Monster Rancher anime

Transport your mind back to the late 90's when monster-battling shows and games burst onto Western shores. Pokémon had gained significant foothold in 1996 with its first pair of games, Red and Blue, with an accompanying anime that was released just two years later. This, too, proved to be extremely popular. But wait! There was also Digimon, another monster-battling cartoon that also started airing in America in 1998. Parets at the time could barely distinguish between them but the kids knew. Both anime shows proved to be big hits but another slipped underneath the proverbial radar - that of Monster Rancher.

 

If you don't know what the heck Monster Rancher is, then all is forgiven. It is a monster-battling simulation videogame that, while having attracted a cult following of sorts, hardly ever reached the phenomenal success of its peers, particularly in the West. The games are highly underrated and are well deserving of a play if you ever get around to it. But alongside these underrated games came a similarly underrated anime adaptation. The series began airing in 1999 in the West and followed every imaginative child's dream. Genki is a sprightly ten-year-old (his name literally means 'energy' in Japanese) who is unwittingly transported into the world of his fantasy monster videogame. Here, he teams up with a human girl, Holly, and a group of monsters to find the mystery disk needed to summon the Phoenix which is the only monster who can seal away the evil lord Muu forever. Predictably in a series such as this, Genki and his new friends will have to travel all over the Monster Rancher world and encounter trials and tribulations along the way. As Genki himself would say, "Aw, yeah!"

 

The series setup, as has already been noted, is familiar if you've seen Pokemon or Digimon. Genki and co. travel from place to place, encountering new friends and a 'villain of the week' monster. There is some difference to the other monster-battling anime in that it isn't merely the monsters who do the fighting - the humans actually join in this time around. Genki, in particular, chooses to do battle in his yellow Rollerblades and from the moment he does this, it makes him such a lovable character. He starts out the series as a typically impulsive, brash ten-year-old kid who gradually develops into a mature young man capable of critical thought and strategy. The cool thing is that he is no exception - every one of the seven main cast members receive appropriate development throughout the series. Tiger (ironically named since he looks more like a blue lion) learns to operate in a team as opposed to his 'lone wolf' persona and Moochi goes from being an innocent harmless monster into a monster that can fend and fight for himself and others.

 

Like a great many shows like it, Monster Rancher's animation is either a hit or a miss. Some episodes are really quite well animated whereas other episodes feel like a slideshow, especially where the fights are concerned. But one thing that the series never fails to exhibit is its charm and colour which is evident in every scene. This is further aided by the beautiful soundtrack. Even when the show does descend into some darker moments - and trust me, it does have its darker moments - it shows off even more musical strength with a soundtrack that oozes doom and dread. Perhaps the only downside I can think of is that the music tends to get repetitive after watching for a while as the themes are consistently used.

 

Unlike its contemporaries, Monster Rancher ran for only three seasons. The first and second seasons covered one whole story arc - that is, Genki and his friends' quest to find the Phoenix and stop Muu. The third season continues whee the second left off,with Muu's former right-hand mook, General Durahan, filling in the power vacuum left by his former master, and trying to revive the evil lord once again. Season 3 is decidedly lighter and softer when compared to the first two, since it also introduced coliseum battles which brought a more ambitious, competitive side to the characters that gave little breaks between the world-saving.

All in all, if you missed the Monster Rancher anime the first time around, it is more than deserving of a look. Combine a dark storyline with light-hearted and well-developed characters and you've got yourself a fun and engaging series. All three seasons are available on DVD and can be purchased from Diskotek Media so if you haven't already doen so, buy them already!