• 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 TW02: Training

Wow. It’s like people don’t know that the sun can make things look lighter. You know, like lightning sources tend to do.

People really do just love to hate Pokémon these days, don’t they? (Not saying it doesn’t deserve it somewhat, but come on; this is just dumb.)

I blame the Nessa feud: genuine art commentary somehow led to spite drawings and a greater sensitivity
 

Whitewashing is a legitimate problem and I wouldn't want to downplay the feelings of anybody who feels offended by it, but in this case, I personally do think that it was just a matter of lighting. The Wild Area scenes are all lit by a very soft, bright, natural sunlight which can make things appear lighter. In more darkly lit scenes, such as the opening scene on the taxi cab or after the cave collapse, Bea's skin tone looks much more consistent with her game model and artwork.
 
Those animations are worth drooling over. I wonder why the current main series doesn't have animations like this and XY's... too much cost cutting and pocketing the money into bank accounts?
I personally think it's just that this sort of animation isn't simply affordable on a weekly basis.
 
I personally think it's just that this sort of animation isn't simply affordable on a weekly basis.
It's 2020... these animations not being affordable by a billion dollar company like TPC is outrageous and inexcusable. That, or like I mentioned, they're cutting costs because they can't be bothered making the anime better.

Other modern anime (or ongoing ones) like Naruto/Boruto, One Piece, DB Super etc. all had superior animations whereas Pokemon suffered a downgrade after XY. Sure, it's better than the SM days but it's not superb like the movies or XY... and even the best animated ones like SS002 or SS012 seem to pale in comparison to the examples I gave.
 
Not to give any credibility to these "accusations", but I do find it odd they can get the accurate shades correct with Chairman Rose and Leon but somehow deviated with Bea. Personally speaking, I didn't even notice when I first watched it. But now that it's been pointed out, the difference is noticeable.

Do I think it was intentional whitewashing? No. Pokémon has featured diversity for years and it would be so strange for them to self-censor a character they designed as a person of color. I think whoever was in charge of color keys made a simple mistake and it's now being blown out of proportion. Considering all the outrage that has unfolded in recent years, I'm not even shocked by this anymore.
 

I just assumed that the lighting of the episode/the Wild Area made Bea's skin color look brighter than it would be otherwise. I can't blame people for questioning this when whitewashing is a big sensitive issue, but I don't think that was the case here. The whole article reminds me of a picture of Disney's Aladdin claiming that he was whitewashed while he was getting the lamp despite being under a huge amount of light in said scene.
 

kotatu is sjw next level BULLSHIT and this is the worst article I've ever read, pure clickbait as usual, really just fuck them...

I'm probably into the vast minority on this one, but these two shorts have been pretty underwhelming for me so far. I wasn't that big on Origins and Generations either (at least Origins had a focused story to tell and I liked that). Not that I disliked this particular episode, I just don't really care about some Gym Leader (who's essentially likely to be a one-off character in the context of this series) training and a plot that seemed a little too familiar. It's nice as a cool little short, but not much more than that in my opinion. At least the animation is gorgeous. At this point I'm more interested in the weekly story of Ash and Go (for all of its faults) than another day in the life of another Galarian citizen.

Totally agreed! Some people are writing essays like this 6 minute clip has enormous depth when it's nothing more than a decent animated short, meh. The current anime series even if it had a lazy start is superior and more entertaining than these clips imo.
 
Last edited:
Honestly, these comparisons to the main anime is dumb as fuck. Twilight Wings is what, only 12 episodes of 6 minutes. Meanwhile the anime is 24 minutes and do I know how many episodes. (And they're not aimed at the same endgoal.) Of course they'll have more time for stuff.

And yet all it's doing is having one kid catch random Pokémon and Ash being Ash. Sasuga.
 
Well, to be fair Iris was a lot darker in the games than in the anime. I think getting the skin tone of a character who appears every week wrong is arguably more embarrassing than miscoloring a character who only appears once in a really short 6 minute special.

But then again aren't people with light brown skin still considered people of color? So neither Bea or Iris are actually white in the anime even if they should be darker if they wanted to match the original artwork from the games.
 
If Bea was bad then I can only imagine the fuss these people will kick up when Nessa's episode comes. :unsure:

1582378157628.png


vs

1582378196851.png
 
I wouldn’t have noticed the Saito/Bea thing myself and I am loathe to defend Kotaku, but why are multiple people in this thread taking this complaint personally? The Pokemon franchise is not exactly known for its cultural sensitivity so if the odd punter is quicker to take offence, maybe it’s not unjustified?
 
For the "whitewashing," we had the same complaint with Nessa in the last episode, and I'm sure we'll get it in the next episode, with Hop.

Well, to be fair Iris was a lot darker in the games than in the anime.
Not really. Her anime skintone is very close to her in-game sprites. She's just slightly darker in her official game art.

I wouldn’t have noticed the Saito/Bea thing myself and I am loathe to defend Kotaku, but why are multiple people in this thread taking this complaint personally? The Pokemon franchise is not exactly known for its cultural sensitivity so if the odd punter is quicker to take offence, maybe it’s not unjustified?
Because when people cry wolf constantly, it becomes incredibly annoying. (And also troublesome, since it makes light of actual whitewashing issues.) Sites like Kotaku make money through rage, dissent and click-bait. Kotaku has spent years garnering ill will and hatred. I don't blame people for getting angry - I practically gag on sight at the mention of their name

As a former journalism student, I have a ton of complaints about modern journalism, including how it deals with topics like racial sensitivity. But that's a whole other story, and it'd deviate from the thread's topic if I went on too much.
 
Totally agreed! Some people are writing essays like this 6 minute clip has enormous depth when it's nothing more than a decent animated short, meh. The current anime series even if it had a lazy start is superior and more entertaining than these clips imo.

I can't really compare these shorts with the new series yet, but I do think that these past two shorts have a good amount of depth for six minute shorts anyway. Granted, I think it really helps that this so far has not annoyed or frustrated me like Pokemon Generations did. The vast majority of those shorts felt pointless to me, while these two tell a good complete story within their short amount of time, so that's going to make Twilight Wings a lot more entertaining for me off the bat. I think that they'd still be solid shorts even without comparing them to the previous mini-series, but it does make this series feel a lot more promising than I initially expected. It's perfectly fine to not like them or prefer the current anime series, but I do think it's a bit rude to belittle people who do like the shorts and write a lot about them.
 
Please note: The thread is from 4 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