Review S20 EP01: Alola to New Adventure!

[Momentum]

So my actual review of the episode.

Wasn't a big fan of how the episode started. It's weird to seeing Ash already in Alola without a proper explanation until three minutes in. I was worried I was actually watching Episode 2 instead of 1 (I didn't watch the sub beforehand). And the explanation for how they even got to Alola was very rushed as well, literally. It's like the writers couldn't be bothered to give more detail into the matter. And what was with Oak worrying about how to get the egg to Samson? I'm pretty sure he could have found a way, it's not like the predicament he faced with the GS Ball.

I may be looking a little too much into this, but it's a little sad to see how little time Ash actually spent with his mom on their vacation to Alola. Two times, he ditched her to chase after a Pokémon, and after only spending what felt like seconds of on-screen time with her, she was already back in Kanto. however, I'm pretty sure she knew before even leaving for Alola that Ash would stay there. Why else would she fashion him another outfit for a simple vacation? She even made him a backpack for crying out loud.

I really like this new group of friends Ash will be traveling with. Three girls and two boys that are roughly his age will allow for great and interesting interactions allowing us to see who gets along with who and who argues with who. We never had two girls traveling with Ash at the same time, aside from Serena and Bonnie, but the difference here is they're all the same age. I'm excited to see what the writers do with this.

Samson definitely is a laugh with his puns, so I look forward to seeing more of him. Team Skull seemed to be shoe-horned into the episode, but I'm nevertheless happy to see the antagonist team (That's not Team Rocket) being introduced early into the series. Tapu Koko's interest in Ash also seems a little forced, but I'm willing to let the writers convince me why this is as the series goes on.

Finally, the animation. It's breathtakingly marvelous. Hopefully any doubts people had about it can be put to rest now after this episode. It was fluid and by far the best I have ever seen in the series. I realize this was the first episode and the quality is subject to change every episode, but it's already got my hyped to watch more.

Overall, great episode. Aside from a few nitpicks, it's still a great start to the series. Here's to more great episodes like this!

 

[Muur]

Mallow is bonnie's VA, And lillie is serena's VA i think

Pretty lazy if so lol

 

[Sakuraa]

The dub was really nice. I like everyone's voice. Kiawe sounds badass. My review of everything is pretty much the same as the original.

Episode was too rushed. The sped up flashback of Ash, Delia and Mimey being in Alola really should have been a normal sped scene in the beginning of the episode. Then they could have progressed chronologically. Still, Ash meeting the Trail Captains and battling Team Skull also seemed to quick and random. Also, I didn't notice at first, but Ash didn't seem all that interested in seeing the Salandit and Yungoos. Even in past times of crisis he's at least been curious about a Pokemon he's never seen before.

I didn't like how they removed the Z-Move text, but I hope it was simply that there was no time to add the translation with the similar style and that it'll be there when the series airs in 2017. I also feel that Natochenny's performance portrayed Ash as less over the top goofy than the original version, so I'm happy for that.

I'll give the dub a 9.3/10 for nice voices and and a calmer Ash.

 

[sc190191]

I'm not going to lie, don't like this at all so far. I really hope they don't spend much time in the classroom. Ash looking so goofy is really bothering me also (also Professor Oak on that note) and it doesn't make sense because everyone else looks reasonably normal. If Ash was acting more goofy in the original, holy cow! Because he was way way too goofy for my taste in the dub, pretty much just an overanxious idiot. I did think he was too serious in a lot of Kalos, but this is way too much in the other direction. They are also really going to have to find a way to not have 6 main characters in every episode, because that is also too much. Hopefully Ash will actually go on a journey so we can stop this school crap. I did like Kiawe and Mallow, I'd be down for those two to follow Ash on the trials and ditch the others. The sneak preview did not really make me want to watch more of this series, but I suppose I will keep giving it a chance, I mean at least they didn't say Ash was 10 and have Pikachu lose to a brand new starter Pokemon.

 

[kantoskies]

I also feel that Natochenny's performance portrayed Ash as less over the top goofy than the original version, so I'm happy for that.

I actually feel like that clashes with the animation; he's animated with all these wild, crazy facial expressions and actions but sounds more subdued. Her overall acting as Ash is getting better but I still think her Ash-laugh is horrible. At least her Delia is getting better too (shoulda brought back Veronica Taylor as Delia at least)

 

[Alola]

I thought everyone did a lovely job in the voice acting department. I really hope they continue with this direction. It sounded as if the conversations were exactly that-conversations (rather than reading lines off of paper). If they keep this up, I'll actually start enjoying the dub again. They also kept all of the music too and you could actually hear it. Although, apparently people are saying I shouldn't get my hopes up since this is only a sneak peek rather than the official version? I hope that ends up being moot because I really like what I saw here today.

Also, did they dub Bewear? If so, the VA did an excellent job emulating the Japanese version. I thought they would have given it a more masculine dopey voice rather than the eerie shrills we got, but I'm fine with either.

 

[Max1996]

I thought everyone did a lovely job in the voice acting department. I really hope they continue with this direction. It sounded as if the conversations were exactly that-conversations (rather than reading lines off of paper). If they keep this up, I'll actually start enjoying the dub again. They also kept all of the music too and you could actually hear it. Although, apparently people are saying I shouldn't get my hopes up since this is only a sneak peek rather than the official version? I hope that ends up being moot because I really like what I saw here today.

Also, did they dub Bewear? If so, the VA did an excellent job emulating the Japanese version. I thought they would have given it a more masculine dopey voice rather than the eerie shrills we got, but I'm fine with either.

Well, it definitely sounds different from the JP version, but still similar.

 

[Alola]

Well, it definitely sounds different from the JP version, but still similar.

Oh okay, I thought so. It's such a good job, the voices are pretty similar.

 

[Dogasu]

I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for the attack text to be localized. Text on books or signs or whatever might get translated but when there are on-screen titles like this TPCI has always, always opted to just delete it altogether. That's what they did with the Corinna episode, the ORAS animated trailer, the Mega Evolution shorts they put up on YouTube, the Hoopa movie, etc.

TPCI does have a team of artists they can use (those title screens and movie logos don't make themselves!) but I suspect they might be freelancers who do all their work in batches and not an in-house team who could do unique edits like this week after week.

 

[WatcherMark]

Also, did they dub Bewear? If so, the VA did an excellent job emulating the Japanese version. I thought they would have given it a more masculine dopey voice rather than the eerie shrills we got, but I'm fine with either.

Bewear did get a dub voice, and like you said it was pretty good and very similar to Kiteruguma.

I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for the attack text to be localized. Text on books or signs or whatever might get translated but when there are on-screen titles like this TPCI has always, always opted to just delete it altogether. That's what they did with the Corinna episode, the ORAS animated trailer, the Mega Evolution shorts they put up on YouTube, the Hoopa movie, etc.

As bad as those were, this just grinds me on another level since this is actually something from the games. You'd have thought they'd still want to try and get those in there.

 

[RetroPokeFan]

The dub was really good. Sarah did a good job and didn't sound forced out all, absolutely loving Kiawe's dub voice. I thought Mallow and Lillie's dub voices were good as well. Kukui's was good but not as good as Jake Paque was as Professor Sycamore, still good though.

In fact I actually noticed most of the XY cast is still with us too. Most of them will probably be just playing Pokémon now but Alyson Leigh Rosenfeld looks like she got herself another main role. Guess her response to playing Bonnie was positive.

Overall a very good dub, the two episodes was not as good as XY was (man what an opening that was) but it was still a nice and wonderful way to kick things off. Looking forward to the rest of the series (dub or not).

 

[Syrinaris]

Well, I've watched these episodes in both the original Japanese and English so I'll just post my thoughts under the English dub threads.

Judging from the previews we saw, I figured there probably wasn't going to be any kind of overt drama to the beginning of the series so I wasn't sure really what to expect from the opening episode. I mean, I have become so used to Ash landing in a new region and something terrible happens to injure Pikachu in some way and he ends up in the PokeCenter with Ash worried and fretting over him. Or else Ash is compelled to intervene in some other situation where he's confronting some danger and putting his own life in harm's way.

But the beginning of this new series? Well...... it was actually really refreshing to see Ash being able to enjoy himself and be carefree without a world threatening calamity hanging over his head right from the get go. Watching the opening scenes took me back to something that I remember Wallace asking Dawn about Piplup during the Wallace Cup competition arc. He asked her -- Do you play with your Pokémon? Ash and Pikachu are playing and interacting like actual friends instead of like trainer and Pokémon. They're Sharpedo Skiing and racing each other and it was really nice to see that aspect of their relationship which we seem to so rarely get a glimpse of. And I thought the scene in the Tauros taxi where Pikachu was playing with Tauros' tail was cute as heck. Yes Pikachu, even you deserve to be able to forego the 'tough competitor' posture and have a little fun.

Those scenes that played out where Ash takes off after the Grubbin and is still able to find his way to the school simply by following Kiawe's Charizard were a wee bit Farfetch'd, but still kinda fun to watch. I have to say, though, that in the original Japanese episode that Bewear was absolutely terrifying. The English dub was okay, but just didn't have the same kind of impact, for me, that it had in the original.

I like all the new cast of characters, and they all seem to be rather a nice lot. Kiawe seems to be the most serious of the bunch. I believe he might be the oldest. Sophocles is drawn with what you could say is a perpetually grumpy look on his face, but he certainly doesn't come across that way. I like Lillie well enough, but I'm afraid I'm not going to have a whole lot of patience with this being-afraid-to-touch-Pokémon plot line. I do like the episodes where Ash & Co help a small child get over their fear of Pokémon, but Lillie is not a small child anymore. She's a bit older and apparently has still not grown out of this fear. Since she doesn't seem to be interested in considering a different limited-contact-with-Pokémon career path, I hope they resolve this issue with her sooner rather than later.

I like Prof Kukui but I am already finding Cousin Oak to be rather annoying.

I found it more than a bit amusing that the school gang was so worried over Ash throwing himself into the confrontation with Team Skull. Of course they probably think Ash is just starting out and has no real-world battling experience. I was a little bit worried myself to be honest, but I see that Ash still knows what he's doing. So hey, it's all good!

As for Tapu Koko.....I'm going to say that this is all foreshadowing that's going on here. I see no reason why Tapu Koko would single out a non-native visitor to the islands and give said visitor a special Island Guardian approved Z-Ring unless he's the usual 'chosen one' who will arrive to face the <insert terrible event> and save everyone.

All in all, I think this is a very unique and refreshing start to the new series.

 

[Dogasu]

As bad as those were, this just grinds me on another level since this is actually something from the games. You'd have thought they'd still want to try and get those in there.

This is the same company that replaces Shinji Miyazaki's arrangements of music from the games with synth music completely unrelated to anything, so...

 

[WatcherMark]

This is the same company that replaces Shinji Miyazaki's arrangements of music from the games with synth music completely unrelated to anything, so...

Fair point, but TPCi does that so they can make money off other foreign dubs using their BGM. There's no reason for the attack text to be removed as far as I can see.

 

[IncineROAR]

Ash being chased by Bewear and stepping on Litten's tale and getting an ember in the face will never get old.

 

[GuyWhoTellsTruth]

- I'm glad they left the OST alone for the sneak preview, but I think it's temporary, guys, I have a feeling it's going to be replaced in its proper run (after all, XY's dub started out the same).
- Ash's dub voice really doesn't fit the newer design since now he looks even younger.
- Prof. Oak & Delia's dub voices are...well...awful.
- Kukui's voice is a bit dull in the dub (Abe Goldfarb), Lillie sounds too old (Laurie Hymes), same with Mallow as Lillie (Jessica Paquet?).
- Lana's dub voice (Rosie Reyes?) makes her sound like she has a cold sometimes.
- Kiawe's voice fits, but he doesn't have much emotion or energy in his performance.
- Sophocles' voice fits better than his Japanese one, actually- props to Alyson Rosenfeld.
- I'm relieved Samson Oak isn't voiced by Jimmy Zoppi in the dub.
- All those script rewrites WatcherMark mentioned along with the kanji edit have me very fearful for SM's dub proper run.

 

[technickal]

Watching with CCs on, I found out that the Trapinch and Tyranitar puns were actually sort-of-kept, Samson Oak is actually saying "nice to meet chew" and "what my rant is for (Tyranitar)".

 

[GuyWhoTellsTruth]

Watching with CCs on, I found out that the Trapinch and Tyranitar puns were actually sort-of-kept, Samson Oak is actually saying "nice to meet chew" and "what my rant is for (Tyranitar)".

I just wish they didn't have Kukui saying stuff like "Love at first bite" or Ash saying "Full throttle!" instead, personally, although apparently it was just the rerun of the sneak peek & fans who have spoke with Ed Goldfarb confirm the dub will have a dub-exclusive music score for Sun & Moon in its proper run.

 

[OshyHikari]

Since some people have been confused about the main cast's dub voices, this is who they're voiced by:

Spoiler: SM voice cast

Lillie: Laurie Hymes
Mallow: Jessica Paquet
Lana: Rosie Reyes
Sophocles: Alyson Leigh Rosenfeld
Kiawe: Marc Swint

Anyways, I feel this episode was okay but the fact we didn't see Ash and Delia arriving in Alola (the only way we know they came was because Mimey won a lottery as shown in a flashback) makes it feel this series started abruptly.

I remember being very scared about how this series would go, especially regarding Ash's new design (face it, I hate the new design because it gives me dorky vibes) and how the school idea would be handled. Seeing Mallow take Ash for a tour around the school did at least give us an idea of what he could be learning.

Unfortunately, I do have some cons - Kiawe's voice sounds way too deep for someone who's supposed to be close to Ash's age, and then we of course have those complaining about Lillie's voice sounding too old (I'm sure Laurie will take time to develop the voice better). Also, Sarah Natochenny's Ash voice doesn't really suit him anymore IMO due to the new design making him look way younger.

I know I will probably not want to watch the SM series full-time since I have so many turn-offs regarding it, such as the format being based on Yo-Kai Watch (I hate it when franchises copy another) and the awful dub OP, but I may come and see how the series develops from here and if the format change proved successful for the target audience.

 

[Harryghost]

So, yeah, I finally got back to watching the Pokémon anime after nearly an year of hiatus. What's next for me: the SM series!

I was really excited for the series when it was first announced (yeah, about an year ago...; I'm so late! ), and though the character designing of the series stands as a big eye-sore currently, I guess I will it due time and episodes to see where my opinion goes.

The episode itself was quite well written. I, for one, actually liked the premise of Ash and his mother's visit to Alola; a nice break from the usual Ash's-I-want-to-visit-so-and-so-region premises, though others were not bad at all! Also, nice seeing Mimey again. Where's Tracey?!

Ash falling for Bewear's hug-trap was quite funny IMO; I cracked up at that. Though, I guess it's not the boy's fault; he doesn't know the threat that that "cute" Pokémon poses. I do like how Tapu Koko saves Ash from Bewear, similar to how a Tapu Koko saves the player and Cosmog from their great fall in the games.

The portion of the episode talking about the Pokémon School was pretty decent. I, for one, really enjoyed Samson and his pun-talk. Hope to see more of that character in the forth-coming episodes.

Team Skull Grunts in the very first episode?! That's a pleasant surprise! Also a Z-Move?! Yup, this series is wasting no time getting the important stuff introduced.

Leech Life debut in the anime finally.

I am not a big fan of the Z-Ring passing scene TBH. What's with it seemingly floating through air from Tapu Koko to Ash on its own, considering neither character exerted any visible influence? Also, why did it start glowing so bright as Ash touched it? One may never know, I guess!

Delia being Delia in the end. Not her fault, though!

And so, Ash and Pikachu begin their new adventure in the new region. Can't wait to catch up with what adventures Ash and his friends have gone on so far!