On Gender...

BOM chapter III "Koko wa doko? Boku wa dare? Doushite boku wa? Koko ni iru no?"
BOM chapter IV "Koko wa doko da? Watashi wa dare da?"

As a child in the CD drama, Mewtwo uses the term "boku" to refer to himself, and as an adult, "watashi". Watashi is somewhat formal, which makes sense because Mewtwo speaks in a formal manner, but not overly so. "Watashi" is an appropriate term for self in women of any age, but where a man uses "Watashi", a woman might use "Atakushi". "Boku" is rougher and generally used by young males, though girls can and do use it, often to give a tomboyish or rebellious edge to their speach.

While the issue of Mewtwo's gender is a bit of a moot-point (Pokemon are gendered only when the plot calls for it, and really,what woman have you met you sounds like that?), only the Radio Drama could be confusing, with the baby-voices it employs. That may be the reason "boku" is the word of choice; Ai wouldn't use it ("Watashi wa anata wa ne soba niiru no. Sugu soba."). In fact, when they converse, she says she is human, "Watashi wa ningen", and Mewtwo respondes "Boku wa ningen ka!" (I must be human, too!". The different choice of gendered pronouns clearly illustrates their gender difference early on.

On relationships...

Mewtwo and Ai refer to each other by their given names, attaching no prefix to the name. In English, this is unremarkable. In Japanese, however, this lack of a suffix shows that their relationship is exceptionally close. Observe the following list of common suffixes:

• San -- the general polite suffix used when speaking to or introducing someone one does not know well
  
• Sama -- sometimes translated as "mister", Sama is a term denoting respect or suggesting that the person referred to is of a higher social rank
  
• Dono -- Dono is an older form of Sama, uncommon today, but sometimes seen in a military context.
  
• Sensei -- usually attached to the name of a teacher, or someone is a knowledgeable profession, like a doctor or a politician.
  
• Sempai -- This suffix is used by younger students to refer to their older schoolmates, or to more senior members of an organization they belong to.
  
• Oniisan -- Literally meaning brother, or big brother, Oniisan may be used to refer to someone of a brotherly sort, or a male that is looked up to in a loving, but unromantic, way.
  
• Oneesan -- Like Oniisan, but meaning big sister. Has basically the same meaning as Oniisan. Both terms may be used sarcastically, or insultingly when they are applied in an inappropriate setting.
  
• Chan -- a suffix used for good friends and young children. When the subject is not a small child, "chan" is generally a female prefix. When a male older than six years old is referred to by "chan", the speaker is implying that they have known this boy since he was small enough for this to be the proper title. It can also be used as an insult, suggesting that the boy is girlish or young.
  
• Kun -- Similar to Chan, Kun is the male "friend" suffix, used among peers. It may also be applied to girls and women to imply more respect than "Chan" might. Women in office settings are often referred to with this prefix.
  
• No Suffix -- The lack of a suffix implies an intimate, close relationship in which both parties have decided to discard formalities, or in which one is being rude and overly familiar.

Also, specific to the story, English titles are used for certain people. Sakaki is "Rocketto Dan no Bossu", or "The Rocket Gang's Boss", "Boss of the Rocket Gang". Miyamoto refers to Madame Boss (Onna Boss, literally, Woman Boss) as "Bossu", which may be an indication of their friendship, or simply the title that Madame Boss has requested. Dr. Fuji introduces himself in both English and Japanese. "Doctor Fuji. Fuji Hakase". This may have relevance, or might just imply that he is learned enough to have command of English. His daughter later counts in both languages.

Were Ai and Mewtwo acquaintances or, for lack of a better example, schoolmates, they might refer to one another as "Ai-chan" and "Myutsuu-kun". That they forgo these titles implies that they are very close, both in age and relationship. (Satoshi, Takeshi and Kasumi use no suffixes when speaking to one another, because they are friends). In the film, Joi refers to Mewtwo as "Mewtwo-Sama", meaning that he is her superior and to be respected. Whether this is simply Joi's natural way of referring to a superior or if Mewtwo has chosen to refer to himself this way through her we don't know. In the English version, Joy simply calls him "master".

Parental relationships are also interesting to examine. Ai calls her father "Papa", an English word adopted by the Japanese to illustrate a loving father-child relationship, moreso than "Chichi" or the more formal "Otoosan" would. Upon waking, Mewtwo inquires about his mother and father, using "chichi" and "Haha", the Japanese equivilant of "Mom" and "Dad", rather than more formal options. This is interesting, as Mewtwo speaks somewhat formally otherwise. It would have made sense for him to refer to his perceived parents as "Okaasan" and "Otoosan", which is closer in meaning to "Mother" and "Father". Sakaki also refers to his mother, whom he admires from a distance, as "Haha".

On Miyamoto...

English fans of the radio drama tend to interpret Miyamoto as a tragic figure, likely because, in most cases, they have only the script to go on. When the accompanying audio is supplied, however, it's immediately obvious that Miyamoto is, like her daughter Musashi, largely a comic relief character. Miyamoto refers to herself with the Japanese equivalent of The Royal We. "Miyamoto-chan desu!" she cries, meaning, basically "Miyamoto-dear is here!". "Chan" is a prefix reserved usually for young females, denoting cuteness and closeness. To use it for oneself demonstrates either insufferable ignorance of the language, or a huge ego. When Miyamoto uses it, recording her trip, she is playing the part of a radio star, complete with silly exaggerated voice and fake enthusiasm. As soon as she turns the mic off she begins to speak normally again, and to voice her fears and doubts. When speaking to herself, she uses "Watashi", just as Mewtwo does later. So, we can tell whether Miyamoto is to be taken seriously or not by the way she speaks, taking both inflection, and her choice of pronouns into account

Miyamoto also plays with her voice when addressing her boss, acting first formally, and then, when the boss greets her like a schoolfriend ("Ah! Miyamoto-chan!") responding with equal friendliness. It suggests that both she and the boss are aware that the secrecy and formality of their operations are all a game. When Miyamoto relates the legend of Mew, she uses her "radio voice" and opens the story with "Mukashi mukashi", meaning something like "Once upon a time".

Miyamoto's name comes from two sources. The first is that of the 15th century Samurai, Miyamoto Musashi. Interestingly, the real Miyamoto Musashi was himself raised by foster parents, making the fact that Pokemon's Musashi (Jessie) was raised in a series of foster homes into a clever twist. Our familiar Rocket team, Musashi and Kojiro, are of course named after the famed rival swordsmen. The second possible origin of Miyamoto's name is Nintendo legend Shigeru Miyamoto, for whom Satoshi's rival is also named.

It is interesting to note that Mew only appears to Miyamoto when she is being genuine. She sees the phantom when she thinks of her daughter, marvels at the sunrise and frets about seeing her child through school. Mew abandons Miyamoto when her thoughts turn back to profit. Miyamoto's exile in the mountains is never actually enforced. It seems more likely that she is simply too stubborn to go home until she completes her mission, much like the fool's errand her daughter is on in the television series, attempting through a good eight-plus seasons to capture Satoshi's Pikachuu.

Timelines

Miyamoto talks about her desire to see Musashi through nursery school and kindergarten in the first chapter of Myutsuu no Tanjou, meaning Musashi must be between four and five years old. In chapter two, Miyamoto says that her child is in grade school, and in chapter three she states that Musashi will begin exams soon. The exams she refers to could be the Junior High exams, which determine what level of high school a student will attend, or they could be University Entrance exams. It makes more sense that they would be University Entrance exams, because Sakaki has already stated that it has been eighteen years since Miyamoto's disappearance.

By chapter four of the drama, Miyamoto is talking about Musashi's wedding, implying that her daughter is between twenty-one and twenty-four, the average marriageable age in Japan. At the very end of chapter five, she comments that the daughter she left behind is almost a hag. This sounds very harsh, but it is simply a case of one language having a concept another lacks. Miyamoto fears that Musashi is an "oban", an unmarried woman over twenty-four. This would suggest that Musashi was four years old when her mother left, and is now, at the time of Mewtwo's counterattack, twenty four.

Musashi's age allows us to figure out the timeline of Myutsuu no Tanjou. Sakaki states that, from the current time, it has been twenty years since Mew was discovered. Miyamoto vanishes, and eighteen years pass before the Mew fossil is uncovered once more. That fossil is taken to Dr. Fuji, who is able to create Mewtwo in only one month. We know from Sakaki's account of the drama's events that Mewtwo trained under him for exactly one year. The remaining year, between the fossil's discovery, and Sakaki's training, is flexible. If the fossil was taken immediately to Fuji, Mewtwo spent a year with Ai and in a drugged sleep. If not, then that year is divided between Mewtwo's childhood and the scientific processes that birthed him. At the end of Myutsuu no Gyakushuu, Mewtwo is two years old, disregarding time spent in the "womb".

...On Cultural In-Jokes

There are some aspects of the CD Drama that simply don't make sense without outside knowledge. The puns made by Dr. Fuji and Sakaki, for example, or Miyamoto's references to where she buys her electronics. In its native country, the Pocket Monsters series is funny not only for its self-contained humour, but also for broader jokes about Japanese culture and popular media.

When Miyamoto mentioned purchasing high sensitivity microphones in Akibahara, she is refering to a famous district of Tokyo, populated with shops that specialize in electronics and routinely have excellent sales. Miyamoto makes a series in-joke, also, when she tells the boss "If one asks this and that...". This is the first line of the Rocket-Gang motto. basically, Miyamoto has told the boss to "Prepare for Trouble".

In chapter two of the Drama, Dr. Fuji and Sakaki sing a strange little song about cloning pokemon. Like the famous Lucky Lucky, this song is filled with puns that are very hard to translate. However...

"If we make ourselves a copy of a pokemon with it's genes, then Poke-Poke-Mon-Mon, we have got two Pokemon." Poke-Poke-Mon-Mon would mean "Pokemon squared", which is indeed two.

Sakaki comments that two Zenigame (Squirtle) would make money. This is a pun on the word "Zeni", which can, in certain context, mean "money".

Sakaki also states that even a seedless watermelon can flower now and then. He says this just after Fushigidane (Bulbasaur) is mentioned. the word Fushigidane is a pun, and can mean both "a mysterious seed" and "it's mysterious (or weird), isn't it?".

When Pikachu is mentioned, Fuji brings up "mouse mathematics". Mice breed quickly, therefore, they increase at a fast mathematical rate. The "sparkling, sparkling treasure chest" Sakaki sings about is a pun on the word "Pika", which is a word for sparkling. Pikachu's name roughly translates to "Sparkling and squeaking".

Nyasu's love of round objects, especially the moon, comes up again and again in the Japanese series. The joking song Fuji and Sakaki share states that the moon will shine when Nyasu is cloned. Interestingly, The Clone Meowth seen in the film does indeed remark on the loveliness of the full moon.

On Ai and Dr. Fuji

Dr. Fuji refers to his daughter Ai as being like Halley's Comet. Halley's Comet passes the earth every eighty or so years. It vanishes, but returns predictably. As the original Ai dies, she whispers that she is going to become a star in Heaven. Fuji tells her that she can be a star, so long as she returns to him, like Halley's Comet.

Dr. Fuji reluctantly notes that a human clone lives no more than four years, contained inside a glass chamber, never stepping outside. The number four, "Shi", is a homonym for the word "Death" and is considered unlucky by the Japanese.

Mr. Fuji is the name of a character in the early versions of the pokemon gameboy games, as well as in the Trading Card Game and manga. In the Trading Card Game, Mr. Fuji is a trainer card from the fossil set that allows you to return a benched pokemon and its related cards to your deck. It depicts a balding old man cuddling a Pikachu. In the games, Mr. Fuji is an elderly man who runs a "pokemon fan club". One of your side quests is rescuing him from pokemon tower, where he is mourning his bird pokemon, Dodo. Upon completing this quest, Mr. Fuji will give you the Poke-flute item as a reward. In the Fire-Red and Leaf-Green game versions, other characters will give you information about Fuji, such as "I hear Mr. Fuji's not from these parts originally, either" and "The shy Mr. Fuji turned down our interview requests". In Blaine's gym on Cinnabar island, where the game-version of the pokemon lab is, there is a photo on the wall of Blaine and Fuji together, grinning. In the game-related manga, "Pokemon Special" (Pokemon Adventure in English) The fan-club president is a separate character, out of continuity with previous incarnations, though there is an old man in lavender town that fits other aspects of Mr. Fuji's game role.

Culture Point: The Modern Boy Robot

Both the CD drama and film refer heavily to Osama Tezuka's perennial classic, Tetsuwan Atomu, known in western circles as Astro Boy. In Tetsuwan Atomu, Dr Tenma creates a little boy robot to replace his son, Tobio, Who has been killed in an automobile accident. Sadly, when Tenma realizes that his robot son will never grow up, he sells little Atomu to a horrific pinocchio-esque circus. Atomu is later rescued and cultured by the comedic Professor Ochanomizu.

Both the CD drama and the film reference Tetsuwan Atomu in a variety of ways. Dr. Fuji is designed to look like an elderly, modern Tenma might. Before Mewtwo's backstory was made canon, the savvy viewer would see these visual indicators and immediately expect Mewtwo to be abandoned by his "father" (a relationship and expectation examined more poignantly in Toshihiro Ono's manga adaptation). So there's an added punch when Mewtwo goes berserk upon his creators, rather than playing the victim. The movie also pays homage to the circus aspect, placing Mewtwo is Sakaki's Circus Maximus-inspired gym setting. But there is no kindly professor to come to Mewtwo's aide. In this case, the modern "Boy Robot" cannot be guided by altruistic adults, as, for him, there are none. He can only become the villain.

The Origin of Mewtwo film clip was added to the movie in its video release as an extended part of the introductory sequence, and accompanied the film in its first TV airing. The CD drama and soundtrack set were released together while the film was in theaters. We see even greater parallels to Tezuka's Mighty Atom when these pieces are available to us. Dr. Fuji also has a young child that he has lost (both to auto accidents) and seeks to restore: not a son, but a daughter. Not a robot, but a clone. The doctor does not succeed in the way Tenma did, but he does enact, to an extent, the emotional abandonment of his child. Fuji has reduced Ai to an obsession and a DNA bank by the time of Mewtwo's birth.

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