POKEMON - INDIGO LEAGUE: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION on DVD

This release has been out for a couple years, but I figured it was worth talking about, since I just binge-watched a bunch of it, not having seen most of these episodes for years. Viz Media originally issued three individual sets of 3 discs, and then this 9-disc set collecting them all on 10/28/15.

Way back in the day, Viz Media was doing as many companies releasing kids shows to home video would do, just offering a few episode per volume. It wasn't until DVD really took off that you started getting complete seasons and such in single sets. POKEMON unfortunately was one of these; Each VHS/DVD volume usually offered a mere three episodes. Fortunately, after all these years, we get the Indigo League episodes in one big set.

I was a huge POKEMON fan back then, and more of a casual fan now. I still watch the new episodes of the anime as often as possible, I play Pokemon Go, and I also saw the newest movie in a theatre in July when I was in Japan. And I unashamedly admit I had (er, still have) the biggest crush on Misty. But, more about the DVDs...

It should be noted that while it covers the Indigo League, this is technically all of season 1 and then some of 2; The Orange Islands arc comprised the rest of season 2 (available separately). They boast "The Complete Collection" -- this is not exactly true. While it does include virtually the whole run of episodes, it's missing a few of them:

Ep. 18: "Beauty and the Beach". Originally skipped due to questionable content (James in a bikini with inflatable breasts), it was later dubbed/edited and slipped into the Orange Islands arc, only airing once (to my knowledge). Sadly it does NOT appear in the Orange Islands DVD set either.

Ep. 35: "The Legend of Dratini". Never dubbed, and skipped due to gun content.

Ep. 38: "Electric Soldier Porygon". Never dubbed, this was the infamous "seizure" episode, and since its first airing in Japan has been banned even in that country.

Special 01: "Holiday Hi-Jynx". A Christmas special that ran as a regular episode in the US, it has since been "banned" due to the inclusion of the Pokemon Jynx, perceived by some as a racial stereotype.

Two other episodes and another special also are out-of-order, but this is how they originally aired in the US. Otherwise, this set contains "all 78 episodes".

Misty and Pikachu. Because... Misty.

Video is fair, nothing fantastic, looks about as good as you'd expect from 78 episodes of a 90s cartoon crammed onto 9 discs. Sound is good too, you can slightly tell the difference in quality between episodes but still sounds good. There are no subtitles.

There are no true extras to speak of, but the first six or so discs contain the full-length PokeRap at the end of each one, an essential inclusion (the VHS/DVDs of old included this as well). All of the season 2 episodes have their respective Pikachu's Jukebox (mini music videos) included at the end of each.

Packaging is fair; For the box set there three standard DVD cases with 3 discs each, in a flimsy artbox. The art for the packaging and disc menus are the standard and somewhat boring "clipart" images we've come to know over the years of the Pokemon and their trainers. Take the box cover for example, very plain, overused images of Misty and Brock, even though better stock images exist (not to mention, unlike all the other characters, their colors are flat and unshaded). Additionally, one disc uses the wrong season's Ash on the main menu.

Overall, I'd say this is a pretty good release. It's expected that three of the four missing episodes were gone, but the absence of "Holiday Hi-Jynx" is very unfortunate. You can get it at Amazon and other retailers for a really good price.

Currently, Viz has continued releasing classic seasons to DVD, with MASTER QUEST (season 5) due out 10/11/16.