Review XY023: The Bond of the Aurora! Amarus and Amaruruga!!

[garrison-san]

XY023 - Bulbapedia, the community-driven Pokémon encyclopedia

Animation: Team Kato
Screenplay: Akemi Omode
Storyboard: Yūji Asada
Assistant director: Yūji Asada
Animation director: Masaaki Iwane

 

[Sakuraa]

I thoroughly enjoyed this episode. Got to see the cast having adorable interactions with 2 of my favorite gen 6 Pokémon.

I like how we got to see some more training for the gym battle with Froakie and Fletchling. Helioptile and Pikachu's interaction was nice to see as well along with Dedenne. Aside from that moment with Helioptile, I wasn't to interested in Alexa here again seeing as she really didn't do anything.

Wow, it looked like Clemont was really into seeing the fossils with Ash and Bonnie showing interest too, while Serena didn't seem to care much at all. I liked that we get some more personality from Serena, showing that not everyone is so amazed upon seeing fossils.

Now we get to the cute scenes. Amaura hugging and playing with snowballs with the entire group was adorable. I also loved that Aurorus's voice was like it's in-game cry. It was cool seeing how Amura and Aurorus communicate through auroras. I totally forgot that Aurorus could spray cold air out of the crystals on its body, so seeing that was cool too.

Glad we got to see Chespin and Fennekin do some battling today rather than Ash handling everything. I liking that Serena is doing more battling, just hoping it doesn't stop. Too bad Fennekin's attack didn't do anything to Meowth, but at the same time at least Meowth was able to show off some more of his battling skills.

And finally we end with more cute playing with Amaura. Overall, nothing I overall disliked other than that little nitpick about Fennekin. 8/10.

 

[JacobYBM]

How does Iwane Masa'aki even function? Is he a robot? Did God just one day decide "Hey, I'm going to give this middle-aged man impossible stamina~!"?

XY017 (February 20, 2014) Sole Key Animator

XY021 (March 27, 2014) (Key Animation)

Mega Evolution Act I (April 3, 2014) Sole Key Animator
Dragon Collection Episode #1 (April 7, 2014) Top of Key Animation credits
XY023 (April 17, 2014) Sole Key Animator

My word.

 

[Alola]

Sooooooo...

I really liked this episode. Plenty of cuteness and feels to go around!

~Good to see that Ash is explicitly training for his Gym Battle. A drastic improvement from his BW days, and more akin to his DP days. Which makes me smile.

~Alexa is back. I like her character to be honest, so it was nice to see her. Helioptile's timid nature is still as bright as ever I see. However, to be honest, she didn't exactly do much.

~The gang examining the fossils. I like how Serena had a clearly different opinion of the fossils than her friends. Adds some character development as well as breaking the mold. In fact, as a side note, I don't think any girl before her has ever shown disdain for fossils. I really like how she isn't afraid to speak her mind about things she doesn't like/isn't impressed by.

~Amaura and Aurorus! Wow, they were beautiful in their anime debut. And Amaura was the epitome of cuteness. I also loved how the writers handled Aurorus. Not only did they give it its in-game cry (Yes!) (one of my favorites by the way), but it performed both facts that the X and Y Pokedex descriptions state. This is pretty rare, seeing as how most Pokemon don't perform what the in-game entries state, in the anime. Also, the fact that the love of her child was so powerfully conveyed. That really did it for me in this episode.

~Team Rocket. Wow, so for once their plan would have actually succeeded...if not for that flat tire. That is simultaneously awesome and worrying at the same time. We get upset that their actions are always foiled, but when they actually come close to completion...wow XD. Also, kudos to Meowth and Wobbuffet. Wobb is now regularly being used for its advantages rather than being ignored during "twerp" battles for the most part like in the past. And Meowth too-today, he reminded me that he is indeed a Pokemon, has an adequate amount of strength, and can utilize moves.

~Yay for Clemont and Serena battle time. I'm glad that the latter members of the group decided to step in and battle TR too, rather than leaving it to Ash & Pikachu. Hopefully this is an indication of more action on their part in the future. And the fact that Fennekin's earlier move is now revealed to be Hidden Power leaves me baffled. I thought Hidden Power was green? But then again didn't the wild Vespiquen use Hidden Power in the fourth episode, which was yellow? If the Hidden Powers are now different colors to reflect their typing, then that's pretty cool too.

~Every interaction between the gang and Amaura.

Overall, a nice cute episode.

 

[Dogasu]

Is this the first time we've ever seen Musashi actually driving a vehicle? I had always thought that Kojirou was the only one of the trio who knew how to drive.

 

[Master Cyrus]

Not gonna lie here. This episode takes the cake for worst XY episode by far, the plot was standard TR steals your POTD and Ash and co help get it back. At least the movie trailer at the end helped make up for it somewhat.

 

[ArvAl]

And the worst thing is Alexa's role here doesn't affect the show that much.
Also, if it's succeeded, why the TR even doesn't have a backup plan if anything happens...
So, it's 6/10 for me

 

[JacobYBM]

XY023 - Bulbapedia, the community-driven Pokémon encyclopedia

Animation: Team Kato
Screenplay: Akemi Omode
Storyboard: Yūji Asada
Assistant director: Yūji Asada
Animation director: Masaaki Iwane

The storyboard was provided by Kawada Takenori under direction from Asada Yuuji.

 

[Johtohfiller]

I like this one a lot. The gang playing with Amaura was SO cute. I want to get in a snowball fight with a dinosaur now! Amaura and Aurorus were both so cool (ha ha), I hope they appear in more episodes.

Were they saying Amaura could die if it was out of the cold too long? That's unusually sad for this show, reminds me of Charmander's tail.

Very nice fight with TR, Ash and friends seemed really competent as a team here. I hope we get more double and triple battles than in the past; they seem like they could kick some ass together. Serena joining in the battle was great, I'm glad to see her getting more focus lately, and showing more interest in battling means more attention for Fennekin too. I loved how Aurorus used ice as a shield, I guess that was another "move that isn't a move" like keromousse/frubbles. Also, dat Pin Missile animation.

Good episode, my only disappointment is that Alexa didn't have as big a part as I had hoped. Glad they included her, but I wish she had done more.

 

[garrison-san]

XY023 - Bulbapedia, the community-driven Pokémon encyclopedia

Animation: Team Kato
Screenplay: Akemi Omode
Storyboard: Yūji Asada
Assistant director: Yūji Asada
Animation director: Masaaki Iwane

The storyboard was provided by Kawada Takenori under direction from Asada Yuuji.

I'm just going by what's on Bulbapedia. You'd have to take it up with them.

 

[Moe]

Nice to see that Alexa is going to be recurring as a character - I suppose that's to cover for the seeming lack of any rivals for anyone yet. I wish they'd do a book of her Pokemon Journalism stuff - I'd like to see the finished articles on things like this episode, to go beyond just Pokedex entries and the occasional Pokemon that gets an episode like this dealing with how they interact, written from the in universe perspective.

I also like fossil episodes in general and Amaura/Aurorus are two of my favourite fossil Pokemon. The episode about them certainly did a good job with them, though Aurorus was darker in colour than I thought it would be, I like it better in the games.

The Amaura really suffered from being alone - the scene of Ash and the others leaving it was sad and the episode never resolves that side of things, perhaps apart from a stronger bond with Aurorus. The perils of being a fossil revived in the future I suppose.

Odd to see Meowth getting really involved in a battle, makes it seem like Serena isn't taken seriously enough as an opponent for Jessie/James to turn their attention to her. I do however like that she did get a battle and seems to be slowly growing into that now. Hopefully a win isn't too far off - or some kind of indication about her future.

Would have been nice if Team Rocket recognised the Aurorus would go looking for Amaura and used it as bait, with a plan to capture Aurorus rather than be totally overpowered by it. A tyre puncture is probably one of the weakest things TR have been defeated by so far in XY - where's the mecha-Aurorus escape vehicle when they need it...

 

[Odinn]

Am I the only one which thinks there was an inconsistency about Amaura's size through the episode? Or it's just me?

Amaura is one of my favourite Gen VI Pokemon. And I really liked how they showed its cuteness.
But I didn't like what Aurorus has done after the kidnap. Especially the part where it stopped Wobbuffet's move. It weighs almost 500 pounds and gets there fast enough to create an ice block that is pretty ridiculous when we consider the position of ice crystals. It wasn't like creating a mist or cold area. I was like 'damn, I know a mom do whatever it takes to protect its kid, but that was some outrageous stuff from the writers'.

Tho, I agree with Hoopa on his point. I wonder when we'll ever get an episode like this but the child will try to rescue its parent.

There was a very fundamentally/basic mistake, too. Aurorus managed to reach Amaura by crying/screaming damn hard. Yet, TR didn't notice/hear the voice while they weren't in the truck, unlike Amaura.
There are pretty unsatisfying things about TR kidnapping Amaura.

The only major thing made XY023 this good is Amaura and due to its cuteness I'll give 6 out f 10. If there weren't it, probably 3 or 4.

 

[6f5e4d]

Sarah Natochenny: Ash
Haven Paschall: Serena
Michael Liscio: Clemont
Alyson Rosenfeld: Bonnie
Michele Knotz: Jessie
Carter Cathcart: James and Meowth
Jessica Paquet: Alexa
Ikue Ohtani: Ash's Pikachu
Kayzie Rogers: Jessie's Wobbuffet
Billy Bob Thompson: Ash's Froakie
Lisa Ortiz: Ash's Fletchling
Megumi Sato: Clemont's Dedenne
Suzy Myers: Clemont's Chespin
Eileen Stevens: Serena's Fennekin and Alexa's Helioptile and Viola's Surskit
Kenta Miyake: James's Inkay
This should be a good cast for the episode

 

[Chiplet]

~The gang examining the fossils. I like how Serena had a clearly different opinion of the fossils than her friends. Adds some character development as well as breaking the mold. In fact, as a side note, I don't think any girl before her has ever shown disdain for fossils. I really like how she isn't afraid to speak her mind about things she doesn't like/isn't impressed by.

Except that Iris clearly showed disinterest for the Plume Fossil in Archeops In The Modern World and even more so than Serena, as she clearly stated how it only looked like a mere rock to her despite Ash, Cilan and Juniper's clear fascination.


Eh, kinda boring episode. Amaura was really cute though, omg. Being a fan of Alexa, I wish we'd get to see more of her as her role was rather minor here compared to the role she played back in the Decolore episodes. I was also hoping for Gogoat to make another appearance, but eh.

 

[Iteru]

Not the most thrilling episode but I thought it was good. Amarus was cute and so were the playing scenes. Amaruruga was shown off nicely as well imo, especially with the cold winds coming from its crystals.

Hopefully not the last of these two Poké.

 

[Adil]

The storyboard was provided by Kawada Takenori under direction from Asada Yuuji.

You're right. Thanks for pointing it out... Fixed it.

 

[JacobYBM]

The storyboard was provided by Kawada Takenori under direction from Asada Yuuji.

You're right. Thanks for pointing it out... Fixed it.

Mein pleasure. I guess Asada doesn't have Iwane's inhuman stamina and chose to focus his attention on the storyboard for Mega Evolution Act I.

 

[Alola]

~The gang examining the fossils. I like how Serena had a clearly different opinion of the fossils than her friends. Adds some character development as well as breaking the mold. In fact, as a side note, I don't think any girl before her has ever shown disdain for fossils. I really like how she isn't afraid to speak her mind about things she doesn't like/isn't impressed by.

Except that Iris clearly showed disinterest for the Plume Fossil in Archeops In The Modern World and even more so than Serena, as she clearly stated how it only looked like a mere rock to her despite Ash, Cilan and Juniper's clear fascination.

Well like I said, I merely thought and wasn't sure. Thanks for shedding light on the issue, I really appreciate it.

 

[ArvAl]

Boring...but at least we can see perfect reunion from this episode.

 

[G50]

This episode was ok. I liked the way Amaura and Aurorus were animated, it made me like the Pokemon even more. It was cool how Amaura was able to use its head fins to be able to tell Aurorus where it was at.

It was nice to see more training for Ash and his Pokemon before they went to see the fossils and the fossil Pokemon. Other than that, there wasn't much I liked about this episode.