What is a CD Drama?

CD Dramas are essentially modern Radio Plays. Sound effects, music, and dialogue are used to tell a story without any visual accompaniment. CD dramas are often produced in connection with films, television shows or video games. Sometimes a CD drama may be created based on a novel or comics book series. The reason for their popularity is their relative cheapness to produce, and the speed at which they can be made. The only costs lie in recording, marketing and paying the actors, allowing companies to cash in on a popular character or story without the time, costs and negotiations that come with animation and film.

In the west, CD dramas are nowhere near as popular as they are in Japan, but they do exist. Books on tape often incorporate elements of audio drama, such as sound effects and music. Children's franchises, such as Sesame Street produce story-tapes, sometimes accompanied by picture books or songs. Audio adaptations of plays, novels, and original stories intended for older audiences are less often collected, but continue to be aired on stations such as CBC in Canada, and the BBC in Britain.

Radio Dramas were the number-one media entertainment for many years, both before and after the advent of TV. Classic mystery shows like The Shadow, race comedies like Amos n' Andy and dozens of soap operas filled the airwaves for years. While they are less popular today, radio shows like The Mystery Project, and The Vinyl Cafe still incorporate Radio Dramas into their programming. While original material is still written for radio, it is more common to see adaptations of novels or plays, such as The Hitchhiker's Guide, James Herriot's gentle vet stories, and the wonderfully funny Wingfield series are more often run as radio mini-series.

What is Myutsuu no Tanjou?

Myutsuu no Tanjou, alternatively known as The Birth of Mewtwo, is the CD drama included in the Sound Picture Box Mewtwo set. The double-CD set was released shortly after the premier of the first Pocket Monsters film in the summer of 1999. Like it's sister set, It's a White Tomorrow! (an earlier Rocket-Gang CD drama released after Pocket Monsters was temporarily pulled from the air in 1998, to keep the series fresh in the minds of the public), this CD set includes the film soundtrack on one disk, an audio play in five acts on another, and a CD-sized hardcover picture book, all packaged together in a slipcase.

Disk One: This disk is engraved with a pink-and-blue image of infant Mewtwo and his friend, Ai. It contains five tracks which comprise Myutsuu No Tanjou: Pocket-Monster Radio Drama. the full disk runs roughly one hour and covers the discovery of mew and the early days of Team Rocket, the history of the scientist who created Mewtwo, and Mewtwo's childhood. Most of the story occurs roughly two years before the events of Myutsuu no Gyakushuu

Disk Two: This second disk is engraved in yellow with Mew and Mewtwo. It contains twenty-three background music tracks, two vocal tracks and short dialogue clips from the film Myutsuu no Gyakushu. The BGM included on this soundtrack is not the same as the one released in North America.

Book: Much like the read-along tapes marketed to children, this disk is accompanied by a lavish CD-size hardcover book, with 64 pages of both line drawings and full colour illustrations. Characters that do not appear in any film or television show are illustrated in animation style, and some that do appear are depicted differently.

Where can I find this CD Drama?

Sound Picture Box Mewtwo can be purchased online through outlets such as CDJapan and Amazon.com. The CD generally retails from between forty and eighty dollars.

Sound Picture Box Mewtwo may be found under the title The Birth of Mewtwo, Myutsuu no Tanjou or simply Pokemon CD Drama. It is released by Pikachu Records.

Please be aware that bootleg editions produced by Son May Records exist. These bootleg sets do not come with art books and while they are otherwise of comparable quality, are simply not worth the trouble. Bootleg companies are often connected with criminal groups in Korea and China. For goodness sake, please don't purchase bootleg or pirated CDs and DVDs.

Product Information

Sound Picture Box MewTwo: The Birth of Mewtwo
Audio CD: two disc and book set
Original Release Date: 1999
Publisher: Pikachu Records
Language: Japanese
Content: BGM disc, 5-part drama disc, 64-page colour hardcover book
ASIN: B00002ZZLN