Review JN037: I'm Back, Nice to Meet You, Alola!

[ii kanji]

I see people referring to the baby as he - do we actually know yet or is that an assumption?

 

[DynamicFusion]

Spring 2020 anime recording rankings. This Episode is #1 with 61 Points. This means that a lot of people did not watch the Episode live because of other circumstances so they recorded it and watched it later.

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

Spring 2020 anime recording rankings. This Episode is #1 with 61 Points. This means that a lot of people did not watch the Episode live because of other circumstances so they recorded it and watched it later.

Or they recorded it because they wanted to rewatch it, even if they watched it live?

 

[Sobble Bubble-O-Seven]

How can people say that Gou's Rotom phone has no personality.

You're right, it has a personality: an annoying one.

 

[nickdt]

You're right, it has a personality: an annoying one.

Fits right in with Go then.

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

You're right, it has a personality: an annoying one.

Fits right in with Go then.

I'm personally fine with said Rotom Phone, but I just want to make sure if you're referring to its voice, not personality, because its voice is what I've seen getting the most hate in regards to it.

 

[marshiyanmisuta]

You're right, it has a personality: an annoying one.

You must be mistaken it for Rotomdex, truly annoying one.

 

[Greninjaman]

You must be mistaken it for Rotomdex, truly annoying one.

What's wrong with someone finding a character annoying? You might not find it annoying, but they do.

 

[Sobble Bubble-O-Seven]

You must be mistaken it for Rotomdex, truly annoying one.

I find both of them annoying tbh.

 

[JinksChow]

Spring 2020 anime recording rankings. This Episode is #1 with 61 Points. This means that a lot of people did not watch the Episode live because of other circumstances so they recorded it and watched it later.

VOL.37 2020年　9月7日（月）～9月13日（日） | 週間高世帯視聴率番組

To corroborate, this episode also marks the first time this year that the Pokemon anime has made it into the Top 10 ratings (10th place with 2.4%), and the second time that the current series made it into the Top 10 ratings.
宝可梦 旅途动画收视率列表 - 神奇宝贝百科，关于宝可梦的百科全书

To give some context, last time this happened was just after Christmas, which was when most of the usual Top 10 suspects were on break, so this episode marks the first time that the current Pokemon anime series made it into the Top 10 without any caveats.

DVR ratings for this episode would not be available until 2 weeks later, but I expect viewership to also be higher there as well.

Given that the Pokemon anime is finally seeing a resurgence, I think once the time slot change to Friday happens, we might even see a return to early Pokemon XY viewership levels!

 

[Panky..]

VOL.37 2020年　9月7日（月）～9月13日（日） | 週間高世帯視聴率番組

To corroborate, this episode also marks the first time this year that the Pokemon anime has made it into the Top 10 ratings (10th place with 2.4%), and the second time that the current series made it into the Top 10 ratings.
宝可梦 旅途动画收视率列表 - 神奇宝贝百科，关于宝可梦的百科全书

To give some context, last time this happened was just after Christmas, which was when most of the usual Top 10 suspects were on break, so this episode marks the first time that the current Pokemon anime series made it into the Top 10 without any caveats.

DVR ratings for this episode would not be available until 2 weeks later, but I expect viewership to also be higher there as well.

Given that the Pokemon anime is finally seeing a resurgence, I think once the time slot change to Friday happens, we might even see a return to early Pokemon XY viewership levels!

And this puts the rest to the fallacy that "past characters returning doesn't help the anime and can confuse/alienate new viewers", like permanently.

Hopefully the people behind the anime have noticed this resurgence, the cause behind it, and make more of these episodes where past characters return and are actually prominent/recurring instead of being one note appearances (we know the Alola gang and family are returning as well).

 

[marshiyanmisuta]

What's wrong with someone finding a character annoying? You might not find it annoying, but they do.

That was a joke post.

 

[Greninjaman]

That was a joke post.

oh. My bad.

 

[Twilight-Kun]

People still haven't watched the show this far in if they think Go's Screamydex doesn't have a personality and is literally the best character in the show

And then Ash's flat-out murders the Rotmdex

But sure, tell me more about how they don't have personality

I could do with a good laugh

 

[Queen Cynthia]

(Sorry for the delay but I haven't had the chance to watch this episode until now.)
Well, I must say at first I was looking forward to the episode very much but after watching it I'm feeling more or less disappointed! To sum it up in one sentence:
An episode that was way too rushed and thus couldn't live up to my expectations for what they advertised as a reunion episode.

Here are a few aspects I'd like to focus on:
First, the episode started with no real reason for going to Alola. Yamper accidentially found a Leaf Stone, Ash wanted to see an Alolan Exeggutor and Prof. Sakuragi was like "Here's your ticket". Seriously? That region hopping is getting worse and worse!
Then we had a short reunion scene with Ash's Alola Pokemon which was quite ok but could have been longer and more intense if you ask me.
The same goes for the reunion with Ash's classmates: Instead of wasting precious time with Go getting caught by Lana (What was the point of that in the first place?), they could have done a better and longer reunion scene.
Now what bugged me the most: Why did nobody even bother to mention that Ash won the Alolan Championships?? Wasn't that his biggest achievement and the reason why everybody is so in awe of him? If they really wanted to do a reunion episode, Ash winning the tournament should definitely have been mentioned here!
As for Go and Kiawe's little rivalry: This was probably the best part of the episode. But still, Go saying he has "no intentions of helping Ash reaching his dream" came across as pretty rude and stunned me. I know he didn't mean it that way but it still didn't feel appropriate when apparently all he wanted to say was that his focus isn't on battling and his goal is different
And finally, once again after a typical and rushed Go-like catch, both boys were magically teleported back to Kanto. This makes region hopping even worse than it already is!

Verdict: In order for the episode to be great and live up to my expectations for a big reunion, it clearly should have been at least a two-parter. (I mean it's not like there haven't been any examples of unnecessary JN-episodes that could have been left out). Alola, the region where Ash has had his biggest achievement so far would have deserved it!

 

[thomaswiencek]

Do you think that Ash's Incineroar should need any kinds of battles right after its final evolution from Torracat? Why?

 

[Johtohfiller]

It’s quite ironic how despite them being just different forms of the same species, Rotom Dex is far more sentient, free willed and its own character (to the point of getting mad after getting its ego hurt by its counterpart) whereas the Phone Rotoms are… just there to be no more than any generic electronic devices without any traits to them.

Commentary on smartphones?

I've rewatched the episode a couple times and as much as I wish it were a two parter I think it did an excellent job of integrating the current series with Sun and Moon. There were so many tie-ins; Lei, Ash's mons, TR's mons (which convinces me we're going to get a TR Alolan reunion episode), the Grubbin chase and Lana catching Go, Lillie and Gladion continuing their quest, the photo (I love it, don't care about the art style difference). Those connections make the whole setting feel much more real. I get that it's easier to do that with Alola since SM's finale set it up but I hope we start seeing other regions get this treatment.

I'm gonna overanalyze something I noticed in the episode.

Spoiler

Instead of taking Kiawe's hand, Go grabs his arm to pull himself up. "Taking the future into his own hand" as it were. C'mon Go, you don't have to base your life around some song lyrics. Kiawe mentions how stubborn he is, I think he saw the symbolism.

Go connecting with Kiawe the most makes sense; they're both reserved but can get really intense and dramatic.

What really disappoints me after watching this episode is that it makes me question why other regions can't get the same treatment that Alola got. Ash was shown to be an Alola expert and guided Gou around, but in all the other regions he acts like he's never stepped foot in them. They also used some of the SM OST, which really sold the deal for me and helped let us know that this was unmistakably an Alola episode, but none of the other regions get that luxury, instead using the same recycled tracks that are used in every episode.

We did get that one Miyazaki track when Lucario Mega-evolved. I'm hoping as more characters return they'll start bringing back more regional music.

 

[Twilight-Kun]

Do you think that Ash's Incineroar should need any kinds of battles right after its final evolution from Torracat? Why?

I'd have liked to see it get used to its new body, since going from four legs at ground level to towering over everyone would take some getting used to

Then have it train with Kukui's Incineroar and fight Royal's Incineroar

 

[thomaswiencek]

Hey, I’m just wanting to know what you think has happened to Kiawe’s Ride Charizard? And do you think that it was mentioned in this episode?

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

Hey, I’m just wanting to know what you think has happened to Kiawe’s Ride Charizard? And do you think that it was mentioned in this episode?

It was seen in a photo. And it's definitely still under his ownership.