Pocket Monsters: PM001 and PM002

PM001 - Introducing the Pokémon Clefairy!!

Introducing the Pokémon Pippi!!

Synopsis: Two boys from Pallet Town, Isamu Akai (a.k.a. "Red") and Kai Midorikawa (a.k.a. "Green") collide on their way to Professor Oak's laboratory for a special meeting.  Green challenges Red to a race to the lab and Red accepts, opting to take a shortcut through the wilderness.  He encounters a group of wild talking monsters led by a Nidorina* who threaten him with their powers. Fortunately, a nearby Clefairy manages to accidentally knock them all unconscious while gathering coconuts from a tree.  Red assumes that the Clefairy is a powerful monster and thanks him for his help.  Red then makes his way to the lab where Oak asks the boys to finish his quest to complete his Pokédex for research.  He offers the boys their very own starter Pokémon.  Green chooses a Charmander while Red chooses the Clefairy who followed him to the lab, despite Oak's warnings that the Clefairy is a foolish blockhead.  Red tries to prove Clefairy's strength in a battle with Green's Charmander.  Unfortunately, Clefairy's earlier victory is proven to be just a fluke as he quickly finds himself on fire and manages to destroy the lab in an attempt to extinguish himself.

New Character and Pokémon Breakdown

The Trainers, Red and Green

At the moment, there is very little distinction between the two main trainers.  Red comes off as more accident prone and dim-witted, but both are hot-headed and prideful boys always looking to win.  Green's arrogance is usually justified through his skills as a trainer, making Red a bit more annoying than a protagonist should be.

"Blockhead" Clefairy

When I first heard about the manga with the "crass, crude Clefairy," I was afraid of what I might find.  Fortunately, I really like the introduction to this character.  As you may know, Clefairy was intended to be the face of the franchise, and had this manga existed internationally, that might have very well been the case.  Unlike the cute and sweet Pikachu (or even other Clefairies in the series), the dumb Clefairy has a very human personality, making him a great joke character.  Although this version ultimately got a cameo in the anime with a high fairy voice, I can't help but read Clefairy's lines in a deeper, Seth-Rogen-ish voice.  It just fits the character better and make it funnier to me.  He always seems to be in way over his head.  I particularly enjoy the above panel in which Clefairy takes a long pause and drink of fruit juice and then sarcastically responds to Red's question of him being a Pokémon.

Professor Oak

Oak is very annoying in this incarnation.  He seems to suffer from rapid mood swings, as he jokes around one second and then intensely yells at the boys the next.  His jokes are terrible as well, like, in a "I think something got lost in translation" way.  For example, the big news that he shares with the boys upon their arrival is that he's bald and he takes off his wig.  Maybe there was some pun in there, but I couldn't fathom what it would be.  Then he starts screaming at the boys to follow his orders.  I'm kind of glad Clefairy burned his lab down.

The Starters, Charmander, Bulbasaur, and Squirtle

Charmander is the only one who gets any major story time as he is Green's main Pokémon.  He serves as a rival to Clefairy, confident in his strength and abilities and ready to take on any battle.  The other two look equally fierce and it seems as if Red would have been better off with one of them.

Wild Pallet Town Pokémon: Nidoran/Nidorina*, Caterpie, Kakuna, Pidgey, and Pikachu

I keep putting an asterisk next to "Nidorina" because, despite every online summary describing this creature as a male Nidoran, it seems pretty obvious to me that this is a Nidorina.  You can even see that in the panel where Red hops over the Pokémon, the Nidorina has devolved into a female Nidoran for the joke (Pokémon can devolve and evolve at will in this manga, I'll get into it later).  Kosaku Anakubo, the author and illustrator, does take some liberties with the designs, but since the monster never states its name or gender, I'll assume it's a Nidorina.

Anyway, this is our first encounter of wild Pokémon and it's worth mentioning that nearly all creatures can talk in this manga.  This was before the anime, remember, so there was not really a standard for the limitations of Pokémon communication.  I feel it makes this universe funnier.  Also, in case you're wondering, that is not Red's main Pikachu.  He'll come into the story later.

Oak's Random Pokémon

In these early stories, Anakubo likes to create his own Pokémon to fill in as "extras."  You can even see some of his butterfly Pokémon on the title page.  I'm unsure how much Sugimori material he was given access to at the beginning of the series or whether or not he wanted to just create his own creatures, but it's fun to imagine all of these other creatures beyond the original 151 that exist in official Generation I material.

Setting

Pallet Town

In the very first panel, we get a sense of how Anakobu views the Pokémon world.  The buildings and vehicles suggest an suburban, futuristic setting.  Pallet Town is a much larger city, with a large population and enough space for Red and Green to run all over the city (and for Red to get lost in a nearby field).  It is definitely an improvement on the two houses and a lab layout from the games.

Overall Review: A-

As an introduction to the Pocket Monsters series, the first chapter manages to set its own tone while embracing the world it originated from.  Because this manga is the first official spinoff from the games, there is a lot of creative liberties taken with the character design and plot.  Most of the new variations work for the sake of the comedy, since that is the author's primary concern.  There are a few confusing/groan-inducing jokes put in to pad out the story, but the main plot works very well to introduce our characters.  Red and especially Clefairy are built up to be unlikely heroes who will fail more often than they succeed.  And I look forward to seeing where their adventures take them.

PM002 - Big Battle in the Viridian Forest!!

Big Battle in the Tokiwa Forest!!

Synopsis: Red and Clefairy make their way to the Viridian Forest, arguing over their next move.  Red wants Clefairy to be a strong fighter and teammate like he had thought he was, while Clefairy would rather avoid battles altogether and maintain a peaceful life, capturing Pokémon through humane methods.  Upon entering the forest, the two are accosted by Mewtwo and his gang of wild Pokémon.  Mewtwo taunts the duo as a pair of weaklings and Red orders Clefairy to defend his honor and attack the creatures.  Clefairy only manages to beat up a nearby bug Pokémon allowing Red to capture it. Mewtwo still continues to challenge Red but none of Clefairy's defensive attacks are clever enough to best his opponent.  Mewtwo easily beats Clefairy and Red is forced to rush him to the Pokémon Center to heal him.  There, Red runs into Green, who shows off all the Pokémon he's captured, mocking Red's haul.  While Clefairy is in the healing machine, an accidental power surge shocks him, causing him to knock Red's bug Poké Ball to the ground, allowing it to escape, and bringing Red's team back to one.

New Character and Pokémon Breakdown

The Viridian Forest Gang (Mewtwo, Parasect, Golem, Gengar, Persian, Weedle)

The caricatures of these Pokémon are a little confusing.  Persian has a third eye instead of a jewel, possibly due to the Red/Green sprite's lack of detail and the Parasect creature is shown to be bipedal in some angles (which is made all the stranger when an official looking Parasect shows up later).  But at any rate, these are just supposed to represent wild Pokémon in general.  Mewtwo is the unofficial spokesman and it's unclear if this is actually supposed to be the legendary Mewtwo with the back story from the games.  I think Anakubo just picked him because he looked menacing.  It's fun the way Mewtwo picks on Red's skills though, so he would have made for a great recurring antagonist.

The Bug Pokémon

This may be the most prominent "non-Pokémon Pokémon" in the official canon.  It looks like a Diglett, but is referred to as a bug.  Maybe this was just a mistake on Anakubo's part but for a supposedly weak and common Pokémon, Red may have captured the rarest creature of them all!

Green's Pokémon: Golbat, Omanyte, Psyduck, Ditto, Poliwrath, Parasect, Jigglypuff, Oddish

I don't know how he managed to catch any of these between Pallet Town and Pewter City, but as we can see by Mewtwo's gang, vastly different Pokémon co-exist in this universe's version of Viridian Forest.

Hypothetical Peaceful Pokémon

In Clefairy's mind, all Pokémon co-exist peacefully.  And apparently most are some sort of teddy bear.

Setting

Viridian Forest

Unlike the games, Viridian Forest is home to much more than a few bug types.  All sorts of strong Pokémon dwell within these woods.  But I particularly enjoy the addition of giant mushrooms.  It gives it an otherworldly feel and it explains the presence of the Parasect-like creature.  If it weren't for the Mewtwo that was trying to kill all those who enter, this Viridian Forest would be a great destination.

Overall Review:  B+

This chapter is the primary reason the manga never saw an overseas release.  There is more emphasis on the humor in this chapter and not only does comedy have a difficult time crossing translation barriers, so do the limits on what's considered appropriate.  There are two major jokes that focus on the genitalia of our heroes.  The first one I found to be funnier and could have easily been edited with a strategic shrubbery addition.  In the middle of Red and Clefairy's fight, it looks as if Clefairy's feelings have been hurt as he turns away dramatically.  When Red goes to check on him, we see the Clefairy had just stopped to take a leak.  The second gag involves Clefairy instructing Red to catch a Pokémon using "the balls attached to his waist," and he attempts to oblige literally.  That level of sophomoric humor is to be expected from this comic, but also alarming to one not familiar with Japanese culture.

It's a shame too, because once again, the main plot of this story is pretty good (with Clefairy trying to find non-violent means to win a battle and still losing horribly) but then he gets put in the electric chamber for more slapstick and the message of the tale is lost.  Here's hoping the rest of the series maintains the strong plots and opts for some better jokes!