Review BW071: Steadily Progressing Donamite! Crimgan VS Kirikizan!!

[Ampharos King]

Okay, NOW I'm convince that the writers are trying to make up for the hated Don Tournament. It's practically intentional.

"Hated" is such a subjective term. Some viewers disliked the pacing and battle results of the previous tournament, whereas others were satisifed that these decisions took place. These preferences can also vary greatly among viewers who are watching this tournament as well.

There are some users here who are displeased that their favorite, or near-favorite characters, have only progressed as far in this tournament as they did in the previous one. There are also some users who are disappointed that generic COTDs have made it to the second round of the tournament while major rivals are shafted after the end of the first round. Whether one likes or dislikes this tournament is simply a matter of preference. Fans of Ash, Bianca, and Stephan might be excited to watch the rest of this tournament while Burgundy and Trip fans will be disappointed that the writers set aside their favorite characters to focus on the other participants in the tournament.

 

[matt0044]

Okay, NOW I'm convince that the writers are trying to make up for the hated Don Tournament. It's practically intentional.

"Hated" is such a subjective term. Some viewers disliked the pacing and battle results of the previous tournament, whereas others were satisifed that these decisions took place. These preferences can also vary greatly among viewers who are watching this tournament as well.

There are some users here who are displeased that their favorite, or near-favorite characters, have only progressed as far in this tournament as they did in the previous one. There are also some users who are disappointed that generic COTDs have made it to the second round of the tournament while major rivals are shafted after the end of the first round. Whether one likes or dislikes this tournament is simply a matter of preference. Fans of Ash, Bianca, and Stephan might be excited to watch the rest of this tournament while Burgundy and Trip fans will be disappointed that the writers set aside their favorite characters to focus on the other participants in the tournament.

I meant in terms how this arc is generally more well-received that the last Don arc. Plus, many disliked the Don Tournaments' battles like how Emolga obeyed Iris for no reason and need I mention the Finals? Oh god, what s**tstorm that was, eh?

Yeah, the Don Tournament wasn't all bad but overall, the Donamite arc seems to be a big improvement over the former.

 

[Ishida]

"Steadily Progressing Donamite! Crimgan VS Kirikizan!!"

Uhmm no more like..

"Steadily Progressing Donamite! Futachimaru VS Doryuzu

Seriously why was the episode called Druddigon vs Bisharp if the battle wasn't even 30 seconds?

 

[Bandit Keith]

My Two Cents:

Good Pennies:
Arm Thrust! Revenge! Scraggy's Training!
Woah. Masaomi and Throh are strong...
BURGUNDY=WEAK! 'Tis is proof that Connoisseurs and Connaisseuses are crap substitutes for Pokémon Choreographers(Musical participants).
BULKAMANIA'S RUNNING WILD!
Dragon Freakin' Tail!
There's somethin' scaly...in the neighborhood...who ya gonna call...Dragon Busters!
Trip's Conkeldurr, even though it'll lose, is awesome. *Calls Conkeldurr=Electivire*

Bad Pennies:
Why The F**k is the title Druddigon vs. Bisharp? Just because it was the only battle with a main rival to be contained wholly in this episode?
Bianca...yawn...she's as bad as in the last tourney...go Stay in Nuvema Town as Juniper's bodyguard and rot...
Stephan needs to be a star more!


Overall:8.21/10

 

[MizuTaipu]

"Steadily Progressing Donamite! Crimgan VS Kirikizan!!"

Uhmm no more like..

"Steadily Progressing Donamite! Futachimaru VS Doryuzu

Seriously why was the episode called Druddigon vs Bisharp if the battle wasn't even 30 seconds?

'Cause Crimgan and Kirikizan are "more exciting" Pokémon. :-/

 

[Adil]

Done watching the first half of the episode. So, as of this episode, Cabernet is the only character who has battled all three of BW main characters?

Even though she lost but it was a very good battle overall, I must say. At one point when Futachi used "revenge", I thought it's over but once again, Iris and her damn luck

Edit: Ash's training with Zuruggu reminded me of his Snorunt somehow. Back then, Snorunt couldn't control its Ice Beam like Zuruggu's Focus Blast. Another great thing about this tournament is that the trainers are actually talking to each other as friends and not just standing there, especially that restaurant scene.

 

[TPrower]

Yeah, I have no idea how Druddigon and Bisharp's battle got top billing. Clearly, it was all about Excadrill vs Dewott. And Burgundy seriously suggested Iris should swap it? She's such a sore loser. XD
Plus, Scraggy being trained to use Focus Blast is pretty legit, though it might make more sense if he took some pointers from Excadrill.

 

[Yoshi-san]

Let me mention again how much I loved the rivalry between Langley and Iris is in this episode. Instead of that annoying Zorua gag we got from the last tourney, we can see how much Langley wants Iris to improve so she can defeat her. Also how Iris acts like she doesn't care but she really does. Also how it seem like Langley is pulling the "I'm the only one allowed to beat you" trope for Iris.

 

[Karamazov]

Seriously why was the episode called Druddigon vs Bisharp if the battle wasn't even 30 seconds?

Probably because the audience has already seen the otter and the mole; Kirikizan hadn't appeared in the anime yet, so they wanted to advertise it.

 

[Tsareena]

Dayum Bianca you creepy.
I'm liking Scraggy, Sawk, and Throh more with every episode, funny because I really used to not like them much.

Really enjoyed the Excadrill v Dewott battle. Anyway I agree on the subject of the title, was a bit disappointing to have the Druddigan/Bisharp battle be so short. The same with all the other "NPCs" (FOR LACK OF A BETTER WORD), honestly I think some of them had really interesting character designs and Pokemon that deserved the spotlight.
Georgia v Grace was barely a moment despite the hype of the title, and even if they were hardly important battles, I would have liked to see more of Chakki v Bakki and Domon v Masaomi. Poor Mienshao...my favorite, devastated in seconds!


Then again, I think I'm one of the few people who actually only watches the anime more for the Pokemon themselves, not the trainer characters...

 

[Masurao]

Let me mention again how much I loved the rivalry between Langley and Iris is in this episode. Instead of that annoying Zorua gag we got from the last tourney, we can see how much Langley wants Iris to improve so she can defeat her. Also how Iris acts like she doesn't care but she really does. Also how it seem like Langley is pulling the "I'm the only one allowed to beat you" trope for Iris.

It would be nice if Iris actually had some Dragon's worth busting. As it is now, Iris uses Excadrill...which isn't a Dragon, so really Iris still isn't doing much on her part of the rivalry. Langley saying that she, the dragon buster will defeat Iris, is kinda pointless right now.

What would be nice is to see Langley still disappointed in Iris even after winning. Talking down to her more about not using Dragons, telling her she relies on Excadrill to much. Something.

 

[Ampharos King]

I was disappointed about one thing during the episode. Ash and Scraggy were watching Iris's match with Burgundy, and Iris sent out a pokemon that is also able to use Focus Blast. I would have loved to see Ash tell Scraggy at some point during Iris's match to observe how Excadrill performs its Focus Blast attack, but this never happened on-screen. It would have also been awesome if Excadrill stepped up to teach Scraggy how to control the attack too, instead of Ash and Scraggy simply training to control the move by chance.

It would be nice if Iris actually had some Dragon's worth busting. As it is now, Iris uses Excadrill...which isn't a Dragon, so really Iris still isn't doing much on her part of the rivalry. Langley saying that she, the dragon buster will defeat Iris, is kinda pointless right now.

It really doesn't matter. Iris and Georgia are fighting different opponents in the second round of this tournament, and they will both lose to those opponents. Iris is simply using her most offensive pokemon in a tournament in which powerful pokemon with physical type attacks are typially used to compete.

What would be nice is to see Langley still disappointed in Iris even after winning. Talking down to her more about not using Dragons, telling her she relies on Excadrill to much. Something.

Georgia did dismiss Iris's wins in the previous tournament because she primarily used pokemon that weren't Dragon-types. My guess is that Georgia gained some newfound respect for her rival after Iris won the Club Battle tournament. Otherwise, it will be interesting to see how both rivals will react after the other loses her match in the next episode.

 

[Masurao]

Georgia did dismiss Iris's wins in the previous tournament because she primarily used pokemon that weren't Dragon-types. My guess is that Georgia gained some newfound respect for her rival after Iris won the Club Battle tournament. Otherwise, it will be interesting to see how both rivals will react after the other loses her match in the next episode.

No she didn't. She was relatively fine after Iris won. You can gain respect for someone, and still continue to emphasize more on what you want them to do. I would have liked to see her say, "Yeah Iris..it's great you won and all, but where would you be without Excadrill?"

I don't want this rivalry to stay in its current pattern...right now it's, "Ima Dragon Buster, use Dragons dammit!" to "K, you won we cool even though you didn't use a Dragon." back to "Ima Dragon Buster, use Dragons dammit!", and so on.

Almost making it seem like a gag.

 

[Adil]

In one of the scenes, Dewott's ears are missing.

Poor Dewott XD

 

[Banana-Sucker-Prof.]

It really doesn't matter. Iris and Georgia are fighting different opponents in the second round of this tournament, and they will both lose to those opponents. Iris is simply using her most offensive pokemon in a tournament in which powerful pokemon with physical type attacks are typially used to compete.

Just FYI-type of thing, but, when Kenyan decribed the Don-a-Might in the first of the 4 episodes, he mentioned historically/traditionally lots of powerful Fighting-type pokemon participate, usually, that's not a set rule or anything, nor is it a rule your entry must know physical moves. They all just happen to have a physical move, even if it is a lame one like Flora's Gochimiru's Doubleslap.

 

[Piplup]

I really liked Iris VS Burgundy, but I have to lol at Burgundy losing to each of the three main characters XD where's Paul? he should see her, THAT's "tsukaenai yatsu" XD
And... Georgia beat Druddigon SO easily? seriously? "dragon buster" and all but... really?... oh well
Oh and... Bianca, that's all I need to say... just Bianca... <3

 

[Yoshi-san]

Let me mention again how much I loved the rivalry between Langley and Iris is in this episode. Instead of that annoying Zorua gag we got from the last tourney, we can see how much Langley wants Iris to improve so she can defeat her. Also how Iris acts like she doesn't care but she really does. Also how it seem like Langley is pulling the "I'm the only one allowed to beat you" trope for Iris.

It would be nice if Iris actually had some Dragon's worth busting. As it is now, Iris uses Excadrill...which isn't a Dragon, so really Iris still isn't doing much on her part of the rivalry. Langley saying that she, the dragon buster will defeat Iris, is kinda pointless right now.

What would be nice is to see Langley still disappointed in Iris even after winning. Talking down to her more about not using Dragons, telling her she relies on Excadrill to much. Something.

I see it this way. Langley see that Iris trained her Doryuzu so well that she's excited to see Iris's abilities in training a Dragon, which are known to be strong by themselves. If Iris trains a Dragon to be strong, and Langley defeats it, it makes Langley look good.

Though this all depends if Iris actually catches another Dragon however...

Iris listen to Langley can catch a new Dragon!

 

[Hellion]

Four words describe my feelings after watching this episode: Don Battle done right. That is all. Ok, I'm lying; that isn't all.

I really loved this episode, and it's could almost get a perfect score from me were it not for one or two things, but I'll get to that in a bit. First off, the wacky trio of female rivals just made this episode amazing in my opinion. Bel was just hilarious from start to finish, her excitement for the tournament and the battles were contagious and I laughed at her creeping on Zuruggu, Dageki and Kenyan and how she was in the battle against Shooti just made me laugh and I can't help but like Bel and feel compelled by her when you see how much it all interests her and how much she really wants this, while still being totally aborable. Langley and Cabernet had their moments too. I really loved how badass Langley looked and her little spat with Cabernet was lulzy. Speaking of Cabs, loved the faces she pulls and I loved how Dent was during her battle. You could tell he was kinda rooting for her. XD Again, the episode really emphasized why loved Cabernet, 1 cups of crazy and 1 of super nice and sensitive person. She looked dangerous. Loved the progress she made, the combinations and strategies she pulled.

The only thing that I think rivals Bel in terms of adorableness in this episode is Zuruggu. OMG there was not a scene in there where he wasn't cute as hell. Loved that Satoshi was training it and that they're working on things. Though, and this is what I think is the one of the biggest things this tournament does better than the Don Battle, how much Zuruggu is featured and great is just part of a bigger trend to put the focus back on the Pokémon and really putting them in the spotlight, highlighting what makes each species unique and interesting. Kirikizan's acrobatic prowess was just awesome, as were Futachimaru's samurai moves. Both looked really good in this episode. Futachimaru's Revenge looked fucking epic. Enbuoh just looked really badass and yet really personal and adorable. Kojondo looked really really interesting and Dageki whom I despise in game was actually kinda cool. The Pokémon just looked good in this episode.

Speaking of Dageki, I wasn't actually that interested in Masaomi last week, but this week, I just loved the whole lovable bitch vibe he was giving off. Kenyan on the other hand left me kinda cold... again... feel free to make him interesting writers, cause even though he has no chance in hell of winning, I'm on Team Masaomi right now.

The one thing that actually bothered me about this episode is the battle between Cabernet and Iris. I loved the battle, but the outcome came off really cheap and felt like Cabernet was thrown under the bus to give Iris yet another undeserved victory. Cabernet and Futachimaru looked really good throughout the battle and not only did they matched Doryuuzu's power, but Cabernet outstrategized Iris not once but twice, with the Water Pulse geyser and letting Futachimaru take some hits to power up Revenge. So here you have a character that really wants it, that really cares, needs it more, that has improved drastically since her last appearance, that is litterally matching up the power of her opponent and outsmarting her, landing super effective hits, and yet... she loses? How? Oh yeah, by having Iris do the same tired old boring thing she always does which just using her utterly uninnovative "power through everything cause we're so invicible" approach. Still, I have no doubt Cabernet will be entertaining in the next two episodes and hopefully we'll see something to justify her being sideline, because that result was just utterly underwhelming. Also, Ice beam illicits no response from the cryophobic character? Really?

It's still a really good episode and really just again: Don Battle done right.

 

[H.M]

In one of the scenes, Dewott's ears are missing.

Poor Dewott XD

Good God, Excadrill clawed Dewott's ears off!! Oh the humanity!!11

Yay, it's Meinshao's debut time! I hope it gets good enough cov--...Huh. I guess some debuts are more equal than others. (Simisear barely got anything as well in this episode, even though it's not a debut). Poor thing.

 

[Masurao]

So here you have a character that really wants it, that really cares, needs it more, that has improved drastically since her last appearance, that is litterally matching up the power of her opponent and outsmarting her, landing super effective hits, and yet... she loses? How? Oh yeah, by having Iris do the same tired old boring thing she always does which just using her utterly uninnovative "power through everything cause we're so invicible" approach. Still, I have no doubt Cabernet will be entertaining in the next two episodes and hopefully we'll see something to justify her being sideline, because that result was just utterly underwhelming. Also, Ice beam illicits no response from the cryophobic character?

It's still a really good episode and really just again: Don Battle done right.

Here's hoping that after Excadrill gets its shit wrecked next week...Iris will, I dunno start to train other Pokemon other than Excadrill? Then again, probably nothing will change and Iris will probably continue to just get through attack, attack, attack with no kind of strategy whatsoever.

But anyway, I really enjoyed the character interaction this episode. Two episodes in, and we are already better than the first Don Battle fiasco. I don't know if I'd consider the episode better than last week, but it was close. I like the training with Scraggy, and Bianca was simply great. Masaomi is pretty cool, spying on Stephan and all.