It's been exactly one year: What are your thoughts on Sun & Moon animé so far?

[HiroHunter]

There should honestly be a MEH option in the voting tbh. While I like SM more than I dislike it, there are some recurring frustrations at times and it really hinders me from fully enjoying the series.

The latest example imo was episode 50, the first 8 minutes was totally uncalled for imo, the whole jump rope thing was just so meh. Was it animated brilliantly? Yeah ofc but what was the point of it. I really don't care that much to see Lillie playing with everyone's Pokemon and much less for Ash doing the jump ropes beforehand. The tonal shift was too much as well, we went from that happy go lucky preschool nonsense to the part we all want, the serious UB plot but why must both these things be in one episode?

Secondly, why does Ash NEVER HAVE Litten and Lycanroc on him? They were in school this time for once but yet they were not there to battle? Rowlet is always fucking sleeping as well, Ash has four Pokemon but only Pikachu gets a quick beat down. Ash can use Z Moves and so can Gladion but neither use them to fight Nihilego? It's so bloody frustrating to see Ash go from someone who personally trains all his Pokemon to one who leaves them to train by themselves. Total 180 shift in character.

At this point one can easily argue this was the least he actually cared about his dream or even his Pokemon with respect to bonding/strength in the longest time.

Same I do feel like SM can get better as long as it doesn't fuck it all up at some point. And I don't like how Ash is not trying to get better or train his pokemon at this point I hope it can get better later. Because all I feel right now is its ok not good not bad only ok.

 

[Cresselia92]

Yeah, I suppose this is how I currently feel about the saga as well. Didn’t like the beginning /initial year at all due to being too much gag-filled and saccharine for my tastes, but with the ongoing arc it looks definitely better in my eyes.

So, I can only hope it will keep up the balance between humor and seriousness and doesn’t botch it up by putting unneeded slapstick gags at random places. Avoid this, SM, and we may finally have a deal.

 

[kantoskies]

It's very...hit-or-miss for me. I really enjoy the lighthearted tone and I feel like the personalities of Satoshi and the Rocket trio are spot-on, which is something I haven't been able to say for awhile. The art style, when handled by a good animation director, is actually pretty neat and definitely adds more life to the show. Continuity has been making a well-marked comeback and I've been enjoying the current storyline with the Aether foundation. With the plot in full-swing now and the possibility of more continuity in the future I'm definitely the most interested in this series as I ever have been.

All that said, I find it really difficult to care about most of the main characters. The Rocket trio (be still my heart) and Lillie are probably the only characters I've been invested in. Satoshi is decent and definitely the most enjoyable he's been in years but after 20 years of the same schtick and constant personality resets it's hard for me to care about him at all, especially because his only real personality traits are super generic shounen anime protagonist ones like determination and optimism. And as for the rest of the classmates? They're all each charming in their own ways and when they're given focus episodes they're fine but as a collective ensemble they're definitely the most boring to date. Much like the DP and XY groups there's not really any major conflicts but the big difference here is the group is much larger than before. I was hoping for some interesting dynamic with Kaki based on how he acted in the first few episodes but it seems like he's mainly just a comic relief character. Which is fine but I do miss when the group dynamics were more engaging. Add to the fact that this is the first series where Satoshi is the only character to appear in every episode and it's hard not to lose interest quickly.

I also feel like the Akala arc was probably one of the most boring we've had in any series, though I try not to hold this against the writers too much because I'm sure the target audience enjoyed it. And while I praised the art style earlier, I feel like the animation quality has actually gotten worse in some areas. Stock animation has always been an issue for me and I feel like it's gotten worse this series. Those dynamic action background shots have slowly started to make a comeback, and the anime has unfortunately adapted the games' ridiculously long Z-move animations, which absolutely do not work in the context of a battle here. Since they're so much longer than a typical move it's impossible not to notice the copy-paste. And the less said about the Rocket trio's awful new motto the better.

All in all it's definitely not the best series but it's better than the last two so far. I'm cautiously optimistic that it's speeding up as pretty much every episode since the Akala arc ended has been interesting and with USUM just being released I'm curious as to where the writers will go from here.

 

[Alola]

@Cresselia92 summed up a lot of what I would say. Honestly, this show is a roller coaster. It has great moments and unnecessary shortcomings. I think I'm going to hold out until the show is finished, to give it a substantial review. Quick points though:

• The cast is still too large and several main characters are underdeveloped and out of focus
• In my opinion, there isn't enough battling (which is a shame, since Sun & Moon introduced a couple new battling mechanics)
• Pacing is horrible and messy, easily the worst so far of any of the sagas
• Centralizing everything and everyone to one setting is a bad idea
• Rotomdex should never undermine and outshine Lillie
• I miss Hau and Illima even though they haven't appeared and probably never will
• I do like the friendship dynamic Ash has with a larger group of friends
• Sun & Moon music is beautiful when we get to hear it

 

[Kairyu]

@Cresselia92 summed up a lot of what I would say. Honestly, this show is a roller coaster. It has great moments and unnecessary shortcomings. I think I'm going to hold out until the show is finished, to give it a substantial review. Quick points though:

• The cast is still too large and several main characters are underdeveloped and out of focus
• In my opinion, there isn't enough battling (which is a shame, since Sun & Moon introduced a couple new battling mechanics)
• Pacing is horrible and messy, easily the worst so far of any of the sagas
• Centralizing everything and everyone to one setting is a bad idea
• Rotomdex should never undermine and outshine Lillie
• I miss Hau and Illima even though they haven't appeared and probably never will
• I do like the friendship dynamic Ash has with a larger group of friends
• Sun & Moon music is beautiful when we get to hear it

Pretty much agree with all of this. That said, it doesn't mention the #1 flaw (imo) and that is Ash's SM design. Why is it that all other characters look at least decent but then there's the main man who looks so incredibly... off. It's like somebody designed SM's Ash with sabotage in mind or something.

 

[Rajas20]

Pretty much agree with all of this. That said, it doesn't mention the #1 flaw (imo) and that is Ash's SM design. Why is it that all other characters look at least decent but then there's the main man who looks so incredibly... off. It's like somebody designed SM's Ash with sabotage in mind or something.

I think the design issues are so noticeable because we've seen Ash in a much better light for the past 20 years whereas the SM companions are designed specifically to fit into this animation/art style so they look much better. Ash on the other hand was changed drastically to fit said styles which would make him difficult to really accept mostly. I myself don't really like his look whereas I'm pleased with everyone else.

 

[Johtohfiller]

Pretty much agree with all of this. That said, it doesn't mention the #1 flaw (imo) and that is Ash's SM design. Why is it that all other characters look at least decent but then there's the main man who looks so incredibly... off. It's like somebody designed SM's Ash with sabotage in mind or something.

Jessie and James look worse in the new style IMO and they're supposed to be the hot ones!

 

[marshiyanmisuta]

Why is it that all other characters look at least decent but then there's the main man who looks so incredibly... off.

Jessie and James look worse in the new style IMO and they're supposed to be the hot ones!

Because they're the only designs created by the show. Rest of them them are just copies of their Sugimori style game designs. Other characters' designs not much different from XY.

 

[Unbeatable HoennMon]

Actually It becomes better than I expected. I'm surprised but it's first time since Diamond and Pearl when I enjoy whole series. The most important thing- continuity. Kanto episodes were best what happened to this show since Dawn returned in BW. These two episodes restored my faith in this Anime (Maybe we'll see Dawn, Max, May, or Tracey in the future?). Characters-maybe I'm in minority, but I really like them-
TRio- wonderful, simply wonderful...best since early Hoenn...I'm only waiting for more screentime for them. And Bewear instead of Jessie's annoying ,,Art"...finally. SM TRio-10/10.
Ash-better than XY Ash, but acts more childish than 20 years ago. Still-not so bad.
Sophocles- better Clemont...much better. (But, if you want true genius, better call Max- he was even able to solve Brock's problems xd)
Kiawe- that's very good character, he should get more screentime, definetely.
Mallow- Less fangirl, more teasing and will be good, girl.
Lana- I'm pretty surprised about her development...follow this path, girl, follow this path.
Lillie- I'm waiting, but her story becomes more and more interesting.
Gladion- Best rival since Paul times (of course, he's not as good character as Gary or Paul yet).
To sum up- 2017 is best PokeAnime year since 2010, Sun and Moon Anime- 9,5/10. Od course-OS, AG and DP were much better but still it's really nice thing to watch.

 

[SerenaToAlola]

First of all, I really liked the whole vibe and mood of Alola. The episodes are all fun in their own way. The only episode so far that I didn't really like was probably the Rotom detective one. While the slice of life thing might not have been everyone's cup of tea, in its defence I would say that many of the filler episodes in the past season were the same kind of pointless. That said the story really picked up once they went to Akala and I felt like the slice of life eps really contributed to how good the plot driven ones are because the characters feel really fleshed out now. Also I like how the school setting allows them to switch out the characters since they don't have to be together all the time. I mean let's be real, the main cast is Ash and Lillie. The rest are supporting cast.

My only complain with the show is their puzzling treatment of trials and the island challenge. So it's just the Pokemon now? I wish they explained it better cause it made it seem like you don't have to do all of them? Ash only did the grass one and he could challenge the Kahuna? I don't mind them cutting out Illima but I like Acerola so I want to see her!

Also, I'm missing Hau! I want to see him!

 

[Sakuraa]

It's not the worst thing ever, but it could be much better. The biggest problem I have is that they're pushing this "vacation" thing too far. I get that Ash went to Alola for a vacation, but the saga literally feels like he's on one constantly because all of the major "plot" related events seem to always take a backseat to other minor things. Seriously, the pacing is just a hot mess. We'll get like 10+ episodes of random irrelevant fillers, before they rush through 4 episodes that related to the actual plot of Sun and Moon. All of the trials so far have taken place in back to back episodes with the Totem "battles" usually only being relegated to the second half of an episode. They also completed screwed up the trials by letting Ash do whatever the hell he wants and send out 2 Pokemon to combat the Totem and its allies, when the 2 vs. 1 element is what made them so great in the games.

Now we have the Aether plot (after being ignored the first time Ash and co. went to Akala) also being rushed af. The main event from the games has already freaking happened and the arc literally just started. It's ridiculous that they devoted time to baseball games, Mallow chilling with an Oranguru, a Charjabug race, a bunch of pointless junk with TR, going to Kanto and screwing around for a whole 2 episodes, but can't be bothered to focus on the relevant stuff with the Island Trials, learning about Z-Moves, the Aether Foundation, or even dealing with Team Skull.

And speaking of Team Skull, their appearances are so irrelevant it hurts. Their little trio is basically just an Alolan TR and it's annoying af. Plus the fact that they have such huge gaps in between their appearances where they do a grand total of nothing worthwhile makes it even worse.

Lastly, I just don't feel like much progress is being made and what progress is made is rarely focused on. Ash is getting more Z-Crystals, but he rarely ever uses his Z-Moves and when it does, it's usually just to OHKO Team Skull or TR. And the Island Challenge feels like it's just an afterthought when it should be the main focus. Lana has worked with Popplio's balloons, gotten a Z-Ring, and Wateruim-Z so she's arguably gotten the most development. Kiawe has worked with Turtonator, but has barely done a thing with Marowak since catching it. Sophecles caught Charjabug and bonded with it in a race, but he has barely done anything with his main Pokemon, Togedemaru. Mallow and Steenee ain't done jack swat. Lillie's Pokemon fear started out fine, but now it's getting way too messy. She learns to touch Snowy, then Pikachu, then she gets shocked over Silvally and can't touch anything once again, then 1 episode later she's hugging on everything. It's way to much in such a short time span, plus it was just unnecessary. If they wanted to spread it out across more episodes, that would have been fine, but that goes back to them rushing the Aether plot :/

So overall, it's been a bit of a letdown overall. There's been worse, they've also done way better before and should be able to here.

 

[SerenaToAlola]

Now we have the Aether plot (after being ignored the first time Ash and co. went to Akala) also being rushed af. The main event from the games has already freaking happened and the arc literally just started. It's ridiculous that they devoted time to baseball games, Mallow chilling with an Oranguru, a Charjabug race, a bunch of pointless junk with TR, going to Kanto and screwing around for a whole 2 episodes, but can't be bothered to focus on the relevant stuff with the Island Trials, learning about Z-Moves, the Aether Foundation, or even dealing with Team Skull.

Don't they usually start the plot concerning the villainous team like a year in or so? XY only dealt with it after the league. I think it's a good thing that they held it off till now cause it affects pacing.

 

[Felix-Culpa]

Overall, I like it.

My main nitpick is probably the consensus which is pacing. I liked the beginning and liked it more when they went to Kanto, but became inconsistent when they came back. I do like the recent episodes in regards to Aether Foundation because of the plot.

(I do wish Ash caught more Pokemon like in BW and/or having his other Pokemon evolve)

I wish Ash battled another island kahuna (though a plus has been the other characters getting z-crystals so I'm not too bothered by the lack of battling).

 

[KyseL]

It makes me happy. I can watch every new episode and be excited about the next one even if it's unrelated "filler" and I haven't felt that way since I was a kid watching OS. The animation is outstanding, the new art style is great, it doesn't feel over saturated with information (like in X & Y) yet it still not too oversimplified. Team Rocket on smaller doses is perfect and keeps them fresh, saving them for good gags or relevant episodes, instead of being mere plot devices. The comedy is less reliant on recurring gags that happen every episode (there are still some, though), so you can't fully expect what's going to happen. Filler episodes are not as frequent and not nearly as bad as they once were (and far less formulaic).

The only thing I'm not fully satisfied with is that I want them to focus more on the non Lillie nor Satoshi main cast, and I don't mean that they should make them necessarily achieve something important like captures and evolutions, but just flesh their lives and personalities out a bit more.

 

[marshiyanmisuta]

Disappointing so far.

 

[Sean Brown]

I love it. Static Ash did not look like a good idea at first, but as the show progressed, I became used to it.

 

[Jaypom]

I'm gonna love if in the next series he has to get re-accustomed to traveling constantly

 

[Johtohfiller]

Me: I hope we get some interesting choreography for this batt-

*Waluigi rushes in*

"TOO BAD!!! Z-MOVE TIME!!!!!"

 

[ii kanji]

I'm just very confused right now.
Normally 1 year in, we would have an idea about the direction of travel and have some idea of what is to come e.g. x number of gyms left before League, Evil Team arc, movie based on 3rd version legendary .etc.

We've now completed the big story arc from the games, and the love story of the series and Satoshi doesn't show any signs of taking a journey or focusing full-time on the island challenge (not that I object to either of these things in principle). Even the movies have departed from the standard format!

There is no obvious trajectory. It's impossible even to predict when the series will end! Tbh this is probably a good thing but I feel very out of my comfort zone - one of the reasons I always come back to Pokeani is because it's always been a source of predictability and stability in my life

(Declaration: I am really enjoying SM on an episode-by-episode basis...)

 

[Nicolas721]

I'm just very confused right now.
Normally 1 year in, we would have an idea about the direction of travel and have some idea of what is to come e.g. x number of gyms left before League, Evil Team arc, movie based on 3rd version legendary .etc.

I'm positive we'll have UlaUla > USUM story > Poni > League, but everything else it's hard to predict. This semester was a hell on a ride...We went from the revelation that Ash won't participate in all trials, to Pikachu talking, to Rockruff evolving in a new form within 6 months of capture, to the ORIGINAL SIDEKICKS returning, to a quick adaptation of SM's climax, to a wedding.