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Pocket Monsters Special XY
March 24th, 2015

Dogasu @ 23:09 JST -- So I know I have a lot to cover when it comes to Pocket Monsters Special - ORAS, Volume 52, the second XY volume - but for right now I'm going to focus on getting the summaries for the XY chapter summaries up-to-date.  So here's the last four months' worth of XY:

February 2015	March 2015
April 2015	May 2015

It was also announced, quite some time ago, that Pocket Monsters Special has been pulled from Pokemon Fan magazine.  Here's what it says on the official site:

""Pocket Monsters Special," which had been running in the magazine "Pokemon Fan," will be taking a break from Issue 40 (on-sale February 20th) due to certain circumstances.  We will make an announcement when the series' return to the magazine has been decided."

It was mentioned in an earlier blog entry (which has since been deleted) that the addition of the ORAS Chapter in Club Sunday is pretty much to blame here.  With XY, B2W2 (via the graphic novels), and now ORAS all going on at the same time they decided that something had to give and so the Pokemon Fan chapters are what got the axe.  Pokemon Fan has a weird release schedule that only leant itself to single-chapter stories that are hard to squeeze into the main story anyway so its loss isn't that huge a deal.  Mr. Kusaka has also said that he will continue his duties as overall advisor to the magazine and as a member of the editing staff (僕自身、漫画の連載はお休みしても、雑誌全体のアドバイザーとしての役割や編集作業への参加は続いていきますので、ぜひ見てね～(^.^)！).


I have friends staying with me for the next week so site updates are going to become a super low priority for me during that time.  Their timing could have been better - I reeeeeeally wanted to do a Yokai Watch April Fool's site this year - but I'm not going to just ignore my friends to write up a list of yokai or whatever.  See you guys in April!


More non-news about the return of "Pokemon Radio Show! The Rocket-Dan's Secret Empire!"
March 23rd, 2015

Dogasu @ 18:35 JST -- Mima Masafumi, the man responsible for the amazing Pokemon Radio Show! The Rocket-Dan's Secret Empire radio show from back in 2012, took to Twitter again to tell us that no, there's no news to report on the show's comeback but that they're still trying.  He explains why he keeps trying over and over, which I think is kind of sweet:

"→I've been won over by the trio's charm.  It's because of the late writer Mr. Shudou Takeshi, the man who created...no, the man who raised the Rocket-Dan, and I want to take good care of the treasures he left behind for us.  It's because he gave life to the Rocket-Dan members from the games.  It's because they help Satoshi-tachi shine even more brightly by shining so brightly themselves." →惹かれているのは勿論ですがw。彼らを作った、いや育てたのは、今は亡き作家の首藤剛志さんだから。首藤さんが残してくれた財産を大事にしたい。ゲーム の中のロケット団の一員に、「命」を与えてくれたのだから。敵であるロケット団が光ってこそ、サトシ達の存在が更に輝きを放つのだから。

You can read translations of all the relevant tweets he made on the subject over on the Masafumi Mima's Twitter page here on the site.


"The Archdjinn of the Rings, Hoopa" Manga Adaptation
March 23rd, 2015

Dogasu @ 09:43 JST -- The April issue of CoroCoro Comics was pretty lame news-wise, showing us nothing that we didn't already know beforehand about Pokémon the movie XY "The Archdjinn of the Rings, Hoopa" and "Pikachu and the Pokemon Band".  Here's a list of all the legendary pokemon in the movie, a list that most of you have already made yourself after watching the trailers!  As boring as it all was, the issue wasn't a complete waste as it revealed information about the upcoming manga adaptation of the film.


The manga adaptation will show up in the May issue of CoroCoro Comics that'll go on sale April 15th, 2015.  It'll be drawn by Kamimura Gin, a relatively new face in the world of manga.  No page count has been revealed.  I think it's safe to assume that the adaptation will run for three issues - May 2015 (on-sale in April), June 2015 (on-sale in May), and July 2015 (on-sale in June) - before being collected into a graphic novel that will most likely go on-sale around the same time the movie comes out. 

I've created a page with what little there is to be known about the manga adaptation at the moment.  I'll be posting full summaries of each manga chapter as they come out.


"Pikachu and the Pokemon Band" Narrator Announced
March 20th, 2015

Dogasu @ 06:51 JST -- The official website for Pokémon the movie XY "The Archdjinn of the Rings, Hoopa" and "Pikachu and the Pokemon Band" announced that the narration for this year's Pikachu short will be performed by model / actress Yamamoto Mizuki (山本美月).  This will be Ms. Yamamoto's first time working in animation.


Here's what she had to say about being cast in the role:

From the time I was little my whole family absolutely loved Pokemon, so much so that we'd go out to see the movies every year.  So I was very happy when I was chosen to be a part of this series that's always been by my side. We took multiple takes of even the single-word lines which not only shows how dedicated the staff is but also strengthens my respect for how hard voice actors work.  On top of that, I would think about how important the narration is to understanding what's going on and how the narrator's actually this really important role and I start to tense up. When I was younger I used to look up to grown-up singers and the like and so now that I'm one of those grown-ups I want to be like an older sister to the kids who go see this movie.  I'll do my best the way only Yamamoto Mizuki can!

On top of that, the magazine that Ms. Yamamoto models for, CanCam, will dedicate part of its May 2015 issue to Pokemon!  The May 2015 issue goes on sale Monday, March 23rd and will come packaged with a greyscale Pikachu coin purse.


Pokémon the movie XY "The Archdjinn of the Rings, Hoopa" and "Pikachu and the Pokemon Band" hits Japanese theaters on July 18th, 2015.  It is the second Pocket Monsters XY movie and the 18th film in the franchise overall.



New Trailer, "Appear, the Small Djinn Hoopa"
March 8th, 2015

Dogasu @ 17:58 JST -- The first full-length trailer (予告) for The Archdjinn of the Rings, Hoopa was posted online yesterday:


As always (and by "as always" I mean that one other time I did this), here's a translation of the dialogue:

On-screen text:  Original Story: Tajiri Satoshi Balza:  "Time...the skies...release thee from thy ancient binds!" Pokémon the movie XY logo "Pika!" Hoopa:  "Shee shee!  Did I scare ya?" Satoshi:  "You..." Narrator:  "A mysterious pokemon appears in front of Satoshi." Hoopa:  "Hoopa!" Satoshi:  "I'm Satoshi." Hoopa:  "Saton!" Pikachu:  "Pika?" Hoopa:  "Pikan!" On-screen text:  Director: Yuyama Kunihiko Narrator:  "And then legendary pokemon start to gather, one after the other." Satoshi:  "Why are the legendary pokemon...!?" Hoopa:  "Hoopa'll think of something!  Appear~!" On-screen text:  "Legendaries vs. Legendaries." Narrator:  "A battle that shouldn't be taking place is shaking the entire world!" Citron:  "Even Arceus is..." Narrator:  "Hoopa's true power will be set free." Satoshi:  "Hoopa!" Balza:  "This is the power of the Confinement Urn." Narrator:  "Pokemon the movie XY" Hoopa:  (laughing) "Eee shee shee~" Narrator:  "The Archdjinn of the Rings, Hoopa" Female Narrator:  "And there will also be "Pikachu and the Pokemon Band." On-screen text:  Opens Saturday, July 18th! Musashi:  "If you buy a pre-order ticket then you'll receive code for Arceus!" On-screen text:  An "Arceus" present code is included.  See the supplementary present guide for more details. Kojirou:  "And on top of that, you'll receive a special clear file." On-screen text:  Movie Theater exclusive "Appear Clear File."  A total of 300,000 will be given out all over Japan. Nyasu:  "And that's not all!  It also comes with an "Appear Claim Receipt" for a legendary pokemon ." On-screen text:  A "legendary pokemon" Appear Claim Receipt is included.  See the supplementary present guide for more details. Kojirou:  "The identity of the legendary pokemon you'll receive is still a secret-on~" On-screen text:  More details will be announced on the movie's official website on Wednesday, April 15th.  Redemption will begin on Saturday, June 20th.  Valid with Pocket Monsters Omega Ruby, Alpha Sapphire, X, and Y. Musashi:  "This year there's double bonuses for pre-ordering your ticket!" Rocket-Dan:  "We've got a really good feel- (gets cut off by the horde of Pikachu)"

In other news, it was announced that there will be a new short to go along with this movie just like there was for the Mewtwo and Diancie movies.  This new short, Appear, the Small Djinn Hoopa (おでまし小魔神フーパ), will be made available as part of a special pre-order set exclusive to Seven-Eleven stores here in Japan.  Details about how to obtain this short as well as a translation of the plot summary that's been provided have been added to the site.


A runtime hasn't been provided so we don't know if it'll be the same length as a regular episode or if it'll be a little five minute thing like the Diancie one was.  I've reserved my copy so I'll be sure to post a full report when the DVD comes out in June.

Finally, I've updated the Pre-Order Bonus page with information on the clear file you can receive for pre-ordering your movie ticket at participating movie theaters in Japan.


New Plot Information / Character Bios
March 7th, 2015

Dogasu @ 09:06 JST -- The official website for this year's movie, The Archdjinn of the Rings, Hoopa, updated earlier this week with a lot of new information.

First up are the updated plot synopses.  I've translated them and added the synopses for both the main feature and the Pikachu short to the main page I have set up for this year's movie.

The trailer that was shown during Thursday morning's episode of Oha Sta has been added to the main site. 


Here's a translation of the dialogue:

Satoshi:  "Why are the legendary pokemon...!?" Hoopa:  "Hoopa'll think of something!  Appear~!" Narrator:  "A battle that shouldn't be taking place is shaking the entire world!" On-screen text:  "Legendaries vs. Legendaries." Narrator:  "Pokemon the movie XY" Satoshi:  "Hoopa!" Hoopa:  (laughing) "Shee shee~" Narrator:  "The Archdjinn of the Rings, Hoopa"

I've also added Character Bios for the three new human characters Mary, Balza (or Barza), and Traveler.  What do you want to bet Nakagawa Shouko ends up voicing Mary?


Pre-order tickets for the movie go on sale today, March 7th.  An Arceus is being offered as a pre-order bonus.