Customer Reviews

Pokémon: Indigo League - Season One, Part 1

5 star:		(43)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

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

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."

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.

If you want to collect some or all of the pokemon anime episodes on dvd, then here is a comprehensive guide that will help explain the progression of the pokemon series and the current availability in box set form.

Season 1: Indigo League (available in 3 dvd box sets, 79 episodes)

Season 2: Adventures in the Orange Islands (1 dvd box set, 35 episodes)

Season 3: The Johto Journeys (*no box set available, 41 episodes)

Season 4: Johto League Champions (*no box set available, 52 episodes)

Season 5: Master Quests (2 dvd box sets, 64 episodes)

Season 6: Advanced (2 dvd box sets, 40 episodes)

Season 7: Advanced Challenge (*no box set available, 52 episodes)

Season 8: Advanced Battle (*no box set available, 54 episodes)

Season 9: Battle Frontier (2 dvd box sets, 47 episodes)

Season 10: Diamond and Pearl (2 dvd box sets, 51 episodes)

Season 11: D/P Battle Dimension (tba)

Season 12 D/P Platinum (tba)

* = can be found on vhs and single disc dvd containing 3-6 episodes ea.

The series has aged very, very well, much better than I expected. The bad puns and lame jokes are excellent, and the main characters, Ash, Misty, and Brock, are as enjoyable as ever. However, this is not a review of the Pokemon television show. This is a review of the dvd release of the Pokemon television show.

This box set does not actually contain season one. More accurately, it contains the first third of season one, the "first" 26 episodes of the approximately 80 episodes of the Indigo League. The quotes are there because the lost/banned episode, "Beauty and the Beach", is not included. Which is, to say the least, somewhat odd. I thought this release was for twentysomethings like me who watched the show when they were ten, as opposed to children whose mothers would be offended by James' breasts.

Season semantics and aborted episodes aside, this is an extremely bare bones release. You are buying exactly what you saw on TV. There is nothing but the 26 episodes in dubbed english. No japanese audio with subtitles. I am sorry anime nerds, you cannot enjoy the "correct" voices. Personally, I wanted to know what the original lame jokes were. (Cowterpie, what?) There are actually no subtitles whatsoever, not even english subtitles of the english dub. I like putting on subtitles so I don't miss any dialogue due to laughing and such, so this was another disappointment.

The final disappointment is the quality. My inital hypothesis was that they directly transfered some home vhs recordings to dvd. However, that is not the case. For one, the audio quality is too consistent, at least within individual episodes. Some are slightly louder/softer than others. The difference is not dramatic, just noticable and annoying. For two, they actually made the video WORSE in some places. Routinely, when there would be flashing lights, or indeed fast animation of any kind, the frame rate drops to awful. Not just a little slower to reduce seisure risk, but like 2 frames per second. Of course, it may always have been that bad and I just don't remember it. It's still painful to watch, though.

In summary, ViZ should be ashamed of themselves for releasing such a poor, half-baked collection. (The full Pokerap is on each disc, but there isn't even a menu option to play it!) The box set contains the first 26 episodes of the Pokemon anime released in america. The set fails so hard on all the details that I wonder how I paid money for it, but again, the box set contains the first 26 episodes of the Pokemon anime released in america.

Whether that is worth your money is up to you.

OK, so if there's the first 26 episodes on this set, then there should be 3 more Indigo League DVDs. Well, all the episodes from the Indigo League era (the original 150-) are:

Pokemon - I Choose You!
Pokemon Emergency
Ash Catches a Pokemon
Challenge of the Samurai
Showdown in Pewter City
Clefairy and the Moon Stone
The Water Flowers of Cerulean City
The Path to the Pokemon League
The School of Hard Knocks
Bulbasaur and the Hidden Village
Charmander - The Stray Pokemon
Here Comes The Squirtle Squad
Mystery at the Lighthouse
Electric Shock Showdown
Battle Aboard the St. Anne
Pokemon Shipwreck
Island of the Giant Pokemon
Beauty and the Beach (Unaired)
Tentacool and Tentacruel
The Ghost of Maiden's Peak
Bye Bye Butterfree
Abra and the Psychic Showdown
The Tower of Terror
Haunter vs Kadabra
Primeape Goes Bananas
Pokemon Scent-sation!
Hypno's Naptime
Pokemon Fashion Flash
The Punchy Pokemon
Sparks Fly for Magnemite
Dig Those Diglett!
The Ninja Poke-Showdown
The Flame Pokemon-athon!
The Kangaskhan Kid
Legend of Dratini (Unaired)
The Bridge Bike Gang
Ditto's Mysterious Mansion
Electric Soldier Porygon (Unaired)
Pikachu's Good-Bye
The Battling Eevee Brothers
Wake Up Snorlax!
Showdown at Dark City
The March of the Exegguter Squad
The Problem with Paras
The Song of Jigglypuff
Attack of the Prehistoric Pokemon
A Chansey Operation
Holy Matrimony!
Who Gets To Keep Togepi?
Bulbasaur's Mysterious Garden
The Case of the K-9 Caper
Pokemon Paparazzi
The Ultimate Test
The Breeding Center Secret
Princess vs Princess
The Purr-fect Hero
Riddle Me This
Volcanic Panic
Beach Blank-out Blastoise
The Misty Mermaid
Clefairy Tales
The Battle of the Badge
It's Mr. Mime Time
Holiday Hi-Jynx
Snow Way Out!
Showdown at the Po-ke Corral
The Evolution Solution
The Pi-Kahuna
Make Room for Gloom!
Lights, Camera, Quack-tion!
Go West, Young Meowth
To Master the Onixpected
The Ancient Puzzle of Pokemopolis
Bad to the Bone
All Fired Up!
Round One - Begin!
Fire and Ice
The Fourth Round Rumble
A Friend in Deed
Friend and Foe Alike
Friends to the End
Pallet Party Panic

There's 82 episodes in season 1 (if I counted right), so I'm guessing there will be a Indigo League Vol. 2 and 3, which should have the next 56 episodes. Then they'll release Season 2: Orange Islands!! YAY!!!

This box set gave exactly what it promised; the Pokemon cartoon first season! It's easy to navigate and the quality is excellent. It would be better if there was bonus material on it besides the "What's that Pokemon?!" question between each show and the same long animation that lists each pokemon while singing their names after each disc. Other than that, I'm really enjoying watching all of the cartoons in order and am getting a much different perspective on the series this way.

This box set has episodes 1-26 of the very first season of Pokemom. To complete your collection of the entire first season, you will also need to buy volumes two (episodes 27-52) and three (episodes 53-79).

The happiness this box set brought me is unspeakable. I stumbled upon it on accident and had no idea they had even put a box set out. Its such a deal too. I had seen dvds each containing a few episodes running 25 bucks a pop! I love this set so much. It reminds me of watching pokemon back when it first came out.

The only downside is there are a lot more episodes that you have to wait for. hopefully they will release the next set soon!!!

I won,t bore you with details of the shows (which are very good). I am just glad to get rid of all the deteriorating VHS tapes. This is a great value when you take into consideration the amount I paid for the VHS tapes.