Review M08: Mew and the Wave Hero: Lucario

[Dogasu]

So I didn't see a review thread for this movie yet, and it's been out on DVD in Japan for a few weeks now, so I guess I'll go ahead and start one. I just received my DVD in the mail the other day and finally got around to seeing it, and so here are a few random thoughts about the movie:

-Wow, the video quality on this DVD is fantastic. I'll have to be sure to pick up all the other movies on DVD.

-So the movie starts out with a flashback And it's a lot more interesting than the flashback in the fourth movie.

-Wow, Myuu sure does like to use its Transform ability a lot in this movie.

-This is a long title screen. But I do like how they go through the various stages of human technology.

-So Satoshi and the gang are able to just waltz into a random costume shop and pick out costumes without paying for them?

-Hey, the return of an opening theme! That's great, but it's too bad we never got a movie version of "Challenger!"

-I'm definately getting a Dragon Quest vibe from the dance party. The costumes and the dance music all feel like they'd fit right in with one of Enix's games.

- lol at Musashi and Freddie. And does Kojirou seem *jealous* to see Musashi dancing with another man?

-Poor Satoshi, forced to sit in the that throne while everyone else parties.

-Notice all the legendary pokemon on the toys in the play room inside the castle. There's that Suicune-shaped rocking horse, the carousel with the three legendary birds on it, and the train with Celebi on the side. Is this movie like the fifth movie, in that it has all the previous movie pokemon hidden throughout the film?

- So Kid wants to capture Myuu, huh? Seems a lot like Zanna and Lyon to me. She even has all the cool gadgets.

-Speaking of Kid...why does she have TWO Manyula?

- So Satoshi's hadou is the same as Arlon's hadou. Interesting.

-Musashi and Kojirou pull a Spridle and Chim-Chim by stowing away in the car's trunk.

-Why the hell is the gang stopping off at the hot spring? What point does this whole scene serve?

-Good to see that Gomazou doesn't want to get in the water (since it's part Ground-type, just like Usohachi).

-So these Jikan no Hana are just randomly dispersed throughout the movie, conveniently popping up whenever the characters need to remember something. OK...

-Satoshi and Lucario have a fight because Lucario says something about Satoshi not caring about Pikachu? Or that it ran away from him?

-Hey, Masato and Haruka asked about the first time Satoshi met Pikachu. And they reanimate that famous part in the first episode! I wasn't expecting continuity like that in this movie at ALL.

-Wow, there sure are a lot of flashbacks in this movie.

-I like all the toys Myuu has at its little hideout, like the Tsubotsubo noisemaker.

-So why does the Hajimari no Ki have so many crystals all over the place?

-That Armaldo is eating the wrong kind of fruit; in "Where's Armaldo?" the fruit it eats is a sort of red and yellow color, but the one it eats in this movie is a solid red color, IIRC. I guess I only noticed that because I *just* watched that Armaldo episode the other day.

-I like how Banks (the guy who Kid communicates with) has a mini bar in his office.

-I also like how Kid and Takeshi are paired off while the gang explores the tree.

-I love the way the Regis are portrayed in this movie. Their voices fit them PERFECTLY (well, Regice's is a little off), and the music that plays whenever they're on-screen gives that perfect "souless robot" feeling.

-Hey, all that floating goo are shaped like ancient pokemon!

-Whoa, it's weird to see Kojirou actually call out his pokemon in this movie. I don't think a member of the Rocket-Dan has EVER done that before. Too bad we don't get to see Habunake or Dokukeiru.

-Hey, Kojirou pulled a Ralts episode on us by ducking from Sabonea's hug.

-Notice how when Takeshi disappears, all his pokemon except Forretress run over to where he was standing and start to cry out. What's the matter? Are you holding a grudge because Takeshi has let you rot in your Monster Ball for the past 3+ years?

-More sappy "Satoshi and Pikachu have a strong bond" stuff.

-It looks like Satoshi is pulling off some Dragon Ball Z-ish attack when he's transferring his hadou to Myuu.

-Look, Lucario shares the same fate as Arlon. I think this qualifies as the first pokemon "death" in Advanced Generation.

-Wow, this movie ends really really abruptly.

-Hey, the ending theme isn't as bad as the theme to the last movie (which actually did grow on me over time). Then again, it does sound like every other Puffy song, so I can't really say that it stands out that much.

-Woah, wtf are Butler and Dianne doing in the end credits with Kid!?

All in all, I thought it was a great movie, and it certainly impressed me more than the last one did. I still don't know where I'd rank it compared to the others, but I'd say it's pretty high up there.

The movie did have one major annoying part, though...once again, there's this overemphasis on Satoshi and Pikachu. Yes, I understand that they're great friends and all, but the movie places so much emphasis on their relationship that it ignores the other trainers and THEIR pokemon. When Satoshi vanishes at the end of the movie, all his pokemon cry and weep for him. But when Takeshi or Haruka or Kojirou vanish? Nothing. Their pokemon kind of look sad, but they don't go into this dramatic sob fest the way Satoshi's pokemon do. It makes it look like Haruka's or Takeshi's or Kojirou's pokemon couldn't give two shits about their trainers in comparison, and we all know that that just isn't true. Would it have killed them to show a scene with Zenigame, the crybaby of Haruka's team, shed a tear for its trainer? Or show Sabonea and Chiriin a little more upset that their trainer is gone?

Other than that, it was a great movie that I recommend all you guys to purchase / download it.

 

[Murgatroyd]

-So Satoshi and the gang are able to just waltz into a random costume shop and pick out costumes without paying for them?

I believe those were available at the castle for loan to any visitors who didn't have appropriate era clothing of their own.

-Notice all the legendary pokemon on the toys in the play room inside the castle. There's that Suicune-shaped rocking horse, the carousel with the three legendary birds on it, and the train with Celebi on the side. Is this movie like the fifth movie, in that it has all the previous movie pokemon hidden throughout the film?

I don't think so. I haven't found any more of them, and I've been looking for them the last couple of times through.

- So Kid wants to capture Myuu, huh? Seems a lot like Zanna and Lyon to me. She even has all the cool gadgets.

I don't think she wants to capture it; just track it.

-Why the hell is the gang stopping off at the hot spring? What point does this whole scene serve?

You mean besides fanservice? It's so that they don't get to the Tree too quickly.

-Satoshi and Lucario have a fight because Lucario says something about Satoshi not caring about Pikachu? Or that it ran away from him?

I believe it was saying that Pikachu left because it didn't like having such a foolish master. This was, of course, after the comments about how Satoshi would abandon Pikachu if circumstances got bad.

-Hey, Masato and Haruka asked about the first time Satoshi met Pikachu. And they reanimate that famous part in the first episode! I wasn't expecting continuity like that in this movie at ALL.

-So why does the Hajimari no Ki have so many crystals all over the place?

What do you expect from a mineral life form?

--More to come tomorrow, I need to get offline now.

 

[QuietDragon]

Oooh, such a cool fiiilm! ^^

Yeah, Dogasu... how could you NOT know?! It's just to show off Haruka's boobies as always!
Feh...

 

[Water Pokémon Master]

It's to introduce the time flower. Duh.

And I agree with the convenient placement of the time flowers. They could at least stick some in other scenes randomly, yet not activate them.

I also noticed the abrupt ending. On the CD soundtrack, the last BGM song was not included in the movie, yet should had played after Aaron and Lucario went up into energy. Could there had been another scene they planned on having, yet cut out? That could explain the abrupt ending.

Also, no one talks about the end credits that much! Diane, Butthead, Jirachi, the Regis. Bet none of you noticed that Regice was not colored in, or that Aaron's gloves were thrown into Mew's toys. The cameo to Alto Mare might had been intentional foreshadowing to the location of Kyogre also.

 

[Zhen Lin]

The ending isn't quite as abrupt if you take the ED animation into account. But musically, yea, they should have composed a special piece to finish it off, rather than adapting another piece.

The track, Aaron's theme ~ Farewell Lucario - indeed, the form it takes on the BGM CD is not used, but the final piece is also variation on Aaron's theme. I feel that the Farewell Lucario variant sounds a bit like a piece from M5... but it doesn't really sound suitable for the final scene either.

As for Alto Mare, well, that's what I thought it was at first as well. But after a bit of thinking I thought it could have also been Rōta - they are, after all, both based on old-style European towns. The gloves, Diane and Butler - I noticed them the first time - those were very easy to spot. I still haven't found Jirachi yet.

 

[Water Pokémon Master]

What are you talking about? Farewell Lucario and Aaron's theme are both used exactly in the whole death scene as on the CD. I have literally listened to the music almost everyday since they have been released on CD. They are the same as in the movie. The only variations to songs in the movie from the CD I can recall off the top of my head are the last part of the dancing scene and the last part of the Kiddo theme where Meowth crashes through the window. The Regirock song is also extended in the movie, but not really changed.

What I was saying is that the last song on the CD, "Aaron Theme - Saraba" isn't used at all in the movie. It was, however, the last OST song on the CD, meaning that it would had played after the entire death scene. However, it didn't, which could mean that a scene was cut that would had played that song, which could explain the abrupt ending. The song was, afterall, extremely short.

I didn't mean Jirachi itself. Just the location. What I meant was that Dogasu was like the only one who payed any attention to the credits.

 

[Zhen Lin]

My dear, that is Aaron's Theme ~ Farewell Lucario. In translation. The track prior to that is Parting ~ Lucario.

Of course, AL took notice of the credits as well in [bp=Mew_and_the_Wave-Guiding_Hero:_Lucario]his synopsis[/bp] of the movie. I added a few points in trivia.

Speaking of trivia, Pokéani draws two conclusions:
1. This Kōrogi Satomi Mew is not the same one as the Yamadera K­ōichi Mew. (I agree.)
2. That Lucario didn't really die but returned with Aaron to his original time period. (I disagree. The bar of chocolate is telling.)

 

[Water Pokémon Master]

I don't get what you mean, but in any case, all of the Aaron music and the Lucario music is used exactly in the movie as it is on the CD. I think the only music they changed are the ones I explained in my previous post.

When you say the Japanese whatever Mew is not the same as the Japanese whatever Mew, do you mean that the 1st movie Mew is not the same Mew as the 8th's? Can you explain that?

 

[QuietDragon]

Japanese whatever? ... The seiyuu?
They do their voices. Nope, don't think they're the same Mew.

 

[Zhen Lin]

Track 28, Aaron-no tēma ~ saraba Lucario translates to Aaron's theme ~ Farewell Lucario.
Track 29, wakare ~ Lucario translates to Parting ~ Lucario.

The voice actors for Mew are different - that's one change - one is [bp=Koichi Yamadera]Yamadera Kōichi[/bp], the other is Kōrogi Satomi, a.k.a. Togepi.

But the bigger change is that the first Mew is nomadic. This Mew, henceforth, Mew of Rōta (as it is named in the promotional TCG card), is domiciled. Moreover, the first Mew makes little use of his (arbritrarily assigned, because of the voice actor) ability to Transform, while the Rōta Mew quite clearly enjoys her ability to Transform.

Another interesting difference is in how Pokeani describes their personalities. He is described as capricious, liking to play and having convictions; she is described as mischievous (or naughty) and innocent.

 

[Water Pokémon Master]

I was always under the impression that there was only one Mew. The Radio Drama said afterall that there used to be a ton and they all died out except for one (don't blame me if this is wrong, I only read translations). Then again, the Anime messes up everything in terms of legendaries.

If they purposely did not use Aaron's VA to do the second Mew, then it seems obvious that they purposely were trying to make sure people knew they were not the same.

Also, comparing their personalities isn't exactly something you can base the two Mew off of. The 1st movie Mew was in a disasterous situation and probably knew that something bad was happening (since it woke up when Mewtwo started to mess up nature), while this other Mew had it good for most of the movie. Both of them see playful to me. We didn't get to see the first movie Mew have other Pokemon to play with or be in a pretty calm situation.

IMO, there should only be one Ho-oh, Mew, and Mewtwo (obviously). Going be what the Anime said about Ho-oh and his reincarnations, there should also be only one Entei, Suicune, and Raikou.

 

[Geodude]

-Whoa, it's weird to see Kojirou actually call out his pokemon in this movie. I don't think a member of the Rocket-Dan has EVER done that before.

They have. Both Arbok and Weezing got called out in the second movie to try to free Moltres from that containment thingy.

 

[Misty]

The second movie dub claims there are only one Articuno, Moltres, and Zapdos, as well, not sure if the original is similar.

 

[Dogasu]

By the way...was there ever any official romanizations for the characters' names? I remember that some source listed Eileen or something like that as the romanization for the queen's name.

EDIT: Also, I just noticed that Kid seems to be in Faunsu with both Dianne and Butler during the ending theme. Also, it looks like Dianne and Butler have been doing a little bit of farming.

EDIT 2: Also...when the movie is converted to fullscreen for the US release, won't this mean that Dianne and Butler will get cropped out of the picture?

 

[Zhen Lin]

Not really. The movie "pamphlet", if you can call it one, uses Rucario against all evidence that the correct spelling is Lucario.

And then there are the romanisations that the webmasters use when they name their files. Those are not so authoritative.

 

[Blackjack Gabbiani]

-Whoa, it's weird to see Kojirou actually call out his pokemon in this movie. I don't think a member of the Rocket-Dan has EVER done that before.

Disregarding LoT, I've got three words for you: "Go! Dark Tyranitar!"

 

[Alfonso]

Disregarding LoT, I've got three words for you: "Go! Dark Tyranitar!"

Not to mention Jessie calling out Arbok, and James calling out Wezzing in the second movie.

Edit: Curse you Geodude. :< Didn't see that post. ;o;

 

[Dogasu]

So how about this movie makes a lot more sense the second time around? I was catching all this stuff that I didn't catch the first time around.

The only downside to watching this movie too much is that it does kind of drag on after a while.

 

[Nomekop Oen]

To all of the people who ever complained that all of the movies are just about Ash and watching him save the world,your movie has arrived.So quit yer' whining.


But seriously,I thought the movie was quite good.Make no mistake,this movie is about Lucario,and ONLY Lucario.Ash plays a supporting role this time around and the plot mainly revolves around Lucario and his relationship with Aaron.This also has to be the most subtle movie in the series yet.It's not as epic as some of the last movies have been and there really wasn't a huge threatening menace to be found either.



What really drives this movie is *gasp* character development.It's Lucario trying to cope with what Aaron did to him.And along the way he even becomes jealous and even angered by the apparent bond Ash and Pikachu share.If by some miracle Pokemon USA manages to get this movie into theaters,I can't see the critics taking shots at it as easily as they did with the last movies.(unless they really are that damn spiteful. >=/)

The only downside to watching this movie too much is that it does kind of drag on after a while.

I'm planning on giving the movie a 2nd run in a couple of days,but that's what I'm worried about too.I think this is better than let's say the Celebi movie,but then again I believe the Celebi has good replay value.Guess I'll find out later.

 

[Water Pokémon Master]

Ash saves the world (or at least the Pokemon who are going to die under the tree). If he didn't lend his DBZ spirit bomb wave, Lucario wouldn't had been able to do it on his own with Mew.