• A new LGBTQ+ forum is now being trialed and there have been changes made to the Support and Advice forum. To read more about these updates, click here.
  • Hey Trainers! Be sure to check out Corsola Beach, our newest section on the forums, in partnership with our friends at Corsola Cove! At the Beach, you can discuss the competitive side of the games, post your favorite Pokemon memes, and connect with other Pokemon creators!
  • Due to the recent changes with Twitter's API, it is no longer possible for Bulbagarden forum users to login via their Twitter account. If you signed up to Bulbagarden via Twitter and do not have another way to login, please contact us here with your Twitter username so that we can get you sorted.

Review S16 EP13: The Name's N!

Interesting that they updated the opening clips this week - I think this is a better starting point to 'episode N' than last week was, so I think the dub made a good decision there. The clips don't seem to flow as well as the older one, but I'm sure I'll get used to it. I suppose at least unlike the Cartoon Network promos department, they are paying attention to the events of the episodes.

I think that should mean in 13 weeks we will see a name change for the series, I wasn't hopeful of that up to this point, but it seems clear that they are at least somewhat adapting those changes

I like N's voice - and it's certainly interesting to hear what I think is one of the first references to Black and White versions of events (even the movies don't IIRC). I certainly liked N's interaction with Meowth, it's probably more pointed in the dub because they long since stopped trying to make Meowth talk anything like a cat compared to the nya-speak of the Japanese version, so he's far more human in his speech patterns in the dub (not that I'm complaining, saying Meowth instead of Me was horrible).

Kinda disappointed we didn't get a comment about Pikachu/Axew's Pokeballs here - N didn't seem to blink on Snivy being recalled to her ball, when his characteriation should suggest he'd be against that trap. I'm also disappointed Cilan's idea of feeding Pikachu and everyone else meant Pikachu and Axew, I miss the group eating shots.

Amomlomomomoloa!
 
This was an okay episode. It was more dialouge than action so it wasn't that attention grabbing. But it was a nice introduction for N. I liked seeing the into updated with Team Plasma shots. N's voice was a lot deeper than I expected and at some points was rather...creepy. The battle didn't interest me since it was just a plot device for Team Rocket to steal Pikachu, but I always love seeing Unfezant battle so that was good.

Overall, a nice intro for N. 6/10.
 
I was legitimately surprised that they updated the opening too. It makes sense, of course, and I'm glad they did it. I just didn't expect it since the only other time a dub opening's footage changed while retaining the song was back in DP Galactic Battles' Battle Cry ~ Stand Up!, which was only done because of the shift in aspect ratios and HD stuff. Since they were willing to do this much to upgrade the OP, it does make me genuinely wonder if they will alter the other aspect of this particular season that will become obsolete relatively soon. :p It seems quite feasible considering it's not in the song itself.

N definitely had the soft-spoken creeper manchild aspect of his character and voice nailed in the dub, so I commend that. XD Though I too was disappointed that N didn't address the matter of Pokeballs. Then again, if he had seen how much shit Iris' Axew has gotten into because she will not keep the damn babby in a ball ever, I wonder if he would see the reasoning then. :p I still kind of wanted to punch Ash when he decided to use Boldore against Excadrill. Yeah yeah it has Rock Smash, but there are still like a bajillion better options to use.

The best part was naturally N reenacting Leonardo DiCaprio on the Titanic. XD Yes, he is indeed the king of the world... haahaha.
 
OMZ, guys, time for Episode N!

Well, firstly, I’m glad that they changed the opening sequence to fit Episode N. I honestly wasn’t really expecting it, but it’s nice that they did. But into the episode:

I TOTALLY LOVED N’s voice! I thought it was really…well, creepy, actually. But I find N super creepy anyway with his staring at children and what not, so that worked well for him. I like it much better than how he sounded in the BW2 trailer (and forgive my intelligence if I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure it’s a different dude). And, did it sound like N had a bit of an accent to anyone else? Not complaining, just thought I heard it.

So apparently Ash just knows he gonna win the League next time because it’s not like he’s ever said that before and been wrong, right?

And now it’s time for a random battle! Oh joy, a battle without Axew…AGAIN! I REALLY question how serious Iris is about this Dragon master thing. WHY will she not train Axew? Seriously, he could use it (and an intelligence boost). And then what actually happens to Axew pisses me off.

Oh yes, I do so enjoy Axew getting distracted by food and subsequently lost…. I can’t really say much else about that, it just needs to stop.

OMZ, N is so kickass! Randomly just jumping in front of attacks?! That was awesome! N just went up about 800 cool points.

So once again…Unfezant. “Wait’ll you check out this Unfezant that cannot beat a Riolu” is basically what went down (I really need to let that go). Well, I’m at least glad that she’s becoming of more use and is able to redeem herself now.

N’s “talking to fish powers” were a bit strange to me, but at least it shows his Pokémon friends and how he truly won’t keep them confined to Pokeballs.

And he said Best Wishes! 200 more cool points!

And is it just me, or does the cast REALLY like to say Alomomola? But, come on, who wouldn’t? I can’t blame them~ XD

And I’d just like to say that N is pretty modest since he said he “didn’t do anything special”. Maybe it’s just me, but I call jumping in front of an attack pretty damn impressive.

A good episode. It wasn’t very action heavy in the beginning, but it was made to introduce N. And it did a good job~ I’ll give it an 8/10.
 
James should wear a ponytail more often. He looks quite good like that.

Oh and N was good too and stuff
 
This was an enjoyable dub and I like N's voice, it fits him better than the dub of the Black & White 2 Animated Promo. The opening was also cleverly edited.

I'm also glad that the opening did not show Charizard going face to face with Reshiram. At least the people who didn't see the original opening wont be upset about getting hyped for a battle showcased that ended up not actually happening.
 
Okay, the opening is seriously messed. All this happy, peppy music plays while N does dramatic things, fierce and scary battles and otherwise dramatic scenes are being shown. What the holy fuck? o_0

Other than that, I thought N's voice fit the awkward part of his character. I had my doubts that the VA would be able to pull off really dramatic scenes, but his flashback to Reshiram and his epic speech to Team Rocket flushed any of those doubts away.

My only complaints come from Team Rocket, who once again fall back on alliteration. And they still haven't gotten the motto right.
 
I'm guessing the opening footage now is all Be An Arrow! 2013 right?

EDIT: Just saw the opening, and they mixed both versions of Be An Arrow! together, very clever TPCi.
 
I am disappointed with the voice. I really wanted something like Toki Wartooth.

I know it would lose all seriousness, but it was and still is my headcanon.
 
Okay, so what've we got? Ash saying he'll win the next league would be laughable if the reality of his situation weren't so painful. It does pretty much sum up the fact that, ultimately, Ash is destined to learn nothing from his travels. (I've already complained far too much about this, so I'll cool it for now.)

Iris' "What a kid!" shtick has long worn out its welcome, especially when she uses it to describe moments which aren't really so juvenile. Like Ash getting excited about battles. Just like pretty much every trainer of pretty much every age. Including her, for a bit of hypocrisy. (At least Cilan calls her out on it.)

Cilan's fill-in-the-blank con--conno--okay, how the [EFF!] do you spell that? Just one reason I really didn't like them using that word, plus I doubt anyone knows what it really means. "Enthusiast" would be a far better choice.

N--just one episode, and he's already got deeper character development than most of the rivals and other characters this generation. Too bad he's being introduced so late--his game backstory was complex enough that it could have taken up two full seasons of development.

I probably should've mentioned this last week, but meet the new Team Rocket--same as the old Team Rocket. Just with a bit more flash and two where-the-hell-did-they-come-from Pokémon. I guess TPTB got tired of semi-competent Team Rocket.
 
I really thought TCPi would screw up with N's voice, but I admit now they did an excellent job picking a good voice actor. I really like his voice it's just really creepy and mysterious but that's why it goes well with N. I always found N to be a mysterious person in the games and so the voice fits perfectly. The VA got that aspect down pat.

I was really surprised that they used a new opening, but I was really hoping they would. I really didn't expect it to happen much , cause it's never happen except for one occasion and that was only cause of the switch to HD and wider aspect ratio. So it really surprised me when I saw the new opening.

I really like this episode. All of N's dialogues was actually really deep,way more deeper than really anything else said on the show, more specifically any character in the BW series. While the dialogue dragged the episode on a bit , it also gave the whole episode more depth and emotion. My favorite part was when N blocked Frillish's Shadow Ball and then the whole speech he gave afterward. The part where he acknowledges Mewoth for speaking human was amuzing.
 
Knowing TPCi as well as I do, I always expect them to screw up the dub voices for anyone they cast. I'm pleasantly surprised to say that is not the case today: they did an excellent job with casting N's dub voice. DiMichele is a much better N than Tom Wayland was, and unlike many voices in TPCi's dub, I didn't get an artificial, fake vibe from his voice. This dub episode is a big step up from last week's pathetic display, IMO.

Ash's voice is getting more Veronica Taylor-ish and less forced in Episode N, which is good for me.
James is sounding less congested than he did last episode, which is an improvement.
Meowth's voice is less gruffy, so that's a step up. Still bad, but better than before.
Jessie's voice has no change. Still too high-pitched like last episode. Still, it's good. Better than the others, as always.

I liked the change in the dub intro, and I actually found it kinda cool. Still, a bit awkward like what Contrary said.

TRio's dialogue still sucks...yup, we're regressing back into DP mode for the dub. Never ending alliterations, rhymes abound...yikes. Not happy with dub TRio yet again. That fetish for Dr. Seuss never ends, does it? lol.

Also, why do both the dub and sub get James to say, "To unite THE people within OUR nation." It's "to unite all peoples within our nation" anyway.

Still, all-in-all, good dub episode from them. Gets an 8/10 from me.
 
Last edited:
I really dont buy into this new Team rocket. They feel faceless.

All their old pokemons had a nice back story and personality. In B&W they seem to be just drones used for moves. I was hoping with Episode N and the fact many people have refered to it as the Anime correcting its course they'd sort this. Oh and seriously no wobbuffet or blasting off again....just no.

As for N, he seemed creepy and such. Plus anyone else think he was taller than you'd expect. He seems to be some kind of giant green haired wierdo at the moment. Sure it will turn out good though.
 
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!

*ahem*

N's anime voice is MUCH better than Tom Wayland's in the BW2 trailer. I always imagined it to be a little hushed. While he didn't speak as fast as the game dialogue text implies, at least they got some of his rigid geekiness down when he cited that random Pokémon mythology book when talking about Reshiram and Zekrom. Everyone who said the anime writers got his character down fairly accurately were right. And while he seemed less socially awkward in the anime than the games, you could tell he was a bit off in some places. (DAT STARE. Getting up and walking outside when he started to feel angry? That's a realistic coping strategy. A nice clean way of not animating a meltdown.)

I LOVED that they changed the intro!! I have a bit more faith in the dub now for following more Japanese openings. There would have been no excuse for a league-centric intro for the rest of this season. Now if they only could incorporate some Japanese ending footage...

TR? I think they're TRYING to be semi-serious and semi-goofy. I liked Meowth's response to N's comment though.

And favoritism aside, N already commands a better presence in the anime than Ash&co have had for a while. Can't wait to see the rest of this saga dubbed!
 
Just one sentence: I'm N-thusiatic about N :D

OK, joking and puns aside. N only got one episode but I think that he will really grow on me quickly. Although it's still a bit early for that but judging from what we've seen so far, I dare say that he has the potential to become one of the Anime's most interesting characters. It was especially because of those profound things he said about the meaning of life that I took an instant liking to him. Also, the way he talked and the words he chose made you wonder if he used to be some kind of student of Cynthia's. Aww, what a fantastic idea and a perfect explanation for his maturity ^^
Anyways, as I myself still have lots of question regarding life, truth and God, I could identify with N pretty well and this makes his character even more interesting to me.

The only thing I was disappointed about was that the central question about people "forcing" Pokemon to fight couldn't be answered :( Believe it or not, but I've long been waiting for some character to appear and finally ask this very question. Is it legitimate to force Pokemon to battle or do Pokemon not consider battles as something that's forced upon them as long as they can do it voluntarily? A highly interesting question and I hope it'll be answered soon.

All in all, this episode makes up for a totally disappointing league and was desperately needed. I'm already looking forward to next week :)
 
Please note: The thread is from 11 years ago.
Please take the age of this thread into consideration in writing your reply. Depending on what exactly you wanted to say, you may want to consider if it would be better to post a new thread instead.
Back
Top Bottom