Review BW049: The Gym Leader is a Charisma Model! Kamitsure Appears!!

[Aestivate]

I love how when there are fangirls in the anime they always get distinctive character designs, but generic tournament-watchers/COTD's are always generic

 

[Crysta Blade]

Huh, we have Bianca knocking Ash into the nearest body of water, but his clothes stay on. That's a first! Drat, the Gym's closed. It's all good, as it gives us a reason to see a fashion show! To all those that said there was a lot of effort in the background character designs: you are right, you are so right. Jaw-droppingly amazing. Haha at the Elesa cosplayer. I do have a question, though. Why is Elesa wearing her headphones in all those outfits? Part of her contract or something? 'Cause I reckon those catwalk clothes would better without 'em. Ah yes, Pikachu fascination. Never gets old. Ooh, the roller coast--holy shit all those lights! Musta cost a pretty penny.

Elesa sure is tall. I suppose supermodels tend to be, plus she's got heels on. Still a stark contrast, though. Uh-oh, it's Bianca's dad! Not a good sign. Anyways, onto the Gym Battle! Hm, a female referee. We don't see many of those. Hehehe, lookit Shelmet's funny face. That's gotta set a record for quickest KO. Who else wants to join me in wiping that damn smug look of Bianca's dad's face? Jerk. Cripes, two KOs before the eyecatch? Writers didn't try to hide the outcome.

Aww, Shelmet looks so sad. So does Ash, actually. Time for a spot of tea. Nothing quite like lunch after a humiliating loss, hm? I'm sure there's a joke in there about supermodels and food, but I'm not gonna make it. It just wouldn't be Ash if he didn't kick up a stink over the unfairness of the situation, right? Uh, who the hell does Bianca's dad think he is, making Ash promise to head back home if he loses? What. The. Fuck. Good god, that is one outfit I hope to never see again. I'm not going to ask. Ahh, look at that bright determination shining in Ash's eyes. Bless him. D'aww, those flashbacks. Bianca in her jammies (incidentally, she seems to be wearing something else on her head in that scene)! Bianca without her hat! And Oshawott loses...wait! That can't be right...what?

Bianca's dad helps Ash up, and no-one has to go home. Wha? I'll echo what lots of people have been saying: what was the point of all this, exactly? Besides making Bianca look like she has no chance of becoming competent? And what's Bianca's dad's problem with travelling Trainers, anyway? This'd better not be the end of this plot. On another note, either the lighting is off or Elesa's not wearing tights in that last shot.

 

[Eitarou]

You know, this episode reminds me how much I hate the background characters half of the time.

Why? Because they're just that! Background characters. And yet in some episodes, they get more interesting designs than some of our generic Cotd's.

Why couldn't one of these les,er fans be a Character of the Day?

 

[matt0044]

I did like Shinji Miyazaki's Disco rendition of Cheren's Theme during Elesa's fashion show.

 

[Caseydia]

You know, this episode reminds me how much I hate the background characters half of the time.

Why? Because they're just that! Background characters. And yet in some episodes, they get more interesting designs than some of our generic Cotd's.

Why couldn't one of these les,er fans be a Character of the Day?

Because they like to troll us with uglier ones. No offense but ever since Brock left, the design team that made normal trainer characters or whatever seem liked he/she went on retirement or something.

 

[Iteru]

If you want to talk about background character designs, then please make a new thread. This thread is for reviewing the events of BW49 only.

 

[Caseydia]

Yeah whatever.
Anyway, I can't wait for this to be over with. I'm getting the feeling that this is turning into a Pikachu hate thread. Is this what it's going to be like every time Pikachu is used a a pacific gym match?

 

[CommanderPigg]

This episode was really not as bad as I thought it would be from reading the reviews here.

I think the main reason why I liked the episode was because of Ash. Always having to be the hero with his selfless deeds (no matter how unreasonable they are...I mean, really? Returning all the way to Kanto, what are you thinking, boy??). Very shounen of him. He was the one who made Bel's "development" in this episode even slightly feasible, reminding her and her father that Bel's journey was not wasted even though she's been doing poorly because of the connections she made and all the fun's she's having. I wish that Bel would have realized that without anyone's help, for that would have been a huge step in her character building, but this works too because it makes Ash look good

But I agree that more could have been done to make Bel more competent in this episode. I know that Elesa seemed to cut through her pokemon like Butter, but at least she put up some what of a fight...I hope this makes her realize how much more she has to go, but hopefully, by her next encounter, she'll improve. I don't want to put her on the same level as Shooti on the rival power rankings, but if she can manage to win against one of Ash's pokemon, I'll be happy.

Also, Bel's dad is a total dick XD He's pretty much telling her daughter that because she's a failure, she's not allowed to travel the world because she'll just get hurt. I can't say that I can't sympathize with her...

Even so, I LOL'd at his battle outfit and his pumped up persona. I want a flashback to his earlier days

I guess I'm obligated to talk about Elesa since she's supposed to be the main attraction

She was cool. I wish that she was more involved with steering Bel on the right track, but Ash seemed to have taken that role from her. She's just there to be fabulous I guess, and I'm cool with that XD

Okay, this bothers me. Why do pretty much all gyms have these stands that are almost always empty, but gyms like Elesa and the Striaton Bro's don't? They actually have an audience to attend to. And good Arceus, the entire fucking town went to that battle. Cilan's got nothin' on her fanbase he doesn't even have his own cosplayer...

EDIT: Oh, I forgot to add-

I would like an episode where Pignite stops obeying her (pissed that it's the only one on her team that can DO anything yet isn't respected or cared for as much because it's not cute) and Iris could help her understand it's feelings to make some use of the Dragon Buster Episode.

Pignite is ALWAYS cute >:I

 

[Reivaxe]

Pignite is ALWAYS cute >:I

Hey, tell that to Ms "HEY, wanna trade your cute pokemon for my trump-card Pokemon because your fox is so cute?!?!?".
(I will say that Pignite is about as cute as a fire-fighting pig on 2 legs can get)

 

[Cascada]

I think the problem is that all of those losses you mention, and the loss in this episode, where against regular trainers. No one really complains when Ash loses to a gym leader or an Elite 4 member, because they're supposed to be tough, and the E4 have always been portrayed as being pretty much untouchable, so it would be more surprising if he could beat them. Trainers in the leagues too are supposed to be really strong. But against a normal everyday trainer, we usually expect Ash to do much better, considering this is his 5th region and all. I know we can't expect him to win every single battle, but it is possible to overcompensate and make him look too weak, which is what some people feel is happening now

The only thing is, if Ash won all the time it'd be pretty boring. Had he used Charizard, Squirtle, and Bulba in Hoenn I'm sure he could and would have beaten Tyson. Not to get off topic too much, but all in all, Ash losing to Bianca's dad, while achieving in Bianca's journey still continuing is awesome writing.

 

[CommanderPigg]

I don't really mind that it lost mainly because it was oshawott who took the fall...Yeah, nothing much to say here XD And it was only one on one, there isn't sufficient evidence to prove that he's stronger than Ash nor do we know about his past experiences as a trainer. So yeah, not a big deal that he brought down ONE pokemon, it was just the context of the situation that made it seem really bitter, I guess...

 

[Caseydia]

The only thing is, if Ash won all the time it'd be pretty boring. Had he used Charizard, Squirtle, and Bulba in Hoenn I'm sure he could and would have beaten Tyson. Not to get off topic too much, but all in all, Ash losing to Bianca's dad, while achieving in Bianca's journey still continuing is awesome writing.

Yeah but losing all the time gets annoying too. This is why Elesa should have been the one to step in not Ash.

 

[Adamant]

Question: How many of you people complaining about how terrible the entire "imposing rules/go back to Masara" thing is actually understood the dialogue in the episode. I have this sneaking suspicion that number is 0.


...and I have to join those commenting on the "Charisma model" idiocy in the title. Who translates these things, anyway?

 

[Cybersai]

Question: How many of you people complaining about how terrible the entire "imposing rules/go back to Masara" thing is actually understood the dialogue in the episode. I have this sneaking suspicion that number is 0.

That may be true, but nice job actually providing us with what was actually implied. You know, what was stated?

 

[Musashi]

...and I have to join those commenting on the "Charisma model" idiocy in the title. Who translates these things, anyway?

I use the titles Bulbapedia has. If you don't like the way they translate them, go talk to them.

 

[Adamant]

That may be true, but nice job actually providing us with what was actually implied. You know, what was stated?

A generalized summary has already been posted. I'm not going to sit here and translate the entire episode for you, just pointing out that basing your entire hatred for a plot point consisting of a good deal of dialogue and emoting on a quick one-sentence summary of the events is generally not a good idea. If know you don't understand a lot of what went on beyond the barest basics, it might be an idea to reserve your judgment for when you do.

I use the titles Bulbapedia has. If you don't like the way they translate them, go talk to them.

"Attention Bulbapedia. Make an effort to translate shit properly, anyone with a working brain and the slightest knowledge of English can see that your translations are terrible. You're only embarrassing yourselves here, try to show some professionalism."

There, happy?

 

[Hellion]

Ok guys, let's try to bring the conversation back to the episode itself, which is the topic of this thread, and not the translation skill of the Bulbapedia team. Also, please remember that if you disagree with someone's opinion on the episode, attack their argument by supporting your ideas on dialogue from the episode itself, not by telling other users what/how they should or should not be posting.

Thank you

Edit: @Adamant If you want to make a suggestion for Bulbapedia, please take it to the Bulbawiki General Forum where it belongs.

 

[Adamant]

Also, please remember that if you disagree with someone's opinion on the episode, attack their argument by supporting your ideas on dialogue from the episode itself, not by telling other users what/how they should or should not be posting.

I wasn't really -attacking- their arguments, just... wondering how much they actually understood of what they were criticizing. Most of the people disliking the plot point seemed to have nothing but a very rough understanding of what was being said.

Edit: @Adamant If you want to make a suggestion for Bulbapedia, please take it to the Bulbawiki General Forum where it belongs.

People shouldn't really need to be told that writing with grammar so poor a three-year-old would be embarrassed is something that should be avoided. And I'm hardly the first person to point out that many of the Japanese title translations you operate with are a grammatical mess.

 

[Iteru]

That's where suggestions and complaints for Bulbapedia goes. It's going to be said to everyone from now on who complains about the titles that we use, because they originate from Bulbapedia, and I mean everyone.

Now let's get back to the contents of the episode.