Another TV season begins, and another anime series is imported into syndication to the USA. This time round, the lucky contender is Pokemon, formerly known in Japan as Pocket Monsters and there's actually a slim chance that this series will break out of the anime ghetto into the mainstream.
Of course, that's a promise virtually every anime series of the past few years has made - and broken. Teknoman and Samurai Pizza Cats sank like lead balloons. Sailor Moon, Dragonball and Dragonball Z enlarged the anime fanbase somewhat but were bounced from lousy syndicated time slots to lousier cable TV time slots. (Currently, Dragonball Z is up against the WB's Batman/Superman Adventures, a mismatch that guarantees the DC heroes will triumph over Goku and his pals.) While undoubtably the monster hits of the anime crowd, neither Sailor Moon nor Dragonball merchandise is likely to show up outside speciality shops in your area. They are still cult items to the mainstream, and are likely to remain that way for a long time. You may see fansubs masquerading as imports at comic book stores and conventions, but once you leave the confines of fandom, you'll find little evidence that either series exists at all.
Pokemon, on the other hand, has the backing of Nintendo, the video-game giant trying to regain its share of the market from Sony Playstation. And when it comes to Nintendo, minor miracles are possible. After all, only a corporation as large and as powerful as Nintendo could possibly convince anyone that it was a good idea to bring Pokemon to the States after dozens of Japanese kids had Pokemon-related seizures earlier in the year.
So how does Pokemon rate on the entertainment scale?
The show is a good example of the cute, mostly nonviolent children's fare that makes up the bulk of animation shown on Japanese TV. Most of the plots are extremely formulaic, and have built-in prosocial messages. In a typical episode, our heroes come across a Pokemon (a magical kind of animal) that has been abandoned or neglected by its owner. Through care, hard work, and love, the Pokemon is recruited to our heroes' side. Kindness to animals and loyalty to friends is stressed, a similar message one hopes children would learn from their virtual pets like Tamagotchi. To be sure, there is a lot of action in the show, during stylized martial arts sequences in which the Pokemon get to show off their special skills. By and large, however, parents need not worry about their children being dulled by senseless violence.
Most of the Pokemon are drawn in what is called the "Superdeformed" style, which means that cuteness is extremely exaggerated. All the little animals have soft, rounded features and are designed to be lovable. (Anyone who has ever seen a schoolgirl obsessed with Hello Kitty or the Sanrio characters will instantly recognise the "superdeformed" style). Perhaps the cutest of the characters is Pikachu, who seems to be a cross between a rabbit and a mouse. If you gag on the cuteness of Teletubbies, you'll be sickened by Pikachu and her buddies. If you have a higher cutenesss quotient, you'll may actually enjoy the show.
The dubbing as among the most annoying of any anime series so far, but thankfully many of the Pokemon are allowed to keep their original Japanese voice actors. The human leads, however, leave a lot to be desired. Perhaps the most annoying are the villains of the series, one of whom sounds as though he is doing a horrible Snagglepuss impersonation. Ironically, given the earlier Pokemon scandal, and the history of slicing up anime for broadcast, the show is airing virtually intact. This may be a cost-cutting measure, as it takes more money to edit and rewrite scenes than it does to quickly translate them.
Considering that Pokemon is a toy tie-in, one does not get the same nauseating feeling watching it as one did when seeing He-Man or My Little Pony. Yes, the multitude of Pokemon available encourage children to become collectors, but the sales pitch is never as obvious as one might fear. This may change once more Pokemon toys are available in the stores, but for now Pokemon is unlikely to rival The Smurfs or Power Rangers as an obnoxious marketing machine.
Will Pokemon be a greater success than Sailor Moon or Dragonball? Since I don't trust Ouija Boards or Crystal Balls, I'll have to take an educated guess. I think that Pokemon has the potential to be a moderate hit among 4-10 year old children, which means it will certainly generate more cash in America than either Sailor Moon or Dragonball. This is unlikely to open the floodgates for more Japanese animation, however. Most of what Western fans consider to be anime actually belongs to a select subgroup of animation created in Japan (namely, science fiction) and Pokemon is a rather harsh reminder that much of Japanese animation *isn't* adult themed or oriented. In fact, it's been a rather comical experience seeing otaku contort themselves online and in real life trying to prove that Pokemon is indeed suitable entertainment for adults.
Pokemon may or may not be a monster hit. Pokemon will not enlarge the anime fanbase. But Pokemon is fun entertainment for children, and in a TV season as anemic as this one, that is more than enough achievement for any cartoon.
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