Review HZ046: How Thrilling! Orange Academy

[Alola]

God you people nitpick anything and everything are you? Yes Horizons has its issues, but only time will tell if they address them. The stuff with Luius and the Ancient Pokeballs and all that will probably be addressed once they're done Terastal training and return to travelling.

The series is almost at 50 episodes at this point, with a number of its issues stemming from its beginning that still exist today - any "nitpicking" is valid criticism. Just as people can loudly praise this series like the second coming of Christ, so too can people criticize its faults.

That aside, I thought this episode was great and made me the most excited I've been about Horizons in a long time. Finally, we're getting focus on the kids and (hopefully) they'll be able to grow, problem-solve, and develop without adult assistance or Captain Pikachu inserting itself to save the day. This was what drew me into the anime when I was a kid, so touching on those roots is appreciated regarding the narrative. Seeing Naranja Academy along with all of the personnel was fantastic - I've wanted this part of the Paldean games to come alive in the anime ever since I first played Violet; I'm not too fond on the limitations of Terastalizing though (but now that I think about it, that may just be an excuse to not have to animate it too much). I also kept chuckling when Nemona kept getting her battles interrupted; her expression could become a running gag. Also, I knew Pawmot were large but not that big!

I'm not sure how I feel about the Gym Leaders being split up between Liko, Dot, and Roy, but at the same time I can't deny it'll be exciting to see them all have Gym Battles that will (hopefully) develop their skills as Trainers. Speaking of battles, Dewott Vs. Floragato was very clean; I'm a fan of how nimble they're designing the Grass Cat Pokémon to be in battle (yet not too evasive, evident with it staggering from that boomerang Scalchop). There's also some variation they can do with animating its yo-yo, if the writing team is creative enough. I think having Floragato use its yoyo akin to Killua from Hunter x Hunter would be awesome, but time will tell.

 

[Nicolas721]

These kids don’t have much inner conflict to chew on nor interesting goals either, specially Roy, he is very flat. He just wants to battle Rayquaza and that’s it. What does he hope to accomplish with that? Why it is so important to defeat a legend? What does he do after achieving that or what does expect to prove by doing so? Other than being like the Hero trainer. There’s no depth there. The hero pokemon & the explorers (who are not perfect either) at least provide an element of mystery to keep me interested. Not to mention that these elements are what actually moves the story in HZ, Liko & Roy wouldn’t be traveling at all if it wasn’t for that.

Why are the hero pokemon so big?
Why is Lucius not with them?
The ancient pokeballs… who crafted them? They seem way too advanced for being so old.
How old is Gibeon and if the explorers were Lucius friends… why did they got separated?
Where is Rakua and what does Gibeon hopes to achieve there? Why is Terapagos the key?
And so on…

Now, those are things that keep me watching. Vague goals like wanting to “understand the emotions of pokemon” are boring as hell. That can work for certain situations, but it quickly runs out of steam. Past sagas worked better because we knew the characters had some sort of direction and tangible goals, so we cheered the characters hoping that one day they’d be successful. I think the RVT had much more potential to be the real protagonists, but they are relegated to secondary characters. On top of that, the saga is really lacking on humor as well.

This arc is pretty much filler in a pretty and fanservice-y package, the main plot is on vacation right now. But that's not a bad thing as it could allow us to finally see Liko, Roy and Dot tackling situations on their own and having more battles.

And regarding the motivations thing I think you are giving too much credit too older series. We never understood how Ash got the idea to be a Pokemon Master, why did May and Dawn wanted to become Top Coordinators, how Cilan could become an S-Class connoisseur, the motivations of Clemont and the SM gang were vague as hell...the list goes on.

Agree on the humor thing, though after remembering Journeys' attempts at it I'm fine with it taking a break.

 

[Articfoxgamez]

This arc is pretty much filler in a pretty and fanservice-y package, the main plot is on vacation right now. But that's not a bad thing as it could allow us to finally see Liko, Roy and Dot tackling situations on their own and having more battles.

Eh it serves a very important job, upping the kids strengths. Right now they are otherwise stuck in a loop of their only opponents being either themselves, or people so much stronger than them they have no chance of winning. So I don't think I would call it filler/

 

[HilbertIdeals5]

If anything, this series is precisely why I like the fact that Ash ain't here anymore. Cuz it really seems like the battles and their goals of back then were so good that when HZ, a series doing the polar opposite of all that and then some, it gets criticized for being boring. The anime literally tries to do something different and nope, because it's apparently not tangible and has no weight to the characters beyond vague dialog. Which is what I like about it. If Ash was here, it be the same ol, same ol, but Liko and Roy, lame and unoriginal...... somehow.

Yeah, I agree with this a lot! The Ash animé is certainly an entertainer, with every episode being fast-paced and packing that emotional punch. Horizons, on the other hand, seems like it's in for the long haul. They're two very different stories, told in two very different ways, and with very different flaws—just because Horizons' story isn't exciting, doesn't mean it's entirely bad.

 

[Kurolegacy]

If anything, this series is precisely why I like the fact that Ash ain't here anymore. Cuz it really seems like the battles and their goals of back then were so good that when HZ, a series doing the polar opposite of all that and then some, it gets criticized for being boring. The anime literally tries to do something different and nope, because it's apparently not tangible and has no weight to the characters beyond vague dialog. Which is what I like about it. If Ash was here, it be the same ol, same ol, but Liko and Roy, lame and unoriginal...... somehow.

I mean, Pokémon is a series whose very premise kinda depends on tangible goals which has gone from RBY through Scarlet/Violet. When you basically take that premise and do the polar opposite, you’re gonna have people who don’t find that particularly interesting as that’s not the kind of thing that they’re interested in the series for. Besides, it’s not as if it has to be one or the other. Trying to add more depth and thought to characters doesn’t need to eliminate tangible goals for the audience to root for. Heck, just with how this arc alone feeling like it harks back to the adventure of traveling across the region without adult supervision actively seeking to become stronger, this is the most excited I’ve been for Horizons.

 

[HilbertIdeals5]

I mean, Pokémon is a series whose very premise kinda depends on tangible goals which has gone from RBY through Scarlet/Violet. When you basically take that premise and do the polar opposite, you’re gonna have people who don’t find that particularly interesting as that’s not the kind of thing that they’re interested in the series for. Besides, it’s not as if it has to be one or the other. Trying to add more depth and thought to characters doesn’t need to eliminate tangible goals for the audience to root for. Heck, just with how this arc alone feeling like it harks back to the adventure of traveling across the region without adult supervision actively seeking to become stronger, this is the most excited I’ve been for Horizons.

The new theme song “Will” has a line that, in the subs I’m reading, says something like “now’s the start of our fated adventure”. It really does feel like the past year has just been a warm-up, and the story is just getting started now (even though technically this chapter is supposed to be another side chapter on the way to finding Rakua). Lots of vague details, and a storyline as awkward as the main protagonist was at the start of the show. It’s admittedly very confusing and hard to remember what’s going on, yet by some mysterious force I’m sticking around and want to find out…. Does a rewatch help with that?

 

[HilbertIdeals5]

The question that is burning in my heart and torturing my soul: Are Onyx and Sango teenagers??? How are they going to school, I thought they were adults!!!

 

[Articfoxgamez]

The question that is burning in my heart and torturing my soul: Are Onyx and Sango teenagers??? How are they going to school, I thought they were adults!!!

The academy in SV has elderly student trainers, its all ages.

 

[Sakuraa]

Well, not to sound rude or anything, but that is just your opinion after all. And if you ask me, without an antagonistic presence of some kind, a show gets pretty boring in the long term.

(And, in my opinion, that's what Horizons has largely been overall. Boring. We'll have to see if this new arc changes my view on the series.)

I know, just like it's just your opinion that the show needs an antagonist to be good.

 

[Die-Hard Dragon Devotee]

I know, just like it's just your opinion that the show needs an antagonist to be good.

Yep, pretty much.

Finally, we're getting focus on the kids and (hopefully) they'll be able to grow, problem-solve, and develop without adult assistance or Captain Pikachu inserting itself to save the day. This was what drew me into the anime when I was a kid, so touching on those roots is appreciated regarding the narrative.

Right?? That's literally half the fun of the Pokemon anime, and really just Pokemon in general. Being off an adult-free adventure with your friends and your Pokemon partners by your side, learning and growing together-that's what it's all about.

 

[KatrinaSForest]

It's a staple of any material that has a sizable younger audience, if you think about it--the kids/teens need to protag, and to do that, they need to have autonomy. That's why it's not really frowned upon in MG or YA novels when adults are absent or clueless about their kids' world-saving adventures. We all know it's in service of the story, and that's what we're here for.