I've been a massive fan of this franchise since the Gameboy era. From its super entertaining games to its lifelike experience in anime, I've witnessed how Pokemon has become one of the legends. And the most exciting part of Pokemon is its anime movies. They give different kinds of stories that mostly contain wholesomeness and incredible fights. And last year, there is a Pokemon movie that I badly want to watch. However, it received negative comments from the people because of how familiar its story is. But still, I need to see for myself and decide whether it is good or bad.
Pokemon Movie 23: Koko
Or Pokemon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle in English titles is the 23rd movie of Pokemon franchise. I've been a fan of Pokemon, and I've watched almost every film of them. Among my favourite is Mewtwo Strikes Back, Hoopa the Mischief Pokemon and Pokemon the Movie: Power of Us. I know Pokemon movies can't be as extraordinary compared to the more prominent names in anime, knowing their proper focus are on games, but still, they are impressive. And these 23rd movies of them is also excellent.
Pokemon Movie 23: Koko is an excellent work of the Pokemon company. But I guess they now need uniqueness. From the past few movies of Pokemon, I can see that they struggle for making original stories. If they are not recycled just like their Mewtwo Strikes Back reboot, they mostly reused old stories of Pokemon or even stories unrelated to them. For instance, this movie is very similar to Tarzan, which cause substantial negative comments from the fans. A kid was found in the forest, and an ape-like Pokemon name Zarude took care of him. Growing without knowing what he is and who are his parents push him from meeting Ash one day. To be honest, the story is wholesome, especially the relationship of Koko and his Pokemon Father, but I guess the idea of Tarzan similarity is quite disturbing.
Next is how beautiful the animation was. I've never seen Pokemon focuses too much on background animation. And I think adding Yoshitoshi Shinomiya as their background artist is an excellent choice. For those who don't know Yoshitoshi Shinomiya, he is the background artist of Makoto Shinkai film Garden of Words and the unit Director of Your Name. So I guess you should've known how artistic this person was, mainly in the background art.
And as you can see in the movie, it's stunningly beautiful. Probably one of the most beautiful Pokemon movies, but unfortunately, the story sucks. I hope they can give us an original masterpiece and, of course, more with Shinomiya background art.
And finally, I wonder why people are not talking about how the soundtrack of this movie is a bomb. I may be exaggerating, but for me, this is my favourite soundtrack in the entire Pokemon film. The Rule Song might be familiar, but it suits the jungle theme of the story perfectly. But the real deal is the song Koko by Beverly, a Filipino singer in Japan who sang many theme songs from their popular show, including Kamen Rider. And my favourite is Strange and Wonderful Creature by Tortoise Matsumoto, which also produces dozens of songs in Japan. No need for explanation. Just listen to the music, and you'll see. Some are worth checking too. They are Show Window, The Hum of the Forest, I'm Home and Welcome Back and Notebook of the Heart.
Overall, the movie is good. I like how they choose the best casts in this project, from the best background artist to the most extraordinary singers. This might be my favourite Pokemon movie if they offer something new in the story. Come on, Pokemon company; I know you can do something better than this. It already has what it takes, and you just need something unique in your stories. Stop recycling because it only applies to the trash. We're waiting for your next movie.
