Hideki Sonoda was a screenwriter for the Pokemon anime. He is most notable for writing the screenplays from Movie 3 to Movie 17. In this section from his blog, Screen Boss, Sonoda talks about the process for writing Movie 5.
I went to see "Guardian Deities of the City of Water: Latias and Latios" on the big screen for the first time in 20 years.
I met up with four youths at a movie theater in Shibuya and we watched it together.
This was the first time I'd watched a movie like this, as part of an event, since I was a college student. (The movie at that time was Star Wars)
I never imagined that, after 20 years, I would have the opportunity to reunite with a movie I wrote the screenplay for.
I would like to express my gratitude to Toho and Pokémon Company, for organizing such a wonderful event.
"Summer is Pokémon!"
For me at one point, that slogan was a source of tremendous pressure.
Writing the script for a big Pokémon movie project comes with the heavy pressure of having to make it a success.
The first Pokémon movie, "Mewtwo Strikes Back," written by the respected screenwriter Shudou, was a record-breaking hit and left its mark on Japanese film history.
The fact that Pokémon movies have continued to this day is likely due to the success of that first film. (Though my own "Pikachu's Summer Vacation" was also released at the same time)
Having taken over from Shudou, I carried the weight of knowing I couldn't afford to fail.
Since the first film's success was so overwhelming, it was only natural that the box-office takings for the second and third films declined.
The film "Latias and Latios," which was screened this time, is the fifth film, and its performance also declined.
(But even though it declined, it still ranked fourth in domestic box-office records)
So I felt some sense of responsibility for that.
Not that it was because of that, but I hadn't seen it since 20 years ago.
This time, it was selected through a fan vote as part of the Pokémon Festival, and I was able to watch it in a wonderful theater, which made me incredibly happy.
Even though the box office revenue was low, the fans were happy.
I felt a sense of relief.
The thing is, even though I wrote the story myself, I had completely forgotten the content. (laughs)
It may be hard to believe that a writer could forget what they wrote, but in my case, I usually forget it right after I write it.
I myself have no idea how that happens.
Perhaps my brain erases the buffer memory to make way for the next project.
Thanks to that, I was able to enjoy the theater experience as if it were a brand-new movie.
But as I watched, parts of it came back to me, and memories from that time resurfaced, giving me a strange sensation.
I've gone on a bit, but I would like to write about my thoughts and feelings this time.
(From here on, I'll be writing from the perspective of a fan.)
In a word, "It was so much fun!"
It was packed with action, romance, friendship, fantasy, empathy, and so much more, making it a truly impressive movie to watch.
I can see why it ranked first in the fan vote.
This is exactly what Pokémon fans wanted to see.
A pure and true Pokémon movie.
Wonderful!
That is all.
Even if I were to write in detail about what I liked, it would just become a movie review, so I will write about what I remembered while watching the movie.
First, I remembered how the movie script was written at the time.
It was customary for legendary Pokémon to appear in every Pokémon movie.
The scriptwriter was first presented with the legendary Pokémon that would appear.
I don't remember exactly, but there were several candidates for the legendary Pokémon, and the production side would assign one of them.
I think I was given the designs of the Pokémon and some of the characteristics.
In this case, it was Latios and Latias.
When they were presented, the names were different. (Perhaps it was a closely-guarded secret, so they were given a code name. Or maybe I didn't know, so I just made up the names and wrote down my ideas)
In the initial plot (an expanded version of the story, a preliminary stage before the screenplay) I submitted, the names were completely different.
Since I don't have much of the data from that time, it's not exact, but I rewrote the plot 17 times.
Including the brainstorming phase, I probably had over 20 meetings with the director.
From there, the actual scriptwriting process began, and the fact that so much energy was invested before even starting to write is evident from this.
Even after the first draft of the script was completed, there were dozens more revisions.
This should give you an idea of how much time I invested in writing the script for this Pokémon movie at that time.
After watching the movie and returning home, I searched through the data I had on hand and found a few of the 17 plots.
Looking at them, I realized that there were ideas that were completely different from the final movie.
There was even a version with male villains instead of the Zanna and Lion thief sisters.
There was also a version with Mewtwo, which surprised me.
In other words, the movie's story was shaped through repeated trial and error.
I have to say, I'm amazed I went through such a difficult process. (laughs)
While the actual work was tough, I can feel the determination of Director Yuyama and Producer Kanda, who stuck with it and refined the story through persistence.
That same Producer Kanda is now in heaven. (presses hands together in prayer)
I truly owe him a debt of gratitude. (tears)
Latias and Latios are younger sister and older brother.
I suddenly wondered why these two were made siblings.
Come to think of it, my works often feature brothers and sisters.
Perhaps because I am the eldest son with a younger sister, I unconsciously wanted to depict that kind of relationship.
Maybe I can understand the feelings a big brother has for his sister.
Looking back, siblings really do appear frequently in my works.
In the past, there were Rom and Leina, siblings from "Machine Robo: Revenge of Cronos."
More recently, there's Valt, Tokonatsu, and Nika, siblings from "Beyblade Burst," as well as Aiga and Naru.
I also tend to feature younger sisters quite often.
(I can already hear the quips about my having a sister complex)
In my earliest memory, there's a scene of me holding my younger sister's hand as we walk down a rural path.
It was probably when I was around five years old.
I was holding the hand of my helpless younger sister.
Walking alone on that country road felt very vulnerable.
For me, it was only natural for an older brother to protect his younger sister.
I think that kind of formative experience is what led me to make the two Pokémon siblings.
There was another thing that surprised me while watching the movie.
Towards the end of the film, there is a scene where a huge tidal wave closes in on the town.
Naturally, this scene brings to mind the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011.
For those who were affected by the disaster, this may be a very painful scene to watch.
The saving grace is that in this film, Latios sacrifices himself to stop the tidal wave.
If only Latios had been there during that disaster...
I realized that Latios might be akin to the prayers of many of those affected by the disaster.
Sometimes, an author's unconscious can capture events that will occur in the future.
Though it may sound presumptuous, I felt that such a thing might have been at play in this film as well.
The town of Altomare was protected by the "Drop of the Heart" placed in the water.
Perhaps that was the same thing that was placed in the water...
Due to a mistake in its use, it went out of control, the town was shut down, and a terrifying tidal wave came...
In this story, the tragedy was averted by Latios's self-sacrifice, and the "Drop of the Heart" was restored.
The story ends with hope.
We, the creators, presented hope to the children who watched the movie, but what about the real world?
Have we truly overcome that tragedy and are we able to hold onto hope now?
I found myself asking such questions.
I hope that Pokémon movies have become a source of hope for many children's hearts.
I thought about that once again.
It had been a long time since I felt such strong emotions after watching a movie.
It was also enjoyable to hear many thoughts from the youths who watched it with me.
This has become a long Note, but thank you for reading it all the way through.