Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Game Time: Pokemon (1997)

Japan's Pokemon has been a mainstay on American television for over 15 years, debuting here a year after it launched in its native land.

4 Kids Entertainment made its initial inroads when they imported the series to the US in 1998. Five months after its American debut, Pokemon was picked up by Kids' WB! for its Saturday morning lineup, and the train's been rolling ever since. Currently, the series' latest incarnation airs on Cartoon Network, which acquired the rights a while back.

As with another popular import from Japan, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Pokemon continues even with subtitles added every few years, to coincide with the releases of new collectible card games. However, tournaments aren't quite as prevalent in my neck of the woods, as the most popular card game remains Magic: The Gathering, which has been around a wee bit longer.

I will tell you that I don't follow Pokemon, so there won't be a rating.

Here is the intro for the first season:



Reruns of the original series and other incarnations air on Boomerang on a regular basis if you need a primer.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

That show was WAY better in the past than it is now. Why is it still on?

hobbyfan said...

The simple answer, Steven, is that they still make the collectible card games on which the show is based. As long as they sell, the cartoons will continue.