Let's get to it!
Story
The story takes place in a world where humans and Pokemon co-exist peacefully, more specifically, in the Kanto region. We follow our protagonist, Red, in his adventure on becoming a Pokemon master. Red is a cheerful, kind and adventurous 10-year old boy, who, after his 10th birthday, goes and gets his first Pokemon from the famous Professor Oak. He chooses the fire-type Charmander, with which he quickly develops a strong bond. He soon meets Green (or Blue if you prefer), Pr.Oak's grandson, who becomes Red's rival. Then, they separately go on their journeys through the region. Their goal is to defeat all the Pokemon Gym Leaders in Kanto and obtain Gym Badges from them. After having obtained all 8 of them, they can take on the Pokemon League, the toughest challenge for any Trainer. Meanwhile, both were given the mission to catch and obtain information on all 151 pokemon in the region. That is possible through a small machine called the Pokedex, which automaticaly saves all information on any pokemon caught. We follow Red in his adventures, as he collects badges, captures Pokemon and stands against an organization named Team Rocket, which mistreats Pokemon and uses them to gain money and power. Red's goal is to catch all 151 pokemon of Kanto, beat the thoughest challenge of a trainer, being the Pokemon League, and become the Champion.
Now, since 99,5% of the people who will be reading this are gonna be Pokemon gamers, I guess I can go into more detail...
As I said, this anime has 4 episodes. So how did they manage to convert the whole Kanto region into just 4 episodes? Simply by skipping many parts of it.
The 1st episode covers Red getting Charmander, starting his journey, meeting Green, battling Brock (the first gym leader) and getting his first badge. The 2nd one covers the famous Lavender Town, the Pokemon Tower and everything associated with it, from the ghost to Team Rocket. The 3rd episode covers the Silph Co. stage, where Red stops Team Rocket and drives them away from the building. Finally, the 4th episode, resolves around the final gym battle, the Elite Four, the battle against the Pokemon Champion of Kanto and the completion of the Pokedex. [...] Yeah, lots of things have been skipped. Well, they are mentioned, but not focused on at all. This could be seen both as a good and bad thing. I personally don't mind. What "Pokemon Origins" wanted to do, was make a short show in which are focused the most important moments in the original "Red" and "Blue" games. And that's exactly what it did, in a very good way... And, let's be honest, if you had to choose the most important moments of the games, would you really have taken Erika, Blaine, Mt. Moon, the Safari Zone and the Cycling Road? No, you would have taken the exact same ones; and I really prefered they actually did it like that.
Of course, this show is mainly meant for Pokemon gamers of the first pokemon games and to bring up a lot of nostalgia. But, anyone can see it. Even people who have never ever played any Pokemon game could find some enjoyment... even if at some points they may not really understand some scenes, because it's directly taken from the games.
Overall, it is a very good show, which is well-made. A must-watch for all Pokemon fans.
Characters
There aren't many character in this anime (which is pretty normal, since there are only 4 episodes), but the ones we care for are there.
First of, we have the protagonist, Red. Red is a 10-year old boy, who decides to go on his own pokemon adventure and complete the Pokedex, as Pr.Oak's request. He is kind towards both Pokemon and people, is cheerful, caring and adventurous. Although kind of weak at first, because he doesn't have any experience, he quickly become stronger, as his journey continues. Next, we have Green, the proud and overestimating grandson of Prof.Oak, who eventually becomes Red's rival. Even though he could be quite annoying, he is 50 times better than Gary **********ing Oak; at least, he isn't that much of a d***! He actually cares for Pokemon - well, not as much as Red, sure, but still! There's, of course, Professor Oak, the gramps who gives to Red and Green their first Pokemon and Pokedexes; Brock, the 1st Gym Leader; Mr. Fuji, an old man who takes care of lost and abandonned Pokemon; and Giovanni, Team Rocket's boss. And that's pretty much it for the important characters.
Now, where they good? Hmm... well, yes, they were. They follow the personalities of the same characters in the games very closely and they managed to make them livelier in a very good way; I mean, they don't look stupid. They get pretty good development, even in just 4 episodes, especially Green, who understands better how to trully treat his Pokemon friends.
My favourite character is, hands down, Giovanni. I already liked that guy in the game, but with Origins, I like him even more; I definitely don't agree with his plans, but the way Giovanni was presented was very good. He has a very strong development, too, as he does the same thing he does in the game, for a good reason.
The others weren't that much important, but they were overall ok. A good main duo and a well-created villain. We really needed that, after the incompetence of Jessie and James from the animated Pokemon series. *Sigh*
Sound
The music used in this show was overall great. Most of it, was tracks from the original Pokemon games that were remixed very well. The excitement someone would get from playing the games with this music, was the same as when I was watching this show. I was hyped and rooting for Red in his battles. I felt the nostalgia and the feelings come to me and it definitely was a good experience. All these amazing themes used in "Origins"... The feels!! The voice acting wasn't bad, without being memorable either.
Animation
The animation was done by OLM (the producers of the Pokemon series), Production I.G. (a studio tha helped for many series and games) and Xebec (Shaman King, To Love-Ru). The animation was done well, even if I personally wasn't a fan of it. However, the battles were epic and amazingly well-done and the whole show had a lot of good coloration, appropriated for each scene.
Final Verdict
Story: 8.8
Characters: 8.7
Sound: 7.9
Animation: 8.9
Enjoyment: 10
Total: 8.86
Note
"Pokemon Origins" is, by far, much better than the original Pokemon series. Finally following a COMPETENT Pokemon Trainer, who actually manages to catch 'em all, and has a good balance of win-lose, feels very good. Because Ash Ketchum is NOT an amazing trainer. He barely catches any Pokemon, is extremely annoying and never won any tournament. Red, on the other hand, is a real good and competent pokemon trainer. In the beginning, he may not be strong, since he just began, but he quickly learns how to battle efficiently and even surpasses Green. Red >> Ash.
"Pokemon Origins" is a must-watch for all Pokemon fans. Even if didn't grow up with Gen 1, you will most likely enjoy this show. It does a good job in all areas and represents very well the experience we had playing Pokemon when we were kids.
This ends my 10th anime review. I hope you enjoyed it. Feel free to comment in the comment section below, if you want to express your opinions on this anime. Thank you for reading.
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