What is your opinion on the Horizons anime so far?

[MiH]

I don't think this has been discussed at all yet. The newest anime series has been running in Japan for almost eight months.

 

[LuxrayOfTheWild]

Its hard to say.

There's certainly things its doing right. Liko and Roy have been decent follow ups to Ash so far. I do enjoy the extended cast mostly, though I'd really prefer if they just let Liko, Roy, and Dot run free traveling. I do like how there's more connectivity between episodes compared to the more self-contained feeling. I really think it should have only been set in Paldea, but they've handled a world traveling based series better than Journeys has. They spend multiple episodes in a region and they tell us where they're going, so we're not spending 2 episodes in Kanto, one in Galar, one in Unova, then 3 more in Kanto with no idea where we're going. Despite this, Paldea has gotten a fair amount of focus, with its Pokemon popping up regularly and the characters getting some attention. They've even kinda been making up for the poor treatment Galar got in Journeys. The starters especially have been handled significantly better than Journeys, with them being split and each getting some attention. Even Pokemon in general considering we often get to see them out of their Pokeballs interacting, something else they're doing better than Journeys.

On the other hand, the series currently has a big problem with stakes and character growth. First off, what are the stakes? Why should we take the Explorers so seriously? Spinel I can get, but the group as a whole? What do they want with Terapagos? What should compell Liko and Roy to get stronger, but this isn't just the stakes. Its Friede. Friede is another big problem with Horizons. He's the character they need to shove down our throats to go look at how cool he is. Its almost like he has no flaws. It was cool at first, but now its getting old. Not to mention the constant Friede vs. Amethio battles that never have a winner. Friede frequently comes in to save Liko and Roy and its kinda preventing character growth cause what need do they have when he's always there to bail them out? Plus they also have the Legendary Hero's Pokemon to bail them out. So how can they grow if they keep having others bail them out? Plus at times, despite having a clear direction, it feels like I don't know where we're headed? And also, what IS Roy's real purpose if Liko is a descendant of the hero?

So far, there's certainly things Horizons is doing right and its an improvement over Journeys, but it needs to give its characters some actual growth and show us why. Its not BW or Journeys bad, but its not XY or DP good yet. Its still early and there's plenty of time to change course though. But so far, its been decent.

 

[Insanish Danish]

Dropped it after the first 12 episodes lmao...I'm sorry but I just didn't give a shit about what was going on. None of the characters did anything for me, the plot (or whatever the plot is supposed to be) did nothing for me, the fact that Liko and Roy and Dot aren't allowed to have their own goddamn adventure without being supervised by the super boring adult characters...like, what am I even watching this for? What am I supposed to care about? So yeah I just gave up. I was really hoping I'd love Horizons after Journeys was such a letdown but sadly it's absolutely not my cup of tea.

 

[RetroPokeFan]

I'm really enjoying Horizons a lot.

There's definitely a few problems such as Friede jumping in too many times and some characters paling in comparison to others but I dunno, maybe it's because I was so utterly bummed out by how pathetically soulless Journeys was that this feels like such a massive breath of fresh air.

Whereas Journeys felt like they couldn't be bothered to commit fully to the whole region hopping idea (spending too much time in Kanto), this already is doing a much better job of showcasing the regions.

Whereas Journeys shoved the Galar mons to the wayside, Horizons is fully embracing Paldea's line-up and even featuring some Galar ones that had to miss out. Kabu finally got his chance to shine as well which most of the other Galar gym leaders can't say they did with the last series.

Whereas the animation for Journeys was for the most part flat and dull (with only a few shining episodes like Ash vs Leon), the animation here is as crisp and great as it was back in Sun & Moon.

It's wild that I actually feel excited to watch the anime compared to last series where at points I legitimately felt like yelling "Can we get this series over and done with? I'm bored now."

 

[Kurolegacy]

For me, Horizons is in the middle, I don’t hate it but at the same time it’s not my favorite either. I do like that they done essentially the opposite of Journeys where it’s story based, having one episode lead into the next even if it isn’t a multi parter thus making things feel important as opposed to unrelated one-off episodes where nothing really happens. It’s also nice to see them doing these kinds of arcs for each region that they go to which is what I had envisioned for Journeys when they announced it taking place all over the world. So those are definitely pluses for it.

As for my negatives, I’m not a fan of having such a bloated cast especially with the majority of them being adults. Pokémon has always been a kid’s power fantasy where they are entirely independent so to have so many adults around having to act as chaperones and guardians to the protagonists, it flies in the face of what this series has always been about and prevents them from really growing. Friede saving them was fine at first but now it’s gotten old since this should be where they grow to be able to save themselves.

Also while they’re going with an original story, I don’t find that the series has given me any actual reason to care about this story of Lucius and the 6 Heroes as they really aren’t giving any reason why any of this is important besides it being the story they’re telling. Sure helping reunite Terapagos with its friends is nice and all but that kind of thing is something Ash and co would do as a part of their journey, not the entire point of it.

And while it’s nice to have a protagonist that is different enough from Ash to justify their existence and us having a female protagonist after Journeys shafted females, I find myself disappointed that out of all the archetypes they had to choose from for Liko, they went with the cliche meek introverted thoughtful girl who needs to learn how to get out of her shell and discover what she wants in life. It feels like they tried too hard for her to be the polar opposite of Ash. It doesn’t help that they introduced her grandmother who gives off the kind of energy I wish that Liko did.

I’m hoping that they can improve on the things I have issue with but only time will tell.

 

[Twilight-Kun]

It's absurdly slow as a week-to-week series, not helped by the multiple multi-week hiatuses

The fact it's actually serialized as opposed to being episodic like SM/PM19 doesn't help either

Just wish the dub wasn't awful, because being able to binge it probably helps immensely

 

[Galar Adventurer]

I won't lie, while I still miss Ash and Pikachu and am still very mixed about the anime getting rid of them (for now anyway),
Horizons has been fine imo. They could've done so much worse for a full tenure without Ash. I still don't think it was worth
booting him out of the franchise though. I feel like Horizons would still be the same show if he had Roy's role in the story
instead (apart from there obviously being 2 Pikachu on board if Captain Pikachu would've still been a thing).

 

[Poke Trey]

Very Necessary. Even though, I keep seeing all the Ash posts in the world asking for him to come back, Liko and Roy has been so interesting, the story being more involved and serialized and I want more of this.

 

[skynerel]

There are some things I have enjoyed and others that I haven’t. Overall I think it’s better than whatever the anime has been trying to do in the past seven years. The lack of filler is a welcome change as I prefer stories that have a purpose. I do wish that Friede and the RVT were the main protagonists is search of adventure and mysteries because some of the kid characters and their motivations are quite boring, specially Roy and Dot. It also doesn’t help the lack of battle focus they are getting. I’m watching because the RVT, the explorers and ancient hero stuff are interesting to me.

 

[game3524]

Dropped it after the first 12 episodes lmao...I'm sorry but I just didn't give a shit about what was going on.

Same. They went for a more serialized series, but then forgot to actually make the plot interesting and engaging.

 

[Kurolegacy]

Same. They went for a more serialized series, but then forgot to actually make the plot interesting and engaging.

Agreed. The Lucius story just isn’t doing it for me. It’s like a series long movie plot that has none of the stakes. The Pokémon they’re after are called heroes but there’s no actual threat that they’re the heroes against so it just feels like they just have the title because the writers thought it would sound cool. And that’s not to say anything about how they thought it was a great idea for the protagonist of a series where battle is a pillar, to resolve these encounters which give them their plot token with talk-no-jutsu. It all just leaves me feeling no ex for what is the main plot of the series.

 

[Twilight-Kun]

it just feels like they just have the title because the writers thought it would sound cool

[stares at Marks in Scarlet/Violet as well as the history shown in Legends Arceus]

Hm yeah I wonder why they're using that gimmick

[unsubtle cough]

 

[Emelie]

Personally I don't think it's Ash who needs to return but rather the badge quest and traveling in only one region. I miss the OS-XY era a lot. What is going to happen to Liko now when the dlc is out and there is no need to advertise it anymore? Liko should have her own quest like Ash did in OS not just serve as advertisement for the dlc and Sprigatito merchandise.

 

[Seven.]

I wonder what will happen when Scarlet and Violet time is gone and a new generation gots announced i dont think that liko and roy Will continue as main characters there are associated with there starter and those are from paldea.

 

[Greninjaman]

I wonder what will happen when Scarlet and Violet time is gone and a new generation gots announced i dont think that liko and roy Will continue as main characters there are associated with there starter and those are from paldea.

Ash kept Pikachu around past Kanto even though it's a gen 1 Pokémon. I don't see why Liko and Roy having Paldea starters will be a problem.

 

[Seven.]

Ash kept Pikachu around past Kanto even though it's a gen 1 Pokémon. I don't see why Liko and Roy having Paldea starters will be a problem.

Because Pikachu its not a starter really he only is a starter in a few special games that imitate the events that happen in the anime

 

[Greninjaman]

Because Pikachu its not a starter really he only is a starter in a few special games that imitate the events that happen in the anime

Ash also had all three Kanto Starters and took them along when he went to Johto.

 

[Die-Hard Dragon Devotee]

Same. They went for a more serialized series, but then forgot to actually make the plot interesting and engaging.

Agreed. While I haven't dropped the series outright yet, this is the most disinterested I think I've ever been with the Pokemon anime.

 

[Hidden Mew]

I wonder what will happen when Scarlet and Violet time is gone and a new generation gots announced i dont think that liko and roy Will continue as main characters there are associated with there starter and those are from paldea.

I don't see Liko and Roy continuing past Horizons not only because of their starters, but it would make replacing Ash feel potentially pointless if they just keep them around for multiple series. It's hard to say for sure since I assume that they won't start a new series for awhile anyway. I don't think it would be impossible for Ash to come back as a lead character, but I wouldn't be shocked if they go for new leads with every series going forward either.

Ash kept Pikachu around past Kanto even though it's a gen 1 Pokémon. I don't see why Liko and Roy having Paldea starters will be a problem.

There's a bit of a difference there when Pikachu is the franchise's mascot, isn't a typical starter Pokemon and there was no expectations for the anime, or the franchise itself, to become so huge when the original series started. This is like comparing apples with oranges.

Ash also had all three Kanto Starters and took them along when he went to Johto.

Ash isn't really associated with the Kanto starters as much as he is with Pikachu. Sprigatito and Fuecoco are more associated with Liko and Roy respectively by comparison too. Ash brought his Kanto starters to Johto, but just to be replaced by the Johto starters. The Kanto starters got more focused during the tail end of Johto, but aside from Charizard, they didn't really do much until the Johto League. Arguably, Ash keeping his team at the start of a new region was a msitake that the writers learned not to repeat again since they gave Ash a fresh team for every future series. I guess that wouldn't be necesarily an issue for Liko and Roy when they aren't going to have full teams most likely, but I don't see Liko and Roy getting the tenth generations while still having Sprigaito and Fuecoco or their evolved forms.

 

[BeautifulSylveon]

Honestly, I don't know what to think about the writing of characters. Like I said, I don't consider Liko's constant thinking in an unenternaining way a good idea. To me, characters from the Ash anime already looked like "real characters". With Liko, I don't know, it looks forced with her constant thinking, as if her main purpose was to be relatable. I actually find other characters more interesting than her. Which is a problem as she's the main protagonist. My other problem with Liko is that she's, to me, a stereotypical girl. To me, it would have been more interesting if Liko and Roy's behaviors/interests were switched. Because not only I think that Liko is a stereotype, but also, Roy is a bit too smilar to Ash, hence why I would have better liked if they switched their behaviors/interests.