I'm honestly kind of bored of Sun & Moon right now...

[Dogasu]

I mean, don't get me wrong. It's a perfectly enjoyable series with lots of fun characters and some really great moments.

But.

I'm not really sure how many more "everyone just dicks around for 22 minutes" type episodes I can take. The Sun & Moon games have one of the strongest plots out of all the main series games but the TV version? It's just a group of students getting into random adventures around their campus, week in and week out. I'm fine with it now, but what if this keeps up for another six months? Or a year?

People give the Orange Islands arc a lot of flack for being a pure "filler arc" but at least that set of episodes had an overarching story with various checkpoints and an eventual end goal in sight...

 

[Shadao]

That was something I had long suspected and feared when thinking about the implication of putting Ash into a school genre scenario, even before the series began. Without the traveling aspect or a well-defined goal that the previous series had, there is no illusion of progress being made and nothing really to look forward aside from a few subplots here and there.

With Diamond and Pearl, despite it's long string of episodes that were filler, you knew what Ash and Dawn's goals were, you knew exactly how many badges or ribbons they needed and where they were located, and you knew that there was an ultimate destination waiting before them (League and Grand Festival). There was something to look forward and stave off the encroaching boredom.

I have to admit, I've kinda lost interest in the Alola adventures aside from a few events like the upcoming Litten-Stoutland episode (which I hope breaks new ground in regards to loss). Don't really care that much anymore. I'm more interested in that 20th movie about Ash, Pikachu and Ho-Oh. It feels more relevant to Ash's story and character progression.

 

[kantoskies]

It is worrying, not that they're not going to have Ash and friends start traveling (which I suspect might be soon, within the next handful of episodes), but that once they do start traveling the story won't meet the level the Sun/Moon games did. Like, we already don't have Nebby, that's a pretty big chunk of the story right there. Nor have we seen Hau. I'm worried they're going to pull another Best Wishes and, instead of adapting/expanding off of a strong game storyline the writers are going to have a much more episodic, barely-strung-together "story".

I do like what they've done with the series so far, I feel like it's successfully broken the formula more than any other series to date. But I agree, it won't hold my interest forever and if everyone is still in the same place 6 months from now it'll be super boring.

 

[Nicolas721]

It's more or less the same stunt Digimon Universe:Applimonsters pulled early, the writers know what the plot is, but due to the series taking place in a static setting they are robbing us from the exposition, so they can continue with their Monster/Character of the week episodes.

I'm not bored, as in my opinion XY was worse at this time, but I definetely feel insulted on how the plot is being handled: Ash's motivation for bettling Gumshoos is selfishness for looking cool, Ash battled Hala because the latter offered to him, and now Ash battled Tapu Koko because the latter saw an explosion. Is it too hard to include lines like "I'm going to train until I'm ready for my next trial"?

As for the villainous plot, I'm expecting some small Plumeria/Gladion appareances until it properly starts in the 50s or latter, just like in the games themselves.

 

[Johtohfiller]

The dicking around aspect makes me wonder if the staff hasn't figured out what they want to do with the story. It feels like stalling for time - maybe whatever game is coming out next is going to affect the plot?

I'm also disappointed with the lack of battles, even TR battles. We did get one today but it wasn't that great.

 

[Almonds]

I watched the first episode and that one episode about the search for Oricorio... but :/ they weren't strong enough episodes to get me in the series.

So I'm waiting till Gladion appears in person.

 

[ii kanji]

I'm really enjoying SM but... As of the most recent episode, I've just about reached the tipping point between enjoying the journey and "are we nearly there yet"?

They've done a good job setting up the numerous characters, early captures and vibe of the region but I agree that if we don't get more drive, and soon, it is going to be very difficult to keep watching.

Having seen the next episode preview, I'm hoping that seeing this pink Kapu is going to set Satoshi and Pikachu off and that maybe the Skull plot can rear its head again. If I'm wrong well... God only knows what the writing team are planning.

 

[Jaye]

The whole lack of progress thing is a myth. Characters don't need to be on physically moving towards a destination for them to be making progress. Ash is progressing - we just don't know to what end yet.

A tangible sense of purpose is the one thing Sun and Moon is missing so far. Ash does have a goal - he wants more Z-Crystals - but as yet he hasn't established a plan to accomplish that goal. I'm certain he'll be doing the other trials at some point (because you don't just introduce one and forget about it), but at the moment he's hardly focusing on that goal. The focus has been elsewhere, mostly on other members of the cast. So I do agree that they need to be driving towards something with more substance sooner rather than later.

These worries could, of course, be premature as if we haven't seen the next batch of episode titles yet. The next two episodes involve Ash seeing Tapu Lele and a battle with Litten, so maybe that'll spark something off.

As for not adapting the game's plot: the game's plot is actually very short. I don't take the lack of Nebby as a sign they won't adapt it, because they could quite easily add Nebby to the cast at any time.

 

[Islander Princess]

I can see this. I'm still very much enjoying SM, but that's because for me personally, I was getting bored watching the same formula over and over again, and my interest in XY waned very early on, so I like the very different tone of this series. Now that it's almost 20 episodes in, I do agree that I'm hoping we're going to start getting a little more out of the plot.

I'd like to see more of a move on with the island trials. I'm still unclear on how the anime is planning on handling it as we've only seen one so far, and it was against the kahuna. I'm also hoping we get some aspects of the game plot soon, specifically with the Aether Foundation.

 

[SammyW27]

I kind of saw it coming.
A region that's 5 islands isn't much to work with for 3 years without a lot of filler.
Besides, Games' stories--no matter how deep or strong--just do NOT have what it takes to carry a TV show week after week after week after week for 3-4 years without some dicking around anyway. Some sagas just have less than others.

What's more I think they shot themselves in the foot (yet again) by making so many Gym Leaders Trial Captains part of Ash-tachii. Heck, it looks like the Show has thrown Trial Captains out the window all together and made them regular kids so they can be with Ash more.

That said, there IS subtle foreshadowing & plot building letting us know something is coming sooner or later. And at least we're getting some character development/focus sprinkled throughout (even when it fails to impress. Right Sophocles?).
TBH, SM has barely had any pure fillers in my eyes. And when it does,at least they're fun, entertaining fillers .

So I can wait for the story proper to come along. Just as long as I'm entertained, I'm good, even if the plot is the slowest & most shallow it's been in years.
Heck, I think I'm having more fun than I was this time in XY.

 

[Cresselia92]

Yeah, I can definitely agree with what the OP said. This series is starting to drag for an annoyingly long amount of time.

Some people may be glad that this series has broken the formula, but I personally feel that this new formula isn't working all that well. The anime focuses mainly on three categories: adventure, friendship and battling.

First category, adventure. What happened to it? It has become essentially event of the day after event of the day, where the characters are stuck in the same town fooling around with the random daily weirdness and where they showcase supposedly "hilarious" shenanigans.

We have seen some habits of the town inhabitants, but c'mon! There are so many places that could be explored, like the Temple of Conflict, the shopping mall with the Battle Buffet, and other stuff. And yet, it has been so far a sequence of school/random street/building/rinse and repeat, which is… quite underwhelming. It would be about time that the characters moved to the next island, since Mele Mele doesn't offer much material to work with. It's supposed to be the starting point of the journey in the game, so let's get the journey started already!

Now, about the friendship… am I the only one who doesn't feel like the characters are clicking with each other at all? They don't behave like friends. They behave more like simple acquaintances, with terribly forced interactions that are glued together by slapstick humor.

Uh, I'm sorry, but I'd rather see the human interacting like humans, not like actors in a comedy movie. All those relationships are so fictional and fictitious that make it so blatantly obvious that we are seeing a fiction, and that's bad. In OS and AG the characters had their funny moments as well, but at least they had relatable interactions and meshed well with each other, without making any character feel forced or irrelevant. Here, however, due to how big the cast is, there isn't enough time to work on all of them and give them decent interactions, which makes them look more like overglorified COTDs rather than main/recurring characters.

Only positive thing so far is that the characters are getting some basic introductions, but even those are being handled horribly, which, along with their bland and rehashed personalities, makes me even less interested in them. And since this series has ruined Ash (my favorite character) and Team Rocket in my eyes, I can't really take enjoyment from any human character. Only Kiawe and Lillie are somewhat salvageable, but the others need to be fleshed out much more for me to feel empathy for them.

And last, the cherry on top: the battles. I know many people who follow the series mainly to see the battles in animated form… and I am included in that list. However, so far the series has failed spectacularly in this area. The only decent battle so far would be the match against Hala, and even that was average as best. The first match against Tapu Koko may be somewhat dazzling, but it certainly cannot compare with other battles against other legends. Just look at things like Charizard vs. Articuno and Fletchinder/Talonflame vs. Moltres to see how a legendary match should be. Tapu Koko, for now, doesn't exactly give any guardian vibe, which is kinda ridiculous. The deity of a whole island… demoted to Krokorok level? I hope that the encounters will hint toward the grandiose final match after the eventual League, at least. That would redeem this mess somewhat.

Aside of that, well, there is the Gumshoos match and the few battles against Team Rocket and Team Skull. However, none of them is truly memorable, aside of maybe the infamous TRio's victory. Other than those few matches, there has been a terrible drought in terms of battles, which is annoying me immensely. Sure, XY didn't have many battles either, but when there were battles at least they delivered. Here, there is only a mishmash of stock footage coupled with low key choreography, which is a far cry from the more exciting battles of the previous sagas.

Having established those points, I find myself annoyed by Ash in particular. Terrible art style and new personality aside, he seems sooo obnoxiously lax about his goal as well. In past sagas, he worked his butt off to try to improve himself and his Pokémon and to work for his goal. Here, instead, he is spending too much time in being the local butt monkey and too little time on his Trainer's duties.

He may have focused once or twice in trying out the Z-Moves, sure, but there is absolutely no sense of satisfaction. It was really gratifying seeing him and others succeed in something after working really hard on it, like seeing Pikachu mastering Iron Tail or Ash training Gible with its Draco Meteor. Meanwhile, the Z-Moves have been mastered way too conveniently and way too fast for my tastes, eliminating literally any noction of training. Was it too much to see Ash actually working seriously on his goal for once, instead of seeing him pull random faces and freak out for the most mundane stuff all the times? How am I supposed to root for him and respect him when he isn't even respecting his own persona?

As such, I can say without a doubt that this has been the most yawn-inducing series of the anime yet. Not even Johto and Unova annoyed me that fast and to such degree. I seriously hope this series will pull itself back together fast, because my opinion of it is sinking more and more with each episode.

 

[LuxrayOfTheWild]

I'm admitedly starting to feel the same way about this series. Don't get me wrong, I love how colorful it is and how much emphasis there is on the characters, but I feel like there's no sense of adventure and progression. With Ash sticking to the school and no signs of him continuing the island challenge, I'm just losing interest.

I think I miss the real sense of adventure with Ash striving for his goal. He hasn't made an effort at all yet to go to Olivia for his next trials. Is it going to be another 20 episodes before we even see that happen? Just watching everyone sticking to one place is getting boring. Also the battles took a bit of a quality drop since XY.

 

[CrystaI]

Wow. Just 19 episodes and here we had this thread. Most importantly the one who started this thread is the mighty Dogasu-sama!!!

I can clearly see your points and understand your feeling. Because very hilariously, just a few days ago I also posted my thought of SM anime in another forum, where the opinion was the same.
(Edit: If someone doesn't like this "another forum" which it links to, just ignore it)

For the current SM saga, basically the content itself was well-structured, story plot flows in a logical sense, so theoretically speaking this show is decent to finely constructed.
But that is not enough.
The main problem was as it just described by Cresselia92, the essential fundamental themes always presented in the old sagas were missing in this new saga. So to many people, this is like watching a complete different show. Though if the audience also like gag slapstick sitcom which is what the current SM offering, then of course it will clicks with that audience. But is gag slapstick sitcom really something wanted by the old Pokemon Anime fans who watched and transit from previous saga? You don't need to be a genwunner started watching from OS era, even for the recent newbies started watching from XY&Z, the expectation should be the same.
When that expectation is not fulfilled, when this show doesn't even offer the basic things what fans always wanted usually, of course it feels boring. I'm also one of those that watched Pokemon Anime as a fantasy comedic adventure anime where hoped for those old themes mentioned previously, that's why I'm bored at this sitcom slapstick gag because that is not what I wanted from Pokemon Anime.

 

[Anime Psyclone]

You see, part of the problem is that Ash never stays the same between series. Ash was a very mature person in XY, but now he’s a gag joke char like TR. Ash always seemed to be a semi-serious trainer who cared more about his Pokemon then winning, and I am fine with that. It’s gucci. But it’s that they always try to remake him and never really create new personalities for main characters in the anime(Iris being more mature then Ash was one of the newest character personalities). Also, the writers should not have to make up stuff for Ash to do considering how much there is you can do on Melemele alone. Ash could have gotten separated from his friends in Seaward Cave instead of doing the Pancake Race.

Also, shoutout to Japaneese Text over here for having a Serebii. I once had one but it was too different from most other forums I was on so I left.

 

[Silktree]

I'm sorry, but I don't accept the criticism. Not compared to the other regions designed to last 3+ years... Only OS Kanto and BW got to the eventful episodes quickly. And the first 20 episodes of DP were only satisfying if you really liked Dawn and Paul. I prefer Lillie, even if her growth is slower. It's only a matter of time before Gladion shows up.

The Pokemon cast we have in the starters, Rockruff, Vulpix, Mimikyu and Bewear is excellent. Tapu Koko's recurring role is cool, too.

 

[KenzeyEevee]

Just let him travel! Let greninja or an other past companion return. Fat Clemont and Lana are boring... Rotom too

 

[Lanstar]

I can understand getting bored with the series, given how the episodes aren't really heading towards any major goals. That said, if you never, ever viewed any of the previous series - and just looked at it for what it is, I guess it's not too horrible.

For me, S/M is pretty much Ash on vacation so far. So many slice of life moments, and lots of comedy... It doesn't look like he's in Alola to become the very best, like no one ever was, as in the other series. I don't think he's taking much anything very seriously in terms of battling - he just wants to have fun in a tourist trap that the Alola region was in the Video Games.

Perhaps the other reason why it's been a slow series is the number of characters being juggled around. The older series usually had but 3 or 4 characters in a traveling sequence. But this series has 6 characters to deal with, and there isn't any traveling sequence sorted out, even after 20 episodes.

I don't know if or how they will go on with this, but it does diverge from the past series quite a lot, as well as from viewer expectations.

 

[Silktree]

I still have to roll my eyes at "this is a slow series" claim. I don't know why the generic, tired travel aspects matter that much, either. Not as long as they showcase the main locations, which I'm sure they will as part of the trials. As for the plot... Nothing much happens until the third island in the games, either. Do we really need to see Nebby in Lillie's bag for dozens of episodes? Especially when the Squishy ordeal story is so recent.

SM has been pulling higher ratings than Yokai Watch almost consistently. XY didn't.

Clearly, something is being done right.

 

[Cresselia92]

I still have to roll my eyes at "this is a slow series" claim. I don't know why the generic, tired travel aspects matter that much, either.

Maybe because traveling and exploring is the actual central point and main theme of Pokémon, with the games encouraging you to do so? I don't think many people would be happy if they were forced to stay in the same place for too long.

Ash has finished his business in Mele Mele, since he has beaten already the local Kahuna and gotten the crystal, so why isn't he moving along? Why are we forced to see just meaningless nameless streets? At least showcase some of the actual locations in Mele Mele, if you really need to stay in this island for such a long time.

Like, the whole Rotom episode could have been done at the mall, for example, where there could have been some food-related gag or we could have had the typical "crime in closed doors". At least it would have combined perfectly an actual in-game location with the… hmm… humor of this saga.

SM has been pulling higher ratings than Yokai Watch almost consistently. XY didn't.

Clearly, something is being done right.

Or it could actually mean that Yokai Watch is faring worse recently?

Besides, past series had higher ratings, so does that mean that there was something done better?

 

[Silktree]

What is so special about that mall? Didn't we see it in Sophocles' episode?

SM averages around 3.7 whereas XYZ averaged around 3.2, often missing the Top 10 anime shows. Yokai Watch is on the decline, but it hasn't made it to XYZ levels yet.

A Pokemon series doing better than its direct predecessor is a good sign. Comparisons to ancient history are irrelevant.

Ash staying on Melemele is the equivalent of those stretches of episodes in generic forests that some of you seem to crave. Clearly the writers' priority right now is to build up to Litten's capture in an emotional way. I doubt that Akala is far off considering Tapu Lele's appearance.