Anime & Manga General Discussion

[SlyGecko]

Say hello to the latest Pokémon side anime Evolutions starting on September 9th.

This looks absolutely amazing.

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

I don't like those character redesigns.

Not really interested.

Only really the Galar episode seems to have any redesigns. Don't judge a book based on its cover. I, for one, am super hyped.

 

[Unireon]

Only really the Galar episode seems to have any redesigns. Don't judge a book based on its cover. I, for one, am super hyped.

I hate when anyone tamper with the characters designs.

Good for you, but this is not for me.

 

[LuxrayOfTheWild]

Something I've noticed. Ever since Sun and Moon, the approach the writers have taken when it comes to world building and plotlines has significantly altered. Since Sun and Moon, the anime has made the region itself and plot lines stick much more closer to the actual games.

 

[Eitarou]

To be fair, Pokemon is in 3D now, so there really isn't any reason for game locations to look so wild. They have proper design references.

 

[cricketlaxwolvesbandy]

A few questions regarding the transition in staff from XY to SM in general:
Why were most of the staff and directors replaced, and did this have anything to do with The Shift? (imo it absolutely does)
Did Pokémon change its art style and animation because XY was doing bad in the ratings department (and doing worse then Yokai Watch)?
Did Pokémon change the art style to appeal for kids or because it was easier to animate?

 

[Jewel the Quaxly]

Why were most of the staff and directors replaced, and did this have anything to do with The Shift? (imo it absolutely does)
Did Pokémon change its art style and animation because XY was doing bad in the ratings department (and doing worse then Yokai Watch)?
Did Pokémon change the art style to appeal for kids or because it was easier to animate?

We don't really have much information to answer any of that. If I remember correctly, though, the Yokai Watch thing was mere speculation from fans. Kind of like how Goh marketing Pokemon Go is speculation from fans and isn't actually official. Maybe if the directors said anything or elaborated a bit more about the inner workings of the staff, then we'd have answers, but as of now, we don't. Hell, I'm still scratching my head and wondering if these writers even communicate with each other while working on Journeys. Do any of them just go "hey guys, remember that plot point I brought up in Episode something? Do you think you could continue it like..." or "hey maybe we can do this for the next few episodes" or "maybe we shouldn't do that because it'll cause confusion to the little kids as it's out of character"??? It honestly feels like there's a lack of communication here.

Also, controversial opinion, but I honestly doubt people would have such a huge issue with the SM art-style if it weren't for Ash. Majority of the complaints honestly feels like they're largely because Ash doesn't look good and don't say anything about the art-style itself in my opinion.

 

[SlyGecko]

A few questions regarding the transition in staff from XY to SM in general:
Why were most of the staff and directors replaced, and did this have anything to do with The Shift? (imo it absolutely does)
Did Pokémon change its art style and animation because XY was doing bad in the ratings department (and doing worse then Yokai Watch)?
Did Pokémon change the art style to appeal for kids or because it was easier to animate?

I believe they stated that the art style changed so the animation would be smoother.

 

[cricketlaxwolvesbandy]

We don't really have much information to answer any of that. If I remember correctly, though, the Yokai Watch thing was mere speculation from fans. Kind of like how Goh marketing Pokemon Go is speculation from fans and isn't actually official. Maybe if the directors said anything or elaborated a bit more about the inner workings of the staff, then we'd have answers, but as of now, we don't. Hell, I'm still scratching my head and wondering if these writers even communicate with each other while working on Journeys. Do any of them just go "hey guys, remember that plot point I brought up in Episode something? Do you think you could continue it like..." or "hey maybe we can do this for the next few episodes" or "maybe we shouldn't do that because it'll cause confusion to the little kids as it's out of character"??? It honestly feels like there's a lack of communication here.

Also, controversial opinion, but I honestly doubt people would have such a huge issue with the SM art-style if it weren't for Ash. Majority of the complaints honestly feels like they're largely because Ash doesn't look good and don't say anything about the art-style itself in my opinion.

Yeah... exactly. Ash the main protagonist looks a thousand times worse than everyone else

 

[Jewel the Quaxly]

Ash the main protagonist looks a thousand times worse than everyone else

Well, I wouldn't exaggerate it to that level, but yeah. If you look at some shots from the perspective of solely appreciating the art, though, and not comparing how Ash looks in this art style compared to previous regions, than you'll see why the SM art-style has went from most hated art-style to one of the most loved. That, and, you'll end up missing beautifully animated scenes like this:

Spoiler

Like, holy hell, this shot is amazing. Since when has Anipoke actually animated characters' hair moving realistically while running(for guys; not including shots that actually emphasize hair moving)? In DP or BW, for example, Ash's hair would remain completely straight. But SM gave us this.

 

[JinksChow]

A few questions regarding the transition in staff from XY to SM in general:
Why were most of the staff and directors replaced, and did this have anything to do with The Shift? (imo it absolutely does)
Did Pokémon change its art style and animation because XY was doing bad in the ratings department (and doing worse then Yokai Watch)?
Did Pokémon change the art style to appeal for kids or because it was easier to animate?

Objectively speaking, Pokemon XY wasn't even doing that bad in terms of ratings relative to other anime.

The worst-performing Pokemon season, discounting JN and SM (for reasons I'll get to in a bit), is actually Pokemon AG, which had a 41.3% appearance rate in the Weekly Top 10 anime ranking.

Using this metric, the best to worst performing Pokemon anime is as follows:
Pokemon DP - 92.8%
Pokemon SM (Pre-Timeslot Change) - 85.1%
Pokemon BW - 83.8%
Pokemon OS - 77.6%
Pokemon XY - 63.0%
Pokemon SM (Overall) - 57.3%
Pokemon AG - 41.3%

You might have noticed that I specifically separated Pokemon SM into 2 entries, this is to reinforce my previous point which has been disregarded by some users, which is that the timeslot change is without a doubt the worst thing to happen to the anime.

Pokemon SM had managed to capture an audience since Yokai Watch had just finished its comedic kid-oriented run, and is poised to become the best performing Pokemon anime.

But TVTokyo decides that the faltering Yokai Watch is more worth promoting, and moves Pokemon SM (and Boruto) to Sundays, clashing with Chibi-Maruko Chan and Sazae-san. What are these 2 anime, you ask? Oh, they weren't anything special, just the 2 most popular anime in Japan ever, dominating the anime scene in Japan since their respective airing in 1969 and 1995.

So here you have Pokemon SM going up against 2 anime which are family staples in Japan, oh I wonder which would Japanese families tune into? Oh please, Japanese families wouldn't change the channel for their youngest family members, no matter how much they want to watch Pokemon SM. (As an analogy, imagine that in the US they decided to air Pokemon SM at the same time as The Simpsons. Which do you think will win out?)

As expected, ratings for Pokemon SM plummeted. From Oct 2018 (SM091) onwards, Pokemon SM only appeared in the Weekly Top 10 for 8 out of remaining 56 episodes, so a 14.3% appearance rate. So well done TVTokyo, you managed to backstab the renaissance for the Pokemon anime, and all for what? So Yokai Watch can continue its slow decline into irrelevance on weekdays.

Of course, this isn't the end of the story. As we all know, TVTokyo, perhaps realising the absolute boneheadedness in their timeslot change decision, finally changed the timeslot for Pokemon JN in Oct 2020 (JN040). However, by this time the damage is done, at 40 episodes in, they have already missed the boat in capturing a new audience for the new generation of Pokemon anime. As of JN078, Pokemon JN has only managed to appear in the Weekly Top 10 anime rankings a total of 2 times, or a 2.6% appearance rate.

...ok, rant over

 

[Enzo]

Not to be that guy and derail the conversation, but...

Using this metric, the best to worst performing Pokemon anime is as follows:
Pokemon DP - 92.8%

DP as the most popular and arguably most sucessful series the anime has ever had??? To quote Saweetie: ''I know that's right!"

(She is an icon, she is a legend and she is the moment.)

 

[Daren]

I'm surprised AG is so low since I'd always read that each series had lower viewer numbers than the previous one.
Was there some very strong competition in that era?

 

[JinksChow]

I'm surprised AG is so low since I'd always read that each series had lower viewer numbers than the previous one.
Was their some very strong competition in that era?

Well, the Weekly Top 10 anime has always had strong competition, but it was even more fierce back during AG's run.

Firstly, there were the mainstays of Sazae-San, Chibi-Maruko Chan, Doraemon, Crayon Shin-Chan, and One Piece. Most weeks, you would find that they all made it in.

Also, this was during the heyday of Naruto, back when it also appeared regularly in Weekly Top 10 anime rankings.

Not to mention other miscellaneous anime that also pop in regularly, such as Inuyasha, Prince of Tennis, Hamtaro, and KochiKame, just to name a few.

Finally, there was also the newcomer Pretty Cure that started airing in 2004, another kid-friendly anime which would come to establish itself as another mainstay, with a more successful track record than Pokemon.

Given all this competition, a more spotty record for Pokemon AG is to be expected.

 

[Enzo]

Okay, but I gotta say... damn. 80 eps and JN just got 2 eps on the top 10????

Compared to the other series, even AG, who had the worst perfomance, managed to finish with over 40%.

I'm 100% sure the situation might be very bad in the anime production headquarters... I'm also 100% sure TPCi is not happy with that.

 

[RetroPokeFan]

Okay, but I gotta say... damn. 80 eps and JN just got 2 eps on the top 10????

Compared to the other series, even AG, who had the worst perfomance, managed to finish with over 40%.

Ooosh, that errr ain't good at all. Then again I doubt TV Tokyo even cares.

 

[Sai]

I'm surprised AG is so low since I'd always read that each series had lower viewer numbers than the previous one.
Was there some very strong competition in that era?

Besides the heavy competition from early 2000’s anime (remember back then online streaming didn’t exist yet) I also imagine it was because this was the carryover from the Gen III games not being as popular as the first two gems. The initial Pokémon fad died down around this time and the GBA games all sold less than Red/Blue and Gold/Silver. In addition to that most of the original fans were aging into teenagers around this time and a lot left the Pokémon franchise because they felt they outgrown it.

 

[Daren]

The initial Pokémon fad died down around this time and the GBA games all sold less than Red/Blue and Gold/Silver. In addition to that most of the original fans were aging into teenagers around this time and a lot left the Pokémon franchise because they felt they had outgrown it.

This is true, but the game sales difference between R/S and D/P wasn't big enough to explain the much higher viewership the DP anime got so I was a bit surprised by the difference.
Especially since gen 1--the peak period for the franchise--had a lower percentage than several of the more recent ones.
Not sure to what extent declining TV numbers contribute.

 

[JinksChow]

Okay, but I gotta say... damn. 80 eps and JN just got 2 eps on the top 10????

Compared to the other series, even AG, who had the worst perfomance, managed to finish with over 40%.

I'm 100% sure the situation might be very bad in the anime production headquarters... I'm also 100% sure TPCi is not happy with that.

Fun Fact!

Of the 2 episodes I mentioned, 1 of them (JN007) made it into the Top 10 on account of airing during Christmas week, meaning that pretty much all anime are on break thus allowing Pokemon JN to sneak in (and even with all that, the episode only ranked at 9th place).

The 2nd episode (JN037) did make it into the Top 10 by its own merit, depending on how much you want to stretch the term, since that was the episode which featured the return of the Alola gang. One thing for sure, the audience definitely didn't show up just to see Go and Ash on their latest adventure. (Which backs up my point that Pokemon SM could have done so much better had it not been for executive meddling from TVTokyo)

Anyways, depending on whether Pokemon JN airs during Christmas week this year (it skipped Christmas week last year), it's possible that Pokemon JN might get a 3rd episode in the Weekly Top 10 anime rankings.

 

[Enzo]

Fun Fact!

Of the 2 episodes I mentioned, 1 of them (JN007) made it into the Top 10 on account of airing during Christmas week, meaning that pretty much all anime are on break thus allowing Pokemon JN to sneak in (and even with all that, the episode only ranked at 9th place).

The 2nd episode (JN037) did make it into the Top 10 by its own merit, depending on how much you want to stretch the term, since that was the episode which featured the return of the Alola gang. One thing for sure, the audience definitely didn't show up just to see Go and Ash on their latest adventure. (Which backs up my point that Pokemon SM could have done so much better had it not been for executive meddling from TVTokyo)

Anyways, depending on whether Pokemon JN airs during Christmas week this year (it skipped Christmas week last year), it's possible that Pokemon JN might get a 3rd episode in the Weekly Top 10 anime rankings.

So, if the anime doesn't takes any breaks from here to there, that means that, in 95 eps, it will only manage to make 3 go into the top 10.

Which means about 3%. Ooof. That's... bad.