Pokemon Origins (October 2013)

[Tara]

Okay so was episode 2 terribly subbed for others at all? The subbing for that episode was a complete joke, whoever did it made it half Spanish and couldn't understand that there was more than just 'their' for there, they're and their.

Sí, era muy molesto para mí también. [/i don't speak Spanish... this is probably obvious.]

 

I mean, yeah, I was wondering was up with that as well.  I could tolerate the misuse of "they're," "their," and "there," but how do you accidentally sub something in both Spanish and English?

Edited October 4, 2013 by Akito

[KrazyBean]

LOL, Red is hacking. You can't Mega Evolve in Gen 1

 

Anyway...Episode 4 is basically Pokemon Z. HOLY CRAP DAT FIGHT!

[Ultimate Waffle]

Fucking fantastic. You either have the option of watching a low quality sub with some latino spice sprinkled in, or a HD sub using the Japanese names which I have no idea what they are

[Strong Bad]

This is the best thing that Pokemon has produced ever. I will be re-watching this multiple times.

[Soniman]

I thought this was really good. The animation was top notch I was fucking amazed at the animation quality during the Pokemon battles themselves. I also loved all the nods and references to the original Red and Blue, it's very faithful to the source material and oh my fucking god THE MUSIC, I thought the original anime had a fantastic musical score and this rivals it in excellence, please release a soundtrack for this soon guys! Also, Gary/Blue/Green is a fucking douche and I love it, that seems to be the one constant across the Pokemon multiverese.

 

I only have two problems, and that's it's rushed as fuck (though it kinda had to be I guess, hopefully they'll fix that in Origins 2 or whatever) skipping over all the Gym Battles save for Brock and Giovanni, all the Pokemon he caught and the evolutions and hell even the Elite 4 matches and 90% of the Green vs Red fight. And I also didn't really like how Red's Pokemon were practical nonentities,  dude caught 150 Pokemon and only 1 of them had a personality,I know they're supposed to be more "animalistic" but I dunno, you lose some charm in that, the closest one who comes to this is Charizard, and I only really thought that at the end.

 

oh yeah one more thing those lifebars in the fights are a dumb idea to me, like I can see where the appeal in doing that is but it makes no sense considering they have no way to know a Pokemon's stamina and also because it makes the fight themselves way to predictable and dictated by who has the best typing (something that was constant until the final match with Green which contradicted it for some reason).

 

So yeah, solid 8/10.

Edited October 4, 2013 by Soniman

[Ultimate Waffle]

Shit the last quarter of Origins was the fucking bomb. I don't know how it managed, but it gave me the feeling of completing a long, amazing anime like Gurren Lagann. Even though alot of things were rushed, you could definitely see all the progress Red has made by the Mewtwo fight. Seriously I wish I could find non-watermarked HD wallpaper versions of the Mega evolution (under water segment) and the still-frame at the end.

I like how they didn't give Red a definite ending either, opting for him instead to go search for the ultra elusive Mew (who was obviously trolling everyone at the end there).

 

But then there was a promo for Pokemon X and Y anime and I just got a bad taste in my mouth.

 

Also does anyone know if the Japanese Blu release will have English subtitiles? If released in America, I doubt they are going to include the original cast and I don't wanna deal with dub voices. Plus the base price is like $36 which isn't bad for anime.

Edited October 4, 2013 by Ultimate Waffle

[KrazyBean]

I'll re-watch this when the English dub arrives...hopefully they've picked decent voice actors.

[Sami]

This is an extremely safe pic but I really hope they get Yuri Lowenthal for Blue. I mean, shit, they already have Naruto as Red, I think Yuri's Sasuke voice would be a really good fit for Blue. 

 

 

As for my thoughts; it was fantastic and I loved it. I only have two problems - 

 

It was rushed as fuck and we missed almost all of the gym battles, and Episode 2 was really dull. I'm a guy who loves Pokemon for the strategy, mindgames, and brute power of a good battle, so missing out on them really felt like a lost opportunity. Couldn't really care less about Cubone or it's mom, especially since they wasted half an episode just talking about it. I'm not suggesting that it be all action all the time, by the way, just to clarify. I just don't want precious time to be wasted on characters that I've had no time to attach myself to when it could be spent on either the ones that I do care about or the battles themselves. Lord knows I'd rather see a blood-pumping battle with Lt. Surge than 15 minutes of exposition about Team Rocket pushing old men down flights of stairs. This really should be made into a side-series. Sonic's had two shows running at once before - why can't Pokemon?

 

Loved everything else. I loved Giovanni's development, I love Blue's development (I like how he isn't really just an asshole, just someone who has huge expectations of himself; I actually know someone in real life that he reminds me of), and I loved seeing Red and Charizard become better fighters.

 

Ash can fuck off. This series is the one that's worth watching. If the Blue fight had been extended it no doubt would have been leagues better than Ash v. Paul, and that was the best fight out of all ten million episodes of that garbage. Feel free to correct me, Soniman - if there's another good battle I'm up for watching, especially if it's better than Ash v. Paul.

[Ultimate Waffle]

I'll re-watch this when the English dub arrives...hopefully they've picked decent voice actors.

It'll be done by the same company that does the regular anime dub.

 

 

So no

[Soniman]

Ash can fuck off. This series is the one that's worth watching. If the Blue fight had been extended it no doubt would have been leagues better than Ash v. Paul, and that was the best fight out of all ten million episodes of that garbage. Feel free to correct me, Soniman - if there's another good battle I'm up for watching, especially if it's better than Ash v. Paul.

 

Well since I'm now seen as the only guy in this topic who doesn't think the anime is a complete abomination guess ill list em.

 

>Ash vs Drake

>Ash vs Claire/Falkner

>Ash vs Brawly/Juan/Drake/and the 6v6 matches in the Hoenn League

>Ash vs most of the Sinnoh Gym leaders and all of his Sinnoh gym matches.

>Ash vs Roxie

 

 

Also, I don't feel Green vs Red isn't as good because as Ash v Paul, while it's a a thousand times prettier, it's not much smarter than the anime's Gary vs Ash fight, I remember you criticizing how stupid that Heracross could beat Magamar despite the obvious type disadvantage and yet Blastoise managed to beat Jolteon and then lost to Charizard, and the entire movie up to that point made it very clear that those with type advantages would usually win 90% of the time...

 

It'll be done by the same company that does the regular anime dub.

 

 

So no

Protip: Ash isn't the only character who talks in that show.

Edited October 5, 2013 by Soniman

[Dantemustdie00]

You call Ash vs Roxie good??

 

The gal pratically wiped the floor with Ash's Pokemon, and even showed mercy by offering a Pecha Berry or whatever cures Poison.

 

I don't know, it was somewhat good, but If I were Ashy Boy, I think I'd be a little more embarrased if she only destroyed all of my team with only 3 pokemon.

 

I though the battle against Clay was his best best in Unova.

[Brad]

I absolutely loved this special - the music, the characters and the animation were all spot on. Taking the game with the most basic story, arguably, of all the games and fleshing it out so well, especially with characters likes Giovanni, was a real treat to watch. All the characters felt like they had been lifted exactly from my thoughts of them from days gone by, and the way they interacted with each other was wonderful. And the battles were a treat to watch, I just wish they weren't so cut up and there was more consistent fighting. 

 

I see a lot of shit about how this was a Charizard glamouring fest, but I would completely disagree. I think it was meant to show the bond between a trainer and their initial Pokemon which they began their adventure with as extremely strong, making it a favourite and the most powerful. Hell, when I was a kid I was just the same. My Charizard would be the powerhouse of my team and always have the special spot, and be the one the got the most attention and training. In a weird way, I guess I could mirror the bond that the Red character had with his Charizard, though mine is purely pixels on a screen.

 

Hopefully the English dub doesn't ruin this absolute treat of a mini series. *slow clap*

Edited October 5, 2013 by Spooky Symbotic

[Soniman]

You call Ash vs Roxie good??

 

The gal pratically wiped the floor with Ash's Pokemon, and even showed mercy by offering a Pecha Berry or whatever cures Poison.

 

I don't know, it was somewhat good, but If I were Ashy Boy, I think I'd be a little more embarrased if she only destroyed all of my team with only 3 pokemon.

 

I though the battle against Clay was his best best in Unova.

 

I forgot about the Clay match, yeah that was a really good fight, I just thought of Roxie because of my Roxie bias and the fact that the battle itself was pretty hype despite the fact that Roxie had to basically handicap herslef for Ash to win.

[Tails spin]

I'm sorry but I'm still laughing after rewatching ep 4 sub titled. They go on about there only being 149 known Pokémon. Then Mewtwo is supposedly found and is giving the title of 150. Then out of the blue Fuji mentions the Kalos region. Really if you know of another region and I assume professors talk wouldn't you know of another set of pokemon that belong to that said region. It then shoehorns the mega evolution only to revert itself back to the "hey mewtwo is a child, I have to find Mew". Advertising its a fun thing.

[Sami]

Well since I'm now seen as the only guy in this topic who doesn't think the anime is a complete abomination guess ill list em.

 

>Ash vs Drake

>Ash vs Claire/Falkner

>Ash vs Brawly/Juan/Drake/and the 6v6 matches in the Hoenn League

>Ash vs most of the Sinnoh Gym leaders and all of his Sinnoh gym matches.

>Ash vs Roxie

 

 

Also, I don't feel Green vs Red isn't as good because as Ash v Paul, while it's a a thousand times prettier, it's not much smarter than the anime's Gary vs Ash fight, I remember you criticizing how stupid that Heracross could beat Magamar despite the obvious type disadvantage and yet Blastoise managed to beat Jolteon and then lost to Charizard, and the entire movie up to that point made it very clear that those with type advantages would usually win 90% of the time...

 

He distracted him with Fire Spin to boost his speed and rushed in for a point blank Fire Blast to the face. I thought that was pretty smart. A lot of emphasis was placed on how "in sync" you are with your Pokemon, and it wasn't so much a case of "MY BLASTOISE IS MADE OF THE BEST SHIT EVER AND CAN TAKE ALL OF YOUR ATTACKS HAHAHAHAHA" as much as "lol I shot you in the face before you could use your type advantage". Blastoise was faster and got a strong attack in before Red got the chance to hit him.

 

It's very different from shit like "Heh... you've got grass types, huh? Alright... PIKACHU USE THUNDERBOLT! ... OH NO WHY DIDN'T IT WORK OH GOD I'M LOSING".

 

 

Edit - I mean, I'm not saying that this is better simply on the merits that it's a lot prettier (which anyone will agree it obviously is), it's just smarter and more entertaining with its battles. Maybe Charizard should have flown around lighting the field on fire while Blastoise sat there twiddling his thumbs. #QUALITY

Edited October 5, 2013 by Discoid

[Eternal EX]

Well since I'm now seen as the only guy in this topic who doesn't think the anime is a complete abomination guess ill list em.

 

>Ash vs Drake

>Ash vs Claire/Falkner

>Ash vs Brawly/Juan/Drake/and the 6v6 matches in the Hoenn League

>Ash vs most of the Sinnoh Gym leaders and all of his Sinnoh gym matches.

>Ash vs Roxie

 

 

Also, I don't feel Green vs Red isn't as good because as Ash v Paul, while it's a a thousand times prettier, it's not much smarter than the anime's Gary vs Ash fight, I remember you criticizing how stupid that Heracross could beat Magamar despite the obvious type disadvantage and yet Blastoise managed to beat Jolteon and then lost to Charizard, and the entire movie up to that point made it very clear that those with type advantages would usually win 90% of the time...

Actually, I thought Ash vs Gary in Johto was damn good. Not as killer as Ash vs Paul but up there in what I would assume top 5. In Unova though, he had absolutely no good battles. Sinnoh is where he should have won and ended the series. Johto and Hoenn were decent fights. Not great, nor lame. Just decent. Same for Johto. All though, Ash vs that Orange lead Champion (what's his name) was kick ass. 5 pokemon vs Dragonite. 

[-Mark-]

Also does anyone know if the Japanese Blu release will have English subtitiles? If released in America, I doubt they are going to include the original cast and I don't wanna deal with dub voices. Plus the base price is like $36 which isn't bad for anime.

 

Whilst it's not unheard of, the odds of a Japanese release having English subtitles are slim to none for almost anything. Hell, a lot of the Japanese DVDs I have don't even have Japanese subtitles (a grand total of one out of about 15 Japanese DVDs has any subtitles to speak of whatsoever, so god help deaf Japanese people), let alone English ones.

[Tails spin]

 All though, Ash vs that Orange lead Champion (what's his name) was kick ass. 5 pokemon vs Dragonite. 

Drake, not to be confused with the Hoenn Elite Four Member Drake

[Ultimate Waffle]

Whilst it's not unheard of, the odds of a Japanese release having English subtitles are slim to none for almost anything. Hell, a lot of the Japanese DVDs I have don't even have Japanese subtitles (a grand total of one out of about 15 Japanese DVDs has any subtitles to speak of whatsoever, so god help deaf Japanese people), let alone English ones.

 

Ugh, yeah that's what has been keeping me from importing Japanese blurays. I have a region free player but I want to understand whats going on to. I was hoping I would be in luck since this is a kid's show.

 

Oh well, if the US release does come and they don't have the original cast but instead opt for a most likely crappy dub, I'll just import the Japanese version and print out a script or something lol

[Sami]

Actually, I thought Ash vs Gary in Johto was damn good. Not as killer as Ash vs Paul but up there in what I would assume top 5.

 

... Have you seen it recently? I'm not being sarcastic, I'm genuinely curious. 

 

That battle was complete garbage.

[Eternal EX]

... Have you seen it recently? I'm not being sarcastic, I'm genuinely curious. 

 

That battle was complete garbage.

 

Nope. I probably should. 

 

Wait........why are we talking heavily about the Main anime here? Thought I'd ask.

[Kuzu]

We're comparing the quality of the battles...it was inevitable.

[Conando]

Is it bad that perhaps the biggest plus to me is that the Pokemon make animal sounds rather than shouting their names? Even the random Pikachu makes mouse like noises.

Edited October 6, 2013 by Wreck-It Ralph

[Soniman]

Nah man, I like it to, I gotta admit them shouting their own names would pretty much clash terribly with the more realistic style they were going for.

 

I can only hope the dub takes notice of this and does the same thing.

[Kuzu]

That's one of the highlights for me, it really makes the Pokemon more animalistic as they should be.