『Pocket Monster』
出典 : Amazon.co.jp
The longest-running manga about Pokémon is Kosaku Anakubo’s Pocket Monster, which began serialization in 1996 and is still running in 2019.
The main Pokémon is Pippi. The appearance of Pippi, nicknamed “Geepy,” is very different from the game. It doesn’t have the same lovability as the Pippi in the game, as its body is mostly made up of its face and it is fat and gluttonous.
In addition to Pippi, other settings are often different from the game. Most of the Pokémon in the game understand human language and can read and talk to humans.
It is also unique to this game that Pokémon can evolve or degenerate freely at will. This is a gag manga where they can do whatever they want, including introducing original Pokémon into the game.
How did it become a gag manga about Pokémon that deviates from the game’s content?
When the series began in 1996, “Red and Green” had just been released. There wasn’t a lot of material on Pokémon.
Anakubo-sensei himself did not understand Pokémon until he was taught about them by the editorial department, and he knew only the following five Pokémon.
・Bulbasaur
・Charmander
・Squirtle
・Pikachu
・Pippi
I didn’t even know about the Monster Ball, the symbol of Pokémon, until now. The lack of information and lack of understanding led to the birth of a Pokémon gag manga with strong original elements.
『Pocket Monster ReBURST』
出典 : Amazon.co.jp
Pocket Monster ReBURST” is unique among Pokémon manga, which was serialized in Weekly Shonen Sunday from 2011 to 2012.
It’s not Pokemon that fights, but humans who have been transformed into Pokemon. A human transforms into a Pokémon.
There was a work called “Digimon Frontier” in which a human transforms into a Digimon, but it was only possible because it was a Digimon without any original work.
Why did this happen with Pokemon?
This is at the behest of the editorial team.
・There is no point in serializing it in “Weekly Shonen Sunday” if it is the same as the existing Pokémon.
・In “Weekly Shonen Sunday”, it is traditional for the main character to shed blood and sweat.
For two reasons, humans transformed into Pokémon fight directly.
The Pokémon are new Pokémon that appeared in the Ish region of Black-White, which was the latest at the start of the series. Permission was requested to allow other Pokémon to appear in the manga, but it wasn’t granted until the end of the series.
The transformation of a human into a Pokémon is the main point of Pocket Monster ReBURST, but this element didn’t seem to make a good impression on fans because of the “creepy design”.
It’s true that it’s hard to suddenly accept the eccentricity of a human transforming into a Pokémon.
However, the design was conceived by the author in one night. He worked hard on the design because he was asked to do it on short notice and had to come up with about 30 designs in one night.
Another comment I received was, “Does it have to be a Pokémon? It is true that the content of the game can also be applied to non-Pokemon.
It is undeniable that the content can be used outside of Pokémon as well. The author himself seems to have been prepared to receive harsh criticism, as he says the following
・We expected the bizarre content to be repugnant because it was based on a popular work. It was good that it became a hot topic, but we couldn’t turn the buzz into a force to be reckoned with.
The topic was so popular that it could have become a long-running and popular series if it had been used well.
Because of the fact that humans transform into Pokémon, the familiar Pokémon from the game do not often appear in the story.
In the first episode, which had 56 pages, Pokémon only appeared in five panels. After that, the Pokémon themselves may not appear in some panels per story.
The techniques used are also original to the manga. In terms of developing a new view of the world, it’s good to have original techniques in the manga.
However, as a fan, I would have liked to see the game’s content used in the game, as there were settings that deviated too much from the game, as shown below.
・Can’t nullify the poison despite being poisonous
・Body stretches without explanation
・You have wings and can fly in games, but you can’t fly at all
At the very least, it could have incorporated more Pokémon fans if it had made use of the game’s content.
There is no doubt that this manga has expanded the possibilities of Pokémon, and I recommend it to anyone who wants to be exposed to the new world of Pokémon.
Summary
In this issue, we have summarized three manga about Pokémon.
There are various genres of manga about Pokémon, including game-based ones, gag manga and battle manga.
There are expressions unique to the manga that you can’t see in games or anime, so if you haven’t read the manga yet, try reading the ones that catch your attention.
