Pokémon Sword and Shield anime speculation thread

[BugCatcherinVF]

I feel like passing from 2D to CGI should not be just a consideration of money/time. As styles, they are so different from each other, that one is basically changing what kind of art the audience is getting and the change might make whole audiences leave. For example I like drawings and would go out of my way to watch drawn pokemon, but CGI doesn't inspire me at all and I only watch it in rare occasions. Maybe it's the same for many anime lovers?

 

[DynamicFusion]

Dogasu confirmed that the New Anime will be called just "Pocket Monster"... an official Twitter Account has been created for the Anime as well. Bulbagarden Twitter says all the Regions will feature. Yeah, this is looking like a reboot.

 

[Daenerys]

I can't believe we were misled and got no major info other than a series title and vague summary... no wait, I can. Because this is exactly the kind of thing that would happen. I wonder if Junichi Fujisaku taught the promoters a lesson in the art of disappointing fans.

Get ready everyone!

View attachment 124269

As someone who studied animation in Zurich

And I used to cut Napoleon's hair at a salon in Paris.

 

[SinnohBoi]

Really? We're going to reboot it after the junkfest that was alola? Rebooting the series after not becoming champion? Or going through the league without using his reserves? Fuck, I hate OLM so much.

 

[BugCatcherinVF]

Guys I'm so confused is this the 1st of April.

 

[Leaf_Ranger]

I can very well live with a reboot. Just like with the main series I got exausted of seeing Ash's story restart in a new region and without titles, without any major and relevant character growth. As far as I can tell, they could drop Ash entirely and have us following different trainers that don't need to be the games player characters. If we're not getting "jobs" as a game character, I'd love to see anime main characters to have their own different goals (here's hoping of a Ranger!)
I'm looking forward to see what comes out of this and in which art style (please let it be like B2W2 trailer).

 

[Tomboyish Mermaid]

Really? That is... odd. Are you really 100% about this @DaynamicFusion? Because this sounds so unusual. But on the other hand, that would also explain all the nostalgia throwbacks the last couple of years: Pokémon Let's Go, The first Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You!, Misty and Brocks return as guest characters, Jigglypuff coming back, etc.

But, if they really want to make a reboot, how will they handle the promotions of the new games. This anime has to start in the Galar region, right? And what about Misty and Brock? Will they also return? And if not will just similar gym leaders replace them? Like for example, Nessa replacing Misty? What about TR? Will James have just now a Galar Koffing that evolves into Galar Weezing? And will Jessie have a Galar Ekans that evolves into Galar Arbok, if this Form is in the game?

Thinking about it... Best Wishes felt like a reboot to me anyway, same with X&Y and S&M, so maybe this new anime will not feel that different.

 

[Grass Type Gardenia]

This is exactly what I'd fear would happen. This clip from Steven Universe would very much sum up the entire scene...


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhsxqTJz23E


Fans: What is this? Where's the Sword and Shield Anime? Where's Ash and it's continuation of the anime?
TPC: it's Done.
Fans: What did you say? Answer me?
TPC: It's DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[RetroPokeFan]

OLM changing things up like:

 

[UxieLover1994]

My current speculation is that this "reboot" may instead be a second anime adaptation of the games, with first adaptation starring Ash co-existing alongside it. There have been cases in both Japan and the West where different continuities of the same franchise have been active at the same time, so it's not that farfetched.

I can understand the growing rage with the fanbase, given the dex cut in SwSh, microtransactions in Masters, Flower Crown Eevee being the Research Breakthrough for the next two months in GO, and the current anime's controversial direction. But this isn't the end of the franchise, guys. I'm getting sick of this negativity!

People complain about the anime all the time about the direction and Ash never winning a league, and when the writers decide to try something new, it only leads to more complaints! It makes people wonder why they even do franchises in the first place when all they get in return is harrasment and death threats.

 

[Grass Type Gardenia]

They better show off Galar first for the new Anime series, because that'll be an opportunity gone down the drain. Wayda go of sabotaging so many potentials.

My current speculation is that this "reboot" may instead be a second anime adaptation of the games, with first adaptation starring Ash co-existing alongside it. There have been cases in both Japan and the West where different continuities of the same franchise have been active at the same time, so it's not that farfetched.

I can understand the growing rage with the fanbase, given the dex cut in SwSh, microtransactions in Masters, Flower Crown Eevee being the Research Breakthrough for the next two months in GO, and the current anime's controversial direction. But this isn't the end of the franchise, guys. I'm getting sick of this negativity!

People complain about the anime all the time about the direction and Ash never winning a league, and when the writers decide to try something new, it only leads to more complaints! It makes people wonder why they even do franchises in the first place when all they get in return is harrasment and death threats.

But this year is different. Nostalgia is being used for the wrong reasons to tickle you in order to get money out of you, when money shouldn't be the focus for Nostalgia.

As of right now, with how Star Wars and many other media brands have handled Nostalgia, it has turned from something timeless into something outdated and lazy. It was fun for a little while, but now, Nostalgia has just outstayed it's welcome.

 

[NinjutsuSen]

They better show off Galar first for the new Anime series, because that'll be an opportunity gone down the drain. Wayda go of sabotaging so many potentials.

They better give Kanto - Alola one episode each and the rest of the three years goes to Galar.

 

[Pulsaro23]

Okay, that... was extremely underwhelming. Ignoring the fact that all we got were a bunch of images that were already leaked, this doesn't say anything about the new series. How are you supposed to garner interest and generate hype if you're barely telling us anything about it? This just looks like bad advertising to me.

And not to mention that the whole concept behind this "announcement" is stupid when you think about it. "The world exclusive announcement alongside the anime is the announcement of the announcement of the next series of the anime". Doesn't that sound stupid to anyone else? It feels like a joke that you'd see in a crappy sitcom.

And don't even get me started on the whole idea that this will all be some kind of reboot... I... I really don't know how to feel. It's... Uh... Everything feels kind of empty right now.

Sigh. I really hoped I wouldn't have to use this, but:

 

[Silktree]

My current speculation is that this "reboot" may instead be a second anime adaptation of the games, with first adaptation starring Ash co-existing alongside it. There have been cases in both Japan and the West where different continuities of the same franchise have been active at the same time, so it's not that farfetched.

But they only teased one series, which includes Galar. It may be weird that there isn't a dedicated SwSh anime, but it seems like a done deal.

And I am not complaining about it. I do hope that it's a second AU despite the Movie 20 logo being used (so it's unlikely), but I guess it doesn't matter as long as they somehow don't reiterate that movie's events.

 

[Tomboyish Mermaid]

As of right now, with how Star Wars and many other media handled Nostalgia, it has turned from something timeless into something outdated and lazy. It was fun for a little while, but now, Nostalgia has just outstayed it's welcome.

Yah, I'm with you on this side. Everyone is now milking the nostalgia cow to dry. Everywhere reboots are popping up. And the worst part is, that so many of them could easily work as new movies or shows because they change so much from the original source material. Like the new DuckTales for example. The characters changed, the art style changed, the designs changed, the themes changed, the story structure changed, so... why not make a new show instead? And the reason why is because of brand recognition and nostalgia.

Nostalgia is a strong tool because it remembers people of something they liked in the past. But I'm really tired of it right now and I'm also worried that Japan is now starting also with this whole rebooting of old brands. Japan always tried new stuff and that is the reason I like animes and Nintendo games so much.

I really can not see the benefit in rebooting Pokémon unless they can add something to the story or characters. This anime could be interesting for me if they maybe flesh out some of the characters more that didn't had the chance to grow on their own. Maybe they can give Misty now a clear goal instead placing her into the background almost doing nothing, maybe Iris can become a badass dragon trainer in this series she supposed to be, maybe Ash and Serena share their feelings with each other this time around more and maybe Tracy can be more than just a replacement for Brock.

I have no real opinions for this anime right now. I really have to see the first trailer and a couple of episodes. Maybe I will like it in the end.

 

[dman_dustin]

Speaking (hypothetically). I could very well be wrong about this new anime because its being misleading for whatever reason.

Consider the Alola region the worst region ever, even if Ash does become champion of the Alola.

This was the absolute WORST series to retire Ash in. Barely any battles. No full battles at all. Ash's Pokemon got horrible development (but hey they showed up in a lot of episodes, I guess).

This series had to juggle a lot of things and it didn't have any direction whatsoever. But hey it was a decent slice of life series, I guess.

I'm really upset that this is the generation they retire Ash in, one of the worst character development episodes to retire Ash in.

Ash deserved a series devoted mostly to himself, his Pokemon, and then one giant filler arc where Ash battles and reminisces with all of his Pokemon that he's had, maybe even challenging the elite four, and all the other past characters could've gotten some screen time, all of Ash's past rivals, important characters Ash met.

A PROPER send off, which is what Galar was supposed to be, just ONE final very heavily geared to Ash (and development) generation, and I would've been happy to let Ash retire.

Now the anime has to be like the games, without all the Pokemon, I guess they're cutting out what made the Pokemon anime the Pokemon anime, and are just doing whatever. They could've future proofed Generation 8 (Sword and Shield) to come up with the fair idea of leaving out Pokemon (not stuck in Pokemon Home for god knows how long), and one final GOOD series for Ash to retire.

I guess those who hate Ash are happy that Ash got screwed over again. Sure he might win the league, but it's going to be hollow and meaningless if he also retires this generation.

 

[DynamicFusion]

Really? That is... odd. Are you really 100% about this @DaynamicFusion? Because this sounds so unusual. But on the other hand, that would also explain all the nostalgia throwbacks the last couple of years: Pokémon Let's Go, The first Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You!, Misty and Brocks return as guest characters, Jigglypuff coming back, etc.

But, if they really want to make a reboot, how will they handle the promotions of the new games. This anime has to start in the Galar region, right? And what about Misty and Brock? Will they also return? And if not will just similar gym leaders replace them? Like for example, Nessa replacing Misty? What about TR? Will James have just now a Galar Koffing that evolves into Galar Weezing? And will Jessie have a Galar Ekans that evolves into Galar Arbok, if this Form is in the game?

Thinking about it... Best Wishes felt like a reboot to me anyway, same with X&Y and S&M, so maybe this new anime will not feel that different.

Dogasu On Twitter:
View: https://twitter.com/DogasusBackpack/status/1168094318726266880?s=19


The Official Twitter Account for the Anime is @Anipoke_PR which was created immediately after the announcement. Lord Starfish on Serebii who does the subs for the Anime said the tweet says "Every region that has featured thus far, and will feature in the future, will be the stage!"... Remember this is the Next Main Series for the Pokémon Anime not a spinoff. Yes folks this is reality this is actually happening.
View: https://twitter.com/anipoke_PR/status/1168093639509020675?s=19

 

[radek.tadajewski.7]

Dogasu On Twitter:
View: https://twitter.com/DogasusBackpack/status/1168094318726266880?s=19


The Official Twitter Account for the Anime is @Anipoke_PR which was created immediately after the announcement. Lord Starfish on Serebii who does the subs for the Anime said the tweet says "Every region that has featured thus far, and will feature in the future, will be the stage!"... Remember this is the Next Main Series for the Pokémon Anime not a spinoff. Yes folks this is reality this is actually happening.
View: https://twitter.com/anipoke_PR/status/1168093639509020675?s=19

So this is the next main series. I thought it was a reboot or a spin-off, but it's not. Pokemon Sword and Shield anime is yet to happen.

 

[Grass Type Gardenia]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWN7wIZpRs4

Now Pokemom, and even Japan is starting to follow where the west is heading when it comes to Nostalgia.

 

[UxieLover1994]

Everyone is now milking the nostalgia cow to dry. Everywhere reboots are popping up. And the worst part is, that so many of them could easily work as new movies or shows because they change so much from the original source material. Like the new DuckTales for example. The characters changed, the art style changes, the themes, changed, the story structure changed, so... why not make a new show instead? And the reason why is because of brand recognition and nostalgia.

Look how many live-action remakes Disney has in development. In the animation side, only two are in development, one being a Frozen sequel. And on Disney Channel, there have been a good chunk of sequel shows lately. First Boy Meets World (Girl Meets World), then That's So Raven (first Cory in the House, then Raven's Home), and now Lizzie McGuire.

A resumption of the Sly Cooper games began in 2013, but then the new developers lost interest and ended the franchise after one game... in a major cliffhanger. Sony is now plotting a reboot from where the third game left off instead of fixing the problem.

Now we could be expecting yet another reboot of the Spider-Man franchise after Disney and Sony went into a disagreement over payments involving Spidy's role in the MCU.

And yes, Teen Titans GO is the late 2010s equitant of Twilight, Hannah Montana, and Justin Bieber. But in this case, it's use of nostalgia done horribly wrong.

If anything, we're getting more sequels and reboots than original content, Pokémon or not. It's a broken base, I know. This new anime reboot might do things that would interest us, but we should wait until September 29 before we judge it. And there's a chance this current series, terrible as it is, might end on a higher note than expected.

But of course, if Ash wins the Alola League, it pretty much confirms that the writers' insane logic applies: Ash is a Pokémon Master. End of Line.