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Review TW01: Letter

I am really excited to have a Pokemon series that focuses a bit more on the real than on traveling and being a trainer. Don't get me wrong, that's the beauty of the Pokemon World, but after 20+ years of the Pokemon World being depicted as very different than the real one, it's nice to see them intertwine. I think that's why I enjoyed the Detective Pikachu Movie. It was fascinating seeing just regular people with Pokemon.

I am interested in seeing more in this series, and I can't wait till the next episode comes out.
 
I am really excited to have a Pokemon series that focuses a bit more on the real than on traveling and being a trainer.
Isn't that what SM did for a chunk of episodes? It isn't something that could work for too many episodes, but a fair amount were very "slice-of-life+Pokemon". The question is to which extent Pokemon are incorporated, and this short didn't try very hard in that department. It's a bit cheap in a way because you could just use any concept from real life and add Pokemon to the background.
 
Isn't that what SM did for a chunk of episodes? It isn't something that could work for too many episodes, but a fair amount were very "slice-of-life+Pokemon". The question is to which extent Pokemon are incorporated, and this short didn't try very hard in that department. It's a bit cheap in a way because you could just use any concept from real life and add Pokemon to the background.

Well admittedly we didn't see too much of it this short, but just going from the little hints from this episode (the main character clearly liking Pokemon and having a strong bond with them, from what Chairman Rose asked and how the Covriknight who didn't like strangers was completely fine with the kid), I am sure we will get more Pokemon interaction in later episodes.

I don't think I could see the concept with just having real-life and Pokemon working for a full-blown series, but for a set of small episodes, I think it will do fine.

And yes one of the big reasons I like the SM anime is because of slife of life with Pokemon episodes.
 
omg i didn't even know this was a thing until i saw it in my subscriptions... i was surprised cuz it was so good and wholesome. i havent watched the last few recent anime, so i think this one is pretty and i liked seeing the pokemon working in the hospital too. also the part where they showed a few of the gym leaders and hop was awesome and like you could really tell their personalities from those few shots too. i want to see everyone else too ;-; and hear their VAs.
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Oh yeah since chansey isn't in the swsh dex, gothitelle's in the hospital bc it can see life spans/predict the future (pokedex)
 
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I watched it and I was just nonplussed. I don't understand why everyone's giving this an 11 out of 10 when it was mostly mediocre and kind of ugly imo. The mix of CGI with normal animation just looked really off and I actually laughed when that one kid was running down the hall because it looked so weird. I did like a few things though like seeing Chairman Rose and my girl Nessa making her cameo debut, also the dubbed version is surprisingly not that bad... but that's kind of it.

Yeah, I thought it was cute, but otherwise nothing terribly impressive.
 
This was just wonderful. It had some alright animation, a bitter yet sweet and endearing story, a nice and sympathetic character that I really feel sorry for, who actually has a challenging goal due to his condition, and it showed an interesting side of Rose's character. Wyndon actually looked like Wyndon and it's landmarks were actually featured in the episode (unlike in the main anime, where you could mistake it for an anime-original city). We get to see Leon, Hop and some of the Galar Gym Leaders, even if it was just for a few short seconds. The world looked just breathtaking and the music was alright, though not that incredible. That scene of Corviknight catching John before falling was really sweet and makes me love Corviknight even more. Really, my only complain with this episode was the fact that it ended too quickly. But, other than that, it was just amazing and heart warming and... it makes me even more disappointed with the current series and the way that is. Galar would've been such a great setting for the main anime. Sigh. Regardless, I'm hooked and I really can't wait for the other episodes to come out and for John's story to continue.
 
I guess this is just a reminder that they had a few short minutes to tell a story, and they did that quite well. A full length episode would have gone into way more detail including how the hospital operates and what the kids are going though, which they realistically did not have any time for while giving the central plot the weight it deserved.

I think the key thing here is the short left you wanting more, which is exactly what a short should do. It can act as a springboard for people to imagine what the rest of the story presented here might be.
 
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I guess this is just a reminder that they had a few short minutes to tell a story, and they did that quite well. A full length episode would have gone into way more detail including how the hospital operates and what the kids are going though, which they realistically did not have any time for while giving the central plot the weight it deserved.

I think the key thing here is the short left you wanting more, which is exactly what a short should do. It can act as a springboard for people to imagine what the rest of the story presented here might be.
Personally, I'd like to see a spinoff series with this setting. It connects to real life, and even if its not battle-heavy or anything it still delivers an interesting story that makes people wonder what's going on behind the scenes and become invested in the characters.
 
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How is it possible than 6 minutes of this are better than 8 episodes of that series??
Really shows that they’ve really got their priorities mixed up. And yet the one that oozes quality and heart gets relegated to 5 minutes a month yet the non sequitur adventures of PM2019 get a full on show.
 
This is probably going to be a rambly mess but, here goes.

While I am quite soured to Leon and Charizard, which sort of dampened my experience with this short overall, it was neat to see some focus on another side of the Pokémon universe that you don't really get to see, the non-player character sort. The characters were all great, though I feel that their accents were a bit off.

The animation looked good (outside of the CGI taxi which was jarring to me), though I am far from an expert in that regard, and I liked all of the character designs except for Rose. From his in-game model and official art, he has this sort of sweet face yet in this episode it's... off looking. He looks older (and sounded older) and harsher, for a lack of better words, than his game counterpart, which I wasn't a fan of. Maybe it's just me though.
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This epsiode did feel light on the actual Pokémon, which I wasn't a fan of. I know the Corviknight had a role in the story, but I still wish there was more. Like, have a Bewear or Gothitelle help John (that was his name, right?) up the stairs or have some sort interaction with him.

Pokémon not saying their names is always a huge plus for me. Overall the short gives me Generations/Origins vibes in the way that it will present the Pokémon universe, which I am keen on. The fact that Twilight Wings is an animated Pokémon series not connected to the anime was the main reason I had any interest in it.

If I had to rank this I'd say its a 6.5-7/10.
 
What implies the guy to be Ash, though? He seems like a random trainer with a Pikachu to me.
I do think his cap looks like Ash's XY cap (not as much his shirt though), however since he's only seen from behind and at a distance I agree it's difficulty to say for sure.
I created this comparison pic to help everyone decide for themselves:
AshTWCompare.PNG
For my part...I think it might be a sort of reference with the cap but I'm not convinced it's actually Ash. Like when one of the Gamecube games had a trainer with a Chimecho and a Cacnea mentioning they heard there's another trainer with the same Pokémon.
Edit: Okay I did some preliminary checking and there does seem to be some discussion about this on the Japanese fandom, too.
 
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Doubtful; this mini series is being dubbed in California while the main series is done in New York.

Do we have a confirmed spelling of the main boy's name? Is it Jon or John?
 
Please note: The thread is from 4 years ago.
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