Review SM017: Alola Detective Rotom! The Mystery of the Missing Crystal!!

[PkmnTrainerV]

Where was the crystal? If it was under the wig, I already predicted it!!

PREVIEW: - SM017: Alola Detective Rotom! The Mystery of the Missing Crystal!!

I cannot believe it! *faints*

 

[Max1996]

Where was the crystal? If it was under the wig, I already predicted it!!

It does seem that way. Here's what happened...

Spoiler

After switching the Electrium-Z on his Z-Ring with the Normallium-Z, Ash put the Electrium-Z in his pocket. When he came home, he put the Electrium-Z on the desk and fell asleep on the couch. When Rotom came in later, he put the wig on the desk, on top of the Crystal.

Also, Kiawe's expressions upon learning Ash lost the Crystal, being accused and after the Crystal's location is revealed are hilarious.

 

[Jaye]

I'm surprised by how the episodes with less interesting premises have still managed to be entertaining. All the goofy faces were fun but the best part of the episode was all the little character moments. When Rotom goes to the TV station, he meets three one-off characters and each one had their own character - the security guard looking all tough but then having a cutegasm over Pikachu, the cleaner lady being a fellow fan and being all coy, and the busy cameraman. They even bothered to give them distinct designs. We also learned something about Kukui (he enjoys detective shows) and Kiawe (he'll kill you if lose a Z-Crystal).

 

[ii kanji]

If you had paid attention to what I said, you'd notice that I said that the series is more focused on characters rather than world-building, I didn't say there wasn't any. And I didn't say the premises are flimsier, just that they're not any better.

Your post implied that there was less world building than before, which if you had paid attention to what I said, is what I responded to. I also did not suggest that your post said the premises were flimsier than previous series. I simply disagree that good animation is not a valid value-add onto a paper-thin plot.

 

[Gard81]

Your post implied that there was less world building than before, which if you had paid attention to what I said, is what I responded to. I also did not suggest that your post said the premises were flimsier than previous series. I simply disagree that good animation is not a valid value-add onto a paper-thin plot.

If you actually paid attention, you'd realize I was putting more emphasis on the CHARACTERS in comparison to WORLD-BUILDING, a thing that differs it from past series. And your last sentence would imply that I share your same opinion of the anime having "good animation". The animation is different, yes, but I wouldn't go as far as call it "good".

 

[Islander Princess]

They even bothered to give them distinct designs.

Yes, I also love that the background characters have different, distinct designs! I actually thought that as I was watching the episode. The only thing worse than the stale COTDs was how similar they all looked: the same giant eyes in different colors, similar hairstyles, etc. SM's art style has honestly changed that for the better.

 

[Max1996]

I thought Pikachu was doing that because he could tell the crystal was under the wig. Either through scent or somehow sensing it with electricity. I could be wrong but that's what I assumed the point of him continuously "playing" with the wig was.

No, that can't be why. Pikachu played with the hair even before Ash fell asleep and Rotom put its wig over the Crystal without noticing.

 

[ii kanji]

If you actually paid attention, you'd realize I was putting more emphasis on the CHARACTERS in comparison to WORLD-BUILDING, a thing that differs it from past series.

When you say it, why does it suddenly sound like a bad thing?

And your last sentence would imply that I share your same opinion of the anime having "good animation". The animation is different, yes, but I wouldn't go as far as call it "good".

Apologies for not sharing your opinion.

 

[Likeitornot.]

Actually, one of my favourite features of animation can be the absolutely zany and bizarre facial expressions so if this trend continues, you won't see me complaining. It really breathes a life into the characters as well. I think my avatar gives away which one was my favourite - a nice nod to cubism, haha.

It's just really sweet seeing the mundane activities such as Ash watching evening television together with Kukui, Rotom and the gang - as well as the Professor and Rotom's invested interest in the show, in contrast to Ash, who uses it as a means to just relax and eat popcorn.

Rotom pestering Ash before bed about the detective series was also quite cute, it gives a sense of naïveté to the pokemon encyclopaedia, which for some reason, I just find that concept adorable. Especially with the wig (and the matching eyebrows!), it's nice to see their interests.

Unfortunately, Rotom should just stick to the day-job with those deduction skills in his investigation - though it was amusing to see him try and pin the blame on the stickler for training, Kiawe. Kiawe's expressions during his sinister confrontation with Ash were something a lot of people have appreciated and noticed, but can I just say - the spectacle of the minuscule Ash looking up in horror at the bottom of the screen was just hilarious to me?

A fun episode, I wouldn't mind seeing Rotom in the spotlight in the future if it is anything like this.

 

[Jaye]

Rotom has a surprising amount of sentience given he's a Pokemon haunting a machine. I kind of expected him to just annoyingly hover about giving commentary, but he has his own personality to blends into the cast.

I'd also like to add that Pikachu playing with the wig was adorable.

 

[Rockapheller]

I've been keeping myself neutral about how anime goes with the Sun and Moon series. There are either upsides and downsides all together and I particularly avoided myself to come to a certain accusation being either good or bad. But this week's episode seriously got me questioning if I really should go on watching this, despite no matter how less or more I like the series, I'd just do it for the years and years of tradition. Everybody may have different expectations from Pokémon and I do respect that, however I am not seeking a kid's show in Pokémon. The Orange League season, the Diamond & Pearl series, XY series, all of them are unique in their own way and these are somehow close -but not exactly- the Pokémon spirit I am craving for. Generations was a fresh and satisfying (out of its limited lines) series that brought a light to Pokéfans and I had hopes for the Sun & Moon series for the sake of Generations. But now we have milk delivering services, pancake races, Ash's irresponsibility in the most childish way that could ever be in 20 years... That being said, I love the Pokémon's personalities so far except Pikachu, especially Rowlet, Litten and Lillie's Vulpix. Z-Crystal related episodes in the other hand were handled as good as they could be I guess. If only the anime sticked to the game plots and had the spirit of Sun & Moon games. I will probably keep watching the show, but in a pain most of the time. Just hoping the series will turn out to be somehow better. Let Ash improve his maturity as he goes on in the series. Even that would save the anime a lot for me. It's been 5 months and I just want the series be over already.

 

[JS3284]

This is definitely one of my favorite Sun & Moon episodes. Mostly because it reminds me of Detective Conan in some elements.

This episode starts with Rotom and Professor Kukui watching a detective show similar to Detective Conan, except the detective is a man, doesn't knock another man unconscious to point out the culprit, and has an assistant Smeargle. Ash fell asleep during the show and while Rotom pesters him about who's the culprit.

Ash realizes that his Electrium Z is missing and that Kiawe will crucify him if he finds out he lost it. I really love the over the top expressions in the fantasy. Wait until later in the episode. Also, everyone tries to cover it up but they end up making it look even more suspicious.

Rotom and Pikachu goes out to find clues to where the Z-Crystal is. I notice Pikachu is pulling Rotom's wig, which annoys Rotom. I kind of enjoyed it. Anyway, I kind of find the scene where the scary looking guard adoring Pikachu kind of funny. In this episode Rotom gets a new feature from the video camera.

I found the scene where Shiron in a water bubble adorable. Ash tries to get Rockruff to find the Electrium Z, which is getting Kiawe even more suspicious than before, along with the classmates trying to make up excuses. Ash's face, when he tries to cover it up, cracks me up. When Rotom and Pikachu arrives at the scene, Ash out loud asks if he found his missing Electrium Z, horrifying everyone since Kiawe now knows. Kiawe's expressions are both funny and terrifying at the same time and tries to maul Ash. Rotom stops them, saying it found the culprit.

This is my favorite scene of the episode. Rotom calls the culprit a criminal and blames Kiawe, which makes everyone go "WTF!?". Seeing a lot of Detective Conan, I can see where this is going at this point. Rotom shows evidence, which is Ash shaking Kiawe's hand (the hand used isn't the one the Z-Ring is around). Nobody believes it due to how ridiculous the deduction is. Another comparison I can make to Detective Conan would be Rotom is kind of like Kogoro Mouri/Richard Moore. They're both bad detectives due to blaming the wrong person and using bad evidence to prove their flawed deductions.

Lillie noticed Ash puts the Electrium Z in his pocket, which he placed in the desk in his room. Pikachu digs into the wig and finds the Electrium Z. The wig is placed above the desk, where the Z-Crystal is. Some people mentioned that Pikachu was playing with the wig because of the Electrium Z but I saw Pikachu touch it at the start of the episode before Ash fell asleep. So, I'm not sure what to think? Kiawe chases Rotom through the ends of the earth since it blamed him for stealing the Z-Crystal.

A humorous episode with some Detective Conan mixed in makes this episode great in my opinion. Rotom is starting to be my favorite Sun & Moon characters since he has a lot of personality.

 

[ehh123]

BTW, there is a good reason this episode referenced the pancake race episode. Both were scripted by head writer Aya Matsui.

 

[ii kanji]

It's not the only one though! SM014 also referenced it and that was written by Omode.

 

[Cookies and Creme]

My favorite part was the music from the detective show, that was shit-hot.

That was Looker's theme

Overall this episode was not only golden in slapstick comedy but just great in general. We got to see Shiron again, Rotom Dex actually having his own episode, and a heck lot more hilarious stuff.

 

[Nala]

This episode was really fun to watch. I didn't know Kiawe could make such faces!

@JS3284 yep, he even did the "It was you!" dramatic finger point. Style wise, he reminded me of Martin from Martin Mystery.

 

[Lanstar]

With all the latest episodes, I must say: They're making a great slice of life comedy out of Pokemon that really is entertaining to see. At this rate, maybe they can just suspend the whole 'Out to be a Pokemon Master' bit from the whole Alola arc, and just keep generating non-serious and experimental plotlines. That way, when the writers do decide to make him win an actual league, they'll have more ideas on hand to make good stories for when it happens.

 

[Syrinaris]

So... Kiawe is prone to falling into bouts of hysteria bordering on homicidal mania. Who knew? Certainly not me.

After seeing the intro segment, I honestly thought that Roto took the crystal. I was thinking that he was upset because Ash wasn't paying any attention to him and kept falling asleep on him and so as a way to get Ash to pay attention to this show he likes so much he took the crystal. So I was a wee bit disappointed that at the end it was revealed that it was just nothing more than a complete accident because the crystal got caught in the wig. Of course Ash's lack of memory over having thrown the crystal on the desk didn't help either.

For me the funniest part of this episode was Pikachu behaving like a mischievous little brat and pulling on Roto's blond wig. And then Roto becoming angry and yelling at him.

And what the heck was up with Pikachu zeroing in on the ground and digging up a hole only to have a Diglett pop out of it? That was pretty darn funny.

One of the things I was really struck with by this episode was how much the other aspects of Pikachu's personality we were seeing. From playing with Roto's wig, to being locked out of the tv station when that security guard was fawning over him, to being a persistent little devil and digging the Z-Crystal out of Roto's wig when Roto collapsed on the desk at the end. And, really, not just this episode, but in any of the others, we're seeing more facets of Pikachu's personality re-emerge. He isn't just serious all the time from the endless forever-in-training mode that he's usually in. It's quite refreshing, really.

As for Kiawe..... apparently he's not quite as stoic and reserved as we've been led to believe all these past weeks. If I'm being honest I'm still on the fence as to how I feel about this completely out-of-control meltdown he had. I mean, I'm not offended by it or anything, and I did think it was certainly funny how it was played off of the other characters in regards to how they felt Kiawe would react to this news of the lost crystal. But still, it came out of left field and caught me off guard over it. So, I guess I just need to go back to square one with how I was thinking Kiawe's personality was. Obviously, there's more there than what I thought. I look forward to seeing if there are any other layers under that reserved façade that will be brought out into the open in the coming weeks.

 

[Johtohfiller]

I think this episode soured me on the face gags. Before I was mostly neutral on them and occasionally found them funny. This ep overkilled it. Good source for memes I guess.

 

[marshiyanmisuta]

After seeing the intro segment, I honestly thought that Roto took the crystal. I was thinking that he was upset because Ash wasn't paying any attention to him and kept falling asleep on him and so as a way to get Ash to pay attention to this show he likes so much he took the crystal. So I was a wee bit disappointed that at the end it was revealed that it was just nothing more than a complete accident because the crystal got caught in the wig. Of course Ash's lack of memory over having thrown the crystal on the desk didn't help either.

I was thinking the same thing. But it didn't really disappointed me. It would be way too mean for him.