Final Review: Pokemon Origins

I grew up when the Pokemon phenomenon was sort of dying down. I was part of the Ruby/Sapphire Generation when I got my first game, Ruby for the Gameboy (actually, it was my brother's Gameboy which he got for his birthday but since my brother and I share the console...).

I am going to be pretty harsh on this review.

Just to put it out there, this special just made me appreciate the regular anime somewhat because they took the time to develop characters through interactions like May, Drew, Dawn, and Paul. I haven't been catching up in regular anime in a very long time and I am not planning to. Like how I will only see the movies and certain episodes of Detective Conan, I will be in an on-off relationship with Pokemon. Hey, that's how I often react to long-runners... The only long-runner I can watch (while getting rid of fillers) is One Piece.

I'm rambling now but really this special just seemed shallow in terms of storytelling...

First, I would put this out of the way. It's a good festival of nostalgia. It's just nostalgia-lovingly animated with old game quotes.

Remember, this is not an honest-to-god "true" anime. I really don't want to get into the debate but really just see them as different characters. Ash has his own universe and so does Red in multiple others. So really, this special just adds to the fuel of the Ash/Red debate. It's meant to be a tribute to the games and certainly, it has the dialogues and events... But that's all I can say about it.

I don't know how Pokemon battles are supposed to work if they were trying to adapt the gameplay; I meant that in both the regular anime and the other adaptations. So no comment.

A big celebration of the games which fans of the first generation can enjoy.

Now, I am really going to be harsh on this so I decided to split it up into sections to discuss my thoughts on them. I will only be discussing the story, its character, and its failings.

Bond with Pokemon - Love, Trust, and all those other Good Things

Bond, my foot. 

This is one major problem with the special. We are informed that Red has a fantastic bond with his Pokemon...specifically Charizard.

Yet we are never shown any of the bonding.

Say what you will about the regular anime but the regular anime takes the bond with Pokemon seriously and made a genuine effort to show it.

In the first episode no less, Ash pleaded with Pikachu to get inside the Pokeball on his own terms while protecting him from Spearows. He didn't forcefully recall it and then ran for his life. This very action moved Pikachu to trust him and save him from the Spearows. It's a genuine start of a bond.

Hey, I am all for friendship and family love. That's why I can take the Ash and Pikachu friendship any day.

Could you forget Lucario and Sir Aaron? We are shown so many flashbacks of their interactions it made Lucario such a compelling character. Instead of focusing on battles, it focuses on relationships between a Pokemon and a human. Hell, it even features a snippet of the first episode.

The only reason Charizard chose to trust Red was that Red picked him. When Brock said he needs to bond with his Pokemon, we didn't see an interaction between humans and starter Pokemon. He just goes to challenge the Gym because we asserted that they bonded and had realized that they are not tools.

There is no evidence whatsoever on Charizard's side. We barely see Red congratulating or even concerned for its welfare after getting beaten in battle.

Twice, people pointed out that your starter Pokemon is injured here. Maybe the first was justified because Charizard was inside the Pokeball but when Giovanni pointed out... Red looked at Charizard and just stand there. We see Ash, Misty, Brock, May, and anyone in the regular anime who had an injured Pokemon go to recall it or even made sure it's alright. Red just lamented that Team Rocket got away instead of doing what you think a respectful trainer would do.

It would be a little too late by the final episode where Red and Charizard are honest partners. Up to that point, all of the preachings were shallow and hypocritical.

From the bond we are supposed to see, again we see nothing from both ends of any characterization. It's barely there.

Red has that respectful trainer trait...which I pointed out to be hypocritical. Other than that, he is the protagonist who supposedly managed to shut down Team Rocket and caught Mewtwo with no idea of any conspiracy or being a wrench in their super evil plans...anticlimactically I might add. When playing the game, we wonder for a mute avatar but an actual character in a show...

It's too rushed to develop any kind of characterization. The story is more about telling the memorable parts of the game rather than telling the story well.

Story - Rushed and Anticlimactic

Why is it aggressive?

I admit it's dark.

Dark does not always mean good stories.

While I do like Mewtwo's story, it's not cohesive and I believe the more effective theme of the story should focus on the cloning of Pokemon and its consequences (basically how these Pokemon look the same as other Pokemon but only the clones know they aren't supposed to exist and suffer from that...Please see the Cloning Blues trope or even Tales of the Abyss, tackling these themes) and not the fighting which makes it hypocritical. At least the Mewtwo Returns special tackles the former theme instead of the latter (hell, it avoided it altogether). No, I am not going to rip apart Mewtwo Strikes Back. While I admit it has its flaws, especially how awkward the theme turned out, I think there should be careful supervision in the writing department which could have made it a compelling story. Remember what we like and dislike does not make a good or bad movie. I have to admit that I am more apathetic toward movies...or anything in general. I'm just too blase and indecisive. The movie just didn't spark anything in me even with its flaws. Origins suffered from rushed storytelling and anticlimaxes.

You may argue the battles are climatic but personally, I don't see it.  Again, the first tried to tackle that Red's random realization Pokemon aren't tools but never took the time to show that. Storywise, the strongest episode is the second but its failings lie in Team Rocket - the one of which the town is completely scared of - where the defeat is one Koffing. I like the Cubone-Marowak story but seriously the actual climax is really anticlimactic.

The third had Giovanni caring only about money and business but changes his mind completely after his defeat with Red. It's not very believable or even satisfying for an otherwise powerful leader of criminal syndication to just quit much less start over.

The fourth raises the ethical issues of the genetically enhanced Mewtwo. There is no story development or anything that made it compelling. For all of Mewtwo's in-cohesive story, the movie and special are far too compelling than doing nothing for a genetically created Pokemon like giving it some background or making some connection to Team Rocket in the previous episode or just doing something! It's just there for Red to catch and he even exclaimed he caught it. Look, I understand that the player would wonder and ponder for the protagonist who doesn't speak but it's a whole other thing when you have an established character. Just look at Ash for Pete's sake. At least, Ash has his own character despite not aging which I refuse to do because this show has an overarching plot in comparison to the Simpsons. He's passionate and strong-willed like all heroes but he responds to situations like how a character would if they were thrown into it. He asked and wondered things like an audience surrogate.

Again, this special prioritizes memorable parts of the game instead of developing the story and character.

Red is a blank slate. As I mentioned again, no development or even a tiny interaction could develop the characters, both Pokemon and humans alike. The Marowak-Cubone story has the most development of all of Origins. For all I harp on the regular anime for their lack of plot, at least they took characterization marches on and character development, being a more character-driven anime.

This special is character-driven but it lacks development to make Red or any other human character and their Pokemon personality.

Overall

He does look like Takato Matsuki from Digimon Tamers... But who would name their child Red or Blue?!

In the end, the special felt shallow and had nothing much aside from being a big nostalgia filter.

Nostalgia doesn't mean bad stuff. I look back on my childhood wistfully but when you actually come down to story and character development, the special doesn't have much to offer.

I am prepared for hate-filled responses.