Review S15 EP08: The Lonely Deino!

[Iteru]

BW56 - The Lonely Deino!http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/BW056

Continuing on their way to Driftveil City, Ash and his friends encounter a Deino. Iris tries to approach it and while she is tackled to the ground, two other Deino eat the gang's food! Both Ash and Iris attempt to capture a Deino each, only to find out that both Deino have an owner. After learning that they are currently under the supervision of a daycare worker who doesn't have experience in looking after Dragon types, the group of friends agree to help out. One of the Deino is very shy and has been left at the daycare for a few days. Can Iris use her talents learned from the Village of Dragons to cheer it up in time for when its trainer returns?

 

[Jukain]

Very interesting. I do wish that the complications behind training dragon pokemon would be more apparent, though. It would result in being similar to Charizard, though, so forget I said that.

 

[Shinneth]

That was Jamie McGonnigal as Bobby, wasn't it? He sure sounded like a nerdy, flamboyant version of Barry. Even though his voice is easy to peg, all his overacting is totally worth hearing for these eccentric characters. XD Must've been a nice break from having to keep that mundane Paul imitation for Trip (which is only funny because of how meta it is). Bobby himself was a nice, eccentric CotD and it's neat to get a good look at how daycares operate in the anime; it's a pretty rare occurrence.

And... all of that was way more interesting than the Iris/Deino subplot. It stung a little less because Iris won over the Deino by practicing something she learned from her village's elder - rather than inherently having a solution thought up all on her own without anyone's help or influence like the last few times. But still, I didn't feel moved by this shy Deino's problem and Iris' efforts to befriend it. It was just... bland. I'd rather have seen more of Bobby, or rather have HIM help in solving the problem since this only served to make him look inept despite his obvious flair for his job otherwise. I think the lack of dramatic tension is what killed the potential here; it would've been better for Iris to befriend a completely uncooperative and violence-prone Deino (unless that Druddigon-in-pain is what they'll count such a scenario as). Didn't really feel like there were any stakes with a shy Deino that, despite not eating like it should have, WAS still eating enough to survive, obviously. All it took was patience. So there wasn't much in the "struggle" department, Iris didn't learn anything new (since she was using a technique that she knew for a fact would work eventually), when all's said and done she hasn't changed a bit. Yawn.

Y'know, the flashback with the panicked Fraxure running out of the cave made me see that Fraxure itself can still be marketed as a cute and adorable species, so... now I see no reason why Axew shouldn't evolve (besides the fact that Iris hardly ever trains or uses Axew).

Yet again, the anime has a different pronunciation for Deino than I've been using all this time. I figured it must have been pronounced as day-noh since "dee-noh" just makes me think of the purple dinosaur from the Flintstones. Oh, anime, we'll never agree with certain pronunciations, will we?

 

[Serperiority]

It was a pretty nice episode. Very sad in some parts.

I liked the parts when Iris helps the Deino. I kinds feel sad for Deino. It's such a cool Pokemon. No reason for it to be lonely.

The COtD (Bobby?) was pretty cool.

Iris's backstory was pretty nice in this episode. I like how the elder got Druddigon out of the cave like that.

I do have one question though. Why does going between the cities take longer now? I noticed how in the beginning of the series, cities are reached in so few episodes. What happened?

 

[MizuTaipu]

I do have one question though. Why does going between the cities take longer now? I noticed how in the beginning of the series, cities are reached in so few episodes. What happened?

Don't worry, they'll arrive in Driftveil City in the next episode!

 

[Garren]

I dunno, I kind of liked the subtlety of this episode...if it was an older series episode, Team Rocket would probably have attacked or, hell, if it was another Best Wishes episode, a random Scollipede or something would pop out of the bushes and Iris would win Deino over by protecting him or something, but instead it was just her waiting with it for its master. And at the end of the episode, it was happy to see its master and thanked Iris for waiting for it. I thought it was a pretty low-key episode, sure, but at the same time it set itself apart from some of the other episodes we've seen in the past with a similar plot.

It wasn't that exciting of an episode, but I'm not as critical of Iris in it really. She did the logical thing in my mind and I thought it was a good episode for her.

 

[Cybersai]

Well it was OK, reminded me of a poor man's version of classic old-school AG episodes like the Swablu and Ralts episodes though.

Iris backstory is the good aspects of the character I like.

 

[Lord_Mewtwo]

Sean Schemmel was the rapper with the Foongus. I knew he was going to sound "gangsta" for us the moment I saw him in the Japanese version.

 

[Hellwarden]

I do have one question though. Why does going between the cities take longer now? I noticed how in the beginning of the series, cities are reached in so few episodes. What happened?

We'll be getting to Driftveil City in the next ep. Will take a bit longer for the gym, but it's worth the wait.

Anyway, a wild Iris episode appears! And while not particularly explosive, it was a fairly endearing episode for her and the gang. I thought Iris's line about Ash and Cilan going on without interesting. I know some people complain about Iris's lack of character, but I have a hard time imagining any of Ash's previous female friends saying that. I did find Iris's line about her village's matriarch a bit awkward. She said Elder was that was her actual name....but not a big deal.

Poor Stunfisk. He doesn't show it, but he's rather sensitive to having his internal organs step on.

 

[matt0044]

Yet again, the anime has a different pronunciation for Deino than I've been using all this time. I figured it must have been pronounced as day-noh since "dee-noh" just makes me think of the purple dinosaur from the Flintstones. Oh, anime, we'll never agree with certain pronunciations, will we?

It's probably due to us just seeing the names written and not said with their official pronunciations while the Anime is given the proper ones. It makes it easy for us to each pronounce them differently.

 

[NoodleChefKyle]

"We don't know the meaning of the word 'fail'?" Uh...Meowth? Which Team Rocket are YOU referring to?

 

[Garren]

Did Bobby have any catchphrase? I remember in the original he'd say "nanone" which the subs translated as ",hey" at the end of each sentence. I have to say, and this doesn't speak too well for Best Wishes, that Bobby, despite being a lazy bastard who made Ash and them do all the work, was probably my favorite COTD so far.

And did they keep the background rap the original had when the Jumpclone (aka the rapper with the Foongus) appeared? That was my favorite part!

 

[marshiyanmisuta]

"We don't know the meaning of the word 'fail'?" Uh...Meowth? Which Team Rocket are YOU referring to?

Probably these robots who look like Musashi and Kojiro.

 

[Queen Cynthia]

Hey, am I seeing right or is BW actually getting better? I mean, there were a few setbacks in the recent past, like the awful Alder-episode or the rather bland Maractus-story, but this week's episode has definitely been the best one since the subway crisis.
The story line revolving around Iris and her care for the sentimental Deino was really mature and conveyed exactly that message the Pokemon Anime is so well-known for: Care for Pokemon with all your heart and, by doing so, become one with them.
In short: I loved that motif and that touching plot because you couldn't help but be reminded of what many of the show's greatest characters, including of course the greatest one of all, Cynthia, said about the relationship between Pokemon and humans.

The background story about Bobby and the constant feeding of the Pokemon didn't really appeal to me much but it was probably necessary for the Iris-plot to develop properly.

Last but not least, I'd like to say that I was really happy to see TRio again. It was about time that we learned about their new plan and the way it was introduced and hinted at was indeed exciting.

It stung a little less because Iris won over the Deino by practicing something she learned from her village's elder - rather than inherently having a solution thought up all on her own without anyone's help or influence like the last few times. But still, I didn't feel moved by this shy Deino's problem and Iris' efforts to befriend it. It was just... bland. I'd rather have seen more of Bobby, or rather have HIM help in solving the problem since this only served to make him look inept despite his obvious flair for his job otherwise. I think the lack of dramatic tension is what killed the potential here; it would've been better for Iris to befriend a completely uncooperative and violence-prone Deino (unless that Druddigon-in-pain is what they'll count such a scenario as). Didn't really feel like there were any stakes with a shy Deino that, despite not eating like it should have, WAS still eating enough to survive, obviously. All it took was patience. So there wasn't much in the "struggle" department, Iris didn't learn anything new (since she was using a technique that she knew for a fact would work eventually), when all's said and done she hasn't changed a bit. Yawn.

Don't get me wrong, I'm by no means trying to defend BW but I think you're wrong here.
First of all, when was the last time that Iris really came up with a plan on her own that saved the day? Secondly, I think it was made clear right from the start that this episode would center around Iris. Not only was Bobby rather bland and clownish, he was also intended to be merely a side character necessary for the main plot. Honestly, I wouldn't have wanted him of all people to provide a solution because that would have seemed a bit implausible, especially given Iris' fondness for Dragon-type Pokemon.
Also, I think you can't say that there was a "lack of dramatic tension". I apologize for asking you this rather direct question, but have you ever felt lonely? I can assure you, it hurts like hell and can even turn into a seemingly never-ending nightmare. Don't underestimate the dramatic potential of loneliness!
And how often have we already seen our heroes trying to befriend a disobedient Pokemon in previous episodes? I for one would have been disappointed if this week's story had turned out to be just another rehash of the good old Ash-and-friends-save-the day-by-befriending-an-angry-Pokemon scheme.

All in all, really good episode. I just hope this development continues.

 

[alypkm]

I liked this episode a lot and I hoped that Iris would catch this deino.

actually I thought its called "Dee-ya-no" not " DAi-no".

 

[Grave-E]

Huh. I thought Deino would be an easy one to pronounce, given the 'eins, zwei, drei' theme naming. Kids these days. Don't schools teach mandatory german lessons any more?

 

[Trainer Yusuf]

When I read that this episode was written by Tomioka, I know I had to immediately check it.

Spoiler

-Training battle? What's that?
-Swadloon? What's that?
-"A dino! Wow, so cute!" No, Iris, that's a baby Yamato no Orochi.
-No title card, that's a baby Yamato no Orochi.
-"Dino, The Irate Pokémon. It rips off Angry League Nerd."
-"Dino's a Dragon-type, so, leave it to me! Hi dino! Ahh!" Ahh good ol' slapstick. IN HD! I need to make a GIF of this. The way Iris reaches to dino, how dino headbutts her right just right after she finishes her salute, and how Iris smashes Axew with her butt... it is just great.
-The way Ash screams to Iris feels similiar to way Ash screamed at Dawn in these kind of situations. Who's writing this episode again-oh Tomioka.
-Ash is angry because food is srs bsns to him.
-Why is that whenever I pause on Swadloon's String Shot it looks like you know what?
-These two dino feel similiar to Ducklett trio. That's already a plus.
-The animation of this whole sequence is great. Who is animating anyways... Iwane? Wow.
-"Hehe he. Intresting. You want me to catch you, right? Ok!" OMG Eileen Stevens is channelling Melissa Schoenburg.
-"I wanna catch one too!" It's not like you have so many Pokémon you are tripping balls. Of course.
-"Don't be selfish." Verbal bitchslap from Ash to Iris? This episode is getting better and better.
-"Hey come on, this was my idea! What a kid." Surely there is no hypocrisy there.
-Stock animation ahoy!
-Bobby is fantastic. He somehow managed to comine Ursula's pose AND Conway's glass tweaking in one shot.
-"Naughty dino..." Eileen Stevens actually delivered that line quite well.
-The shots of Bobby's daycare center and the background music that plays gives this scene the same feeling opening scenes of most Pokémon movies do. Which is pretty nice.
-"But Bobby is faced with one problem." Oh look, he is talking about himself in third person like Conway.
-"I know Dragon-types" Yeah, not so sure about that...*points to Outrage hug*
-Axiew?
-Scared, shy Pokémon? In my Best Wishes where every Pokémon is either a bastard, relatively friendly, cocky or a jerk with a heart of gold?
-"Experience as a day care worker is part of becoming a great Pokémon Trainer." Somewhere in Sinnoh Angie is crying.
-Opening stock scene 1 get.
-Those muscles... I don't know what to say... Best Wishes is increasing in terms of fanservice for females after all the fanservice they gave to guys in previous series isn't it...
-Opening stock scene 2 get.
-SOUL SUCKING DEMONS ARGH!
-"I come from this awesome place!" I thought the overuse of the word "awesome" in dub has gone with Dawn. I will get you next time, word awesome, next time!
-"I remember thinking to myself, being thoughtful like that might help me to become a Dragon Master." The why you are so snarky to your friends and your rival?
-"It's not every day that I get to meet a Dragon-type like you!" Which is rather odd considering Unova dragons have the highest encounter rate of all Dragons. Granted, they are all found in isolated areas, but said isolated areas are also very large, at least compared to Bagon cave in Meteor Falls or Gible cave under cycling road.
-"I love times like this! Makes me proud to be in daycare" I couldn't phrase it better myself Bobby. I couldn't phrase it better myself.
-"Hey guys, I think you should head for Driftveil City without me." "Huh.""I know you want your Gym Battle, but, see, dino needs me." Iris being self sacrificing? What? What? Tomioka, y u no write more episodes?
-"What kind of a trainer are you anyway?" I dunno, gangsta?
-Dino's trainer looks kinda like Trip... but then again the one with powerful dino had similiar hair to Paul.
-Don't cry... don't f***ing cry... don't fuuuuu-- ;_;!
-"I am gonna train hard, and become a Dragon Master!" Well, as long as you don't spam Excadrill, and manage to balance out your Pokémon's training and try not to neglect Axew, or go to opposite route and neglect your Pokémon that isn't Axew or new catches like Dawn did with Buneary and Pachirisu, you should be good to go.

I really enjoyed this episode, here are a few things I liked about this episode:

Spoiler

-I love how Deino's mannerrisms are inspired by dogs, what with their tendency to use thier hind legs to stand up and move thier front legs. I really love this, because it fits with my headcanon which said they act like silly, gluttonous dogs.
-I love how they actually showed the strength and speed of the individual Deino.
-I really liked Bobby, and I think he was handled well in this episode. Of course, I would love to see him again, despite how obviously unlikely it is.
-Deino's trainer's story made me remember how I searched desperately to catch one. I can definately feel guys' pain.
-I loved the Deino's personality.
-I loved Iris' backstory. I hope village elder will indeed become important to Iris' story as much as her flashbacks shows.
-I loved Druddigon's animation in the cave. Of course, I loved the animation in general, but that part does stand out due to the shadows.
-I really like how some of the people in Dragon Village are actually given some minor shamistic attires. That is a pretty neat attention to detail.
-I really liked the subdued, and slow pacing of this episode. We hardly get episodes that took their time, though that also means we hardly get episodes that drag on more than they need to, which is nice, but episodes paced like this one are great.

This episode kinda makes me wish Tomioka wrote more episodes for Iris, and not just did one episodes of each Don Battle Tournaments that has Georgia in it. But I guess both his higher ups have put him on a tighter leash and he himself is still disappointed how DP turned out. It would be nice to see a blog post of him, but I guess that would be asking too much considering the amount of series he has to juggle with.(Also he has worked on Disgaea animé too? Whaaat? I swear to God he pops up in everything I look. It feels like he is stalking me.)

Huh. I thought Deino would be an easy one to pronounce, given the 'eins, zwei, drei' theme naming. Kids these days. Don't schools teach mandatory german lessons any more?

You know, I wouldn't get the Hydreigion pun if it weren't you, even though I had German classes. I feel so stupid, but regardless, thank you.

Yet again, the anime has a different pronunciation for Deino than I've been using all this time. I figured it must have been pronounced as day-noh since "dee-noh" just makes me think of the purple dinosaur from the Flintstones. Oh, anime, we'll never agree with certain pronunciations, will we?

This becomes more funnier since Dino here act like dogs, just like that Dino. Best Wishes is becoming more post modernist each day, even when it doesn't try to be.