I don't bother reading reviews of Pokemon movies, but this one's kinda decent.
Why 'Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back' Is Much Better Than We Thought
It's brought up a point about the ending that I haven't thought of before:
The conflict of the film all came from Mewtwo's struggle to find a meaning for his existence. Now, the protagonists find themselves in a microcosmic version of the same position Mewtwo found himself in at the beginning of the film: They don't know how they got to the harbor, and, without any knowledge of Mewtwo, they have no apparent reason for being there. After Brock mentions that Nurse Joy, Officer Jenny and the harbor lady “look even prettier when they're wet”, Ash asks a question and Misty responds.
His intended question is, “What are we doing here [at the harbor]?” and Misty's response is, “Who knows? But we're here, so why don't we stay?” But, thanks to a triple meaning of the word “iru”, their exchange can also be translated as, “Why do we exist?” “Who knows? But we exist, so why not continue [living]?” Thus, as the movie ends, Ash and Misty unknowingly resolve Mewtwo's existential crisis through casual conversation and apparently stumble upon the meaning of life without realizing it.
This would have been very easy to retain in the English version, since “Why are we here?” has the same double meaning, but it looks like the 4Kids guys completely missed the double entendre. I wouldn't have caught it if it hadn't been pointed out in an Amazon.co.jp review, and even then I found it so surprising that the freaking meaning of life was hidden in a Pokémon movie that I had to repeatedly check to make sure I wasn't imagining it. Which I almost wish I was, because that would mean I'd get to put it in a story I wrote and take credit for it.
I feel so sorry for Takeshi Shudo. He wanted to make a work that would be enjoyable for people of all ages, only to have it completely shat on by 4KIDS and later producers of the anime. Look no further than the Genesect movie, and you can see why I'm too disgusted to watch the anime anymore. (Unless it's stuff I've already watched and enjoyed, of course. The Lucario movie is my bby. ;;)
This post has been crossposted with Dreamwidth at http://shamanicshaymin.dreamwidth.org/90433.html. Pick your poison. Mwoiiiiiiiing~!
It's brought up a point about the ending that I haven't thought of before:
The conflict of the film all came from Mewtwo's struggle to find a meaning for his existence. Now, the protagonists find themselves in a microcosmic version of the same position Mewtwo found himself in at the beginning of the film: They don't know how they got to the harbor, and, without any knowledge of Mewtwo, they have no apparent reason for being there. After Brock mentions that Nurse Joy, Officer Jenny and the harbor lady “look even prettier when they're wet”, Ash asks a question and Misty responds.
His intended question is, “What are we doing here [at the harbor]?” and Misty's response is, “Who knows? But we're here, so why don't we stay?” But, thanks to a triple meaning of the word “iru”, their exchange can also be translated as, “Why do we exist?” “Who knows? But we exist, so why not continue [living]?” Thus, as the movie ends, Ash and Misty unknowingly resolve Mewtwo's existential crisis through casual conversation and apparently stumble upon the meaning of life without realizing it.
This would have been very easy to retain in the English version, since “Why are we here?” has the same double meaning, but it looks like the 4Kids guys completely missed the double entendre. I wouldn't have caught it if it hadn't been pointed out in an Amazon.co.jp review, and even then I found it so surprising that the freaking meaning of life was hidden in a Pokémon movie that I had to repeatedly check to make sure I wasn't imagining it. Which I almost wish I was, because that would mean I'd get to put it in a story I wrote and take credit for it.
I feel so sorry for Takeshi Shudo. He wanted to make a work that would be enjoyable for people of all ages, only to have it completely shat on by 4KIDS and later producers of the anime. Look no further than the Genesect movie, and you can see why I'm too disgusted to watch the anime anymore. (Unless it's stuff I've already watched and enjoyed, of course. The Lucario movie is my bby. ;;)
This post has been crossposted with Dreamwidth at http://shamanicshaymin.dreamwidth.org/90433.html. Pick your poison. Mwoiiiiiiiing~!