Pokémon Adventures (2024 Anime series)

Pokémon Adventures (Japanese: ポケットモンスターSPECIAL / Pocket Monsters SPECIAL) is a Japanese anime television series adaptation produced by Toei Animation based on the manga series of the same name which was written by Hidenori Kusaka, who also directed the show. 
Pokémon Adventures is produced by Toei Animation, and co-licensed by Viz Media (the publisher of the original manga) and The Pokémon Company International, airing on TV Tokyo in Japan and on Disney+ internationally except for mainland China, where it is broadcast on WeTV. Viz Media handles the dubbing (though there's little censoring). Pokémon Adventures first aired in Japan on TV Tokyo, and later aired in America on Disney+ on July 15th, 2024. 
The anime series follows a rotating cast of characters, similar to the games which the manga was based off of. The first arc (Red, Blue, & Green) features Red, a 11-year-old who wants to become a Pokémon Champion and later on a Pokémon Master. 
==Cast==
Red, Blue & Green Chapter
Characters 	Voice actor(s) 	Voice actor(s)	Voice actor(s)	Voice actor(s)	Voice actor(s) 	Voice actor(s)
Characters 	Japanese 	English 	Korean 	Cantonese 	Mandarin Chinese	French
Red 	Yuko Sanpei 	 	 	 	 	
Blue Oak 	Yuuma Uchida 	 	 	 	 	
Green 	Mai Fuchigami 	 	 	 	 	
Professor Oak	Masashi Hirose 	 	 	 	 	
Giovanni 	Sho Hayami 	 	 	 	 	
Bill 	Toshiyuki Toyonaga	 	 	 	 	
Yellow Chapter
Characters 	Voice actor(s)	Voice actor(s)	Voice actor(s)	Voice actor(s)	Voice actor(s) 	Voice actor(s)
Characters 	Japanese 	English 	Korean 	Cantonese 	Mandarin Chinese	French
Yellow 	Ayaka Fukuhara
(福原 綾香)	 	 	 	 	
Lorelei 	Mikako Takahashi
(高橋 美佳子)	 	 	 	 	
Bruno 	Tomoaki Maeno 
(前野 智昭)	 	 	 	 	
Agatha 	Kimiko Saito
(斉藤 貴美子)	 	 	 	 	
Lance 	Koki Uchiyama
(内山 昂輝)	 	 	 	 	
Super Nerd Miles	Koji Yusa 	 	 	 	 	
Camper Evan 	Minami Fujii 	 	 	 	 	
Daisy Oak 	Asami Imai 	 	 	 	 	
Gold, Silver & Crystal Chapter
Characters 	Voice actor(s) 	Voice actor(s)	Voice actor(s)	Voice actor(s)	Voice actor(s) 	Voice actor(s)
Characters 	Japanese 	English 	Korean 	Cantonese 	Mandarin Chinese	French
Gold 	Mutsumi Tamura 	 	 	 	 	
Silver 	Ryota Osaka 	 	 	 	 	
Crystal 	Yui Makino 	 	 	 	 	
Falkner 	Makoto Furukawa 	 	 	 	 	
Bugsy 	Mikako Komatsu 	 	 	 	 	
Whitney 	Haruka Yoshimura	 	 	 	 	
Morty 	Kenjiro Tsuda 	 	 	 	 	
Chuck 	Akio Otsuka 	 	 	 	 	
Jasmine 	Sumire Uesaka 	 	 	 	 	
Pryce/Mask of Ice	Jouji Nakata 	 	 	 	 	
Clair 	Megumi Toyoguchi	 	 	 	 	
Janine 	Yu Kobayashi 	 	 	 	 	
Professor Elm 	Takahiro Sakurai	 	 	 	 	
DJ Mary 	Aya Suzaki 	 	 	 	 	
Kurt 	Kenichi Ogata 	 	 	 	 	
Maizie 	Kana Ichinose 	 	 	 	 	
Ruby & Sapphire Chapter
Characters 	Voice actor(s) 	Voice actor(s)	Voice actor(s)	Voice actor(s)	Voice actor(s) 	Voice actor(s)
Characters 	Japanese 	English 	Korean 	Cantonese 	Mandarin Chinese	French
Ruby 	Hiromi Hirata 	 	 	 	 	
Sapphire 	Haruka Shiraishi	 	 	 	 	
Wally 	Ayumu Murase 	 	 	 	 	
Roxanne 	 	 	 	 	 	
Brawly 	 	 	 	 	 	
Tate 	 	 	 	 	 	
Liza 	 	 	 	 	 	
Norman 	 	 	 	 	 	
Drake 	 	 	 	 	 	
Matt (R&S) 	 	 	 	 	 	
Amber 	 	 	 	 	 	
Tabitha (R&S) 	 	 	 	 	 	
Courtney (R&S)	 	 	 	 	 	
Blaise 	 	 	 	 	 	
Maxie 	 	 	 	 	 	
Mr Briney 	 	 	 	 	 	
Wanda 	 	 	 	 	 	
Ruby's mother 	 	 	 	 	 	
==Synopsis==
===Season 1: Red, Blue, & Green===
In season one, 11-year-old Red appears in Pallet Town with his trusty Poliwhirl, Poli, and gains the respect of Professor Oak and a Pokédex, setting off on his journey to become a Pokémon Master. He encounters his grandson Blue Oak, who poses a threat to his goal and the two quickly become rivals. Red also gets tangled up in Team Rocket's plot to take control over Kanto thanks to a con artist named Green and helps out Blaine in stopping Mewtwo. He eventually becomes the Pokémon Champion and a Pokémon Master in a long and arduous battle against Blue.
===Season 2: Yellow===
After the disappearance of Champion Red, Yellow searches for him when finding an injured Pika.
==Episodes==
Main Article: Pokémon Adventure/Episodes
==Development==
===Animation===
Toei Animation, most notable for creating the Dragon Ball anime, was responsible for the animation. The art style was more modern and detailed than the main anime series, resembling the Pokémon Black 2 & White 2 animated trailer. Satoshi Yamamoto, the illustrator of the manga series, was also involved with the animation.
Akira Toriyama, the character designer of Dragon Ball, had read the manga and tried to follow the character designs of the manga series with his own creative liberties while Ken Sugimori worked on the Pokémon designs.
===Broadcasting===
Viz Media handles the dubbing and broadcasting, rather than The Pokémon Company International. Blood, sexual content, alcohol references, and more are kept in the various dubs but is censored for cable television where it's rated TV-PG-14.
Upon being aired in Japan, it was advertised as a new series available on Disney+ where it brought many views. The worldwide premiere for the first episode in the series took place at Disneyland Paris on 26 July 2024, the same day the 2024 Summer Olympics began in Paris. In Japan, Pokémon Adventures first aired on TV Tokyo at the same time as the worldwide premiere in Disneyland Paris. 
In mainland China, arrangements were made. WeTV featured it.
===Casting===
Hochu Ohtsuka was immediately sought out by Hidenori Kusaka to be selected as the voice actor of Blaine. He had been offered to play Blaine after seeing his multiple roles in anime, and was impressed by his portrayal of Sakonji Urokodaki from Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, whom Kusaka said was similar to Blaine in the PokéSpe series.
Yellow was auditioned by many seiyuu, and only two candidates made it to the final stage. Ayaka Fukuhara was chosen to play the character due to her versatility and her portrayal of Taro Misaki from Captain Tsubasa (2018) and Chika from Princess Connect, which showed her flexibility to portray an androgynous character like Yellow. The other candidate, revealed to be Yumi Uchiyama, was later given the role of Wanda in the Ruby & Sapphire Chapter.
===Soundtrack===
Yuki Hayashi, composer for the anime series Dragon Quest: Dai no Daibouken 2020, was hired as one of the composers for the soundtrack of the series. 
==Reception==
Pokémon Adventures was met with mostly positive reviews, ranking high on lists such as IGN's "Top 100 Animated Series as of 2024” where it was ranked at 5 and was called "An excellent adaptation of the manga, and an amazing shounen anime worthy of inheriting the legacy of the biggest media franchise in the world". Rotten Tomatoes had also given Pokémon Adventures a score of 95%.
Due to airing on Disney+ exclusively, upon its premiere it had brought 5 million views and many subscriptions after its airing was made. 
==Differences from the manga==
===Red, Blue, & Green===
*The art style of this anime more closely resembles the artwork of Pokémon Adventures illustrator Satoshi Yamamoto than that of previous illustrator Mato, who had been afflicted by an illness that weakened her hand and left her unable to draw. This change in art style was largely regarded as positive by the fan community when applied to the anime.
*The Pokémon designs are based on their current and more modern designs, so Charmander's back has no spikes.
===Yellow===
*The final battle between Yellow and Lance now features the titular character and the Elite Four leader unleashing powerful last-ditch attacks at each other when clashing over Cerise Island. Eventually, when power surges over from the other Pokemon down below, Pika manages to unleash a Megavolt that overwhelms Dragonite’s Hyper Beam and defeats Lance.
*Apart from the three Kanto starters, Mewtwo also sends some of its power up to Yellow along Kitty’s thread.
==Legacy==
Pokémon Adventures as an anime soared in popularity
==Trivia==
*The series is rated TV-PG-13 on TV Tokyo.
*The creators of the manga had worked on the anime.
*The Pokémon Company International doesn't dub the anime, due to it being more mature and not needing many censors. Violence is not censored throughout the series. However, there is one particular scene where Green confronts Sabrina, which is indeed censored to some extent (only Green's back is shown during a specific scene). Moreover, the anime also had a PG-13 rating slapped onto it.
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Category:TV Shows
Category:Pokémon (series)
Category:Pokémon TV Shows