Pokémon: Indigo League - Season One, Part 1
by Kunihiko Yuyama, Masamitsu Hidaka
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Actor: Inuko Inuyama, Mayumi Iizuka, Megumi Hayashibara, Mika Kanai, Unshô IshizukaDirector: Kunihiko Yuyama, Masamitsu Hidaka
Brand: Warner Brothers
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Stereo; English (Dubbed), Stereo
Format: Animated, Box set, Dubbed, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 650 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-11-21
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Model: DPMBS1
Studio: Viz Media
Product features:
- Condition: New
- Format: DVD
- Animated; Box set; Dubbed; DVD; Full Screen; Subtitled; NTSC
DVD Reviews of Pokémon: Indigo League - Season One, Part 1
DVD Review: The Trouble with Catching 'em All
Summary: 2 Stars
NOTE: This review refers to the first three seasons of the entire Pokémon TV series.
If you weren't born and raised in the late 90's and beyond, then you probably wouldn't know what this phenomenal franchise was all about. "Pokémon" was originally a video game from Game Boy which broadened its franchise into trading cards, action figures, and an anime show due to its growing popularity. By 1998, the first ever "Pokémon" movie was released in the US; it was simply titled "Pokémon: The First Movie" (the Japanese title being "Mewtwo Strikes Back"). From then on, at least a dozen more films were released, and a million more toys/trading cards were sold worldwide. The "Pokémon" franchise is still going strong, with its eventual peak occurring in the late 1990's and early 2000's. Millions of people from around the world have seen the TV show, have seen the films, have traded cards, have collected action figures, and have completely embraced this pop culture phenomenon. Thank goodness I'm not one of them.
I'm going to be completely honest: I never grew up on "Pokémon." I have seen at least six dozen episodes of the animated series (from Indigo League to Johto Journeys), and I still can't understand why this is so popular among kids and young adults. I was about eleven to twelve years old when this show was at its prime, so I did catch a few episodes here and there when it aired on Saturday mornings. Years later, I see a total of 70+ episodes from seasons one through three. I've seen most of them straight through, and the rest I've seen only snippets of. All those times I spent watching these episodes I should really consider being a waste: this is one of the most tedious and most unentertaining animated kid shows I have ever seen. It's as if the show already knows that it's boring so it just continues on to depress us every time it airs. The story centers on a 10-year old boy named Ash who wants to become a Pokémon Master. Two more people named Misty and Brock follow him on his journey. The main villains of this show are a duo named Team Rocket and their assistant named Meowth. So basically, it's all about Ash trying hard to become a Pokémon Master, with Team Rocket trying to block his way.....
Sounds exciting, doesn't it?
One thing I've noticed is that this show is very formulaic. Many episodes involve Ash, Misty, and Brock entering new territory, discovering a brand new monster, Team Rocket interfering (and "blasting off again"), and the ending being anything but depressing. It's almost the same thing over and over. I know there are many kids shows that are just as formulaic as this one, but I think this one in particular show constantly repeats its own formula without offering anything new. At least in a show like DuckTales or Batman: The Animated Series, there was a fresh premise during later episodes. Not here: even in Johto Journeys we get the same basic formula as in Indigo League. Only this time, Team Rocket seems to appear less and less later on. Granted, when Ash and his friends finally enter the Indigo League in the second half of the first season, the formula is somewhat abandoned, but there are still traces found (Team Rocket are STILL trying to kidnap Pikachu). As a result, many of these episodes are very predictable. You can easily tell what's going to happen in the next episode, which destroys any indication of high tension. Even kids will probably find out how the next episode will turn out. It ultimately turns the show into a terrible bore.
The characters are even worse. First, the human protagonists aren't very interesting, at least to me. So we have Ash, Misty, and Brock as our main heroes, and they don't seem to have any personalities. Sure, Ash is the determined boy leader, Misty is the caring and sometimes hot-headed mother figure, and Brock is the intelligent and level-headed teenager. And yet, they never seem to change as the story "supposedly" progresses. Their personalities are never offered any new developments, and we get much of the same later on in the series. Same can be said about Team Rocket. Jesse, James, and Meowth are epitomes of 2-dimensional antagonists. They simply have no purpose other than to steal Pokémon and rule the world. But is there a reason why? Of course, not, because the show never shows us why. And even if they try to steal these Pocket Monsters, they always fail and we're never sure why they ever try again. I guess it's because their boss Giovanni will give them backstage passes to a Lady Gaga concert. I don't know.
Everyone who has seen this show knows that there are hundreds of different kinds of these little fighting creatures (Pikachu, Butterfree, Jigglypuff, Squirtle, etc.). I've heard that there are over three-hundred different kinds in the entire series! I'm guessing the creators of this show have a vivid imagination, because I certainly wouldn't even come up with twenty of them. But the thing that bothers me about these monsters is their language. Now, one of the most infamous things about this movie is that the Pocket Monsters can only say their names when speaking either to one another or to their owners. For example, all Pikachu ever says is "Pikachu! Pika Pika! Pikachu!" It gets really irritating not only because the fact that only one word is said over and over, but also because of the fact that this sort of logic is somehow acceptable in this anime. How is it that humans and Pokémon are able to communicate with one another when the monsters can't even speak a common language? At least Meowth is able to speak properly, but why not everyone else? There should have been an editor for the screenplays to this show.
"Pokemon" isn't a complete failure. Its focus on competition and sports gives a pretty good message about never surrendering to defeat. It's still a disappointment, however. I could hardly care about both the tedious story and the dull, flat characters. Maybe it's because I never grew fond of this anime as I was growing up, but whatever the reason, my personal opinion remains intact. This show is a soul-crushing bore.
Grade: D
Description of Pokémon: Indigo League - Season One, Part 1
Enjoy the Pokémon story from the beginning! Meet our hero, Ash, in his hometown of Pallet Town where boys and girls are encouraged to begin their Pokémon journeys! Join the Indigo League in this special box set of 26 episodes from Season 1 of Pokémon!Pokémon scored an immediate hit when it debuted on American TV in 1995: Adapted from a Gameboy game created by Satoshi Sajiri, the diminutive "pocket monsters" spawned a multibillion dollar franchise on both sides of the Pacific. The initial mania died down after a few years, but the games and the animated series and features have remained popular. Although it's unabashedly product-based and overly cute at times, Pokémon remains an agreeable children's entertainment that stresses friendship, perseverance, and good sportsmanship. The first broadcast season introduces the main characters and follows them through first part of the game in its original Red and Blue versions. Aspiring Pokémon trainer Ash Ketchum must establish a bond with Pikachu, the ultra-cute, but initially recalcitrant "electric mouse." He leaves his home in Pallet Town and quickly befriends fellow-trainers Misty and Brock. As the trio wanders through forests and towns, Ash begins collecting Pokémon and fighting other trainers. (The fights are very tame: Pokémon faint when they're exhausted, but are never injured or killed.) The three friends also outwit inept comic villains of Team Rocket, Jesse, James, and Meowth. Ash gradually matures through his experiences: In episode 20, he learns self-sacrifice when he allows Butterfree, the first Pokémon he caught and trained, to find a mate and depart for their nesting grounds. The original motto, Pokémon Getto Daze! (Let's Get Pokémon!) became "Gotta Catch 'Em All!" and many fans are still trying to do just that, although the initial number of 151 Pokémon, has more than tripled over the years. (Unrated, suitable for all ages: cartoon violence) --Charles Solomon
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