It’s time to review the recent web series that Pokemon got. It was a relatively short show as it only had 18 episodes and they were each 5 minutes. It was a good show, but also very disappointing as I had been expecting something a little more grand. From the premise and the poster, I was awaiting a magnificent look at the best moments in Pokemon history, filled with a lot of great high budget fights. Unfortunately, that was not to be. There are little to no fight scenes to be found here so the series plays out like a commercial. Really, I feel like these were made to be little cutscenes inside of a Pokemon game and wouldn’t be shocked if they announced something like that in the future. It’s important to go into this series knowing this beforehand as you’ll enjoy it a lot more. There won’t be any fights, just think of the series as a commercial for the games.
The first segment is just an overview of what’s to come. We see Pikachu take on a lot of Legendaries and prove that he is the strongest Pokemon of all. It was an interesting way to start the series and I wasn’t against it since I love seeing Pikachu wreck everyone. Unfortunately, it did give the wrong impression as this segment did have a lot of Pokemon action. No full fights as they were all interrupted, but it was still epic. The second episode sees Looker attempt to capture Giovanni, but the mastermind had already escaped. It was a fun little sleuthing episode even if you knew from the start that Looker was doomed. He’s no Red and that’s the only person who can stop him. Looker actually appears quite a lot in the series so if it ever got a full anime, I could actually see him being the main character.
The third segment is easily the best one. It’s about how Blue took down the Pokemon League and became the champion, only for Red to arrive and dethrone him. While most of the fights are skipped over, we do get some nice trash talking and Blue’s voice actor does a great job in the role. The whole thing felt epic and it’s always good to see Blue getting his props. Especially since he didn’t look particularly good in Origins. Next up, we see Lance and Dragonite attack a Team Rocket base and they witness the Red Gyarados. This was another fun segment and Dragonite got a lot of personality. It’s safe to say that the villains stood absolutely no chance against an opponent of Lance’s level. He could wipe the floor with them without even trying.
Next up is the weakest one so far. Looker asks Silver to tell him where Giovanni is, but the kid doesn’t have any answers at the moment. It was also bad timing since Silver was getting ready to take on the Pokemon League and Looker was throwing him off of his game. The discussion is interesting enough, but since you know that the series isn’t very long in the first place, it really just feels like filler. Following that is a story about how Suicune, Entei, and Raikou originally started out as normal monsters and after dying, Ho-Oh brought them back as Legendary Pokemon. I was glad about the twist since the animal violence would have been terrible otherwise. The story is still a bit of a downer as the humans chase off the legendaries anyway. This segment was probably the most boring one as nothing really happened.
The next two segments are essentially flipped versions of each other as one deals with Kyogre and the other with Groudon. It’s not surprising that Groudon had the much cooler version as we see a trainer infiltrate the base and some really cool music is playing in the background the whole time. That part was the best part of the segment and even beat the main plot of Groudon’s awakening. The legendary Pokemon waking up was neat and then they destroyed the world, but it was more of a disaster scene than a fight so I was still hoping for some extra action. The music ensured that the Groudon segment was good though while the Kyogre one was a little underwhelming.
After that was the Deoxys vs Rayquaza segment. Finally, a segment with a big fight scene! Naturally, this was one of the best ones and perhaps it was the best aside from the Blue one. This fight was handled really well in the movie and I was glad to see it return here. Deoxys is easily still one of the best Pokemon out there. After that was a horror episode as a girl and her Chansey walk into a spooky mansion. It was a change of pace and wasn’t so bad I suppose, but the main character really annoyed me. She was scared of everything even though she has a Pokemon and likely dies in the end. Cmon….I expect that from horror movies, but not in Pokemon land where you have Pokemon fighters at the ready. I thought that the scenario didn’t make much sense.
Now we arrive onto the Dialga and Palkia plot. They get captured as per usual, but luckily Giratina is here to lend a helping hand. This was a fun segment and I did like that Giratina got the last laugh against the villains. Legendaries should always show the humans who’s boss in situations like this. They certainly have the power so there is no excuse not to humiliate the humans. The 12th segment had Heatran show up and take on Looker and a kid. It was a fight scene so that was neat and while Heatran isn’t the most interesting Pokemon to fight, he is still pretty tough. Looker showing up again also made the episode feel plot important.
The next episode saw a bunch of the gym leaders come together to try and fight the region’s equivalent of Team Rocket. Naturally, the special ends before the fight can really get started, but it’s still a fairly neat premise. Usually the cliffhanger would be exciting, but it doesn’t work when you know that the next episode is just going to completely ignore it. After that was a segment where the world is frozen. This one was probably one of the weaker ones again. It had some nifty energy blasts and what not, but it’s the kind of segment that could have really used an extra battle scene or two. It just felt a little hollow.
Luckily, we returned to the action with the next segment as N showed up to try and save the world. He gets crushed, but at least we actually got to see the fight this time. I feel like he should have put up a better fight to be honest. The segment ends when the main character comes in as backup and that’s a good thing for the villain since he would have been doomed. This one was solid so it was followed up by a more underwhelming one. Lysandre tricks the world into thinking that he is a good guy by day while actually being a villain by night. The special doesn’t really go anywhere so it is the ultimate definition of a 5 minute filler episode. We are nearing the end now so episodes like this one are the kind that you do not want to see.
The second last episode sees a girl get a meta human suit and perform super feats. Unfortunately, she uses her skills for evil since she has been mind controlled. It was a good special although her Pokemon should have dodged the blow. Looker returned once again for his final appearance and showed that he still had some moves. Finally, the last episode was very underwhelming as it was the most disappointing episode in the whole batch. It starts off with some hype as a guy showed up to challenge the champion, but then cuts away to an incredibly boring flashback that lasts all the way through the special. Disappointment….that’s basically what the whole series boils down to.
Well, the animation is pretty solid for the segments. I suppose they were able to save a lot of the budget by not having fight scenes so it could be used for the environment and destruction moments. I’d like to see a whole series of this, but I suppose it would take a while. That’s why I would have settled for one well done 30 minute episode as opposed to 18 5 minute ones. Hopefully they do something like this soon as an Origins sequel or something. The soundtrack was also fun as it had a lot of good themes and some familiar ones. The show had fun experimenting with different genres and tones so that allowed it to use a bunch of different themes.
Overall, You can kind of get the gist of what I think of the review from the tone alone. The show should have done a better job of marketing itself as a series of commercials rather than a revisit to the best moments in Pokemon. They wasted too much time on stories and flashbacks when they could have been used for fights instead. The Pokemon anime has more action on a week to week basis, which is too bad since I was hoping that this series would have focused on all the action since they could use a higher budget for the 5 minutes. Despite all the disappointment, it’s still a good show in its own right. It won’t last you very long of course as combined it’s only about an hour or so, but it’s a good little watch. At the very least, it should be a little nostalgic if you’ve played all of the games. I’m still behind on those, but I’ll catch up one day. The final takeaway that you should get from this review is that the directors, producers, and anyone who had a say in Generations should be fired ASAP and replaced with people who know what they’re doing. There’s no excuse for having a Pokemon anniversary series that is light on action. Now, the next big Pokemon product to look forward to is the reboot movie. I’m definitely pretty hyped for that one so hopefully it doesn’t let me down!
Overall 6/10
Considering that the Pokemon anime messed up big time and probably lost a lot of viewers, it is nice to go back to before that time and remember the more innocent days. This film is fairly recent so it isn’t that far back, but it still counts. The movie was fun although I didn’t care for Hoopa’s true form and didn’t like how they overhyped him the whole time. The manga does a great job of fixing that up although it feels super small, even for a one volume one shot. The whole film is being played on fast forward mode and the manga diverges a little bit for fun. It’s a fun little read.
Ash and friends are enjoying some donuts when Ash is thrown into a portal. He meets up with Hoopa and two guardians who have decided that it is time to bring him back to full power. Unfortunately, this causes Hoopa’s true form to go on a rampage as he starts to blow everything up and summons 6 Legendary Pokemon to defend himself. Ash grabs Pikachu and prepares for the fight of his life. He is aided by 3 Legendary Pokemon as well so now he is ready. Can Ash prove that he is the true Pokemon Master and take these clowns down? Time to find out!
One thing that this abridged version makes very clear is that the plot gets a little repetitive. Hoopa’s jar is broken so he turns evil at the very beginning of the volume, but the heroes quickly turn him back to normal. That’s good…but only a few pages later we see Meowth grab the jar and unleash Hoopa once again. In the film, there was a decent amount of fluff so this didn’t happen immediately, but the manga depicts just how quickly these two identical events occurred. It did help us get to the climax very quickly though so that’s always fun.
The original characters from the film were okay, but mostly just generic here. The two protectors remember happier times with Hoopa and one of them gets to help out a little during the climax, but that’s about it. In the end, it really came down to Ash and his friends to save the day as you may have expected. Hoopa wasn’t quite as charismatic as in the film, but he is still a decent Legendary. I still don’t like the Unbound form though. At least he makes for a good villain. I was also glad that the manga fixed some of my issues from the film regarding his power level. He was definitely very overhyped there, but in the manga version we see that Lugia was wrecking him. Had the fight continued on, I’m confident that Lugia would have won here. He had Hoopa on the defensive right from the start.
The 6 vs 3 fight of the Legendaries was also handled a lot better than in the anime. Who hasn’t wanted to see Rayquaza take on heavy weights like Dialga? I do think that the 6 evil Pokemon would have won in the end since the numbers advantage is important and Latias is fairly weak, but it would have been a good fight. Ash was around as well so his Pikachu can really tip the scales. I was satisfied with Ash’s portrayal here. He was eager to help Hoopa out and didn’t back down from a fight. He was even willing to get zapped by Pikachu in order to save the day. His friends felt forced in though and the classic “The future is now!” saying felt a little tacked on as well since it was a really odd way to start the sentence. Ah well, Ash will get new friends soon.
Now, the writing for the manga could be a little odd at times. At one point, Hoopa asked Ash what he would wish for so he could thank Ash. Ash responded with his wish to become a Pokemon Master, but after Hoopa offered to grant this to him, he quickly backpedaled and said that it couldn’t be done. He could have given Hoopa an actual wish or simply declined as he did in the movie. Another moment was when Hoopa told his Unbound version something. I’m going to quote the dialogue word for word so here goes.
Unbound- “You disappear…I am Hoopa. I will be…the one…who remains!” Hoopa- “Ashkan said…he wanted to help you too. I’ll tell you everything about me. So please…..calm down and listen…They’re all waiting for you….You and I should become one again. Hee hee, Surprised? You can have fun with them too!” Then Unbound turns good and the two of them merge. Not only did this conversation use the classic three dots…too often, but it didn’t make much sense. Hoopa said that he would tell Unbound all about himself, but then he didn’t. The conversation didn’t actually go anywhere. Maybe it was a bad translation or something, but the dialogue throughout the manga isn’t great. The other lines aren’t quite that bad at least, but it definitely is something.
The art is very clear at least. It’s not great art or anything as it stays very basic to make it look appealing. It’s good for kids since they can easily understand what is happening and I’ll definitely take this over vague artwork that you see from time to time, but it still didn’t feel really high quality. A good example of a great take on simple art is Bleach. That series got it down to a T.
Overall, This was a bit of a short review, but there isn’t a lot to say about this manga. It did a good job of covering the events from the film, but it probably should have been a little longer as everything was really glossed over. I am glad that the 6 vs 3 fight was extended a little though and it definitely shows that the author had his priorities straight. These one shot adventures are always fun and a great way for Pokemon fans to experience the movies in case they don’t have the opportunity to watch them. It’s a good adventure and while it is not great, you’ll have fun reading it. Even if you’ve never watched Pokemon before, this makes for a good story. After all, you won’t need any previous context to understand what is happening since it is all self contained.
Overall 7/10
It’s time to take a look at the latest Pokemon film! The hype around this movie was that many different Legendary Pokemon would get to appear. I’m always up for seeing the titans come up, but was admittedly disappointed in how it was handled. A good film overall though and Pikachu isn’t nerfed this time around, making for some good power feats. It reminds me that I still need to go play Pokemon X/Y!
The film starts out in a desert as we see a village looking up to the all powerful Hoopa. In Hoopa’s true form, he’s essentially a giant Genie. He warps other Legendary Pokemon to the village via his inter dimensional rings and then fights them for a little while before sending them back when he’s in danger. This cowardly fighting style gains him many fans, but then the power corrupts him and the village is essentially destroyed. Fast forward a few centuries to the present where Hoopa is now in his chibi form being escorted by two allies. They are looking for the bottle so that Hoopa can regain his true form once more. Surely he is ready for this now…right?
Ash and friends were enjoying a nice vacation when Hoopa decides to snag a donut. The odd thing is that the real donuts look like French Crullers while the fake donuts look like the real deal. I think Ash and friends are essentially getting scammed. Ash follows Hoopa through the portal and then gets his friends across as well. The odd thing is that the friends still don’t trust Ash and actually try to stop him, but he is able to overpower their combined might. Ash and friends decide to help Hoopa out, but then the city comes under siege thanks to Hoopa’s true powers. He has split into his dark self and the chibi form. Can Ash muster up the will to defeat the evil Hoopa or will his feelings of friendship and camaraderie overpower him!?
To start the analysis off, I was underwhelmed by the opening. For starters, I have to say that Hoopa’s design is one of the worst Pokemon designs of all time and probably top 5. The genie looks nothing like a Pokemon and is hard to properly use in a fight. The voice likely doesn’t help matters either. He also comes across as very petty in the intro as he is clearly going to lose against the Legendary Pokemon so he warps them away, but not before getting his cheap shots in. This happens during the entire film and it can be a little annoying. The Pokemon were minding their own business before getting thrown into these fights and never get any closure since they are just tossed aside. It’s the issue with having fighters who can’t talk, they don’t get much of an ending when they’re cheated out of a fight.
Most of the fight scenes also aren’t actual fights. It was cool to see Lugia flying rings around Hoopa and landing some good shots in, but that was probably the only real fight scene that we got. The rest were “action” scenes which are essentially just long chases throughout the city. I’m fine with having action, but not at the expense of fight scenes and that’s exactly what happened here. The sad part is that the TV show has a lot of fights consistently across the episodes, but then when the movies come…it’s like there’s not enough budget for it. The budget is instead used for things that aren’t quite as important like the backgrounds or adding extra layers to the dimension effects. I’d trade all of that for a quick 1 on 1 fight in an instant. I’d say that most people watch Pokemon for the fights anyway.
Character-wise, the new original characters weren’t bad. The guy was pretty weak willed since he was possessed so easily and he probably should have expected the situation to happen, but it’s not totally his fault and he rebounds from the whole thing. Likewise with the heroine who is fairly similar to the guy personality wise. Both of them don’t have much personality, but they have powers in the form of Force blasts from Arceus. They don’t get to fight all that much, which is why another villain would have been really good. It’s always neat to see a human with some kind of super ability though so I’ll give some extra props for that.
I didn’t like Hoopa’s normal form, but I liked his mini version. His gimmick is that he always says “Were you surprised?” throughout the film for many different contexts. I can work with that and Hoopa’s actually very likable unlike some of his predecessors who could be more annoying like Manaphy. His abilities are fun as well even if he didn’t use them properly. Why not call out Mewtwo or Deoxys? That’s actually another critique with the film. From the legendaries, it’s mostly just the scrubs that are called. Latios, to an extent Lugia, etc. Where were the big guns like Mewtwo, Arceus, Deoxys, Ho-Oh? Let’s face it, those are the fighters that people wanted to see. We’ve seen Dialga, Palkia, Giratina, and fans a lot. They also got the new Legendaries from Black and White so it’s almost like they didn’t want to have to go and animate the older Legendaries with the exception of Lugia. I feel like that cheapened the whole point of the film to an extent because I was looking forward to seeing my favorite Pokemon fighters. Of course, if Lugia is more than a match for Hoopa, those guys would have crushed him without much effort.
Luckily, this is where the Pikachu hype comes in. His thunder blast is able to match up against a combined Legendary Pokemon onslaught and the whole film goes out of its way to show that Pikachu should not be taken lightly. The bond between Ash and Pikachu was also proven as Ash was able to recognize him instantly even when surrounded by dozens of other Pikachus. I was surprised at this since I was sure that Pokemon would want to use this as a joke, but the writers resisted the urge. It was a good move since Ash and Pikachu should definitely pass a test like that. Ash also admits that he wants to be a Pokemon Master on his own and he won’t take any shortcuts. I’d expect nothing less from such a hero.
The animation was crisp and sharp as you would expect. It’s a shame that we didn’t get any big fight scenes to really see how the animation fared, but that’s how it goes. It may be easier to animate scenes of just walking around, but it doesn’t take away from the fact that the scenes are all very clear. Pokemon makes a large sum of money so the animators likely have the best equipment and staff to work on these projects. As a result, you’ll be hardpressed to find any scenes that don’t look good.
Unfortunately, the soundtrack is not very good. I don’t think I’ll call it downright bad, but it’s very uneventful and there are no good battle themes. That’s a shame since the video games are known for their spectacular soundtracks and the film should have just borrowed them. Instead, most of the music is very peaceful and that’s definitely never been my style. I want some quick battle music themes that rock you to the core. The Mega Evolution Acts succeeded with this so the movie should have been able to as well.
Ash’s new partners definitely have less personality than his old ones and that’s shown in the film. Their role is very small and none of them have a critical game changing moment. One of them picks out the donuts and one of them has “The future is now!” catchphrase, but is that really a personality? Granted, the dubbing is so over the top and forced for the catchphrase that it can be funny in a retro outdated kind of way. I don’t think that kind of way even counts though to be honest. Ah well, Ash is a great main character and that’s really what counts in the end.
So, where does this film rank in the end? I’d say that it beats the last one, but get roflstomped by Victini, all of the Dialga and Palkia trilogy, most of the classic films through Hoenn, (Beats Manaphy and Zoroark though) and that’s not too bad. I don’t want to bother looking at the full list of films, but it’s likely on the lower side of the half, but think of it this way, 1 film less than half is the destiny for many films no matter how good they are since there are just that many. This film had a lot of flaws and was a big missed opportunity like Battle of Gods, but had enough positives to send it over the hill.
Overall, This is definitely a film that I would recommend. It’s not the most inspired Pokemon film and I miss my action scenes/insert song from the older titles, but I have to accept that with modernization comes a decrease in quality at times. The new Mewtwo film was amazing though so maybe Pokemon will get right back on the saddle in the next film. Otherwise, the TV show crossover arc with the Mega Evolution Act is liable to feel more like a movie than the actual movie series. Team Rocket is around, but their role is very small. Still, keep an eye out for Wobbuffet since his true powers are finally given their due credit!
Overall 7/10
Pokemon Shuffle is a game that I didn’t anticipate playing…ever. I typically don’t play freemium games all that often. They are certainly interesting and I can appreciate why companies would develop these games, but they didn’t seem to be for me. I prefer physical games for my collection, but naturally something like this is digital. Well, if I can’t get the game physically, then I’m definitely fine with a digital version I suppose. There are definitely some classic titles to get electronically someday, but as long as there are dozens of physical options to choose from, I don’t see myself being tempted by them anytime soon. Pokemon Shuffle may not be the next Pac Man or Super Mario Bros, but it’s actually very fun.
For the gameplay, I assume that you are familiar with Tetris? In this game, you must match identical blocks together by dragging them across the screen to take the place of another block. You score points for matching three or more in a line, (No diagonal lines in this one) an L shape, or a cross. Each Pokemon square has a different ability so you will want to know what it is and make the most of it. The Pokemon that you fight in each level are the ones that you will be adding to your team if you beat them quickly enough to secure the capture. The more turns you have left over, the greater the chance that you will catch the Pokemon. After the tutorial, you’ll likely be all set with a few good Pokemon all set and raring to go. Each Pokemon has a level to play and there are currently 240 levels I believe, with more being added all the time. As of this writing, I’ve beaten about 60 of them. The levels get harder as you go along of course.
I haven’t had to grind yet, but that area is quickly approaching, which means that I’ll probably start slowing down in this game. I do have a lot of fun with it, but there are currently a lot of games on the backburner so when I do get a chance to play a game, it should probably be something else. Still, if you have time, you’ll definitely enjoy the gameplay. Again, it’s similar to Pac Man in the sense that you are doing something over and over again, but it still manages to be fun. Playing Pokemon Shuffle requires you to really think about what you are doing and to brace yourself. One wrong move and you may have doomed yourself.
There is certainly a cost to losing as you lose a heart every time you attempt a level. You start out with 5 hearts and once you lose them all, you have to wait 30 minutes to get another one. This is where the pay to win aspect of the game comes at you. You can buy hearts to save yourself the trouble of waiting and the money will certainly add up very quickly. In the game, you earn jewels (Which is what you’re actually buying with your real money) and then you trade them for hearts and coins. You’ll typically get a jewel every 10-15 levels so they are pretty sparse.
Naturally, I’ll never pay money for something like this. The only game where I currently buy DLC is Super Smash Bros and I don’t really see that changing anytime soon. Most DLC just isn’t worth it and I prefer to just turn off Pokemon Shuffle for a few hours before going back to it. This heart system actually encourages you to take a lot of breaks while playing, which is certainly fun.
Aside from the story missions, there are challenge ones and even some online bonuses. Each week you will get some limited stage choices like playing an extra EXP level or a coin one. They’re pretty interesting. At the moment, the online ones are definitely too tough for my team to beat, but maybe once I’m further in the game. Your Pokemon level up through the levels, which increases the damage your squares deal to the opponent when matched. So far, this really doesn’t make a difference at all, but it’ll probably be more evident later on. Right now, the only thing that really matters is ensuring that you have the type advantage. Trust me, that’ll carry you a very long way.
The graphics aren’t bad. There’s only been one real cutscene in the game so far, which would be the tutorial as a reporter helps you learn the ropes. The only dialogue since then has been a few black silhouettes for the trainers that you conquer. This is a game that would have a tough time trying to look great, but it won’t look bad either. The animations are clear and that’s really what counts. There’s not much of a soundtrack to be found here as it’s very pleasant and soft, which is likely supposed to encourage your playing through it. I would have liked some big boss themes to be honest, but I suppose that this’ll do.
There’s a lot of replay value in this game as you can replay levels to truly try to catch all of the Pokemon. That being said, the heart system does really hurt this part of the game and actually damages the title as a whole. It’s safe to say that this could have been an 8 star game, but the fact that you can only play 3-5 levels at a time before giving the game a break is definitely not cool. It stops you from replaying levels because you simply don’t want to waste the hearts and be forced to give the game another long break. That’s really the only negative in this game. The rest of Pokemon Shuffle is just a blast through and through, but this is a big downer. It’s why Freemium games typically have their limits as the pay to win system will always get you in the end.
Overall, Considering that the game is free, this is truly a steal. Pokemon Shuffle is a great way to pass some time by and you can play it for hours without getting bored, assuming that you have enough hearts for that. I will definitely encourage you not to succumb to the game and buy hearts, but to just power through it the long, but free way. I also downloaded Pokemon Rumble Blast so I’ll be giving that a whirl at some point, but I can safely say that it’ll have a tough time beating this title. Pokemon Shuffle easily exceeded my expectations before I started the game and it has set the bar very high for freemium games.
Overall 7/10
It’s time to check out the manga adaption of one of the latest movies! This movie had a pretty anticlimactic end fight, but still managed to be a fun experience. I’ve read a lot of the manga adaptions in the past and they are usually about as good as the movie, but not quite on par since it has to rush through the events more. That’s especially clear in this volume.
Ash was enjoying a day as usual by fighting other trainers when a mysterious gem Pokemon appears. She is being targeted by professional thieves so Ash helps her out. Her name is Diancie and unless she can get her gem abilities to work, her people will all die! To gain access to her powers, she must find Xerneas. Being the nice guy that he is, Ash agrees to help her out, but will he be able to stop the legions of villains who are on Diancie’s trail?
As explained earlier, the volume really cruises through the film since it’s so short. The battle between Ash and the Trainer is basically off screen because there was simply no time. It makes for rapid pacing, but sometimes it’s a little too rapid as I did want to see the fun fight scene. Ah well, they kept in the climax at least for the suspense factor. The final battle still ends on a sour note as the fight never actually happened since Yveltal decides to just fly away.
The writer did make it a little more clear that Xerneas was basically toast after saving Pikachu though. He seemed to have transferred his life energy to Pikachu before turning into a tree. It’s not a permanent condition, but it does seem like Xerneas will stay like that for a very long while. That’s definitely not a lot of fun for his many fans.
Finally, my other slight complaint for the volume is that the art wasn’t so good. It’s probably the worst Pokemon movie art that I’ve seen. Something was just off about it. It simply wasn’t as clear as you would expect and the characters constantly felt off model or they would have odd expressions on their faces. Luckily, this doesn’t really affect the action scenes although there really aren’t any. We get a few laser blasts during the scuffles I suppose. The cool part is that Pikachu actually holds his own against Yveltal here!
As with the movie, the volume gets a little emotional towards the end as Pikachu is turned to stone and the viewers are reminded of his mortality. Ash was around with his magic tears, but it was still a very dicey moment for the whole cast. Ash is a solid lead as always and the other characters aren’t bad either. Ash’s friends did seem to be rather helpless without him though as Ash had to save the day once again. I’m waiting for one of his friends to decide to be a serious fighter. Until that point comes, everyone will just have to follow Pikachu and just hope for the best.
I do find it funny how the fast pacing does wreck a lot of the tension from the movie though. For example, one of the villains pretends to be an ally by helping Diancie out when she’s in a pinch. Only about 4 pages later, the villain shows up in the base talking tough and making threats. The reader isn’t given any time to even think that she might be a real hero before things going south. Of course, it was rather obvious, but the volume should have kept up the pretense a little while longer.
Tam Rocket is around, but their role is also very small as they are just around to get blasted off again. They’re still better than the two thieves though. I couldn’t take those guys seriously at all and their personalities are simply unlikable. They really added nothing to the film and really embody the term “Filler character.”
As this volume is so tiny, there’s really not a whole lot more to say about it. Especially considering that I already reviewed the actual film. This was not one of the stronger movies as the lack of action scenes are very noticeable. Genesect, now that was a really epic Pokemon movie filled with epic action scenes and even a parody of the Man of Steel climax, but with how the fight should have ended. Diancie can’t hope to compete with that.
As for Diancie herself, she’s not bad, but not one of the more likable legendaries either. I’d take Celebi over her since Celebi just seemed to have a more enjoyable personality. Yveltal gets the job done and I definitely like him. That’s one villain you don’t want to mess with and Yveltal actually destroyed a lot of the heroes. That takes a lot of skill for sure! Xerneas….well, he seems pretty cool, but I really don’t care for the tree part. Even the hype for Xerneas didn’t really win me over since he didn’t do anything with it. He’s a good Pokemon and certainly an intimidating one, but less words of wisdom and more action scenes would have been good for him.
Overall, if you liked the movie, then you’ll definitely like the manga adaption. It’s essentially the movie on hyper speed so you’ll be done with it very quickly. It makes for an enjoyable read and there are no real negatives aside from the fact that there isn’t a whole lot of action to be found here. I’m looking forward to the next Pokemon movie being more impressive and as a result, the next manga would also be more explosive. Still, this is your big chance to check the volume out and see how it compares to Pokemon Adventures since you don’t get to see Ash in manga format very often. Also, the best part of this volume is the fact that it proves how strong Pikachu is. He stops hits from Yveltal!! That’s pure hype!
Overall 7/10
I have now unlocked Sound Test! This title has still got the skills!
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