Virtual pets were a big phenomenon of the 90s like Tamagotchi, you can even tack on stuffed animals like Furrbies and Beanie Babies, and Pokemon was merely a subject of this growing trend. Other shows and video games arrived quickly thereafter like Digimon and Monster Rancher but unfortunately were both, among others, were met with children comparing them to Pokemon and its similarities, not so much their differences. I mentioned before Digimon was able to standout among the rest as at least being a “better” anime by having a different evolution premise, one where the digital monsters could transform to and from their more advanced and stronger selves as well as also having a less than episodic chain of episodes that told a more linear story with arguably more intense (not necessarily dark) themes than Pokemon typically attempted. I also mentioned that Monster Rancher took a brunt of criticism for being too same-y to Pokemon and from the outside looking in the concept had very little going for it whereas the essentially all of its positives (traveling monster companies, the art of collecting said monsters, the ultimate journey etc.) were done far better by its contemporaries.
I don’t support this somewhat popular claim. I think it’s safe to argue that Monster Rancher was likely the show sitting in third place in terms of overall quality and staying power. Pokemon and Digimon are still going stronger in the anime industry whereas Monster Rancher is more so remembered for being a mark of the 90s trend. I think nostalgia plays a part into me even seeking out this show, but I’d argue nostalgia didn’t play a big role at all in even determining my final score. I would argue this show out of the three has the better plot and has my favorite art style too. It may not have as unique of a concept as Pokemon, but the idea of someone finding monsters through taking CDs, whether they be movies, games, or music, and inserting them into your PlayStation console to unearth a new monster to add to your farm was lowkey innovative and something that surprisingly didn’t catch on as well as it could have. I personally haven’t played the video games but from play throughs I’ve watched seem fun enough and something I would have enjoyed plenty as a kid.
When people say “Pokemon clone” they never focus on the differences or lack thereof, typically pointing out a lack of such thing if anything, but even using the term writes off all of the merit it has going for it. If we are just looking at the show, there are virtually no commonalities. Try watching both shows and notice how less similarities there are the further you go through this show. It’s as if there can actually be a show about humans with monster buddies that go on a journey and not be Pokemon. Allow me to further harp on this by going over my synopsis and review.
In one of the earliest examples of an isekai that involves a gamer dropping into a video game world, Genki is a professional Monster Rancher player from Japan who gets warped into the video game itself, inside its own universe, while not subject to that games button mechanics — everything feels real and is a living and breathing world with its own, similar set of laws and physics. This isn’t the same fun-filled video game franchise as Genki knew, it’s a wicked land overrun with demonic creatures and critters who are either being governed or doing the governing themselves under the leadership of the evil Muu. You have your rag-tag group of misfit warriors who gradually assemble as Genki’s journey continues and the stops along the way are met with strife and lay witness to unfortunate stakes.
At one point, a tragic death occurs to that episode’s introduced side character. When a monster “dies” they are turned into a stoned disc clasped in an uprooted entanglement where they are forever sealed away. When I saw this, I nearly geared up, and knew this show was going to make me feel a different way than what I was expecting from critics like YouTuber Billiam who said they couldn’t even finish the show. Now, that monster can be reborn new but the circumstances of nearly impossible and hard to sneak due to the tyrannical ruling the citizens of the land are under. This is as close to Pokémon’s “gotta catch’em all” moniker as it gets, and that’s not even what Genki is trying to do. He’s simply trying to safe the monster world and free himself and return home.
Each of the characters are lovable in their own ways and although each of their designs are more simple than the next, they are distinctly Monster Rancher enough to not be confused with a Pokemon. Looking at the monsters of the main cast and going off of their Japanese names now, Suezo is the icon of the show. Not as memorable or likable of a design as a pikachu, Seuzo represents the design philosophy of the franchise: simple enough to find likable and ideal enough to portray a monster. Suezo, being more or less a walking eyeball with a mouth and rounded yellow eyelid with a protruding tail-like limb, is a wisecracking, impatient, and loud-mouthed member of the crew who provides plenty of comic relief and is enough of a character as a whole for me to like the show and care for the rest of the cast in their journey. Other characters like Ham and Golem are lovable in their own rights but not the most compelling design wise. The former being a literal tall, bipedal rabbit and the latter being, well, a Golem. Rygar and Mochi are both enough to fit that design philosophy I brought up.
Pokemon and Digimon both had monsters that you would look at their designs first and then decide from their appearances and move sets how cool they were. This isn’t really the case for Monster Rancher who admittly have the least appealing designs with no real evolutions, using fusions as the mechanic, and most species of monster being unique through their colors. Example being Suezo being yellow normally but other types being those with a red eye and black skin. Collectively: It’s mostly their personalities and their interactions together that’ll win you over and something that the video games unfortunately lack, at least from my understanding. So if the anime isn’t attributing to your knowledge of the monster personalities, since the designs mostly don’t have much personality to them already, then you’re missing a portion of their canon nature. But that’s neither here nor there and more so a comment on the cross between media and what translates other easily or not.
The animation itself is also pretty good. A show like this, for its time could have been given less to work with but it’s arguably better than most shows out at this point, particularly those shows that extended past multiple seasons in the year. I would not go as far as saying the show looks as good as Pokemon or Digimon did back in the day, but the action and drama always translated well between the cells and met Pokemon and Digimon in its consistency.
The music was fine. Just fine. I watched this show dubbed so I wouldn’t know if this show’s “monster rap” exists subbed if at all, but the “unlock your disc” rap track is certainly where the line is no longer blurred in Monster Rancher attempting to capture the same success as the Pokemon anime and their respective “Pokemon Rap” that so many people can still recite to this day. The beat is basic, the production makes it sound like it’s more of a rock track than it is a hip hop one, and the rapper sounds off flow at some moments just so they can fit in different monster names and info about them. Nothing about it is worth reciting except to mock the repeated phrase “unlock your disc,” as if it were being said by someone with a shit-eating grin as they push up their glasses. Sound overall though is pretty good. It’s average but pretty competent. The background music was varied and proportionate to the settings and situations.
If you were one of those who wrote this show off and just thought of it as a “Pokemon clone” or just a boring kids show, you’ll be pleasantly surprised in all the REAL situations the characters have to endure and the cycle of life, death, morality, and other such difficulties we may go through. There are some genuinely cliffhangers and plot twists that you’ll come across both this and its just as good sequel season. Muu is scary as all hell and looks like he could be from Devilman or an 80s-90s OVA like Urotsukidouji. Despite its lower score on MAL, consider giving this one a shot if you’re bored, have Hulu or even YouTube (there’s a couple playlists with every episode last time I checked, as of this writing) and want to watch something that’s somewhat longer than your average seasonal show while still under 100 total episodes, has that oh-so gorgeous 90s aesthetic, and, sure, is close to feeling like Pokemon without actually being Pokemon.
