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| Welcome to Dogasu's Backpack, a fansite for the Japanese franchise Pocket Monsters! For 23 years this website has been your guide for the Japanese version of Pokémon and contains content you can't find anywhere else. Stuff like detailed comparisons between the Japanese version and the English version of the animated series, interview translations, information on Japan-only manga, a lyrics database, a home video guide, and much more! So whether you're a seasoned veteran or a newbie just getting into Pocket Monsters this site has something for every fan to enjoy. | ||
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| Learn about the
live action "PokéTsume" series here! Updated constantly! |
Episode Comparison: "Wherefore Art Thou, Pokémon?"
December 2nd, 2023
Dogasu @ 15:29 JST -- It's time for another episode comparison! This time we continue on through the Orange Islands with the episode "Wherefore Art Thou, Pokémon?"
This episode was a loooot more work than I thought it'd be. As I mention in the comparison itself, a good 75%-ish of the dialogue is completely rewritten, meaning that when all's said and done I ended up having to transcribe most of the episode's script to compare the two. As usual, let me know what you think via the links below!
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Translation: TV Guide interview with Nanase Nishino
November 22nd, 2023
Dogasu @ 08:24 JST -- The October 7th to October 13th 2023 issue of the Japanese TV Guide magazine featured an interview with Cram Adventures Into a Pocket star Nanase Nishino in order to promote the then-upcoming show.
In this interview Ms. Nishino talks about her history with the Pocket Monsters video games and how her approach toward playing Madoka is to make her more like the protagonist of a video game. She also highlights an adventure of her own she's had recently. You can read my translation of the interview here.
Cram Adventures Into a Pocket is a live action TV show based on the Pocket Monsters video games. It stars Nanase Nishino and will debut on TV-Tokyo on Friday, October 20th at 12:30 am JST. The show is also currently airing in Taiwan and South Korea.
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Manga Section: Kousaku Anakubo's Pocket Monsters
November 12th, 2023
Dogasu @ 13:20 JST -- I want to do a better job of keeping up with the Pokémon manga that's currently running in Japan. One of those manga, believe it or not, is the Kousaku Anakubo Pocket Monsters gag manga with the rude Pippi and the non-traditional character designs and the dick jokes. I took a look at my site's coverage of the series and found that I haven't really updated it since 2012 and so I thought that before I start adding stuff to the section I'd better clean it up first.
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So today's update is about getting the Kousaku Anakubo's Pocket Monsters portion of the Manga Guide tidied up and ready to update. I completely rewrote the series' front page, author profile, character bios, and added a list of all the collected volumes. I then took a look at all the random chapter summaries I had scattered throughout the website over the decades and consolidated them all in one place; there was a Sun & Moon era chapter, for example, I had summarized and posted on this site's front page but then never bothered to add to the actual manga section itself. Stuff like that. I also went through each and every single page in the section and updated all the terms and phrases to match what this site currently uses, so sentences like "Ookido-Hakase gives Red a Pokemon Zukan" now reads "Dr. Ookido gives Red a Pokémon Bestiary." The crusty old manga scans I took back in the early 2000s have also all been replaced with much higher quality versions.
These days, Kousaku Anakubuo's Pocket Monsters manga is serialized on the CoroCoro Online website under the title Pocket Monsters Aniki Series. New chapters come out the last Sunday of each month and can be read for free. Now that the manga section is presentable again I can start updating it with summaries of the new chapters as they come out.
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Lyrics Archive: "Halo"
November 8th, 2023
Dogasu @ 00:45 JST -- I know it's been a while since it debuted, but I've added the lyrics to the current opening theme to the Pocket Monsters (2023) TV series, Halo, in the Lyrics Archive.
I've got the song lyrics in their original Japanese, romanized Japanese, and translated into English. I also have English translations of comments made by the song's artists, yama and Botchi Boromaru, from back when the song was first announced.
A CD single with the song will be released on December 13th.
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Pokémon Shock: Does an English Dub of "Cyber Soldier Porygon" Exist?
October 27th, 2023
Dogasu @ 23:59 JST -- We all know that "Cyber Soldier Porygon," the episode of Pocket Monsters that sent all those children to the hospital 25 years ago, never ended up airing outside Japan. But is there any truth to the claims that 4Kids actually dubbed it before deciding to skip it? Today let's take a look at all the evidence in a new article called Does an English Dub of "Cyber Soldier Porygon" Exist?
What's the timeline leading up to the episode being skipped? Which voice actors claim the episode was dubbed, and which ones have claimed it wasn't? And is there anything else we can look at to figure out what the truth is? I pull in evidence from as many sources as I could find to make the most thorough article on this topic possible so hopefully you'll find something in there you haven't seen before!
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Manga Guide: Ciào Pocket Monsters Manga Update
October 26th, 2023
Dogasu @ 23:21 JST -- It's been a while since I've checked in on the various manga series that're out in Japan right now so let's take a look at two of them for today's update.
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The one on the left here is Pocket Monsters ~ Liko's Treasure ~, a series I had previously covered on this site. This manga finished its run in the June 2023 issue of the girls' manga anthology Ciào and so I've written up a summary of its third chapter. This series is the third retelling of the Pocket Monsters 2023 TV series, with this particular adaptation stopping at the end of the events Episode 002. The three chapters have since been collected in a graphic novel for those of you who want to read it that way.
The manga on the right is one that started the month after ~Liko's Treasure ~ wrapped up called Pocket Monsters ~ The Detouring Volteccers ~. It's a short gag manga (each chapter's only eight pages) and so it doesn't really get that deep but it's still a charming enough series in its own right. Three chapters have been released so far with a fourth one scheduled to come out next month.
Other manga currently running in Japan at the moment include Kosaku Anakubo's Pocket Monsters - Aniki Version, Pocket Monsters Special: Scarlet & Violet, Let's Play the Pokémon Card Game (Scarlet & Violet), and the Pokémon Four Panel Comics.
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Pokémon Shock: Rumor Guide
October 22nd, 2023
Dogasu @ 09:26 JST -- Let's take a trip back to the 1990s to talk about the Pokémon Shock incident again. When you have an event as huge as that there are bound to be rumors that pop up from time to time and so today I take a look at some of the more popular claims made about the incident and try to figure out if there's really any evidence to back any of them up. In other words today is the debut of the "Cyber Soldier Porygon" Rumor Guide.
At the moment I've got the following two rumors covered:
- The Japanese government banned the episode
- A second wave of victims was caused by news reports' coverage of the incident
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"Cram Adventures Into a Pocket" Episode 01
October 20th, 2023
Dogasu @ 07:32 JST -- The first episode of "Cram Adventures Into a Pocket" has aired in Japan and so I've been updating the site's section on the series with all sorts of new information.
Here's what I've done so far. More will be added throughout the weekend.
- Added a synopsis of Episode 01 to the show's Episode Guide. Since this is an ongoing series I've decided to keep them the same length as the ones I do for the animated series episodes in my Episode Comparisons section.
- Added October 21st: I've added the full cast and staff list
for Episode 01. As usual, romanizing Japanese names is actually a very
difficult task so a lot of the names you'll see on the list are only
able to be presented in their original kanji. If I come across any
additional romanization confirmations then I'll be sure to update the
list.
Cram
Adventures Into a Pocket is a live action TV show based on the Pocket Monsters
video games. It stars Nanase Nishino and debuted on TV-Tokyo on
Friday, October 20th at 12:30 am JST. No international release has been
announced.
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Translation: TV station interviews
October 19th, 2023
Dogasu @ 23:59 JST -- Issue 20 of the magazine TV station, which covers Japanese TV listings for September 30th ~ October 13th 2023, features promotional interviews with two of the people involved with the live action show Cram Adventures Into a Pocket.
Those two interviews are with Koichi Uruma, producer of the show, and Nanase Nishino, its star. You can read translations of those interviews here.
Cram Adventures Into a Pocket is a live action TV show based on the Pocket Monsters video games. It stars Nanase Nishino and will debut on TV-Tokyo on Friday, October 20th at 12:30 am JST. No international release has been announced.
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"Cram Adventures Into a Pocket" Section Revamp
October 16th, 2023
Dogasu @ 23:59 JST -- The new live action Japanese show Cram Adventures Into a Pocket (or "PokéTsume" for short) starts later this week and so I've completely revamped my section for the new series over in the Features section!
I've got the full cast and staff list, a fansubbed version of the show's first trailer, character bios and translations of the actors' comments, and a whole lot more! I've basically taken everything I've been able to find about this new show and put it all in one place for easy reference.
Cram Adventures Into a Pocket is a live action TV show based on the Pocket Monsters video games. It stars Nanase Nishino and will debut on TV-Tokyo on Friday, October 20th at 12:30 am JST. No international release has been announced.
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Pokémon Shock: Effects on Scheduling
October 9th, 2023
Dogasu @ 23:19 JST -- Something I've talked about on this site a lot over the years is how the hiatus the Pocket Monsters TV series went on in 1998 following the "Pokémon Shock," the incident where hundreds of children were sent to the hospital with seizures and other illnesses, caused all sorts of havoc on the plans that had been laid out for the show for the rest of year. I had written up a few small things here and there but I never really did a deep dive into this topic and so for tonight's update I've got a brand new page in my site's Pokémon Shock section called "Pokémon Shock: Effects on Scheduling."
What's up with the current order in which the episodes are played? How did the show taking a third of a year off affect OLM's plans for the rest of the year? And what is the "correct" order to watch the series? To answer these questions I take a look at magazines and other materials from the era and attempted to figure out what was supposed to air where. There's a ton of original research in here I haven't seen anywhere else so there's sure to be something in there you haven't seen before!
As always, if you have any comments / recommendations / corrections to let me know about then please feel free to contact me via any of the links below.
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Episode Comparison: "Pokémon I Choose You!"
October 1st, 2023
Dogasu @ 21:26 JST -- I wanted to get this out during the English dub's 25th anniversary month but, meh, close enough. Here's a completely revamped Episode Comparison to the very first Pokémon episode ever, "Pokémon I Choose You!"
The version I had up before was really
old and not all that good and so I basically rewrote the entire thing
from the ground up. For many first time visitors to the site this is
going to be the very first comparison they see (I assume most people
click through them in order...?) and so I wanted to make sure this one,
at least, is up to the current standards. There are a lot
of script rewrites I didn't catch the first few times around, thanks to
a combination of not having access to closed captions back then and
then also me
not knowing as much Japanese ten years ago, and so I've now been able
to create what I see as the definitive version of this comparison. I
don't really see how I can make this write up any more complete.
The urge to go back now and redo the other 79 Kanto episode comparisons to have them match the current standard is very very strong, but I'm going to resist that for now to focus on finishing up the Orange Islands episodes.
The urge to go back now and redo the other 79 Kanto episode comparisons to have them match the current standard is very very strong, but I'm going to resist that for now to focus on finishing up the Orange Islands episodes.
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September 28th, 2023
Dogasu @ 00:08 JST -- I was working on a new(-ish) Episode Comparison lately when I happened to take a look at the old General Edits page I had and realized that oof, this thing's way out of date. Like, "Last Updated February 19th, 2013" out of date. So I kind of stopped what I was doing and decided to do a massive overhaul of the page.
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The new and improved General Edits page has been completely rewritten from the ground up and features more information, more up-to-date examples, better quality images, and all sorts of other content that wasn't there before. It's a great breakdown of the types of changes being made to the show that I don't always bring up in my Episode Comparisons but are still taking place regardless.
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Translation: Pokémon Story Chapter 3: America
September 7th, 2023
Dogasu @ 22:13 JST -- Today marks the 25th anniversary of the debut of the English dub of the Pokémon animated series! A quarter of a century ago 4Kids reversioning of the Japanese show Pocket Monsters first hit American airwaves, setting off the chain reaction that would eventually allow the franchise to take over the world. I couldn't not celebrate this momentous occasion and so I'm doing it in the most Dogasu's Backpack way ever; by translating 40+ pages of the Japanese book Pokémon Story!
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You may remember Pokémon Story from my Pokémon Shock 25th Anniversary coverage last year. Well, that same book has a rather large section on bringing Pokémon over to the United States and so I thought hey, now's as good a time as any to translate that section into English as well. These 40-ish pages go over Nintendo of America's trepidation about bringing Pocket Monsters over to the U.S. in the first place, the various hurdles the teams faced in doing so, the reason why they rolled out the animated series first, and a whole lot more. It's 40-ish pages jam packed with information I simply haven't seen anywhere else and so I'm confident you'll learn all sorts of things you never knew before.
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New live action TV series "PokéTsume" to start October 20th
August 30th, 2023
Dogasu @ 23:51 JST -- Earlier this evening The Pokémon Company announced, seemingly out of nowhere, that a live action series "Cram Adventures Into a Pocket" (ポ ケットに 冒険をつめこんで), or "PokéTsume" for short, will begin airing on TV-Tokyo starting October 20th!
TV-Tokyo's
official website for
the show has synopses, quotes from the show's cast and crew, and a
breakdown of other information about the upcoming live action TV show.
I've translated all of that information and put it on its own page in
the Features section here.
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This Is Animation: Pocket Monsters The Movie Screenplay Writers' Comments
August 9th, 2023
Dogasu @ 22:28 JST -- Last month -- July 18th, 2023, to be exact -- marked the 25th anniversary of the release of Pocket Monsters The Movie "Mewtwo Strikes Back!" & "Pikachu's Summer Vacation." My goal was to post a bunch of translations related to the movie to celebrate, but then right around the anniversary date I got knocked out by COVID and wasn't really able to do much of anything. I seem to be back at full health now but the whole ordeal delayed things quite a bit and so now I'm only just now getting around to posting this.
So for today's update, I've got the following:
First up, I've posted a page on the press conference that was held on November 13th, 1997 during which the double feature was first revealed to the public. I took reports from multiple sources and put them all on one page so that you can easily see what all they revealed the first time anyone publicly acknowledged Mewtwo Strikes Back!
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Next up, I have a translation of a comment made by supervisor Tsunekazu Ishihara from the pamphlet that was sold in movie theaters back in the summer of 1998. In this, Mr. Ishihara talks about how amazed he is to see Pokémon on the big screen and how moved he was when he saw the finished product at the films' preview screening.
Finally, I've got a translation of comments made by screenplay writers Takeshi Shudo ("Mewtwo Strikes Back!") and Hideki Sonoda ("Pikachu's Summer Vacation") from the book This Is Animation: Pocket Monsters The Movie "Mewtwo Strikes Back!" & "Pikachu's Summer Vacation." The Takeshi Shudo one is a bit...well, let's just say I had to tweak the translation quite a bit in order to make the thing make some amount of sense. The Hideki Sonoda comment, meanwhile, talks about the challenges with working on a movie where most of the characters who appear in it aren't actually able to speak. They're both these fascinating time capsules of what these two men were thinking back in the summer of 1998!
Episode Comparison: "The Mandarin Island Miss Match"
July 7th, 2023
Dogasu @ 10:04 JST -- The time has finally come; I've completed the comparison for "The Mandarin Island Miss Match!"
This write-up was a colossal undertaking as it features one of 4Kids' least accurate scripts from its entire run. I am not joking when I say at least 75% of the episode's script was rewritten, most of it for seemingly no reason whatsoever! There are also weird name inconsistencies, references to past episodes that get missed, a large scene cut, the fact that the episode's been de-existed due to a certain character...there's a ton to go over here.
It's a very, very long episode comparison but I think it is absolutely worth it to take the time to read each and every word. As always, let me know what you think!
The Different Versions of Japanese Episode 099
July 2nd, 2023
Dogasu @ 08:29 JST -- You may have seen me mention this on social media and whatnot, but I am currently hard at work on the Episode Comparison for "The Mandarin Island Miss Match." It's a doozy of an episode and so I'm going to need a little longer to complete it, but in the meantime I do have something to share: a page I'm calling The Different Versions of Japanese Episode 099.
The reason I even have a page like this is because there are, somehow, multiple, multiple versions of this one random episode from 1999! It's actually kind of wild! When I first started working on this the intention was just to cover this in a paragraph or two within the episode's comparison but the more I got into it the more I realized that no, this actually needs its own page. So here we are!
If you have any more information about the different versions of the episode not covered in this page then please let me know.
Found an error or omission? Please help me keep this page current and error-free by e-mailing me with a description of the issue.
