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| Old Updates Archive | November
2020
Episode Comparison
"Pokéball Peril"
November 30th, 2020
Dogasu @ 23:36 JST -- I didn't want too much time to pass since the last time I did one of these so today I've prepared for you a new episode comparison! This time it's for the Orange Islands episode "Pokéball Peril," aka the episode where Brock leaves the show.
The topic of Takeshi's exile is talked about in this comparison in-depth, as well as the eight million little dialogue edits 4Kids made throughout the episode, so be sure to check it out!
Pocket Monsters The Movie "Koko" Supporters' Podcast - Episode 06
November 29th, 2020
Dogasu @ 21:48 JST -- Episode #6 of the Pocket Monsters The Movie "Koko" podcast came out November 20th so I've written up a summary of the jam-packed episode here. This episode is Part Two of a two-part conversation with the movie's sound director, Mr. Masafumi Mima, and its composer, Mr. Shinji Miyazaki.
The episode delves into the document Mr. Mima uses to order new music from his composer, Mr. Miyazaki's philosophy behind the role music plays in a film, how "translations" of what the Pokémon are actually saying are written in the scripts for the benefit of the actors, each guests' favorite piece of music, and much much more! At 37 minutes this was the longest episode of the podcast to date so set some time aside for this one; it's going to be an in-depth read.
Impressions: Pocket Monsters Planetarium "The Message from the Aurora"
November 23rd, 2020
Dogasu @ 12:13 JST -- This past Saturday I finally got a chance to check out the newest Pocket Monsters Planetarium, special, Pocket Monsters Planetarium "The Message from the Aurora" and so I've prepared a write-up on the episode.
The write-up includes the most detailed plot synopsis of the episode you will ever find online, comments on the presentation, and whatever other stray comments I can think to make. You are simply not going to find a page on the Internet with more information on this special than this one right here.
I've also updated the main page for the special with the complete voice cast and partial staff list.
Pocket Monsters Planetarium "The Message from the Aurora" is currently playing exclusively in planetariums throughout Japan. None of the other planetarium specials have ever gotten international releases so it seems unlikely that this one will either.
Animedia August 2019 Issue - Interview with Masachika Ichimura & Sachiko Kobayashi
November 20th, 2020
Dogasu @ 23:40 JST -- Mr. Masachika Ichimura returned to the Pocket Monsters (2019) animated series in this evening's episode so I thought now's as good a time as any to dust off an interview he did last year with Animedia magazine to promote the release of Mewtwo Strikes Back Evolution.
The interview goes into how the actor felt playing Mewtwo again after so many years, what he did (or didn't do!) to prepare for last year's remake, and how he feels about playing characters in animation vs. playing characters on stage. The interview also includes a conversation with Ms. Sachiko Kobayashi, the voice of Voyager and the singer of the movie's ending theme Kaze to Issho ni, that talks about what it was like for her to play Voyager again after all these years and what it's like sharing the stage with Shoko Nakagawa.
The magazine also has an interview with Daiki Tomiyasu, the director of the Sun & Moon TV series, but that translation will have to come another day.
Pocket Monsters The Movie "Koko" Supporters' Podcast - Episode 05
November 19th, 2020
Dogasu @ 12:39 JST -- The fifth episode of the Pocket Monsters The Movie "Koko" podcast came out November 13th so I've written up a summary that you can read here.
This (well, last) week's guests are Mr. Mima Masafumi, the sound director for all things Pokémon, and the composer of the film's music, Mr. Shinji Miyazaki. This episode, which is Part One of a two-part conversation, goes into the backgrounds of guests, discusses how Mr. Mima's job is very much like being an "interpreter," and how working on the TV series and the movies are different.
It's also, officially, the first time we've gotten confirmation that Mr. Shinji Miyazaki will be composing the instrumental music for this year's film! Up until just this past weekend the official website only listed Okazaki Physical Education under the film's "Music" credit but at the same time the fact that Mr. Miyazaki was coming back has been telegraphed pretty hard over the past few months.
Part Two of the podcast, which also features Mr. Mima and Mr. Miyazaki, comes out tomorrow, November 20th.
Pokémon World Atlas Update
November 17th, 2020
Dogasu @ 21:11 JST -- Today's non-Koko update is something I've been meaning to do for years and years now at this point; dust off the old Pokémon World Atlas section and finally give it a much-needed overhaul!
I took a look back and according to the timestamp on the old HTML file it looks like I hadn't updated the Pokémon World Atlas page since around 2012 or so, though I feel like it's probably been even longer than that. Part of that is just me prioritizing other sections of the site while another part of that was me trying to figure out just what I wanted that section to be.
What I ended up on was a page that functions not unlike my List of Pokémon pages. On each page I provide the Japanese name, a breakdown of that name, and the name used in the English localizations for each location I could think of. I've also included information, where applicable, about any places in the real world that the Pokémon world location may have been modeled after. With very few exceptions we don't really have official confirmation on the models for each town so what you see listed is mostly just educated guesses.
Today is only the first step toward a total revamp of that portion of the website. At the moment I only have two regions done - Kanto and Galar - with the rest coming at a later date. The plan is to add Johto through Alola, as well as non-main series regions like the Orange Islands and the Orre Region, little by little as time goes on.
If any of you have any feedback on these pages or want to see me include anything else that you may find useful then please let me know!
Pocket Monsters The Movie "Koko" Supporters' Podcast - Episode 04
November 11th, 2020
Dogasu @ 22:37 JST -- The fourth episode of the Pocket Monsters The Movie "Koko" podcast came out October 30th so I've written up a (belated) summary that you can read here.
This time around the show welcomes the director of the Pokémon movies' trailers, Mr. Taichi Terahara (寺原泰地). Mr. Terahara talks about his history with Pokémon, how they come up with trailer ideas, and how their team is able to make Pokémon movie trailers despite the fact that they have to put them together long before the animators have finished drawing the movie. It's a really interesting episode to be sure to check it out!
For this week's episode (November 13th) the show will welcome Mr. Masafumi Mima, the sound director for all things Pokémon, as well as Pokémon music composer extraordinaire Mr. Shinji Miyazaki. The two will return for the episode that comes out November 20th. After that the show will take a week off before coming back December 4th with special guest Rica Matsumoto! It's going to be a great batch of episodes!
I've also been working on a few non-movie related updates because I've gotten feedback from some of you that maybe I've been doing too many Koko updates lately. Which, fair enough. Please know that I hear this feedback and am working hard to provide a variety of content between now and when the movie finally comes out a little over a month from now.
Pocket Monsters The Movie "Koko" Theme Song Collection
November 10th, 2020
Dogasu @ 12:16 JST -- This morning a new CD was announced to coincide with the release of Pocket Monsters The Movie "Koko."
The CD, Pocket Monsters The Movie "Koko" Theme Song Collection, is going to be a collection of all the music Okazaki Physical Education has produced for franchise so far. That includes the six songs he produced for the 23rd movie (some of which hadn't been revealed yet!) as well as all the opening and ending themes he did throughout the Pocket Monsters Sun & Moon era. The two versions of the CD - one that includes a DVD with various music videos, and one that does not - goes on sale December 23rd.
Details about the CDs have been added to the CD Guide.
Upcoming Special Guests on the Pocket Monsters (2019) TV series
November 8th, 2020
Dogasu @ 22:56 JST -- The last few days we've gotten news of a string of special guest voice actors coming to the Pocket Monsters (2019) TV series over the next few weeks.
The first actor revealed is none other than Masachika Ichimura (市村正親), who's coming back to reprise the role of Mewtwo in the episode that airs November 20th.
The announcement of his return to the role was accompanied with the following comment from Mr. Ichimura:
Mr. Ichimura was - and I hope this goes without saying - the voice of Mewtwo in 1998's Pocket Monsters The Movie "Mewtwo Strikes Back!", 2000's Mewtwo Lives TV Special, and 2019's Mewtwo Strikes Back Evolution, the latter of which is actually available with a Japanese audio option on Netflix in North America. The 71-year-old is mostly known for his stage work, starring in the Japanese productions of such plays as Jesus Christ Superstar, Equus, Phantom of the Opera, and Miss Saigon, though he's appeared in dozens of live action films and TV series as well.
Entertainment news site Oricon News, among others, provides a brief summary of the upcoming Mewtwo episode:
In the episode that airs the following week, "Pokémon Champion! The Battle of Big Eaters!" the comedy trio Sanji no Heroine (3時のヒロイン) will appear as special guest voice actors, though information about what characters they'll be playing hasn't been revealed yet.
Similarly, the
comedy duo Chidori (千鳥) will appear
on the December 4th episode "Pikachu's Almost Close Call!" Like with
the Sanji no Heroine, details about the roles the two will be playing
have not been revealed yet.
It's possible the two comedy groups above will play characters who are modeled after them (not unlike how Kasuking was modeled after Toshiaki Kasuga in the half episode "Splash, Koiking!") though we won't know that for sure until we get closer to the episodes' airing.
"Twilight Wings" Episode 08
November 7th, 2020
Dogasu @ 15:36 JST -- The special bonus episode of Twilight Wings that covers the "Isle of Armor" and "Crown Tundra" DLC came out the other day so I''m here to provide the usual.
The Pokémon Company International made a last minute announcement that the English version of the episode was being delayed to November 17th so it looks like we're going to have to wait another week and some change before we get to see their version. The English version of the seventh episode actually included translated credits after removing them from the first six episodes, so here's hoping all the Episode 8 staff get credited as well!
November 30th, 2020
Dogasu @ 23:36 JST -- I didn't want too much time to pass since the last time I did one of these so today I've prepared for you a new episode comparison! This time it's for the Orange Islands episode "Pokéball Peril," aka the episode where Brock leaves the show.
The topic of Takeshi's exile is talked about in this comparison in-depth, as well as the eight million little dialogue edits 4Kids made throughout the episode, so be sure to check it out!
Pocket Monsters The Movie "Koko" Supporters' Podcast - Episode 06
November 29th, 2020
Dogasu @ 21:48 JST -- Episode #6 of the Pocket Monsters The Movie "Koko" podcast came out November 20th so I've written up a summary of the jam-packed episode here. This episode is Part Two of a two-part conversation with the movie's sound director, Mr. Masafumi Mima, and its composer, Mr. Shinji Miyazaki.
The episode delves into the document Mr. Mima uses to order new music from his composer, Mr. Miyazaki's philosophy behind the role music plays in a film, how "translations" of what the Pokémon are actually saying are written in the scripts for the benefit of the actors, each guests' favorite piece of music, and much much more! At 37 minutes this was the longest episode of the podcast to date so set some time aside for this one; it's going to be an in-depth read.
Impressions: Pocket Monsters Planetarium "The Message from the Aurora"
November 23rd, 2020
Dogasu @ 12:13 JST -- This past Saturday I finally got a chance to check out the newest Pocket Monsters Planetarium, special, Pocket Monsters Planetarium "The Message from the Aurora" and so I've prepared a write-up on the episode.
The write-up includes the most detailed plot synopsis of the episode you will ever find online, comments on the presentation, and whatever other stray comments I can think to make. You are simply not going to find a page on the Internet with more information on this special than this one right here.
I've also updated the main page for the special with the complete voice cast and partial staff list.
Pocket Monsters Planetarium "The Message from the Aurora" is currently playing exclusively in planetariums throughout Japan. None of the other planetarium specials have ever gotten international releases so it seems unlikely that this one will either.
Animedia August 2019 Issue - Interview with Masachika Ichimura & Sachiko Kobayashi
November 20th, 2020
Dogasu @ 23:40 JST -- Mr. Masachika Ichimura returned to the Pocket Monsters (2019) animated series in this evening's episode so I thought now's as good a time as any to dust off an interview he did last year with Animedia magazine to promote the release of Mewtwo Strikes Back Evolution.
The interview goes into how the actor felt playing Mewtwo again after so many years, what he did (or didn't do!) to prepare for last year's remake, and how he feels about playing characters in animation vs. playing characters on stage. The interview also includes a conversation with Ms. Sachiko Kobayashi, the voice of Voyager and the singer of the movie's ending theme Kaze to Issho ni, that talks about what it was like for her to play Voyager again after all these years and what it's like sharing the stage with Shoko Nakagawa.
The magazine also has an interview with Daiki Tomiyasu, the director of the Sun & Moon TV series, but that translation will have to come another day.
Pocket Monsters The Movie "Koko" Supporters' Podcast - Episode 05
November 19th, 2020
Dogasu @ 12:39 JST -- The fifth episode of the Pocket Monsters The Movie "Koko" podcast came out November 13th so I've written up a summary that you can read here.
This (well, last) week's guests are Mr. Mima Masafumi, the sound director for all things Pokémon, and the composer of the film's music, Mr. Shinji Miyazaki. This episode, which is Part One of a two-part conversation, goes into the backgrounds of guests, discusses how Mr. Mima's job is very much like being an "interpreter," and how working on the TV series and the movies are different.
It's also, officially, the first time we've gotten confirmation that Mr. Shinji Miyazaki will be composing the instrumental music for this year's film! Up until just this past weekend the official website only listed Okazaki Physical Education under the film's "Music" credit but at the same time the fact that Mr. Miyazaki was coming back has been telegraphed pretty hard over the past few months.
Part Two of the podcast, which also features Mr. Mima and Mr. Miyazaki, comes out tomorrow, November 20th.
Pokémon World Atlas Update
November 17th, 2020
Dogasu @ 21:11 JST -- Today's non-Koko update is something I've been meaning to do for years and years now at this point; dust off the old Pokémon World Atlas section and finally give it a much-needed overhaul!
I took a look back and according to the timestamp on the old HTML file it looks like I hadn't updated the Pokémon World Atlas page since around 2012 or so, though I feel like it's probably been even longer than that. Part of that is just me prioritizing other sections of the site while another part of that was me trying to figure out just what I wanted that section to be.
What I ended up on was a page that functions not unlike my List of Pokémon pages. On each page I provide the Japanese name, a breakdown of that name, and the name used in the English localizations for each location I could think of. I've also included information, where applicable, about any places in the real world that the Pokémon world location may have been modeled after. With very few exceptions we don't really have official confirmation on the models for each town so what you see listed is mostly just educated guesses.
Today is only the first step toward a total revamp of that portion of the website. At the moment I only have two regions done - Kanto and Galar - with the rest coming at a later date. The plan is to add Johto through Alola, as well as non-main series regions like the Orange Islands and the Orre Region, little by little as time goes on.
If any of you have any feedback on these pages or want to see me include anything else that you may find useful then please let me know!
Pocket Monsters The Movie "Koko" Supporters' Podcast - Episode 04
November 11th, 2020
Dogasu @ 22:37 JST -- The fourth episode of the Pocket Monsters The Movie "Koko" podcast came out October 30th so I've written up a (belated) summary that you can read here.
This time around the show welcomes the director of the Pokémon movies' trailers, Mr. Taichi Terahara (寺原泰地). Mr. Terahara talks about his history with Pokémon, how they come up with trailer ideas, and how their team is able to make Pokémon movie trailers despite the fact that they have to put them together long before the animators have finished drawing the movie. It's a really interesting episode to be sure to check it out!
For this week's episode (November 13th) the show will welcome Mr. Masafumi Mima, the sound director for all things Pokémon, as well as Pokémon music composer extraordinaire Mr. Shinji Miyazaki. The two will return for the episode that comes out November 20th. After that the show will take a week off before coming back December 4th with special guest Rica Matsumoto! It's going to be a great batch of episodes!
I've also been working on a few non-movie related updates because I've gotten feedback from some of you that maybe I've been doing too many Koko updates lately. Which, fair enough. Please know that I hear this feedback and am working hard to provide a variety of content between now and when the movie finally comes out a little over a month from now.
Pocket Monsters The Movie "Koko" Theme Song Collection
November 10th, 2020
Dogasu @ 12:16 JST -- This morning a new CD was announced to coincide with the release of Pocket Monsters The Movie "Koko."
The CD, Pocket Monsters The Movie "Koko" Theme Song Collection, is going to be a collection of all the music Okazaki Physical Education has produced for franchise so far. That includes the six songs he produced for the 23rd movie (some of which hadn't been revealed yet!) as well as all the opening and ending themes he did throughout the Pocket Monsters Sun & Moon era. The two versions of the CD - one that includes a DVD with various music videos, and one that does not - goes on sale December 23rd.
Details about the CDs have been added to the CD Guide.
Upcoming Special Guests on the Pocket Monsters (2019) TV series
November 8th, 2020
Dogasu @ 22:56 JST -- The last few days we've gotten news of a string of special guest voice actors coming to the Pocket Monsters (2019) TV series over the next few weeks.
The first actor revealed is none other than Masachika Ichimura (市村正親), who's coming back to reprise the role of Mewtwo in the episode that airs November 20th.
 |
 |
The announcement of his return to the role was accompanied with the following comment from Mr. Ichimura:
|
The children who went to the theater and saw Mewtwo's birth back then are all grown up now and maybe even have children of their own. So I hope those parents who are watching this show with their own children are the ones who get the most excited, and I hope I can be a part of that." Mewtwo, Masachika Ichimura
|
Mr. Ichimura was - and I hope this goes without saying - the voice of Mewtwo in 1998's Pocket Monsters The Movie "Mewtwo Strikes Back!", 2000's Mewtwo Lives TV Special, and 2019's Mewtwo Strikes Back Evolution, the latter of which is actually available with a Japanese audio option on Netflix in North America. The 71-year-old is mostly known for his stage work, starring in the Japanese productions of such plays as Jesus Christ Superstar, Equus, Phantom of the Opera, and Miss Saigon, though he's appeared in dozens of live action films and TV series as well.
Entertainment news site Oricon News, among others, provides a brief summary of the upcoming Mewtwo episode:
|
|
In the episode that airs the following week, "Pokémon Champion! The Battle of Big Eaters!" the comedy trio Sanji no Heroine (3時のヒロイン) will appear as special guest voice actors, though information about what characters they'll be playing hasn't been revealed yet.
 |
| The
members of Sanji no Heroine, from left to right: Yumecchi (ゆめっち), Maki Fukuda (福田 麻貴), and Kanade (かなで). |
 |
| The
members of Chidori, from left to right: Daigo (大悟) and Nobu (ノブ) |
It's possible the two comedy groups above will play characters who are modeled after them (not unlike how Kasuking was modeled after Toshiaki Kasuga in the half episode "Splash, Koiking!") though we won't know that for sure until we get closer to the episodes' airing.
"Twilight Wings" Episode 08
November 7th, 2020
Dogasu @ 15:36 JST -- The special bonus episode of Twilight Wings that covers the "Isle of Armor" and "Crown Tundra" DLC came out the other day so I''m here to provide the usual.
The Pokémon Company International made a last minute announcement that the English version of the episode was being delayed to November 17th so it looks like we're going to have to wait another week and some change before we get to see their version. The English version of the seventh episode actually included translated credits after removing them from the first six episodes, so here's hoping all the Episode 8 staff get credited as well!
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