Pokemon Movie 05: Mizu no Miyako no Mamorigami Latias to Latios

This is one of my favourite movie of the Poke series.
I just love the story, the music, the art. The storyline is very nice written, the characters are ofc what we are used to :) I prefer the "older" pokemon storyline, and i think this was the last one which made me whatch it without going away from it in the middle.

Pokémon Heroes: Latios and Latias is a strange movie. Unlike the older movies which intertwined the story and characters, this movie (un)intentionally separates the two into their mostly self-contained scenes. Thus, when talking about why this movie is good, we're practically talking about a completely different movie than the one we have in mind while discussing the bad.

Lets get the bad over with first. Continuing the now grand tradition of rushed and poorly thought out plots, here we have a machine which lacks any real gounding in the real world and is bound only by the power of plot necessity. There are two big questions ... which arise from watching the movie - How did ancients build a mech-pod with a VR interface and magic cameras all over the city? How do infinite prison bars materialize all over the city? Both of these are answered with the power of Latios and Latias, of course. It just isn't tought out, at all.

On the brighter side of things, the town looks lovely and Venice, the city this movie was modeled on, can only wish to be this beautiful. Locations in this movie are amazingly detailed and ooze with atmosphere, arguably more so than any Pokemon movie since. Coupled with a really great soundtrack to complement it, the movie becomes an unforgetable cozy experience. As a stand out song, I have to mention "Mistery Girl, Again", a great example of music being synced with a scene in an intricate way.

Since the plot is paper thin, the movie has to rely on something beyond the drive towards a distinct goal. While some later movies utilized daily life in Ash's journey to pad out the running time, this one embraces that reality and shapes itself into a bunch of slice of life scenes which slowly turn the movie into a character relationship piece.

After we're treated to an engaging and visually creative opening through a pokemon race, the movie lets us soak in the atmosphere of the city for a few minutes. Not overstaying its welcome, we're soon introduced to a mute girl, Latias in disguise. After a few fun adventures, Ash finds himself in direct contact with two siblings, Latios & Latias.

What makes the movie tick are the regular interactions between Ash, Latias and Latios. Unlike questionable relationships Ash had with others in previous and will have in future movies, you can really feel the connection between them here.

Eventually a duo of thieves steal the Soul Dew, a jewl which grants its wielder control of the city's defense systems. This leads to a tragic situation. While the aformentioned machine is a lazy plot McGuffin, it's used to steer character interactions into an arc and give them a sense of purpose. While certainly a thorn in the side of this movie, it doesn't detract from the overall experience much.

At the very end of the movie, we get to witness Ash's first kiss. Latias in her human form thanks him for everything he's done for her, cementing this as the weirdest Pokemon movie yet.

Guardian Gods of the Capital of Water: Latias and Latios is a comfy cartoon about a special day in Ash's life. Its B plot is kind of a mistake in itself, but is easily glanced over. Beyond that, the movie is an extremely enjoyable experience in the vein of Aria. I doubt we'll get something like it ever again, so even if it ain't the greatest thing since baked bread, it should still be cherished as one of the best Pokemon episodes.

Another Pokémon movie with a decent storyline, beautiful art, and our familiar characters.

Misty and Brock didn't get all that much screen time in this one since the plot revolves around Ash and his adventures with Latias and Latios.

Another refreshing change was that besides our familiar Team Rocket (Jessie, James and Meowth), we had another team (Annie and Oakley), who had more style than our usual arch enemies, and they actually managed to cause some real mayhem.

The plot was okay, but I felt that it lacked a little in focus and inventiveness; it seemed same things/themes were repeated, and although the ending was pretty good, the ... movie left me wanting for more. An okay Pokémon movie, altogether.

Of all the movies with the original trio, this is the one I never remember for some reason, and I'm really not sure why. It's not a bad movie. Maybe not one of Pokémon's best, but still perfectly enjoyable.

There are some low points. The villains aren't at all memorable. Team Rocket is there just to be there. Even Misty and Brock are there just to be there in this one. (Seriously, I don't think there's any other movie where they do less.) Even Ash doesn't really learn or grow in any meaningful way. It felt like a typical showcase movie-- introducing kids to the ... new legendaries. But none of this was really off-putting to me. (The only thing I truly disliked was the screeching sound Latias and Latios make to communicate; was ready to mute that before the movie was half over...)

But what really stuck out to me was the visuals. Maybe it was just the design of the town, but everything in this movie looked beautiful. So yeah, maybe not the best Pokemon movie out there, but it didn't get on my nerves in any major way, so I'd say it's served its purpose.

Bear in mind I haven't watched this since i was a child around 8 or 7.

This movie was the first time I've watched anything from the Pokemon movie franchise and I still hold it dear to my heart because it was the first anime I saw. Sure the graphics weren't that good at the time but the story of latias and latios working together with ash and their strong bond was enough to get me hooked. If i re watched this movie i probably will be singing a different tune but for now this is my song.

In my eyes its also a classic to me ... since it is from my childhood memories. It is also a classic because it's got the basics of any great anime movie, The bad guy(s), the good guy(s) and their goal to protect something or someone. So i feel if you want to have an enjoyable time i recommend you watch this anime movie because it is worth your time.

woot, another pokemon movie! fifth in the series, pokemon heroes features two of my favorite legendary pokemon: latios and latias! well to start off, i sorta liked the story in that it centers around the history of just one city. it isn't jumping all over the place or threatening the world, just one city. the whole back story of how the city was once saved and how it effects the present tied the storyline together. other than that, it is classic pokemon. ash and his friend trying to save the city along side the two eon pokemon. i found some good use of pokemon but ... there wasn't really any full out battles in this movie for once. that's okay though, can't repeat the same thing over and over again right? there was a small one at the beginning but no large scale stuff. the animation was pretty good. i liked how they tried to give the city a sort of 3d effect like we are actually there in the movie. that happens at several points but at other times, it was traditional styled art. i loved all the voice actors being original which is always great for a movie based off a series. i liked the music as well, it seemed well placed and i loved the original theme at the beginning of the movie. all the characters were awesome as well. the original hero group from the first series is back with the addition of a few new ones. potentially the cutest character personality wise was latias with how much she seemed to like ash from the very start. overall, this was a pretty good movie that i would watch again given the chance. anyone that enjoyed the first four would find this worth checking out in my opinion. :D

Pokemon Heroes was one of the few Pokemon movies I never saw as a kid, as well as the first one that showcased new Pokemon from the third generation, which is wicked cool! This signaled that what you thought was only Pokemon times two, was now Pokemon times THREE. This was a very important shift for myself and many other fans, initiating the tradition of featuring the upcoming generation's legendary Pokemon in the movies of the current one. Additionally, it was the last movie to feature Ash's original hat and outfit, and Misty! It's significance is realized by it's solid, ambitious animation and formulaic fulfillment, ... with a fat portion of nostalgia.

Pokemon movies of this era looked fantastic, and Heroes is no exception. Due in no small part to this being the last movie featuring Ash's original outfit, it resembles classic Pokemon much more strongly than modern. The key character animation is crisp, and the color palettes really pop. The CG is this movie is much more ambitious, well executed, and pervasive than its predecessors. It's used for everything from crowds, flying the camera through environments, water, and intricate objects and set pieces that wouldn't have been feasible to hand draw. Not all of the textures are so great, and a few times it looks like a GameCube game, but I'm overall very impressed at how well it was incorporated for 2003. After a quick Bulbapedia check, it appears the Pokemon movies weren't animated digitally until a few movies after this one, making the depth of CG incorporation that much more impressive.

The score is excellent and evocative; even the music in the reused opening scene from the last movie instantly made me well up inside. The inclusion of the Pokemon: Master Quest theme song immediately got me pumped and into the action, because it's one of my favorite openings after the iconic first one. The dub is just great. The main cast brings out tons of nostalgia in me, and the movie characters have a similar feel to how every voice in the 4Kids dub was directed. Latios and Latias are either going to be hilarious or grating to your ears. Their near ceaseless, high pitched wailing leaves me wondering if the actor's performance was pitch shifted digitally, but I find much more amusement in imagining that someone was paid to scream through their nose for hours.

You should already know what to expect for the characters. Ash, Brock, Misty, and Team Rocket have been the same for nearly two decades. As for the movie characters, I would say they're bland at best. The Team Rocket "Dirty Pair" as I call them are the type to pull off a heist and revel in their success, without much more depth. The girl and grandfather who are friends to the legendary duo aren't terribly well developed either, but have at least some sympathetic qualities. I did find myself a bit dumbfounded by the depth of Ash's stupidity in one sequence, where he helps a silent girl escape from her pursuers. She runs away from him once they're safe, so what's the only logical course of action to take the next time you see this girl? Chase after her, of course! Poor Ash, you should really just stick to battling.

As always, the story revolves around Ash and company encountering the featured legendary Pokemon. I tried to recount the plot in my head afterwards, and all I could come up with is that the Dirty Pair tries to steal a magical item that keeps Venice Island... Wet? Like most Pokemon movies, it's not super important. The ending probably would have had a bigger emotional impact on me if I had seen it as a kid, but as it is, I suppose it's pretty touching.

Who should watch Pokemon Heroes? I would recommend it to any Pokemon fan, unless you we're never enthused by generations two or three. It could also be worth the watch if you're intrigued by the progression and utilization of CG in anime like I am, but otherwise this is nothing more than a pretty commercial.

After seeing the previous film, 4Ever, my expectations weren't really all that high for this movie. I'd also like to state that my review is over the American release of the film, more specifically the version that comes in the Miramax Pokemon Collector's Set. So if there's any scenes that were cut out that would have affected the score, they won't be counted here.

Story: This one actually surprised me in a lot of ways. For starters, the movie doesn't start or introduce Ash with another Pokemon battle, like the previous 4 films did. Instead, it's a Pokemon race, which could still be considered a battle, ... but it's at least trying to be different, and I applaud that. It also deals with legit death. I'm not kidding. A character does die by the time the movie is finished. There's none of that tears of life stuff from the first movie or the time travelling screw up from the fourth. This character stays dead. However, there is one thing that I just don't understand. They keep this gigantic machine that's only purpose is to bring back two terrible Pokemon and then destroy the city. It can only be powered by the mystical Soul Dew and the power of Latios. Why do they keep this machine around? It's not like the Soul Dew is in some top secret place that absolutely no one knows exists...Ok it kinda is, but a few people do know where this is, so it's not hidden that well. As for requiring the power of Latios, if the previous 4 movies have taught us anything, it's that legendary Pokemon aren't exactly the hardest to corrupt (see the first movie or 4Ever) or capture (see 2000 or 4Ever). So yeah. They basically have the one machine that can completely wipe their town off the face of the planet in plain sight and no one seems to care.

Art: The artwork is extremely good for the movie, almost too good. By that, I mean that there's times where the characters don't really mix well with the surroundings and seem more like someone taped cartoon characters onto a painting at a museum. However, those moments are far and few between since there's a lot of first-person shots where you can admire just how much work was put into designing this city.

Sound: This is most likely the lowest score for the movie. There's not a whole lot of memorable tracks, besides the opening Master Quest theme. The rest, while works wonderfully for the movie, aren't memorable after you've finished watching them. As for the dubb's voice acting, it's good, but not great. It's far better than the voice acting from previous films in the series, but still isn't anything note-worthy.

Character: Aside from Ash, Misty, and Brock, the other characters are enjoyable. I really liked how the legendaries for this film came in a pair and weren't always seen fighting (First Movie and 2000) or were only seen together when the plot required they be together (4Ever). They actually spend just about every moment together either playing or Latios being extremely protective over Latias, which I love. Just another thing that separates this film from the previous 4. Because of this, the two become really likable and I ended up caring more for both of them than I did for any previous legendary (I'm not counting Entei because, at the time I'm writing this, I have yet to see the third movie). However, Latios and Latias are really the only interesting characters here. The villains are just more Team Rocket members, so, as seen with 4Ever, they don't require any reason to be doing what they're doing. Then you have Bianca and her grandfather, Lorenzo, who really only spout out exposition most of the time.

Enjoyment: After watching the First Movie and 4Ever, this was extremely entertaining. While there were a few things that bugged me, they didn't get too much in the way of my overall enjoyment of the film.

A step up from the fourth, though not as good as the first 3.

The main storyline started out boring, but it got very interesting once the Soul Dew was introduced. Things really picked up after that, and it stayed engaging until the end.

There was some nice bits of humor throughout the movie, and nice action. Latias was sort of annoying, however.

But then there's the animation...yipes. The animation in this movie was OUTSTANDING. Pretty much every scene in the movie looked lovely, and the scenery and atmosphere of Alto Mare was captured beautifully. In fact, a good argument could be made that this has the ... best animation in the series. And once again, the climactic scene was amazingly well-done.

Once again, a good movie and one i'd recommend to any fan.

I love this movie so so so SO MUCH!!!

This movie is the pinnacle of my childhood, the movie that made me fall in love with the Pokémon universe and the movie that made me discover Latias, who to this day is still my favorite Pokémon.

I had completely forgotten about the water chariot race, and it’s by far one of the best intro to a Pokémon movie. Now that I’ve rewatched this masterpiece, I vividly remember being awed by the race as a child

There’s such a nostalgic aspect when rewatching old Pokémon movies. The last time I’ve watched this was maybe 8 or 9 years ... ago, long overdue! I don’t know how to better explain it, but the Latios & Latias duo is so iconic. It’s far from perfect, but it’s my kind of perfect and I will forever cherish this movie!

Latias >>>>>>>>>

This is definitely my favorite Pokémon movie. The storyline is interesting. Ash, Misty, and Brock are in the city of Alto Mare, which seems to be heavily inspired by the city of Venice, Italy. Very cool. The guardians of the city are the Pokémon Latios and Latias, who Ash later meets and befriends. Little do they know, Team Rocket duo Annie and Oakly are also in Alto Mare with evil intention. They want to capture Latios and Latias and use their power to take control of a machine known as the Defense Mechanism of Alto Mare. This movie has interesting story and good characters. Latios ... and Latias have become my favorite Pokémon and they have been for a long time. This Pokémon Movie has also been my favorite.