It's been a while since I wrote something for this blog. But let's get caught back up. College content for this blog is over for the foreseeable future. From now on it will be all about cars, cards, and cartoons. This first post in this new era will deal with cartoons, in particular, Pokémon. Last week I had the opportunity to watch the US debut of Pokémon the Movie: Genesect and the Legend Awakened. It was pretty good all things considered. I was surprised it was barely more than an hour in length, but then again if it was too long it would ruin the otherwise decent story of people and Pokémon coexisting. Immediately following the movie was a sneek peek at the first two episodes of Pokémon the Series: XY. These I was immensely impressed with. I have been a Pokémon fan since the first episodes of the anime debuted in English in 1998. I have watched all the episodes of the following seasons hoping that Ash Ketchum will finally win a championship and become a Pokémon Master. It's been a long road, and I am beginning to doubt that he will ever succeed. But that doesn't mean that I won't stop watching the episodes. I'll probably be watching Pokémon with my own children still rooting for Ash. The Pokémon phenomenon was a huge part of my childhood and I want to remain in the loop. That will continue with the story told in Pokémon the Series: XY.
The XY series picks up when Ash, Pikachu, and Alexa arrive in the Kalos region, a sort of Japanese version of France. The city they land in, Lumiose City, is designed to emulate Paris with the city tower reminiscent of the Eiffel Tower. Alexa soon leaves, and Ash and Pikachu are on their own. Later in the day they meet some new friends: Clemont, Bonnie, and Professor Sycamore. All of these characters seem to be alright. Clemont looks like a young Dr. Octopus with his glasses and arm coming out of his backpack. Bonnie is Clemont's younger sister and I look forward to seeing how her character develops. Professor Sycamore is the resident Pokémon researcher, but not much has been elaborated about his character yet other than he is researching Mega Evolution. Another character introduced is Serena, modeled after the female player character of the X and Y games. It is implied that she has some past history with Ash and it will be extremely interesting to see how that story unfolds when she joins the group. Team Rocket is back again with the same goal of capturing Pikachu. Wobbuffet returns to Team Rocket after being absent from the Unova saga, which can either be a blessing or a curse depending on your point of view.
So far things look like they will be pretty good. The new characters seem like nice additions to the cast. Clemont I think will be a better replacement for Brock than Cilan was in the Unova series. Bonnie is most likely going to be the comic relief of the group, putting in a witty comment here and there and generally tease her brother. Finally I believe Serena will be the most dynamic female protagonist since May in the Advanced Generation series. The new sixth generation Pokémon are starting to grow on me. I was skeptical at the new designs and the idea of Mega Evolution at first. But after seeing the first two episodes of the anime I am willing to keep an open mind.
I believe Pokémon is on a tear at the moment. The new anime series is off to a good start and the Pokémon Origins mini series looks fantastic. I can't wait for it to debut in November. I have already seen clips from the Japanese version and have come away very impressed. It should please people who have grown up with the original Red and Blue games while giving newer audiences a taste of the good ol' days.
