Ahh Pokémon. I am a big fan of the video game franchise that kicked off the TCG, anime, manga, figures, plushes and all the other stuff this cashcow produces. Most of these things are of amazing quality especially the anime and manga. In this review I will be covering the most popular story arc the First Generation arc.
Story: Satoshi (Ash) Ketchum is a ten year old boy living in the small-town of Masara (Pallet). He has always wanted to be the number one Pokémon trainer in the world. When it is the day for him to get his first Pokémon he runs late and is unable to choose from the normal Fushigidane (Bulbasaur), Hitokage (Charmander), or Zenigame (Squirtle) as they have all been taken. Okido Hakasae (Professor Oak) gives Satoshi a feisty Pikachu who will grow to become his best friend and ally. Satoshi has a rival and he is a total douchebag. Okido Shigeru (Gary Motherfucking Oak) is always ahead of Satoshi and is a total prick. He lightens up in newer seasons. His starter Pokémon is Zenigame a water type turtle Pokémon. Along the journey Satoshi meets Kasumi (Misty) a tsundere tomboyish "mermaid" who is a water type trainer, and Takeshi (Brock) a rock hard romanticist who aims to become a Pokémon Breeder. Takeshi looks over the two as an older brother type figure. He is cool as hell. Satoshi must battle the eight gym leaders to earn their badges to compete in the Pokémon League Tournament, a semi-regional tournament for the best Pokémon Trainers which contrasts to the Boss Rush in the games. There is a filler arc called the Orange Archipelago arc but it was mostly shit. Satoshi loses the league and gets depression for 10 minutes and then moves on to gen 2.
Art: The art is really well done. The characters have iconic sharp designs and all the Pokémon look better than the ingame sprites in Blue version the most recent game when the anime was made. The backgrounds are really dynamic, and the effects used for moves look great. It does however show its age and does have some off model moments in pivotal scenes.
Sound: The OST is amazing. The orchestrated tracks from the games sound amazing and the anime is well known for it's amazing remixes of popular themes. I really like the remix of the Wild Pokémon theme and the Gym battle theme. The voice acting in the sub is good, but i haven't gotten far enough to know how it compares to more recent seasons. Fun fact: Musashi (Jessie) shares the same voice actor as Ayanami Rei. The dub is somewhat tolerable. It isn't good but the voices are Okay. It gets bad in season 2. Eric Stuart tho fuck yes. The Pokémon voices are very cute in both languages and fit really well. The Openings in both languages are amazing. The sub uses Mesaze Pokémon Master while the Dub uses Gotta Catch Ém All. Both are really catchy tunes and are reused throughout the series. In fact the Japanese Opening can be heard in Pokémon Pinball for the GameBoy Color.
Characters:The characters are a mixed bag. Here is a list of important characters.
Satoshi (Ash)- Energetic 10 year old boy who is a bad Pokémon trainer but wants to be the top trainer
Pikachu- Satoshi's best friend and companion
Takeshi (Brock)- 1st gym leader and second member of the group. Is a romanticist and older brother figure to Satoshi and Kasumi. Wants to be a Pokémon breeder. Glue of the group. Rock type trainer.
Kasumi (Misty)- First member of the group. 2nd Gym leader. Tsundere frenemy of Satoshi who secretly has a crush on him. A tomboy yet girly at the same time. Water type trainer
Togepi- Baby Pokémon Kasumi takes care of
Musashi (Jessie) and Kojiro (James)- Comedic villains who along with their talking Nyarth try to steal Pikachu from Satoshi but are so incompetent and sometimes borderline making the viewer question Kojiro's sexuality, that they become some of anime's most memorable villains up there with Freeza, Madara, The Angels, and the entire fucking Pico OVA series.
Nyarth (Meowth)- Smartest cat around. Able to talk and is very smartmouthed and is a street-smart character due to his tragically hilarious backstory.
Lieutenant Machisu (Surge)- 3rd gym leader. Arnold Schwarzengger wannabe. Edgelord. Electric type trainer.
Erika- 4th Gym Leader. Timid girl. Tends to flowers. Runs an exclusively female gym. Grass type trainer.
Natsume (Sabrina)- 5th Gym Leader. Cold and emotionless woman who controls a doll of a younger version of herself. Mindfucks with her opponents and traps them in her world. Psychic type trainer.
Kyo (Koga)- 6th Gym Leader. Ninja boi. Poision Trainer.
Katsura (Blaine)- Old hippy guy. 7th Gym Leader. Fire type trainer.
Sakaki (Giovanni)- Evil crime boss of team rocket. 8th gym leader.
Mewtwo- Clone of Mew owned by Sakaki that goes rogue.
Hirosie- Satoshi but good. Has Sparky the Pikachu
Gary Motherfucking Oak- 10 badges
I will always enjoy this classic from my childhood and reccomend it highly
