Pokemon Writer Explains Why Its First Films Were So Introspective

Pokemon has had more than twenty three theatrical films released during the franchise’s career, but many still believe that the first and second films, which focus on the pocket monsters of Mewtwo and Lugia, are the best of the bunch and the writer behind them revealed the shocking reason as to why these two stories were far more introspective than the others. The writer for the movies, Takeshi Shudo, was also responsible for the first five years of the television series, leaving the series after he felt he had given more than enough stories in Ash Ketchum’s journey to become one of the best trainers in the world!

In a blog post that was posted by Takeshi Shudo himself over ten years ago, the writer detailed the shocking reason as to why the first two films of Pokemon with Pokemon The Movie and Pokemon 2000 were far more introspective. As Takeshi explains, the first film was mostly “hands off” when it came to the writing of the movie due to the “seizure controversy” that had befallen the television series. In an episode of the anime titled “Cyber Soldier Porygon”, one of the pocket monsters unleashed an attack that caused the screen to flash with bright white lights. With some viewers having seizures as a result, the studio was “far busier” with this situation and thus allowed more independence when it came to Shudo’s writing of Pokemon: Mewtwo Strikes Back.

Following the success of this movie, the studio then informed Shudo that he would be allowed that much more leeway during the second, with the producer telling him that he “wouldn’t interfere with the second one” directly. Needless to say, Shudo created two stories that were far more introspective than much of the stories that we see in Pokemon, with fans still remembering the moment when Ash Ketchum had seemingly died at the hands of Mewtwo, causing many in theaters to shed a tear.

Shudo’s stories for the first two movies were far more focused on the ideas of “the existence of self” and “coexistence”, as the writer stated that he was almost “possessed” to make sure that the films held true to these tenets. If there were more studio interference, who knows whether or not these two films would have come out the way that they had!

With the latest season of the anime showing that Ash is moving closer to his goal of becoming one of the best Pokemon trainers in the world, you have to remember some of the biggest moments of the franchise to date and the first two films by Takeshi Shudo certainly did their part in laying the ground work for the series to become a favorite in the world.

What do you think of this shocking reason as to why the first two Pokemon movies were far more emotional and introspective than others? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of Pokemon!

Via Dr. Lava