SwSh What do you think of James Turner being the art director for Sword and Shield

[SerenaToAlola]

Uh...what?

First of all bad examples. Anime isn't a one style fits all art form. Look at this:

View attachment 128056

If you didn't know what Astro Boy was, what would you think of this image? Probably the same thing you're thinking of all the pokemon now. Guess what inspired Tezuka? Yep, western cartoons; specifically Disney! The truth is a lot of anime since the dawn of Japanese cartoons go hand in hand with western cartoons, it's not like they're exclusive to each other. I mean going by your logic, shows like Panty & Stocking, Sgt. Frog, Milk-chan, Bo-bobo Bobo-bobo, and Popteam Epic, just to name a few, aren't anime because they have a different art style that's more cartoony than a more serious one the FMA example you gave has.

Also did you forget that Growlith doesn't look like that anymore because Sugimori refined his style when he switched to digital media? Because Yamper really looks close to the newer art:

It's also possible that Yamper wasn't even drawn by Sugimori in the first place. There are other artists that work for Game Freak now. People seem to forget this fact and pin everything either on Turner (Who appears to be the devil himself) or Sugimori (a god amongst men, apparently).



You're really blinded by the "fine art of anime" aren't you?

Again, anime isn't some high art that should be put on a pedestal and admired, it's literally the same as any other form of animation. It's all just moving drawings in the end. That, and everyone has a different art style.



Creativity is bad. Noted.

Because honestly I doubt the people who were trying to make parody mons could even think of something as wacky as a roving Stonehenge arch with a bored expression, arms, and shoelaces.



It's head literally looks like an item. Also this is the same as calling Staryu badly designed because it's just a starfish with a jewel glued on to it.

Spoiler

Also the fossils are great and also an intresting concept that's based in real world orgins. I will protect those lovable abominations of god forever.

So what is your argument even?

 

[Phosphene]

Now let's compare these two and you'll notice that Yamper is almost even more cartoony and abstract than Pluto! While our buddy Growlithe has a defined musculature, with clear breaksin joints and a physical weight to it, Yamper is basucally Minnie's new friend to go along with Pluto. There's no real muscle or skeletal mass to this thing. It looks like it would shake like gelatin if you picked it up. You'll also notice that while Growlithe has anthropomorphic eyes, they are less rounded and more focused. Yamper's eyes look watery and are much more detailed. Growlithe's eyes exist for it to logically SEE in universe. Yamper's eyes, like Pluto's exist chiefly to convey emotion. You'll also notice that while Growlithe has shading to detail a 3 dimensional existence (and we can even see some fur employed by how and where it's shaded) Yamper's shading exists only in the most abstract sense to allow lighting to work on its model.

The traits you attach to Yamper can be found in many other non-gen 8 Pokemon as well though. Pikachu, Raichu, Raticate, Jillypuff, Wigglytuff, Venomoth, Diglett, Dugtrio, Meowth, Psyduck, Poliwhirl, Geodude, Graveler, Slowpoke, Grimer, Muk, Shellder, Cloyster, Ghastly, Haunter, Koffing, Chansey, Tangela, Cyndaquil, Sentret, Furret, Ledyba, Ledian, Spinarak, Chinchou, Pichu, Cleffa, Igglybuff, Togepi, Togetic, Natu, Xatu, Mareep, Flaaffy, Marill, Sudowoodo, Hoppip, Skipbloom, Jumpluff, Aipom, Sunkern, Wooper, Quagsire, Wobbuffet, Snubbull, Qwilfish, Shuckle, Teddiursa, Swinub, Corsola, Mantine, Phanpy, Hitmontop, Blissey, etc. (I only went up to gen 2 because I don't have the time to comb through all seven generations). All of these Pokemon have the more unrealistic and cartoonish style of Yamper, whether it be limbs that cannot support their bodies realistically or eyes that couldn't see accurately etc. I don't really see how the traits you affix to Yamper are somehow indicative of its westernized style when said traits appear in many other Pokemon (typically cute first or second stage Pokemon, just like Yamper).

 

[PinkIceFox]

Person arguing that anatomy of what is a "pokemon" has changed seems to forget we also have Meowth who's body is basically teh same as Scorbunny's except one is a cat and one is a rabbit. In fact I think Meowth's head is bigger than Scorbunny's. Sneasel's anatomy is similar as well. Glameow's head is too big for its pencil thin neck. Like many western cartoons.

Also er... Raticate is a fluffy ball with feet glued onto it. You aint' got no legs, Lieutenant Rat.

Oh also, Spheal. Sentret. Furret. Natu. Wingull. Skitty.

It's almost like all pokemon have varying types of anatomy and you can't really peg down a theme for them perfectly regardless of generation or something. Weird cartoon animal anatomy is not some new concept Devil-Turner created to destroy the fabric of pokemon as we know it.

 

[Tood]

It's not like Pokemon are intended to be realistic depictions of animals anyway. If the cartoony art-style is intended to make them more expressive and lively, wouldn't that be a good thing? Especially for a series which has children as one of (if not the) main demographic?

I appreciate the differentiation between Western and anime artstyles, but I don't see why people think this "western" style is bad in any way at all. If anything, like others have mentioned, I'd argue it has been around in some form since the beginning.

 

[PinkIceFox]

I'd also like to point out there are western cartoons done in the 'style' of anime. Avatar for example... and I'm sure there are Japanese cartoons with non-realistic designs too.

 

[Cute Charm]

So what is your argument even?

TL;DR:

• Anime isn't it's own style of animation. It's just animation.
• Comparing something like Disney to FMA isn't a comparison. They're 2 different art styles, budget, and eras.
• Anime and manga started off being based on western animation, so thinking that they're two exclusive things is wrong. That's literally calling all of Tezuka's back catalog "Western animation"
• Truth is there's a lot of anime with cartoony styles that could be comparable to western animation. Not all anime have realistic proportions.
• Comparing a new drawing (Yamper) with an almost 30 year old drawing (Growlithe) seems like a one-sided comparison. At least use the updated art.
• We don't know who drew Yamper. It could be Sugimori, it could be another artist. Again one-sided.
• I personally like the creative designs of this generation. Do I miss the old, animal-like, designs. Sure. But I'm old and have grown tired of all the negativity surrounding the more out there concepts. Anything can be a Pokemon as far as I'm concerned. Even Shoe from that South Park episode. If done correctly imagine some kind of haunted shoe mimic that likes to bite people's feet off.
• Pokemon have been over simplified recolors of real animals forever. A normal penguin is still equal to literally just a cat with a jewel or a starfish with a jewel.

 

[BlueWaves]

A big difference between Western and Japanese Animation is that western Animation is often focused on children ( Not to say that they are no animated shows for Adults or teenagers ) so hence a more cartoony design. If you look at Disney and Pixar and DreamWorks, you’ll notice that their fillms are very familiy friendly.

Japanese Animation is more diverse in audiences, often focusing much more on different age groups, including young adults and older, so you see more realistic proportions.

Since Pokemon are aimed too Children, it makes sense to go the more cartoony way.
Overall, though, I’m really enjoying the designs from SwSh, I find them a lot more original than Gen 6 ( I personally find Mimikyu the laziest design ever ) but I like a lot of them are very whacky and original, like the fossil Pokémon and the Impidimp line.

My only complaint is the starters are looking way too much like People. Intelleon’s fingers look too much like human fingers, while Cinderace is the worst it’s litterally like a Soccer player with a rabbit face. Hopefully they make them less human in the next gen.

 

[DarkraiKnight]

I personally think James Turner has done an excellent job as the art director. Gen 8’s batch of Pokémon is EASILY the weirdest we’ve ever gotten overall, but like with many of Turner’s designs, I find most of them to be the “unexpected yet cool” kind of weird and not the “OMG KILL IT WITH FIRE” kind of weird. Some of them are a bit too strange for my liking (and some of them are a bit too generic), but I quite like a majority of them.

On a side note, while I do agree that the Pokémon of this generation are a lot more “cartoony” than those of years past, that doesn’t make them OBJECTIVELY bad (as some people here are trying to paint them). The style of Pokémon has been gradually changing over time; that didn’t start with Gen 8 and James Turner, and it likely won’t end with them either. What really matters, at the end of the day, is if they can produce appealing creatures — and other than a few stinkers, I’d say Gen 8’s roster is VERY appealing.

 

[Zeta]

Uh...what?

First of all bad examples. Anime isn't a one style fits all art form. Look at this:

View attachment 128056

If you didn't know what Astro Boy was, what would you think of this image? Probably the same thing you're thinking of all the pokemon now. Guess what inspired Tezuka? Yep, western cartoons; specifically Disney! The truth is a lot of anime since the dawn of Japanese cartoons go hand in hand with western cartoons, it's not like they're exclusive to each other. I mean going by your logic, shows like Panty & Stocking, Sgt. Frog, Milk-chan, Bo-bobo Bobo-bobo, and Popteam Epic, just to name a few, aren't anime because they have a different art style that's more cartoony than a more serious one the FMA example you gave has.

When I used the term "Japanese" I referred to the modern conventions of art seen in the Shonen anime genre which also served as the basis of the Pokemon artstyle for the first five games. While Tezuka was the father of anime and manga, aside from the portrayal of children's eyes, the media has moved beyond him in the past HALF CENTURY since his work was at its peak.

While there are gag manga with a more cartoony style, these do NOT do well in the west because their humor literally doesn't translate, and thus I chose to disregard them since I was talking about style in the broadest and simplest terms possible.

Also did you forget that Growlith doesn't look like that anymore because Sugimori refined his style when he switched to digital media? Because Yamper really looks close to the newer art:

It's also possible that Yamper wasn't even drawn by Sugimori in the first place. There are other artists that work for Game Freak now. People seem to forget this fact and pin everything either on Turner (Who appears to be the devil himself) or Sugimori (a god amongst men, apparently).

I referred to Sugimori style. It's been obvious Sugimori himself hasn't personally drawn Pokemon designs in years. However, until recently, there was a concentrated effort to ape and mimic his style that's been abandoned in the most recent games.

Sugimori is not a god among men, but he is the founder of the visual language of the Pokemon world, and if you abandon that it stops being Pokemon. It's the equivalent of drawing Mickey Mouse with bulging pectoral muscles.

You're really blinded by the "fine art of anime" aren't you?

Not at all. I value both western and Japanese art. However Pokemon was founded on the visual language of late 80s early 90s shonen anime and manga. If you abandon that, since Pokemon is primarily successful based on character design, it's not Pokemon anymore. It turns into fan art.

Again, anime isn't some high art that should be put on a pedestal and admired, it's literally the same as any other form of animation. It's all just moving drawings in the end. That, and everyone has a different art style.

That's why it's a terrible decision for Pokemon to abandon the key facets of its own art style. Every Pokemon is different in physical form, so the only thing keeping the universe together is a unified art style. If you mix Tiny Toons with anime you get nonsense and a world that acts against willing suspension of disbelief. If Donald Duck and Alphonse Elric were both added to the Pokedex, that would be a sign of poor art oversight based on the difference of styles alone, no? That's what's happening with Sword and Shield.

Creativity is bad. Noted.

Inconsistency in character design is bad. You really seem like you feel personally attacked. I'd wager it's because you realize it looks like the old Pokemon could stand next to 90's anime protagonists with no problem while Turner's oversight has produced Pokemon that look like they should be attacking with anvils and cream pies.

I love Looney Tunes and Disney.

I love anime.

The two do NOT and should not be mixed together. A child in an art design class could tell you that.

The traits you attach to Yamper can be found in many other non-gen 8 Pokemon as well though. Pikachu, Raichu, Raticate, Jillypuff, Wigglytuff, Venomoth, Diglett, Dugtrio, Meowth, Psyduck, Poliwhirl, Geodude, Graveler, Slowpoke, Grimer, Muk, Shellder, Cloyster, Ghastly, Haunter, Koffing, Chansey, Tangela, Cyndaquil, Sentret, Furret, Ledyba, Ledian, Spinarak, Chinchou, Pichu, Cleffa, Igglybuff, Togepi, Togetic, Natu, Xatu, Mareep, Flaaffy, Marill, Sudowoodo, Hoppip, Skipbloom, Jumpluff, Aipom, Sunkern, Wooper, Quagsire, Wobbuffet, Snubbull, Qwilfish, Shuckle, Teddiursa, Swinub, Corsola, Mantine, Phanpy, Hitmontop, Blissey, etc. (I only went up to gen 2 because I don't have the time to comb through all seven generations). All of these Pokemon have the more unrealistic and cartoonish style of Yamper, whether it be limbs that cannot support their bodies realistically or eyes that couldn't see accurately etc. I don't really see how the traits you affix to Yamper are somehow indicative of its westernized style when said traits appear in many other Pokemon (typically cute first or second stage Pokemon, just like Yamper).

True, there were simplistic designs before G8, but most of these were still drawn with "weight" as noted earlier in the thread. They still have a physical presence, and I still feel like most of them have skeletons and a real physical presence. That's not something I feel with the G8 Pokemon because their bodies are inherently drawn to look more "flexible" and "bouncy". Even most of these Pokemon were drawn to look like they had a chitinous, almost hard exoskeleton while a lot of the G8 Pokemon have lighting and details that make them look like soggy mush or microwaved rubber.

 

[Arylett Charnoa]

It is a matter of taste whether or not you enjoy more Westernized art. For myself, I was attracted to Pokémon's initial aesthetic, which was altered to be more wacky/cartoony throughout the generations admittedly, but still had some elements of serious design all the way up to Generation 7.

To me, this is the largest shift I've seen in the history of the series, because nearly every Pokemon is wacky/cartoony with garish colors. The leaks continue to follow the patterns of the few officially revealed Pokémon.

I find myself completely alienated by this. Sure, it's okay to like them, but there isn't a point in arguing to people over their own tastes. [Saying this too is sadly pointless though. It is in human nature to get defensive over an opposing opinion and try to justify it through argument.]

My point is though, I came to Pokémon for a specific aesthetic which is now largely gone. It has been replaced with an aesthetic that I have never been a fan of. Therefore, I either dislike or am apathetic about these designs. They don't feel like they fit to me, and I've never once thought this throughout all the generations' first Pokémon reveals.

Though I don't know the full details, I would prefer if in the future, they did not have James Turner as lead. Or that he or whoever is responsible take Pokémon back to its older styles. Otherwise, the series will not hold my interest any longer, as I primarily play it for my enjoyment of the designs. That's just for me personally though.

 

[Phosphene]

They still have a physical presence, and I still feel like most of them have skeletons and a real physical presence. That's not something I feel with the G8 Pokemon because their bodies are inherently drawn to look more "flexible" and "bouncy". Even most of these Pokemon were drawn to look like they had a chitinous, almost hard exoskeleton while a lot of the G8 Pokemon have lighting and details that make them look like soggy mush or microwaved rubber.

I don't see how the non-gen 8 Pokemon have any more physical presence than the gen 8 ones. And I don't feel like those Pokemon have "hard exoskeletons" barring the circular ones like Jigglypuff. Pikachu and Aipom don't look like they have a hard body; they look as squishy as Yamper.

Spoiler

While I definitely feel that the gen 8 Pokemon are more westernized than previous designs, I don't think the traits you described are what make them more westernized.

Edit: I think the westernization is more the overall design of the Pokemon, and can't be pinned on a few traits. For example, look at Flapple and Appletun. Those designs overall seem cartoon-y, like something you'd see on Cartoon Network or in a Disney movie, in my opinion. They're designs just don't feel like they're in that more standard anime style. But they don't seem softer or squisher than normal.

Spoiler: WARNING - Leaked Pokemon

 

[swiftgallade46]

Am I the only one who really isn’t noticing this massive design shift? There are a few unconventional designs, but overall these look like they could have been in earlier generations without question.

I think people are looking for some kind of confirmation bias that JT being the new art director means everything is changing when in reality all he did was throw some different things into the usual mix.

 

[Cute Charm]

When I used the term "Japanese" I referred to the modern conventions of art seen in the Shonen anime genre which also served as the basis of the Pokemon artstyle for the first five games. While Tezuka was the father of anime and manga, aside from the portrayal of children's eyes, the media has moved beyond him in the past HALF CENTURY since his work was at its peak.

While there are gag manga with a more cartoony style, these do NOT do well in the west because their humor literally doesn't translate, and thus I chose to disregard them since I was talking about style in the broadest and simplest terms possible.

Yeah, but so has the west in moving past Gertie the Dinosaur or Disney or Loony Tunes. Things change, but at the same time they stay the same. Western animators moved on from funny cartoon animals being silly to actually telling a cohesive story in 15-30 minutes while also keeping some of the slapstick and other gags.

I was only using the gag anime as an example. I mean there are are a lot more anime with varying art styles that do translate well to western audiences. I mean take the Shonen and Senin anime/manga that the original creators have admitted to being inspired by western comics for example. Things start to overlap when they influence people. Anime is inspired by western animation, western animation is inspired by anime. It's a loop.

I referred to Sugimori style. It's been obvious Sugimori himself hasn't personally drawn Pokemon designs in years. However, until recently, there was a concentrated effort to ape and mimic his style that's been abandoned in the most recent games.

Sugimori is not a god among men, but he is the founder of the visual language of the Pokemon world, and if you abandon that it stops being Pokemon. It's the equivalent of drawing Mickey Mouse with bulging pectoral muscles.

Yes, because he doesn't draw it anymore, but he did draw some creatures up until Yusuke Ohmura took over fully. So, it's not like the other artists were mimicking his style as much as he was still drawing a few things here or there outside of a handful of human characters like he does now.

I honestly don't get this argument. It really sounds like you're against other people drawing pokemon other than Sugimori. Or at the very least you want people to continue drawing in his style to a T. If you are, then you really need to take off the nostalgia goggles. Things don't stay the same forever.

Not at all. I value both western and Japanese art. However Pokemon was founded on the visual language of late 80s early 90s shonen anime and manga. If you abandon that, since Pokemon is primarily successful based on character design, it's not Pokemon anymore. It turns into fan art.

I wouldn't say abandoned. It, excuse the pun, evolved with the times. I mean you pointed out that Pokemon was inspired by "late 80s early 90s shonen anime and manga." Yet if you look at shonen now, none of it actually looks like the 80s-90s style:

Spoiler: Shonen series of the 80s-Now

As far as fanart goes, a lot of fanart has been imitating the official style forever now. I have to say they've gotten pretty good at it over the last couple years. So if pokemon look like fanart now, that means the fanart that was trying to look like real pokemon but was a little off now looks like real pokemon and those people should honestly be hired officially.

That's why it's a terrible decision for Pokemon to abandon the key facets of its own art style. Every Pokemon is different in physical form, so the only thing keeping the universe together is a unified art style. If you mix Tiny Toons with anime you get nonsense and a world that acts against willing suspension of disbelief. If Donald Duck and Alphonse Elric were both added to the Pokedex, that would be a sign of poor art oversight based on the difference of styles alone, no? That's what's happening with Sword and Shield.

You can say that about anything that evolves with the time. I mean I hear the same argument about Jojo's Bizarre Adventure. It's just that when something goes on long enough the style changes.

There's a lot of character designers and a lot of ideas, it's a group effort. One might come up with Donuck a water/normal duck with a sailor aesthetic (but is otherwise a normal duck), another one might come up with a ghost/steel haunted suit of armor called Alcarmor that may or may not be controlled by the cats inside it. Both are equally valuable ideas. Like I said anything can become a pokemon at this point and it's wonderful.

Besides, pokemon was meant as an RPG, it wasn't supposed to be realistic world where animals have elemental powers and Yokai are real and also have the same powers. I mean if someone looks at RPG monsters from pretty much any other series, they'll start to see some inconsistencies with the creatures too. Like how Slime wouldn't and couldn't realistically exist in the real world.

Also, Tiny Toons was animated partly by TMS Entertainment so your comment about Tiny Toons combining with anime is kind of moot.

Inconsistency in character design is bad. You really seem like you feel personally attacked. I'd wager it's because you realize it looks like the old Pokemon could stand next to 90's anime protagonists with no problem while Turner's oversight has produced Pokemon that look like they should be attacking with anvils and cream pies.

I love Looney Tunes and Disney.

I love anime.

The two do NOT and should not be mixed together. A child in an art design class could tell you that.

They seem inconsistent because there's like more than one person working on art and concepts now. There's also the fact that a lot of the older pokemon have been updated to fit with the new styles like I said. They're not sharp anymore and they're more rounded. But at the same time, it's not fair to compare Sugimori with Ohmura since they have similar, but slightly different art styles.

Anyway, I don't feel personally attacked. The spoiler tag was a joke, anyway. I'm just pointing that a lot of things were inconsistent with your post or at least too biased. Kind of like how saying Western animation and anime "should not be mixed together" going back to what I said about you thinking they're not separate entities. In the end it's just art and animation. What country its from doesn't matter and neither does the nationality of any of the staff.

Also, once again, the stereotypical Saturday morning cartoons were partly animated by Japanese companies like Toei, TMS Entertainment, or Sunrise up until the early 90s. So in a way, Japan pioneered that look. That's why shows like Transformers, Jem, and Batman the Animated series look like they could be literal anime if it wasn't for the tiny eyes on the characters. Which again, some anime, would actually adopt later on when they're trying to be super serious. Also Sunrise's time on Batman inspired the Art Deco look of Big O...not that people remember Big O, but it still counts.

True, there were simplistic designs before G8, but most of these were still drawn with "weight" as noted earlier in the thread. They still have a physical presence, and I still feel like most of them have skeletons and a real physical presence. That's not something I feel with the G8 Pokemon because their bodies are inherently drawn to look more "flexible" and "bouncy". Even most of these Pokemon were drawn to look like they had a chitinous, almost hard exoskeleton while a lot of the G8 Pokemon have lighting and details that make them look like soggy mush or microwaved rubber.

@SpinyShell brought up a good point about this bit.

Also have you seen actual corgis? They're actually that squishy looking in real life. I mean you could even say Yamper is another one falls under "over simplified real animal with minor changes"

Anyway I'm done with this. I'm old and tired and just want to enjoy new games and pokemon.

 

[Arylett Charnoa]

Am I the only one who really isn’t noticing this massive design shift? There are a few unconventional designs, but overall these look like they could have been in earlier generations without question.

I think people are looking for some kind of confirmation bias that JT being the new art director means everything is changing when in reality all he did was throw some different things into the usual mix.

Actually, I wasn't aware of it for some time. I just felt that the designs... were off somehow. And once I found out that someone else was heading things off, it made sense. I don't care who does what - I only care about results. And the results speak for themselves to me.

I will concede that there were earlier signs of this shift in Gen 7, with designs like Incineroar, and most of the Alolan forms looking perfectly at home with this more over the top style. But that generation had a decent chunk of Pokemon who harkened back to the older style. This one appears to have very very few. I can only speculate that James Turner's larger involvement may have caused the shift to intensify, but this is all purely based on how I perceive the designs. For some, the shift may not exist at all, because they don't have the same sensitivity or aesthetic sensibilities.

 

[Zeta]

I think in general there were always Westerny Pokemon and humanoid Pokemon but those were mixed in with way more animalistic or kaiju-themed Pokemon. In recent years, it feels like animal Pokemon are on the decline in favor of humanoid and western-themed designs. I do think that Yokai Watch and having a westerner join the team around the same time that series launched created the perfect storm to promote those aesthetics given that most Yokai Watch Yokai look like little people and have very . . . I almost want to say "Smurfish" designs. Yokai Watch has almost been as influential on the past three generations of Pokemon as Ultraman and Gojira were on the first two. It also influenced Digimon heavily for two years - the last televised anime series they did was basically "Yokai Watchmon".

 

[PkmnTrainerV]

I don’t know about a general trend, but one Pokemon annoys me a lot personally

Spoiler: Leaked Pokemon

Why the hell does this look like a stretched image of an otherwise normal caterpillar Pokemon? It looks oddly distorted.

 

[prog rocker]

I don’t know about a general trend, but one Pokemon annoys me a lot personally

Spoiler: Leaked Pokemon

View attachment 128128
Why the hell does this look like a stretched image of an otherwise normal caterpillar Pokemon? It looks oddly distorted.

To tell the truth, this is the one Pokémon that actually bothers me.

 

[Cute Charm]

I don’t know about a general trend, but one Pokemon annoys me a lot personally

Spoiler: Leaked Pokemon

View attachment 128128
Why the hell does this look like a stretched image of an otherwise normal caterpillar Pokemon? It looks oddly distorted.

On one hand, it's actually a ladybug larva and not a catipilliar.

But yeah, on the other hand it looks...like it shouldn't exist and it's in more pain than the fossils. Being stretched like that.

Like I said, I'll get used to it. But it's probably going to take a while. The whole line is pretty awkward in general.

 

[PinkIceFox]

While I do find its stretched head ever-so creepy... I'm giggling at how it looks like it's looking down at the comments with a "8o" oh no face.

 

[SerenaToAlola]

I honestly don't get this argument. It really sounds like you're against other people drawing pokemon other than Sugimori. Or at the very least you want people to continue drawing in his style to a T. If you are, then you really need to take off the nostalgia goggles. Things don't stay the same forever.

It really sounds like you're trying to posit the OP as prejudiced. IMO, it's clear that his point is about how the visual language created by Sugimori should continue to be used as guidelines for designs. They can use different art styles but the essence of what makes a pokemon a pokemon should remain. For instance, there's Ash in SM and Ash in XY. It looks different but you know it's Ash still. The problem IMO is that there is such a wide variety of Pokemon now, it's hard to have some consistency on what makes a pokemon a pokemon.

As far as fanart goes, a lot of fanart has been imitating the official style forever now. I have to say they've gotten pretty good at it over the last couple years. So if pokemon look like fanart now, that means the fanart that was trying to look like real pokemon but was a little off now looks like real pokemon and those people should honestly be hired officially.

That was literally not his point. I think he was just trying to say that if they deviate from Sugimori's design principle, they won't look like they belong in the franchise anymore.

Besides, pokemon was meant as an RPG, it wasn't supposed to be realistic world where animals have elemental powers and Yokai are real and also have the same powers. I mean if someone looks at RPG monsters from pretty much any other series, they'll start to see some inconsistencies with the creatures too. Like how Slime wouldn't and couldn't realistically exist in the real world.

IMO, this is such a weak point. The last sentence also threw me off. Ultimately, there has got to be some kind of principles that holds the Pokemon universe together. Pokemon are supposed to be realistic in-universe. They don't have to be real but they should still be believable within the world. Saying it's just a game and hence anything goes makes no sense.

Anyway, I do feel like there's a noticeable difference between Western Comic Art and Anime and was hoping to learn more about it. To me, it's something you see and realise but don't know how to describe.