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"Everyone's Story" Japanese Box Office Performance, Week Three
July 30th, 2018

Dogasu @ 23:35 JST -- It took three weeks but Pocket Monsters The Movie "Everyone's Story" has fallen out of the Top Three at the Japanese box office.


Pocket Monsters Movie 21 dropped to 4th for the weekend of July 28th and July 29th. Eiga.com is reporting that the movie has earned 1.6 billion yen (about $14.4 million USD) altogether. To put that into perspective, Pocket Monsters The Movie "I Choose You!" had made about 1.7 billion yen by its third week. A difference of 0.1 billion yen is not that huge, all things considered!

So what nudged Pocket Monsters out of the Top Three? Code Blue The Movie "Dr. Helicopter Paramedics," a movie spun off from the popular Japanese medical drama of the same name. The rest of the Top Ten is more or less the same as what it was last week; everyone just slid down a spot.

Rank	Last Week	Title	Distributor	No. of Theaters	Weeks in Theaters
1	NEW	Code Blue The Movie "Dr. Helicopter Paramedics"	Toho	345	1
2	1	Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom	Toho Towa	371	3
3	2	Mirai of the Future	Toho	367	2
4	3	Pocket Monsters The Movie "Everyone's Story"	Toho	364	3
5	4	Bleach	Warner Bros Movies	328	2
6	5	Solo: A Star Wars Story	Disney	363	5
7	6	Shoplifters	Gaga	328	8
8	9	Go! Anpanman: Shine! Kurun and the Star of Life	Tokyo Theaters	208	5
9	8	Rainbow Days	Shochiku	317	4
10	7	The Flying Tire	Shochiku	330	7

Source:  Eiga.com

Next week will see the Japanese release of Incredibles 2, Mission: Impossible - Fallout, and My Hero Academia The Movie "Two Heroes." How will Pocket Monsters stand up to this new competition?!

Pocket Monsters The Movie "Everyone's Story" was released in theaters on July 13th, 2018 in Japan. The English language dub hits theaters in the U.S. in November under the title "The Power of Us."


A breakdown of all the Pocket Monsters The Movie "Everyone's Story" Music CDs
July 25th, 2018

Dogasu @ 00:10 JST -- Today, July 25th, a bunch of CDs related to the 21st Pocket Monsters movie will be coming out. Let's take a look at them.


First up is the movie's background music collection. Pocket Monsters The Movie "Everyone's Story" Music Collection is 51 tracks that Shinji Miyazaki made for the film. It retails for 2,700 yen and can be purchased from overseas at Amazon Japan, CD Japan, Play-Asia, and YESASIA.


Also coming out today are the CD singles for Breath, the theme song for the movie as performed by Porno Graffitti. There are three versions coming out; an "Special Limited Animation Edition" that includes a DVD with an AMV of the ending theme set to footage from the film and a special Eevee TCG card; a "First Print Limited Edition" that includes a DVD featuring concert footage of Porno Graffitti from summer 2017; and a regular edition that's just the CD and nothing else.

Detailed track listings, links to where you can purchase each CD, and information about the extras included in each release can all be found in the CD Guide.

Pocket Monsters The Movie "Everyone's Story" was released in theaters on July 13th, 2018 in Japan. An international release has not been announced at this time.


"Everyone's Story" Japanese Box Office Performance, Week Two
July 24th, 2018

Dogasu @ 13:18 JST -- Pocket Monsters The Movie "Everyone's Story" has now been in theaters for two weeks now; how's it holding up?


The newest Pocket Monsters film dropped to 3rd place in its second weekend, July 21st to July 22nd. Eiga.com is reporting that the movie was seen by 202,000 people and brought in an additional 2.38 million yen (about US $2.1 million). The site is also reporting that, to date, the film has been seen by 1,030,000 people and is close to earning 1.2 billion yen.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom remained at the top of the box office last week as newcomer Mirai of the Future swooped in to take Pocket Monsters' number two spot. The live action Bleach film, meanwhile, disappointedly came in at Number Four. The rest of the Top Ten looks like this:

Rank	Last Week	Title	Distributor	No. of Theaters	Weeks in Theaters
1	1	Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom	Toho Towa	371	2
2	NEW	Mirai of the Future	Toho	367	1
3	2	Pocket Monsters The Movie "Everyone's Story"	Toho	364	2
4	NEW	Bleach	Warner Bros Movies	328	1
5	3	Solo: A Star Wars Story	Disney	363	4
6	4	Shoplifters	Gaga	328	7
7	5	The Flying Tire	Shochiku	330	6
8	6	Rainbow Days	Shochiku	317	3
9	7	Go! Anpanman: Shine! Kurun and the Star of Life	Tokyo Theatres	208	4
10	8	Detective Conan: Zero the Enforcer	Toei	360	15

Source:  Eiga.com

Pocket Monsters The Movie "Everyone's Story" was released in theaters on July 13th, 2018 in Japan. An international release has not been announced at this time.


Pocket Monsters The Movie "Mewtwo Strikes Back!" & "Pikachu's Summer Vacation" 20th Anniversary
July 18th, 2018

Dogasu @ 23:36 JST -- Twenty years ago today the very first Pocket Monsters movie, Pocket Monsters The Movie "Mewtwo Strikes Back!" & "Pikachu's Summer Vacation" (劇場版ポケットモンスター「ミュウツーの逆襲」「ピカチュウのなつやすみ」) hit theaters in Japan. I couldn't not do anything to celebrate but I also don't have that much time this week so today I'll be taking a look at the pamphlet that moviegoers in Japan would have been able to pick up when they went to go see this film back in 1998.


Back then the pamphlets were much more simple - they didn't have the voice actor interviews or behind-the-scenes features or soundtrack information we've come to expect - but the pamphlet for the first movie did include a comment from the film's supervisor (and eventual executive producer for the entire franchise), Tsunekazu Ishihara:

Wow, Pokemon's finally made it to the big screen. I'm just as surprised as you are! I feel like I'm in a dream right now and need someone to pinch me, especially as someone who's been such a big cinema fan all these years. I'm looking forward to the day sometime way in the future when I can reminisce about how I'm feeling right now at this very moment. With this movie, the world of Pokemon has been able to achieve a scale and depth it's never had before. I also believe that the Pokemon world we're all adventuring around in has had a certain je ne sais quoi added to it. That, for me, has been both the big gamble and payoff of this film. And for the production team, this movie also offered them the challenge to tackle themes and deploy new artistic techniques that aren't possible within the confines of the TV series. I believe we all met these challenges spectacularly. At the advanced screening of the film there were three separate occasions when I was getting a little misty eyed and one of those times I even allowed a few tears escape. But I was encouraged by how energetic Satoshi and Pikachu are and how kind-hearted Mew and Mewtwo are and was quickly able to regain my composure. Thanks to them, no one there at the screening noticed my tears. But I think the next time I watch this movie I won't care what others around me think and allow myself to bawl my eyes out. I think I'll definitely watch this film at least four more times... Supervisor Tsunekazu Ishihara

I realize it's not much ("I'm so surprised!" "Movies are bigger projects than TV episodes!" "I cry a lot") but it does kind of offer a neat look back at what was going through the minds of the production staff back in 1998. Pocket Monsters The Movie "Mewtwo Strikes Back!" & "Pikachu's Summer Vacation" would, obviously, go on to be a massive hit earning 7.2 billion yen in Japan alone.

If you've somehow made it all the way to 2018 without ever seeing the original Japanese version of the film then I very highly recommend you track down a copy ASAP. Masachika Ichimura's performance as Mewtwo alone is worth the price of admission.

A new film is coming out in 2019 titled (at least for now, anyway) Mewtwo Strikes Back! Evolution (ミュウツーの逆襲Evolution). At the moment it's unclear what connection the new film will have with the film that came out 20 years ago.


"Everyone's Story" Japanese Box Office Performance, Week One
July 18th, 2018

Dogasu @ 00:29 JST -- The time has come for us to find out how Pocket Monsters The Movie "Everyone's Story" did in its first week in Japanese theaters!


The 21st Pocket Monsters movie debuted in 2nd place in its first weekend. According to entertainment news site Eiga.com, Pocket Monsters The Movie "Everyone's Story" brought in 500 million yen (about US $4.4 million) and was seen by 440,000 people on Saturday and Sunday. That's 96.9% of what its predecessor, Pocket Monsters The Movie "I Choose You!", was able to make in the same amount of time (516 million yen). For the entire four day weekend (the film opened on Friday, Monday was a national holiday) Everyone's Story brought in 830 million yen (about US $7.4 million) and was seen by 730,000 people. Various entertainment sites are wondering if the 21st movie's lifetime sales will eventually surpass the 3.5 billion yen of its predecessor.

First place went to the Japanese premier of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom while third place went to Solo: A Star Wars Story. The rest of the Top Ten looks like this:

Rank	Last Week	Title	Distributor	No. of Theaters	Weeks in Theaters
1	NEW	Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom	Toho Towa	371	1
2	NEW	Pocket Monsters The Movie "Everyone's Story"	Toho	364	1
3	1	Solo: A Star Wars Story	Disney	363	3
4	2	Shoplifters	Gaga	328	6
5	4	The Flying Tire	Shochiku	330	5
6	3	Rainbow Days	Shochiku	317	2
7	5	Go! Anpanman: Shine! Kurun and the Star of Life	Tokyo Theatres	208	3
8	8	Detective Conan: Zero the Enforcer	Toho	360	14
9	6	50 First Dates	Sony Pictures Entertainment	321	7
10	7	Punk Samurai Slash Down	Toei	324	3

Source:  Eiga.com

Pocket Monsters The Movie "Everyone's Story" was released in theaters on July 13th, 2018 in Japan. An international release has not been announced at this time.


Pocket Monsters The Movie "Everyone's Story" - The Review
July 16th, 2018

Dogasu @ 10:50 JST -- It's been two days since the 21st Pocket Monsters movie came out in theaters and during that time I've been busy working on compiling my thoughts about the film. After about a million rewrites I finally finished my review of Pocket Monsters The Movie "Everyone's Story."

Pocket Monsters The Movie "Everyone's Story" was released in theaters on July 13th, 2018 in Japan. An international release has not been announced at this time.


Pocket Monsters The Movie "Everyone's Story" - The FAQ
July 13th, 2018

Dogasu @ 14:26 JST -- So now that the Movie 22 update is out of the way, let's look at Movie 21! Yesterday I asked you all if you had any questions about the film and I got a ton of responses! So I've taken those questions and compiled them all into a Pocket Monsters The Movie "Everyone's Story" FAQ.


If you have any other questions not covered in this page please let me know by following one of the links below.

In the meantime, I'll be working on writing up a detailed plot summary of the film.


Pocket Monsters The Movie 22 "Mewtwo Strikes Back! Evolution"
July 13th, 2018

Dogasu @ 12:49 JST -- Pocket Monsters The Movie "Everyone's Story" came out in Japan today and while I'll be posting my thoughts later I wanted to talk about the teaser trailer shown at the end of this year's film for the next movie.

(I'm not able to provide any actual screencaps from the teaser, for obvious reasons, so what's below are the best approximations I was able to come up with).

The teaser starts with a black screen. Text that says something along the lines of "The Legend is Back" (伝説が戻ってくる) appears in both English and Japanese. After that, some bubbles that'll look very familiar to Movie 1 fans start floating up from the bottom of the screen.


As the bubbles continue to rise, we hear a voice that I'm 99.99999999% sure is Masachika Ichimura, the original voice of Mewtwo from Mewtwo Strikes Back! (and that Jouto TV special), recite the opening monologue from the first movie: "What is this place? Who am I?" (ここはどこだ？私は誰だ？). We then see a shot similar to the one below of Mewtwo opening its eyes, though I'm sad to say that the Mewtwo shown in the teaser for next year's film is rendered in CG.


After this, the movie's logo comes up: Pocket Monsters The Movie "Mewtwo Strikes Back! Evolution" (劇場版ポケットモンスター「ミュウツーの逆襲Evolution). The logo, at least now anyway, consists of the word "Evolution" written out in English slapped onto the bottom right-hand corner of the old Movie 1 logo from 1998.


Finally, white text on a black screen announces that the new movie is coming out in 2019.

And that's it!

The teaser is only like 10 seconds long and so we're really not given a whole lot to go off of.

We don't know if this is going to be a remake.
We don't know if this is going to be a reteling.
We don't know if this is going to be a sequel.
We don't know if this is some weird alternate universe retelling.
We don't know who will appear in this movie.

Literally all we have right now is a title and an implication that Masachika Ichimura will be returning as Mewtwo.


Anyway, now that that's out of the way I'm going to get to work on writing about this year's movie.



Translation Tuesdays Week Eleven: Movie 20 "Making Of" Feature
July 10th, 2018

Dogasu @ 23:58 JST -- One of the many, many great things about the home video releases of the Pocket Monsters movies in Japan is how they all come with all these neat little extras. The Blu-ray for the 20th movie, for example, comes with a miniature version of the pamphlet I covered in my last update that just so happens to also contain new material exclusive to this reprinting. This week's Translation Tuesdays is a look at the only part of that material to feature any new information, the "Making Of" feature.


Click on the image above to download a pdf version of the translated feature.

Next week's Translation Tuesdays will be all about Movie 21.


Pocket Monsters The Movie "I Choose You!" Movie Pamphlet
July 8th, 2018

Dogasu @ 23:43 JST -- Every year a 40-ish page pamphlet goes on sale at the movie theaters playing that year's Pocket Monsters film. These pamphlets usually contain plot overviews, comments from the cast and crew, a full list of the ending credits, and screenshots galore. The pamphlet that came out for last year's movie, Pocket Monsters The Movie "I Choose You!" had all that and more and so for today's update I'm going to go through and translate the parts I feel will be the most interesting to you all.


First up are comments from the director of the movie, Kunihiko Yuyama, and from the special guest voice actors of the film. What keyword did Mr. Yuyama have in mind when working on the film? How did Makoto's voice actor do to help prepare for the role? What notes did Bonjii's voice actor Arata Furuta get when voicing the old Houou expert? Check out the overiew of the pamphlet to find out!

And once you're done with that check out the Pokémon Movie 20th Anniversary Q&A, a series of interviews with the regular cast (Matsumoto, Otani, Hayashibara, Miki, Inuyama, Ishizuka) about working on the franchise the last 20 years. There really are a lot of great gems in these interviews so do yourself a favor and check them out.


I've got one more thing from movie pamphlet I want to translate but that will have to wait for another day.