Review JN011: Koharu, Wanpachi, and Sometimes Gangar Too

[nickdt]

Nah, I'll would rather have Gou to go back to Hoenn to catch Silcoon and evolve into Beautifly.

Yeah. He already has a Taillow. Then if he finds the three Wurmple, they can evolve Taillow into Swellow (If its gonna evolve that is).

 

[BigDocFan]

Haven't seen the subs but according to Altaro on Bulbapedia, Renji's Magnemite has the nickname Françoise

 

[Silktree]

I was under the impression that Koharu and her dad lived at the lab just like Ash and Go, so the brother and mom would have come out of left field if hadn't been for the previews. I would have preferred a divorce angle, but oh well. Functional families are still a bit rarer than dysfunctional ones when it comes to main characters, and who knows what the situation is like with Go's family.

I'm guessing that Koharu was surprised that her dad had deep feelings for anything but Pokemon, and once she realized that she was less hesitant to treat Yamper as her Pokemon.

 

[game3524]

I wonder if Koharu will end up becoming a Performer or Co-ordinater as well down the line coincidentally in time for the inevitable Diamond and Pearl remakes in the next year or two.

I doubt she gets some type of long-term passion and her doing contest would be lazy IMO. If they do have plans for her, I hope she becomes interested in battling. Maybe the skirmish with Genger gives her an adrenaline rush and it would be funny if she started to bond with Ash over a shared interested in battling given how she was at the start of the series.

 

[Knightwolf09]

So many cute moments this ep, especially from Yamper with his lil bark. Anyway I'm glad we're diving into Koharu finally. And now we even know why she was so cold before. She's just jealous of Go and Ash knowing their goals in life and she doesn't. It's an understandable feel.

 

[Vengeful Ghost]

This episode was more low key and mundane. That's not a bad thing. It gives us a look into how this world works. I'm surprised this world has jobs like manga artist that aren't related to pokemon. It makes perfect sense, but I never thought about it.

 

[Silktree]

There was a salaryman in AG, but he wanted to be a coordinator. I wonder if that pays the bills...

 

[Almonds]

I like episodes that show more about the pokemon world outside of battles. It was nice seeing the school, and my favorite part was Koharu's mom. That flashback of her and Prof. Sakuragi when they were younger was so precious. It is fascinating jobs like manga artists/illustrators are in the pokemon world, too.

I'm also glad the episode didn't rush Koharu into picking a career or job at the end. I hope they revisit her every now and then and build on her character. It looks promising.

 

[BigDocFan]

I'm glad that Koharu got some focus this episode

Hopefully she'll start getting more involved with Ash and Go

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

Gengar seems to be a recurring character at the Sakuragi Institute for now.

 

[BigDocFan]

Would be interesting to see Gengar again, I certainly hope Koharu's brother and mother appear more

 

[J Bouken]

Koharu's mum.

That's my review. See you next week.

...

Okay, I'll talk about the episode properly now. I've been vocal about my concerns for Koharu being a fawning childhood friend for Gou since the first episode showed her to be exactly that, so I was happy this episode chose to focus on her and family and not make a thing about her relationship with Gou at all.

What this episode also did well was show Koharu's conflict was something very normal for a kid in her circumstances, and not something that's specifically Pokemon related. Her ambivalence towards Pokemon is distinctive in a world that's obsessed with them, but her core issue is having these unfair expectations placed on her due to factors outside of her control. She distances herself from Pokemon things because she wants to distance herself from people's pre-conceived notions of her. By the same token, you wonder if she's distancing herself from Ash and Gou because she fears the association will only strengthen people's beliefs that she will inevitably follow her father's footsteps.

Her mother gave her excellent advice. She's only 10; she has plenty of time to decide what she wants to do. Her mother is an interesting case because her career path is unrelated to Pokemon, and it wasn't what she originally wanted to be. I like this because I think it's important for kids watching the show to know that it's okay to not know what you want to do, and that you can change your mind. Pokemon often has characters who focus on one thing only, but reality often doesn't work that way. Not everyone can get their dream job, but they can still find happiness.

Now, let's talk about Gengar. To me, it seems clear this episode was setting up something between Koharu and Gengar. Ash and Gou talked about having a contest to see who could catch it, but Koharu was the one who drove it away in the end, so you know it'll want revenge. They're also made a big thing about Yamper being Koharu's Pokemon; it'll only eat if she feeds it, and it'll only listen to her in battles. So one way or another, Koharu will have to interact with Pokemon. It's an inescapable part of her life, and perhaps her character arc will centre around coming to terms with this, rather than trying to escape it, as she's currently doing.

 

[Kurolegacy]

There was a salaryman in AG, but he wanted to be a coordinator. I wonder if that pays the bills...

I mean, look at Dawn’s single mother affording a house like the one Dawn lives in when the only thing we know is that she’s a Top Coordinator and Marina who is on merchandise and advertisements. I’d imagine if you can make it as a coordinator, sponsorships would end up being a natural thing that comes in.

 

[Silktree]

I mean, look at Dawn’s single mother affording a house like the one Dawn lives in when the only thing we know is that she’s a Top Coordinator and Marina who is on merchandise and advertisements. I’d imagine if you can make it as a coordinator, sponsorships would end up being a natural thing that comes in.

That seems unlikely for that particular guy. Don't quit your day job, kids.

 

[BigDocFan]

Watching the subs, this was certainly an enjoyable episode

Really enjoyed seeing more of Koharu, her interactions with her mum was nice, just wish she'd gotten more focus in the episode

Really hope we see more of her and her family as the series progresses, her and Yamper was cute

 

[DarkraiKnight]

Watching the subs, this was certainly an enjoyable episode

Really enjoyed seeing more of Koharu, her interactions with her mum was nice, just wish she'd gotten more focus in the episode

Really hope we see more of her and her family as the series progresses, her and Yamper was cute

I think the episode balanced Koharu’s development and the situation with Gengar perfectly, tbh. They got about equal screen time (with Koharu rightfully getting a bit more) for most of the way, and then both plot lines were tied together for the end. Couldn’t have asked for more myself.

 

[Johtohfiller]

I liked this episode a lot, it's nice to get to know the Sakuragi family better (not sure why they didn't do this sooner but whatever). The flashback scene was especially cute. My one complaint is with Scorbunny not fighting, that felt so artificial. Hopefully they're building up to him getting in on the action since Go's "just throw Pokeballs" approach didn't work this time.

 

[BugCatcherinVF]

I doubt she gets some type of long-term passion and her doing contest would be lazy IMO. If they do have plans for her, I hope she becomes interested in battling. Maybe the skirmish with Genger gives her an adrenaline rush and it would be funny if she started to bond with Ash over a shared interested in battling given how she was at the start of the series.

I'm team battling too, but more as a hobby than a dream. I'd like her dream job to be something not connected to pokémon.

Also are Go and Satoshi like living alone at the lab???

 

[Silktree]

I wouldn't mind Koharu becoming a novelist, writing about life with and without Pokemon. Simple and to the point, and they could sell the actual novelization for more dough.

Also are Go and Satoshi like living alone at the lab???

With Barri-chan as their caretaker. It's better than sleeping in the woods, but that Gengar could attack at any time.

 

[Kurolegacy]

I wouldn't mind Koharu becoming a novelist, writing about life with and without Pokemon. Simple and to the point, and they could sell the actual novelization for more dough.


With Barri-chan as their caretaker. It's better than sleeping in the woods, but that Gengar could attack at any time.

Why have we never had someone who is a trainer who goes on to become a novelist writing about their adventures? It seems like it’d make so much sense for a retired trainer.