Pokemon: Origins (Minor Spoilers)

 (Source: IMDb)

I will start this review off by stating that as a child, I loved Pokemon and as an adult, I still love it! I loved the anime series that aired on Kids' WB and later Cartoon Network (matter of fact, Pokemon was my introduction to anime), and I loved the video games on the Game Boy console (due to Pokemon Blue Version being the first game I owned). When I heard about an adaptation of Red and Blue being released in 2013, there was no doubt that I was brimming with excitement, and when the miniseries was released (in English and Japanese) I was far from disappointed. Matter of fact, I can say Pokemon: Origins is a better animated adaptation than the main anime series! The characters, story, and world of this adaptation are treated more faithfully than that of the main animated series.

Instead of Ash, we follow the journey of his video game counterpart, Red. Instead of choosing Pikachu like Ash did, he chose Charmander as his starter Pokemon. (Red actually had a choice between starters unlike Ash) Unfortunately, those expecting Red to have Pikachu in his team of Pokemon will be disappointed. Pikachu makes a small appearance in the last episode of the miniseries and is not seen again before or afterwards. The miniseries' story is faithfully adapted with minor changes at certain points, as well as taking pieces of dialogue directly from Red and Blue. An example of dialogue pulled directly from the games is at the introduction, where Professor Oak (voiced by Kyle Hebert) recites the opening dialogue verbatim. I smiled when I heard this, and it brought back multiple memories of me playing and constantly restarting Pokemon Blue as a child.

 In terms of characters, do not expect Red to be a clone of Ash from the main anime. Red and Ash may have a similar personality, but the former takes situations more seriously than the latter, and is a more competent trainer than the latter. His rival Blue is essentially similar to his anime counterpart, Gary Oak. The same can be said for Professor Oak and the leader of Team Rocket, Giovanni. The latter feels more like a threat than his mainstream anime counterpart. I never thought of Giovanni as a major threat in the main anime, partially because he contributed to the plot aside from appearing at the beginning and end of each region's arc. The leaders of the other organizations were more of a threat than Giovanni, with the most threatening being Lysandre but I digress. The eight Kanto gym leaders are the same as their game counterparts (considering this is based more on the original games), though they are seldom seen in Origins. I would have loved to see the battles Red had with these gym leaders and more interaction in each battle, aside from their game dialogue in a text box at the bottom of the screen.

This miniseries had so much story from the games to tell, it should have taken more than four episodes. They should have made this into a standalone series, to tell Red's adventure in greater detail. They could have expanded upon the battles with gym leaders, the encounters with Team Rocket, and Red's battles against the Elite Four and champion Blue. This is where a later miniseries known as Pokemon Generations succeeded in the categories where Origins failed, albeit not focusing on Red as the main character. However; despite being so truncated, this series was amazing and a must-watch for any Pokemon or anime fan. It hits all points of Red and Blue's story, and includes references to the games not in the anime such as TMs, HMs, and the different types of PokeBalls aside from the standard red and white ball. Hopefully when they someday decide to end the main anime, they will reboot the series in the style of Pokemon Origins.