History YMMV / PokemonGenesectAndTheLegendAwakened

* WhatAnIdiot:
** Mewtwo's creators. The brain trust capable of finding Mew DNA and using it to create their own identical Mewtwo, [[ContrivedCoincidence with seemingly no idea one already exists]]... also decides to [[BullyingADragon electrocute it for no clear reason]]. And somehow, they didn't expect its incredible psychic power (that they would've known about!) to be used against them. That they somehow managed to survive afterwards (as briefly mentioned in the prologue special) is the real miracle here.
** Team Plasma's just as guilty; while it's unclear if the Red Genesect's mind control over the other Genesect is a natural ability of it or a result of Team Plasma's enhancements, one has to wonder what made them so sure this ability wouldn't backfire on them. If the ability is a Plasma-made addition, then they're even bigger idiots for putting it into their superweapon while also neglecting to use a similar system to control the Red Genesect itself!

* AngstWhatAngst: The Genesect Army don't seem to mind being cybernetically altered to the point of being a new species, nor do the majority of them mind [[FishOutOfTemporalWater being off from their home by about 300 million years]].

* AngstWhatAngst: While Mewtwo somewhat averts this, the Genesect Army don't seem to mind being cybernetically altered to the point of being a new species, nor do they (well, four out of five) mind [[FishOutOfTemporalWater being off from their home by about 300 million years]].

* TearJerker: A positive example, namely the ending part in which Mewtwo thanks Ash, Iris and Cilan for their help, accepts their friendship offer and promises to remember them now and forevermore before leaving. Ash, Iris and Cilan wistfully hope that they will meet again someday. Doubles as a [[HeartWarming Heartwarming moment]]

* AuthorsSavingThrow:
** After the backlash against this movie's Mewtwo, other ''Pokémon'' media gradually phased in and emphasized [[WritingAroundTrademarks a characterization closer to]] the original Mewtwo's while never returning to this one's, such as in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros for 3DS/Wii U''.
** Because of how Mewtwo was handled, this movie was also seen as the epitome of the anime refusing to acknowledge its past and adhere to any sort of canon beyond a superficial level. Subsequent anime episodes and movies would include more nods to the past, culminating in Misty and Brock reappearing for a two-parter in the ''Sun and Moon'' series. When ''Anime/PokemonIChooseYou'' was released and featured many story alterations and character replacements, it was outright stated to be an AlternateContinuity, presumably to avoid a repeat of this movie's controversy.
** Speaking of that alternate continuity, the teaser for [[Anime/MewtwoStrikesBackEvolution the 22nd movie]] goes out of its way to showcase Mewtwo's original seiyuu, Masachika Ichimura, reprising his role as at least an alternate version of the original Mewtwo and reciting that version's lines, nailing the coffin on Mewtwo's "new image".
** Additionally, the well-beloved Mewtwo from the first film makes a grand return to the main series in ''Anime/PokemonJourneysTheSeries'', even having a major battle against Ash and Goh.

* FanficFuel: A pretty popular concept is to have this Mewtwo meet the original and battle against him or team up with him, or even to ship both Mewtwos, as the original Mewtwo attests on his [[SelfDemonstrating/{{Mewtwo}} SelfDemonstrating page]].

* OvershadowedByControversy: While many remember the original Mewtwo for being a stone cold badass villain, most that think of this Mewtwo will think of the controversy it generates ''just by virtue of its mere existence''. While not a video game like the others, the movie was often lumped together with its contemporaries ''VideoGame/MetroidOtherM'' and ''VideoGame/PaperMarioStickerStar'' as an example of a Nintendo franchise and its characters being horribly mishandled.

* OvershadowedByControversy: While many remember the original Mewtwo for being a stone cold badass villain, most that think of this Mewtwo will think of the controversy it generates ''just by virtue of its mere existence''.

** Mewtwo's portrayal in the manga adaptation is slightly better than in the original movie, since (much like Super Saiyan Trunks in ''Anime/TheHistoryOfTrunks'') its transformation into Mega Mewtwo Y is depicted as a major event that only happens partway into the story and elicits awe from the cast, and not something it does without issue from the very start with [[UnusuallyUninterestingSight no comment from anyone]]. The lack of voice acting also makes it easier to pretend it's the original Mewtwo and not a brand new one, if readers are so inclined.

* NeverLiveItDown: The controversy generated by this movie's Mewtwo damaged the reputations of the anime, its writers, and especially director Kunihiko Yuyama (the one who thought of -- and decided on -- the idea to start with) with many fans, although Mewtwo's reputation as a whole was eventually repaired by the re-introduction of Mewtwo's old characterization to the franchise.

* ScapegoatCreator: People often blame screenwriter Hideki Sonoda for the existence of the second Mewtwo (leading to him locking his Twitter account for a time after the movie's release). In reality, director Kunihiko Yuyama confirmed the decision was his on an episode of ''[[Series/PokemonSunday Pokémon Smash]]''. Years later, [[https://www.pokebeach.com/2019/07/mewtwo-strikes-back-evolution-impressions-changes-and-sequels the truth came out]] that Yuyama's decision, in turn, was made [[ScrewedByTheLawyers due to legal issues with Takeshi Shudo's estate]], ultimately meaning no-one was at fault to begin with, but just a cavalcade of circumstances beyond anyone's control.

* Tearjerker: A positive example, namely the ending part in which Mewtwo thanks Ash, Iris and Cilan and accepts their friendship offer and swears to remember them now and forevermore before leaving. Ash, Iris and Cilan wistfully hope that they will meet again someday. Doubles as a [[HeartWarming Heartwarming moment]]

* Tearjerker: A positive example, namely the ending part in which Mewtwo thanks Ash, Iris and Cilan and accepts their friendship offer and swears to remember them now and forevermore before leaving. Ash, Iris and Cilan wistfully hope that they will meet again someday. Doubles as a [[HeartWarming moment]]

--> '''Mewtwo:''' On this planet, all Pokémon are friends. You are my friend.\\

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Invoked; [[http://dogasu.bulbagarden.net/movies/bw_genosect_mewtwo/extreme_speed_genosect_awakening_mewtwo_director_yuyama_comment.html the director wanting to make a new image for Mewtwo is his rationale behind the use of a different one from the pre-existing character]]. As one can see below, his "[[LighterAndSofter new image]]" [[ReplacementScrappy wasn't exactly popular]], [[InformedAttribute nor did it amount to much difference]].

* SnarkBait: Fans often mock Douse Drive Genesect's "cute" voice and personality, as well as the nature of the Genesect Army as "not evil, just misunderstood" - which is a major cliché of the ''Pokémon'' movies at this point.

* BaseBreakingCharacter: Yeah, this Mewtwo practically splits fans into armies. You have those who don't mind or even ''prefer'' the second Mewtwo, those who utterly ''despise'' it and perceive it as an inferior replacement for the original, those who have no problem with Mewtwo itself but take issue with the manner in which its backstory was handled/presented... put simply, there is no common ground fans share regarding it.

* ToughActToFollow: Both in comparison to ''Anime/PokemonKyuremVSTheSwordOfJustice'', which is widely appreciated compared to other recent movies/episodes, and with [[Anime/PokemonTheFirstMovie the first movie]], due to the whole Mewtwo debacle. Coincidentally, it is one of the lowest grossing Pokémon movies in Japan.[[note]]Still, considering how well Pokémon movies typically do, this isn't saying much.[[/note]]

* SpecialEffectFailure: Alongside some [[ThreeDEffectsTwoDCartoon rather unconvincing 3D models of some Pokémon]], when the inhabitants of Pokémon Hills flee, some of them ''run straight down a wall, completely defying gravity''.

* AnimationAgeGhetto: The ''Pokémon'' animé's adherence to this trope is believed to be one reason why a new Mewtwo was created in the first place. Compare to Takeshi Shudo explaining that he made [[Anime/PokemonTheFirstMovie the original Mewtwo's movie]] to appeal to both children and their parents (at least in Japanese) - considering this, it makes perfect sense that the older fans would prefer the original Mewtwo.

--> '''Mewtwo:''' On this planet, all Pokemon are friends. You are my friend.\\

* ToughActToFollow: Both in comparison to ''Anime/PokemonKyuremVSTheSwordOfJustice'', which is widely appreciated compared to other recent movies/episodes, and with [[Anime/PokemonTheFirstMovie the first movie]], due to the whole Mewtwo debacle. Coincidentally, it is one of the lowest grossing Pokémon movies in Japan.[[note]]Still, considering how well Pokemon movies typically do, this isn't saying much.[[/note]]

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: The existence of a second Mewtwo isn't ''necessarily'' a bad a thing, and many people even believe a feminine Mewtwo heroine to be a cool concept in theory, but the film botches her character by making a her a gender-flipped [[RecycledScript rehash]] of the original in both backstory and personality. Had she had a different personality (like making her a {{Foil}} to the original by having her be friendly to humans), and a back-story that wasn't [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute the same as the original Mewtwo's]], there's a good chance she wouldn't have gotten the hate she did. Additionally, just like with ''Film/Ghostbusters2016'', any notion of this new, feminine Mewtwo gaining respect as a strong female(-behaving) protagonist was completely quashed by the movie's utter disregard and disrespect for the original material and its questionable quality in general, whereas some sort of respect and connection to the original Mewtwo (such as depicting the new Mewtwo as its cloned "daughter" or "sister") would have sufficed. The watered-down sameness of the new Mewtwo further comes into question in light of The Pokémon Company not actually owning the rights to the original Mewtwo, as skewing so dangerously close to re-using anime-exclusive material they don't own makes less sense compared to [[ShowDontTell actually]] "creating a new image" for the species.

* SpecialEffectFailure: Alongside some [[ConspicuousCG rather unconvincing 3D models of some Pokémon]], when the inhabitants of Pokémon Hills flee, some of them ''run straight down a wall, completely defying gravity''.

* MostAnnoyingSound: "I want to go home." Not so bad on its own, but take the Douse Drive Genesect's voice (with its huge heaping of VocalDissonance), and have it be said ''repeatedly'' by that character to the point where it comprises almost 80% of its dialogue, and it can be this. To paraphrase [[WebVideo/RedLetterMedia Mr. Plinkett]], Genesect should never say the phrase "I want to go home." [[Series/SesameStreet Or "Snuffleupagus."]]

--> '''Mewtwo:''' On this planet, all Pokemon are friends. You are my friend.
--> '''Red Genesect:''' Everyone on this planet... is my friend.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Invoked; [[http://dogasu.bulbagarden.net/movies/bw_genosect_mewtwo/extreme_speed_genosect_awakening_mewtwo_director_yuyama_comment.html the director wanting to make a new image for Mewtwo is his rationale behind the use of a different one from the pre-existing character]]. As one can see below, his "[[LighterAndSofter new image]]" [[ReplacementScrappy wasn't exactly popular]].

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: The existence of a second Mewtwo isn't ''necessarily'' a bad a thing, and many people even believe a feminine Mewtwo heroine to be a cool concept in theory, but the film botches her character by making a her a gender-flipped [[RecycledScript rehash]] of the original in both backstory and personality. Had she had a different personality (like making her a {{Foil}} to the original by having her be friendly to humans), and a back-story that wasn't [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute the same as the original Mewtwo's]], there's a good chance she wouldn't have gotten the hate she did. Additionally, just like with ''Film/Ghostbusters2016'', any notion of this new, feminine Mewtwo gaining respect as a strong female(-behaving) protagonist was completely quashed by the movie's utter disregard and disrespect for the original material and its questionable quality in general, whereas some sort of respect and connection to the original Mewtwo (such as depicting the new Mewtwo as its cloned "daughter" or "sister") would have sufficed.

** Following the movie's release, many hoped that a story (be it an animé special, arc, or multi-part episode) involving this Mewtwo meeting the original Mewtwo (now with the ability to become Mega Mewtwo X) would be made as a justification for creating a second Mewtwo over having the original return. Outside of a very brief cameo in the first ''Mega Evolution'' special's intro, neither Mewtwo -- Mega or otherwise -- made an appearance, and with the conclusion of the ''XY'' series (and Mega Evolution's perceived relevance), it's very possible they never will.

* AudienceAlienatingPremise: Mewtwo returning with a new SuperMode to fight an army of creatures similar to how it originally acted sounds awesome... until the detail of it being a second Mewtwo altogether pops up, at which point most will question how such a thing is even possible, given the original's backstory and the second one's comparative lack of one.

** After the backlash against this movie's Mewtwo, other ''Pokémon'' media gradually phased in and emphasized the original Mewtwo's characterization while never returning to this one's, such as in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros for 3DS/Wii U''.

* ScapegoatCreator: People often blame screenwriter Hideki Sonoda for the existence of the second Mewtwo (leading to him locking his Twitter account for a time after the movie's release). In reality, director Kunihiko Yuyama confirmed the decision was his on an episode of ''[[Series/PokemonSunday Pokémon Smash]]''.

* InternetBackdraft: This movie's reaction can be summed up as: "what if DarthWiki/DarthVader was confirmed to return for ''Franchise/StarWars'' [[Film/TheForceAwakens Episode VII]], and was then revealed to be a much shallower, female, heroic SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute with Anakin Skywalker not being mentioned at all?" In this case, the InternetBackdraft was so big that [[http://ddrsmashsister14.deviantart.com/journal/My-Thoughts-on-the-Yuyama-Mewtwo-Scandal-392076756 the director and writers had to lock their Twitter accounts after fans kept questioning them on the new Mewtwo]].