How Monster Rancher Was Better (And Worse) Than Its Rivals | Anime Review

[@thedigiknow]

What other lates 90s early 2000s show should I revisit? 👀 Buyee deal just for my viewers: Get a coupon for 10% off your first purchase when you sign up for Buyee with my link: bit.ly/buyee-thedigiknow10off

[@erjetto]

I'd love to see a review of Legendz: Tales of the Dragon Kings It feels like Digimon's distant relative, considering that the monster is also designed by Kenji Watanabe, with similar level of storytelling as well

[@aliastheabnormal]

Monster Rancher much like Beyblade and Medabots is still around in Japan. They even had a reboot and a game where you raised Ultraman monsters.

[@Masonicon]

Flame of Recca, even when it's tv show doesn't adapt it's manga last 2 story arcs(when Kouran Mori become bootleg Alex Mercer)

[@DekuLord]

Gash Bell is an amazing Manga with an anime adaptation that's only flaw is not being entirely faithful to the manga. It's well worth a watch and a good time to raise awareness of the series as the manga has a sequel currently getting monthly chapters.

[@Shadesatx]

I'd love to see an episode on Flint the Time Detective. Just looking at screengrabs makes me feel like I'm bleary-eyed watching UPN (or whatever) before school eating cereal :)

[@simplicit570]

Monster Rancher made your parents CD collection worthwhile as a kid 🤣

[@VanemanaAMVs]

I felt this in my disc drive.

[@disneyrockz12]

OML, yessss

[@disneyrockz12]

I even tried some Hentai and got a Pixie. LMAO

[@kwameoliver2455]

Yep

[@emperortrevornorton3119]

I had used my youngest older brother's Slipknot CD my oldest brother's Godsmack CD my second oldest brother's Johnny Cash CD they all gave great monsters and when I tried my dad's blues CD collection only one actually produced something in game but any of his 3 Boston CDs usually produced some unique creatures in comparison to my metal and rap CDs

[@Karn_EX]

Totally agree about Monster Rancher not making it clear it was a multimedia property, I ONLY realised as an ADULT that the whole giant stone disc thing was because the PS1 games let you put your CDs in the disc reader for different monsters and stuff, I thought they just picked a random gimmick for the show lol Great vid bud!

[@thedigiknow]

Thank you, legend! Yeah, I was such an easy mark for games & toys based off of shows (I NEED the new digivice! I NEED this season’s Morpher! I NEED Ruby & Sapphire!) but I watched & enjoyed Monster Rancher without ever feeling compelled to explore it any further

[@Bezaliel13]

@@thedigiknow Be cool if you guys, Digimon Explained, _maybe_ Shadowshak, etc. did a collab.

[@LordMetalSonic1987]

I have vague memories of the protagonist using an actual Monster Rancher disc to free the Moochi character. (On a side note, I always thought that Moochi was a female.)

[@aliastheabnormal]

I actually knew a bit about the games. And a problem with the 400 monsters asides from many of them being recolors. Which was a programming thing since the system had 20 types with multiple variations. And several cameos which probably wouldn't fly in the anime. Apparently one of the games allowed you to have Kasumi from DOA as a monster.

[@CD-Gaming]

I remember it, my mate has a copy, but I forgot that gimmick!

[@Undrave]

Monsters in Monster Ranchers are mostly crossbreeds. You have a few 'basic' breeds: Suezo, Hare, Tiger, Mochi, Golem, Pixie, etc, and you make new monsters by combining them together. Their stats and passive abilities combining in a complex way, making stronger and stronger monsters so you can go further in the various tournaments and expeditions you can engage in the game. Monster A provides the body type, and monster B provides the color scheme essentially. Mix a Suezo with a Mocchi and you get a Moch, flip the combination and you get a Warabi. Golem and Tiger? You get a Big Blue. Tiger and Golem? You get a Rock Hound. Monster Rancher the game is much closer to a simulation than an adventure. It can get very zen!

[@wmzer0mw]

To clarify the above, in case the names make no sense to any readers, If you mix: Suezo + mocchi: You get a pink suezo with mocchi characteristics Tiger + golem: a grey tiger with rock characteristics Golem + tiger: a blue golem with icy characteristics ect. Basically first monster provides the body shape, and the second monster provides the skin motiff

[@brodover]

yea exactly.. feels like guy here is missing the point. it was fun mixing breeds to get ur fave color or stats (like my fave was not plain hare or tiger, but a tiger colored hare

[@jamcalx]

I loved how the show was willing to get sad and serious more often than all the other series. I also played MR2 as a kid and looked forward to when they would unlock a new move or gain a new ally.

[@adrianXXII]

I remember really liking this show. It felt different from the other shows, probably because it had the monsters actually be characters

[@fishandjam5383]

I was never really bothered by the fact that monsters didn't really change in Monster Rancher. Learning new attacks was the only change I needed, and of course the search for The Phoenix kept me interested as well. And don't forget the fights Tiger and Hare often got into. 😂

[@senritsujumpsuit6021]

yeah other series like Medabots literally just has the same Medabot just steal a part from another Bot defeated before which is pretty minor

[@jacobgalloway1392]

So the whole point of the games was breeding monsters. You had so many base forms and then everything else was more or less an off branch of that form based on the two parents. That’s why there were so many “palette swaps” in the show. The pirate Swazo was a swazo and the giant whale monster combo. That’s why it had a horn and that color.

[@Pixel_Rocket23]

"Um Ackshually" Horn is sub Tiger not sub Zilla (the whales), but yeah you right bout the breeding thing.

[@cubivores]

Monster Rancher as a franchise is kinda unfortunate but there were some awesome moments in the anime that made it worth it. Muu as a villain was handled pretty well. Muu’s connection to Holly was the stand out and seeing that part of the plot progress was always entertaining. I think it handled suspense well to, Digimon had its moments but I felt like MR had me watching many episodes just to see the next step in their journey to find the phoenix and defeat Muu. It had some really heartfelt episodes that also stood out. The end battle definitely dragged on but I remember really liking the very last episode.

[@marcospelaez5970]

When I was a kid I had a lot of “mon” toys, one time I got my hands on this wolf looking thing with horns. I knew it was no Pokémon or digimon I’d ever seen so I thought it was some cheap knockoff. Now I know that’s Tiger of the Wind. Thanks for solving a 20 year mystery for me

[@redonslaught3019]

The 400+ Monsters were simple fusions, using the one's body and the second's colors. 20+ "families", used at the time (20x20=400, plus extras like Moo...) Basically they're just "elemental" or in new Pokemon terms regional variants, but yeah most are almost just pallet swaps and have subtle changes... But they do hint at why it's like this, monster discs were created in a lab by the ancients, as their designer pets, personal helpers and war assets. Pretty sure it's stated Moo was the final one created before he destroyed the world and for the advance people to revert to what we see in the series... All though I guess, monsters could have existed before discs, and only disc monsters survived the war and the dark ages that followed... But as far as I know they don't talk much about the Ancient War and end of the "Advance Age" let alone what would have happened before that time. With Holly being the "big sister" who knows the world they miss out on Genki being the "lil bro" who knew the monsters, he was a champion right? Pretty sure he won the Advance/Early Access to the new game. So he should be more knowledgeable about the fighting skills at least if not even misc. facts. So thought out the series he should be like the Poke-Dex telling watchers about the monster, no type match-ups but could tell viewers about special moves Or other facts like Big Blue is Golem-Tiger hybrid or Horn was Suezo-Tiger, maybe extra info like the Tiger-Dino is a furless reptile more like the Dinos...

[@Firedrake-SP]

1.The Monster Rancher/Farm franchise wasn't perfect but it's not terrible either. It has a unique take of the Monster Collecting trait. 2. As much as I enjoy the Monster Rancher anime, I wish it explained why Genki was the one who entered the Monster Rancher World and how one normal Mystery Disc was able to bring Genki into the Monster Rancher World.

[@Sciuridae]

I can answer this for you. Genki was the Phoenix reincarnated. That's why a strange monster disc found by the crystal brought him to the monster world. And why the season constantly drops these strange hints about Genki bonding with monsters and saving them and having a strange aura etc. I had the fortune to talk to a member of the writers team on a forum during the early 2000s who explained that as the series progressed they had management interference towards the end of the season where Genki was supposed to become the phoenix and they forced a sudden reversal in plot to make all his friends word for self deletion to become the phoenix instead and send Genki back to the humans world. The boomer management didnt want children to feel a sense of escapism and he had to come back to work for corporation. This is why the scene and ending of that season became greyscale when he was back in the human world and I think began to rain. That was the writers little protest about the entire thing. The ending of the season had a HUGE outcry from the fans, and since the show was popular got renewed for more seasons, so the hole thing got retconned later. This is the sorta lore thats basically forgotten these days, only a few people like me remember it since its such an obscure show these days and I lucked on to a meeting on a monster rancher fan forum. And I really have no proof since that era of the internet is all gone these days. So I get that this is a 'some guy on the internet said a thing' reply.

[@ssppeeaarr]

@@Sciuridae lol man i wanna believe it.... but ya it feels like a captain N inspired thing too.

[@juliagoodwin9510]

​@@SciuridaeWait WHAT?! Damn, now I kinda want to see that...

[@BeatEngine-qr7if]

These are the best kind of comments to me. Tales that only those from a certain era would remember. Props for acknowledging how wild it all sounds by the end.

[@JW-dp4we]

I remember playing one of the Monster Rancher games on PS1 and getting my mind blown when I put in Marilyn Manson’s Mechanical Animals in and the game created a unique black-and-white Slime; then I put in one of my sister’s Nirvana CDs and it gave me a Punk-rock-looking Pixie.

[@manny9166]

Growing up this and Medabots, Digimon and DragonBall Z were my go to shows ...i never really cared much for Pokemon

[@Xelief]

Pokemon always had the best games but absolutely shit shows in my opinion.

[@LordMetalSonic1987]

Pokemon the anime is what got me into anime as a whole.

[@TheSapphireLeo]

​​​@@XeliefWell, most JRPG are constant battles and "grinding" and pokemon games, writing are mediocre? BW and 2 were the best for writing and all of them are also completely unethical and moral and gaslighting you into demoralization and desensitizing you and giving you shallow interests, instead of anything really emotionally moving, unless something like Fate and have concerns about them making you feel for colonizers, but reincarnation?

[@manudogom1764]

I found the episodes very fillerish and repetitive. I was perplexed even how some pokemon didn't want to evolve

[@angelinacamacho8575]

​@@manudogom1764 yeah pokemon have free choice

[@CoffeeBrainzz]

Monster Rancher had a ton a great life lessons of empathy, compassion, and courage. Definitely had a great world and stories!! I loved this show!!! It’s sad they didn’t have a solid gaming plan, that’s where they started to lose the battle imo.

[@LordMetalSonic1987]

Back in the day when I watched this, I really liked the subplot between Tiger and his brother, Grey Wolf.

[@PirateJohnson]

Imagine they named the Monsters "MóRans". Highest recommendations for Metal Walker and RoboPon, RPGs from the GameBoy era. 2 of the absolute best VideoGames that fit the genre. RoboPon is so fun, that one of the sequel games is the only Japanese only games I own on N64, and EnglishSpeaking FanGuides exist for it.

[@PirateJohnson]

They do have transformations, BTW. Metal Walkers is a NonPermanent thing, like DigiMon, which also works like the Fly/Dig/swim abilities in PokéMon to traverse different types of terrains. MetalBall is your MameMon/SayainPod with a Zaku MonoEye looking AguMon/Pikachu of the game. It's set in a PostApocalyptic world, where your journey is to find your Father. RoboPon has a type and element, like a slightly more complex version of spirits and Data/VirusTypes of DigiMon. The GameCartridge has an IR sensor to use remotes with, and tracks RealTime before PokéMon or Animal crossing ever did. The IR sensor allowed for unique RePlays when you opened a chest using various IRL remotes of different frequencies/WaveLengths, and could also be used with giant MicroWaves that allowed for unique changes to your RoboPon's Type and Element. You also equipped chips and parts to to your RoboPon, that enhanced stars and might have even changed attack, IIRC, which makes it a bit like MegaMan BattleChipNetwork. They did the whole Red, Blue, and Green versions thing, As well. I forget if it was Moon, or SomeThing else, that was like Green (Japanese Exclusive), and the other 2 we're Sun and Battery (Might have been Sun that was available in Japan and WhereEver else got the game).

[@nicodalusong149]

Hey, someone else who likes Robopon. Sweet. Metal Walker was an interesting game.

[@lakasngulan]

This video game, Monster Rancher 2, was famous here in my country back in the old days. I remember local cafes holding tournaments for this game. Then there's this one dude who got a Moo and always crushes the tournaments he participated in. then they found out the dude was using gameshark to have high stats and to get Moo he was never seen again after that lmao!

[@BeatEngine-qr7if]

That’s wild because in my country pretty much no one knows this game. It is cool that in different countries certain franchises have entire fan bases that properly enjoy it.

[@PC2000]

Monster Rancher was definitely my #3 as far as 90s/2000s mon shows were concerned. Never bothered with the games, but the show was very engaging. My only issue was that here in the US it felt like it bounced around a lot from network to network, so it was hard to catch all the episodes. Never got to finish the story until it was uploaded online years later. We never even got the third season here. I certainly wouldn't call Monster Rancher forgotten, as it's had a pretty steady stream of games since the anime ended. I'd love for them to give a new anime a shot.

[@Ladywizard]

heck we got a rerelease bundle of 1 and 2 dx for switch and steam couple years back usually between $20-30

[@JeromeDoyle]

Would advise everyone check it out for themselves and formulate your own opinion on the show. I personally would consider it a hidden gem.

[@edwardsimpson119]

4:35 Funny, I was just thinking how much Monster Hunter's Pixie looks like Pixie from Persona/Shin Megami Tensei. Like Monster Hunter was like "Can I borrow your homework?" and SMT was like "Sure, but make sure to change it so it isn't obvious you copied."

[@TheHipsterSnek]

I hear Monster Rancher, and I appear. That said, you are not wrong when it comes to the "recolor" bit. In the games, they way it works, is that monsters have two genes: a Main and a Sub. So the monster's body type is determined by the first and the color and secondary traits by the sub. So, that blue Suezo, Horn, is a Suezo/Tiger hybrid. That's how they could get away with saying they (technically) had over 400 monsters. So your assessment that there was really more like 20 is more accurate than you know. And, yeah, the anime focused a lot more on its story than advertisement, which is odd when you consider that of all of the mons games, Monster Rancher needed advertisement the most. And in terms of how much like the games the anime gets? That'd be season 3, which actually uses a tournament format more akin to the games. There were also some episodes that allowed themselves to be much darker (comparatively) than a lot of mons shows at the time got - Undine and Baku's episodes spring to mind - which made some bits compelling. It's overall weakness was an over-reliance on a 'monster of the week' format, which made watch order irrelevant for the better part of the series and there's some pacing issues in the later half of season 2. Thanks for reading this wall of text. I just really, really love monster games.

[@grapesvine]

6:00 Maybe I misunderstood this part, but Digimon Advenutre's humans did fight (but not often). Like how Tai tried to attack the Shellmon on episode 2 or when the human parents fought back against the Bakimon when they where trying to take them as hostages.

[@aronjamesramos196]

But Genki was different, every time a monster tried attacking, he pull out his rollerblades and go kick and smash them.

[@CreativeSteve69]

I remember loving this unique anime growing up as a kid. Loved the world-building and wished they could've kept going on longer to explore though on the exploring just a bit. I thought the uniqueness of the different CDs giving you a different monsters/powers concept was really unique though for a monster taming anime world. Wish they would've tried to expand it a bit more during its run or closed it off with a theatrical film back then for a proper send off. Kindof reminded me a bit of megaan with the different CDs giving you different moves for the monsters/creatures.

[@Pixel_Rocket23]

Monster Rancher is still one of my favorite game series. Hell i was playing Monster Rancher 4 just an hour ago lol. Also, for the whole "only feels like 20 monsters" thing, thats teeechinically true. One of the other main gimmicks of the monster rancher series is breeding (also known as combining.) Monsters are split into 2 breeds one main and one sub. The main breed deciding the overall shape and moves it learns and the sub breed deciding smaller details and stat changes. For example, the Captain Horn character in the anime is a Suezo thats sub Tiger hence its blue fur and horn. In the games Suezo would be sorta slow but accurate with high intelligence, and Tiger is and accurate with good power or intelligence depending on which game you play, and combining the two will result in the fusion having altered stats like having higher speed cuz of tiger and improved accuracy. In the first monster rancher game there were only around 20 or so Main Breeds, but through combining you get more variants and options. Like, you want a Tiger that can actually take a hit? Then combine it with Golem. A Pixie that can actually hit things physical moves? Maybe combine it with a Hare. Im rambling but i just love this series man.

[@wadedewell]

I really enjoyed monster rancher growing up. I thought the story was cool. I liked seeing the hero collect his team and watch them all inprove and get stronger. I really loved the ps1 game, you could use any music cd and get new monsters. I had a blast picking random music and seeing what i would get ! I wish that mechanic would return somehow!

[@Kavou]

I remember I had to wake up 2 hours before school just to secretly watch it from my parents, when I finished I was that happy that I still remember the series.

[@TheDanishGuyReviews]

In a toy box somewhere, I still have figures of the wolf and the duck. And now that I see the disc, I'm realising I also have the lid to the box they originally came in, too!

[@TrueBackLash]

While Ash would do anything he could to help his friends and Pokémon, and Tai and the other Digi Destined would fight alongside their Digimon, Genki, with his yellow rollerblades, would be in the middle of the action in almost every fight scene. I absolutely loved it!

[@JuliaZeeGreat]

I was watching this on I think ABCFamily before school every day and they would ALWAYS skip showing the boss fights. I was amazed when they actually aired the finale because it felt like they were constantly boss-teasing me and leaving me unsatisfied every time.

[@AdamYJ]

The Monster Rancher games have actually made a little comeback by collaborating with the Ultraman franchise for a game called Ultra Kaiju Monster Rancher.

[@cobygreif]

I would love to see if you remember a show called “Flint the Time Detective” which aired on Fox Kids in the late 90s. In general though would love to hear your thoughts on all the shows in that block in addition to Angela Anaconda, Monster Rancher, Medabots, and Digimon there was Power Rangers and Transformers: Robots in Disguise.

[@EluneAnzu]

So fun fact I remember playing some of the GBA games a few years after watching the anime and learning they actually had games since, despite effectively being a toy/video game ad, it wasn't super clear it HAD video games, and the reason why there's so many monster recolors that pop up in the anime is because of the games fusion system (the closest thing the games have to evolution basically). Basically how it works is 2 monsters fuse and basically one gets one of the monsters body type and the others "element" Big Blue who works as the "side kick" to Pixie is a fusion in the games, he's a fusion of Golem and Tiger, hence why he's a big giant rock guy covered in ice.

[@metaltornado3457]

6:15 At the time of this anime's release, there were 39 unique species of monster in Monster Rancher 2 (not counting three species from Monster Rancher 1, Dinos, Disks and Doodles that didn't return in 2). Where Monster Rancher differs from Pokémon and Digimon however, is that most of these 39 species can fuse or hybridize with each other to take on appearance traits from another monster for a total of 408 monsters total.

[@marcosdheleno]

you know, it would be amazing if the monster rancher anime was actually about the monster ranch, with him raising monsters, caring for them, and sometimes losing them. being both a slice of life AND a monster raiser story. all about him growing and becoming the best rancher.

[@aronjamesramos196]

It is supposed to be unique and not just copy what Ash from Pokèmon wants to do

[@FloundFahrdienst]

I only guessed that it was trying to promot a game after the first season, because Genki went back to his own world and returned to the Monster Rancher world in season two. So yes it failed miserably at promoting the game but it had a REALLY good written story and is one of the better animes out there

[@2DSM2]

I agree strongly with your choice for favourite monster in the series. That being Tiger of the Wind. In my opinion, one of the most fleshed out characters of the show. Same actually goes for pixie.

[@gregorythestallion2984]

I just wish digimon could learn from this show and make the digimon actual characters instead of just tools. And, I only have this gripe with dgimon, since pokemon are actual pets, they are not meant to be seen as sentient and such. Digimon are sentient and can talk, so it is quite jarring that they are basically tools for the humans in shows where the point is to say "they are real and have feelings."

[@jamescalderon289]

Monster Rancher was my favorite out of the three anime, I think it’s because the story was more engaging and the episodes not as formulaic

[@Brandon-ew9xx]

I liked monster rancher. I felt like monster rancher did better with monster character development. also the way Mu was developed with the father's personality, then eventually got taken over by the destructive force.

[@PlanetZoidstar]

I'm glad you brought up Dragon Quest because the monster designs of Monster Rancher feel VERY derivative of 80's/90's Final Fantasy/Dragon Quest RPGs. Right down to the endless palette swaps of the same monsters over and over. And just the overall feel of Good vs. Evil in a fantasy world. Mu is your classic Final Fantasy/Dragon Quest villain. I'd even thrown in Shining Force too. Not so much Fire Emblem where the villains are mostly humans with the occasional fantasy monster thrown in for flavour.

[@mickdipiano8768]

Monsters with different colors weren't just different skins but had different stats and moves . Those were different monsters. And they were often fusions of different monsters. Edit i see lots of people said the same thing. Well keep the comment for rhe algorithm.

[@marocat4749]

The show is pretty good, and kinda doesnt feel like an isekai at all, but in a good way the world really works. Ok its not the best ever, but its charming and earnest. And characters too, and the actual power of friendship needed to power the fusion is neat. And it has some great moments, like the golem sacrificing himself to save ex subvillain turn enemy lady. Ok i think that the series is somewhat grounded does make it stand out, because it works with , monsters as characters well? I guess they went full jrpg tropes done well, but yeah done well. Also yeah holly is the real maincharacter.

[@natalimoina]

Pokemon are also fleshed out characters with their own personalities in their show

[@Sugurain]

What I liked the most about this anime is that Genki wasn't a kid shouting orders for some monster warrior to follow them, like in Pokémon, Digimon, heck, even yugioh and medabots could fit here. He would put his roller blades on and beat the absolute living shit of the enemies with them. The monsters fought on their own, and the main protagonist actually engaged in battle too.That was fun, and genuinely different. Digimon Tamers had something similar with the final Matrix evolutions, but not quite there. It wouldn't be until Digimon Savers/Data Squad where the main protagonist would engage in battle for himself (alongside his monster partner) again. Another cool thing is that this was an anime that wasn't afraid of being dark and portraying death, Digimon Adventure was close, but Monster Rancher took it two steps further. Sure monsters would become discs after they died, but unlike Digimon, they couldn't be brought back. They were dead for good. (the only hope to bring them back was Phoenix) About the PSX games, I never played them because I had a Nintendo64 growing up, but I'd probably like them if I had.

[@aronjamesramos196]

Addition to that, the fact that the Phoenix is the only chance to revive them is what gives the MCs hope

[@RS-yk7xh]

6:15, not to put any counterclaims, but it is worth knowing that Digimon also does that same repetitive design with their Digimon variations such as Gabumon with BlackGabumon and Psychemon.

[@thedigiknow]

Oh I agree, but generally the villains and new characters the team we’d meet weekly were not those Color swaps of the main cast Digimon. The Color swap mons were often reserved for the games and whatnot

[@edwardsimpson119]

I always had a head canon that only the Digimon literally named as alternate color versions were true palate swaps, whereas the Digimon with unique names were divergent species that actually had distinguishing features beyond coloration and only appeared to be palate swaps because of graphical limitations of the hardware we were using to view them. Basically, any seeming palate swaps are assumed to be a Lopmon/Terriermon situation unless explicitly stated otherwise.

[@RS-yk7xh]

That could explain why they updated Psychemon's design now having a skull pattern on its underbelly.

[@legendre007]

I remember seeing the final-ever episode of _Monster Rancher_ and I thought there was going to be an epic final battle. I was so disappointed. What a cop-out. That was _my_ reason for suppressing memories of this show. 😢

[@KichiMiangra]

Ngl I also didn't know monster rancher was a game series until years upon years later when I was almost out of high-school. In 2020 when I caught covid though And was out of work I bought monster rancher 1+2 DX for the switch and just did nothing but lie around sick and play it. Turns out it was a raising sim and not a pokeclone and also NGL I LOVE RAISING SIMS LIKE PRINCESS MAKER SO FRICK MAN I LOVED THIS GAME

[@thedigiknow]

Nice! I yeah I heard a lot of people were enjoying that Switch rerelease from a couple years back. Smart of Tecmo!

[@chucheeness7817]

When I watched this back in the late 90's, I remember the vhs direct to video anime movies I rented in the early 90's for how dark and tragic the backstories of the monsters are. Like a few episodes in, they throw in Golem's backstory like he is Robo in Chrono Trigger

[@royalsfan4784]

I’m rewatching the anime as an adult. It’s not bad, but in the second season Mocchi is super annoying since he always says chi after every sentence.

[@TheDeathmail]

Honestly, while it's true that it wasn't good at marketing, I don't feel that was why the show wasn't memorable. See, I WANTED to go to the Pokemon world, I wanted to go to the Digiworld... And I honestly loved the characters. I wanted to be friends with Brock and kid me had a crush on Misty and I looked up to Ash. In the same way, for Digimon, I loved Tai, and thought Matt was cool. I had crushes on Mimi and Sora while TK & Kairi were my first ship. In fact, as a child, I didn't know that Pokemon and Digimon were a media franchise. Yes, they had cards and games.... but almost EVERY show had cards and games.... that was nothing unique to Pokemon and Digimon.... even Spongebob and DBZ and Toy Story had cards and games... The characters didn't inspire the same heart Ash did, nor inspire the leadership and bravery of Tai. And let's not forget the monsters. None of them in Monster Rancher actually felt that special or had a great design. On the other hand, Digimon and Pokemon not only had great designs... but I would have loved a loyal friend like Pikachu, I laughed at Meowth and Psyduck, I cried for Mewtwo... and we knew the Pokemon did have personalities and understood humans even if they couldn't speak... While the Digimon were loyal and lovable friends. And sure, they didn't have the deepest characterizations... but what character they did have worked for them.... And both had the heroes have strong bonds with their monsters that we kids were able to connect too.... Also, they had a fire breathing dragon for Pokemon and a T-Rex for digimon.... what's cooler than that as a kid???

[@ElecRei]

This was definitely a show based on a franchise/merchandise that I didn’t make the connection. Also so true about the nostalgia of the Canadian dubs of anime, there’s just something about them that I prefer to other dubs new or old.

[@Jostar-bz3ej]

About the show I loved it when I was younger the reason why it's because unlike Pokemon make these monsters normal since the beginning of the show unlike Digimon the protagonist is in some chosen hero when I was a kid how I felt about this that show it could be me so the monsters are their own unique characters I think Pikachu is cute like everyone else but hearing him say don't Pikachu pika pika it's kind of annoying all so unlike those other two shows it doesn't get infinite reboots that changed the story over and over he talked about the show barely changing the monster looks but Pokemon the main character changes his look every new show at least monster ranchers has a reason that time barely changes unlike Pokemon

[@WeebControl]

I remember being a kid and thinking I just wanted them to evolve or something lol.

[@rikajougasaki3296]

There's only one monster who can do that, the Worm being able to transform into any Worm subbreed monster or the Beaclon, but then in later installments they ditched the Worm and kept the Beaclon.

[@Katbirdseat]

Ok, if we're looking at weird shows from this time period, my old 90s kid/00s millennial teen self remembers watching this alongside Escaflowne and Flint the Time Detective. FTTD has some of that monster-collecting motif going on, which might be worth looking at. Escaflowne, while good, was something I revisited as a young adult and could not figure out how it got on ANY Saturday Morning show block. Maybe watching it on Saturday morning was some sort of fever dream haha. Regarding Monster Rancher, I remember the episodes being overall fairly tightly written. Character arcs were well resolved and honestly, I bought the game because of the show! I was highly disappointed that the game didn't have more to it.

[@caswellweird]

If you want obscure monsters catcher shows to cover: - Moncole Knights - Fighting Foodons - Monsuno - Magi-nation - Huntik - Chaotix (more Yugioh than Pokemon knock off) - Dinosaur King - Spectrobes (there are 14 webpisodes about the games to promote them)

[@thedigiknow]

I loved fighting foodons haha

[@PC2000]

Mon Colle Knights would be a fun one to cover since it aired on the same block as Digimon and had much of the same cast and crew. Flint the Time Detective might be another fun one to cover for the same reasons.

[@tigerx36]

Watched most of those myself and thought a couple could make a comeback

[@ficmatagaea7813]

DINOSAUR KINGGGG

[@nihilisticnerd]

My parents bought me "Monster Rancher Battle Card GB,"way back in the day. honestly thought it was fun AF when I was a kid. Might try it as an adult to see how it holds up.

[@lisaerk8487]

What also made the show standout was that genki, despite being human actively fought alongside the monsters in his group against enemys and never just watched from the sidelines. As a kid I really loved how he used his rollerskates as a weapon and used them to tackle or kick his opponents. Or to speed them out. Also the designs of the monsters were really unique. It never bothered me that they couldnt evolv to other forms, instead they learned new attacks and techniks to get stronger. I think monster ranger was always more plot driven then pokemon or digimon. I was so invested in their journey to find the phoenix and still remember how shocked I was when I realized that moe the main villain was hollys missing father. That was literally the "I AM your father" shock reveal of my childhood! 😂

[@guyverjay1289]

Loved Monster Rancher, it actually had a good story with developed characters

[@psychedashell]

Monster Rancher died on multiple levels, when the PS2 was released and reset the system to change disc I kind of shrugged and gave Monster Rancher up without much thought. I never even knew the anime existed until some five years or so after it had ended. The joys of living in Australia.

[@sandratrarambeloson6840]

I remember as a kid that i was really frightened by moo true form and really reassured by the phoenix's. I've even associated the image of apocalypse beast to Moo true form even now in my head.

[@xcmet]

whether the monster rancher tv series was a good story and great marketing campaign just depends on the fandom it has and the sales it gained. I enjoyed the tv show of monster rancher but what i didnt like about monster rancher the video game, was that it seemed more focus on treating the monsters as digital pets unlike pokemon that focused more on fighting mechanics.

[@C0ldIron]

I remember having to get up at 6 am to watch this. I even entered the contest where they would “mosterfy” you if you won. Also played monster rancher 2 and used my sister’s cd collection to unlock monsters.

[@magnemon2824]

I literally binge watched the monster rancher series yesterday you’re reading my mind dude

[@thedigiknow]

Haha whoa!!!

[@chaospudding]

Monster Rancher 2 is one of my top 10 favorite PSX games. What a classic.

[@philipg6432]

I really enjoyed and loved this series as a kid. My brother and I would watch episodes on Cartoon Network in the morning before school. We also were big into the games. Funny that you mention it failing to sell, because for us it had the opposite effect. We were always excites for the new games and to MASH EVERY CD our parents owned into the console to get new monsters. The series def had a different feel compares to Poke/Digi, esp if you played the games. You were a Monster Rancher, raising a few mons and training them for expeditions, battles/tournaments, and adventures later on. As they got old you would freeze them b4 death and cross their DNA with other mons to get unique skins (combinations) and save some of their stat gains across generations. It was a great time.

[@MatheusCayresdeMello]

I've read sometimes that Zero no Tsukaima was the "first" isekai, but Monster Rancher really did it way before. Here in Brazil it aired weekly on saturday afternoon on Fox Kids, as cable tv wasn't so popular back then, it took a some years for this series to be taken serious by the audience (Nickelodeon did almost the same to Yugioh)

[@nicodalusong149]

You're reading lies then. The very first isekai aired on tv was the mecha anime Aura Battler Dunbine back in 1983. The very first isekai manga is an even older shoujo manga about a girl who gets transported to ancient egypt and has a romance with a Pharaoh (I can not recall the name of the manga).

[@Thromaz]

Then you've got obvious entries like Tenkuu no Escaflowne Mahou Kishi Rayearth Fushigi Yuugi Fushigi no Umi no Nadia Inuyasha Licca-chan If you wanna count it- Mazinger Z vs. Devilman. From alice in wonderland and the wizrd of oz and Greek/Babylonian myth the isekai genre is as old as story telling.. Also no one ever mentions the superior in every way to SAO .Hack and Log Horizon....

[@zemox2534]

Monster Rancher focused more of storytelling and character development and growth, and less on gimmicks and cool designs. And sadly that is one of the reasons it isn't as popular as Digimon and Pokemon. In the 90s, kids liked pokemon and digimon because of the cool monster designs and evolutions and cared less about good storytelling.

[@hosamaldhahiri1966]

Amazing video. Please do another anime review that talks about Pluster World. It's also an old monster-tamer anime but what made it unique it allows the protagonists to do a fusion evolution with their partners.

[@RPGGOD1]

I visited Monster Rancher a few years after getting into Digimon. I was mostly a Pokemon fan in the 90s and I didn't really explore the other Mon series so I was late to getting into Digimon and very late in watching Monster Rancher. Going through it I do agree that its shortcoming of not making use of its multimedia presence was probably its biggest downfall in the long run, however I do think that for what it wanted to do, it did it well. After finishing my watch, I did find myself leaving with a good impression on the cast as it's pretty well rounded with not a real weak link. All of them have their characters and stories to tell and the show makes an effort to give all of them focus, especially the monsters who as you said generally didn't get that type of focus. It's one of the stronger core casts I can remember out of a Mon show, and one of the reasons it still stays in my memory despite watching other Monster series around the same time and my stronger love for Pokemon and Digimon.

[@keltikglider9188]

I’m sure someone here said it but I don’t want to read through them all. The reason for the “alt colors” or design change on the same monster was because in the game they were fused with another monster so like tiger and worm created a brown bug like wolf which was shown in the show. If the show showed up that they were fused then it might have been a bit cooler, but it’s an implied game mechanic

[@teh_shaw4103]

One thing I can say as an adult who had recently rewatched monster rancher, digimon, and Pokemon's Kanto series (I could not torture myself and make it further) Monster ranchers story holds up the best in my opinion.

[@jamesb.6177]

Never in my day’s did I expect anyone to reference Power Rangers: Lightspeed Rescue. What a trip.

[@Mathias6x]

I finally watched the whole series on KZbin after not seeing most of it over 20 years ago. It's right up there with Dragon ball, Z, Super as my favorite anime ever! I l thought it was a masterpiece 🥲

[@bursegsardaukar]

In my place, they had a phone voting contest decades ago where Pokemon, Digimon and Monster Rancher compete with each other. Pokemon was #1 and surprisingly Monster Rancher is #2 while Digimon is #3.

[@roygibran9212]

I used to watch this when I was a kid, and did cryy to this one episode when (If I’m not wrong) Mocchi dies but then ressurected again. I think the show was amazing. In term of plot, Digimon win over this. But in term of the mons, Pokemon wins. But this Monster Rancher series iconic to me because how they all really tried to beat the one finall boss with all the source they had (and yes, also, tears from me in that final battle). Fast forward to much years later when visual boy advance became a norm of game boy emoulator, I revisited this anime through the game and man, it felt so amazing because all the memories when I watched the series gushed in. 9/10 would watch it again❤

[@omnimon91]

I din't see any clip or mention from season 2 so not sure if you got into it too or stopped to season 1, the first had 48 episodes and the second 25, in some aspects I'd say the second was even better even if shorter

[@thedigiknow]

I might make a second video on season 2! Not sure yet

[@Senrubo]

The Second season seemed to be where they tried to add "Game Mechanics" type stuff with Mochi and Gankei doing the Monster Battle Tournaments to aquire an Item that is the Grand Prize.

[@Bassvolt]

I still play the monster rancher card games on GB and Ps1, they hold up

[@haro_yemon]

About monster rancher,"Had nothing for kids to latch on to" *me as a kid watching the anime and wishing i could raise monsters and build bonds with them* you have no idea how excited i was when shortly afterwards they released monster rancher 4. Agter i got it, i absolutely loved it and yes i did bond with my monsters, was always a sad moment when thwy finally died. Oh and yeah while the anime doesnt connect the games much, it uses the core mechanic of disks, i wouldnt have wanted genki jumping back and fprth because he had to keep playing the game tourneys, would have been awkward

[@senpainoticedyou6182]

As a Kid i used to think this show was a season of Digimon, due to the Digimon show being called " Abtal al Digital" (meaning Digital Heroes) in my country and monster ranchers being called "Digital Jungles".

[@thedigiknow]

Oh interesting! I could see how you would believe that. The idea of a kids going to a digital world full of monsters is basically the same, haha!

[@garg4531]

I saw Monster Rancher on Hulu a while back (before it got removed) and I definitely agree with all the points you made It did an awesome job with the characters and stories, but in the end it just isn’t as memorable or attention-grabbing the way pokemon and digimon are (and I agree that part of what made these franchises so great is all the different creatures that get encountered over the course of the series, including new captures or evolutions, leaving the audience wondering what’s gonna come next and when) It’s an enjoyable series for sure, it probably could’ve been better, but it’s nice knowing that there were other shows like Digimon and Pokemon back then, which I really liked, kind of made me nostalgic even while also serving as a whole new experience for me I also really liked how dark and serious it could be; digimon did that at times and pokemon hardly at all for the most part, and I think Monster Rancher handled it pretty well

[@r4z0rv1n3]

Yeah the 400 monsters thing was a little misleading. Because there were like... Base design monsters.. Like the main monsters in the series. And then the pallette swaps which were mostly taking two of the basic monsters and crossbreeding them each one was technically its own species with different stats and stuff but yeah...

[@Bezaliel13]

Now, to be fair, the Monster *Rancher* had you breed your monsters, which is why the recolors. Also, your monsters can die from age, like Digimon.

[@tinkerbynoor7731]

all I remember -and still love- about this show was the beautiful opening song (in arabic) I still listen to it and love it

[@iman-2880]

monster rancher may be the very first anime i ever watched in mylife. i first watched at age 4 when i t aired on ytv. i hold this anime a special place in my heart. i actaulyl like it more than pokemon, and this is coming from a long time pokemon fan lol

[@SSJ491]

Pokémon came out in 1996 in Japan with their videogames (Pokémon Red and Pokémon Green versions) was a smash hit success, and the following year in spring of 1997, Pokémon anime came out on Japanese television. Became an all time juggernaut of massive popularity around the world in the late 1990s and onwards. Then Digimon followed in 1997 with based on Tamagotchi V-pet devices, the Digimon manga comics in 1997, the Digimon Sega Saturn from 1998, and the Digimon anime came out in spring and summer of 1999. It became popular as well, but not as hugely popular like Pokémon. On the same time frame, Monster Rancher came out in 1999 (the exact same year when Digimon anime came out), and it was cool. But sadly it didn't last that long until it was stopped running in 2001. Then after that, Yu-Gi-Oh! came by in late 2001, and it became massively popular throughout the entire 2000 decade and onwards. Beyblade came out around 2001 and onwards. That became popular as well. So Pokémon, Digimon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and Beyblade are still around until this very day. But has anyone else seen or heard Monster Rancher today since we last saw the franchise in the late 1990s and early 2000s back then in our childhood years?

[@Masonicon]

6:05 you also forget Digimon tamers have kids fights from superpowers gained from fusing with their digimon partners Monsters in Monster ranchers are largely recolors

[@IAmMightyMike]

Loved this series to death. I remember downloading it and marathoning it in middle school to make up for missing a lot of episodes on Fox Kids. Its a fun show, except that ending haha

[@tengoodquestions]

How did it end and whys it bad

[@zaktilton1680]

Great video bud!

[@williamzeo2493]

I like the second season more, because it's more like the games instead of having a plot to save the world. I think that having the monsters speak is a con instead of a plus, because in the game they don't speak and you need a assistant that studied monster behavior their entire life, so she can help you to sort what the monster is feeling. Still I'm glad that I played MR2 back in the time, it's easily the best monster game of that era.

[@Spyro757]

How old is buyee from buyee? 3:38

[@ferrym1]

I cried when Genki was sent back to his world.

[@martinkullberg6718]

I just was waiting if Mochi would evolve after first learning new moves in the series , as I started watching the anime series last few weeks,further I find suezos designe hilarious and he cracks me up often! 😆

[@juliagoodwin9510]

I remember watching this show as a kid, I kinda miss it. I would be nice to have a new game, but I don't know how it would work when no one uses CDs anymore...

[@thepokekid01]

Monster Rancher never really made a full international effort. That was the real reason why. It was stuck in the Medabot territory (As well as Dinosaur King) in that investors saw this was a semi-popular franchise in Japan and wanted to create a repeat of Pokemon, or at least was hopeful about it. However, they did it half way with the games not timed well with the release of the show, and releasing the show which expected you to know the context and legacy of a series, but bringing it out as a brand new thing. (I guess to their defence, it worked with Power Rangers, bringing that series over without any attention to the legacy, but the show was also even more heavily redone than something like this)

[@mrgrean5441]

Subbed I always felt like a take on journey to the west or the story’s of the hero landing in a foreign land and saving its ppl like heavy metal

[@AnimatronicBadgerlord]

I was the inverse on this one. I knew about the games before the show, I loved the games. 4 In particular was my favorite (though that was far after the show). The Anime was weird for sure, but I enjoyed it as well. I remember going through my parents music CDs in the game, and still get a chuckle when my aunt was watching and used one of the CDs and got a Suezo and she merely said "Oh, It's a Pez Dispenser!"

[@crowrosive]

I used to rent the game from blockbuster to play it and I remember being very attached to my lil yellow dino only to have it die of old age eventually 😢 I never saw the series though so i mind give it a go!

[@guillermosierracuellar9812]

Kinda weird that the anime ended with him in the other world that's how I remembered

[@PC2000]

Yeah, that was dumb. They really should have just ended the series after the original Muu/Phoenix storyline wrapped up instead of forcing an unnecessary extra season that didn't really amount to anything.

[@princesspikachu3915]

Monsters rule!!! I loved Monster Rancher. I have Monster Rancher Advanced 2 for the GBA. Still play it every so often. The GBA game uses words that you type instead of CD’s. I used to put certain 4 letter bad words to make monsters. If I remember correctly the “s” word gives you either Hare or Tiger.