VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia
[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]
MANGAKA: Machito Gomi
TRANSLATION/ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Emi Louie-Nishikawa
LETTERS: Susan Daigle-Leach
EDITOR: Annette Roman
ISBN: 978-1-9747-1552-7; paperback; (August 11, 2020); Rated “A” for “All Ages”
128pp, B&W, $9.99 U.S., $12.99 CAN, £7.99 UK
Pokémon is a Japanese media franchise managed by the Pokémon Company, a company founded by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures. The franchise was created by Japanese video game designer and director, Satoshi Tajiri, in 1995. The franchise began in 1996 as a pair of video games, Pokémon Red and Pokémon Green, for the original “Game Boy” handheld game console. Pokémon is centered on fictional creatures called “Pokémon.” Humans, known as “Pokémon Trainers,” catch and train the Pokémon to battle each other for sport.
The Pokémon franchise includes a number animated television series (known as “anime”) and animated films. There are also Pokémon manga (comics), and many are simply comic book adaptations of the Pokémon video games, anime, and films, although there are some manga that feature original stories set in the world of Pokémon.
Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back – Evolution is a 2019 computer-animated Pokémon film. It is the 22nd film in the Pokémon film series, and it is also a remake of the first Pokémon film, Pokémon: The First Movie. Released in 1998, it is also know as Pokémon The First Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back.
In 2019, manga writer-artist Machito Gomi produced a manga adaptation of Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back – Evolution. It was serialized in the Japanese manga magazine, CoroCoro Comic, from May 15 to June 14, 2019. VIZ Media is publishing an English-language edition of the manga as a single-volume, paperback graphic novel.
As Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back – Evolution opens, a new Pokémon is born. It wonders where it is and what it is. It soon learns that it is “Mewtwo,” a clone of the mythical and greatest Pokémon of all time, “Mew.” Before long, Mewtwo meets the crime lord, Giovanni, the leader of the the criminal organization, “Team Rocket.” Giovanni reveals to Mewtwo that it was his doing that initiated the creation of Mewtwo, but when the crime lord reveals his diabolical plans for Mewtwo, the newly born and cloned Pokémon rebels.
Escaping from Team Rocket headquarters, Mewtwo heads to New Island where it seeks to find meaning to its life, but also plots revenge against human creators. Soon, Mewtwo calls forth the world's best Pokémon trainers and their Pokémon to Pokémon Castle to face his challenge. Ash Ketchum and Pikachu and their friends, Brock and Misty, and their Pokémon find themselves at the center of Mewtwo's rampage. With the future of the Pokémon world at stake, will our heroes be able to overcome Mewtwo’s challenge…and will Mewtwo be able to find a new meaning for its life? A surprise Pokémon appearance and a miracle may answer such questions.
THE LOWDOWN: For adults, the Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back – Evolution manga will be a quick read. However, open adult minds will enjoy this manga as much as young readers will most assuredly enjoy reading it.
The Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back – Evolution graphic novel is also a “kodomo manga” (comics for children), but because it is an adaptation of an important installment in the Pokémon franchise (the first Pokémon film), it could have a broad appeal across the generations of Pokémon fans, which goes back to the mid-1990s.
I am being totally honest when I say that Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back – Evolution is both the best Pokémon manga or graphic novel that I have ever read and also is one of the most enjoyable comics that I have read this summer. Why is it a sheer delight? Writer-artist Machito Gomi captures the things that make Pokémon fun: the characters, the relationships, the positive attitude, the competition, the possibility for redemption, and the Pokémon.
Gomi's cleaning drawing style, which has a graphic style similar to certain kinds of anime, and the graphical storytelling both make for clear storytelling. The toning also gives the story a sense of weight and creates an atmosphere of mystery and dramatic tension that makes it feels as if there is something on the line for the characters. They all have something to lose, especially our heroes.
So I will call Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back – Evolution one of the summer's delightful comic book and young reader graphic novel surprises.
I READS YOU RECOMMENDS: Fans of Pokémon manga will want Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back – Evolution.
8 out of 10
Monday, August 10, 2020
The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.
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