music I like, especially for the Gen I Music being re-orchestrated and remixed (kinda sounds like a Gen I remake for Wii U.)

Also liked the Mega Charizard X part. Because if this was in the original Red and Blue, the game, it's Missingno. lol.

Sent from my Kurio 7S using Tapatalk 4.
 
Lmfao!!! And people think Red is better then Ash?? For what, having pokemon who can't do shit?? I mean take away Charizard and you have a nobody.

The biggest fail had to be Jolteon getting pwned by a Thunderbolt, da fuq??

Ya Ash>>>>>>>>>Red anyday.

It's nonsensical how people assume that either Red or Ash are superior to the other and look down on the one they don't like despite the fact they are the exact same person.
 
So there's this:

Orchid: "Oh, a Hitokage, huh?"
Red: "That's right. My dad named me "Red" because he really wanted me to become a man with a heart that burns like a red-hot fire. So for my first pokemon I'll go with the firey one who fits my name."
Orchid: "I see. So Green, does that mean you'll choose Fushidane because it's a green plant pokemon?"
Green: "Hmph. I'm not going to choose my pokemon based on some girly reason like that. If Red goes with fire, then I'll choose water."

...which will have to be completely written for the dub because they're going with the stupid Green -> Blue thing.

Actually Blue could keep the same line and the same meaning of not wanting to pick his starter over his name conveyed, because it's a lame reason. There's no reason to rewrite that part. Just make Oak say "I see. So Blue, does that mean you'll choose Squirtle since it's a Water-type Pokemon?" instead.
 
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