Pokemon Origins is getting a lot of praise mostly because of the comparison to the ongoing anime, Pokemon. Unlike the ongoing series which follows the adventures of Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town and his Pikachu, Pokemon Origins is a direct adaptation of the original Pokemon games, Red, Green and Blue and follows the adventures of Red from Pallet Town and his rival, Blue.
What this mini-series show case has going for it is a great cast, great animation by an assortment of great animators including OLM, the company that's long been apart of the Pokemon anime franchise, and it's direct telling of the games as opposed to the loose inspiration seen in the running series. If you played the originals or the remakes you can get an appreciation for this somewhat but a lot of the appreciation is riding high on nostalgic value and how night and day it compares to the ongoing TV series.
No doubt Origins is or would be superior however it's unfortunately severely limited by it's short length. With only four episodes at less than half-an-hour a piece it crams a 20 hour game into roughly 100 minutes which doesn't leave much of the game to be seen and mostly adds to being a glorified recap than an actual telling. A series like this would have benefited from a slightly longer running set of video projects or better yet a full half season for television.
Gyms are skipped over and most of the story is quickly told through quick narration bytes with only some small key events left in for good measure. We get to see the haunting Lavender Town in full glory and are treated to a full proper battle with Boss Rocket Giovanni.
The sudden introduction of Mega Charizard X Evolution from Pokemon X cheapens the old time feel of the original games and seems tacked on so unnecessarily to promote the latest game.
Pokemon Origins will give you a quick nostalgia binge if you played the original games but will leave you wanting more even though we likely never will. For those who didn't play Generation I or the subsequent remakes and for strangers of Pokemon they'll likely not be engaged by the choppy plot line.
What this mini-series show case has going for it is a great cast, great animation by an assortment of great animators including OLM, the company that's long been apart of the Pokemon anime franchise, and it's direct telling of the games as opposed to the loose inspiration seen in the running series. If you played the originals or the remakes you can get an appreciation for this somewhat but a lot of the appreciation is riding high on nostalgic value and how night and day it compares to the ongoing TV series.
No doubt Origins is or would be superior however it's unfortunately severely limited by it's short length. With only four episodes at less than half-an-hour a piece it crams a 20 hour game into roughly 100 minutes which doesn't leave much of the game to be seen and mostly adds to being a glorified recap than an actual telling. A series like this would have benefited from a slightly longer running set of video projects or better yet a full half season for television.
Gyms are skipped over and most of the story is quickly told through quick narration bytes with only some small key events left in for good measure. We get to see the haunting Lavender Town in full glory and are treated to a full proper battle with Boss Rocket Giovanni.
The sudden introduction of Mega Charizard X Evolution from Pokemon X cheapens the old time feel of the original games and seems tacked on so unnecessarily to promote the latest game.
Pokemon Origins will give you a quick nostalgia binge if you played the original games but will leave you wanting more even though we likely never will. For those who didn't play Generation I or the subsequent remakes and for strangers of Pokemon they'll likely not be engaged by the choppy plot line.