Pokemon Origins is a Pokemon special that got a lot of hype. Not only would Red finally take center stage as the main character, but Ash and friends are nowhere to be found. The first few seconds will confirm what you may have begun to suspect…this isn’t your classic Pokemon show! The animation is less colorful and Saturday morning style. Instead it plays out more like Summer Wars. The two animation styles are extremely different and Summer Wars type is considered to be far better than, the classic Tai Chi Chasers. (For example) This can be arguable and it’s all about preference, but it does help to set the tone for the movie. (Personally, I do prefer the TV show animation, but they’re both solid) The fight scenes are also pretty impressive in the special.
Pokemon Origins is significantly darker than the Pokemon show (Although, I don’t want to mislead you into thinking that this is Death Note. Just picture the Pokemon anime without all of the little kids and the colorful animations. Also, there is murder and the stakes are a lot higher. Like I said…this isn’t your classic Pokemon episode!) and the dangers have never been more real. The beginning starts out pretty similarly to the Pokemon show as Red and Blue head to Professor Oak’s lab. I could have done without the Red tripping (for no legitimate reason) scene, but it wasn’t awful. Just out of character, but we’ll get more into that later.
Professor Oak wants Red and Blue to complete the Pokedex because he is too old for such things. Red obliges while Blue decides to become the strongest in the world. He’ll fill out the Pokedex as well…in all due time! He quickly challenges Red to a battle, but made sure that he had the type advantage. Charmander doesn’t do so well against Squirtle and it’s a lopsided battle. The director really wanted to stress how much grimmer this special is, so we get to see Charmander yelling in pain for a very drawn out scene. It was definitely unneeded and may wreck the impression that Pokemon battles are all about having fun. That isn’t always the case, but I would have been satisfied with a simple victory. Also….Charmander should really be able to make the fight a little closer than that. This scene definitely should not have been in the special and makes you wish for a 4Kids edit. Well, just make sure to quickly turn up some music for this scene and you’ll be okay.
Red realizes the importance of becoming stronger on his way to completing the Pokedex. He slowly starts to learn the ropes and he even takes on Brock. The special covers the entire video game so they have to skip a lot of things. They only have 60 minutes to cover many hours of content. It’s definitely a tough job, but they do a pretty good job of it. We get some montage scenes and narration to keep us in the loop. We also get to gauge how much we’ve missed based on Red’s GBA screen. He has to save the game sometimes, so you can follow him along via the play time.
Eventually, Red meets up with Giovanni and they have their first fight. It was pretty epic, but I’m not sure that Charizard would go down so easily. Giovanni is tough and I’m not doubting that, but so is Charizard. That guy definitely won’t go down without a really tough fight! It was one of Pokemon’s few true night scenes and it was definitely epic.
Another one of the scenes that got a lot of screen time in the special was the…..GHOST TOWER!! Red and Blue go in, but the ghost scares the living daylights out of Blue. Blue quickly lets Red wrap things up, while he goes on to fight the Team Rocket members. The story is a little sad since Team Rocket ends up murdering one of the Pokemon. It’s pretty unbelievable and while they did it to show us how “Evil” Team Rocket is, it was pretty unnecessary and made Marowak look bad. How could a fully evolved Pokemon lose to a mere human and his whip? I don’t think I buy that and I think that any Pokemon should be able to beat a human. Humans lack the speed and attack power that Pokemon possess so it should be a quick victory for the magical creature. So, that scene was really uncalled for and definitely hurts the film, but it won’t traumatize you for life or anything. It’s just something that you wish you had not seen.
Well, that aside, things really heat up once Red clobbers the Elite Four. Blue is the final boss and he has some truly epic lines. He even says that he’s the strongest Pokemon Trainer on the planet! With that last line rocking you to the very core of your being, he throws his Pokeball. The battle starts so suddenly that you may be left in shock. Red does the only thing that makes sense in this situation and gives Blue a good fight. Professor Oak was a little cruel since he was late. If he had been on time, Blue could have gone into the legendary room of fame, since Red wouldn’t have made it yet. Ah well, you win some and you lose some right?
Unfortunately, Blue doesn’t regain his pride and he takes another loss to a mysterious Pokemon. Red goes off to avenge him…or just to see the Pokemon. He has a pretty climatic battle with this opponent and he even unlocks the power of the Mega Pokemon! It’s truly an epic moment and it means that Red has beaten Ash to the punch yet again.
Let’s talk about the main character, Red. The anime special had a lot of hype to live up to, since Red is known as one of the coolest main characters on the block. He’s a very no nonsense fighter and many have come to accept the fact that Red is the greatest Pokemon Trainer who ever lived. When the first trailer popped up, warning bells sounded in many heads. Could this rookie really be Red?
In the special, Red does mature as the series goes on, but is this the character that we all grew up with? He’s not quite as quiet and professional as he used to be, but Red is still a solid main character. He’s at his best towards the end of the special. He may not be the Pokemon Master that we’ve come to expect, but that’s all right. If we are being honest, there’s no way that Red could possibly top his reputation. He’s already known to be the perfect main character and we can’t ask for much more than that. The special still gave him a good role and that’s what counts.
Blue (They call him Green, but Blue is how I know him. We both know who I’m talking about anyway right?) gets a good role, although he looks pretty bad in the haunted part of the special. Not only is he afraid of ghosts, (Which is bad enough already) but he actually considered ditching Red and a helpless civilian. Definitely not hero material and while Blue may act stuck up, he’s a good guy deep down. He was really awesome when he made the speech in the final part of the special and had many good lines. He’s definitely a solid rival and gave Red a run for his money.
There aren’t really any other characters to talk about. Professor Oak gets a small role and appears very briefly. I’ve never been a big fan of the character and that didn’t change with this special. Giovanni had a cheesy scene at the end, but I’m glad that Red was able to get through to him. That took guys, courage, and epicness!
One thing that we can’t forget is the soundtrack! The special had an incredible array of themes that will blow you away. They really make every scene even more exciting as you are watching the special. They’re definitely nostalgic to hear and it shows that music is something that is timeless. I’ll still be enjoying these tunes 50 years from now. The music was definitely a solid positive that helped to improve the whole experience.
This is definitely a special that I recommend. You may miss Ash and pals, but you can always watch the new Mewtwo film to see those guys. This one is a nice change of pace and we get to see what Pokemon could have been. Imagine the whole anime series like this and it makes for a nice “What If?”. Hopefully we get a sequel to adapt the next games or a full series someday. Aside from the one scene with Charmander and the Marowak scene, I can completely recommend this film to all ages. You can rest assured that you will definitely enjoy this film. The music, animation, fights, and characters are all solid and that’s a very good thing for a special. With all of those positives, how can you not watch it!?
Overall 7/10
Gamaran is a manga that I had always seen as I headed to the latest chapter of Bleach or Naruto. It’s a title that was always around, but I never realized that it was a really cool series. I had no idea what the plot was or if it really had any potential. After reading it, I can safely say that it’s one of the greatest manga of all time! This is a pretty bold statement, but it has earned the right.
The plot is very easy to describe even though it did last for 21 volumes. Gama is one of the last guys to use the Ogame style. (A way of fighting) Naoyoshi is one of the candidates to become the next Daimyo, (King of the land basically) and he comes across Gama. After witnessing Gama’s sword abilities firsthand, he decides to have Gama fight in his defense. The road towards becoming Daimyo is long and fierce. There are many obstacles along the way and the current Daimyo is having a tournament. To become the Daimyo, you must win the tournament, which sounds simple enough…right?
This is basically the plot for the first half of the series. While it may not sound like it can hold its own for over 7 volumes, it works. The fights are intense and Gamaran gets right to the point. We don’t see a lot of emotional scenes and dialogue doesn’t fill up whole chapters. The series is essentially nonstop fighting and there aren’t many breaks. At first it’s tough since Gama is the only warrior on Naoyoshi’s side, but eventually his comrades come in to help. Most of them are pretty cool and I will go into more detail about them later.
The plot for the 2nd half involves Jinsuke, the 1000 man slayer! He decides that it’s time to conquer the world and while we get some pretty emotional reasons for why he’s doing this, that’s all that you really need to know. I will delve deeper into his history as we go through the characters. Gama and his pals have to stop Jinsuke and his large army of allies while working to save Naoyoshi. (Who was kidnapped) Both arcs are incredible and it’s hard to say which one was better. I’m inclined to say that I preferred arc 2, but it’s very close. Lori got to have more fighting scenes in that section which definitely helped me decide.
The art is very solid for the manga, although the author does tend to draw people differently from chapter to chapter. Lori’s hair is constantly changing in size and his spikes really stick up at times. Also, after the time skip, Gama’s eyes start to look exactly like Lori’s. Beyond those minor issues, (Which aren’t really issues since I don’t mind them. They make the manga look unique!) the art is spectacular for the fight scenes.
Gama is the main character so it’s fitting that I talk about him first. I didn’t really care for him during the first volume or two, but he quickly got better as the series progressed. His character is pretty similar to Ichigo’s and even the attire shares some resemblance. As you may have guessed from the picture, Gama is a sword fighter. Most characters in the series use a sword or at least a weapon that has a blade.
Gama is about as skilled as a human can get and his heightened speed and power are impressive. His mostly uses thunder techniques, (Which don’t use thunder, but are very quick) which are epic. They become less effective as the series wears on, but they definitely help to give Gama an edge. He’s easily one of the best main characters out there and puts a lot of the others to shame. This is a true warrior who never gives up.
Zenmaru is one of Gama’s allies and he’s pretty annoying. I never found him to be a likable character and he definitely overestimates himself. Many times, Gama will have to do all of the work, but Zenmaru will act as if helped a lot. I’m sure that you’ve seen this type of character in other manga series, but if not, be warned! He uses a really big (slow) sword and this is probably what limits him. Swinging the sword takes time and his speed isn’t nearly as good as Gama’s. By the end of the series, Zenmaru has gotten pretty skilled, but it ends up feeling forced.
Shinnojou is another one of Gama’s allies and he’s a big improvement over Zenmaru. Shinnojou is an expert fighter and he’s the highest ranked member of the Ogame school. (He’s not the toughest, but the highest ranked) Shinnojou is more of a tactile fighter than the other two and he uses his wits a lot. Shinnojou’s water techniques also revolve around trickery and sudden movements. He does pretty well for the whole series and while he doesn’t fight a whole lot, he always looks good. I definitely had no complaints with him and he made for a good character.
Lori is another one of Gama’s allies and he’s definitely the best character in the series! (Gama being second) He doesn’t fight as often as the others, (Until arc 2) but we see that he is definitely the most skilled. He is the only character in the series who was able to give Jinsuke a good fight. While the fight didn’t go as I had thought that it would, it was a good battle. Lori acts like Zaraki or Sasuke in terms of personality. He always keeps his cool and manages to act epic at the same time. His hair is very spiky and when he power ups, you would think that he’s a super saiyan. He uses a lot of raw power in his swordsmanship and he can even use a Rasengan themed attack on the opponent. He doesn’t even need a weapon to take out some of the higher ranked villains.
There are so many villains that it can be hard to choose which ones to talk about. Let’s start off with Jinsuke. Jinsuke is the main villain of the series and he also happens to be Gama’s father. Defeating him is one of Gama’s goals in life, but it may be tougher than it sounds. Jinsuke was able to defeat 1000 warriors and that’s a feat that is nearly impossible with a sword. He definitely has a strong aura, but he only gets one serious fight for the entire series. Still, he definitely makes for a good villain.
Ranmaru is one of Jinsuke’s highest ranked officers. He becomes Gama’s main rival and they do get to fight several times. He’s another really cool character and a highlight of the manga. If Lori’s my favorite hero, then Ranmaru is my favorite villain of the series. We even find out a nice twist about his abilities. Who said that there were no supernatural abilities in this manga!? His ending may not be as happy as some of the other characters, but at least he got to live his life to the fullest!
Another big villain is Zenmaru’s big brother/rival, Kai. Kai uses the same weapon as Zenmaru and he’s a pretty sharp fighter. His relationship with Zenmaru is similar to Sasuke and Itachi’s…Counting the plot twists! Take that as you will….Unfortunately, I never really liked Kai. He wasn’t a very likable character and I can’t sympathize with him. I couldn’t really forgive Itachi either, but his decision was reasonable in comparison to Kai’s! Kai only fights a handful of times, but that’s really all that we needed.
Riko and Kujou are two other members who used to be part of the Ogame school. Did I mention that part already? Well, Jinsuke, Kai, Riko, and Kujou decided to destroy the rest of the Ogame school to go rule the world. This is the reason why Gama wishes to destroy them, Jinsuke in particular. They just can’t forgive the mass murder of their comrades!….until they do. Riko is a pretty minor character for the most part, but he does get one cool fight. Kujou doesn’t really fight until the very end. His fight is pretty good, but I wasn’t terribly interested. He’s a decent fighter, but not one of the best.
Kiyomori is a character that appeared during the final volumes of the series. He actually uses hand to hand combat, which shows how fast he is. Otherwise, one sword slash and he would be down for the count. He’s a pretty intriguing character and while I don’t think he would have lasted a second against Lori or Gama, he made for an epic villain. He’s definitely not someone that you would want to underestimate.
Banri is one of the divine spears and he is the strongest member. While the others only get to appear for the first arc, he manages to last for the entire series. He ends up becoming a rival for Shinnojou. His skills are very good with a spear, but he was never much of a threat. I never pictured Shinnojou losing to this guy. Still, he was another example of an epic villain.
I could go on and on listing the various villains, but I’ll stop there. Muraku is one villain that started out as a pretty cool fighter, but he quickly got worse. When he appeared for his final battle, he was completely unlikable. It’s like his character did a complete 180 for the worst. Also, I never saw how he could really give Gama such a good fight. Gama is far faster than Muraku could hope to be. There are also several good guys that I didn’t get around to talking about like the old mentor and his rival. The two old guys team up during the climax and they’re definitely solid fighters. One of the old guys just came out of nowhere, but he was a nice addition for the most part.
One negative that I should mention is the ending. It’s very rushed and feels a little forced. We don’t really get any closure for some of the plot lines and the ending just wasn’t satisfactory. This is only a mild negative since most manga tend to have bad endings. There aren’t many exceptions to this rule, but Megaman NT Warrior managed to end on a high note. The ending definitely could have been worse, so at least it wasn’t!
There is one more negative that I should note. Kashitarou is one of the worst characters that I’ve seen in a while. If you know who Oolong and James Bond are, then you know all that you need to know about Kashitarou. Kashitarou is the definition of an awful character and there was nothing that he could do to fix that. Once he appeared for the first time, I knew that it was over. You’ll want to ignore all of his lines and he won’t bring the manga down too much. He barely appears which is definitely a good thing!
It should be noted that the manga can get pretty violent. There are parts that make Bleach look like kid stuff! So, while I highly recommend the series, I wouldn’t recommend it for kids. On the bright side, there isn’t really any romance in the series. There’s no time for that since the battles are always happening. Another positive for the series is the fact that they power up, DBZ style! It’s always good to see characters using aura in manga and tends to be one of the key things that separate them from comic book characters.
So, if you ever wanted a really awesome manga about sword fighting, then I’d recommend checking this one out. The series has some pretty great characters and a nice array of villains. The series concluded with over 20 volumes so there is enough content to keep you busy. You won’t have to worry about a lack of fights or screen time for your favorite characters. I’d say that it’s time to check it out!
Overall 9/10
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