Review S13 EP01: Regaining the Home Advantage!

[V Faction]

Then they should have definetly fixed it up, when they first dubbed the episode a few months ago.

A couple of things...

- Maybe they didn't catch it. Truth be told, till it was pointed out to me when the episode originally aired, it didn't cross my eye (but it was a very low-quality first airing).

- Maybe they see it but ignored it. Really, does it have THAT much of an impact on the episode in the long run? No, especially not with an episode most people brush off even after viewing (which is a shame, since it sports good animation and funny gags).

- Why should they be responsible for cleaning up the mistake of the original? Unless the animators have since then gone to clean up the error for the DVD release or whatever, then I could see a request of the fixed episode or a touch-up job. The ability to not make edits to the show aside from voicing and music is a bit of a double-edge sword: we don't get the crazy edits, but we may not get the fixes to the stupid errors either.

By the way, I really liked the episode (even originally), and I'm glad they kept one of my favorite pieces of music even though the didn't have to keep it. Thus, I'm satisfied.

 

[Peternummer14]

Is the metagross dubbed?
What move did magnezone use vs mamoswine?
How come everyone think it's so natural that electricity will lead MZ & MG to the mountain? Zone I can deal with but...
Why is james looking so strange while blasting of the first time?
(in fact, why is all of TRio looking so strange throughout the episode?)
What is that ring-like-attack magnezone used towards the end? (pedia doesn't have it under supersonic)

Those were the questions that came to me while watching, in case someone wondered.

 

[Electivirus]

Decent enough episode, but it was annoying how the animation deteriorated by the middle of it. Went from "Iwane-good" to "meh" right around the time Team Rocket showed up. :/

 

[Hassel]

Why is james looking so strange while blasting of the first time?
(in fact, why is all of TRio looking so strange throughout the episode?)

Because Natsume animated it. He/she just can't get them right.

 

[Queen Cynthia]

aaah, finally Pokemon again. How have I missed it although it was "only" a two-week break! *me is relieved*

As for the opening:
I absolutely don't get why you're all so disappointed. I love this new opening and I definitely don't see any good reason why you shouldn't.
The scenes are impressive, sometimes even epic and thus worthy of the final season of a region. The music is very solemn and the lyrics are thoughtful. Quite frankly, this is just appropriate for the season which features the league, because this is also the most solemn and important event of every new adventure. Don't tell me that you would have preferred a playful melody. (of course...Pokemon is a children's show Silly me...)

Anyways, the mixture of scenes, music and lyrics was great and appropriate, so again, I love this opening! If only it weren't so damn short.


As for the episode itself:
Boo! THIS was disappointing. Not again an episode that makes me upset about the strange physics of the Pokemon world which defies (almost)all logic...

- Ash is going to battle for his eighth badge really soon and his Monferno (fire type!) is not able to take down at least ONE of those two steel types??? Moreover, Monferno has always been shown as Ash's (secret) powerhouse, for example against Paul or when my dear beloved Cynthia talked about his future. I'm asking you, how come Monferno did so badly today? My biggest point of criticism!


- Suuuure, Happiny can lift a whole frozen lake and throw it into a valley as it is was nothing. COME ON!!! How silly was that?!?:saiyan: The writers have already proven themselves as being able to write highly profound, great episodes! Why this decline now??

- Why can't Metagross and Magnezone just battle SOMEWHERE else in this HUGE forest?? Why do they need exactly this basin? I mean, there surely was plenty of space in that forest and at least some even ground where they could slug it out. That explanation with the basin defied all logic considering that a town/city with all its narrow streets and tall buildings isn't more spacious than a forest at all


Sorry guys, but this was poor storytelling!

5.5/ 6 out of 10 points

 

[PokéVision]

Decent enough episode, but it was annoying how the animation deteriorated by the middle of it. Went from "Iwane-good" to "meh" right around the time Team Rocket showed up. :/

I know what you mean, the animation seemed not as good as other episodes at all. :O

 

[63cohen]

A couple of things...

- Maybe they didn't catch it. Truth be told, till it was pointed out to me when the episode originally aired, it didn't cross my eye (but it was a very low-quality first airing).

- Maybe they see it but ignored it. Really, does it have THAT much of an impact on the episode in the long run? No, especially not with an episode most people brush off even after viewing (which is a shame, since it sports good animation and funny gags).

- Why should they be responsible for cleaning up the mistake of the original? Unless the animators have since then gone to clean up the error for the DVD release or whatever, then I could see a request of the fixed episode or a touch-up job. The ability to not make edits to the show aside from voicing and music is a bit of a double-edge sword: we don't get the crazy edits, but we may not get the fixes to the stupid errors either.

By the way, I really liked the episode (even originally), and I'm glad they kept one of my favorite pieces of music even though the didn't have to keep it. Thus, I'm satisfied.

Well, some people thank 4kids when they edit out mistakes from the original. For one, it makes it more factual, and not to be laughed at. And second, it shows you care about the show. Take in Yugioh 5Ds, some of the life point counters of the original went from the wrong values to wrong values. 4kids took it to themselves to fix it. Sure the life point counter is kinda important, but kids usually just listen to the show, while fans actually watch the counters. That is something I was looking for in this episode, and TCi disappointed me. Not like they have not before.

 

[Casual Cnidarian]

I'm sorry, but I didn't like this episode. It seemed like the characters were talking to 3 year olds. And like others have said: the animation. Hopefully the future episodes will be in a better quality.

 

[Falconwing]

Well, this episode was okay.

Brock did something. That was nice.

Happiny was hilarious.

TR is still annoying.

The Gible bit was random.

And is it just me or did it seem like those trainers were freakin out a little too much in town? They acted like their pokemon had died or something.

 

[V Faction]

Well, some people thank 4kids when they edit out mistakes from the original. For one, it makes it more factual, and not to be laughed at. And second, it shows you care about the show. Take in Yugioh 5Ds, some of the life point counters of the original went from the wrong values to wrong values. 4kids took it to themselves to fix it. Sure the life point counter is kinda important, but kids usually just listen to the show, while fans actually watch the counters. That is something I was looking for in this episode, and TCi disappointed me. Not like they have not before.

That's the irony of the situation: we don't want them to edit and at the same time... we want them to edit!

Also, I get the feeling like the show becomes some sort of giant checklist of problems for the fans to go down, marking check boxes when one thing or another is included/excluded in their viewing experience when watching the episodes.

 

[Hellion]

- Shit, It's a UFO
- MY FERALIGATR JUST DIED !!! WHO'S GONNA SNUGGLE WITH ME ON THOSE LONG WINTER NIGHTS
- Where does Brock get his oran berries from ?
- Feraligatr, Bayleef and Snorlax... that's how you spell foreshadowing.
- Ash, "Now we've gotta deal with a Metagross." Ewww gross !
- Jenny, "What's going on here ??!?" You're in a cartoon... breath, it'll get easier after a while.
- Brock, "It's Sonicboom" & Brock, "It's Metal Claw" Thank you Brock for the commentary for the blind.
- Love that Piplup is denied when Dawn calls Mamoswine. Piplup was so funny.
- BROCK DOES SOMETHING !!!
- Love how Happiny just knocks Brock out. Croagunk didn't bother coming out.
- Ok... that was random TR
- Why does electricity attract Metal types to the mountain ? Why ? Just Why ? Oh God, they're not even gonna bother explaining it are they...
- Dawn, "With evil plans no doubt ?" Team Rocket and evil in the same sentence ? Really ?
- Brock, "Even Meowth can't help!" Seriously, did you expect Meowth to help ? I mean... really
- Random Guy, "Magnezone and Magnemite, There you two are" That Crispin dude is random.
- Piplup to the rescue !!! Oh wait... not so much.
- Team Rocket, GTFO already...
- Happiny... LOL
- While the Gible bit was funny, there was absolutely no sane reason to bring Gible out. That was so random.

Ok, I really liked this episode and I feel it was the perfect episode to start a new season as Ash, Dawn and Brock all got to do something, we saw everybody's pokémon come out and help and there was so really funny scenes. Now for the bad in this episode, Team Rocket. I like Team Rocket but this was overkill. Crispin also felt really outta place and unnecessary.

Liked the episode itself and laughed a lot so...

 

[Hestia]

- Ash, "Now we've gotta deal with a Metagross." Ewww gross !

I was gonna make that joke, but decided it was too lame
And I agree, Gible's appearance was pretty random.

 

[63cohen]

That's the irony of the situation: we don't want them to edit and at the same time... we want them to edit!

Also, I get the feeling like the show becomes some sort of giant checklist of problems for the fans to go down, marking check boxes when one thing or another is included/excluded in their viewing experience when watching the episodes.

Happens with any anime, but usually anime that are usually edited for content, such as Pokemon and Yugioh. Sometimes DBZ Kai.

 

[V Faction]

You're right, it happens with any anime. But y'know, I really want the episode to be enjoyed for what it is, rather than what it's doing to be like the original. Of course, there's the whole issue with people who've enjoyed the episode prior already and now need to look for the missing pieces and... it just gets all messy to think about, so I won't.

Someone will have to confirm this because of the absurdness, but... Who voiced Crispin? The similarity between the name and another voice actor in the industry is just crazy enough not to be a coincidence.

 

[Matt3225]

- Feraligatr, Bayleef and Snorlax... that's how you spell foreshadowing.

You know I thought the same thing. Wouldn't it be funny if Totodile evolved all the way to Feraligatr.

 

[63cohen]

You're right, it happens with any anime. But y'know, I really want the episode to be enjoyed for what it is, rather than what it's doing to be like the original. Of course, there's the whole issue with people who've enjoyed the episode prior already and now need to look for the missing pieces and... it just gets all messy to think about, so I won't.

Someone will have to confirm this because of the absurdness, but... Who voiced Crispin? The similarity between the name and another voice actor in the industry is just crazy enough not to be a coincidence.

That is why I usually like the dub of an anime. It isn't because it is like the original (although that is a huge plus), it is because I enjoy listening to my favorite characters in English.

Who is Crispin? NVM, looked up. According to this site, he is voiced by Sean Schemmel.

 

[Sleet]

That was a pretty bad way to start a new season. It reminded me of all the things I dislike about the show.

 

[63cohen]

Just realized, they reused the Piplup Draco Meteor gag three episodes in a row, it is getting a bit old.

 

[dman_dustin]

- Ash is going to battle for his eighth badge really soon and his Monferno (fire type!) is not able to take down at least ONE of those two steel types??? Moreover, Monferno has always been shown as Ash's (secret) powerhouse, for example against Paul or when my dear beloved Cynthia talked about his future. I'm asking you, how come Monferno did so badly today? My biggest point of criticism!

Because you missed the point of why. Well other than for plot reasons.

Imagine fighting someone, how can you expect to possibly counter attack when someone attacks you when you weren't expecting it? Monferno was double teamed, yes Monferno could take both these Pokemon at a single time, but when it and Ash were focusing on one, how can you expect them to react fast enough when the other Pokemon pretty much sucker punched them.

- Suuuure, Happiny can lift a whole frozen lake and throw it into a valley as it is was nothing. COME ON!!! How silly was that?!?:saiyan: The writers have already proven themselves as being able to write highly profound, great episodes! Why this decline now??

Ice weighs less than water, and likely weighs a lot less than rock. So how do we know how much weight the frozen water was? It could've easily been around 100 pounds probably maybe upwards to a maximum of 500 pounds (with Team Rocket and their machine). And given what Happiny was written to be is within reason. Happiny is the Pokemon equivalent to Bam-bam off of the Flintstones.

Is it illogical, maybe in terms of science, but it's no different than an animal shooting fire. And before you argue that it contradicts the internal story logic. Where at what point was Brock's Happiny a weakling. Rewatch it's debut episode it tossed Brock in the air like he was nothing.

- Why can't Metagross and Magnezone just battle SOMEWHERE else in this HUGE forest?? Why do they need exactly this basin? I mean, there surely was plenty of space in that forest and at least some even ground where they could slug it out. That explanation with the basin defied all logic considering that a town/city with all its narrow streets and tall buildings isn't more spacious than a forest at all.

Maybe because deep down inside they don't want to cause massive destruction but had no other choice. The point was they were fighting to release energy the basin was safest place where they could do whatever they wanted.

Before I continue I need you to clarify your point on the basin, because I don't think it's making a lot of sense here.

 

[Ampharos King]

There's not much to say about this episode. It was one of those "filler" episodes where the main characters have to solve a problem involving pokemon, in a huge city in the middle of nowhere. That doesn't mean that the episode doesn't have any good points, though. I did enjoy Ash and Dawn battling Magnezone and Metagross. Also, it was pretty awesome to see Happiny again and showing off its immense strength. The end of the episode was pretty hilarious, and I'm glad that the dub kept the original music for the entire scene.

What do you guys think? Is this episode better or worse than the last season's premiere (Rotom)?