Monster Rancher (1999–2001) User Reviews

Used to be my favourite show!!!!

[phantom_ship_666 · 8/10 · 31 August 2006]

Hm. This was one of my favourite shows. I honestly don't remember too much about it. I just remember that it had a HORRIBLE time slot, so I'd be up at 5:30 in the morning watching it...that's how much I liked it.

Genki is sucked into a video game where he meets a girl named Holly on a righteous quest to free the Pheonix and defeat the evil Moo (man...what a bad name). Along the way, they are joined by monsters who found it in their best interest to join this quest. I believe the monsters were Hare, Tiger of the Winds (I remember the episode where they met him...that was awesome), Suezo, Golem and Mochi.

The thing that really drew me to this show was the in-depth delving into the characters' minds. Don't get me wrong, I was all into Pokemon and Digimon too, but MR was by far my favourite. Like I said, it was the characters. Digimon and Pokemon are more about the fights, whereas MR was more about the characters. I think it was HIGHLY under-appreciated.

8/10 stars.

cool show

[sevencrazydeflimproaches · 8/10 · 25 June 2006]

I remember this show. I liked it. Compared to other anime out there, it may not seem like much, but I find it to be an entertaining adventure story nevertheless. At the time, I also liked Pokemon and Digimon, but I remember thinking this show was better than both of them. True, the monster designs are a lot more plain than either show, but I still liked this show the best for some reason. When it aired on FOX Family, I was disappointed to see that only 26 episodes were dubbed, but later on in the year they ended up being there, which made me very happy. What surprised me was that the show started out kind of kiddy, but it actually gets darker and more emotional as it goes on. My only regret is that I never got to see the third season. But, anyway, I'd recommend it.

My favorite characters were Hare and Suezo, they were funny, haha!

A good, underrated anime

[elonmusk-is_a_moron · 8/10 · 29 October 2022]

One of the very first anime series made in response to the success of the Pokemon anime, and despite some blatant similarities, Monster Rancher has a more ambitious, adventurous plot: Even when all the promotional material seems extremely light-hearted, the truth is that the series was darker that it seemed at first glance, and had plenty of sad and emotional moments.

I am actually surprised the dub actually keep all the many deaths this show had; I guess that it was because the deaths of the monsters weren't permanent, but still pretty sad, particularly because many of the friends and allies of the main character ended being killed by the villains.

The ending of the first season was surprisingly sad, leaving the fate of the main characters uncertain; fortunately the story continued in a second season with a happier ending.

My favorite of what I call the "rip-off" trilogy.

[Figaro-8 · 2 June 2000]

The "rip-off" trilogy, as I like to call it, consists of "Pokemon," "Digimon," and "Monster Rancher." I had seen the other two and decided, what the heck. This has turned out to be my favorite. I normally don't care for the way the dubbing is handled in shows like these, but here I think the voices work well. The animation in this show puts the other two to shame. There are some FANTASTIC monster creations here! My favorite character is probably Golem, the kind-hearted rock monster voiced by Richard Newman. He is peaceful, yet will fight if he has to. And I just love how he forgets to catch Suezo (the "eyeball monster") after he's been thrown up into the air. What really separates this one from the other series is the fact that our heroes cannot evolve. They are what they are, like it or not, and they must learn to accept each other as such. There are some nice stories in this series. Definitely worth watching.

Good cartoon

[stefanozucchelli · 6/10 · 23 July 2022]

Cartoon done well even if the idea is not very original.

Digimon and Pokemon have been taught too well which keys to tap to appeal to young audiences.

In the early 21st century there was a whole genre dedicated to kids who would catch monsters and then make them fight each other.

I think the best characters were Lilim and General Durahan, two villains who were the best episode of the series in their departure.

A Good Show

[Ginger87 · 10/10 · 5 August 2004]

From what I remember I really enjoyed this show. I watched it on Fox Kids along with "Digimon" and I didn't really find any comparison between the two. My favorite monster characters were Mocchi and Suezo, they are sooo cutee! I also liked Genki and Holly.

My favorite episodes are "In the beginning" since its the episode that started it all. I also liked "Holly's Happy Birthday".

Overall I really liked this series. The action was good, the characters were good, and the anime was good. The only real problem was the dubbing was a little off. But that was O.K.

"Monster Rancher" deserves 10/10 stars and I recommend it to anyone who likes anime.

Better than Pokemon

[ThunderKing6 · 10/10 · 10 July 2019]

Great show because the characters have attitude, personality and aren't corny.

The Animation was great.

The monsters are developed well and you sympathize with many of them. This show has a conclusion unlike pokemon.

Arguably the best of the 'monster battle' anime

[derangedxzombie · 10/10 · 16 August 2023]

I remember watching this in my youth and enjoying it very much, but never saw all of it. Decided to watch it in it's entirety and it is a great show.

It's certainly better than Pokemon, and I'd say only a smidgen better than Digimon. There's an overarching storyline which weaves and meanders throughout it's many episodes, with 3 main arcs. The monsters talk like in Digimon which gives them each a lot of personality; often with their own backstory's. The chemistry between them all is well thought out and entertaining, and the show actually manages to make me laugh at times all these years later, whether with silly humour or slightly more adult. The VA or English dub is also great.

The show is aimed at a teen demographic, which means character's calling enemies 'baddies' is irksome now I'm not a teen anymore. But with the humour, layered enough writing and ability to even make the viewer feel sad in one masterfully done episode (ep 49) this is still a great show decades later.

Well written, fun and wholesome. 10/10.

Lord of the rings...only with cd disks

[rdatsun · 7 September 2003]

Was this show ever the black sheep. The third to what I like to call the "Monster Wars" Monster Rancher was a very underappreciated anime that either went unlooked as it was syndicated at the time or Fox Kids just wouldn't give it the time of day due to its Digimon hype.

Th story is pretty simple. Taking the basis from Captain N (another video game inspired/marketng show) Hyperactive Genki recevies a beta game he won from a video game tournament. But upon trying it out, he is literly sucked into it and finds there a real world inside. And its in danger thanks to a evil monster name (wait for it) Moo. The only hope being a young girl (Holly) and her childhood monster Suazo as they quest to find the Phiniox, the only monster who can stop him. Genki joins them ,of course, and along the way they run into other monsters they come across that join their cause.

The animation is pretty standard anime and nothing to write home about. But the storyline more then makes up for it. The one thing I loved about this show was it energy (which ironicly enough was what Genki's name stood for) and the fact that everything was straight forward and more over character driven rather then rely on too much on a gimmick. The battles this motly grew of rebels get into are very fun to watch and you really can't help but root for their uphill fight to overthrow Moo and his evil army.

I'll admit it stumbles in it second season (plus the ending was kinda lame) but it had a good run none the less. It just a shame we didn't get to see it's third season due to lack of intrest and it being taking off the U.S airwaves for good. But in my eyes, this is one of he best anime I've had the pleasure of viewing. Those who been on their Pokemon and Digimon high horses while this was in run and didn't know of its presence. Check it out on one of the few video or dvd out there and see what you've been missing. As the song goes "Monsters Rule!"

I LOVE this show!

[Ivan Ravenous · 8 October 2000]

When people review Monster Rancher, Digimon, and Pokemon, they nearly always compare the three. It's kind of hard not to, so I will too.

But first, just about MR. This is the opposite of a normal cartoon. Instead of a bunch of action and whatnot, most of each episode centers on the characters and their feelings, emotions, motivations and interactions. No character is what he seems, and the creators do an incredible job of making the characters seem not just _deep_ but like bottomless wells of personality and history.

Now the comparisons: except for the inclusion of monsters, Monster Rancher is not like Digimon or Pokemon in any way. The animation is better than both other 'mons (in my order, Pokemon's animation is horrible, Digimon's is pretty good, and Monster Rancher's is great). As for story, I don't watch Pokemon enough to know completely, but I've seen a few episodes and it seems like a run-of-the-mill children's cartoon. Digimon is great because it actually has a continuous story and characters that I give a c**p about. Monster Rancher, though, goes beyond even Digimon in regards to characterization, which makes the show such a joy to watch.

Surprisingly good for a property based cartoon.

[Dr Wily · 14 March 2000]

Most property based animated series basically just serve as half hour commercials for toys. "Monster Rancher," while it does serve that purpose, rises above what you'd expect given that. Unlike "Pokemon," which is insipid, and "Digimon," which is derivative of the latter, "Monster Rancher" rests its strengths in strong, character development scripts.

Except for a few stereotypes like "Star Wars" familial elements and the brooding, loner type with attitude, the majority of episodes have, thus far, been fine essays reaching into the minds of characters we would normally not care about. Whereas one would expect a character to be chosen from the video game to use as a plot device, the plot device is instead the motivation for the character, rather than motivation being revealed as an afterthought to spur on the plot.

So far, there's only one season of episodes. But, if there are more, and if the same attention to character detail is maintained, this series should prove to be quite enjoyable, despite a few minor stereotypes.

Can Genki and Co. find the Phoenix and stop Moo?

[the_snarf · 1 January 2000]

Genki is the Champ of Playstation's 'Monster Rancher' but finds the game more challanging when he's sucked inside of it. It seems the world within his game is in some serious trouble. The evil Moo has been unlocked from his disk and is slowly taking over their world. The only monster with the power to turn the bad monsters ("Baddies") back to "Goodies" is the legendary Phoenix, and Holly, with her power to control the magic stone points the way for Genki and their monster friends Tiger (a wolf out to save his brother), Moochi (a brave little guy), Golem (the giant rock monster afraid of water), Suezo (the eyeball who goes where Holly goes) and Hare (a tricky rabbit out to steal their golds.) But in order to unlock the Phoenix, Genki and his team will have to battle against Moo's Big Bad Four, black dino squads, the jells, and harsh land. Can they do it, and restore peace to the land...?

Just as bad as "Pokemon", and "Digimon".

[dootuss · 11 December 2002]

I don't care if people criticize me or not on my viewpoint of this show or not, I'm just going to say it right off the bat: THIS SHOW SUCKS!

That's what I said. I think this show sucks. It's based on the "Monster Rancher" game made for Playstation (once more they're trying to make more money off of another dumb fad). Anyways, this show stars this kid who I believe gets sucked into the world of "Monster Rancher" when he was PLAYING the game!!! Anyway, he befriends this girl, and all of these really dumb monsters like characters like that eyeball creature, and the rock guy. Of course, that's an improvement from the other 2 stupid shows like "Pokemon", and "Digimon", but still I think the so-called "Monsters" on this show are stupid.

Overall this show stinks and it gets a 0/10.

Lackluster.

[Sezril · 4 January 2004]

When I had first heard of Monster Rancher, the show, I was really hyped up for it. Being a big fan of the games and all, I thought it'd be the next best thing.

I was wrong.

The show is about a boy named Genki who gets trapped in another world full of monsters and battlers alike. He meets up with Holly, a generic, giraffe-necked companion. Now, Holly was in the video games. Genki wasn't. After a few episodes, it became apparent this show wasn't going the same way as the video games, in which the point is to get a monster, raise it, battle it, get money, and build your farm. In the show, the boy, 'Genki' wandered around aimlessly, doing nothing worth mentioning.

It's obvious this show was Tecmo's idea of cashing in on the Pokécraze, and it didn't work all too well.