Amazon.com: 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
Description: 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!
Good for nostalgia, but that's about it. I enjoyed watching Pokemon when I was growing up, and so when they released the box set I had to get it. Unfortunately, Viz Media doesn't quite live up to the anime DVD standards set by other companies. The overall lack of quality was really disappointing.
- The cases themselves feel really flimsy and weak. My first thought when I touched them was "bootleg." The box art is colorful but really kind of plain. It just didn't look as polished and professional as other anime DVDs, which was shocking since I dare say Pokemon is probably one of the most popular (or at least well-known) anime series of all time. Furthermore, there are no included inserts: just an episode list that looks exactly the same as the one on the back covers of each DVD. (I wonder why they even bothered?)
- DVD menus are colorful, albeit very plain and minimalistic (only options are "play" and "episodes"). No Japanese track, and no subtitles. No extras either. You get the dubbed episodes plus the full Pokerap (which isn't a menu option, so you have to skip to it). Again, the price is comparable to the Cowboy Bebop or Big O collections, which also have 26 episodes, but those collections include the full Japanese language track, subtitles, and extra bonuses. AND the box art, DVD menus, and overall quality just feel more professional.
- The skipped American episode "Beauty and the Beach" is missing, nor is it in any of the later sets. This isn't that big a deal, but it does throw off the chronology for certain events. Plus it just doesn't make sense: by the time these box sets were released, the episode had been dubbed and broadcast on American television. So why couldn't it have been included here?
- These videos aren't uncut and uncensored, like what you'd find with most typical anime. That's fine with me, since it's not like 4Kids censored or cut a whole lot of stuff from these episodes anyway, but it's still worth noting here. Digital paint is out in full force, mostly just to cover up Japanese text that was present in the original. If you didn't care when you first saw these episodes on TV, you won't care now.
- The video and audio quality are beautiful, and exactly what I had hoped for. Certain scenes might seem kind of "glitchy," but that's because the original animators went back and slowed down the framerate and muted the colors because of the infamous seizure incident. Those scenes really stick out and look funky and ridiculous, but that's not Viz's (or 4Kid's) problem.
Even though I love these episodes, I cannot in good conscience give this collection higher than three stars, an "average" rating: these DVDs contain only the bare minimum to be considered a "collector's box set." Poor production values, combined with zero extras and a rather steep price, hold this back from being really exceptional. If they threw in the Japanese track, a handful of extras, and stronger DVD cases, then we'll talk. As it stands, these are only slightly better than my old VHS recordings of the show, and those tapes didn't cost me $35.
Again, I compare this collection to Cowboy Bebop or Big O: all three series include 26 episodes, but Cowboy and Big O just have so much more. I would've expected Viz to handle Pokemon, part of a multi-billion dollar franchise, with the same kind of respect and reverence afforded to these relatively obscure series.
I LOVE POKEMON I got this dvd for christmas from my brother. I really wanted it. I am a major pokemon fan. I watched two episodes a day with my brother. My favorite episode is pokemon I choose you. This set is the best for all pokemon fans who want to see the begining. I got the 2nd dvd for christmas also. One billion stars.
Watch it whenever you want My son loves anime, especially pokemon, and is thrilled that he can watch these whenever he feels like it.
The Adult Pokemon Fan I am one of the rare adult Pokemon fans out there [I'm 29], and I just love the charm and moments of friendship that this cartoon contains within each wonderful episode! At first, I didn't like the looks of this cartoon because I alway's hated japanese anime of all kinds. But I finally decided to give it a try and see if I could like it because I was a HUGE Nintendo fan. Boy am I glad I did. I fell in love with all of the characters and the pokemon! The episodes are jam packed with action, excitement, touching moments and important lessons in friendship! And Team Rocket might be the single most stupid villains that ever existed in a cartoon, but that's partly why they're so darn funny! It's alway's a guarantee that their evil schemes are eventually gonna lead to them blasting off again! This is one of the thing's that causes a lot of people to feel that this cartoon is boring, repetitive, and extremely predictable. But I alway's looked past all of this and enjoyed it for what it is, an awesome cartoon based on an awesome video game series. The first several seasons are the best. They recently changed the voice actors in the current seasons of Pokemon, and I think that's a major stab in the back to all of us Pokemon fans who loved the original voice actors! Ash Ketchum sounds so different now that if I'm not looking at the screen I would swear that I was watching a completely different cartoon! But I still love it and can't wait for every single season to be released on DVD Box Sets! I just wish the Box Sets contained extras like "The making of the cartoon" and/or showing the cast of voice actors so we all will know what they look like. This review is for ALL of the Pokemon Box Sets that are out now and yet to come. Bottom line, get this Box Set!
DVD Buying/Shipping I've never, ever, had a problem w/ Amazon! They shipped this product asap, and I received it in the exact condition they said, brand new and wrapped still. I love it!
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