DESCRIPTION

CAST

MANGA ComedyPIKMIN GARDEN: Kyou no 4-koma

REVIEWS

• 

  TK8878

  56/100
  Just your typical CG comedy shorts that happen to involve Pikmin.

  

  Spoiler-free review

  Review in brief:

  Pikmin Short Movies will be familiar to anyone who has played the Pikmin series of games (especially Pikmin 2) but non-fans won't get the full experience. I'd only consider watching it if you're a fan of the series already, and even then it's not really recommendable. It isn't bad, but it can't be said to be as clever or whimsical as the games themselves.

  Review in full:

  This is a collection of 3 plot-independent stories involving the titular Pikmin and (to a lesser extent) Captain Olimar. It's suggested that this takes place sometime during the events of Pikmin 2, given the types of Pikmin featured and the presence of the research pod from that game.

  Apparently Shigeru Miyamoto came up with the idea to make these shorts to explore the game's characters in ways that would be difficult in an actual game. Despite this Olimar isn't given any character outside of being the guy directing the Pikmin sometimes. Aside from a couple of enemies and the research pod (who also don't do anything besides the basic role they have in the game) the only characters we're left with are the Pikmin themselves.

  So the exploration is with the Pikmin, right? You could say that, and the shorts definitely focus on them, but there isn't a whole lot of character exploration with them either. After watching you'd be able to make a few bullet points regarding the base characteristics of the Pikmin as a whole, but hardly anything could be said about the individual types. Their basic abilities are shown (and the white Pikmin can spit corrosive acid for some reason) but there isn't any character behind it. A blue Pikmin could wake up as a yellow Pikmin one day and it wouldn't act any different than it had before the change, or at least we'd be led to believe that after watching this. If building characters beyond the games was the purpose of this, then it didn't achieve its goal in the slightest.

  _Nintendo did, of course, take the time to explore Mario references._

  That being said the plots of the episodes themselves, while not amazing, are still enjoyable at a base level. The humor is usually decent and the stories themselves generally make sense (though it's not exactly like the games). There's even a few things that may catch you off guard. It's still nothing worth coming back to though. It also makes references to, specifically, Pikmin 2. If you haven't played that game then these shorts will not resonate fully with you.

  The animation and art quality is pretty good. It's what you'd expect from something Nintendo was involved with and there's some nice touches of detail (like individual Pikmin reactions) if you look hard enough. The music is whimsical but isn't recognizable from the games (which is a shame since they have nice music). The sound consists of a lot of clips straight out of the games, which sometimes fits and sometimes feels low-quality compared to the rest of the presentation.

  Verdict:

  It's a standard series of computerized shorts, containing some of the quirks from the games and some oddities of its own. Nostalgia aside it isn't really special and fails to be anything other than simple humor. As a fan of Pikmin I could enjoy it somewhat, but I don't see a non-fan easily getting as much (or more pessimistically, as little) out of it as I did.

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• 

  AshVolcano

  95/100
  The Pinnacle of Nintendo Charm

  THIS REVIEW WILL CONTAIN MAJOR SPOILERS FOR PIKMIN SHORT MOVIES AND POSSIBLE GAME SPOILERS (WHICH I'LL MARK WITH A ^ AND ELABORATE ON AT THE END)

  (This is my second review) __Story, 7/10__

  Plot Synopsis and Review of Story: "Pikmin Short Movies" consists of 3 short but very charming Pikmin related stories.

  Short #1

  Olimar is seen eating something but unknowingly makes it seem as if he is eating Pikmin. A Blue, Red, and Yellow Pikmin walk in and see Olimar using a Juicer to make fruit juice with the "Pikmin". The 3 Pikmin get terrified and slowly walk back as Olimar approaches them while drooling, and reaching out. The Pikmin imagine what kind of horrific meal they'd be turned into by the Captain Olimar and get backed up into a wall, bracing for impact they hide their faces and Olimar makes the grab.... for some carrots^, we breath a sigh of relief and the short ends. This short is charming yet horrific, and the plot twist at the end was quite alright (not really one if you've played the games though).

  Short #2

  The second short doesn't feature Olimar at all, rather relies entirely on the Pikmin to provide comedy, and it delivers. We follow a Red Pikmin who finds some treasure in a bottle (presumably treasure to get and give to Olimar) and through a series of events ends up stuck inside of the bottle itself. Some fellow Pikmin friends try and help the Red Pikmin, including a Yellow Pikmin using a bomb rock^ to blow up the bottle. However by the end a bunch of Pikmin form a "rope" using the THICC Purple Pikmin as the root and pull free the Red Pikmin. The short closes off with the Red Pikmin on top of the bottle, being carried by other Pikmin, and a THICC Purple Pikmin following. This short is possibly the cutest short as we get to see how Pikmin act with each other while a Captain isn't around.

  Short #3

  This final short is the longest and most gruesome one yet. We see Olimar guiding an army of Pikmin in and around an Earth Bulldozer, getting parts to (presumably) earn money for Hocotate Freight^. We see some Yellows activate electricity and a bit of comedy. Now lets get to the D E A T H S. A White Pikmin (probably) dies by getting launched into space by a THICC Purple Pikmin. A Red and a Blue Pikmin die to a Bulborb attack, and a Blue Pikmin dies to electricity. For a light hearted series, that's quite dark, especially hearing the Bulborb crunch up the Pikmin. It DOES die at the end though, giving us justice. We get to see so many cute Pikmin interactions and at the end we see Olimar make over 1 trillion Pokos^. This was my favorite short in this collection and I had so much fun watching all of the characters' interactions.

  __Characters, 7/10__

  Olimar: We don't really see any development in our intrepid explorer hocotatian Olimar, but he still provides a good characteristic to contrast with the Pikmin. (I wish we could've seen Louie, President, or the Koppaietes though^).

  Pikmin: These lovely little plantimals add so much charm. They are the cutest Nintendo characters don't @ me (I wish Rock and Winged Pikmin made an appearance though).

  __Animation, 10/10__

  Nintendo needs to make things like this more. This 3D animation works PERFECTLY for these shorts and all the surroundings look exquisite.

  __Sound Design,10/10__

  Amazing sound design, all the Pikmin "heave ho" sounds are so cute and the enemies sound great as well. And the Pikmin Death SFX are quite frankly, horrific.

  __Enjoyment, 9/10__

  I wouldn't be making this review for a niche anime/series if I wasn't invested, so if course I enjoyed every second of my time here. I deducted one point because there wasn't a real "story" but that's hardly a problem, Pikmin as a whole always puts a smile on my face!

  __Conclusion __

  This short has so much charm and personality, and lets us dive deeper into the Pikmin's personalities that we couldn't get from a game, if you love Nintendo, and especially if you love Pikmin, you'll love this short series. Also Nintendo give us Pikmin 4.... please.

  Message: Go buy Pikmin 3 Deluxe so that us Pikmin fans can get a Pikmin 4 please, kthxbye.

  Favorite Character: Olimar (He is also the only proper character)
  Favorite OST: The Forest Of Hope
  Favorite Quote(s): "Good", "Great", "Excellent" and "Perfect" (Apparently the Pikmin say these, although not without proper teaching)

  Final Score: 95/100
  Recommendation Level: 5/5 (If you're a Pikmin Fan), 4/5 (If you are not a Pikmin Fan)

  ---

  Thank you very much for reading, please leave any feedback you have on my Profile!

  

  (Game Spoilers/Relations, ^):

  
  ^1: The Carrots were Pikpik carrots which we know are the carrots Olimar named the Pikmin themselves on
  ^2: Yellows were the only ones who could carry Bomb Rocks in Pikmin 1
  ^3: Hocotate Freight is the company Olimar and Louie work for and the company the President runs
  ^4: Pokos are the money system used by the planet Hocotate
  ^5: Louie is Olimar's partner, the President runs Hocotate Freight and is Olimar's and Louie's employer, and the Koppaites are the protagonists of Pikmin 3

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