Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back—Evolution

Volluble Essential

劇場版 ポケットモンスター ミュウツーの逆襲 EVOLUTION

Anime2019Finished

Overview

Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back—Evolution matters as a full-CGI reworking of a landmark Pokémon film, bringing its questions about identity, creation, and the uses of power into a modern visual style. Its 98-minute format keeps the experience focused, balancing creature battles and adventure with a surprisingly reflective emotional core.

Viewers can expect accessible action, recognizable Pokémon appeal, and a story shaped by ideas about nature, humanity, and self-worth. It is an approachable choice for younger audiences and newcomers, while viewers familiar with the earlier film may appreciate comparing its updated presentation with the original.

Synopsis

Researchers use a fossil from the Mythical Pokémon Mew to create Mewtwo, a powerful living weapon intended for destruction. After awakening and learning about its artificial origins from Dr. Fuji, Mewtwo begins to question the purpose imposed on it and turns against the humans who brought it into existence.

As Mewtwo seeks revenge, Pokémon and their trainers are drawn into a dangerous confrontation shaped by competing ideas about identity, natural life, and the right to control living beings. The conflict places Mewtwo's resentment and formidable abilities at the center of a battle that challenges both Pokémon and humans.

Trailer

Should You Watch It?

Watch it if you enjoy

  • Choose this for a focused 98-minute Pokémon movie with creature battles, adventure, and accessible themes about identity and self-worth.
  • Try it if you want a modern full-CGI reworking of Pokémon: The First Movie, with no need to follow a long series first.

It may not suit you if

  • It may not suit viewers seeking a new sequel, since it retells the earlier film rather than continuing its story.
  • The updated full-CGI presentation may feel less appealing to viewers attached to the original film’s visual style.
Volluble Test Drive Watch the movie About 1 hour 38 minutes

The primary starting work is a movie, so the full film is the natural Volluble Test Drive. This gives you the complete story instead of applying an episodic trial to a feature-length work.

Why It Connects With Audiences

Why people love it

  • Mewtwo’s conflict gives the adventure a reflective emotional core centered on creation, freedom, and the uses of power.
  • The self-contained format combines recognizable Pokémon appeal with action, comedy, fantasy, and a clear central premise.

Common criticisms

  • As a remake, it offers limited narrative novelty for viewers already familiar with Pokémon: The First Movie.
  • Its compact movie structure may leave some philosophical and emotional ideas less developed than a longer series could allow.

Volluble DNA

A quick profile of the title’s dominant storytelling ingredients.

Action
80
Comedy
35
Emotion
75
Mystery
30
Romance
0
Horror
20
Philosophy
70
Anime/Manga Convention Intensity
75
Characters and Voice Actors25 characters

Satoshi

Main character
  • Japanese: Rica Matsumoto
  • English: Sarah Natochenny

Kasumi

Main character
  • Japanese: Mayumi Iizuka
  • English: Michele Knotz

Takeshi

Main character
  • Japanese: Yuuji Ueda
  • English: Bill Rogers

Pikachu

Main character
  • Japanese: Ikue Ootani

Mewtwo

Main character
  • English: Jay Snyder
  • Japanese: Masachika Ichimura

Mew

Main character
  • Japanese: Kouichi Yamadera

Musashi

Supporting character
  • Japanese: Megumi Hayashibara
  • English: Michele Knotz

Kojirou

Supporting character
  • Japanese: Shinichirou Miki
  • English: James Cathcart

Nyarth

Supporting character
  • Japanese: Inuko Inuyama
  • English: James Cathcart

Joy

Supporting character
  • Japanese: Chika Fujimura
  • English: Alyson Leigh Rosenfeld

Sakaki

Supporting character
  • Japanese: Kenta Miyake
  • English: Ted Lewis

Junsa

Supporting character
  • Japanese: Chinami Nishimura

Sorao

Supporting character
  • Japanese: Hiroshi Kamiya
  • English: Ted Lewis

Sweet

Supporting character
  • English: Lisa Ortiz
  • Japanese: Ayane Sakura

Umio

Supporting character
  • Japanese: Hiroyuki Yoshino
  • English: James Cathcart

Voyager

Supporting character
  • English: Lisa Ortiz
  • Japanese: Sachiko Kobayashi

Raymond

Supporting character
  • Japanese: Raymond Johnson

Narrator

Supporting character
  • Japanese: Unshou Ishizuka
  • English: Rodger Parsons

Togepy

Supporting character
  • Japanese: Satomi Koorogi

Fuji Hakase

Supporting character
  • Japanese: Minoru Inaba
  • English: Billy Bob Thompson

Koduck

Supporting character
  • English: Michele Knotz
  • Japanese: Rikako Aikawa

Fushigidane

Supporting character
  • Japanese: Megumi Hayashibara

Lizardon

Supporting character
  • Japanese: Shinichirou Miki

Zenigame

Supporting character
  • Japanese: Rikako Aikawa

Rokon

Supporting character
Production and Staff27 credits
Animation StudioOLM
Animation StudioSprite Animation Studios
Original CreatorSatoshi Tajiri
DirectorKunihiko Yuyama
DirectorMotonori Sakakibara
Sound DirectorMasafumi Mima
MusicShinji Miyazaki
Theme Song Performance (ED)Shouko Nakagawa
Theme Song Performance (ED)Sachiko Kobayashi
Theme Song Performance (OP)Rica Matsumoto
ADR Script (German)Olaf Miedl
ScriptTakeshi Shudou
View all 15 additional credits
ADR Director (German)Daniela Arden
ADR Director (Latin American Spanish)Miguel Ángel Leal
ADR Theme Song Performance (Polish: OP)Jarosław Budnik
ADR Theme Song Performance (Polish: OP)Mirosław Wieprzewski
Theme Song Performance (Norwegian; OP)Even Bergan
Theme Song Performance (Norwegian; ED)Jannike Kruse Jåtog
Theme Song Chorus Performance (Norwegian; ED)Emilie Christensen
ADR Director (Norwegian)Lars Dolva
ADR Director (Castilian Spanish)Amparo Valencia
ADR Script (Castilian Spanish)Rosa Pérez Pedero
ADR Theme Song Performance (Polish: OP)Izabela Dąbrowska
ADR Theme Song Performance (Polish: OP)Kamil Bijoś
ADR Script (Polish)Anna Wysocka
ADR Director (Polish)Adam Łonicki
ADR Sound (Polish)Adam Łonicki

Production Background

Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back—Evolution is a 2019 Japanese animated fantasy film directed by Kunihiko Yuyama and Motonori Sakakibara. It was produced through the combined animation work of OLM, OLM Digital, and Sprite Animation Studios, using computer-generated imagery for its presentation.

The film is a CGI remake of Pokémon: The First Movie, released in Japan on July 12, 2019. It has a 98-minute runtime and became available worldwide through Netflix on February 27, 2020.

Franchise Context

Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back—Evolution is a 2019 feature-length entry in the Pokémon anime film series. It is the franchise’s twenty-second anime movie and is set during the period covered by Pokémon: Indigo League, placing it alongside the early television adventures rather than after the later film installments. As a single 98-minute movie, it is a self-contained part of the broader Pokémon screen franchise.

This film is a full CGI remake of Pokémon: The First Movie, released in 1998, rather than a new sequel or a spin-off. Its place in the franchise is therefore best understood as an alternate visual version of an established movie story, with the same central premise revisited through updated computer animation. It was released theatrically in Japan in 2019 and later distributed worldwide through Netflix. Viewers can approach it independently, while watching the earlier film offers a direct comparison between the original presentation and this remake.

Where This Fits in Pokémon

A spoiler-light guide to where this exact work fits within the broader Pokémon franchise.

  1. Step 1
    Start with Pokémon: Indigo League for the surrounding anime context, since this story takes place during that period.
  2. Step 2
    For the earlier version of the same story, watch Pokémon: The First Movie (1998) before comparing it with this film.
  3. Step 3
    Treat Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back—Evolution as an optional CGI remake and alternate retelling, not a required sequel to the original film.
  4. Step 4
    No specific follow-up is established by the supplied record, so continue with the wider Pokémon anime according to your preferred series order.

Franchise Path

  1. Pokémon: The First Movie (1998) — watch as the original version before this CGI remake.

After You Finish

Continue with

  • Continue with the wider Pokémon anime; no direct follow-up is established for this self-contained film.

Community Verdict

Quick reader and viewer signals from the Volluble community.

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Sources2 sources
  1. AniList - Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back—Evolution
  2. Wikipedia: Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back – Evolution

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