Product Details

• Actors: Megumi Hayashibara, Mayumi Iizuka, Inuko Inuyama, Unshô Ishizuka, Mika Kanai
• Directors: Kunihiko Yuyama, Masamitsu Hidaka
• Format: Animated, Box set, Dubbed, DVD, Full Screen, Subtitled, NTSC
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 3
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Viz Media
• DVD Release Date: November 21, 2006
• Run Time: 650 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (64 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000I0QLF0
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,191 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
  • #45 in Movies & TV > DVD > Anime & Manga
• For more information about "Pokémon: Indigo League - Season One, Part 1" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

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

Product 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!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

151 of 157 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Got To Catch Them All, Pokémon!, November 18, 2006

By 

Jurai's Heir "Tenchi Masaki" (Denham Springs, LA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pokémon: Indigo League - Season One, Part 1 (DVD)

Updated: November 21, 2006, a couple of hours after buying it.

As a teenager a couple of years ago, this show opened a door to my imagination, wanting "Pokémon" to be real so I could travel the world on foot with my friends or family. It's a very interesting story with easy names to remember, it's all about believing in yourself, following your dreams and caring for others. I first got into Pokémon with the fad was dying off, because I did not want to be caught up in all that madness. My sister who is one year younger than me was into Pokémon, when it first came out in America and she eventually got me into Japanese Animation like this one and other basic shows like "Sailor Moon" and the "Tenchi Muyo" series. This Pokémon boxest is only in English, there are no subtitles on any of the disc, however the show is Closed Captioned by using your television remote, also there are no special features and the banned episodes that didn't appear on American T.V., are not on here too. Besides having no special features or the banned episodes, it's still a great boxset of the first half of season one.

P.S. - The "Pokérap" is hear, it's just not include as a special feature.

Disc 1:
1. Pokémon - I Choose You!
2. Pokémon Emergency
3. Ash Catches A Pokémon
4. Challenge Of The Samurai
5. Showdown In Pewter City
6. Clefairy And The Moon Stone
7. The Water Flowers Of Cerulean City
8. The Path To The Pokémon League
9. The School Of Hard Knocks

Disc 2:
10. Bulbasaur And The Hidden Village
11. Charmander-The Stray Pokémon
12. Here Comes The Squirtle Squad
13. Mystery At The Lighthouse
14. Electric Shock Showdown
15. Battle Aboard The St. Anne
16. Pokémon Shipwreck
17. Island Of The Giant Pokémon
18. Tentacool & Tentacruel

Disc 3:
19. The Ghost Of Maiden's Peak
20. Bye Bye Butterfree
21. Abba And The Psychic Showdown
22. The Tower Of Terror
23. Haunter Verus Kadabra
24. Primeape Goes Bananas
25. Pokémon Scent-Station!
26. Hypno's Naptime

53 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "Beauty and the Beach" episode not included, December 18, 2006

By 

M. Boone - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Pokémon: Indigo League - Season One, Part 1 (DVD)

This is the first box set that has been released for Season One of Pokemon. This collector's set is indeed only the 4kids American dub with no second Japanese version. It contains three discs; each in a nice hard case that slide into one cardboard sleeve. The artwork on the box and each individual case is nicely done. The set contains the first 26 episodes of season one. Note though, that this is not the entire first season as the American version contains 78 episodes (80 in Japan). This means, according to my calculations, that two more box sets would need to be released (each containing 26 more episodes) to complete the season.

Also, be aware that the episode, "Beauty and the Beach," is not in its rightful slot and is not part of this set. Even though it was first banned during season one, it was later played as "the lost episode of Pokemon" during the Orange Islands season (though heavily edited). It is not clear why the episode was not reinserted back into this season, as that would make logical sense.

The menus are decent but nothing spectacular. When it comes to scenes selection, each episode is divided into only two parts. The first, being before the commercial break, and the second, coming after the break. The video quality looks pretty good. After comparing the color of episode one from this set to the version originally released on DVD with just three episodes, I found that the colors were slightly brighter or vivid in this version than the other.

Overall, this is the best edition of season one that there is to date. It's worth the purchase if you do not mind the American version. Hopefully, they will release the rest of season one very shortly. I rate this product 4 out of 5 stars because it does not contain the episode "Beauty and the Beach."

31 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good for nostalgia, but that's about it., May 24, 2008

By 

Stacy "redlandcannibal" (Niigata City, Japan) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Pokémon: Indigo League - Season One, Part 1 (DVD)

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.