Pokemon:Ruin With a View

Rating:
Summary: Holy mediocrity!
Review: Ash sets off on a new journey with new friends and old pals as he continues to become a Pokemon master!
Yeah, yeah, you could say that he's been trying to do that for six years now, but with the Advanced series, the show is attempting to apologize to us for the exhaustingly long and filler filled Johto series. The show also seems to be finally appealing to older fans of the show as well.

Content: For less than the price of a new movie DVD you get the first five episodes from the new series. Someone else has gone into detail in reviewing these episodes, so I won't go into detail here. But the episodes presented are well written, with only a few spots here and there that just seem off par. Even the sole "filler" episode on the disc, "In the Knicker of Time!" doesn't feel like filler at all. Unfortunately, all these episodes on the discs are the KidsWB versions, meaning there are a few edits that just seem unnecessary. The UK english versions aren't nearly as edited. Still, it's not severe enough to really ruin the disc.

Visuals: Visually, Pokemon Advanced is, well, very advanced compared to earlier seasons. Animation is sharp, clean and fluid. You'd be hard pressed to find another current Saturday morning cartoon with such good animation. There is some graininess to some colors, but it isn't noticeable unless you really look for it.

Sound: Sadly, sound doesn't fare as well. Veronica Taylor is still getting a grip on May in these early episodes, and she just comes across sounding like a female Ash. Also, a lot of the original Japanese music was replaced. So instead of new music introduced into the series, we got the same themes we heard from the first Pokemon movie. Sad. No Japanese language track either, but we're used to that, right?

Extras/Packaging: There are really no extras worthwhile to mention, unless you count sub-titles as an extra feature (which you shouldn't). There is an option to view the opening and end credits separately from the episodes, but since they are tacked onto each episode anyway, it's kind of useless.
The packaging itself is rather dull and brings the message "We're not trying anymore". It looks more like someone's Photoshop project than anything else, just a generic blue background with clip art of Pikachu and Torchic plastered on it. Why not feature the trainers on the cover too? Seasons 1 through 3 had some great box art, so what's the deal?

Overall: Overall, if you're not that into extras, this is a great disc for your collection, and a worthy replacement for that VHS you taped the KidsWB airings onto.

Rating:
Summary: New Pokemon, New Friends, New Adventures
Review: This DVD, the first of the new Pokemon Advanced set, contains five episodes: Get the Show on the Road, A Ruin with a View, There's No Place Like Hoenn, You Never Can Taillow, and In the Knicker of Time.

Get the show on the Road - Ash and Pikachu arrive in their destination: Littleroot Town! Unfortunately, Pikachu is ill. Ash and Professor Birch try desperately to save it. Finally, Ash meets a new friend and companion, a girl named May with her new Torchic. It's a good start to a good season.

A ruin with a view - Ash and May stop in Oldale Town to rest, and are intrigued by some old ruins. A mysterious team interferes, and they hurry to save the Pokemon Center and the ruins from this mysterious Team Magma. Team Aqua and Magma are one of the reasons to even watch this season, and though they don't quite reveal their intentions yet, they will soon enough!

There's no place like Hoenn - Ash and May finally arrive in Petalburg City - site of the first Hoenn Gym! Ash can't wait to challenge the gym leader, but May is nervous and stays away from the gym. Ash wonders if she knows the Gym Leader, but shrugs it off and goes to battle! There, he meets a boy named Max, an expert on Pokemon despite his age.... and a gym leader! Shortly before the battle, he finds out that Max is May's younger brother, and the real gym leader is May's father Norman. He can't battle in a gym match yet, because he has only one Pokemon, but after a practice match, May's Torchic is stolen! Can Ash and his new friends recover it? This is a wonderful episode, and though battle fans will find the lack of real gym match disappointing, Pikachu and Vigoroth's battle is very satisfying.

You never can Taillow - Ash and his new friends May and Max end up in a forest inhabited by many Taillow. Ash immediately wants to catch one of the plucky flying-types, but so does Team Rocket! Meanwhile, they also meet an old friend of Ash's: Brock! This is a fun episode and now Ash's group is complete.

In the knicker of time - Ash and friends meet a boy named Nicolai, who disguises himself as Pokemon to make it easier to capture them. He wants to catch a Zigzagoon, but first battles May and defeats her. Deciding that the gym leader Norman will be easy if his daughter is easy, he rushes off to catch Zigzagoon. However, his comments severely offend Max and May, and May's brother decides to sabotage Nicolai's Zigzagoon trap. He ends up in a sticky situation surrounded by Zigzagoon! Everything turns out right in the end, and it's a great and funny episode. May and Max quarrel a lot, reminiscent of Ash and Misty, and provide a lot of laughs during this episode. My favorite on the DVD.

This is a great intro to the Hoenn Region, and contains five good episodes. My favorite on this DVD is "In the Knicker of Time," but the other four are also good.

The VHS version leaves out two episodes, so I'd recommend getting the DVD.