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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.
- "Princess versus Princess" and "The Purr-fect Hero" are the first episodes in this collection, which were taken out of order from the second collection and stuck here. It's nice that they did put these episodes in (as opposed to leaving them out altogether, like what they did with "Beauty and the Beach") but it's a bit odd that they didn't just put them in order. It's not that big a deal since Pokemon is fairly episodic, so the chronology of things isn't messed up too much.
- 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.
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Top reviews from other countries
Jason
Expensive but worth it for big fans!
Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on September 21, 2016
