Random (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
elementalhero) wrote2010-06-07 01:58 am
elementalhero) wrote2010-06-07 01:58 am
Entry tags:
Pokemon Special: RECAP TWO, ELECTRIC BOOGALOO
The "electric boogaloo" part is actually relevant because...well, you'll see.
Chapter Four: Vs. Pikachu (American title: Wanted: Pikachu!) wow, look at that colon cancer
Yes, I know what you all were wondering back during that first recap, and that was WHERE THE HELL IS PIKACHU? Well, the famous electric mouse finally debuts in...chapter four? Wow, unexpected, considering the vast, vast majority of the franchise's marketability and young-child-recognition was built around this little sucker.
The chapter opens as Red strolls leisurely through Western Pewter City, and suddenly spots what looks like an angry mob. Huh. There's something you don't see every day. He finds a wanted poster offering a reward for the capture of a rogue Pikachu causing problems for many residents of the city. The angry mob, meanwhile, corners the rogue Pokemon and attempts to catch him with a net, but Pikachu zaps the ever-loving hell out of them and trots off, stolen produce in hand. Paw. Thing. Whatever.
Red is thoroughly amused by these noobs and sends out Bulbasaur (who btw has a little-known type advantage MY NERDERY ALLOW ME TO DISPLAY IT TO YOU). Pikachu attempts to fry Saur, but no such luck. Saur uses Sleep Powder, which weakens Pikachu so that he can be captured. [Note: the translation on Onemanga translates the attack as Poison Powder; however, my Viz copy says it's Sleep Powder, and since in the next panel, Pikachu looks sleepy, (and since poison seems a mite harsh for Red's character in this situation) I am going with Viz. This will not necessarily stay true for all cases.]
The townsfolk treat Red to a free meal and compliment him on his awesome coolosity. Red shows off his Pokedex while Pikachu storms and tsun-tsuns inside his ball.
He notices (Pokemon can actually physically move inside the Pokeballs in this incarnation of canon, fyi), and takes Pikachu outside to talk about feeeeeelings. Pikachu won't let Red touch him, and Red attempts to kill everyone in the vicinity with cute:
Then Green shows up to crash the party by being smug and also a hot bastard. Curse you, Green, for being hot at eleven years old. They posture masculinely and then Green tells Red about the local Gym, where he intends to fight Brock for the Boulder Badge. They decide, OF COURSE, to make a challenge of it - first to get the Boulder Badge is a cool awesome dude and also super manlier. Green leaves while also pointing out (truthfully) that Pikachu, as an Electric-type, would be useless at Brock's gym, since Rock-types are highly resistant to electric attacks.
Red is like, "okay, dur, well then all I have to do is heal up Poli and Saur, who are types that are SUPER EFFECTIVE against Rock 8D" Oh wait, except the Pokemon Center in Pewter City turns out to have been attacked by unknown vandals, and none of the equipment is functional. So Poli and Saur are low on health (fridge logic: why can't he just buy up several Potions? Maybe he doesn't have the $$ necessary yet), and Pikachu is useless, in addition to hating Red's face off atm.
Ominous.
Chapter Five: Vs. Onix (American title: Onix is On!)
Red enters the gym to see Green fighting with his newly evolved Charmeleon (yes, Fire has a type disadvantage. You know what Green thinks about type disadvantages? HE BEATS THE SHIT OUT OF THEM. AND THEN HE LAUGHS. BECAUSE HE IS A BADASS.) It is explained that before any trainer gets a shot at fighting Brock, s/he must fight through several preliminary rounds first. Red signs up and starts blowing through trainers, one-hit-KO'ing every one. The reason being that he has no other option; Poliwhirl and Bulbasaur are low on health, and Pikachu will absolutely not listen. Luckily, Generation I Rock-types have quad-weaknesses against Grass and Water-type attacks, so it's actually not in any way absurd to think that Red could, with a strong Water-type and a pretty sturdy Grass-type just start blowing through trainers using Rock-types exclusively.
Brock begins to take notice, and shows off his manly lack-of-shirt:
Yeah, in the manga, Brock is a super awesome badass instead of a derpy skirt-chaser. Not that I'm saying the anime's characterization is bad or anything (Brock was like my favorite character back in the day), I'm just saying Brock has no shirt in the manga. Brock needs no shirt in the manga. FYI.
Meanwhile, Red tries to pep-talk Pikachu before his next match. Poli and Saur are wiped out, and Red really needs Pikachu's help. Red goes into the ring against Brock along with Pikachu. Pikachu gets dinked on the head with a Rock Throw from Brock's Onix, and Pikachu shocks Red because he's pissed about it. Brock gets upset because he "realizes" Red's previous wins were only dumb luck. He orders Onix to attack using its body as a torpedo: its ultimate move, Skull Bash. Pikachu isn't looking, and Red tackles Pika out of the way of the attack, nearly getting pasted in the process.
Pikachu gives Red a look of "omg wtf you saved me O__O" Red turns the moe up to eleven and tells Pikachu he's sorry for forcing him into a battle he clearly didn't want to fight. While Red is doing that, Brock is fed up with this shit, and orders Onix to attack again. Pikachu sees the attack coming from over Red's shoulder, and attacks Onix, somehow causing its body to collapse into its individual boulder segments. Yeah, that shouldn't be possible, but here's a tip about Main Character's Pikachu: it is always hax. It's an integral part of Pokemon canon. And thus, Red is declared the winner.
Turns out he and Green were the only ones to win the Boulder Badge for that challenge period. He introduces Pikachu formally to Bulbasaur and Poliwhirl, and tells him they'd love to have Pika along for the journey, if he's willing. They extend hands(/paw) and shake on it for a moment of pure unadulterated adorable. Until Pikachu zaps him and continues to be a tsundere. |D
Chapter Six: Vs. Gyarados (American title: Gyarados Splashes In!)
And we open the next chapter of Pokemon Special, after that heartwarming exchange of derp and tsundere and hugs and magic, with Misty bleeding heavily from the arm! 8D
--holy wait what.
That is. That is blood. In my Pokemon manga. Blood. In a manga rated A for All Ages (I didn't even know manga HAD this rating). Blood. Misty is bleeding heavily from the arm.
...Awesome.
Misty is facing down a rampaging Gyarados, a really scary rampaging Gyarados with crazy eyes and that is Hydro Pumping the shit out of her Staryu. Misty faces down this Gyarados with an epic face, and then Red pops up behind her like magic to save the day. Misty tells him to "stay back, kid, this is dangerous!" and Red is a cocky shounen protagonist who does not stand for being addressed as "kid," especially by a pretty girlwho is still bleeding heavily from the arm. Red sends out Bulbasaur, who surprises Misty by taking a Hydro Pump to the face and smiling cheekily about it. Yeah, Red, you say Water attacks don't work on Grass Pokemon, but a Hydro Pump is not an attack to be sneezed at.
Red has Saur use Leech Seed, which tangles Gyarados up long enough for Misty's Staryu to use Recover (you know, because starfish can regenerate limbs and stuff). Red attempts to use a Grissom one-liner, but it doesn't really work:
FYI, that line is the same in the Viz translation, so it's not a translation error. He actually says that. XD what a derp.
Red and Misty double-date that sucker into submission, and Red throws a Pokeball to capture the Gyarados. We then get a huge surprise when it turns out that the Gyarados hadn't been wild - it had been Misty's, but was stolen by someone. When she finally found it, a week later (now), it went on a rampage.
Red is shocked and horrified, and asserts that they should Do Something About This. They decide to go call Professor Oak at the Pokemon Center to see what should be done. Professor Oak tells them what we already have guessed (or should have guessed): Team Rocket has to be the ones responsible. They've been stealing Pokemon and performing harrowing, illegal, immoral experiments on them. Professor Oak tells them Team Rocket is probably in the area around Cerulean City because they're looking for the Moon Stone in nearby Mount Moon, a stone which is rumored to have many mystical properties pertaining to Pokemon.
Red and Misty set out for Mount Moon. Red expresses disbelief at first, but Misty shows him a handful of her Pokeballs to prove she is, in fact, a good trainer, and introduces herself. They charge off to Mount Moon.
Chapter Seven: Vs. Rhydon (American title: Raging Rhydon!)
Team Rocket stands around talking on walkie-talkies and saying sinister things like "Use extreme force!" and such. Misty and Red come across a squad of them outside, and sneak around them into the caves. The caves are dark, so Red brings out Pikachu to use Flash for illumination. This scene is notable because Red makes a completely out of place pop culture reference; when Misty asks what kind of Pokemon Pikachu is, Red says something to the effect of, "It's not Mickey Mouse!" This is the same in both translations, which I found interesting.
Red, while bragging about his awesome light-bringing Pikachu, manages to walk directly into the Rhyhorn belonging to the Team Rocket member standing right in front of them, who makes another reference to American literary culture: "Well, if it isn't Tom Sawyer and Little Becky in the cave." Again, this is the same in the Viz translation, so it must be there, or everyone must have agreed on some standard American equivalent to a Japanese literary reference being made there, which I somehow doubt.
Team Rocket members fill up the cave, and the leader demands to know who Red is. Red answers him with a faceful of Pikachu asskicking, and Rhyhorn batters them with Rock Throw. Then Pikachu executes a typical godmode Pikachu manuever that has to be seen to be believed:
I. What.
I suppose maybe Pikachu is supposed to be magnetizing natural iron ore deposits in the rock with electricity and then shaping the missiles into a Frisbee of doom, but I have no idea. Chalk it up once more to Godmode Pikachu Syndrome.
The leader injects Rhyhorn with some sinister-looking hypodermic needle (fridge logic: Rhyhorn's "skin" is made of rocks), which I assume are Pokemon steroids because they immediately evolve Rhyhorn into Rhydon, which is bigger and nastier of course. Misty asks if that's what they did to her Gyarados, and the leader is like "lol, I don't even remember how many Pokemon we go through in a day, how the hell would I know," which gets Misty pissed.
She orders Staryu to use Water Gun, which would normally cause massive damage to a Rhydon. However, this is not merely Rhydon but 'ROID-DON, and anabolic steroids don't care shit about Water Gun. Roid-don uses Horn Drill on the water, which inexplicably causes a strong whirlpool-like backwash that knocks Misty and Red back hard. I suppose you could rationalize it by mentioning that Horn Drill should usually be a one-hit KO move, anyway (literally, that's what it does. It one-hit KO's you). And it certainly OHKO's Misty, who hits the wall, hard, and is knocked unconscious. There's even a trickle of blood coming from her temple. IN A KID'S MANGA. I GODDAMN LOVE THIS SERIES.
Red gets mad and sends Pikachu back atRhydon Roid-don, for whatever reason (maybe he's already figured out that Pikachu is godmoded hard :/a). Pikachu knocks Rhydon back into a huge rock hanging from the ceiling, which collapses the cave on top of them and allows Red to get away with Misty. Godmode Pikachu strikes again!
Misty comes to outside and comically punches Red for "groping" her (which he wasn't. Also, Viz cut this line, of course, and changed it to her being comically mad about being covered in dirt.) Red talks more about his godly Pikachu, and Misty ignores him until he gets to the part where he conveniently found the Moon Stone after the cave collapsed, and pocketed it. They then run off into the sunset. Yaaaay. \o/
I thought I'd ease us into the meta section - I'm saving the best meta topics for the really good chapters, don't worry. ^^ Today's is, the American chapter titles. I find it interesting that Viz didn't just keep the Japanese system, which is "Vs. (whatever Pokemon is important in the chapter, regardless of whether it is actually fought or not)" It's not like they're insanely bad titles - it's a nice, consistent system. But Viz (and it's not just Viz and the manga - the anime episode titles do this, too) usually cooks up some pun or literary/film/pop cultural reference involving the name of the Pokemon featured in the chapter. I wonder why? Any thoughts as to the addiction of the North American Pokemon localizations to puns? Viz also works a lot more puns into Red's speech in their translation. Is it also possible there were more Japanese-language puns that the fansubbers couldn't translate, and Viz was just trying to create equivalencies? Discuss.
Chapter Four: Vs. Pikachu (American title: Wanted: Pikachu!) wow, look at that colon cancer
Yes, I know what you all were wondering back during that first recap, and that was WHERE THE HELL IS PIKACHU? Well, the famous electric mouse finally debuts in...chapter four? Wow, unexpected, considering the vast, vast majority of the franchise's marketability and young-child-recognition was built around this little sucker.
The chapter opens as Red strolls leisurely through Western Pewter City, and suddenly spots what looks like an angry mob. Huh. There's something you don't see every day. He finds a wanted poster offering a reward for the capture of a rogue Pikachu causing problems for many residents of the city. The angry mob, meanwhile, corners the rogue Pokemon and attempts to catch him with a net, but Pikachu zaps the ever-loving hell out of them and trots off, stolen produce in hand. Paw. Thing. Whatever.
Red is thoroughly amused by these noobs and sends out Bulbasaur (who btw has a little-known type advantage MY NERDERY ALLOW ME TO DISPLAY IT TO YOU). Pikachu attempts to fry Saur, but no such luck. Saur uses Sleep Powder, which weakens Pikachu so that he can be captured. [Note: the translation on Onemanga translates the attack as Poison Powder; however, my Viz copy says it's Sleep Powder, and since in the next panel, Pikachu looks sleepy, (and since poison seems a mite harsh for Red's character in this situation) I am going with Viz. This will not necessarily stay true for all cases.]
The townsfolk treat Red to a free meal and compliment him on his awesome coolosity. Red shows off his Pokedex while Pikachu storms and tsun-tsuns inside his ball.
He notices (Pokemon can actually physically move inside the Pokeballs in this incarnation of canon, fyi), and takes Pikachu outside to talk about feeeeeelings. Pikachu won't let Red touch him, and Red attempts to kill everyone in the vicinity with cute:
Then Green shows up to crash the party by being smug and also a hot bastard. Curse you, Green, for being hot at eleven years old. They posture masculinely and then Green tells Red about the local Gym, where he intends to fight Brock for the Boulder Badge. They decide, OF COURSE, to make a challenge of it - first to get the Boulder Badge is a cool awesome dude and also super manlier. Green leaves while also pointing out (truthfully) that Pikachu, as an Electric-type, would be useless at Brock's gym, since Rock-types are highly resistant to electric attacks.
Red is like, "okay, dur, well then all I have to do is heal up Poli and Saur, who are types that are SUPER EFFECTIVE against Rock 8D" Oh wait, except the Pokemon Center in Pewter City turns out to have been attacked by unknown vandals, and none of the equipment is functional. So Poli and Saur are low on health (fridge logic: why can't he just buy up several Potions? Maybe he doesn't have the $$ necessary yet), and Pikachu is useless, in addition to hating Red's face off atm.
Ominous.
Chapter Five: Vs. Onix (American title: Onix is On!)
Red enters the gym to see Green fighting with his newly evolved Charmeleon (yes, Fire has a type disadvantage. You know what Green thinks about type disadvantages? HE BEATS THE SHIT OUT OF THEM. AND THEN HE LAUGHS. BECAUSE HE IS A BADASS.) It is explained that before any trainer gets a shot at fighting Brock, s/he must fight through several preliminary rounds first. Red signs up and starts blowing through trainers, one-hit-KO'ing every one. The reason being that he has no other option; Poliwhirl and Bulbasaur are low on health, and Pikachu will absolutely not listen. Luckily, Generation I Rock-types have quad-weaknesses against Grass and Water-type attacks, so it's actually not in any way absurd to think that Red could, with a strong Water-type and a pretty sturdy Grass-type just start blowing through trainers using Rock-types exclusively.
Brock begins to take notice, and shows off his manly lack-of-shirt:
Yeah, in the manga, Brock is a super awesome badass instead of a derpy skirt-chaser. Not that I'm saying the anime's characterization is bad or anything (Brock was like my favorite character back in the day), I'm just saying Brock has no shirt in the manga. Brock needs no shirt in the manga. FYI.
Meanwhile, Red tries to pep-talk Pikachu before his next match. Poli and Saur are wiped out, and Red really needs Pikachu's help. Red goes into the ring against Brock along with Pikachu. Pikachu gets dinked on the head with a Rock Throw from Brock's Onix, and Pikachu shocks Red because he's pissed about it. Brock gets upset because he "realizes" Red's previous wins were only dumb luck. He orders Onix to attack using its body as a torpedo: its ultimate move, Skull Bash. Pikachu isn't looking, and Red tackles Pika out of the way of the attack, nearly getting pasted in the process.
Pikachu gives Red a look of "omg wtf you saved me O__O" Red turns the moe up to eleven and tells Pikachu he's sorry for forcing him into a battle he clearly didn't want to fight. While Red is doing that, Brock is fed up with this shit, and orders Onix to attack again. Pikachu sees the attack coming from over Red's shoulder, and attacks Onix, somehow causing its body to collapse into its individual boulder segments. Yeah, that shouldn't be possible, but here's a tip about Main Character's Pikachu: it is always hax. It's an integral part of Pokemon canon. And thus, Red is declared the winner.
Turns out he and Green were the only ones to win the Boulder Badge for that challenge period. He introduces Pikachu formally to Bulbasaur and Poliwhirl, and tells him they'd love to have Pika along for the journey, if he's willing. They extend hands(/paw) and shake on it for a moment of pure unadulterated adorable. Until Pikachu zaps him and continues to be a tsundere. |D
Chapter Six: Vs. Gyarados (American title: Gyarados Splashes In!)
And we open the next chapter of Pokemon Special, after that heartwarming exchange of derp and tsundere and hugs and magic, with Misty bleeding heavily from the arm! 8D
--holy wait what.
That is. That is blood. In my Pokemon manga. Blood. In a manga rated A for All Ages (I didn't even know manga HAD this rating). Blood. Misty is bleeding heavily from the arm.
...Awesome.
Misty is facing down a rampaging Gyarados, a really scary rampaging Gyarados with crazy eyes and that is Hydro Pumping the shit out of her Staryu. Misty faces down this Gyarados with an epic face, and then Red pops up behind her like magic to save the day. Misty tells him to "stay back, kid, this is dangerous!" and Red is a cocky shounen protagonist who does not stand for being addressed as "kid," especially by a pretty girl
Red has Saur use Leech Seed, which tangles Gyarados up long enough for Misty's Staryu to use Recover (you know, because starfish can regenerate limbs and stuff). Red attempts to use a Grissom one-liner, but it doesn't really work:
FYI, that line is the same in the Viz translation, so it's not a translation error. He actually says that. XD what a derp.
Red and Misty double-date that sucker into submission, and Red throws a Pokeball to capture the Gyarados. We then get a huge surprise when it turns out that the Gyarados hadn't been wild - it had been Misty's, but was stolen by someone. When she finally found it, a week later (now), it went on a rampage.
Red is shocked and horrified, and asserts that they should Do Something About This. They decide to go call Professor Oak at the Pokemon Center to see what should be done. Professor Oak tells them what we already have guessed (or should have guessed): Team Rocket has to be the ones responsible. They've been stealing Pokemon and performing harrowing, illegal, immoral experiments on them. Professor Oak tells them Team Rocket is probably in the area around Cerulean City because they're looking for the Moon Stone in nearby Mount Moon, a stone which is rumored to have many mystical properties pertaining to Pokemon.
Red and Misty set out for Mount Moon. Red expresses disbelief at first, but Misty shows him a handful of her Pokeballs to prove she is, in fact, a good trainer, and introduces herself. They charge off to Mount Moon.
Chapter Seven: Vs. Rhydon (American title: Raging Rhydon!)
Team Rocket stands around talking on walkie-talkies and saying sinister things like "Use extreme force!" and such. Misty and Red come across a squad of them outside, and sneak around them into the caves. The caves are dark, so Red brings out Pikachu to use Flash for illumination. This scene is notable because Red makes a completely out of place pop culture reference; when Misty asks what kind of Pokemon Pikachu is, Red says something to the effect of, "It's not Mickey Mouse!" This is the same in both translations, which I found interesting.
Red, while bragging about his awesome light-bringing Pikachu, manages to walk directly into the Rhyhorn belonging to the Team Rocket member standing right in front of them, who makes another reference to American literary culture: "Well, if it isn't Tom Sawyer and Little Becky in the cave." Again, this is the same in the Viz translation, so it must be there, or everyone must have agreed on some standard American equivalent to a Japanese literary reference being made there, which I somehow doubt.
Team Rocket members fill up the cave, and the leader demands to know who Red is. Red answers him with a faceful of Pikachu asskicking, and Rhyhorn batters them with Rock Throw. Then Pikachu executes a typical godmode Pikachu manuever that has to be seen to be believed:
I. What.
I suppose maybe Pikachu is supposed to be magnetizing natural iron ore deposits in the rock with electricity and then shaping the missiles into a Frisbee of doom, but I have no idea. Chalk it up once more to Godmode Pikachu Syndrome.
The leader injects Rhyhorn with some sinister-looking hypodermic needle (fridge logic: Rhyhorn's "skin" is made of rocks), which I assume are Pokemon steroids because they immediately evolve Rhyhorn into Rhydon, which is bigger and nastier of course. Misty asks if that's what they did to her Gyarados, and the leader is like "lol, I don't even remember how many Pokemon we go through in a day, how the hell would I know," which gets Misty pissed.
She orders Staryu to use Water Gun, which would normally cause massive damage to a Rhydon. However, this is not merely Rhydon but 'ROID-DON, and anabolic steroids don't care shit about Water Gun. Roid-don uses Horn Drill on the water, which inexplicably causes a strong whirlpool-like backwash that knocks Misty and Red back hard. I suppose you could rationalize it by mentioning that Horn Drill should usually be a one-hit KO move, anyway (literally, that's what it does. It one-hit KO's you). And it certainly OHKO's Misty, who hits the wall, hard, and is knocked unconscious. There's even a trickle of blood coming from her temple. IN A KID'S MANGA. I GODDAMN LOVE THIS SERIES.
Red gets mad and sends Pikachu back at
Misty comes to outside and comically punches Red for "groping" her (which he wasn't. Also, Viz cut this line, of course, and changed it to her being comically mad about being covered in dirt.) Red talks more about his godly Pikachu, and Misty ignores him until he gets to the part where he conveniently found the Moon Stone after the cave collapsed, and pocketed it. They then run off into the sunset. Yaaaay. \o/
I thought I'd ease us into the meta section - I'm saving the best meta topics for the really good chapters, don't worry. ^^ Today's is, the American chapter titles. I find it interesting that Viz didn't just keep the Japanese system, which is "Vs. (whatever Pokemon is important in the chapter, regardless of whether it is actually fought or not)" It's not like they're insanely bad titles - it's a nice, consistent system. But Viz (and it's not just Viz and the manga - the anime episode titles do this, too) usually cooks up some pun or literary/film/pop cultural reference involving the name of the Pokemon featured in the chapter. I wonder why? Any thoughts as to the addiction of the North American Pokemon localizations to puns? Viz also works a lot more puns into Red's speech in their translation. Is it also possible there were more Japanese-language puns that the fansubbers couldn't translate, and Viz was just trying to create equivalencies? Discuss.