Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
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couple of notes before you start reading:
- this review is a remake of my old 2020 review, I will give a link to it in a bit
- the reason for remaking it is both for celebrating 30 years since the series debut, and also on a whim
- the old review was written in a rough english, rough writing, and poor critical acclaims
- therefore I wanted to look back at what exactly I tried to say in it, and renew those claims with my modern and better writing, english and critical thinking.
- this means this isn’t some new entirely review, yet while doing this I elaborated when I didn’t, filled holes when should, improves my thesis and writing and even added verdicts where I should’v
- for this reason I suggest that even if you read the old review, read it again, not just to see the foundation to this…
Read at the source_Bubassotto_
The beginning of one of the greatest franchises in anime history.
To talk about the original Pokémon anime is to talk about one of pop culture's most influential works. Even those who have never watched the anime likely know Pikachu, Ash, or some of the most famous Pokémon. It is no wonder the franchise continues to spawn new productions to this day. Its global success was more than deserved, and it all started right here.
Looking at the show by today's standards, some aspects have clearly aged. The animation, for instance, is far from impressive by modern metrics. It was competent for its time, though I wouldn't rank it among the best productions of the 90s. There are moments where the movement is limited, and some scenes suffer from inconsistent quality. Even so, none of this seriously…
Read at the sourceProudElitist
One of the best serial battle shounens ever made in history and the best thing ever written by Takeshi Shudo of Minky Momo fame hands down, imitated and copied by several other actors in the entertainment field in both animated and live-action format such as the terrible Digimon Adventures show and the duo of Kamen Rider Gotchard and the impending entry in the Project Red continuity of Kakusei Hunter Omegahorn (written by one of the writers of this show, Atsushio Tomioka, of all things) but none reaching this level of quality. The very reason for this show being the Masterpiece that it is (and no, nostalgia has no bearing whatsoever on this statement) being in the meshing of incredibly done world building akin to staples of the RPG videogames like The Elder Scrolls: Morrowind and Arcanum:…
Read at the sourceTactician
Pokémon is something I watched when I was growing up without realizing it was a global phenomenon let alone an anime. I had heard Ash retired and told myself that I should re-watch at least the original run through Johto, especially since I had seen less than 20 episodes from within Johto itself back then.
The show itself is made of three or four elements that get re-used on a weekly basis and is certainly tailored to the younger generation. I do think you can still find some enjoyment out of the show into adulthood though if you can look passed the repetitive nature of each episode.
Watching along the journey of Ash (Satoshi in Japanese) and friends certainly had some emotional moments that even now, in my 30s still jerked a tear out of me on occasion. The battles can be hit or miss. Mo…
Read at the sourceelumizu
Given its global popularity, Pokémon is hardly a series that requires an introduction or even a recommendation. For decades, the adventures of Ash Ketchum and his partner Pikachu have already become part of popular culture, reaching everyone across different generations and countries. Most people who are even slightly familiar with anime have likely encountered the series at some point, whether through television broadcasts, games, or the broader media franchise. Because of that, revisiting Pokémon today is less about explaining what it is and more about reflecting on how the series functions as a long-running story. At its core, Pokémon builds its narrative around a simple but effective structure where there is a young trainer traveling across regions, forming bonds with new companions, a…
Read at the sourcenurBeL_xelA
Ok guys, can we take off the rose-tinted glasses for a moment here and try to look at this as an actual show? I don’t wanna sound like I’m shitting on people’s childhoods because I also have a little bit of a soft spot for Pokémon. In fact, this show was technically my first exposure to anime that I can remember.
I recall it playing all the time on Cartoon Network when I was a kid. It felt like every Saturday morning I could turn on the TV and there would be some random episode of Pokémon playing, and since I didn’t have anything better to do, I’d watch it…or change the channel to SpongeBob. One of the two.
Yeah, I can’t exactly say I was the biggest Pokémon fan growing up. I watched some of the anime whenever it happened to be on TV, but I never really played any of the games. Even when…
Read at the sourceElyshion
Pokémon is a real success, especially because the main character goes on an adventure to capture Pokémon without his parents. Despite the criticisms often heard, such as the fact that this series would be nothing more than a marketing product or that it would be only aimed at children, this did not prevent me from enjoying it, because these details are compensated for by many qualities. Let's start with the main protagonist:
He is the most emblematic character of the series. Although he is often perceived as lazy, he is in excellent physical shape, especially for someone his young age. He has regularly demonstrated impressive endurance, traveling kilometers in various environments. In addition, he shows great agility and remarkable reflexes, allowing him to dodge attacks or catch objects…
Read at the sourceCaptainSalty
I have a lot of nostalgia for the original Pokémon series. It's by far the best one (up to at least X & Y), and I still could go back and watch this one, unlike the other series. That being said, I could not recommend this to anyone who is already familiar with anime or didn't grow up on this. For people who did or are under the age of 12, this is of course a recommendable watch as Pokémon does the bare minimum to be a good children's show in its themes of friends and family while being written well enough to give it your attention. The characters and plot are also nothing incredible, as the characters have about one flaw and the rest is perfect. The jokes revolve usually around these flaws but the writing still has its moments of comedy through its witty dialogue. It can be an enjoyable w…
Read at the sourceNezzuji
We've all seen an episode of Pokémon when we were kids, or at least heard about the adventures of Ash and his Pikachu. That's why it hurts to give such a rating to this anime, but in all objectivity, it doesn't deserve more.
Since this review is in English, I'll use the English names of the series, as depending on where you grew up, you may not have known the characters or Pokémon by the same name. For example, in Japan, the heroes are called Satoshi, Takeshi, and Kasumi, while in France, my home country, they are named Sacha, Pierre, and Ondine. However, I will use the English names, namely Ash, Brock, and Misty!
Firstly, let's establish some basics. Pokémon is an anime aimed at a fairly young audience. Moreover, the anime was released during a complicated period in terms of censorship,…
Read at the sourcePikamander2
The original Pokemon anime was an amazing, wholesome show with tons of charm and soul that paired perfectly with the video games, movies, and trading card game. It's hard to name any other single franchise that had as much reach as Pokemon did during its peak, and being a part of it at the time felt more like a major experience than just watching another cable TV show.
The show's characters are inspiring and their adventure was fun to watch. The progress that the main characters make throughout the series isn't always linear or predictable, meaning that there's always a reason to keep watching to see how things pan out. Additionally, their progress often comes with realistic moments of failure or other heartwrenching events that really drive home the idea of it being a proper adventure.
Read at the sourceOhsnapitsDavid
Let me just disclaim that this anime does not need my review and I should could write a whole college essay about this franchise. But the sake of MAL I'll do something brief.
Pokemon is without a doubt a masterpiece. It brought so many original concepts, characters, sounds, a numerous amount of collab work in almost all professional fields since it's debut in Japan.
As someone that grew up in the 90's, pokemon was a lasting example of golden age of cartoons, games and media such as Yugioh. Pokemon lead most of the top selling products whereever it launched.
As for the series, its a no brainer that the story is centered for kids. It's first two regions had a sort of "stay tune for the next episode" kind of cliche. But that never made Pokemon a bad anime. The main anime, not the manga, ce…
Read at the sourcesilviepie
Every possible critique of this kid's show has already been said. I originally gave it a 7/10 because it's honestly too episodic to be great, but I bumped it up to an 8/10 because of its sheer cultural impact and it basically being my entire childhood from ages 7-11. I have no desire to rewatch it as an adult, but at the time, this was the greatest thing that ever captured my imagination. I was so obsessed with the show that I put up a Pokemon poster next to my bed which I would spend time looking at before I fell asleep. At one point I could memorize all 150 in numeric order which in hindsight is just crazy. Honestly I'm surprised my parents didn't take me to see a shrink after that. This show was the reason for THAT level of obsession, so it must have done something right.
Read at the sourceIgnitedJesus
Listen,
Before anyone discredits my review saying "He can't possibly know what he's talking about since he claims the OG Pokemon series is a perfect 10/10."
I know this series is not a perfect series. I know it is rough around the edges and it gets bland in its ebbs and flows. But this series is such a heavy nostalgic override in my and plenty of peoples' brains that it can not rank as anything less than perfect for me. This was the anime that inspired people to like anime before they even knew what anime was. For what it was at the time, the memories that this show created, will never be beaten, and that is something I will die by.
The newer series that they have been producing have gotten extremely convoluted but these OG arcs were so precious that they can not be anything less tha…
Read at the sourcemangobowl
pokémon: the most underrated show of all time. it truly scathes me how little recognition this piece of art gets. when i say that this is the best show ive ever seen in my whole entire life and will ever see in my whole entire life, i seriously mean it. to be completely honest, this anime is the epitome of peak fiction. pokémon is hands down better than mid piece, crap metal alchemist, shit art online, and every other anime excluding itself - only incels would disagree BTW. pokémon deserves nothing but support. the day people come to realize the true slayfulness of pokémon will be the day humanity evolves.
Read at the sourcejellosaurss
I gotta be honest, i'm rating this like how I would rate it if I were a 8 year old child again. I'm absolutely in love with the Pokemon game series (though tbh i'm more of a fan of the DS era games given I grew up with that). My first games being Diamond and Pearl, and my favorites being Black/White/Black2/White2.
I've grown up with this series and it inspired me to learn how to read in Japanese so I could play the games before they released in America (This was before the worldwide release schedule for the modern Pokemon games started. We'd have to wait a year to get the games localized.), so my nostalgia goggles are blinding me when it comes to this franchise, and I think it'll almost be impossible for me to rate it objectively, but i'll try.. Also keep in mind i've only watched this a…
Read at the sourceWEEBS_Taste_Ryuu
Contains spoilers but I am keeping the major ones aside. I will be focusing on the characters and story as a whole, not stuffs like the arts or the music in any kind and the fact that you’re reading this, I assume you are somewhat older than the intended age group of Pokemon.
Being the first Pokemon series, this one doesn’t really prove to excel in any category.
The main idea of this series is pretty simple and that is introducing us to the Pokemon World. I find this fairly logical and exactly what was needed but certainly it lacked the punch. This series pretty much focuses on Pokemon and not the battles or the trainers. As a result we’ve got this bratty Satoshi who is very immature and is looked after by two gym leaders to guide him to the pokemon battles and how to be a trainer. Sin…
Read at the sourcedonquickoats
The original Pokemon anime is one of those series that is nearly impossible to view objectively if you grew up with it and the games. So much nostalgia is hopelessly intertwined with these childhood adventures. Overall it's a solid anime that anyone who is a fan of the game series should watch at some point, if only to understand the cultural impact of the franchise in the west as a whole. I can't say for sure how much a person who didn't play the games would enjoy this, however. All things considered, the Pokemon anime is a solid children's anime and a great snapshot of the nerd-culture zeitgeist of the late 90s.
Read at the sourcebacd1990
Pros:
- The show that change the history of our planet,
- 90% of the show it's really interesting and innovative,
- It pushed the anime into mainstream media,
- Simple story design and goals,
- It shaped the generation,
- some of character development can be really interesting.
Cons:
- The remaining 10% Ash don't win neither Kanto, or Johto League, - Some battles are ridiculous,
- Team Rocket appearance can get annoying quickly,
- The story development is being held up by corporations policy,
Overoll I would recomend watch the anime 90% of anime,but with the knowledge that Ash will unfortunately lost in the Regional League, so don't give up your hopes too high on this one.
Read at the sourcegogery
Pokemon! Something most children watched as children. To me, it was the first official anime that I had watched in my life. I found that seeing a teenager with such passion in catching pokemon was very enjoyable to watch. When I was a kid I told my mom I wanted to have a pokemon of my own. But when she told me that I couldn't, I was very very upset.
StoryLine:
A 9-year-old, now 10-year-old named Ash Ketchum is now ready to start his pokemon journey. He spent his night watching pokemon battles over and over causing him to sleep past his alarm. His mother finally wakes him up to get ready to go to Professor Oaks' lab. When he gets there he sees Gary walking away with his newly picked: Squirtle!
Ash becomes even more exciting and rushes into the lab. He sees 3 pokeballs on a table and d…
Read at the sourceBlueCactuar
It’s definitely a show aimed at more at kids. Even so, my nostalgic love of watching the original Pokémon will never diminish! Catching Bulbasaur, Charmander & Squirtle, Digging those Diglett, playing with Gastly, Haunter & Gengar, Charizard not being an asshole for 1 day to fight Magmar
Sure there is only so much you can do with a Pokémon of the day type format until things can seem repetitive, but every episode takes me back to being a kid watching Saturday morning cartoons, and that Christmas I finally got Pokémon Red. You can’t put a price on that! I just can’t believe it was all over 20 years ago
Read at the source
