Pokemon Movie 08: Mew to Hadou no Yuusha Lucario

A long time ago, the people of Camaron Palace found themselves on the brink of destruction. Fortunately, they escaped it when Sir Aaron, the True Guardian of Aura, saved them. He sacrificed himself to stop a war between kingdoms. From that day on, a tournament is held every year to commemorate his noble deed.

Satoshi, a budding Pokémon trainer from Kanto, manages to win the latest tournament and is allowed to wield a staff said to have belonged to Sir Aaron himself. Lucario, the Aura Pokémon—who is also the servant of the True Guardian—emerges from the staff. However, remembering his last memory of his master abandoning him, Lucario runs away in confusion.

Meanwhile, Pikachu, Satoshi's companion, is abruptly taken by a Pokémon named Mew to the legendary Tree of Beginning. Only Lucario knows the way there, but he is unwilling to trust humans after his master's betrayal. Even so, to save his partner, Satoshi and his companions must acquire all the help they need and travel to the Tree of Beginning, unfolding hidden truths from centuries ago.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Satoshi Main

Matsumoto, Rica Japanese

Pikachu Main

Ootani, Ikue Japanese

Takeshi Main

Ueda, Yuuji Japanese

Haruka Main

Kawana, Midori Japanese

Lucario Main

Namikawa, Daisuke Japanese

Mew Main

Koorogi, Satomi Japanese

Sir Aaron Main

Yamadera, Kouichi Japanese

Masato Main

Yamada, Fushigi Japanese

Summers, Kidd Main

Becky Japanese

Kojirou Supporting

Miki, Shinichiro Japanese

Okamoto, Junya Producer

Yoshikawa, Chouji Producer

Mori, Takemoto Producer

Okuno, Toshiaki Producer

Reviews

Jul 15, 2008

Gin-iro

Recommended

After so many years and whatnot, most fans would think that eventually the Pokemon movies would lose their charm that the first few gave. I was starting to believe that myself.

What made Lucario and the Mystery of Mew so appealing was that instead of just showing a legendary pokemon and making it more epic than it really needs to be, this Pokemon movie took a step backwards and just didn't use a legendary pokemon as a main character (Mew seemed more as a side character) but Lucario was also close to the old atmosphere that made the older movies so great.

The very first scene shows ... a raging two-sided war. That alone drew me in for I knew that this movie was much more than what Pokemon Ranger or The Spell of the Unknown was. It had the same feel as Pokemon 2000 and The First Movie. It was a fun ride, I'll tell you that.

The animation was phenomenal in the movie. From the sparkling spirit of lucario's last moments to the action scenes, the movie never let up on the pretty graphics. Everything had a real fantasy look to it and it's very cool to see on a HD TV.

The sound was great, even if a little familiar. The usual opening scene of Ash battling someone to the tune of a recent opening song from the main series (which was lost in some other movies) was a fun scene to watch. By now it seems the dub DVDs will never supply us with a Japanese track, which is disheartening to say the least.

Lucario is by far one of the better "main" movie pokemon characters. He was lik a mix of Lugia and Entei combined into one and his personality was amusing. Sir Aaron was another likable character, though his time on screen is short.

After Jirachi Wishmaker and Destiny Deoxys, many people thought that Pokemon movies were falling into a sinkhole but it's great to see that Lucario and the Mystery of Mew was able to pull through. I recommend it to the die-hard pokemon fans. And maybe a few others that are looking for something to watch on a Friday night.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Sep 30, 2023

VBayer

Mixed Feelings

The eighth Pokemon movie begins with a sequence showing events from years ago, during a medieval looking era. It was when the main Pokemon of the movie were introduced, Mew and Lucario, and also Lucario’s trainer/master Aaron, a kind of knight from a palace or kingdom. At that time, there was a war happening between different kingdoms, using Pokemon and people as soldiers. At the end of the sequence, Aaron abandoned Lucario and his kingdom, because of the war. Unfortunately, this left Lucario sad and confused. That was the most interesting part of the movie, maybe a good idea for a spin-off about that time.

Back ... to the present time, Satoshi and friends (Haruka, Takeshi and Masato) were going to a festival that happen in the palace from that time. The festival sequence was pretty fun and was used to introduce more movie only characters, like Eileen (the current queen of the palace) and Kidd Summers. Lucario also reappears, thanks to Satoshi, because he was similar to Aaron in spirit.

The main plot really begins when Mew appeared and took away Pikachu and Nyarth to the Tree of World’s Origin, where that Mew lives. The movie was basically a rescue mission, about Satoshi and friends, and even Rocket Gang (Musashi and Kojirou), trying to bring back Pikachu and Nyarth, with the help of Lucario and Kidd. Exactly the same premise of the third Pokemon movie.

The real problem with this movie starts here. Basically, there was no real urgency or an antagonist, unlike in the third movie. Pikachu and Nyarth weren’t actually in danger. For example, what would happen if Satoshi and friends took one week, one month or even one year to reach the Tree. Mew was having fun playing with Pikachu and Nyarth, Mew was not a real threat. Meanwhile, the movie spends a lot of time with the characters driving a car to reach the Tree, and showing flashbacks about Lucario’s life with Aaron at the war time. Wouldn’t be more interesting if they quickly arrived the Tree and the movie showed they walking in the Tree most part of the time, with Lucario interacting with them and becoming friends while they were in danger, instead of spending a lot time driving a car, without tension, to reach the Tree.

When the characters were in the Tree, there was a bit of danger, because the Tree had some White Blood Cells, which protect the Tree against bacteria (humans in this case), which was a cool concept, but other than that, there were not many challenges in the Tree for the characters, unlike in the Crystal Tower of the third movie.

It was a bit weird and disappointing how easily some things were solved or simply weren’t solved for whatever was the reason. For example, when they were in the Tree, Satoshi saw Pikachu at the top of the Tree, why didn't Satoshi just used Ohsubame to fly to the top of the Tree to get Pikachu, apparently that would be too easy, Satoshi plays in hard mode. In addition to the Tree’s Cells, there were also the Regi trio (Regirock, Regice and Registeel), that were like guardians of the Tree, which doesn’t make much sense, if the Cells already exist to protect the Tree and how the Regis were easily avoided. It was just because the Cells don’t count Pokemon as bacteria or because the movies need to show legendary Pokemon. When the characters were absorbed by the Cells, Mew simply appeared and solved the problem, telling to the Tree that Satoshi and friends were not bacteria.

The movie also had the same problem as other Pokemon movies, the secondary characters like Haruka, Takeshi and Masato were not really important. Even characters like the queen and Kidd weren’t very important. It’s understandable that the characters of the series weren’t too useful, they need to be in the movie just because they are the main cast of the series, but other characters could have been more important. Even the Pokemon of the main cast weren’t much used, a common problem in some Pokemon movies. There weren’t many battles or action choreographies, that could show more tension or danger to the viewer, which was a bit disappointing, because people love a good Pokemon battle or action scene. Lucario protecting the characters from Regis was a bit similar to Lugia in the second movie, but even Lucario protecting them was not too impressive as Lugia.

Finally, the climax, after finding Pikachu and Nyarth. The sudden human activity in the Tree caused problems for Mew and the Tree, because they were like one. Mew was weakened and the Tree started to collapse, exactly like the Crystal Tower in the third movie. In this part, there was a twist about Aaron. Lucario finally figured out the truth about him. Lucario then solved the situation, fulfilling its role in this movie and the movie ends, exactly like in the third movie, but extremely abrupt and easy.

Like other Pokemon movies, this movie was enjoyable. It was well animated, the scenarios were beautiful, the opening sequence was fun, soundtrack was fine and there were some interesting ideas. However, was a bit disappointing in rewatch, considering the amount of time without real tension, the lack of an antagonist, how easily some things were solved, the abrupt ending and the lack of an interesting theme. It was fun to watch it as a child, but paying attention is easy to see that some things could be better. If you are not familiar with Pokemon movies, this movie probably is not the best entry, and if you are familiar, you will notice that some things here were done better in other Pokemon movies.

That was my first review, sorry for any mistake.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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Jul 13, 2023

Chaotic_beauty

Not Recommended

I'm note sure how I really feel about this one. I have many problems with it, but I can't say I think it's completely worthless. Mew was very cute in this and Lucario was actually cool. But I can't recommend this film. Bother only if you're an avid fan of Lucario or Mew.

Better to get the good out of the way. The soundtrack was fine, even if not on the level of the first, second or fifth film. Art, on the other hand, was not fine - it was much better. Just like in the last film, the artists did a great job. ... While not breaking standards set by previous films, some images present in here will stay vividly with you for days after you've watched it.

What else was good? Lucario ended up being a well crafted character, even if a bit stereotypical. Unfortunately, the relationship with his trainer was completely predictable and some of Lucario's lines towards his master were extremely bad. Fortunately, this didn't diminish Lucario's character. His interaction with Ash was a bit more aggressive than Pokemon sequels usually dare to go, making for a somewhat refreshing dynamic.

When discussing this film, it can easily be broken down into three main sections. That is to say, the film shifts gears twice, changing its style. These sections are at the castle, aproaching the mountain and in the mountain. Of the three, the only one I'd characterize as good is the second one. It's also the shortest.

Considering that the introduction scene is the same as in so many other Pokemon films, I don't have much to say about it. It isn't particulary bad, but I can't say much good about it either. It's just there. I guess seeing a hundred copy-pasted pokemon fighting was somewhat novel.

Now we get to the real begining of the Lucario and the Mystery of Mew. Film lures us in with neat arhitecture. We get to really enjoy the location for a few minutes as Ash battles another trainer. A bit later into the act, film uses classy outfits to draw us into an oppulent party. Both of these disguise the main problem of the film for only a few minutes. After the wow factor fades away, you start to notice the dialogue and interactions between the characters. Simply put, they aren't interesting. There are a few pokemon-only shenanigans used to distract the viewer, but they're not nearly as effective as in most other films.

At one moment Brock sees a girl and opens his stalking notebook. As he reads through the insanely stupid list of the poor gal's achievements, the realization hits you that this is supposed to be funny. The party drags on forever and it's only after Ash summons Lucario that things get a bit interesting. How did he do it? Due to lazy writing, of course. For some unexplained reason his aura is the same as Lucario's master's (even if their character is nothing alike).

Throughout these first 40 minutes of the film, we're treated to multiple scenes of Team Rocket and other characters doing irrelevant things. All in all, there's around fifteen minutes of footage which should have definitely been scraped, as it adds nothing to the experience.

After the film shifts geas, we're sent on a journey towards the crystal mountain. The not-so-challenging journey is perilous since, well... No one's ever been there. As baffling as this is, the following 20 minutes feature some neat scenes. Ash and Lucario clash, Lucario gets to act tsundere and a few jokes are genuinely funny. On the other hand, the stupidity doesn't leave. We discover some flowers which record and show the past. Apparently no one's ever tried harvesting this power, or at the very least we aren't informed of it, as the film just glances over the topic. Next up, the gang trriggers a thousand year old crystal flower with Lucario's master's memories. How this is possible, I don't know. Then, as the gang is attacked by underwhelmingly weak Regi legendaries, we approach the third act.

In the third part of the film we're treated to a fun subplot - Mew & Pikachu playing. A few of their scenes are shown earier, but the culmination of the subplot happens here and I gotta give credit where it's due - it works.

As for the main plot, the film completely breaks down here. Starting here, the film contains numerous vices and sins that Pokemon films indulged into throughout the years. There's the sentinent mountain's very own defense system against humans (no, I'm not joking), villains having acces to impossible technology, there's shallow mysticism, characters surviving impossible falls and nature acting in baffling ways. Pokemon was never about realism, but within every work exists a treshold where the world starts breaking down. I could go in depth and explain each and every thing wrong, but this is a review, not an in depth critique. Not to mention the length of this piece is already going too far. The gist of what I'm saying is - at a certain point you simply stop caring as the rules have been bent too far and the whole thing becomes boring. Well, at the very least they haven't ruined Lucario's character.

I'm left with two distinct impressions; I see a neat concept with a single nicely realized character. I also see a mess of a film with no consisteny, a boring first part and an inane second half. There are a few neat Lucario moments sprinkled therein, but I can't recommend it to anyone expecting a good film. Fortunately for Lucario and his Mistery, there's a rabbid fanbase of the character out there. And this fanbase will go through anything just to watch him some more. This film is tailored for them, even if it's a trainwreck. So, enjoy the film, I guess.

Reviewer’s Rating: 3

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