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Review SM003: Hello, Roto, I'm the Rotom Pokédex, Roto!

I really liked this episode! We got some Team Rocket action right off the bat!

It seems mimkyu is kinda following TR's orders without them catching it, so that's cool

It was funny how bewear just popped up behind them when they were in the middle of a battle and carried them away

The TR motto animation is also new, and the animation looks pretty crisp

The rotomdex also seems like a pretty good character with how it was interacting with the gang and samson oak, it's weird seeing a pokedex with personality

Overall 7.8/10
 
TR aren't so bad in this art style, though they were always the ones with all the goofy expressions. This is what happens when you try to mess with Mimikyu's costume: YOUR DREAM WAS EATEN. Also: Gardevoir, Lopunny, Glaceon. Shit, they know... Apparently, they've been "adopted" by Bewear, and TR finally gets a weapon against the mighty Pikachu.
 
Iwane Masa'aki key animated the episode all by himself. It looks like his streak of working alone when acting as the animation supervisor continues!

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Was there any word about Inkay and Gourgeist?
And what was Giovanni's reason for sending the trio to Alola?
 
An okay episode for me. Giving it a 7/10 for effort. Not thrilled about TR returning or the new art design for Ash still.
 
The new art style in combination with Iwane animating this episode made this very painful to watch. You could hardly tell it was Iwane who worked on this episode at times.

Other than Ash, Jessie's facial design in particular looks absolutely awful. Overall, the characters look boring and like flat pancakes in the faces due to the lack of shading. Gross. Whoever decided on this art style change needs to be fired (hey, let's make the characters look uglier than ever before! Isn't that a great idea?)
 
Man, Team Rocket is on a freaking roll here! I can totally see this series as the one where they'll shine the most!

It's going to take a while for me to get used to their designs though, they look like they haven't sleep for ages lol
The weirdest thing is, even shoving their old designs aside, they still look kinda off compared to the other characters that were introduced in this very same series. Anyways, their motto sounds awesome! Yay for on-screen Japanese! I surely hope it has many variations in the future, because they will obviously just recycle this same animation over and over whenever they can. Oh! and I just love how the music is based on Rocket-Dan Danka! Aggh the guys are just great in this episode! Not to mention Giovanni and Matori appearing too and providing a bit of continuity, though I'm still wondering if that flashback had any hints about their Pokémon staying at the HQ.

I'm actually curious about how will the dub handle the motto text. Surely the Japanese staff realized avoiding Japanese text is pretty pointless nowadays, when you can actually simply hand TPCi the textless footage instead of forcing them to Photoshop them off or something. They didn't translate the Z-Moves in the sneak peek, though I'm expecting them to do so for the actual premiere... but for the motto, I'm not too confident. I sure hope they do, though, because it looks pretty cool.
 
Liked the episode, but the animation of Kojiro and Musashi wasn't easy on the eyes. I've always liked their original design, especially with Kojiro seeming more like a bishounen. Everything looked too soft... all the original cast is like that while new cast is drawn much sharper.

Besides that small detail, which I'm sure I'll get used to, I loved Bewear. I get excited for him every appearance and his final approach to the cast was hilarious. Mimikyu (sp?) Is wonderful... really love it. TR was very entertaining, and I hope it translates well into English.

I was never sure about the Rotom pokedex until now. I like that it has personality, and I also enjoy that it has to get used to personalities and the different ways people act. I like that it analyzes people as much as it does Pokemon. For the first time, people may start writing fan fiction for the Pokemon encyclopedia known as Pokedex. lol.

The new motto animation was amazing.

I'm about to watch the fourth episode now.
 
I've always liked their original design, especially with Kojiro seeming more like a bishounen. Everything looked too soft... all the original cast is like that while new cast is drawn much sharper.
Tbf they've been a bastardised version of their original design since Johto. I felt that from BW until now they (especially Kojiro) looked particularly pathetic, barring one or two episodes/moments. I'm not overjoyed by the design variation (Musashi's eyebrows make my own ones contract in misery) but at least they look like adults here and not bobbleheaded sticks.

I agree though that it's bizarre how soft they've gone for the original three humans when every other cast member looks like they'd slot right into any previous series. I guess they wanted to make the style shift obvious. I'm expecting all 3 designs to mellow out a bit once the series has had time to settle.
 
Tbf they've been a bastardised version of their original design since Johto. I felt that from BW until now they (especially Kojiro) looked particularly pathetic, barring one or two episodes/moments. I'm not overjoyed by the design variation (Musashi's eyebrows make my own ones contract in misery) but at least they look like adults here and not bobbleheaded sticks.

I agree though that it's bizarre how soft they've gone for the original three humans when every other cast member looks like they'd slot right into any previous series. I guess they wanted to make the style shift obvious. I'm expecting all 3 designs to mellow out a bit once the series has had time to settle.

I agree. I've been watching a lot of the original series on Netflix especially because I liked a lot of the episodes about their past when it first came out, but I noticed that his design was very different from what I'd gotten used to lately.

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Yeah I expect that the designs will definitely improve over time. Remember BW's change in animation? It took them some time before Ash's eyes looked right and not plastic.

They definitely look adult now... albeit frumpy adults.
 
Yeah, I'm not a fan of the new designs for the Rocket trio, especially with how much they clash with everyone else on this same show. Satoshi's new design looks like some genuine thought was put behind it while the Musashi's and Kojirou's designs look like quick napkin doodles. Musashi, especially, looks really off.

The actual animation is great (it seems like Iwane's trying his hand at Western-style lip sync?) but the character designs for Musashi and Kojirou...it's going to take some time.

Mimikkyu was awesome, though, and I love the new gag of Kiteruguma carrying the trio off.

Gaboo 2oo said:
I'm actually curious about how will the dub handle the motto text. Surely the Japanese staff realized avoiding Japanese text is pretty pointless nowadays, when you can actually simply hand TPCi the textless footage instead of forcing them to Photoshop them off or something. They didn't translate the Z-Moves in the sneak peek, though I'm expecting them to do so for the actual premiere... but for the motto, I'm not too confident. I sure hope they do, though, because it looks pretty cool.

The text will be erased and not replaced with anything, awkward amount of empty space left over be damned.
 
I actually really like the way Jessie looks when animated, she looks a lot less different than I thought she would. And while I prefer the two past styles on them when they're on-model, off-model this new style really suits them. The new motto is nice but I already know I'm gonna get sick of it when it's used every episode. Hopefully they mix things up more this time!

And as much as I love the fandom's version of Mimikyu as some soft, tragic Pokemon I also love the anime's version. Its cry is super creepy, amazing! Is Bewear carrying off TR going to be the new blasting off? Maybe they can switch back and forth for some variety.

Also, I feel like I'm the only one who feels like at least Jessie doesn't stray too far from her old design. Especially when animated by Iwane:

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Like yeah the shading/eyes are different but she still looks pretty similar. Her hair shape in particular is very much in-line with how Iwane always does it.
 
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:cry:
Kinda awkward how Kaki/Kiawe looks more hench than today's version of this grown-ass adult.

Kiawe is honestly one of the coolest male designs Pokemon has ever had outside of their sensei.

In my head, Kojiro gained a bunch of weight before going to the Aloha region. He and Musashi did not realize how much they physically changed because of the daily feast Sakaki provided due to their adventures in Kalos. Secretly, Bewear remembers Kojiro from years ago... when he vacationed there as a child, and he and his growlithe protected him so now, Bewear feels that kidnapping his obviously traumatized Kojiro (assumed by his physical change) is his best way to thank him.

I think this sounds pretty accurate.
 
Their new designs are nice. I never liked how Iwane drew Musashi and Kojiro post-Kanto, but they look pretty good here.
 
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