Monster Rancher Episode 1: In The Beginning

Time to start our adventure into the world of Monster Rancher! Battles will be fought, tears will be shed, and awesomeness will ensue. (2014 UPDATE: I now have official releases of Season 1 and 2, so not only can this blog continue, I have replaced every image with its proper coloring so you can see how beautiful this show is. :) )

The episode starts off with the title card, "In the Beginning", displayed over a shot of the sun as seen through a glass window, then a lingering pan over a city, presumably Tokyo. After a few seconds, it cuts to the inside of a stadium and cheering crowd, and stage lights snap on.

We've got Suezo and Pixie floats, and a screen at the back of the arena says "Monster Battle" in the standard Monster Rancher font. (I dunno why they couldn't use the Monster Rancher name, but it was like this in the uncut versions too, so no text is altered here.)

An announcer pops up in front of the screen, mic in hand, as the screen cuts to a tier-style tournament bracket. "And now, with the scores all tied up, the Monster Rancher grand tournament's final battle!"

Sure put a lot of thought into THAT name.

The crowd cheers, and the announcer introduces the tournament players--for the aptly-named Team Big, it's Michael, a heavyset kid with a bad haircut, and for Team Rollers, it's Genki. The camera doesn't show Genki's face, but we do see his legs as he walks up to the stage.

"The final match is between the two team captains," the announcer clarifies, and Genki and Michael shake hands. Michael lets out a "Heh", and Genki's first line of dialogue is "Heh yourself." Feisty.

Product placement is go!

Without further ado, the battle begins, and Genki and Michael grab their Playstation controllers; this is the first shot we see of Genki's face, and it's clenched in determination. The Monster Battle game is pretty much identical to the battles in Monster Rancher 1 and 2.

They must've really raised their LIF stats.

Michael's monster is a Magna, a Golem/Worm, while Genki's is a Pink Eye, a Suezo/Pixie. The show calls Genki's monster a Pink Suezo in dialogue, which, truth be told, is a less awkward name. Both monsters have the maximum HP at 999, and it's a matter of who does the most damage in 60 seconds. A KO is an automatic win.

The two monsters trade blows for awhile, until Michael sees an opportunity for a major attack. "Do it," he cries, pressing the red triangle button. The Magna's body contorts into a stone wheel of doom, smashing into the Pink Suezo and knocking it down for major damage. This could be a setback!

"It's Magna's famous spinning attack with little time left in the game! Things don't look good for Genki," the announcer narrates. The timer ticks away, and Pink Suezo remains on the floor. 10...9...8...7...

The timer continues to tick down (6...5...4..3...) as Genki eyes his monster's moveset and GUTS meter. Suddenly, Lick changes to Eat, and he has just enough GUTS to perform the attack! With a cry of "NOW!" Genki presses the attack button.

With less than two seconds on the clock, Pink Suezo gets up and chomps down on Magna, doing 390 damage and winning the match for Genki. And yes, some battles really do come that close; if a monster attacks as the timer goes out, the attack will finish before a winner is declared.

"Genki pulled it off," the announcer declares, causing the boy to literally jump for joy, with a height about equal to that of Mario's. Confetti falls from the ceiling, and Team Rollers is declared the winner. They head onstage for the prizes, and we can see the other two team members--a girl (I think) and another boy.

They aren't named and don't get any lines, but I think they're interesting background characters if only for what happens to Genki later on--did it happen to them as well? The world may never know.

At any rate, Team Rollers receives the winner's plaques, but Genki in particular receives something special--so special I bet they'd hold a lot more official game tournaments if prizes like this were given out.

"Besides the winner's plaques, Genki's special prize is software so new, it's not even on the market! Monster Series 200X!" (That's pronounced Two Hundred X, not Two Thousand X. Sorry, Megaman fans!)

Genki proclaims this awesome, and the announcer adds "In fact, the software is still in development! But you'll get it first, Genki! Watch your mail!"

Genki cheers alongside his team, totally enthralled in the moment and a big grin on his face. "Yeah, Monster Battle rules! Thank you, everyone! I love being here! Thank you!"

And then, as someone calls his name, it cuts to Genki, half-asleep with his head buried in an English textbook, still mumbling about Monsters. He snaps awake, sheepish. His purple-haired teacher glares at him, and in the uncut version, raps him on the head to stay focused.

Turns out Genki just fell asleep in class; it was just a dream--though the tournament and prize, as we later see, is real.

Genki rubs his head. "Oh boy, that teacher has no imagination," he murmurs, staring out the window.

To him, the city and cherry blossom trees look dull and unexciting. The camera pans across the city as he voices his complaints. "Same old...nothing changes...boring."

Genki brightens as he stares out the window. But just maybe, he thinks, somewhere...

Cherry blossoms are carried by the wind from the trees below and into his field of vision, and the window across the way begins to glow. The blossoms swirl into the window, and when the light fades we see a thriving, old-fashioned village full of humans and Monsters with beautiful waterfalls nearby.

Dinos are ridden as mounts. Golems pull heavy carts; Suezos and Worms stick close to the humans. On a village rooftop, Genki looks out over the place with delight.

I'm here! I'm not dreaming this time. It's real, he thinks, throwing his arms up happily. It's the world of the Monsters!

And then he wakes up, his teacher screaming his name. "What am I supposed to do with you, child," she yells. But Genki's saved from punishment--or, given his attention span thus far, from falling asleep again--by the bell. "Look," he yells, pointing to the clock, causing his classmates to turn.

"Three...two...one..begin!"

At 3:05 exactly, school's let out, and Genki zooms out of the classroom towards home--and his teacher reminds him he forgot his homework. He cuts across streets, pushing past or ignoring passerbys, and makes it to his mailbox.

When he opens it up, he finds mail from MECTO (an anagram of TECMO) addressed to him, with pictures of Monsters for stamps.

Genki reacts accordingly by dropping his books and dancing around with cries of "IT'S HERE IT'S HERE IT'S HERE!"

Deciding the elevator's too slow and that he's not waiting today, Genki races up about 5 flights of stairs to his apartment, barely winded. This says a lot about his enthusiasm and energy; it's boundless and catching.

His unseen mother teases him, asking if he won't even say he's home; he quickly does, and she mentions she has "sweetcakes" for him as a snack.

"Sweetcakes" are a Japanese snack named mochi, which has no real name or food equivalent in English, and they're essentially a rice cake pounded into paste and molded into shape. These particular ones have leaves on them.

Genki devours a sweetcake in one bite, then opens the Monster 200X game case to reveal the CD within; the picture on it is identical to a Disk/Saucer Stone from Monster Rancher 1, vaguely draconic.

 

Then Genki kisses the game about three times, getting icky saliva all over it. In all seriousness, though, this strikes a familiar chord with me because this is EXACTLY how I am when getting a new game or show, even to the point of going "It's here it's here it's here!" just like he does.

"Time to play," Genki declares, popping the disk into his Playstation and turning it on; the disk spins until it's a blur. The MECTO logo appears on the TV, Genki grabs his controller, and the game's introduction begins over a series of what look likes cave paintings--identical to Monster Rancher 2's intro.

Unlike the actual game's text intro, a narrator explains the origins of Monsters:

"Long ago, when the world was still one big continent, a great disaster occurred. The disaster left an emptiness in the world, an emptiness that was soon filled with new life forms." 

"Over time, battles erupted and some of the new life forms were hidden away, imprisoned. Humans were entrusted with their guardianship."

"Many generations have passed, and some of the new life forms have been released. Many more remain hidden, waiting for the moment they will come to life..."

In the actual Monster Rancher 2 game, the backstory is a bit different--a disaster struck the world, so the people prayed to God for help. God created Monsters, but new life forms brought new problems to the people, and, exasperated, He sealed them in disk stones to be unlocked and raised.

These differences will be important literally and thematically later on, but for now it's an interesting contrast.

The Monster 200X logo appears and fades to white, then into a beautiful sunset.

The camera pans across a canyon road, then cuts to a girl and a Suezo running away from something. The camera then cuts behind them and we can see what--or who--is chasing them: an army of Black Dinos, dinosaur monsters. Their Captain wears armor and a helmet.

"Stop," Captain Black Dino roars. "Return the Mystery Disk!"

"Not to you guys. No way," retorts Suezo, turning around and spitting at them as he runs. In-game, Suezos do have a spit attack as a move, and while it's not very powerful it can drain the enemy's GUTS.

The Black Dinos are irritated, but keep charging, and Suezo tries again, spitting directly into the camera--and out of the TV and into Genki's face, knocking him over.

"I could be wrong, but I think I just got spat on," he says in disbelief, but turns his attention back to the game.

"Suezo, hurry," the girl yells. "They're coming!"

They continue running down a very long path towards an ancient-looking temple. "A Shrine," Genki says. "Of course!"

A choice box pops onscreen: Do you want to go to the ruined temple?

"Let's do it!" Genki selects "Yes", and the camera pans across the path and into the Shrine.

Inside the Shrine, the girl and Suezo keep running until they reach their destination--the room where Monsters are unlocked. The girl taps buttons on the pedestal and the Shrine's flames flicker to life, while Suezo warily eyes the room behind them.

A prompt is issued: Insert CD Now.

"Gotta load a CD-Rom," Genki mutters, fishing around for a CD. He finds it, switches CDs temporarily, and it begins to load.

At this point, Genki and the girl's actions are in sync.

Genki puts the Monster 200X CD back in and closes the console as the girl sets the Mystery Disk into a disk-shaped floor indentation.

The girl taps buttons on the pedestal, and the Mystery Disk and Monster 200X CD spin in unison. The unlocking process in-game begins with a pillar of rainbow light, and Genki's controller begins to glow in his hands.

 "UNLOCK!" Genki and the girl yell in unison.

The girl pushes the top of the unlocking pedestal down and Genki presses the confirmation button at the same time.

The disk and CD become one--and then become a hole, which begins to pull at Genki and the things in his room.

Holes in your TV are bad, kids.

Finally realizing something is up, Genki tries to back away, but it's too late.

With a cry, Genki is pulled into the television and transported to the world of Monster Rancher.

Inside the Shrine, it's obvious this isn't a normal Monster unlocking when electricity shoots everywhere and there's an explosion of magenta smoke, forcing the girl and Suezo to shield their faces.

The smoke dissipates, and everything in Genki's room falls down with him--his Playstation, his books, and his rollerblades. Genki himself falls on his butt, and runs around the room yelling "Ow" for a few seconds before bumping headfirst into Suezo, prompting a scream.

"You're a Suezo! You look so real, you almost scared me!"

"If I WASN'T real, could I do this," Suezo asks, offended, and stuffs Genki partway into his mouth. One tickled uvula later and Suezo's on the floor laughing, while the girl just looks confused.

Genki's shocked. "You ARE for real," he says, and turns when the girl asks him a simple question. "Where did you come from?"

He starts to explain about playing a new game software, but before he can properly explain, the girl turns at the sound of voices.

"There they are! Don't try to escape," rasps Captain Black Dino, and he and his army move to corner them. The girl and Suezo begin to run away, the latter picking an astonished Genki up with his tongue to carry him to safety.

The group runs down a hallway but has to immediately turn around due to pursuing Black Dinos, and eventually hides behind a stone slab. "Those were Black Dinos, weren't they," Genki asks. "But they're just a little different from the ones I'm used to seeing."

When the others are skeptical, Genki explains that he knows a lot about Monsters. He doesn't like to brag but he won it all at the Monster Battle! Suezo and the girl don't have any idea what he's talking about.

But there's no time to talk, as they're then spotted by the Black Dino Squad and their captain. Running back into the unlocking room, they're corralled near the center and attacked.

Suezo, the girl, and Genki dodge the Black Dinos' bites and claws, but they don't have any real way of fighting back.

Genki narrowly dodges a tail slash from the Captain, and lands near his stuff that fell with him when he entered the world. And then he sees his rollerblades, and grins.

"Haha! Beat some baddies," Genki cheers. The blades kick up stones and dirt in a neat closeup, and he blades up to the girl and rescues her from a Black Dino's bite, pulling her out of the way and carrying her in his arms.

Genki then jumps over the Black Dinos and towards the entrance, leaving Suezo to bounce after them by himself. "Oh, sure, I'M just an eyeball," he groans. Genki races towards the entrance, and the lighting actually changes as he gets closer to it and the sun outside.

They escape successfully, and it cuts to a starlit field at night in a forest. Genki is happily prancing around and excited about the adventure, but he's the only cheerful one; the girl especially seems down. Suezo calls her by name--Holly.

In Monster Rancher 1, Holly acts as the breeder's assistant, who handles interactions with your Monster. She appears in later games in cameos and as an assistant again in Advance 2.

Suezo tells Holly to not be depressed; you win some and you lose some. Her response is to moan and nurse a headache.

Meanwhile, Genki climbs a tree barehanded, a big grin on his face. He climbs to the top and jumps on the branches, looking around at the beautiful landscape. "Yeah! My dream come true! Wow..."

Genki dances around on the top of the tree for a bit, happily exclaiming about being the champ. At the bottom of the tree, Suezo glances up at him, then to Holly.

"We were hoping for the Phoenix, but then that kid appeared, and I don't blame ya for getting blue."

Genki lands on the grass and looks up at the stars with a smile and shining eyes. I did it, he thinks. I did it, I did it! I knew this place was for real...

Genki springs up and rolls around happily, but Suezo wonders what to do with him. "Nothing to do," Holly says, annoyed. "He's just a kid."

Genki stops up short and turns around angrily. "If there's one thing I can't stand it's people who call me a kid!" Holly's nonplussed and comments that tantrums are a sign of immaturity. "You could be stuck here, kid," Suezo adds. "You should try to make as many friends as you can!"

Genki's adamant that he's not stuck. "I'm a champion Monster player and I'm where the action is, so get used to it!"

Holly's confused, though. "But how could you be playing a game in your world and then all of a sudden end up in ours? It just doesn't make much sense!"

Genki agrees, but that's what happened; he takes out the Playstation as proof. "Is that the game? Show me," Holly asks; Genki tosses it to her and she fumbles the catch.

The Monster 200X CD pops out and she manages to catch that--and stares at it in awe. "A Mystery Disk!"

Genki tells her it's just a CD-Rom, but she corrects him. "In this world it's a Mystery Disk. It may hold the Phoenix." Suezo chimes in with a happy "Moo loses again!"

Genki's puzzled by what they're talking about, and Holly and Suezo are puzzled that he is. "But you're an expert! You just said so," Holly says.

"Well, I am, but I still don't know what you two are talking about." Suezo grits his teeth, exasperated. "What kind of an expert has never heard of Moo!?"

"...Moo," Genki asks.

The camera hard cuts to a pair of glowing red eyes framed in shadow, as Holly narrates.

"No one knows for sure what he looks like, but he's gathering Mystery Disks from everywhere, and he changes good monsters into baddies."

"What for," asks Genki.

"To conquer this world."

It cuts to an army of Monsters with glowing red eyes marching across a field; the skies darken as the camera pans further along and up to show even more of them.

"Conquer the world," Genki repeats. "That's right, just like the ancients did." (This reference will make more sense later on. I think. It could just be a mistranslation. XD)

"That's right! Moo turns goodies into baddies to conquer the world," finishes Suezo

Genki's eyes are teary as he processes this information. "Well, I am the champ, and I say Moo shouldn't be allowed to get away with that! It's just not right."

"Oh, really," snarls Captain Black Dino, stomping into view with his men. The heroes are surrounded; Genki attempts kung-fu poses, but this doesn't work.

So he opts for Plan B: Throw the Playstation at them and run for it; Genki again carries Holly, with Suezo following behind.

"Well, that really worked," Suezo mutters; Genki responds that he tried. "Some champ you turned out to be!"

The Black Dinos continue chasing them, and Genki tells Holly he's headed back to the Shrine.

"Why? What're you gonna do there?"

Genki takes out the Monster 200X CD and says they could give that a shot. "Maybe there really IS a Phoenix inside!"

Holly nods and elaborates more on the Phoenix and what it can do. "Yes, and then he'll change all the baddies into goodies again!"

Suezo says it's worth a try, and the trio head for the Shrine--and rocky platforms over a canyon; this must be the back entrance.

Genki and Holly make it across fairly easily, with Suezo barely catching up--the ledges crumble as they're jumped upon. The Black Dinos halt at the canyon entrance and head around another way.

The ledges are cleared, and the heroes head for the Shrine--with Suezo rolling all the way down the path after a bad jump. Genki smiles and thinks of what the CD can do. I can make my own Monster for real. I'll be able to meet my own Monster!

They reach the Shrine and Holly prepares the pedestal and the Shrine's flames, instructing Genki to set the Mystery Disk in.

Genki sets the CD in, clears out his stuff, and places his own hands on the pedestal mechanism.

"UNLOCK!"

And nothing happens. The CD just floats there, and Genki groans. "Nice going, champ," Suezo mutters...

Then the Black Dinos rush in. "I'm getting very, very tired of this little game. Now hand over that Disk," the Captain snarls.

"Turns out we don't have that particular Disk anymore," Suezo says through gritted teeth. "It disappeared when this boy was unlocked," adds Holly.

The Captain growls. "Nice try, I can see it from here," he adds, and the camera cuts to the floating CD. "Oh, that one's a fake. But you can take it if it makes you happy," Suezo shrugs.

Genki's not about to give up, though. "I want to try again. Let me try, one more time! I can do it! I know I can," he says firmly, clenching a fist.

Holly meets his gaze...and nods, and Suezo is incredulous. She sets up the pedestal again--and the Dinos charge them. But this time they're ready to fight.

Suezo guards Holly while she rummages in her bag and dons a cooking pot helmet, wielding a frying pan. "Uh oh," he warns, "Now you've got her MAD!"

They fight in the foreground as Genki clears his mind. Focus my thoughts. Think only of creating a Monster.

As he focuses, the pedestal begins to glow; the CD begins to spin, and a pillar of light begins to form.

Holly and Suezo are knocked back, and the Captain moves in to attack, the camera showing a scary view of his sharp teeth.

Holly screams, and the camera zooms in and dissolves to Genki.

"UNLOCK," Genki yells, pressing the pedestal down.

The CD's saturated in electricity and disappears into particles. The light grows in intensity, flooding the room, and the Dinos halt their attack to stare."It's the Phoenix," Holly exclaims, and Suezo chimes in with an "Alright, champ!"

Genki stares into the light, a smile on his face. When it fades, there's a soft, circular orange-pink light hovering over where the CD was.

The light hits the floor, bounces...and forms into...

Well....

This.

Totally a Phoenix, guys!

Then the sweetcake armadillo ball grows legs and arms, and sits up.

One...Two...Three...

D'AWWWWWWW!

"Chi," the creature yawns, and Genki steps forward, unsure. "And THIS is a Phoenix?"

It isn't, and the Black Dinos knock them back. "Aww, too bad," one growls.

As the newborn Monster cries "Mocchi, Mocchi hungry!" and such, Captain Black Dino stomps up to him and his cries are silenced.

"Sorry excuse for a Monster, but I am partial to this shade of pink! I think I'll keep it as a pet. I'm your master now, understand," he snarls, picking up the Monster with one claw; it flails and cries in his grasp.

And here we come to what TVTropes calls the Establishing Series Moment: The moment when a show or movie firmly establishes its tone, and, for me, makes you want to follow it to the end.

Let's remember that Genki has just met this Monster. It wasn't what he was expecting--it's definitely not a Phoenix and seems like just a baby. But the Black Dinos are threatening to make it a slave.

Genki roller blades up...

...and kicks Captain Black Dino in the face.

Let that sink in.

Genki kicks a dinosaur in the face to protect a Monster he's just met.

It was at that moment that I knew I was watching ALL of this show.

Reeling from the kick, the Captain stumbles backwards and falls--onto the unlocking pedestal, shattering it.

The electric shockwaves unleashed cause the shrine platform to explode, and the ceiling begins to crumble from the force of the explosion. Time to move!

Genki grabs the newborn Monster, and he, Holly, and Suezo hightail it out of there.

The Black Dinos try to follow, but are buried in the rubble.

The heroes make it out, and it cuts to them all in a beautiful, softly-animated field.

This is the scene where I really noticed how great the animation of this show is. I could take a dozen screencaps from this scene alone. The characters all have fuzzy outlines in the early morning sunrise, and the pale colors of the sky and field give it a dreamy, otherworldly look.

"That was truly awesome, huh," Genki asks, panting. "Not my idea of fun," Holly says, but she looks up when he offers her a hand. The camera cuts to a closeup of Genki. His brown eyes are clear and honest.

"You did pretty good back there," he says with a smile. "You weren't too bad yourself," says Holly.

Genki offers to come with her on her quest. Holly brushes herself off and reminds him that going against Moo is dangerous--is he ready for that?

Genki grins and flexes his muscles. "Allow me to introduce myself! I'm Genki! My name means 'energy' and no one can compare to me! I've got lots and lots of it!"

Holly smiles and extends a hand. "Genki, I'm Holly."

He takes it. "Hey. I'm in!"

The two laugh, and then Suezo cuts in. "But I'm the one you're gonna have to answer to here, Genki, understand--"

"Suezo, right," Genki smirks.

"That happens to be Mr. Suezo to you, kid," the eyeball Monster yells.

But all three of them are cut off at the newborn Monster's giggling.

"You have to give your Monster a name," Holly realizes, and the little guy nods. D'aww.

"Genki the Second," Genki declares. The Monster responds with a negative "Chi."

"Pinky sound good," asks Holly. "Chi."

"Citizen," Suezo tries. "Chi."

The Monster also rejects "Montezuma" (supplied by Genki), "Pinky Peach" (Holly), and "something simple, like Trevor" (Suezo).

Sighing, Genki flops onto the ground as the Monster jumps upward...and the wind blows leaves into his path.
Something stirs in Genki's mind, and the leaves are imagined as cherry blossoms.

"Yeah, that's it," Genki says, realizing what the Monster reminds him of.

Remember these and how they were unable to be properly translated?

"It's Sweetcake," Genki shouts. Holly blinks. "He's sweet," murmurs Suezo.

The little Monster smiles at that. "Chi, chi--Mocchi!," he chirps.

"I guess that's it then--your name is Mocchi," Genki declares, and the two swing around in each other's arms.

"I guess it's Mocchi," Holly says, and Suezo smiles. "Yep, that was my next idea."

"...Sure, Suezo."

The sun rises as Genki and Mocchi play, and the episode closes on a pastel-chalked frame of the two happily swinging each other around.

"My adventure is beginning right now!"