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I'm digging myself up from the grave to write this review. I saw Detective Pikachu in Japanese cinemas on the opening day, 5/3. It's probably the best Pokemon film I've watched in a decade.
When I first saw the trailers for Detective Pikachu, I was ecstatic that they were going to incorporate Pokemon in a real world setting. Of course, I shared a lot of the worries that it may have been made too "main-stream" and "edgy" for wide-spread appeal, but I don't think that was the case at all. The way they introduced elements of this particular Pokemon world was accessible to new fans and very nostalgic to old fans. The majority of the main pokemon roles are from gen 1 (sigh...) however, they cameo pokemon from every region. I was in aw of the settings, especially the opening scene to Ryme City and the underground battle scene (with the most memorable moment being the Loudred DROPPING THE BASS). While this obviously exists in an alternate universe, they name drop existing pokemon regions like Kanto so it doesn't seem so 'foreign.' This universe has so much potential and I would love to see another live-action movie stem from this.
The main character, 21-year-old Tim, and supporting cast Lucy were conceived to be relatable to young millenials (let's face it, the target demographic for this film, myself included). Tim works in insurance, a path that is secure but unfulfilling, after being disillusioned from Pokemon. Lucy is an overworked, underpaid, unappreciated intern for a major news outlet. Their relationship could have had potential, but I felt that Lucy was pushed aside as the "convenient exposition machine/side-chick" character. Also, the forced crushing between them seemed so unnecessary. Tim had a lot of backstory elements that were revealed in flashbacks, which I found more interesting than his current self lol. He's definitely more of a reactionary character, which serves as a good foil to Detective Pikachu, who is the obvious star of the movie. I wish they showed more of Tim's pokemon nerdiness!
MAJOR SPOILER WARNING:The part where the owners were forced to possess their pokemon partner's bodies was really creepy, NGL. I think that concept is quite dark for a kid's movie considering you basically put the soul of the pokemon you're possessing in a comatose state...possibly forever.
They have a "pixar villain" in this movie ('unexpected' but kinda to the point of cliche at this point) but they way they did the reveal is so fitting to the narrative that I can't complain. What I didn't expect tho, was the reason why Pikachu could speak to Tim. I know it was probably really obvious to most people, but I must have been so engrossed in the other elements that I didn't notice (or I was just dumb lol). It was so touching that I literally cried.
The movie was obviously made by people who love pokemon. My relationship with pokemon in the past few years has been a bit negligent because of my hiatus from the anime and general lack of involvement with fandom in general (darn adulthood!!), so I'm grateful for these movies that re-ignite my passion for the series. If you go in with an open mind that it's kinda cheesy, I think it's a fun experience.!
The movie theater I went to had 4 showings for the Japanese dub and 2 showings for the English version. I went to the English version with Japanese subtitles and the entire theater was full of adults around my age lol. In my experience with Japanese movie theaters, movies that are for adults tend to have silent audiences (even for funny parts!!) so I was worried about the atmosphere. But I think that me and my friend were just too obnoxious laughing at all the dumb jokes that we enabled the guy next to us to also not hold back. I feel bad for the people who couldn't understand English because they didn't translate some of the jokes well in the subs. There was a part where Pikachu starts singing the first Pokemon opening (English Dub), and I can't remember, but they just put a direct translation of the lyrics instead of finding similar lines in "Mezase Pokemon Master" which I think would have worked better. Just my opinion. Hope they at least did that in the Japanese Dub.
That's what happened in the game, or maybe that's why you brought it up.I think it would have been better to have it just have Pokémon rage out. It would have been a nice call back to the berserk gene from Gen 2.
How did you feel about the cause of the soul swapping? I had how they twisted that Pokémon's lore. I think it would have been better to have it just have Pokémon rage out. It would have been a nice call back to the berserk gene from Gen 2. Also, I agree about the romantic angle. Also, I like what they did with the dad twist, but I knew it was going to be something like that because of how frequently his face was hidden.
does its consciousness just disappear/get overridden?
This also explains why they refer to Mewtwo being created from a Mew fossil (although a more accurate reference would be an eyelash fossil). The problem? For one thing, Mewtwo refers to Tim and Harry as the first good guys he knows, as if Ash never existed. It also has two voice actors (a guy and a woman, although I didn't really notice the latter), and none of them is Masachika Ichimura in the Japanese dub. Lastly, there is a rumored Red/Blue adaptation in the works, as part of the same cinematic universe. Did they not consider that when they wrote the Detective Pikachu script? Oh well, I guess aside from the fossil thing the movie itself is very vague about Mewtwo's origin. It's funny how they cared more about continuity with a seemingly different universe than the anime movies reference each other, particularly the Mewtwo debacle in Movie 16.When asked if there was a Pokémon anime within the world of Detective Pikachu, the writers noted that "the deep history of this world is present in the world of Detective Pikachu," pointing to the fact that the film's Mewtwo is the same one that escaped in the events of the first Pokémon movie, which was released 20 years ago.
"It's all connected, it's all a part of the greater Pokémon universe," Samit teased.
I personally thought thatBased on Mewtwo, I'd say so. But then Harry was much more upbeat as Pikachu then as himself, so I guess it depends on the bond or lack thereof.; you could also argue that Mewtwo's past self was triggered. The only movie I know with a similar plot device is Get Out, and that was genuinely creepy.
Here is a quote from an interview that bothers me:
This also explains why they refer to Mewtwo being created from a Mew fossil (although a more accurate reference would be an eyelash fossil). The problem? For one thing, Mewtwo refers to Tim and Harry as the first good guys he knows, as if Ash never existed. It also has two voice actors (a guy and a woman, although I didn't really notice the latter), and none of them is Masachika Ichimura in the Japanese dub. Lastly, there is a rumored Red/Blue adaptation in the works, as part of the same cinematic universe. Did they not consider that when they wrote the Detective Pikachu script? Oh well, I guess aside from the fossil thing the movie itself is very vague about Mewtwo's origin. It's funny how they cared more about continuity with a seemingly different universe than the anime movies reference each other, particularly the Mewtwo debacle in Movie 16.