The Pokémon Manga They Want You To Forget

To celebrate the end of Ash Ketchum's quarter-century journey, let's look back at that time Nintendo and Game Freak let an "H" Manga artist adapt the Pokémon anime. Even if they'd rather you forget it.
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In the depths of his Mother's Basement, Geoff Thew creates videos analyzing the storytelling techniques of anime and video games. He has been named the number one Worst KZbin Anime Reviewer by The Top Tens.

[@mothersbasement]

Give YOUR Mons a winning edge with Gamersupps (also you could drink it I guess): gamersupps.gg/basement Follow me on Twitch: twitch.tv/GeoffThew

[@Joao-Skug]

Would you consider cover the Festival of Champions doujinshi? it's the best pokemon manga ever!

[@mahiru20ten]

The mangaka would later do G-On Riders, which is his only work to be made into an anime.

[@bensoncheung2801]

111 👍

[@TacComControl]

...You stuffed an entire Gamersupps shaker in your pubis mons? Now THERE'S a viral video waiting to happen.

[@warlordhax5995]

The amount of drink i spit out at anal justice

[@everforward5561]

The censorship they had to do was pretty insane. I remember when the mangaka had an omake about the time he accidentally sent his adult work to Nintendo instead of the pokemon pages.

[@RazielTheUnborn]

Lmao damn

[@Ordoabchao-x9k]

Kek

[@JaceAce22]

That sounds like a nightmare

[@skootz24]

Oh god. That's like "accidentally sending mom your lewds" levels of spooky.

[@LA.20]

Explains how they are now changing the character designs, to more adult type.

[@Haysey_Draws]

One thing you can never take away from Hentai artists, they can draw some amazing dynamic posing.

[@Guciom]

You can't be succesful in drawing porn without knowing your anatomy.

[@MatameVideos]

​@@GuciomBut they also get super creative with the perspective

[@AoiUsagiOtoko]

it always confused me that the stereotype of hentai artists is that they're bad artists in a technical sense, because that's never been my experience. horny artists are usually pretty good artists, or at the very least artists that love what they do. they're having fun, and you can tell (in a sincere way lol this wasn't just a "lol horny" joke)

[@_aWiseMan]

​@@AoiUsagiOtokothere's also the fact many skilled artists end up going down the rabbit hole of being forced to do NSFW commissions until it becomes their brand

[@shinyscyther]

Everyone always talk about the ecchi of this manga, but the real stuff was how amazingly the pokemon versions of ono are, incredible designs.

[@kadosho02]

Ono's monster art takes on a Shin Megami Style. The true version of the monsters. A reflection of what they could look like. Compared to how they portrayed in game / anime designs. Every creature had layers, and personality. Special mention of Gastly, Haunter, Gengar, Ala & Kazam & more. They take on a more menacing form, but love the person they are bonded to

[@thomashooper2451]

It's the horny that everyone talks about, but I wanted to see more of Ono's stab at classic Pokemon. That Gyarados is metal as fuck.

[@kadosho02]

@@thomashooper2451 i know, the evolution artwork hits even harder. From the useless original form, to the sea dragon. It was powerful, and dangerous. Plus other Pokemon fear its gaping maw, let alone how it looks.

[@Aflay1]

​​​​I see the popular Gyarados panel online and it strikes me as absolutely menacing, positively realistic, but not lacking in character whatsoever. It maintained the perfect juxtapose of stylistic art and realism that it felt genuine to the world of the Manga, but also sold these as straight up monsters. 4:02 You can tell that this creature's intentions are not instinctive, but it is still plainly vicious. You don't expect to reason with this creature, but it isn't thoughtless. Like an angry next door neighbor with a shotgun.

[@lumilight4242]

That and some of the story being genuinely better than anything we got in the Pokemon anime (perhaps except for X and Y and Alola)

[@caveirainvocada9438]

Weird stuff aside, they way he drew Jesse and James as a couple is incredibly cute

[@InoriVoid]

real

[@ahmadmalaki8364]

And i love how Meowth is there like He he look at them together as a married couple How frickin stupid

[@wizardski2320]

Hold on, I always assumed they were a couple in the show back in the days.

[@ahmadmalaki8364]

@@wizardski2320 you can still think that

[@gota7738]

5:20 "Definitely darker than the anime" In the other areas probably, but the Rocket Trio has Jessie being orphaned as a child, living a life of poverty followed by a string of failed jobs leading to a life of crime, James came from a controlling family and ran away from home to escape an arranged abusive marriage, while Meowth was abandoned as a kitten to the streets, beaten up regularly for stealing food, taught himself to talk and walk to impress Meowzie who laughed at him and called him a freak. Even Brock had the issue with being left by his irresponsible parents to raise his siblings which is implied to be the cause of his love complex, looking for a partner who could help raise a family. Honestly would be super down for a Takeshi Shudo novels and visions breakdown.

[@MrGksarathy]

Agreed. The anime has some pretty dark shit that could have gone somewhere. I mean, even Misty has to deal with her semi-abusive older sisters.

[@Snake4985]

And her mom was orphaned because she was a Team Rocket member who disappeared while searching for Mew

[@antonioscendrategattico2302]

Takeshi Shudo was definitely an interesting author. Definitely too free and with too much interesting shit to say for a profitable mass appeal franchise to tolerate.

[@MrGksarathy]

@@Snake4985 The worst part is that Jessie's mom is apparently still alive and even sending reports.

[@Snake4985]

@@MrGksarathy Is she? I didn't see anything about that on Bulbapedia

[@NotSoMax]

I like to imagine an alternate universe where the main Pokémon universe was like this, a little darker, a bit more realistic designs for the Pokémon, and the characters actually getting to grow up and move on. Like imagine if every generation we got completely new cast and just saw our old characters occasionally intersect with the new characters and their adventures but as older more accomplished trainers.

[@RadeticDaniel]

that's the other manga he covered in the video cited in the beginning one character for each game and stories flip protagonists as the game cycles come and go

[@jefinathariwirza6578]

That just the "pokemon adventure" manga

[@eyesightc.o3016]

Like JoJo

[@ChangedMyNameFinally69]

A little darker but this manga does go into some weird places IMO, realistic designs? Nah

[@BeingOfEvil0]

Pokemon adventure lol

[@nirman423]

The weirdest thing about Jessy and James getting together to me is that Jessy is the one preggers rather than James.

[@paulj6805]

I want to argue that point but I know exactly what you mean.

[@Syncrotron9001]

Clearly one of them has been "blasting off"

[@bearerofbadnews1375]

Hold up is this in the anime or the manga. I thought Jessy and James were gonna be KZbinrs and podcasters at least that’s what I saw in the anime.

[@NeedyBoBeedy]

@@bearerofbadnews1375 why

[@Future_Vantas]

@@NeedyBoBeedy I think its a reference to that one anime episode where James crossdresses with some very convincing boobs

[@OmniOtaku]

I had these mangas. I loved how they portrayed how TMs are used by cracked one in half and putting both halves on each side of a Pokémon’s head while it basically downloads the move data into their brain.

[@noranizaazmi6523]

As a kid, I thought that they put those TMs into TM players and then let the pokemon watch it 😅

[@andieallison6792]

TM?

[@OmniOtaku]

@@andieallison6792 Technical Machine

[@N12015]

@@noranizaazmi6523 Which is how it works since gen 5.

[@jobah619]

Whitesnake:

[@Gooberjoovies]

I don't know how, but after buying the first comic at a fucking flea market, I somehow convinced my mom to get new chapters sent to me BY MAIL from Viz Media, and boy howdy I think the more dangerous piece of media to ever enter my hands wasn't the comic itself, but Viz's goddamn catalog, where an impressionable 10 year old got an eyeful of a full page splash ad of Asuka in a plugsuit advertising Evangelion...

[@mothersbasement]

Oh man I remember those EVA manga ads. All that censorship work went to waste in an instant

[@KrytenKoro]

I REMEMBER THAT EXACT COVER

[@eropandasennin13]

"Oh man, I hope this doesn't awaken something inside of me"

[@raidnoir8691]

@@KrytenKoro link?

[@ladynikkie]

You want to know what's crazy. I actually found these books at a dollar store. When I was a kid they came in a pack of four comic books. I actually went to my local comic book store and found a few of these books.

[@Roll-Penut]

Fun fact, this manga artist also did a magic the gathering manga that has NEVER been officially translated (or unofficially to my knowledge) to English

[@peterbraunschweig2779]

Wait, there's more than one MTG manga? Because I know there's one that's been translated and seems to be semi-official.

[@mot6376]

@@peterbraunschweig2779 indeed it was a one volume series titled MAGIC URZA & MISHRA and covers the first 14 chapters of the original novel

[@twenty-fifth420]

⁠​⁠@@mot6376 I actually read it, and the book its ‘based’ on.. The manga was pretty good but that was so long ago. Also ironically one of the best MTG material considering the gambit for books.

[@spuhgetti]

@@peterbraunschweig2779 theres a magic the gathering manga called Destroy All Humankind. They Can't Be Regenerated

[@noobium5333]

@@spuhgetti do not look at the authors other works ☠

[@BingBangPoe]

I loved this manga growing up. I recall wondering _"Why isn't Oak such a badass like that in the anime?"_ He was pretty much Steve Irwin in that manga. Like you said, there were so many nuances and layers to these characters. Writing the Pokémon to feel like actual wild creatures that could downright kill you was brilliant; much like, you know, real-world animals. And similarly to you, the Sabrina chapters were the ones that really stuck with me too! That Haunter was terrifying!

[@kadosho02]

Oak definitely did have those vibes. A veteran in the field, but always learning, exploring. I am honestly not sure why, he was never more involved like his anime persona. More Manga Oak please Sabrina's story. That went another level. It was dark, menacing, haunting, and eerie. It literally felt like a mash up of a horror title that took over. Nothing wrong with that, but it gave that part of the manga more risk. Ash and friends had to go in, facing the unknown, where others lost. Then things were shifting, within the Haunter's choice, power, and had a heart. It was more than a menacing presence, or monster.

[@toddclawson3619]

I always had the impression that Oak in the anime and game was more of a senior researcher that was getting too old for expeditions so he was instead providing a valuable safe place at his lab for pokemon trainers to leave their pokemon and do important research as well. I would be surprised if he didn't have a legion of junior researches heading out and finding new stuff for him to look at. It was cool in a different way.

[@GogglesVonAwesome]

I actually had some of the early editions of the manga before they edited them for reprints and as a 11 year old kid I was like "why are her boobs like that??? why are some of these outfits so weird???" I would only learn that Ono was an H artist years later as an adult. I remember as a middle school girl thinking his art was actually quite pretty, if only he didn't draw such odd outfits and torpedo breasts.

[@Nel_Annette]

I will never forget my dad thumbing through one of the issues (he loved comic art), and looking at me and asking "you're sure this is for kids your age?" XD

[@LeviathanRX]

Was gonna say because I remember the horny in the english version

[@williambarnes5023]

"Are you sure this is for kids your age?" "Well, she's like ten, so it better not be for people YOUR age..."

[@RealBullbear]

@@williambarnes5023💯

[@KarIiah]

Torpedo breasts, lmao I can't-

[@U1TR4F0RCE]

I will say the whole thing of the natural world of Pokemon is definitely something that was a big part of the appeal of Pokemon Snap. As well as in Adventures the whole gym leaders having sets of team based on how many badges they have.

[@trident042]

If anything, I feel like this is a missed opportunity for the game franchise in its major releases as well. A disappointment I have both in X/Y as well as Scarlet/Violet, is that they show you different ways trainers can live their lives, but then for X/Y they're like "no you gotta do the 'be the best like no one ever was' method" and for S/V they just go "lol no you gotta do all of em." I would love a main series game where there is equal importance given to taking a track where you only fill out the 'dex, or go for champion status, or fight the evil gang war, or breed and care for rare species. And each could have its own story, encouraging you to potentially offload mons from one save file (you know, if Home ever works) and start fresh!

[@MrGksarathy]

@@trident042 I mean, Legends Arceus definitely fulfilled some of that. Cataloguing Pokémon behaviors at a time when not very much was known about them in a wild, dangerous land is the main draw of the game.

[@ExeErdna]

@@MrGksarathy They had something gold there and went RIGHT back to status quo...

[@MrGksarathy]

@@ExeErdna Don't disagree with you, even if SV does make an honest effort at more emotional, character-based storytelling. That, and it somehow plays worse than PLA in terms of actually catching Pokémon.

[@MidgarMerc]

12 year old me learned a lot about himself from seeing Misty in her gym swimsuit.

[@realjoemavro]

Misty had that effect on all of us.

[@mrinfinite5772]

ayo fr?

[@lordgeneralmilitantdeezy7550]

@@realjoemavroamen

[@N12015]

​@@realjoemavro All of the ones who started on gen 1. I'm too young to have grew in gen 1 with my first game being Platinum, which... did not awoke anything in me because the regular girls were oddly modest, and while Candice is cute she was not that relevant. If it was any game it would ge Black/White in good part due to Ohmura's work, from the Waitress to Nursery aide to the Scientists to Nurse to Ranger to Office worker to Medium to backers to Smasher to lady Elesa to ace trainer to to Shauntal and Caitlin and SPECIALLY SKYLA. You notice girls suddenly are now... very cute due to how Ohmura tends to draw. Even YOUR MOM is kinda sexy. Then X/Y arrived, with polished and beautiful artwork draws that were showed up-close to the player, which I imagine it awoke a lot of things with Viola and Corrina, as well as maybe the lass, ace trainer, sightseer, lady, roller skater, furisode girls, rangers, battle girls, those tanned blonde swimmers in particular and... you get the idea. Imagine having 14 years when seeing it... Yeah, sometimes both the games and the manga play with the limits. I honestly cannot pretend I dislike that art direction at all, even if kinda fanservice-heavy.

[@realjoemavro]

@@N12015 Okay, but answer this; Bea or Melony? Your answer will let me know if you are a true man of culture.

[@robertfaulkkner5508]

“Signing out from our Secret Base” is the cutest way you could have ended the video. That line is just so charming.

[@Aflay1]

13:22 Thats insane. It is dark and surreal, and yet this is exactly the sort of thing that happens in the games. Not necessarily with Haunter, but Pokemon in general that possess the move "self-destruct". Makes ya see the game in a new light. I love writing like this.

[@cardboardtubeknight]

Never forget what they took from us.

[@alexisdogbo7958]

They will never be forgiven.

[@butHomeisNowhere___]

We demand the return of our PokeNipples!

[@MrGksarathy]

@@butHomeisNowhere___ Our Pokétitties.

[@TinchoX]

Bastards... all of them...

[@Sifeus]

RETVRN!

[@AlderDragon]

The idea of Gary being more of a friendly rival is also kind of mirrored in their Japanese names. Ash being Satoshi (Tajiri) and Gary being Shigeru (Miyamoto), since Tajiri has said that he always viewed Miyamoto as a creative influence and mentor.

[@ryanphoenix2460]

Wow they made Prof Oak into a DILF; 10/10 series, no notes

[@MusicoftheDamned]

Heh. "Made". He always was, though the way he's drawn here vaguely makes me think of Ging from _Hunter x Hunter_ and means calling him a "DILF" becomes extra funny given what a deadbeat dad Ging is.

[@koopdog87]

My grandmother was very conservative when I was growing up. I couldn't watch The Simpsons or That 70s Show when I visited since they "weren't proper for young boys," but she knew that my brother and I liked Pokemon. She picked up the first 2 or 3 volumes of this series for us to read while we visited. I don't know if she actually looked through them before buying, but she would have had a heart attack if she knew what kind of artist made the series.

[@tyrosinetek]

As someone who was 4 when Star Trek: The Next Generation went off the air, I would have immediately gotten the Jean Luc Pikachu joke. My dad was a massive Star Trek fan and between his long work hours and long commute, it was one of the few things I got to do with him.

[@halycon404]

I miss when Star Trek was aspirational and something that could be shown to a kid. The old stuff had morals and life lessons about how to treat people with respect and dignity. It drilled down into some pretty deep philosophical questions at times. Things people should think about.

[@jy3n2]

@@halycon404 Good news: now there's one that's explicitly written for kids, so you don't have to worry about explaining why Quark, Worf, and Jadzia are so happy to have multiple fractures.

[@jakespacepiratee3740]

Did they Lewd the Pokemon or just the Humans? If its just the latter im not interested.

[@mothersbasement]

Lugia is pretty caked up in the last chapter

[@jakespacepiratee3740]

@@mothersbasement Did you know the idea of "Milf Mommy Lugia" is semi-Canon? The designer of it saw it as a Female Spirit, a Maternal Guardian of sentient beings, or something like that, and when Lugia's Movie appearance gave her a Male Voice and said they were Genderless, he went into a bit of a depression for his vision not considered T_T

[@galaxa13]

OK, I have a friend who read this and all she ever told me about it was how hot Professor Oak was and how there were boobs everywhere. I thought that this manga was just a gross cash grab, but your video has convinced me it might actually have some good story even if the art may be questionable.

[@kadosho02]

The art is excellent, it takes on a different form of the games and anime. Totally worth exploring

[@TheRoleplayer40k]

'Questionable' American prude detected

[@ItzaMystri]

Yeah it's actually really good, it was my favorite as a kid especially as a team rocket fan

[@Zinyak12345]

Upon hearing about lewd content, you assume cash grab? What's wrong with lewd stuff?

[@SlimeBlueMS]

Unless boobs offend you, there's no reason to ignore this book

[@Scorpiofrfr]

Why would the Company want people to forget this manga? It sounds like a masterpiece. It would add a more adult demographic to their costumers.

[@ChangedMyNameFinally69]

Because that's not really what Pokemon is

[@thunderousavenger2382]

​@@ChangedMyNameFinally69 it should be tho. If there were more darker themed media id love this series. It has far too much potential but its all wasted to purely focus on the kiddo audience. A shame.

[@ChangedMyNameFinally69]

@@thunderousavenger2382 My dude they're silly cartoon animals, one is a literal psychic duck that acts like an idiot. Named Psyduck. Can you imagine one of these killing or eating someone? There's nothing wrong with liking media made for kids dude. I'm not the hugest fan of how Care Bears saccharine the franchise can get at times when even Disney movies are darker, but the other direction often comes off as cringey and immature in its own right. See Pokemon Insurgence or Rocket Edition if you want examples of how attempts to make Pokemon needlessly dark can come off as silly. Delve into darker stuff yes, but curses, violence, political discussion and sex all look ridiculous when put in a world where they let ten year olds run into the wild to catch colorful magical animals with magic balls.

[@thunderousavenger2382]

@@ChangedMyNameFinally69 you hit the mark on the spot. Silly cartoon animals. Aimed at kids. Thats why i desire a more realistic depection of said cartoon animals towards a more mature audience. And i did play the romhacks you mentioned already. There is big potential but it wont happen. Because again. This stuff is aimed at kids. And it will stay aimed at kids.

[@ChangedMyNameFinally69]

@@thunderousavenger2382 A desire for something to be mature just for its own sake is its own form of immaturity. And it just doesn't work with a franchise so conceptually silly like Pokemon, even Sonic or Transformers are only silly in their worldbuilding, their concepts are standard hero fantasies. But Pokemon's concept is about beating up magical creatures so you can stuff them into little balls and make them fight other creatures, and then you gotta fight eight guys so you can fight five more guys and become the nebulous title of Champion. You fight villains but mostly out of circumstance. Couple that with the silly designs and it'd feel stupid to try to pair that up with adult concepts beyond what you might find in a summer blockbuster or Shonen anime, if even because those can get pretty violent and sexual themselves. Even Adventures doesn't get that dark. Why do you think you're entitled to completely changing the franchise anyway? All you're doing is alienating Pokemon's mass appeal and completely locking it away for a new generation to enjoy. Contrary to what y'all think there's kids growing up with the new generations too, plenty fans I've seen that grew up with gens 4, 5 and 6. It's pretty selfish to hoard this idea and make it solely catered to your tastes because you can't move on or accept Pokemon as it is.

[@SecretIdentityStudio]

I always liked Magical Pokémon Journey/PiPiPi Adventure, the cutesy shoujo one nobody else remembers.

[@lowtech42]

I remember that one!!! Thank you for unlocking this innocent childhood memory after seeing this video lol

[@NoelHasFeathers]

same!!! the story is so low stakes and cute

[@Tenko72]

I loved that one! I'm sad the ending never released in the USA in English. Only Singapore. And no one in Singapore is selling it. I can't even find spoilers for the ending, because the fans in other countries aren't posting it. Bulbapedia doesn't have it! This series was my BL awakening, because I shipped Pikachu and Clefairy hard. I actually like how this series went all the way with its shojo logic with love triangles and then some involving everyone. Hazel's rival is a male Squirtle! It's the best most nuts thing ever! Koume/Apricot was my favorite character, which is especially sad, since the USA releases didn't get to the chapter with her. I had to rely on a scanlation.

[@GoddoDoggo]

No I LOVE PiPiPi adventure! That manga is the reason I started naming all of my Pokemon after food in the games!

[@GoddoDoggo]

@@Tenko72 If you mean the ending of the Hazel/Almond storyline, if I recall I think Hazel goes looking for Mew/Mewtwo to grant her wish for Almond to love her, but Almond follows her and ends up telling her it was pointless because he loved her the whole time. Then it just sort of ends? And there are a few bonus chapters. Honestly, it was a little anticlimactic, not the best romance plot, but I only read it for cuteness anyway. :D

[@pendaco]

This manga looks like something that would be great for Studio Trigger to animate. A Kill La Kill meets Pokemon if you will!

[@thebolas000]

"Catch La Catch"

[@alicethemad1613]

“Wait, you guys were straight?” I had the exact same question. The only possible explanation is they’re each other’s beards, there is no heterosexual explanation for team rocket.

[@Alias_Anybody]

I mean they could just be into multiple things. Men, women, mechs, Pokémon, ...

[@MrGksarathy]

It wasn't that gay. I mean it was pretty gay, but it was pretty straight too. Maybe we could say it was super bi? Also, Jessie and James were the only legit ship in any anime-related media.

[@TysonRex37]

Oh they were obviously both Bi

[@nibblitman]

You can be strait and fabulous and at least in this manga they clearly are.

[@cj-hw3pv]

They gave me, "id fuck anyone in this league vibes" super bi

[@neziak1444]

What is it called? For homework.

[@Staarzz]

No way I have the same… homework… assignment!

[@MrInuhanyou123]

Man I remember this Pokemon manga in the 90s. Felt actually way more interesting than what Pokemon turned into 😂

[@comyuse9103]

we got the worst possible timelime when it comes to pokemon

[@piens51]

What you remember likely is specal manga. It's still going.

[@midknightshade330]

@@comyuse9103 eh I wouldn’t go that far.

[@chaserseven2886]

not really

[@CM_684]

@@midknightshade330 fair point. One of the worst, you never know how worse the worst could be.

[@UpFromTheDepths88]

Was a kid during the 90s Pokemon phase, and as my mom snatched up any Pokemon stuff she could for me, I never forgot the random issue of The Electric Tales of Pikachu she got me. I remember being taken aback by how dark and, ehem, adult it was in certain ways. Haunter was a soul eating demon, and artwork was really gnarly.

[@JohnnyBsKillz115]

This is a trip down memory lane. these were some of my favorite manga... Edit: HOLY SHIT IT WENT ON FOR HOW LONG?!?! looks like in going to be looking up the series... I had 3 or 4 volumes as a kid. Definitely spent too much time on the water gym fight.

[@denjismissingnut2222]

What's the name of the manga series? The art for the Pokemon looks sick

[@Deimos_the_Autist]

How many issues were there I keep only finding 1-4 at least of uncut English versions

[@DigimonAdventure2001]

​@@denjismissingnut2222 The Electric Tale of Pikachu

[@damienhailey118]

This is what I loved about Ono's manga. It wasn't afraid to go deeper, go farther, reach into implications of the world the games and anime set up without going too dark.

[@ramirezthesilvite]

Black Fog was part of the reason Haunter was my favorite Pokemon for years and years. I even named my Haunters "Black Fog" whenever I remembered it.

[@SlimeBlueMS]

Whenever I remembered it So never

[@ramirezthesilvite]

@Slime Blue what? I have like eight "Black Fogs" scattered across 20 or so games. I don't always nickname my pokemon and I did it more frequently early on. Been a while since I booted it up, but I'm pretty sure my shiny Gengar in PLA was the latest to receive that designation. Why would you assume never? What does that assumption add? What would I gain from lying about something so inconsequential?

[@probablyjinxed]

this made me think, a “black fog” paradox haunter would be so lit. would be the one instance of kanto shilling i wouldn’t mind

[@MrGksarathy]

I always love it when Pokemon actually makes itself feel like a lived in world with real creatures both fascinating and dangerous and a real history influenced by interactions with such creatures. It's why Legends Arceus is by far my favorite Pokemon game, followed by Sun and Moon.

[@BioshadowX]

Electric Tale of Pikachu feels like the best of fanfiction and I mean that in the way when fanfiction gets better than the source. Reimagining a world *the gimmick* has had humanity grow up along side it, interesting side stories that actually stick with the protag, and the bizarrely rammed in fanservice that sometimes (rarely) leads to some very interesting dynamics and topics that source wouldn't touch

[@taskdon769]

Well, many of the old Nintendo games official manga releases are more along the line of "fanfiction (doujin)" but get an approval from developers. Most of them were one issue manga but it may get a longer story depends on popularity.

[@SlimeBlueMS]

Except this isn't fanfiction, lol

[@_Hero_Link_]

That Misty in the thumbnail is Never 10 Years Old💀

[@TurtleChad1]

This manga will be remembered for generations for being remembered for generations

[@VanessaVersus]

Look, Jesse and James are the original T4T couple; of course they were always going to end up together

[@torch-bearer9129]

This was actually one of the first Manga I ever read and subsequently became the reason my grandmother banned manga from her house

[@cleep14]

I can accept James and Jessie as a couple but James is a bi icon! He's not straight he plays for both teams. 😂

[@torgan]

Oh God, the years of JWittz videos are flooding my mind right now. I really did forget this manga existed.

[@SolstaceWinters]

Now there's a name I've not heard in many a year.

[@SaintoftheHonest]

Roses are White. Violets are white. We all came for the thumbnail *zips up*

[@FireLight_Zero]

Imagine if we got this guy back for a Xenoblade Chronicles 2 manga.. Edit: Place your bets now, how many chapters/issues of this rhetorical Manga would pass until it was heavily implied that Pyra and/or Mythra took Rex to the bone zone?

[@Alias_Anybody]

That... actually makes way too much sense.

[@liamruiz3196]

I need MothersBase to make a video about xenoblade 2

[@manaphy1007]

0 because it's already cannon

[@FireLight_Zero]

@manaphy100 got me there! Pretty sure that photograph surprised the hell out of everyone..

[@StevenUlyssesPerhero]

Blade Resonance/Bond levels are a free pass to jump to it pretty much immediately.

[@charleshardesty1828]

17:32 This is such a confusing statement. While I agree with the censorship sentiment, I don't think that having huge unrealistic boobs is a requirement for being "hot"

[@jb0258]

I vividly remember being in kindergarten in 2000. All of us had to bring in a book from home, to practice reading to the teacher. I brought The Electric Tale of Pikachu and the teacher told me I was not allowed to bring it back 😅

[@michaell8000]

Haha the version with misty In the crop top?

[@jb0258]

@@michaell8000 lol the very one! And funny enough, I still have it to this day

[@TheUnluckyEverydude]

The Sabrina fight is why Haunter was my favorite Pokemon for a very long time.

[@ValkyrieTiara]

I definitely think there would be a market for an unflipped, uncensored, retranslated two volume version of this manga. Hell you could even make them limited edition or something. I DON'T think NoA would actually go for that, but it would be cool very cool.

[@wiiztec]

Someone's had to have done it in Photoshop by now right just take the original Japanese version white out all the speech bubbles and paste in the translations, oh and a little bit of actual translation work for the cut pages

[@mon573r6]

"a market for" It would be a best seller...lol

[@jordanjackson6151]

Whoa! I actually bought a few of these oblivious to its risqué measures. Never saw the naughty issues though.

[@thehopeofeden597]

The censorship and ecchi aside, some of the actual battle art in this manga is insanely good, and the ending of the Indigo League is like 20 times more satisfying than the original. I’m glad people are talking about it!

[@sooners2037]

The league was handled a lot better for example both Brock and Misty battle in the league and lose in the opening round. Richie is introduced a lot earlier and beats Gary in the 4th round. Ash Vs Richie has no Team Rocket crap in it. Thought the Squirtle call is still in it Squirtle ties happy. Ash and Richie both use Charziard as their last Pokémon. The end of their battle was handled better than the Anime. Richie’s Charziard is about to be killed by Ash’s and his pokeball malfunctions so Ash calls his back and forfeits the battle (he technically was going to win but didn’t want the guilt of killing a Pokémon in the league) he leaves the stadium which is what causes the forfeit. He still wins the Orange Island match against Drake. We don’t see what happens to Richie after his match with Ash (the anime he loses in the quarterfinals in ETOP it’s unknown)

[@coreylucas5346]

Oh. I remember that comic VERY WELL. Misty in there was my SEXUAL AWAKENING. And you can tell the censorship in the viz version.

[@jess_o]

This art style is just perfection

[@the_godbodor7026]

I had no clue this manga is where Black Fog is from. I remember watching the Starter Squad KZbin series and seeing the Haunter take that form. It’s part of the reason Haunter is my favorite character in that series and knowing the actual story behind the creature now, the og Black Fog sounds sick as hell!

[@yellow_9997]

yooo i havent hear about Starter squad in years

[@the_godbodor7026]

@yellow_9997 Probably because of how long uploads take, they haven’t really made any more episodes in years. I still remember because me and my friends quote it constantly or play the Rock Smasher song every now and then to this day

[@kamuyking551]

that first "hey twerp" in James's voice during the sponsor segment was actually really spot on... holy shit.

[@Marinealver]

I remember a certain Pokémon Trainer Card only in Japan that had a Trainer holding a Starme and not wearing any clothes.

[@michaeldaniels642]

Card name?

[@michaeldaniels642]

Card name?

[@cactus5802]

yeah... Misty's tears is wild

[@EagleVision1999]

I always wanted to own this because of the rocketshipping but I could never find a copy. There's also a doujinshi from this very author that focussed on Team Rocket getting busy :D I understand annoyance with censorship but I also think there's a time and place for everything and maybe a manga for kiddos ain't it.

[@Ergeniz]

I'm opposed to censorship on principle. However, I must admit my view on it has become a bit more nuanced over the years - many times the quality of a work can improve when the creator has to work around/within certain limitations. In regards to this particular work, I actually do prefer the more modest, redrawn designs on an aesthetic level.

[@tabletopnephilim4633]

Didn't the artist specialize in shota yaoi? I remember hearing about that in another video on this manga, I think it was Lost Pause.

[@perciusmandate]

I think the only issue of EToP I bought as a kid just happened to be the one with the disturbingly gory zombie Pokemon. So... that was an interesting introduction to the manga.

[@stupidmonkey089]

You're thinking of Pokemon Adventure, the other manga that was more a fleshed out version of the game as opposed to the anime that this one was

[@thenerdbeast7375]

As a kid I had a censored version of the manga and honestly I think I preferred this to the original anime. It is a shame about the ecchi though as I can't bring myself to enjoy it.

[@shan6872]

7:45 AYO WTF

[@thepaper888]

3:58 I wish they would have leaned heavier that way. They are actually monsters. Who in their society use these monsters as slaves/tools. Like fire fighters, construction workers, etcetera. They use Pokémon to shape and enforce the world. Whenever a stong Pokémon move sends team rocket flying, it's not like I wish they would be permanently mutilated, but some kind of scar, or arm in a cast. I mean, when a scyther can cut through a building in a single swipe, when the same thing happens to a couple of humans, enough to send them flying. I'm just saying they are actually monsters. I mean, in reality, they would be used nonstop for crime. Not to mention, battles are literally dog fights.

[@jcam5]

I had all the issues with this manga in my youth. It was awesome. I'll never forget that one issue with the orange islands brother and sister.

[@Virtrial]

Nah that Jean Luc Pikachu joke is funny as shit

[@jayjaysink1828]

"You guys are straight" fool boy, when two bisexuals get married it's still gay.

[@isitleeyourelookingfor6352]

"Wait, you guys were straight???" SCREAMING True though

[@bearerofbadnews1375]

10:37 you can skip the gym badges by catching a rare Pokémon that sounds more fun than taking an “ultimate test.” And dealing with bs questions like the Jigglypuff seen from above nonsense.

[@TheZajicekfarber]

I have these comics, and always loved them as a kid. I knew they were definitely weirder than regular pokemon, but never knew they had such a wild origin.

[@AlphalanceVO]

I loved the scifi in these comics and how built out the league system felt with ranks and training. Could have enjoyed a whole series of this style though obviously they didn't need to change anything to make Pokemon successful lol

[@Derrick-si2vu]

I've been watching Pokemon and been looking at the manga for a very long time I really hate to see Ash end his journey but just like Yugi from Yu-Gi-Oh had to pass on the torch to Jaden to yusei to Yuma yuya in many other characters from Yu-Gi-Oh but Ash I won't forget about all the adventures he had in the Pokemon world in this manga I actually kind of liked it looking at the electrical tales of Pikachu I'll probably look at it again maybe later some other time put the one thing I wish that I can go back and watch Pokemon in Yu-Gi-Oh all over again including Pokemon and so much more things in the world of anime I actually grown up and even played the video games I just wish I could have went to the Pokemon championship I hate to see my favorite character of Pokemon go but I guess just the way out the story ends isn't it but it was truly an honor to see such a great character go out with one wonderful ending and that's exactly why I love it ❤️🙏😌🙏❤️

[@Racecarlock]

Nothing like going straight from gigguk's video about "My Life as Inukai-san's Dog" to this one.

[@darienb1127]

I never knew that this Manga had this interesting worldbuilding to it. I love to think about what living with Pokemon would actually be like. And I think it gets even more interesting when you bring in the Mons that are more than just a wild animal. A lot of those debates bring out the Harkness Test very quickly, but I think that still has a lot of intersting merit to it. I'm not mad that it's not explored more (Pokemon is going for something else with its world), but I think there's still so much there.

[@goldmemberpb]

I very vaguely recall owning a copy of this manga and I lent it to my friend once when he went on vacation. I never got it back. He said he accidentally left it in a hotel in Malaysia or Indonasia. I forget which volume it was but I think one of them is now ridiculously expensive.

[@Ergeniz]

I hope you kicked his ass.

[@mrkaji8913]

6:22 now I definitely want to see that get animated

[@jaybeans981]

It's weird learning later on that before this, the mangaka also did a manga for Barcode Fighter for Corocoro, based on a real-life game system where you scan barcodes of items to fight, and then just decided to write an excellent trans character IN 1992 which he then did doujin sequels with

[@TJF588]

I could not have expect this triangulated intersection of Things I'm Aware Of, but I am now deathly curious.

[@jaybeans981]

Amilee Doree did a whole video on it. Search for “The Wild Barcode Battling Trans Rights Mecha Shonen & Its Doujin Sequels”

[@DrewBlue32]

Wait what? What is it called????

[@jaybeans981]

See my other reply @@DrewBlue32

[@slime_ism]

@@DrewBlue32 just called Barcode Fighter. If you google Barcode Fighter Corocoro manga its easy to find

[@meteor22]

I really loved this manga. I just happened to stumble upon it as a kid and fell in love with it's art style. It was also different and a little more serious in it's story telling when compared to the anime which hooked me even more so. That Giant Haunter story arc is what I remember 1st when I think of this Pokemon manga.

[@blksteve11]

Geoff, I think I may pick up reading manga again thanks to this. Seriously, I pulled this up on my phone. I forgot how much I loved reading the manga versions of all the anime i used to watch as a kid and how much darker and expanded they all are. Thank you, wonderful video as always!

[@call_me_maple]

Here's hoping this video pushes someone to continue the uncensored translations, we've got vol 1 and 2 but 3 and 4 haven't been touched, it's been long enough I think.

[@IAmMightyMike]

This manga made me realize I like girls. I can't imagine why.

[@mothersbasement]

Yeah even with all the censorship on misty chapter 2 deffo awakened some shit in 6 year old me

[@KrytenKoro]

​@@mothersbasement also may and officer jenny. Gotdamn

[@josephberumen6054]

I loved this manga. I enjoyed it much more than the anime. Though I must have the first printing of the issues because a lot of the censored redraws aren’t in mine.

[@SimulatedGoat]

Nicee

[@JabrielTimeline]

I'm pretty upset now. The only thing I've ever heard about this manga was how ecchi it is, this and that, but never how well thought it actually is. The interpretation of the Pokémon world in a very acurate way, how interesting is the league system, how well writen the characters are, etc... It is really one of the "came for the hot, stayed for the plot" kind and now I want more of it.

[@lorenzmaut3708]

I love the take that the manga is like if humans had this huge love for Biology and nature, most people want to preserve nature and these wonderful intelligent animals that are strong and incredible unique, and kids get sent to learn about this animals, rich kids have the option to make private tours with experts, and poor kids gather together and go adventuring, not knowing if they are good at training animals.

[@docterfantazmo]

My first crush was Misty, seeing her og design years back blew my tiny brain out.

[@valor1omega]

I always hated anime Ash as I felt he never deserved the fanfare that brat got. It was nice that someone actually made Ash an actual character. Shame it took a henti artist to do that.

[@madambutterfly1997]

That jelly filled donuts bit is still unforgivable

[@Mario_Angel_Medina]

From now on, in my headcanon Ash's pikachu's full name will forever be Jean-Luc Pikachu

[@TheBigbrother1989]

The best part of this video is the little angry Pikachu face censoring one of Yazzie’s figurines the entire time they were discussing censorship 😅

[@mst3kharris]

I finally noticed that and spent the rest of the video wondering about the figurine 😆

[@RPTRxCrosshairs]

"Figurine"

[@jyuukenxrasengan]

As a child, I had a single issue of this manga from when Red and Ritchie had their Charizard battle and it was taken away from me because of the violence on display.

[@PrimRooks]

Clicked for the curiosity factor, stayed for the surprisingly in-depth analysis of the Dengeki Pikachu manga and the sneak-peeks at the seriously cool-looking interpretations of wild Pokemon

[@jeffreygao3956]

Well, at least it didn't slander Lt. Surge and Sabrina! Looking at you Pokémon Aventures!

[@HollowAvarice]

My brother in Haruhi I actually have a bunch of the censored american versions of the Electric Tale of Pikachu. Also the giant demonic genocidal Haunter called the Black Fog who literally ends his own life before submitting to the shame of capturing is one of my favorite story beats in any comic ever

[@sooners2037]

Doesn’t Ash cry because Haunter blows up his ultra ball also

[@HollowAvarice]

@@sooners2037 Yeah Ash spent all his money on an Ultra Ball which almost catches it before it self destructs

[@danielmooney3645]

A truely entertaining ad. props sir

[@animesoul479]

Oh man, talk about a trip of nostalgia. I remember my mom bought me a few chapters of this when they were sold at a comic shop we'd come across. Shame my childhood self wasn't the best at taking care of things.

[@BlueSatoshi]

5:28 You should consider reading the novelizations made by the anime's original writer; the anime was also intended to have its own relatively mature themes. 8:49 Among other things, Gary's attitude in the first season is because he's a spoiled rich kid. The Oak family is wealthy and influential because a distant ancestor of him and Professor Oak, Pallet Oak, was the only trainer from what was then known as Masshiro Village to ever qualify for the Pokémon League, just barely ranking in the Elite 1000. The then-village renamed itself in his honor. Incidentally, Pallet Town is notorious for having the worst trainers in the region, so in that context, it's very significant that both Ash and Gary qualified for the League, because they're the first trainers from that town to do so in roughly a century. Professor Oak also has two older brothers. The middle brother was the town postmaster, and the oldest was the mayor. He previously hired Gary's cheerleaders for his reelection campaign. Unrelated, but Gary mellowing out in Season 3, and eventually becoming a researcher, was meant to reflect how Blue was originally going to be portrayed in Gen 2: Initially set one year after Gen 1 (GS was originally planned for late 1997), Blue, humiliated by his defeat at the Indigo Plateau, did some soul searching and decided to start helping out his gramps as a research aide. His Japanese is comparatively much more polite as well.

[@MuffinHunterX]

One of the VHS releases I got came with a mini comic version of the first chapter that hadn't been censored. I always found it a little funny later on when I bought the trade version that I got the thirsty one for free.

[@Zeeboklown]

Ty! I have vivid memories of the uncensored version, and I was really confused.

[@jakdekayen]

Well the artist being an h artist makes sense and now has me wondering if that manga is where I started my queer journey I thought the girls were REALLYREALLY pretty 😂😂😂😂😂 I may have just figured out where it aaaaall started lmfao!!

[@egsauce2911]

Great video, you two! I loved that Yazzy got to put her two cents in the mix! I know filming & uploading schedules are a pain but I have missed her content. Love her cadence & way of explaining stuff.

[@mothersbasement]

Yeah she’s the best! She’ll hopefully be doing some more manga reviews soon

[@Spectrum0122]

So, where can I buy this Manga? Asking for a friend

[@tespenkr9924]

The Mangas do too good of a job making the Lavender Town Tower scary. From zombified pokemon to this godly Haunter.

[@Buddhamelodi]

I always liked Magical Pokémon Journey/PiPiPi Adventure, the cutesy shoujo one nobody else remembers.

[@TikkyNoSurname]

That very much reminds me of the original Yu-Gi-Oh Manga and Anime. You know, back when it was darker and not all about that one game, but all kinds of games.