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Jul 14, 2023
Behold, the final Pokemon movie! It's been a long road getting to the end and there's a tangible feeling of finality to this whole Pokemon thing here. The original anime is finished, Ash is done away with and the movies are, surprisingly, dead and buried. A revival is always possible, but after 24 movies, a living link to the franchise which followed many of us throughout life, is forever severed.
For better or worse, the quality of Koko settles right in the boring middle, an average not easy to write about. Production values follow the expected Pokemon standard without any ambition to amaze. Similarly, the plot
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plays out like a lesser copy of its greater predecesors - most notably, Tarzan.
For such a by-the-numbers production, it's a shame then, that specific Pokemon drama is written and acted out in an extremely clunky way. The dramatic elements simply don't work and many threads are naively resolved in a blink of an eye. There's a conscious attempt to forgo writing emotional character moments and the antagonist's uncomfortably straightforward and long monologues concentrate all the blame at one point. The whole production is moreso uninteresting than bad and a better fit as background noise than an active watch.
Ultimately, being the last Pokemon movie is the only outstanding quality on display here. If you're a Pokemon fan and have seen a dozen other ones, Koko won't hurt you. However, as a cap to the franchise, I'd rather recommend The Power of Us - probably the only good movie this movie franchise has given in its final thirteen years.
Lastly, I'm relieved to be able to write these words:
It's finally over.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Mar 15, 2020
This movie fails as a shot-for-shot remake. The bigger of its two problems is the removal of all the interesting scenes which thematically underpinned the first movie. There was a big (but somewhat silent) backlash when fans learned that the American localization (and all the subsequent localizations from it) gutted the first movie by removing ten minutes of footage due to it being "too challenging" for kids. This movie does exactly the same, but at the Japanese source. The soul of the first Pokemon movie is not here. This adaptation does not work thematically and shows contempt for its source material. No one sane should
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recommend this version over the original.
Regarding its CGI art style, it works for stylized nature scenes, but is completely inadequate when it comes to human characters and pokemon. Particle animation is good, but characters have almost no expressive quality. It looks like trash and you don't get used to it. It's no Beastars.
Avoid this one with extreme prejudice.
Reviewer’s Rating: 2
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Feb 28, 2019
Pokemon: Everyone's Story feels like a movie set in the Pokemon universe rather than another tired sequel. This is shocking. Throughout the years we've been served almost two dozen Pokemon movie sequels. Some of them were good and felt distinct, but after the fifth movie quality quickly started dipping. After the tenth movie the best that could be hoped for was a passable flick. Passing the insane number of twenty, things changed; by the time of the fabled twentieth sequel even the producers were getting worried. To reinvigorate the series they decided to serve us a reboot. And it was a boring, albeit quickly forgotten
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reboot. Having reviewed all the Pokemon movies, a feat which had me sacrifice much of my time throughout the years to trivial bullshit, hardly anyone can be more surprised than I at what The Power of Us is. And while this movie wasn't that great, it gave me immense joy by dodging almost all trappings another yearly Pokemon release was bound to fall into. Seeing how the next movie will be a CGI remake of the first Pokemon movie, I get the impression that this one is the swan song for Pokemon movies as they were for over twenty years. So consider this review that; a last enjoyment of the now-bygone days.
The most notable difference between the olden movies and this one is the structure. The Power of Us has no antagonist, no helpless princesses to save, no comic relief sidekicks. It's a story of mischief and trouble the varied Pokemon and the vast human cast face. Almost a subversion, Pokemon needed this shakeup it to give a refreshing experience. It keeps the audience on their toes guessing what'll happen next. As for what it does to long time watchers, it's a special kind of amazement and excitement; just for this alone it's worth seeing.
The big cast is used exceptionally well. Around ten characters all get to have a small character arc. Each gets their own social circle, all of which interact in unpredictable and often creative ways. A character will forget something; a character will steal something; a character will help a stranger - it'll all come back around to impact other people they didn't interact with at all. Dozens of details of this kind are sprinkled throughout the whole movie. Sometimes it feels like poetry in motion. The script was definitely thought out. It may be the best one a Pokemon movie ever got. Even some of the best movies - Darkrai, Latias, Entei - had worse scripts and often less than impressive dialogue.
With all the praise for the script, the characters and the movie structure, The Power of Us almost reaches for the stars. It's an unfortunate fact that for all the smiles characters get out of us, they stay funny stick figures. They're nice stick figures, but nobody we can actually like or connect with. Making it clear there are no consequences for anything in this movie, the ride is too feel-goody for the viewer. Because of it there is almost no actual investment into the character stories. While the characters often fell flat in old sequels, the story was usually about something scary and new. For example, the terrible Genesect movie was about genocide on some level. This one has the most generic pro-nature and renewable energy message possible. Even if we ignore that wind turbines are the least ecologically friendly renewable energy type with huge negative ramifications for the environment, The Power of Us still fails to impress. While the buildup to the finale is great, it goes out with a whimper, not a bang. It's a comfortable whimper, though.
All things considered, The Power of Us should be considered a middling movie until we factor in the animation. It's great. Not Pokemon movie stellar, it's actually great. The battle with Eevee is one of the best fights in the movie series and the electric Lucario is a treat for the eyes. Yet, this is all fluff. Nice fluff, but fluff nontheless.
It's been a long road, topping Diancine movie from five years ago and reaching levels of Zoroark from nine years ago. The Pokemon movie team is obviously experimenting with new approaches to the movies. The old movie era ended with the Volcanion movie (nineteenth sequel!). Now we're getting reboots and 3D remakes are being announced. That make me feel alienated. I'm happy this single unexpected gem was made. But the question remains - will be ever get a real Pokemon movie again? We'll be closer to the answer in a year's time.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Mar 3, 2018
Valvrave: The Liberator is an alternate history philosophical mecha melodrama set a thousand years into the future. They say time mends all wounds and indeed, in this future, Germany and Russia have united into a single country. The show follows a bunch of ordinary space students turned immortal vampire mecha pilots for the army of the Independent Highschool Moon Colony as they wreak havoc thru the dyson sphere surrounding our sun in an attempt to reestablish the Russian monarchy.
The show is insanely deep with symbolism and meaning, tackling various high concepts and taboo subjects. It tries to reconcile Plato's world of Ideal Forms with sub-atomic
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particle physics, postulating the existence of the smallest information particle which draws unimaginable power from cognitive meaning. The show goes even further by showing us how these particles could power fighting robots. Indeed, it shatters all physical paradigms. Not to slack off on the question of morality, the morally gray world of Valverape: The Penetrator asks us the question - what is the line separating sexual violation from consensual rape?
As I watched L-Elf single handedly crash the whole Germano-Russian army in an attempt to free a captive alien princess and take down the Führer so Russian monarchy loyalists can reinstate their emperor, I knew this anime was something truly special. I mean, I thought this was supposed to be about proclaiming a school into an independent country? No wait. Was it actually a romantic comedy primarily? Huh.
In any case, Vulvarape is a must see. A true patrician's work and a true masterpiece.
10/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Feb 1, 2018
For a movie that was neither necessary nor wanted, it was quite an easy watch. Most of it was a slow burn through the basic stories Pokemon watchers know well. It's mostly executed well enough not to be annoying. The plot and characters are middling in every way. They're not interesting, but are a watchable shake up from the dreaded, completely faithful rehash people expected. The only question remaining is, out of all dropped characters, why the hell have they brought Team Rocket back?
Technically, it's a competent movie. Most surprisingly, music isn't terrible this time around. Also notable, movie features a remix of the original
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Japanese opening paired up with a battle montage. In hindsight, I should've expected this, but I gotta say: it's pretty neat.
As the movie drew near a close, I was ready to shrug it off and never think about it again. But then they just had to kill Ash and resurrect him, like in the Mewtwo Strikes Back. Fuck this movie.
I'm not going bother making a big review, as there's nothing to talk about. It exists and it exists on the border between an uninspired remake and an unintentional, borderline offensive self-parody. Definitely not recommended.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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Jun 21, 2017
The start of this movie confused me. Could this one actually be good? Pokemon movies have degraded throughout the years and are now known for repetitive plots and themes. One of the reasons for this throughout the last decade was the constant reuse of situations and assets. The key phrase here is the last decade. Indeed, some bad Pokemon movies older than that used to be bad in diverse ways, but they're increasingly falling into a rut. Even neutral elements that used to be a backdrop or pure fluff feel tired now, as we've seen them so many times before. In this movie I rolled
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my eyes as characters did things they do in every Pokemon movie. I rolled my eyes when I saw houses identical to those in previous movies and show. Not every fame was bad, but it all felt tired. Again, again and again. Is this what dying of old age feels like? Maybe, but I believe a more appropriate phrase is feeling dead inside. Yes, that's how a lot of elements in these movies make me feel. Yet, as I watched, the first half an hour kept me puzzled. We have yet another kingdom and yet another anachronistic mix of history and technology. But could it be that this time it's going to be different, actually interesting?
What gives hope are some interesting ideas that sound too baffling to not be further explored. The movie deals with Magearna, a mechanical Pokemon created by an alchemical genius 500 year ago. This is constantly repeated. Not only that, but the core component of this Pokemon is named the soul-heart. That's interesting. We may be in yet another themepark city, this time with gears, but alchemical and supranatural components are everywhere. Throughout the movie I was grasping at straws, seeking for explanations and lore, trying to make sense of this. But there was nothing to find.
The biggest problem is that the plot's essence is an exploration of the very concept of soul, life and divine revelation. But in the end none of those elements get even a lip service. The whole thing was not thought out at all. I'm reminded of Mewtwo's lamentations and invocation of God upon his birth 19 movies ago. How far have Pokemon movies degraded since?
In any case, now that we've established why the very concept of this movie fails, lets look at the characters. We've got the standard team; Rocket are annoying and useless and Ash's team is there for exposition purposes. We've also got two major new characters; Magearna and Volcanion. Both are mixed bags. Magearna, especially early on, is interesting. Unfortunately, the way they decided to treat her later on was terrible. She ended up seeming as a worse reboot of Diancine from a few movies ago.
If there's one positive in the movie worth mentioning, it's Volcanion. I believe most people who like the movie like it because he basically carried it. Movie puts him and Ash into the center and their interactions are generally good enough to keep the viewer engaged at least a bit. Unfortunately, even in Japanese, his voice actor is servicable at best and the way he's been directed is painfully generic.
Music herein is generic Pokemon movie fare, except this time the main theme remix is exceptionally weak and unsatisfying. Visually, it looks how you'd expect a Pokemon movie to look. I don't care to even mention the plot or antagonists. If you've ever watched an unsatisfying Pokemon movie before, you know what to expect. By the way, shoutout to another damned flying castle! I hope we never see one again in these movies, but I have no faith in the movie team. I hate it.
There's just one more thing I want to talk about before wrapping the review up. Ash's disgusting self-righteousness. As if directly from the Mewtwo 2: Electric Boogaloo movie, Ash is on a friendship spree. By that I mean, he's pushing friendship talks onto everyone he meets. Except this time he goes too far. At one point in the movie Ash does everything he and a wild group of Pokemon were trying to do. All is wrapped up, everyone should go their own way. The wild Pokemon are grateful to him and all is well. Or is it? In a jarring move, Ash, after realizing that even though they're grateful, these Pokemon still don't trust humans in general, starts shouting at them - how dare they not like humanity after he helped them? He lets both them and us, as an audience, know that he's the ambasador of humanity and if you don't trust humanity after he's done with you, you're the problem. Thanks, Ash. Go die in a fire.
All in all, the plot of this one is one of the worst Pokemon movie plots out there, somewhere between the Celebi and Keldeo movies. Characters are generally unlikable with the exception of Vulcanion who keeps you from wanting to kill yourself when watching. There are moments that hint at greatness that are thoroughly sabotaged at every point possible. With X&Y movies behind us, it seems the Diancine movie will stay foreverially the only one warranting a recommendation of any kind.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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Sep 11, 2016
Fullmetal Alchemist (2003) is one of the quintessential coming of age anime. It focuses on Edward Elric, a kid with a murky past turned soldier. Over the course of this journey, Edward uncovers the harsh nature of reality and learns to cope with it. Make no mistake. This isn't a comfortable adventure like Brotherhood. Whereas Brotherhood is a plot driven roller coaster, original FMA is a character driven exploration of humanity and its reconciliation with the fallen nature of the world. An optimistic adventure versus a sobering tale. A tale of obsession and madness.
What really stands out here is Edward's character. At the very start
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of the story, he's an edgy pseudo-intellectual. He criticizes belief in higher powers, mocks divinity, basks in science to stimulate his ego and lashes out on people he disagrees with. He's childish. The story starts well, but it is after the adaptation outpaces the manga, his character suddenly shines so much brighter. Instead of making peace with himself, Edward's obsession with redemption throws him deeper into the abyss. From an idealistic kid who'll never kill, he becomes a willing murderer. From a kid horrified with violence, he starts screaming for vengeance. Once a believer into equivalent exchange - the ideal order of the world - he starts doubting. Edward is forced to confront the very embodiment of his sin and his world falls apart once again. How can he find redemption?
Whereas most shows that dabble into edgy territory stay there, FMA does something amazing and ends up successfully conveying genuine hope without feeling forced and denying or overplaying its dark and sobering tone. It hides nothing evil or disappointing about the world, yet its message of striving for something higher is both idealistic and sober. Whereas equivalent exchange is an imperfect law, it's still recognized as a higher spiritual, or dare I say it, religious principle. A law of morality which should be longed for even in an imperfect physical world. Does that strike anyone else as very Christian? Considering Christianity is acknowledged multiple times by the show, I find it interesting.
Not to focus only on Edward, FMA also excels at characterizing other people, masterfully handling characters such as Nina and Hughes or Izumi and her husband. Another point of brilliance rarely given its due is Alphonse. Throughout the series he's used as a voice of childish empathy and forgiveness sorely needed to ground Edward. It's a very subtle and understated relationship, but one of the best of its kind I've seen in anime.
Another point where FMA shines brighter than almost any anime is its literal lightning. While the animation is average on the pretty side of things, directing is great. You won't get many cool weird shots, but its direction is immensely elevated by masterful use of color and lightning. It can't be overstated how emotions of characters get accentuated through the use of moody lightning and atmosphere. With the use of lightning FMA regularly shows sadness without weeping. Edward's moments of madness are horrifying without him yelling. Show don't tell. It's chilling to the bone.
There are some great music tracks and leit motifs in FMA's soundrack. Some of its songs lie right next to Shostakovich's 2nd Waltz in my music folder.
There's a lot to be said about Dante, the themes of duality, human soul and immortality, tragic stories of homunculi and more. However, the gist of this review wouldn't change even if it were five times longer. FMA 2003 isn't "one of the best shounen out there". It's one of the best bildungsroman anime, if you will. It's got no final boss and all the important fights are short and brutal. FMA 2003 is a mature coming of age story that transcends mere "boy fun". Depth of characters isn't spelled out by mediocre dialogue scenes and characters are deep enough to hold a 51 episode series. In fact, dialogue feels very natural and is one of the heroes making this adaptation as good as it is.
You won't always get what you want. Not everyone can be punished. A man should know when to stop. And Fullmetal Alchemist 2003 is one of the best.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jul 1, 2016
Hoopa and the Clash of Ages is the whooping 18th movie in the Pokemon series. Sometimes it seems as if these'll keep coming out forever. And if they do, I guess one day I'll be forced to retire from death and descent to the mortal plane and walk the waking world eternally; just to review these things. When you crank out sequels yearly, care and originality become a problem. Pokemon settled into a routine. Once every few years the team will push out something a bit better or if we're lucky, genuinely enjoyable.
Sure, we didn't have a legit, consistently good movie since The Rise
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of Darkrai, some eight movies ago and we didn't have an unironically great movie since Pokemon Heroes some 13 years ago. However, this doesn't mean some movies, such as Zoroark: Master of Illusions weren't enjoyable. What's that? The Zoroark movie came out 5 installments ago? Huh, well, I guess the very last one about Diancine wasn't that bad. The more I look back at the past movies, it seems as if quality really is slipping down with smaller and smaller spikes in quality.
I'm happy to say that this movie's not offensive. But I'm also disappointed to call it a less exciting derivative of the Diancine movie. Fitting the same mold, we've got Ash meeting a cosmically irrelevant legendary pokemon. Then some sweet shenanigans ensue and before writers are forced to make the movie into a character study, all hell breaks loose. By no means am I'm petitioning for Pokemon to shift gears into deeply personal stories for art majors by art majors, but you can't keep doing the same thing and always get away with it.
I keep getting side tracked. Let me try again. Music is absolutely forgettable and visuals are merely fine. Team Rocket are used especially badly to the point it becomes infuriating. Unfortunately, after being beat with them for the last twenty years in the show, like a battered housewife returning for more, I can't muster much the energy to protest.
This movie can be divided into two parts, the starting shenanigans and the "epic" plot. Former being standard pokemon movie fare to the point I don't even need to describe it and in fact, I won't. Just know that it's run-of-the-mill. It's the latter that drags this movie down. who exactly is the culprit? The exact thing that hangs on every bit of advertising - the insane numbers of already seen legendaries. While it is an attempt at nostalgia, none of them actually recognize Ash since these movies avoid continuity like Ash avoids growing up in the show. For this reason, character wise, the whole thing is wasted. While it's nice for Ash x Latias shippers (read: reason why people don't like Pokemon fans) to see him flying with the Eon duo, it all amounts to nothing more than cheap effects. The number of legendaries they had to animate flying spread their budget thin. Everyone's just floating in the same way no matter their anatomy. Besides a two second money shot where a building gets sliced like bread, the drawn out battle looks unimpressive and is generally boring. This, coupled with a faux ending is dull and firmly puts this outing into the "at least it's not too obnoxious" camp.
I could ramp this up to the level insane nitpicking, but there's no reason to bother. It's just another disapointing Pokemon movie for the pile. However, I will point something that really irritated me - the inconsistent way movie handled the population of the city. As they didn't want to bother animating people until the very finale, during the battle the city is generally empty with a few jarring cutavawy reaction shots of people turning towards the action. This was shameful, just as lazy as in the pony movie two years ago. What's worse, with no reactions from people towards legendaries and without interactions between humans and legendaries, this movie creates a disconnect between what's happening and what the stakes are supposed to be. While the climax after the faux-ending rectifies that a bit, it's not enough.
To wrap up. This generally inoffensive, but formulaic movie is dragged down by the virtue of being very similar to the superior outing that was the very movie preceding it: Diancie and the Cocoon of Destruction. I would advise the viewer to watch that movie instead of this one. Or if one's looking for a subpar, but somewhat worthwhile Pokemon movie, then check Destiny Deoxis instead.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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Apr 20, 2015
Diancie and the Cocoon of Destruction is the first Pokemon film in a while that features some fresh ideas and creative moments. In the vein of the last few, it's also an unambitious work stuck in a rut.
Near the end of the film, there's a great scene with Ash and five antagonists awaking Yveltal. The ensuing attempts to kidnap Diancie and run away from the harbinger of death are joyously written. These scenes make only a tiny portion of the film overall, but they stand out from the cookie-cutter writing we're usually treated with in these films.
The good thing about this one is that
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Diancie is a likeable character and her interactions with Ash & co are fun to watch. Of course, the dialogue isn't going to win any awards, but I feel it's done its part. Adequate to keep us entertained, not enough to uplift the work.
Diancie's lack of a distinguishing character arc is disapointing. Her mini adventures aren't enough to keep us entertained for over two thirds of the film, either. It's for this reason that wacky sequences not fittingt the film are utilized to shake things up a bit. A good example of this is the infinite ladder at the mall.
Just like Shaymin's film, this one suffers from a sudden focus shift from characters to the plot, where characters aren't developed enough for a character focused film and the plot is too weak to make itself worth it.
The last fifth of the film with Yveltal petrifying the waking world is, again, a joy to watch. However, Yveltal & Xerneas don't feel like world shattering legendaries because the plot had no time to build up them or the legend around them. Unlike, say, legendary birds from the second film, these feel like pseudo-legendaries which only the local town folk are aware of as a curiosity.
The film made a few big mistakes in its conceptual stage which paved the way to an unfulfilling plot and somewhat stale middle of the film, but from the execution it's obvious that they treated this one with some care, unlike the last two. Nothing groundbreaking for the most part, but at least it gives hope for further installments. It's been 16 films. After a draught, finally one I can recommend to general Pokemon fans. It's okay.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Apr 15, 2015
Genesect and the Legend Awakened is the worst thing that happened to Pokemon since the Porygon scene in first season of the show. I usually structure my reviews, but I just want to get this one over with.
Why does Mewtwo look deformed most of the time? His muzzle looks like a Lucario ripoff. He's a female now. A different personality, a different voice actor, a different role. First film has apparently been retconned.
Genesect are the most unlikable bunch of antagonists in any Pokemon film. Except for maybe Marauder in Celebi. Cold blooded killers and stupid savages, there's no reason to care for them or what
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happens to them.
Film is overflowing with jaring CGI and bad textures. Mewtwo likes flying into space like a retard just to compensate for being a watered down character from before. Ash meets one and only special snowflake good female Genesect just because plot. Ash is useless in the film and this one would've definitely been better with no human characters.
Dialogue is generally bad throughout all the film. Ash spreads friendship as a solution for everything so much this feels like a parody of itself. There are no exciting fights, no good music and no good locations. In fact, the final showdown location looks like a ripoff from Zoroark's film.
This fails at every level, it's insulting to audience, it's insulting to old fans and first to retcon stuff for what purpose? To make a really shitty film?
I'm not one of those crying over a retcon. Retconning is a tradeoff between new possibilities and faithfullness to the old. It's a risk and it failed spectacularly here. This film was a bad experiment and should never be mentioned again.
Reviewer’s Rating: 1
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