PM007 - Get Rid of the Ghost Pokémon!!
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Synopsis:
Traveling through Lavender Town, Red's group gets caught in a thunderstorm. They seek shelter in a giant, spooky mansion that is filled with gravestones. Clefairy discovers a coffin and a Gastly appears from it. It tries to get the trio to leave, but Clefairy attempts to fight it. However, none of Clefairy's attacks are able to affect the transparent ghost.
Clefairy ultimately succeeds in exorcising the spirit and his approached by an older couple who own the mansion. They explain that their son Blue has been haunted by Ghost Pokémon and would like Red to complete the job of expelling the phantoms. They meet the melancholy Blue who attacks with his Haunter. The Haunter eventually evolves into an invisible Gengar, but Clefairy is able to use Blue's Silph Scope to see the ghost and lull it to sleep. After vacuuming up the spirit, Blue is revived, but still angry at Red for damaging his room.
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New Character and Pokémon Breakdown
Blue
Since Red and Green were based on the heros of Red and Green, a new character was needed to represent the new Blue version. While Pokémon Adventures used the official female trainer, Anakubo created a completely new character who is obsessed with the color (and emotion) blue. He is inserted into the Pokémon Tower segment from the games, possessed by the various Ghost types. He'll reappear a couple of times as another rival for Red, actually owning his own Pokémon.
The Ghosts: Gastly, Haunter, and Gengar
Gastly first appears and attacks of his own free will, while Haunter/Gengar appears to be under Blue's control (even though he is under their control). Like Charmander's evolution into Charizard, Haunter is commanded into becoming Gengar, making evolution more like another attack. The ghosts behave mostly the way they do in all canons, being mischevious spirits that can disappear at will. Clefairy actually has to use an elaborate statue of Buddha to exorcise Gastly, and it works, suggesting that these Pokémon aren't only effected by other Pokémon moves.
Blue's Parents
Unlike in the games, Pokémon Tower is actually a residence for Blue's family. There are still many gravestones and crosses, which may be explained in the dialogue but I'm just guessing. I wonder if Blue's father is also supposed to represent Mr. Fuji. If Mr. Fuji doesn't appear in this manga, I'll assume that they are one and the same.
Setting
Lavender Town and Pokémon Tower
As stated earlier, the Tower is more of a mansion, but the creepy atmosphere from the games is carried over into this story. We don't see the rest of the town's inhabitants, though, so it's unclear if everyone is aware of the ghosts, or if this is just an isolated incident.
Overall Review: A-
Aside from creating a new character, the actions of this story are very streamlined with their influence from the games. The ghosts behave based on their Pokédex entries, and the Silph Scope even comes into play as a helpful plot point. The story also gets started a lot quicker with less Clefairy/Pikachu antics (save for lightning bolts being attracted to Pikachu's tail). The story makes sense and the "horror" aspect is not lost, although the scariest moments are the grotesque faces that Clefairy and Pikachu make throughout their encounters with the ghosts. With little filler and a solid tale, I have very little issue with this issue.
PM008 - Catch That Pokémon Thief!!
(Note: From this point forward, I shall be reviewing the issues somewhat blindly. I haven't found any thorough translations for the rest of the series, so my analysis will be based on the stories I believe the images are portraying. Wish me luck.)
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Synopsis:
After traveling for days, Red discovers an oasis in the form of the Celadon Department Store. Brimming with activity and goodies, Red prepares to go on a shopping spree. Unfortunately, a Machoke crashes into the story with a small army of Pokémon and attempts to rob it. Clefairy steps up to defend the store and uses the items available to him to help foil the robbery. First, he gets rid of the Bug Pokémon by spraying them with a repel.
Then he attempts to tie them up, accidentally grabbing Ekans as a rope. Ekans attacks and Clefairy is able to use an antidote to stave off the Poison attacks. Finally, the Machoke challenges Clefairy by evolving into Machamp. Clefairy manages to hide in on a shelf of Poké Dolls and attack him as a surprise. Ultimately, he tries to use a bicycle to tire out the Machamp. Red then tries to catch the Pokémon, and finally succeeds by using an Ultra Ball. The store is saved, but Clefairy's bike ride has carried him to a far away desert.
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New Character and Pokémon Breakdown
Machoke/Machamp
Red finally catches another Pokémon! Unlike Clefairy and Pikachu, Machamp won't be appearing in every chapter, but at least it is a new permanent member of the team. From Pewter to Celadon, Red hadn't been doing a good job of team building. Now he has a powerhouse of a Machamp who is not afraid to use its strength to finish the job. I know all Pokémon talk in this manga, but Machoke/Machamp is very human in this issue, appearance- and personality-wise. It makes it kind of weird that Red captures him, because it feels like he just caught a strange looking person.
Machoke's Gang: Caterpie, Kakuna, Butterfree, and Ekans
Why does Machoke hang out with bugs and a snake? It's not really clear, but it allows for the clever moments in which Clefairy can use the stores many items against them. It kind of feels like this should have been the gang that harassed our heroes back in the Viridian Forest. Also, why a Kakuna and not a Metapod (or why not Weedle and Beedrill, which are usually portrayed as the menacing bugs of Viridian Forest)? So many questions.
Celadon Citizens and Their Pokémon: Sandshrew, Sandslash and Chinmi
Alright, Sandshrew is pretty evident and Sandslash, while horribly off model can still be described as a Sandslash (with bird-like features). But I want to take this opportunity to focus on the black and white creature in the center of the frame. It's appeared in every issue so far in little cameo roles. Apparently it is a Pokémon-ized caricature of creator Kosaku Anakubo's cat Chinmi (meaning "rare taste" or "delicacy"), who has unusual markings on its face, making it look like it has a big smile. It would be tedious to chronicle every tiny appearance, but he appears multiple times in this issue, so I thought it was time to acknowledge this mystery figure.
Setting
Celadon City Department Store
For a series that likes jumping from set point to set point, we are finally going to slow down a bit in Celadon City. I can tell because we haven't met Erika yet. So, at the moment, we only get to focus on the Department Store. It seems as if it's located far away from the rest of the city, but it is a very popular location. We still have this tropical setting, but I think I just didn't realize how omnipresent palm trees are in Japan.
Bethlehem
It's just for a gag, but Clefairy rides his bike all the way to the Middle East to meet up with the Magi. Apparently, Chinmi is among those traveling to meet the savior.
Overall Review: A
This manga is going to continue at least until the present day, so Anakubo had to start slowing down the pace of the story at some point. Filling time with a fun plot and a Pokémon capture isn't a bad way to go. I like how well-orchestrated Clefairy's fight against the robbers is. It reminds me of the tricks used in Pokémon Adventures battles where it's more than just sheer force and type-advantage that wins battles. Machamp is a great new character, who I wish would return more often (as he could definitely win many battles for Red). My favorite bit of humor is Clefairy's Poké Doll disguise. The weird thing about items is that they weren't really officially designed until the TCG (and they rarely appear in the anime), so for a while, I never knew that all Poké Dolls were supposed to be Clefairy shaped. But this manga embraced that knowledge and got a pretty good action sequence out of it.
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