In the meantime, as you could tell, I really like Pokémon from all I've done on this blog. I concede that the anime has a formulaic story structure and is every bit about marketing as it is about storytelling, but I enjoy it; and I'm not above pointing it things it could do without.
My favorite anime is Gurren Lagann, followed by One Piece and Azumanga Daioh, but Pokémon is in the top 10. I personally don't find Ash as bad as other people say, especially after some of the other characters I've come across.
Even so, as the XY anime is about to come out, there's another Pokémon anime in the pipeline. It is called Pokémon Origins.
This new adaptation is seeking to be truer to the games, as well as draw from the well-regarded Pokémon Special (known in the US as Pokémon Adventures) as influence. It will be adapting the very first games, Pokémon Red and Green as a sort of special on October 2.
Looking at the launch trailer, it's clear there's a lot of hype for this. Why? Well let me show you.
Yep, it starts off right with showing the game played on the original gray brick of a Game Boy for all you old fogey fans (I never owned one, but I have played it. My first Game Boy was a Game Boy Color with a copy of Pokémon Yellow.).
Next is Red, in his Fire Red and Leaf Green attire (I never played Fire Red and Leaf Green). People have been clamoring for a Pokémon anime with him as the lead for some time; and now it's finally here.
Here he is grappling with his rival Green (because they were released in the US as Pokémon Red and Blue, the names were switched when Special started being printed in the US. He wasn't referred to as Green until Fire Red and Leaf Green came out).
Here is Charmander clashing with Geodude, presumably in Red having a gym battle with Brock. Suffice to say, Brock is probably not going to be a horny teenager who never gets any in this special.
Lastly, here is a Blastoise, my favorite Kanto Stage 2 Starter and my favorite Pokémon of the original 151.
So as you can tell, Nintendo and ShoPro are putting their all into this. I am not one of the people who just wanted to gut the main anime in favor of one like this. I merely wanted one like this as another option. If you will, an alternative for older viewers.
It may very well be darker, but I have been very carefully trying to tell people there's a difference between "darkness with meaning" and "darkness just because you can". When you look at something like Pokémon Apocalypse, people are quick to go; "Oh, that's how you make a dark Pokémon. Make Giovanni swear, Brock smoke, and Jigglypuff give out lap dances; then make Ash and Misty apathetic assholes." It's going to turn the next generation of fans into nihilists!
No, folks, this is the correct way to do it. Make it so the story is dark and the characters are easy to latch onto; but be sure that the series remains fun and entertaining to watch. The fact of the matter is, if you make your series without any trace of hope and no characters to endear yourself to, the audience will lose interest and they won't want to keep watching/reading/playing. That is why people like Special and other darker Pokémon stories. Others I recommend include Diamond and Pearl, Best Wishes (especially Episode N), Electric Tale of Pikachu, and Pokémon Diamond and Pearl Adventure. The games have also included plenty of dark elements, and even the movies and the Kanto series have plenty of dark moments!
This goes for any anime as well. If you make your atmosphere totally hopeless and don't give the audience any characters you can comfortably root for; your conquest to find viewers is doomed.
Having said this, I can say that this will make Pokémon spectacularly huge again. I know the main anime still is a big ratings draw in both Japan and the US, but I can see this becoming a zeitgeist-crossing blockbuster in the vein of Star Wars or The Avengers. They have already cast plenty of big names for the voices, and the animation the teaser almost looks like something done by Studio Ghibli.
So, with this in mind, I can say that I will be willing to support this and the main anime for years to come. Also, it's my 100th post. So, I'm going to get to work on posting Endless 8 Part 7 and writing Endless 8 Part 8 (I have the screencaps taken for the latter.). See you space cowboy!
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