georgehogg I am a fan of Pokemon, and I can literally say that this is the absolute worst TV adaptation of Pokemon I have seen! It is the very definition of style over substance, as the animation is very good, yet the story is absolutely horrifically told! The plot is basically I did this I did that I did this I did that Oh no it's a problem I did this I did that I did this I did that. Charmander evolved I caught this Pokemon I caught that Pokemon I beat this gaudy I beat that guy I did a bunch of other stuff that I will now awkwardly sum up in 30 seconds, of which could have actually been fleshed out properly and featured in the series. I know it's a mini-series, but why is it even a mini series? Why not just make it an actual show that consists of more that 4 episodes, as the game it's based on is so over plotted, that there is literally no way you can tell a good story in 4 twenty minute long episodes. I was dry hyped for this series, as I do not care for the currently running show and are daily praying for it to end, so I was hoping this could replace it with something fresh, but I guess that would have required actual EFFORT. It's shocking how little they cared. At least the actual series tries to make good characters (and fails, but that's irrelevant). Origins is just a bunch of one-dimensional characters that stay the same from point a to b. I was majorly let down, but if you like it then that's fine, watch it. I don't care.

Sebastian Heron Pokemon Origins was a really interesting shift from the normal anime as it followed closely to the original game "Pokemon: Red Version", unlike the normal anime which follows Ash Ketchum as he explores each of the worlds featured in each of the games.However there are many issues which can not be ignored; like why does the show have to ignore sections of the storyline featured in the game such as the gym leader battles. I mean some people (including me) may have had there most memorable experiences with those gym leaders.Another bad point would be that the lack of relation to in game battles, now I don't necessarily mean turn-based because who wants to watch that, but more realistic battles. Like when Red and Giovanni battled how did both Pokemon get knocked out...Finally it's got to be "Mega Charizard", firstly why? I haven't played the later games yet, however that shouldn't matter considering the series is based on the original game, right?The redeeming qualities however were the nice nostalgic hints such as the sound effects which mimicked that of the games and the music which was of a nice homage to the original music. The animation was quite nice too, it was a revamped version of the anime, much like the Pokemon movies.Overall I quite enjoyed the show, It got on my nerves from time to time, but overall pretty solid. 7/10

arorashadow_2003 Pokemon Origins is getting a lot of praise mostly because of the comparison to the ongoing anime, Pokemon. Unlike the ongoing series which follows the adventures of Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town and his Pikachu, Pokemon Origins is a direct adaptation of the original Pokemon games, Red, Green and Blue and follows the adventures of Red from Pallet Town and his rival, Blue.What this mini-series show case has going for it is a great cast, great animation by an assortment of great animators including OLM, the company that's long been apart of the Pokemon anime franchise, and it's direct telling of the games as opposed to the loose inspiration seen in the running series. If you played the originals or the remakes you can get an appreciation for this somewhat but a lot of the appreciation is riding high on nostalgic value and how night and day it compares to the ongoing TV series.No doubt Origins is or would be superior however it's unfortunately severely limited by it's short length. With only four episodes at less than half-an-hour a piece it crams a 20 hour game into roughly 100 minutes which doesn't leave much of the game to be seen and mostly adds to being a glorified recap than an actual telling. A series like this would have benefited from a slightly longer running set of video projects or better yet a full half season for television. Gyms are skipped over and most of the story is quickly told through quick narration bytes with only some small key events left in for good measure. We get to see the haunting Lavender Town in full glory and are treated to a full proper battle with Boss Rocket Giovanni. The sudden introduction of Mega Charizard X Evolution from Pokemon X cheapens the old time feel of the original games and seems tacked on so unnecessarily to promote the latest game.Pokemon Origins will give you a quick nostalgia binge if you played the original games but will leave you wanting more even though we likely never will. For those who didn't play Generation I or the subsequent remakes and for strangers of Pokemon they'll likely not be engaged by the choppy plot line.

MechaWingZero I'll admit, I may be biased because I don't like the Pokemon anime in the least. However, the Pokemon Red Version was my first GameBoy game ever. I was only 7-8 years old, and I remember being very confused as to why the plot line for the show was so different from the game. I later got the Pokemon Yellow: Special Pikachu Edition game, which was marketed as having some touches that were intended to be more faithful to the show, but in reality, even the Yellow version has only little in common with the anime show.(And yes, I do regard Pokemon Yellow as one of the greatest hand-held games of all time, with only two minor drawbacks. The first of these being the inclusion of the way-weird Jesse and James, and the second being that Pikachu's cry was altered to saying its name rather than the original cry that Pikachu has in Pokemon Red and Blue. I do very much like the other changes, such as improved artwork and the interaction with Pikachu.) When I grew out of liking the show in a few years, my parents were kind of confused why I still played the games so much and never seemed to move past them. Little did they realize that comparing the Pokemon Games to the show is like comparing apples and oranges.(And frankly, I really don't even like the word "Pokemon" as a title for the games and I wish the games were just called "Pocket Monsters," come on, that's not so hard to say. Partly because it's just a better sounding name in my opinion, but also partly because the games should be very distinguished from what aired on Kids WB on February 13th, 1999. And just in case you didn't know, yes, the games came before the television show. You probably already knew that if you're reading this review though.) The Pokemon Origins TV Special is Pokemon Red and Green (Blue in the USA) adapted into an anime. The differences in plot are only minor and are probably only even there in the interest of making everything fit into four short episodes. Interestingly, each of the four episodes has a different director, and they all do a very good job. *Very Minor Spoiler Alert!* There also happens to be an ode to the newest generation towards the end.*End of Very Minor Spoiler*Red is a likable enthusiastic protagonist (very unlike Ash) and seems to be a good representation of the eleven-year-old Pokemon league champion that we all remember, albeit now he finally talks. Green (the Rival) is very similar to how he was games, but maybe just a hair less obnoxious (which isn't saying much, but he doesn't say "Smell ya later").The animation is top notch, the recreation of the towns and settings from the GameBoy games is superb, and they even went above and beyond with the cool intro sequences of a GameBoy selection screen, the HP bars as Pokemon are battling, and the fact that the Pokemon don't say their names out loud as their cry, but instead make noises like they do in the games. All of these things are to be commended. You are really given a sense of how different the characters and worlds of Red and "Ash" truly are.The only depressing thing that keeps this from getting a perfect 10/10 score is the fact that it's only a television special, and not a full on anime series. Although this special does a fantastic job of summarizing the plot in four twenty-five minute episodes, this time constraint means they have to skip over a lot of parts of the games that would have been so fun to see. At the beginning of the second, third and fourth episodes, we see a brief summary of these events that those of us who grew up on the games are familiar with. Merely stating that such things happened just isn't quite enough, I would've loved to see these things played out, especially if it had been done with an equal amount of skill as the parts they did elaborate on. And worst of all, this results in there having to be a few minor plot changes from the games to make it fit the time block as I mentioned earlier.But I won't let that stop me from being delighted. Who knows? This is the first review on IMDb, but maybe this will catch on. Could we possibly be treated to a similar special about the generation II games (Gold and Silver)? That would be fantastic! In conclusion, may Red be known as the Pokemon League Champion, NOT Ash!