Review BW096: Meloetta and the Undersea Temple!

[MizuTaipu]

It wasn't much of an issue to begin with. People jump to conclusions rather quickly.

I was rather disappointed that the skirmish between Satoshi and Sakaki was so short. Surely Larry's backstory with Meloetta could have been trimmed down to give more time for that?

 

[nattfly]

Loved this episode! It might have been nice with an extra episode to get a bit more backstory but I think this works as well.
Meloetta's second shape, wish we'd gotten to see more of it and of the battle between her and Waruvial. Poor Mijumaru couldn't battle her, blushing and everything. I remember a similar scene with Pikachu and Togepi.
Couldn't Golurk have come in after the battle ended? I wanted to see more of Meloetta battling!
Introduction of Meloetta's... ward? bodyguard? follower? Extremely protective and rash. Yes, Meloetta was kidnapped but rashly deciding that three kids on a battle field is involved in a kidnapping seems rather extreme to me. At least he apologised.

When I saw Golurk standing guard outside the house I got this flash of it dressed like a secret service agent. Golurk won my heart using Rhydon to protect against Rock Smash. Loved the battles in this episode!
The fact that there is only two grunts, the trio, the mad professor and Sakaki himself makes me think that this mission is on the 'need to know'-basis even within the Team Rocket organisation itself. Less cooks makes for better soup and it went according to their plans for once. Maybe Sakaki has some sort of power that makes everyone around him professionally accomplished. Kinda like soaking up D-vitamins from the sun, exposure is needed.

Meloetta's melody was just so beautiful, I think my heart broke a little when I heard it. I just hope it gets released in some form, so I can listen to it without all the background noise and Sakaki talking.

Also like how Shirona took command, I feel like the adults in BW has been doing that more than in earlier generations. Or maybe it's just me.

Either way, I'm really looking forward to the next episode!

 

[Queen Cynthia]

Even then, there is nothing to link this to the crucifixion of Jesus. I don't see Meloetta with a crown of thorns, I didn't see Meloetta carrying the stone star and we didn't see anyone carrying it on its behalf either.

Excuse me, but that is an extremely short-sighted argument. In many depictions, especially in more modern ones, Jesus is not wearing a crown of thorns. And carrying the cross is not exactly what the crucifixion was all about, either. So, do you really, I mean really think that as long as we don't see Meloetta wearing a crown and carrying the stone star (her "cross" so to speak), it has nothing to do with the crucifixion of Christ??
I'd like to remind you that the stone star itself already looked like the kind of cross you can see in many churches, especially in America.

Claims of this being a reference to Jesus should be backed up with evidence and not just "OH MY GAWD" reasoning as this is certainly not becoming a thread on how Pokémon is blasphemous or not.

Um, you did read my post, didn't you? But I'll happily repeat it for you. First, we had that stone star which, as I just said, will surely remind lots of people of the cross of Christ, simply because of its distinct form.
Second, it looked like Meloetta was literally nailed to that thing with its arms spread out wide and its body stretched out on that, let me call it "stone cross".
And last but not least, Meloetta seemed to be in terrible pain as if it was about to sacrifice itself for somebody or something.

OK, enough said. Now it's up to you to do the maths

Even if they did reference it, what's so bad? Religion is used in fiction many times. Just look at the numerous amount of video games out there with made up religions of their own. They all reference real-life religion and nobody bothered to complain about them. Referencing =/= Offending.

All these people complaining about religious symbolism that isn't really there... You want to see real misuse of religion in an anime series? Try "Evangelion." The creator flat-out said all the crosses, biblical names, etc., are just for show — even though they're everywhere. If you're up in arms about a Meloetta-shaped restraint looking vaguely like a cross, then you really don't understand how this stuff goes down in Japan.

Sadly, you're right about that. There's lots of shit out there which I wished people didn't watch. But still, we're talking about Pokemon and not about the mistakes made in other shows. And just because those other shows are insulting religion, it doesn't justify what happened in this particular Pokemon episode.

P.S. Jehovah's Witnesses believe Jesus wasn't crucified but was instead tied to a stake. If Meloetta was tied to a pole, would those people have the right to be upset? If Christians can't even come to a consensus about how Christ was killed, then why are we arguing about this?

I'm not intending to insult anybody here who happens to be member of Jehovah's Wtinesses, but these guys believe so many strange things (like calculating the exact date of the apocalypse and so on...) that are not backed by the vast majority of Christians.
And as for the way how Christ was killed, let me assure you that it's scientific consensus that he indeed died on a cross and wasn't tied to a pole. Nobody really doubts that except for a few splinter groups maybe.

I'm so happy I live in a country where the image of a cross in a kids' cartoon is such a non-issue.

You're underestimating the effect of that scene. It's not just about a simple image of a cross, but which association the whole scene evokes.
Still, what you're saying is sad but true. People are getting less and less religious and they're losing their values. If you ask me, that's the real reason why our Europe is going downhill as well. It's not primarily because of the financial crisis, it's because people's characters are getting worse and worse. And if I remember correctly, Japan is facing the same problems, if not even worse.


To cut a long story short:
There would have been thousands of ways for Giovanni to use Meloetta. Isn't it called the Aria-Pokemon? So why not use Meloetta's famous voice to open the door or make that mirror appear? That crucifixion scene was so totally unnecessary, given how easily it could have been avoided and that's the reason why I was complaining.

 

[Musashi]

We're done with the religious debate.

 

[Dogasu]

So...is Larry even really necessary, anyway? Wouldn't it have been better if he wasn't in the episode and we got to see more of the Rocket-Dan, especially considering this is supposed to be their last major plot?

 

[HumanDawn]

So...is Larry even really necessary, anyway? Wouldn't it have been better if he wasn't in the episode and we got to see more of the Rocket-Dan, especially considering this is supposed to be their last major plot?

Having a guardian character is necessary. This was the perfect episode to give Golurk a proper debut. They needed a trainer to have him.

 

[Dogasu]

Having a guardian character is necessary.

Why? I don't see any reason Meloetta needs someone to protect her, from the storytelling side of things.

 

[Moe]

So...is Larry even really necessary, anyway? Wouldn't it have been better if he wasn't in the episode and we got to see more of the Rocket-Dan, especially considering this is supposed to be their last major plot?

Necessary so that next episode Meloetta can be written out despite being initially so attached to Ash to then follow him halfway across the country and sit there gazing at him for the next 8 episodes.

Besides, without him we'd have just heard Meloetta sing again to fill up time.

 

[HumanDawn]

Having a guardian character is necessary.

Why? I don't see any reason Meloetta needs someone to protect her, from the storytelling side of things.

I'm pretty sure she does. A Legendary out in the open with no guardian? PROTECTION PLEASE! xD

 

[H.M]

Larry must not be a very good guardian if he let Meloetta out of his sight enough for her to pal around with Ash and buds for a few days, only to be brought up when the plot needs it. :V

I do think a small legendary like Meloetta needs a protector, but honestly it would've been cooler if it was a bigger, strong Pokemon instead. Not necessarily another legendary, though.

 

[G50]

First part of the Team Rocket arc has received a 5.6 rating.

 

[sunyshore]

Having a guardian character is necessary.

Why? I don't see any reason Meloetta needs someone to protect her, from the storytelling side of things.

I'm pretty sure she does. A Legendary out in the open with no guardian? PROTECTION PLEASE! xD

tho, if i was a legendary pokemon with formidable powers, i'd want a better guardian than a human meatbag with no powers or even claws or fangs or anything besides some vaguely hippie-like clothing and headband. a human protector of a legendary seems more to me like a squishy living bulletproof vest. heh heh.

 

[HumanDawn]

Having a guardian character is necessary.

Why? I don't see any reason Meloetta needs someone to protect her, from the storytelling side of things.

I'm pretty sure she does. A Legendary out in the open with no guardian? PROTECTION PLEASE! xD

tho, if i was a legendary pokemon with formidable powers, i'd want a better guardian than a human meatbag with no powers or even claws or fangs or anything besides some vaguely hippie-like clothing and headband. a human protector of a legendary seems more to me like a squishy living bulletproof vest. heh heh.

I was referring to Golurk, who is Pokemon that was specificaly built and designed in Icirrus to protect humans and Pokemon. Larry is just his trainer that commands him of what to do. Golurk can't talk either.

 

[Adil]

Yup ^_^! By the way, since you usually post the ratings of each episode, when will the rating be released? I'm expecting it to be around 6.0%.

TV Tokyo ratings (BW096): 5.6%

 

[Hurricane Kishore]

I heard their going to be a special announcement of Pokemon Adventure in this episode.
I was mainly looking forward to it.
But I become disappointed when it turn out to be a Lie.
There I was hoping to see a announcement Pokemon Adventure Ova.

 

[Eitarou]

I heard their going to be a special announcement of Pokemon Adventure in this episode.
I was mainly looking forward to it.
But I become disappointed when it turn out to be a Lie.
There I was hoping to see a announcement Pokemon Adventure Ova.

Except it wasn't a lie.

The commercial aired. Like it was advertised.

 

[Meowth Kid]

The whole arc was coolio with the giant electro ball and stuff but the meeting with Satoshi and Sakaki wasn't really that exciting. I say they should have had a more epic battle like maybe Persian and Pikachu's tail clashing and creating an explosion