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Episode Comparison: "Viva Las Lapras"
July 31st, 2025

Dogasu @ 22:47 JST -- Can you believe I only have four episodes of the Orange Islands left to do Episode Comparisons for before I'm completely done with the region? I can't either, but part of that is because after today's new comparison, "Viva Las Lapras," that number is now down to only three!


The new comparison covers the usual: bizarre rewrites, strange voice acting performances, overly cautious sound effect changes, poor music choices, unnecessary paint edits, and more! The episode itself is not all that great but I think the comparison is pretty good, if I do say so myself, so hopefully you'll enjoy!


Manga Guide: CoroCoro Ichiban! September/October 2025 Issue
July 26th, 2025

Dogasu @ 9:33 JST -- The newest issue of CoroCoro Ichiban! went on sale last week and so I've made the usual round of updates to the Manga Guide.


Pokémon Card Game Yarouze~!, the "Pokémon tries its hand at a Yu-Gi-Oh! type manga" series. In this month's chapter Retto and Letto play a match using the new "Black Bolt" and "White Flare" expansion packs. Will Retto be able to defeat Letto's Burungel ex and its "Oceanic Curse" Ability?

Pokémon Frienda Oshiete! Friender-Man, the comic based on the current Pokémon arcade game Pokémon Frienda. In this month's chapter Renda learns about the newest update to the arcade game, "Best Tag Version 1," and all the new features that come with it.


Pokémon 4-Koma Gakuen, the series of Pokémon related comic strips that runs in CoroCoro Ichiban! In this month's collection the Pokémon host an event where they try to scare each other.


The next issue of CoroCoro Ichiban! (the November/December 2025 Issue) isn't scheduled to come out until September 20th, and so it does seem that the magazine has (quietly) shifted from being a monthly publication to one that only comes out once every two months. As of this writing there still isn't any sort of official word from the magazine itself regarding this change, but if things continue the way they are it will effectively cut the amount of Pokémon manga we get each year down to half. You may remember that Pocket Monsters Special left the magazine earlier this year to become a web exclusive, and a part of me wonders if that move was made with the knowledge that the magazine was no longer going to be monthly...?


Manga Guide: Pocket Monsters Special Scarlet & Violet Chapter 22
July 13th, 2025

Dogasu @ 23:37 JST -- This month's chapter of the long-running Pocket Monsters Special comic came out last week and so I've added the usual chapter summary to its respective page in the Manga Guide.


This month the fighting within the Star-Dan continues as Nelke learns just how much division there is within the group. Meanwhile, Scarlet succumbs to Shuumei's ninjutsu and is unable to battle the way she wants! Will she figure out a way to defeat the Team Tsih leader?

I've also added translations of the behind-the-scenes information provided by artist Satoshi Yamamoto's X (Twitter) page so check that out as well!


Manga Guide: Den-Geki! Pikachu Chapter 16
July 3rd, 2025

Dogasu @ 10:56 JST -- Last month I did a deep dive on Chapter 17 of the Den-Geki! Pikachu manga, "Winners Cup." I had wanted to do the same for Chapter 18 this month but I don't have everything I need to get that done (I'm missing CoroCoro Special issue that features this chapter) and so instead I've decided to focus on a chapter I actually do have everything for, Chapter 16! So today I'll be going back one chapter to Chapter 16 "Yuzu Gym."


Like last time, there's the usual chapter summary, a translated author comment, a list of all the release dates of both this manga chapter and the TV episode on which it was based, a comparison between the TV version and the manga adaptation, a comparison between the magazine version and the graphic novel collection, and a comparison between the Japanese version and the English version!