Review JN071: Let's Go! Project Mew!!

[Queen Cynthia]

(Sorry for the delay. Wasn't able to watch the episode until now.)

In short, it was a great episode and setup for future project Mew episodes on the one hand, but on the other hand the episode's individual parts (or subplots if you like) were a bit too short and could have been handled better in a two-parter.

Here's why the episodes was great:
I simply love episodes focusing on adventures and expeditions. I think this is what the original idea of Pokemon is all about: Going out there and exploring the world.
Also, I find that Project Mew team pretty intriguing. It obviously consists of skilled members and their elitist way of recruitung new members is fascinating, too. I particularly like the idea of not giving away places in the team that easily. A very good new idea that's been introduced here.
Second, I loved that intense atmosphere. You could easily get the impression it sure was serious stuff Ash and Go were involved in. The intensity was literally tangible.
Third, Regice and my favorite Galar Pokemon, Urshifu, had a short cameo. They managed to show what a powerhouse Urshifu is and now I like that epic Pokemon even more! Also, I was pretty impressed how easily it knocked down Regice with Tsurugi just walking away and telling it to "behave". Pretty cool to say the least!
Finally, Sinnoh again! ... Sinnoh ... no more words needed. This fact alone makes the episode great

Here's why the episode should have been a two-parter:
Especially the search for Ninetales and the battle parts were too short and would have deserved more focus. Considering the vast area Ash and Go were searching, it was little convincing they were able to find Ninetales that fast.
Also, Pokemon like Regice and Urshifu can easily be considered special and thus would absolutely have needed much more screentime. Regice hardly had to do anything and almost looked like a common Pokemon Of The Day. Plus, as I already pointed out above, Urshifu is just great. It goes without saying I would have expected it to get more focus. At least I'm optimistic we'll get to see it again in future Project Mew episodes.
Finally, I wasn't pleased about Ash's rather trivial role today. It was almost as if he was a mere extra who didn't get to do much except watching and an ultra short battle against Regice. Once again, Go was unnecessarily pampered by the writers.

To sum up, a great episode with lot of good ideas. However, it would have been even better if it had been a two-parter focusing on the special Pokemon and the battles.

 

[PkmnTrainerV]

Not necessarily. The fact that Regice is set up as important and Tsurugi saying he'll be coming back for it means it'll be relevant to the plot, which hardly makes it wasted in my book.

The way the situation played out might be "wasted" for some people and "not wasted" for others. It’s subjective. You cannot tell someone what their opinion should be on that since, well, it’s not a fact.

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

The way the situation played out might be "wasted" for some people and "not wasted" for others. It’s subjective. You cannot tell someone what their opinion should be on that since, well, it’s not a fact.

If it serves purpose for the plot, it is objectively not wasted.

 

[Silktree]

Why would it be considered payback when Ash has always been the main character? Of course he would get most of the focus. When deciding to bring a second one to the series, the showrunners and writers should’ve thought things out better.

Oh no, OLM thought that an actual co-star getting his own episodes would be a good idea, and they were never misleading about it. The horror.

I'm using the word "payback" because you folks are treating it as a travesty. It really isn't. The sooner Project Mew lays out rules that don't allow Ash to help Go too much, the better. This isn't his goal any more than contests or showcases were.

 

[Unireon]

It happens that having a new protagonist was a radical/sudden and, for some, unwanted change.

But if the series didn't go out of its way to proclaim that Satoshi and Gou are equal, when it's clearly that the latter has more focus.
Then people wouldn't be complaining.

Spoiler: Ongoing issue

His goal is featured in most episodes, and even in those that are supposed to be about other characters.
While Satoshi's goal appears sparsely and is even absent from some of his episodes.

The sooner Project Mew lays out rules that don't allow Ash to help Go too much, the better. This isn't his goal any more than contests or showcases were.

I agree, that rule needs to be implemented in the next Trial, Satoshi must stop appearing.
The staff needs to show us that Gou is able to carry the Arc by himself.

It's due time for Satoshi to graduate, at last.

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

Finally, I wasn't pleased about Ash's rather trivial role today. It was almost as if he was a mere extra who didn't get to do much except watching and an ultra short battle against Regice. Once again, Go was unnecessarily pampered by the writers.

The sooner Project Mew lays out rules that don't allow Ash to help Go too much, the better. This isn't his goal any more than contests or showcases were.

I agree, that needs to be implemented in the next Trial, Satoshi must stop appearing.
The staff needs to show us that Gou is able to carry the Arc by himself.

It's due time for Satoshi to graduate, at last.

Ash was allowed to tag along so that they could see how well Goh could cooperate with another Trainer. In a team, having good cooperation skills is important. So I don't feel Ash's contribution was trivial.

 

[Unireon]

Ash was allowed to tag along so that they could see how well Goh could cooperate with another Trainer. In a team, having good cooperation skills is important. So I don't feel Ash's contribution was trivial.

Wouldn't it have been better if they tested that by partnering Gou with another candidate?

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

Wouldn't it have been better if they tested that by partnering Gou with another candidate?

A partner is a partner, regardless whether they're in the team or not.

 

[PkmnTrainerV]

A partner is a partner, regardless whether they're in the team or not.

That’s like pairing someone with their best friend, with whom someone already has good co-ordination with, to test teamwork. It makes no sense as one obviously works better with someone they know well.

 

[CrystalRose21]

I liked Goh's reaction after Gary talked to him.
Did anyone see Grookey kind of panicking as it hangs onto him?

 

[Craiden]

I liked Goh's reaction after Gary talked to him.
Did anyone see Grookey kind of panicking as it hangs onto him?

Yeah, little things like that, Pikachu falling asleep during the Project Mew rundown (though I wouldn't call that boring) the Pokemon reacting to the weather were nice little things regarding the episode.

 

[Sheep]

I wish the battle with Alolan Ninetales lasted a bit longer (I figured it'd end with Go trying to connect with it rather than brute-force battle it into submission - would've been cool to see more of that struggle, but I understand this was already a busy episode) though this was still a really good episode to me. I love Asahi and Tsurugi both lots. Immediately recognized Tsurugi's VA as being Levi's from Attack on Titan lol, hearing Hiroshi Kamiya again was awesome since it's been a while for me!

 

[Nicolas721]

The episode was okay. I felt very meh about Project Mew but this episode sold me on it, as it seems like a very interesting way to put Goh forward as he'll have to compete with others not only in catching but also in strategic missions as well. Asahi and Tsurugi may not be the most interesting characters ever, but they work well as rivals and do a good job on giving the project a "serious deal" feel. I'm very intrigued to see who the other Chasers are, and I'm sure one of them has to be a character we already know. Also it's great to see Gary being officially promoted to recurring character, hopefully this time it actually has an ending unlike his DP role.

The pacing was much better than I expected, but still a bit rushed at times like the Ninetales battle as others said, and yeah, that Regice thing was extremely random and unnecessary, if they wanted to foreshadow something a picture of it would have been enough. But overall I think I enjoyed it more than the Moltres episode.

 

[WatcherMark]

I enjoyed this episode quite a bit. I do have a problem with Regice was brought it just to be easily defeated when there were plenty other intimidating ice-types that could have been thrown in there, but other than that it was all good. I like the in-depth explanation of how Project Mew works and how they don't just take on members but force them to earn their place. Plus I'm happy at how Satoshi is mature enough to just let Shigeru's comments roll off his back while Go is getting all worked up.

I did have a thought during this episode; so there's this isolated mountain where Mew is certain to return to at a certain time... Imagine if Project Mew headed there and ran into

(Yes, I'm aware it will NEVER happen but it's nice to dream)

 

[CrystalRose21]

I enjoyed this episode quite a bit. I do have a problem with Regice was brought it just to be easily defeated when there were plenty other intimidating ice-types that could have been thrown in there, but other than that it was all good. I like the in-depth explanation of how Project Mew works and how they don't just take on members but force them to earn their place. Plus I'm happy at how Satoshi is mature enough to just let Shigeru's comments roll off his back while Go is getting all worked up.

I did have a thought during this episode; so there's this isolated mountain where Mew is certain to return to at a certain time... Imagine if Project Mew headed there and ran into

View attachment 146359

(Yes, I'm aware it will NEVER happen but it's nice to dream)

Yes. It would be quite surprising if this would happen (although this is only in our imagination unless to the contrary). Goh might want to protect Mew from Jessie's mother, I guess.

 

[Proud_box]

Pretty weird that goh had 4 Mons tha can fly on hand

 

[Icchan the Kung-Fu Bear]

(Sorry for the delay. Wasn't able to watch the episode until now.)

In short, it was a great episode and setup for future project Mew episodes on the one hand, but on the other hand the episode's individual parts (or subplots if you like) were a bit too short and could have been handled better in a two-parter.

Here's why the episodes was great:
I simply love episodes focusing on adventures and expeditions. I think this is what the original idea of Pokemon is all about: Going out there and exploring the world.
Also, I find that Project Mew team pretty intriguing. It obviously consists of skilled members and their elitist way of recruitung new members is fascinating, too. I particularly like the idea of not giving away places in the team that easily. A very good new idea that's been introduced here.
Second, I loved that intense atmosphere. You could easily get the impression it sure was serious stuff Ash and Go were involved in. The intensity was literally tangible.
Third, Regice and my favorite Galar Pokemon, Urshifu, had a short cameo. They managed to show what a powerhouse Urshifu is and now I like that epic Pokemon even more! Also, I was pretty impressed how easily it knocked down Regice with Tsurugi just walking away and telling it to "behave". Pretty cool to say the least!
Finally, Sinnoh again! ... Sinnoh ... no more words needed. This fact alone makes the episode great

Here's why the episode should have been a two-parter:
Especially the search for Ninetales and the battle parts were too short and would have deserved more focus. Considering the vast area Ash and Go were searching, it was little convincing they were able to find Ninetales that fast.
Also, Pokemon like Regice and Urshifu can easily be considered special and thus would absolutely have needed much more screentime. Regice hardly had to do anything and almost looked like a common Pokemon Of The Day. Plus, as I already pointed out above, Urshifu is just great. It goes without saying I would have expected it to get more focus. At least I'm optimistic we'll get to see it again in future Project Mew episodes.
Finally, I wasn't pleased about Ash's rather trivial role today. It was almost as if he was a mere extra who didn't get to do much except watching and an ultra short battle against Regice. Once again, Go was unnecessarily pampered by the writers.

To sum up, a great episode with lot of good ideas. However, it would have been even better if it had been a two-parter focusing on the special Pokemon and the battles.

Yeah I was waiting for Wulaosu's debut as well cus it's also one of my favorite Pokémon. I'm a bit disapointed with the episode but still agree with almost everything you said, it was just another setup I think. I mean kind of rushed as usual but served well to introduce Tsurugi, Hodaka and Asahi. Unfortunately perhaps the episode brought up some of the problems I expected would happen:

1) Regice appeared out of nowhere, at first it seemed that they just put the legendary there to make hype and commit more of the overexposure of legendaries in Journeys which I really dislike... But it seemed to have been part of a Tsurugi mission, if that was the case then it wasn't so forced at all, I just didn't understand why he didn't catch Regice right there since he was unconscious, what would stop him?

2) It was a wasted introduction to Urshifu/Wulaosu I guess. I don't have much to detail here I just thought that as a legendary Pokémon and game mascot he deserved a more focused debut. In fact there was barely a fight between him and Regice, Urshifu just appeared and knocked him down with a literal OHKO and went back to the pokeball. And I still think that if I were to put Urshifu to be someone's Pokémon, it would be a more battle- and championship-focused trainer, like Tobias and Gladion, since Urshifu is a 100% fight-oriented mon. But ok that's just me, maybe not every powerful trainer needs to be part of the "official battle system" in Pokemon world, it's just that this Mew Project so far hasn't made any difference in terms of challenge to any other adventure that Goh has already done, something that really requires power and skill. Let's see the official missions from now on how it will be.

3) Ninetales is Absol 2.0 (or Suicune 3.0) but worse ): I don't get this "power" that Goh has to enchant a Pokémon with just the "confident look", no matter how angry or emotionally distant the Pokémon is. IMO it was much more forced this time because immediately worked, there was no development or relationship, at least with Suicune, Absol, Grookey etc the writers tried to come up with something.

4) That's not a exactly a issue, it depends of point of view I think. Now that it's been confirmed that Tsurugi with his Urshifu is a "rival" for Goh, I believe Goh will have his own Kubfu/Urshifu soon. Okay for many I know this would be good news so I want to make it clear that I'm being kind of subjective and personal here. I don't know what fans here on Serebii think about Goh and the whole idea of a 10 year old boy with nothing special collecting legendaries in a matter of weeks/months of journey, but for me it's been one of the most disappointing things I ever seen in the series ): I've been watching Pokémon for over 10 years weekly and "that" Suicune incident actually made me drop the anime (EDIT: although I was quickly brought back, thanks Gary and Infernape /EDIT). I'm not a "Goh hater", I had several reasons to strongly dislike the episode 53 but I won't go into detail here, I just wanted to establish first of all that I personally don't like the idea of catching legendaries in the animated show except in very specific situations and contexts, what the anime has been doing very well (yes, even in Sun & Moon) with a few exceptions, and I would just like to stick to Kubfu/Urshifu here. Last year I thought Kubfu would belong to Ash for a variety of reasons (Mustard and connection with Leon mainly), but now that they've shown that Goh's "rival" has an Urshifu, the chances have totally reversed for Goh. He'll probably go to Isle of Armor to visit the dojo where Tsurugi (probably) trained a Kubfu and will train his own, evolving into Rapid-Strike, and according to recent merchandising this will not take long to happen. Not to mention that Ash already has 2 fighting types in the team and another one apparently wanting to join (Infernape). Now this episode 71 gave more hints that Goh might get a Kubfu, some of them are:
- First, they took advantage and introduced Kubfu already in this episode (giving a hint that we'll see this Pokémon in the future through the eyes of Goh and Ash). Kubfu may will appear in the next opening.
- "Asshole rivals" (not only Gary but now both Asahi and Tsurugi treated Goh rudely, Asahi showed that she can be nice in the end but Tsurugi kept a rather grumpy posture, this opens up that cliché plot that Goh will prove to Tsurugi that he's strong too, possibly in a battle between them, which would lead to an Urshifu vs. Urshifu fight, the anime writers love to do these things; I'll express the idea better below)
- The episode painted the idea that Goh is "weak" and that his Pokémon are "weak", even said at the beginning that the mission actually tested the challenger's battle skill. That means he needs more power and will probably look to Tsurugi for that. That is, he will take a Legendary and use this Legendary to help complete the missions when mainly involving other Legendaries. Adding to the fact that Tsurugi expressed his idea of power with an Urshifu and adding to the other 2 points... all indicates that Goh will got a Kubfu and maybe use it as his "legendary hunter". If confirmed that Hodaka is actually a villain (like Faba), a clash between Goh and Tsurugi becomes even more likely (and this would eventually lead to another problem, which is to make Goh practically more powerful than Ash in a short time).
So is this a good thing or a bad thing? As I said, I'm being subjective here and I would really prefer that Kubfu/Urshifu (probably Rapid-style) belonged to Ash since it's a much more training and battle-oriented Pokémon, or better yet, Kubfu/UrshifuRapid to remain wild until the end (which is very unlikely, so I really wish it had been a plot for a movie, but...). Goh is already becoming too powerful very quickly with his catchings alone and I believe this is unbalancing how things work in the Pokémon world, not to mention the "immersion" issue, the idea of a boy collecting legendaries and such, which works in a game for gameplay purposes, but not so much in the in-universe of an animated series. On the bright side, maybe it's through Project Mew that Goh will capture legendaries from now on, doing "capture missions" as he did with Eternatus. If that's the case at least IMO will be way better than capturing it and STAYING with him. (But hey, maybe I'm wrong and Goh will not catch Urshifu.)

I also liked the rough personality of Goh's new "rivals", but as I said it raises my concerns about pushing Goh to collect legendaries, although for some fans and viewers this isn't an issue at all and I can understand that. I didn't like Tsurugi for treating Goh so rudely without at least explaining further why Goh was weak and deserved to be disqualified, but instead just insulted him. Fortunately Tsurugi was quite reasonable in accepting Goh's idea about Ninetales and after that recognizing Goh as a challenger, showing that despite his cold personality he seems to be someone well intentioned, he's just too serious about the job (or maybe he really turns out to be a villain/antagonist along with Hodaka, who knows...). Asahi also surprised me with her smile at the end, she's actually cute! Anyway, decent episode as a setup, but it's another one that would work much better if splitted in two parts as Queen Cynthia said.

 

[Ghost Diplocaulus]

This was an alright episode. I'm glad that Goh finally has a concrete goal that will maybe help the travelling aspect that Journeys was supposed to have. However, like with James catching Morpeko in the previous episode, I feel like this is something we should've gotten much earlier in Journeys's run. Urshifu's debut was cool too, though it was kinda rushed. Like many have said already, this does feel like it should have been a two-parter.

Also, I know this doesn't have anything to do with the episode's quality, but does anyone else feel bad for Goh's Scizor? This thing has been implied to be among Goh's strongest Pokemon (to the point that the Darmanitan bully fears it), yet every time it's battled onscreen it loses very easily. And what's worse is that it loses to Pokemon that it should have the type advantage over, first by getting clobbered by Hodge's Mightyena, and now getting freeze-haxed by an Alolan Ninetales. Seriously, what's going on with this bug, writers?

 

[Unireon]

Seriously, what's going on with this bug, writers?

Well, I guess that we have this season's Butt-Monkey-Mon.

Edit:

Goh will have his own Kubfu/Urshifu soon.

Not to mention that Ash already has 2 fighting types in the team and another one apparently wanting to join (Infernape).

As I said, I'm being subjective here and I would really prefer that Kubfu/Urshifu (probably Rapid-style) belonged to Ash since it's a much more training and battle-oriented Pokémon,

I won't like that happening. I completely agree that it's a battle-oriented mon.
And Gou won't provide the battles it needs.

During Kalos, Satoshi had three Flying-types and they, somewhat, managed....
Though, Onvern was a complete disappointment.

At the beginning I wanted Satoshi getting Dakuma, now I lean more towards Erezun or Mibrim/Ralts.

 

[nickdt]

Well, I guess that we have this season's Butt-Monkey-Mon.

Edit:

I won't like that happening. I completely agree that it's a battle-oriented mon.
And Gou won't provide the battles it needs.

During Kalos, Satoshi had three Flying-types and they, somewhat, managed....
Though, Onvern was a complete disappointment.

At the beginning I wanted Satoshi getting Dakuma, now I lean more towards Erezun or Mibrim/Ralts.

While true, you also had this though.
Talonflame - Fast physical flying type (Close range)
Hawlucha - Ground based flying type (Close range, but fighting style completely different from Talonflame)
Noivern - fast, special flying type (Long range)
Goodra - slow, tanky special Dragon type (But still different fighting style from Noivern).

Usually, when we have multiple types on the team, they all provide different roles
Torterra - slow, bulky, medium ranged Ground type
Gliscor - faster, bulky, physical flying fighting style (Close range)
Gible - fast, special long range ground type

Same applies for his Unova team, except for Leavanny and Snivy. Pignite was the bulk fighting physical sweeper, while Scraggy was used more for the laughs and the long ranged/mixed attacks, Krookodile was purely physical, while Palpitoad was used as a special mon

However, in Journeys, Kubfu/Urshifu would have the exact same fighting style as Sirfetch'd, unless they are gonna convert Sirfetch'd as a the bulky one who barely moves, while Lucario can be used as the Long ranged one (Although that means they should totally convert his Moveset and at least get rid of reversal - which i don't think they remove, and Force Palm).