Pokemon Generations

Pokemon. Everyone's grown up on it, it made lots of money and has been many people's childhoods, there's even a long running anime about it, but that's not i'm gonna review.

Pokemon Generations is ambitious, short and entertaining. As a fan of the games the show is basically fanservice, it's a nostalgia blast.

Art: 8/10

The art is great, that is to be expected being animated by 5 different studios, it's definitely improved from the anime (Which is sometimes lackluster), the artstyle isn't brand new but is wonderful nonetheless, seeing all of my favorite scenes from the games animated as well as the fight sequences being as fluid ... and fast as it can be examples being the Kyogre and Groudon scenes, Deoxys vs Rayquaza and the twoi Dragons of Unova, even if some frames look awkward af but overall great in general.

Story: 8/10

The story of Pokemon is vast and wide in the games, this ONA basically adapts a short portion of each generation's story in 3 different episodes that do not connect to each other at all, the pacing might be awkward.
Episode 4 i'm looking at you
The pacing does improve, especially with Gen 5's episodes, which is the best part of this series besides the last episode which is beautiful. Though, the story buckles under it's own screentime, which is 4 minutes long each, nonetheless it still manages to delivers it's story albeit sometimes abruptly.

OST: 8/10

The ost comprises of the soundtracks from the games, which is understandable but it does have a few original tunes (at least it doesn't reuse the same explosions effects which is a blessing.). It's definitely great and memorable personally, it really did incur a bit of nostalgia in me which is probably the reason i enjoyed this ONA so much.

Characters: 9/10

There is no specific protagonist in this show (Looker is probably the protagonist...probably.) but the characters are definitely adapted beautifully, N, Looker, and even Ghetsis. The characters are probably the best part of this series for me, seeing them all talk, instead of just reading them from a text box, Patrick Seitz, one of the best Dub VAs in my opinion did a amazing job as Ghetsis in this short anime, and of course, in what's probably the thing that propelled my rating from a 75 to 85 is AZ. The endgame of Pokemon X and Y had a character named AZ and the anime adapted him wonderfully, from the backstory and to the reunion, the whole character is just chef's kiss as well as Silver, especially Silver in how they made him a complex character, the characters are definitely the highlight of the show.

I don't know what else to say but overall, this show is a short, entertaining that was clearly made for the fans.

2016 was a great year for Pokemon. As for the games, we got Pokemon Sun and Moon which improved on Pokemon's transition to full 3D. We also got Pokemon GO, a mobile game which became one of the most popular and unique mobile games, and as for anime, we got this, Pokemon Generations.

To me, this is what the Pokemon anime should've always been. So many things I disliked about the anime are either gone completely or have been improved on. Firstly, Pokemon Generations stays almost absolutely true to the stories of the games. The series also doesn't focus on the protagonist, but focuses on a ... single character, usually in a scenario which is occurring at the same time within the game, which gives a new perspective and builds upon the lore of the games.

The animation and art style is good, and definitely an improvement from the anime. I always thought the animation in the anime was very lackluster. However, in Generations, I did not see any faults. This is especially noticeable in battle sequences. The battles seem a lot more believable and less "cartoony", which suits this adaptation's darker direction. The series does make the occasional mistake of using too many extreme close up shots during battles, but it wasn't enough to make me dislike this series.

The sound is absolutely brilliant, and one of the best things about Generations. There is some original soundtrack, but also uses music from the games where it is necessary, usually in an orchestral arrangement. They did an amazing job of staying true to the game music and not have the dialogue and the rest of the sound drown it out. The sound in Pokemon battles is also great, with many interesting sounds and avoiding reusing the same explosion sounds over and over (which was a huge problem with the anime). The Pokemon themselves also sound different, and do not say their names anymore and sound much more like monsters. Something as simple as this was a HUGE thing for me and surely for many others, as this change definitely suits the more serious tone Generations was going for. I didn't have any complaints about the English dub either. Sure, some voices didn't suit some characters completely, but overall I think they did the best they could have here, and it did not spoil my enjoyment of the series at all.

Overall, this is a fantastic series for true Pokemon fans, and it is very clear that this was made "for the fans". Many people, myself included, have wanted a darker, more serious anime adaptation of the games for a long time. 3 years ago, we got Origins, which was also a good series which stayed true to its source material, but Generations takes this even further, and spans from the first games up until X and Y. My only real complaint with Generations is the length, at only 4 or so minutes per episode. However, despite this, this is the best anime adaptation we are going to get of the games, unless a full length series is decided to be made. In fact, I was so lost in this series that I forgot completely about the length of the episodes, and truly believed I was watching a real Pokemon anime. And for that, I have to thank Pokemon for making me and many other fans happy.

TL;DR: If you are a fan of the Pokemon Games then watch this to revisit those timeless moments for nostalgia explosions!

Pokemon Generations is an ONA that pays homage to all the fans that played the Pokemon games in the last 20 years. From the black and white days of Kanto region to the bright colour 3D days of Kalos region, the anime captures a quintessential moment from each of the video game. The story isn't simple nor complex, they are just clips from the game accentuated to new heights. Though the episodes aren't connected to one another, together delivers the nostalgic explosions. Although the ... first few episode's pacing will leave you feeling disjointed but later on the pacing improves to establish a good satisfying ending. This anime doesn't have any plot holes nor any unexpected twists or turns since it's just moments from the game reanimated. However, the villains and the legendary pokemons really stand out in this series. It could be the nostalgia factor of seeing the video game characters coming to life but the voice actors for both the dub and sub should receive the real credit for making them this fleshed out.

To be fair, for an ONA, this show really stands out in terms of its Art and Sound. The artists use of hand-drawn animation in the first few episodes to blended CGI for the latter part of the show highlights how the game franchise evolved over the 20 years. This transition aspect makes it memorable for the viewers. Despite all, the pokemon battle animations were not blended well but one must keep in mind this is also not from a big budget studio. Regardless, most of the drawings of the characters reflected well from the game and each character did stand out in their own way. Moreover, what the ONA lacked in the art department, it made itself up in the sound department. The show doesn't have an OP & ED song but the beginning of the first episode with the classic opening sequence from the first original handheld game really evokes all the nostalgia from the childhood. Each subsequent episode the sound director made improvements upon that initial opening songs to showcase its 20 years journey. Though I won't listen to the OP/ED song again but for an one time experience it's good, nothing great.

Overall, Pokemon Generations is a good standalone ONA. Its purpose was to evoke nostalgia and show how far this gaming franchise came in the last 20 years and it did just that. Surely fans of the franchise will only see the positives, however there were few negative aspects, such as disjointed pacing, improper animation blending and falling short in the background score. Regardless, if you want to spend an hour just reliving your childhood memories with endless nostalgia, definitely hit up this anime for a one-night stand sort of experience.

P.S. Thank you for reading my review. I'm always open to criticism and suggestions. I hope you found this short but supaishi review helpful.