Review HZ001: The Pendant of Beginning, Part 1

[BlueLugger]

I might be wrong but it felt a bit unfair, when Liko went to pick her starter Pokemon, it seemed that only a few were left when it was her turn and she had no idea which one she was picking

I can agree, though there is a number assigned to each student shown on the tray it still feels that unlike in the games and in the anime before this one you don't get to pick. I also assumed at first that the academy Liko enrolled was in Paldea - as is in the case of the Scarlet and Violet games, until it was called the Indigo Academy which of course given WHERE it's close to is set in Kanto - explaining the Route 22 sign.

 

[Mr. MoonStone]

I might be wrong but it felt a bit unfair, when Liko went to pick her starter Pokemon, it seemed that only a few were left when it was her turn and she had no idea which one she was picking

Wasn’t it shown that the virtual entrance interviews were conducted to essentially match a student to a starter? I distinctly remember a flashback with Liko and a teacher talking about Pokémon.

 

[BigDocFan]

Wasn’t it shown that the virtual entrance interviews were conducted to dine to essentially match a student to a starter? I distinctly remember a flashback with Liko and a teacher talking about Pokémon.

I understand little to no Japanese so wasn't able to know that, thanks for filling me in

 

[Mr. MoonStone]

I understand little to no Japanese so wasn't able to know that, thanks for filling me in

No worries! There’s a part in the second half of the episode where Liko notes that her Sprigatito is very similar to her in some ways, so I guess the school really tries to match the student and Pokémon on personality as much as possible. I like that there’s a bit of thought put into the series like this.

 

[BigDocFan]

I do like how the school had all the starter Pokemon available to give out to students instead of just the Kanto ones

 

[ena9219]

Liko is adorable, Anne is adorable, and Sprigatito is adorable. The episode does an excellent job of establishing Liko and Spigatito's personalities (Shy and prone to overthinking but brave when needed and ordinary cat respectively). Hopefully, Anne gets a decent amount of screen time.

 

[Articfoxgamez]

I finally got around to watching with subtitles and now I'm curious about something. All the students (Minus some like Liko) are going home for a Long Break. So I'm curious if that was just to explain Liko being able to just, walk off from school. Or if they plan to like, claim the entire series somehow takes place entirely within that break.
Or the more reasonable outcome where like, the first season (Or whatever you wanna call the subtitle breaks) takes place in it and something similar happens every season, with a touch of school time in the middle.

 

[Greninjaman]

I finally got around to watching with subtitles and now I'm curious about something. All the students (Minus some like Liko) are going home for a Long Break. So I'm curious if that was just to explain Liko being able to just, walk off from school. Or if they plan to like, claim the entire series somehow takes place entirely within that break.
Or the more reasonable outcome where like, the first season (Or whatever you wanna call the subtitle breaks) takes place in it and something similar happens every season, with a touch of school time in the middle.

Or it could be like how Scarlet and Violet work with the students able to go anywhere around the region in addition to doing their classes. I never touched any classes when I played, so you can beat the storylines without doing them. Of course, you unlock classes as you progress through the story, so you have to make progress to do more classes.

 

[Articfoxgamez]

Or it could be like how Scarlet and Violet work with the students able to go anywhere around the region in addition to doing their classes. I never touched any classes when I played, so you can beat the storylines without doing them. Of course, you unlock classes as you progress through the story, so you have to make progress to do more classes.

True but the fact they specifically made all of this start happening during a school break makes me doubtful of that.
But like I said could just be so that there's less Freak Out over a student just kinda disappearing and it wont last long. Probably the most likely scenario. Can't imagine they would set up the whole school thing for no real reason.

 

[VetProf]

Wasn’t it shown that the virtual entrance interviews were conducted to essentially match a student to a starter? I distinctly remember a flashback with Liko and a teacher talking about Pokémon.

Yeah, partner Pokemon for the students are determined using interviews. I'm assuming the interviews involve actual sensible questions that aim to determine the most suitable partner Pokemon for each student, but at the same time, I'm reminded of the PMD interviews that throw all sorts of wacky personality tests and questions at you to determine the Pokemon that you play as.

 

[ehh123]

Assuming Indigo Academy has the same scheduling as typical Japanese schools, how long was Liko there before the Explorers tried to get her pendant during the first long break of the year?

 

[Articfoxgamez]

Assuming Indigo Academy has the same scheduling as typical Japanese schools, how long was Liko there before the Explorers tried to get her pendant during the first long break of the year?

Based on just some quick googling, seems like the first long break is actually the summer one starting at near end of july and lasting till the end of august, so she was there for about 3 months.
Which makes me think they might really do the whole "The whole series takes place during the school break" thing. 3-4 year series condensed to a little over a month canonically.

 

[ehh123]

Which makes me think they might really do the whole "The whole series takes place during the school break" thing. 3-4 year series condensed to a little over a month canonically.

That would be hilarious.

Student: Your starter Pokemon was struggling to do one move the entire semester! One break later and it's suddenly a powerhouse! How did that happen?!
Liko: Uh... real-world experience?

 

[FelipePR]

The episode was really cool and inviting, and although the setting and approach were very different from what was expected from a Pokémon anime, it was quite refreshing. I don't mind the anime starting in a school setting, I myself think it makes a lot of sense, especially when we have the 9th generation games in mind.

The main negative point of the episode, in my opinion, is that Liko talks too much, LOL. There is a real abuse of introspective narrative here. Rubbs me off also that, with the exception of Liko's roommate, there is no other relevant character at the school.

Wasn’t it shown that the virtual entrance interviews were conducted to essentially match a student to a starter? I distinctly remember a flashback with Liko and a teacher talking about Pokémon.

You are right, the episode covers interviews that Liko conducted regarding his Starter Pokémon, and, from that, it suggests that Liko's starter could be a starter from any of the generations.

I can agree, though there is a number assigned to each student shown on the tray it still feels that unlike in the games and in the anime before this one you don't get to pick.

So it seemed to me, I believe that the Starters were pre-selected based on the results of the student interviews.