• Hey Trainers! Be sure to check out Corsola Beach, our newest section on the forums, in partnership with our friends at Corsola Cove! At the Beach, you can discuss the competitive side of the games, post your favorite Pokemon memes, and connect with other Pokemon creators!
  • Due to the recent changes with Twitter's API, it is no longer possible for Bulbagarden forum users to login via their Twitter account. If you signed up to Bulbagarden via Twitter and do not have another way to login, please contact us here with your Twitter username so that we can get you sorted.

Review JN147: The Rainbow and the Pokémon Master!

Also, how beautiful was it to watch the anime with Miyazaki's vastly superior OST? I felt tears coming from my face while listening to those classical arrangements.
 
I'm keeping hope Ash, Team Rocket, and the major lot of co-protagonists/supporters, will return in some Specials. Movies may be stretching longer with their habit of overpacking "necessary time" while risking the plot to be a random factor instead of the focus story. Time for the voice actors, animators, and storywriters may be limited, so they better create a film(s) that can be considered conclusive.

The next series of Pokemon Paldea may sneak in cameos or sprinkles, but with 26 years of investment, it's time to relax.

This episode is a nice one. Though better, if it was 2 parts. Man, Journeys just has this bad habit, doesn't it? Anyway, Tracey's bug evolved, the return of the bird, and even the childhood rival appearance, makes this a nice episode. I've got to wonder if this 11 episode arc was the plan, or were there plans that couldn't be reached due to "differences".
 
LeonMagnus said:
Talk about hyperbole. Usually a finale has some kind of conclusion, this is literally how every between region episode plays out formulaically. It is perfectly reasonable to expect a series running over 25 years to have something better than whatever this was.

Its very clear that this episode was designed mainly because they don’t have complete faith in retiring Ash and Team Rocket. Heck, they couldn’t even give up Pikachu being a part of the main cast in the new series. The episode was serviceable in a vacuum, not as the conclusion to a show that spanned generations of Pokemon fans.
Click to expand...
I really doubt the reason is because they don't have complete faith in retiring Ash and Team Rocket.

If they lack faith in retiring Ash, they wouldn't explain what is a Pokemon Master (and confirm it's a neverending goal).

The most likely reason is because they don't know how to end the story of an over 25 years old character. So, they left the story with an open ending.
 
LeonMagnus said:
Its very clear that this episode was designed mainly because they don’t have complete faith in retiring Ash and Team Rocket
Click to expand...

Nah, I don't buy this at all. Pokemon has seldom walked back its major decisions these last two decades and they aren't about to start now. They wouldn't rip off the band-aid like they are now if they were in doubt about a Ash/TR-less future.

The ending is as it is because it's the most appropriate given the themes of the show. Finality just isn't a thing. When one adventure ends, the next one begins, and so on and so on, with each character learning more about themselves along the way.

I get this can be disappointing for people but this type of open ending was always on the cards. Ash's goal was intangible from the beginning, something that only he can define and an expression of his love for the Pokemon journey. It was never meant to have to any form or function. Hence, no answer he could have possibly given would have been satisfying to everybody.
 
LuxrayOfTheWild said:
While I'm sad to see him go, this was underwhelming. I mean this whole mini series truly left a lot to be desired and they cap it all off by playing it too safe. Its clear they ended on an open ending as a fail safe in case Liko and Roy's adventures don't do well. I'm just underwhelmed.
Click to expand...
Honestly, I don't know why people think the anime will return to Ash as protagonist if Liko and Roy's adventures aren't popular. This isn't even common in anime.

If the new anime fails, the most likely option is that they will replace Liko and Roy with new protagonists.

Also, they revealing Pokemon Master is a neverending goal makes pretty obvious to me that they don't plan to bring Ash back as a protagonist. Now, we know Ash's adventures would never have a conclusion.
 
Last edited:
Yeah, people who wanted some massive resolution to a 25 year story just in this episode were expecting too much. If the whole 11 episodes had had more of a narrative to it, that would have been reasonable, but trying to cram something like that into 22 minutes would have probably been far more disappointing. I completely understand them wanting the final episode to be more of a vibes episode than a plot episode.

So glad we got the return of Pidgeot. Saw it coming from a mile away when they were walking around in the woods outside Pallet, to the point I would have been so disappointed if it didn't happen. Literally clapped as I sat in bed watching this before work.

Was hoping for a Ho-oh appearance, but I can be happy with the rainbow being enough of a low-key reference.

When those thunderclouds rolled in, I really thought there was a chance we'd get Tears after the Cloudy Weather, but it's a tonally sadder song so I get them not using it in this episode.

Framing being a Pokémon Master as being friends with all Pokémon gave me big Luffy vibes.
 
My main problem with this ending is that it could be much more touching and nostalgic having the same open ended finale. Even a clip show featuring all his past companions with some old OP playing would have done it for me. The ending of journeys showing series clips with 1, 2, 3 playing was amazing. I don't think the ending per se is bad at all, I just think they could have made it in a much more emotional way to us fans and they didn't.
 
and they lived happily ever after...and battled, and had feasts and dodged Team Rocket...

Well I joined this forum over a year ago to boost my experience, feeling Ash's nearing end, even though I consider myself too old and also not that big fan of Anime in first place, but eventually...what was in the air has come to pass.
So let me lay here some thoughts, they are raw and maybe not that well organised, but I hope they may help us with our feelings after 26 years-old story ended.

First of all, yep, I completely understand that episode was perfect and underwhelming at the same time.
Both views hold merit, because...well let's dive deep what is AniPoke and what is its significance. It started and prospered as promotional material, not even genuine TV series in itself. It was always bound to games and Pokémon world, and even sometimes struggled when decided to go its own route.
But on the other hand, it still holds great value, starting on more edgier note - remember the first episode which this one somehow mirrors - starting with funny moments and ending with fighting for life which immediately sealed Ash and Pikachu's lifelong friendship.
Remember that this Anime provided soul and also advanced iconography to Pokémon franchise as whole at the beginning, where Nintendo's consoles were nowhere near ready to have graphics, not even grasp feelings.
Anime made Pikachu face of the franchise and this sole decision, that Anime mounted in reality and provided solid footing, I think provided significant value to popularity and recognisability of franchise.

But all that does just complement the biggest value of AniPoke, which is trivial and awesome just like this episode - that Pokémon Anime has always been here and Ash with Pikachu are its embodiment.
I think it is really as simple as that. Something like long prospering marriage. We are nowadays too used to something to burn brightly. It has great highs, but also lows and unavoidably passes away. Pokémon Anime has always been here, like life long partner. Were many of its days trivial, foolish, underwhelming? You bet. There were always obvious limits what we could expect and would be given from it. And even when finally some rules were broken, the greatest value was in their timely significance. Ash Ketchum day is not important because he won league - any western writer would have him winning league in 3 years at longest - it was because it was 22 years waiting, in regional league in 3v3 match. But internet exploded nonetheless. And do not let me start with him becoming Monarch - that resonated also in my small country, where Pokémon was central topic 20 years ago. Sport portals were congratulating him.

Therefore - it is easy to criticise each episode as it is nothing special in itself and there are 100 ways imaginable how to have better more epic conclusion...and yet...it is perfect singularly because how imperfect it is and has been...for 26 years
I think even Pidgeot is good addition to episode, many of you have noted how he is not that special Pokémon and watching Original Series again, you may spotted it. But it has been almost 24 years since he was left in that forest and those 24 years are most important.

I do not think that this is even reproducable. Anime is world in itself and I am not sure that there will be another one that is so closely tied to something so worldwide popular. It is part of cultural heritage, that is recognisable by people who to this day do not know that Ash did not end his journey after disobedient Charizard ended his effort on Indigo Plateau.

Pokémon Horizons - wishing good riddance - will be just Anime with Pokémons. It may be great, I wish so for everyone watching it. But it will never be the one starting it, shaping it and even being 10x better, simply one cannot replicate this.

You cannot replicate something that was so long part of your life, however uninspiring, limited or predictable at times. Just like lifelong partner - always there and it is very hard to do without many average days, but in the end, they accumulate to something bigger than sum of its parts.

Finally, I think that symbolism with Ash just changing his wear-down shoes not whole outfit this time is perfect. He is always in his early summer chasing his dream, there is no end. But here in our real world the resources - storywise, but also keeping all the actors together - have been depleted. The intersection of Ash's story and our world has served its use, shaped the whole franchise, gone on longer than could be expected and would probably become too weary.
But contrary to other stories, this feels more like natural passing than sudden abrupt end...and to finalise my post...therefore I completely understand those who think episode was perfect. With all its shortcomings...it really feels less like arbitrary story reaching its well-crafted conclusion - where bombastic, nostalgic, everything-tying-together superending would fit...but more like lifelong friend, who was not closest, even sometimes on our nerves, having his life trajectory going on the different course, where he will no longer be with us, despite still being up there somewhere going on as usual and therefore ending is somber, bittersweet, something in the air but hard to grasp - as it is quite usually in real life.

So...literally...farewell Ash and Pikachu, thank you for being so long in our lives :bulbaLove::bulbaWave:
 
Last edited:
I don't have much to say, just wanted to be in the review thread for Ash's last episode (As the protagonist, because theres no way he doesnt have cameos in the future).
Also If you think about it, technically ash's final words are thanking the sponsors right at the end of the episode and preview.
 
So as i expected when they announced Ash not being the Main character anymore.


He keeps travelling, so he can keep making the occasional cameo's, either speaking or non-speaking. Team Rocket still following him after all those years...
 
What this series has done well is that it’s given a pathway for Ash to branch off and do anything. Ironically, TR are stuck doing the same thing for eternity…

To be honest, the episode panned out exactly how you’d imagine it would. I’ve noticed that a lot of the best series I’ve ever watched, they have a bittersweet ending. Life just moves on, and that’s exactly what Ash will do. I mean, there’s no indication that Ash couldn’t come back for a short time, he’s just not the protagonist.

Then again, it is bittersweet. There’s no way this series was going to end things off with appeasing every last note, but it’s a decent conclusion. Disappointed it closed things off with a wasteful Latias plot-line that did not warrant so much build-up, but at least it shows Ash is still learning. Disappointed we never saw Ash defend at least one of his titles or battle Giovanni, but at least we’ve seen he’s grown. Disappointed that TR’s farewell…well, it might just be the most half-assed thing they’ve ever done. Like, it’s another forced plot line that goes nowhere…But, life goes on.
 
Jaye said:
Nah, I don't buy this at all. Pokemon has seldom walked back its major decisions these last two decades and they aren't about to start now. They wouldn't rip off the band-aid like they are now if they were in doubt about a Ash/TR-less future.

The ending is as it is because it's the most appropriate given the themes of the show. Finality just isn't a thing. When one adventure ends, the next one begins, and so on and so on, with each character learning more about themselves along the way.

I get this can be disappointing for people but this type of open ending was always on the cards. Ash's goal was intangible from the beginning, something that only he can define and an expression of his love for the Pokemon journey. It was never meant to have to any form or function. Hence, no answer he could have possibly given would have been satisfying to everybody.
Click to expand...
Can’t say I agree, they walked back on Ash always losing major tournaments (a status quo they heavily stood behind, that some fans also justified/defended), they walked back on Goh, making his captures more digestible overtime, along with his goal being modified to being more realistic.
 
MimeyTheKeeper said:
But contrary to other stories, this feels more like natural passing than sudden abrupt end...and to finalise my post...therefore I completely understand those who think episode was perfect. With all its shortcomings...it really feels less like arbitrary story reaching its well-crafted conclusion - where bombastic, nostalgic, everything-tying-together superending would fit...but more like lifelong friend, who was not closest, even sometimes on our nerves, having his life trajectory going on the different course, where he will no longer be with us, despite still being up there somewhere going on as usual and therefore ending is somber, bittersweet, something in the air but hard to grasp - as it is quite usually in real life.
Click to expand...
This echoes my thoughts on the ending.

It's a safe, even underwhelming ending designed to assure long time viewers that although we can't see them anymore, Ash and Pikachu are the same as always, doing the thing they love. It's the ultimate preservation of status quo, for better and worse.

It's something the fandom will never reach consensus on and honestly, I think that's perfectly fine. Personally, Ash is eternally 10 to me, so any ending that sought to change that, or assign some sort of new role to him, would just be strange. At the same time, I completely understand the desire for a greater sense of conclusion - a proper rubber stamping of his story, so we can leave with no regrets.
 
Will need subs for the dialogue and such
But I did enjoy it was more of a chill episode

As Ash was thinking and just spending time with his Pokemon and mom the tone and pacingnfelt good to me

Pidgeon coming back is a plus
Tracey being the last seen companion and getting an evolution with Venomoth is amazing

Saw some twitter translation of what being a Pokemon master means to Ash and it makes sense so I'm glad that's cleared up

Overall it makes the most sense as an ending as the journey never ends
Would give it a 9/10 episode
This 11-episode series 8.9/10

I'm going to miss Ash :(
 
LeonMagnus said:
Can’t say I agree, they walked back on Ash always losing major tournaments (a status quo they heavily stood behind, that some fans also justified/defended), they walked back on Goh, making his captures more digestible overtime, along with his goal being modified to being more realistic.
Click to expand...
We can't say they walked back on Ash losing tournaments. I mean, they walking back would mean they make Ash lost another regional League after he win the Alola League.

The examples you mentioned are them being willing to change and adapt. That's the opposite to walk back.


Honestly, if they want to walk back, it's more likely they will use reboot/AU Ash as a protagonist. That way they could start from zero.
 
Please note: The thread is from 11 months ago.
Please take the age of this thread into consideration in writing your reply. Depending on what exactly you wanted to say, you may want to consider if it would be better to post a new thread instead.
Back
Top Bottom