Anthropomorphic Pokémon
Now with Pokémon Mystery Dungeon now available in the UK, this brings a major paradigm shift in the way we view Pokémon.
Currently, in the Pokémon games, you play the part of a trainer, capturing the creatures we call Pokémon, to battle. They are just creatures, like pets, that you keep with you. They don’t act on their own without action from their human trainers.
In the anime, there is a slight difference. In an effort to enable us to communicate with Pokémon in “Poké-speak”, as it were, we have Meowth, who possesses some human characteristics, such as the ability to talk and stand upright (see the episode Go West, Young Meowth/Nyaasu No AIUEO for more details), but more importantly, the ability to act independently of Jessie and James. That is, Meowth possesses a high degree of anthropomorphism (a display of human characteristics). In the TV series, he is more or less the only one, though in the episode Pikachu’s Goodbye, we see the Annoying Yellow Rat exhibiting some human traits, compared to the wild ones.
Further, in the movies, the main Pokémon featured in the movie usually also possesses varying degrees of human characteristics. Notably, Celebi and Jirachi (and Mew!) seem to fall largely outside of this remit:
Movie 1: Mewtwo
Movie 2: Lugia
Movie 3: Entei
Movie 5: Latias and Latios (though they don’t talk)
Movie 7: Deoxys (and to a lesser extent Rayquaza)
Movie 8: Rukario
Interestingly, with the exception of Rukario (and the ubiquitous Meowth), all of the other anthropomorphic Pokémon are legendary.
However, this is all about to change. Mystery Dungeon has the main protagonists being Pokémon, acting on their own, with no trainer, in their own human-free Poké-land.
My copy is on order and should be here by the end of the week. Guess what I’ll be spending my weekend doing…
Topics: Lost in Translation | No Comments »
The designers must be running out of ideas…
Oh dear, I thought an electric sheep and a fire chicken (self-basting?) were bad enough. And the baby Sudowoodo (Bonsly) and Snorlax (Munchlax) were scraping the bottom of the barrel. Or so I thought. As if baby pokémon weren’t bad enough without being so dreadful. Now we have even more f***ing baby pokémon:
Pinpuku (Happiny), a baby Chansey
Mime Jr, a baby Mr Mime
Tamanta (Mantyke), a baby Mantine
Subomi (Budew), a baby Roselia
Riishan (Chingling), a baby Chimecho, and finally:
Rioru, a baby Rukario (ok so this one isn’t so bad).
What next, a baby Pinsir? A calf-like pokémon that evolves into Tauros or Miltank?
At least the evolutions aren’t so bad:
Magneton (Reakoiru) -> Jibakoiru (Magnezone)
Lickitung (Beroringa) -> Beroberuto (Lickilicky)
Rhydon (Saidon) -> Dosaidon (Rhyperior)
Electabuzz -> Erekiburu (Electivire)
Magmar (Buubaa) -> Buubaan (Magmortar)
Eevee -> Riifia and Gureishia (are we eventually going to get evolutions of Eevee into all seventeen types?) (Leafeon and Glaceon)
Porygon 2 -> Porygon Z (like Dragonball?)
Togetic -> Togekissu (as useless as that crying egg?) (Togekiss)
Aipom -> Etebousu (Ambipom)
Yanyanma -> Megayanma (Yanmega)
Murkrow (Yamikarasu) -> Donkarasu (Honchkrow)
Misdreavus (Muuma) -> Muumaaji (Mismagius)
Gligar -> Guraion (Gliscor)
Sneasel -> Weavile
Piloswine (Urimuu) -> Manmuu (Mamoswine)
Kirlia -> Erureido (an alternate evolution from a male Kirlia only) (Gallade)
Nosepass -> Dainozu (Probopass)
Roselia -> Rozureido (and with Subomii, that makes three in that sequence) (Roserade)
Dusclops -> Yonowaaru (Dusknoir)
Snorunt -> Yukimenoko (an alternate to Glalie) (Froslass)
Topics: Reviews—Games | No Comments »
ミュウと波導の勇者ルカリオ (Mew and the Wave-Guiding Hero Rukario) (Japanese movie review)
It has arrived at last! I haven’t got the time to watch it yet though. Strange, this arrived today. I ordered it from amazon.co.jp two days after I received the email from amazon.com that my pre-ordered US version was despatched, which hasn’t yet arrived. Review to follow. My two box sets of Pokémon Advance (season 6) arrived today also.
I should point out that I do not speak Japanese, so I have only been able to pick up on what is going on by the action.
In all, this was dull and predictable but otherwise enjoyable. Rukario’s character was, at first, as stoic as to be expected, and gives Ash a well-deserved dunking (and had me shouting out, “Drown the twerp! Drown the twerp!”). But all too quickly, he turned into being all buddy-buddy-like with Ash. He’d have been best remaining as a somewhat aloof and removed character throughout, like Vegeta (Dragonball Z) or Akito Hayama (Kodomo No Omocha). Then again, that might have made him into a character clone of Mewtwo (yes, pun intended!). And yet again, we see Max is an idiot! You don’t give chocolate to a dog!
Let’s see… narrow bridge, all the heroes on one side, the three Regis chasing them on the other. How do we stop the Regis? Blow up the bridge of course.
Now, we know that The Twerp has the capability to control ki, excuse me, “aura”, Z-fighter-style. Will he develop this skill? Or will the only ki we see from him be the (reverse) genki-dama that he does with Rukario at the end of the movie? I guess the latter…
Topics: Reviews—Movies | No Comments »
Pikachu's Global Adventure
Pikachu’s Global Adventure—The Rise and Fall of Pokémon is a compendium of short essays on the world of Pokémon, compiled by Joseph Tobin. It is good in parts, explaining the perceptions of Pokémon around the world, in Japan, in North America, in France and Israel, and it looks at the use of Pokémon in teaching. In fact, the start of the previous article was taken from an excerpt of Carole Weatherford’s article as quoted in this book.
The primary error in the book is its assumption that Pokémon has fallen. As we know, Pokémon has not fallen! If Pokémon has fallen, please explain the current release of the ninth movie, and the tenth in production (due Summer 2007 in Japan), the release and immediate success of Pokémon Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald (unheard-of when the book was produced), and the highly-anticipated release of Diamond/Pearl—I think the authors can’t come to terms with the shift in Poké-fans from rugrats/tweeny-boppers to household-income-earners. And second, it is inexcusable for the book to go to print with such misprints as “Diglet” and “Kengaskhan”.
Topics: Reviews—Books | No Comments »
Politically-incorrect Pokémon critics
I saw a character on the Pokémon episode #252 “The Ice Cave” that not only stripped the phenomenon of its innocence but stopped me cold. The character Ruujura resembles an image of Carole Boston Weatherford on a good day. A mind is a terrible thing to waste, and it is a waste of what would otherwise be an intelligent mind to go around and invent imagery to accuse Pokémon of being racially offensive (and anime in general; let’s not forget the djinni Mr Popo of Dragonball). Mr Popo looks like a djinni; Ruujura is a caricature of Yama-uba. Worse yet, NOA lets Ms Weatherford get away with dictating their policies, blocking transmission of any episode containing Ruujura, thereby removing imagined Japanese stereotypes and inserting very real American ones.
I eagerly await the flames, especially if Ms Weatherford stumbles across this site whilst ego-surfing…
Topics: Lost in Translation | No Comments »
Annoying yellow rat, or annoying brat?
Over the weekend, I’ve started to watch the Pokémon TV series on DVD all over again, and watching it, I’ve come to the conclusion that the main nuisance in the show isn’t that annoying yellow rat, but that ever-so-annoying kid. No, not Max, or even Tracey… I’m referring, of course, to Jari-boy (aka Twerp) Ash. In fact, after Jari-boy, Max, Tracey, Pichu Brothers #1 and 2, and Pichu Brothers #3 and 4 (ie. Plusle and Minun), that obese fluorescent yellow rodent (o^;^o) is actually dropping down the “most annoying anime character” list. (Then there’s Tyson from Spinning Tops, who actually makes Jari-boy look competent, but that’s another story.)
And speaking of Jari-boy showing his Pokémon-training competence, using Bulbasaur, then Charmander, against Chopper’s Golem in episode 36 (when he has a Squirtle!—ok so he keeps most of his Pokémon as little pipsqueaks but that’s another rant). And then there is the first movie. How for the love of dog does the Rat thundershock that trainer’s Golem out of existence during the opening sequence?!?!?
Of course, the Rat has the right idea at first, recognising Jari-boy’s idiocy. But after his attempts at “self-sacrifice” (during which the Rat ends up saving Jari-boy’s butt from the flock of Spearow anyway), it turns in his favour. Why, oh why? (Other than the obvious reason, there wouldn’t be a storyline otherwise.)
Topics: Gary Was Right, Ash Is a Loser! | No Comments »
The present (and future?)…
Right. Now if we look over at Wikipedia, we can see the number of Pokémon constantly on the increase, currently sitting at 416. When I looked a couple of weeks ago, the number was 405. I guess Nint^H^H^H^H NOA has released details on a few more fourth-generation monsters; so far, that’s 30 new ones, including most of the legendaries. I wonder what they’re going to add in Diamond/Pearl… or worse, what they’re going to leave out! It was bad enough that they left out some of the best Pokémon in RS (Growlithe/Arcanine…) and left in some of the worst (that annoying yellow rat).
Oh well, at least the Engl American version of movie 8 will be out on DVD soon, and I’ve got mine pre-ordered from Amazon. Japanese version should also be on its way. Watch this space for the review!
Also coming out in November is the box set of episodes 1-28 of the original TV series. This should be the first 9 DVDs. As that’s only 27 episodes, I wonder if the 28th is Holiday in Acapulco Beauty and the Beach. Amazon also interestingly lists this as being dual-language Japanese/English, though I saw a grey-market importer in the UK showing it as having the English soundtrack only.
Well, only time will tell…
Topics: Lost in Translation | 1 Comment »
