• Forum Moderator applications are now open! If you're interested in joining an active team of moderators for one of the biggest Pokémon forums on the internet, click here for info.

Review S11 EP30: Pokémon Ranger and the Kidnapped Riolu! (Part 2)

Jukain

Jukain

Aka: Sceptile
Joined
Jan 19, 2003
Messages
5,868
Reaction score
842
I could have continued this in the other thread, but it would cause confusion, so separate thread. The Ranger 2 ep continues...
 
Wow, the animation is excellent. Especially for Hunter J, heh.

So, did the Ranger really have to capture those Blastoise. I'm pretty sure they'd want to put out the fire on the forest since they, you know, live right next to it....

heh, team rocket water boy. Perhaps Meowth thinks it's Mondo or something.

Wow ash is a dense little boy. Why in the hell would you storm right into a villan's command center. At least, try to sneak in there or something.

Wow, kicking drapion in the eye. And I'm surprised J had that much foresight to have a hole right there for Ash to fall to his death.
ROFL, I love when the twerps come J just leaves with her money, heh.

I'm surprised they didn't have their tires fortified from the attacks. But using Fearow is pretty creative.

Heh, guy is smart enough to block off all of the exits.

You've got to be kidding. Theere was seriously a random Trapinch who was conviently right in the middle of everything.

Wow, it must heart getting crushed by an Aggron.

lol, and what a good looking motto it was too. And then, random balloon explosion as well. awww.

Well, this was a very good episode, I liked part 1 a tad bit better though heh.

'
 
That's an interesting way for Blastoise to do Rain Dance. Oh my gosh, J could've killed him. Use the Aura, Ash. J is one of the wisest villians I've seen. She doesn't get involved in battles when she's already won. It's a cavalcade of Rock and Ground types! [/sarcasm] TR, you idiots. Very good.
 
*tears at her hair* I HATE AURA.
It's the lamest pluh device that could ever be used. Ash cannot be so vastly special to encompass so much DIFFERENT types of specialness. That's like having three different types of unrelated cancer: so bloody unlikely, it's statistically impossible. HE IS NOT THAT SPECIAL.
DAWN with Aura, I could've tolerated, but...blah-hell! Stupid deux ex machina!


And I hate muted violence. When Kellyn had Dudrio jump on Fearow's back, part of me believed they would not have him attack it because of potential 'oh SHIT' factors, despite having the Drapion beat-fest just earlier. But then Fury Attack, and I'm all about the 'either give me BLOOD, or don't pull that crap!' That would (and should) have been a gorefest.
 
J's freaking awesome. My love for her character just grows and grows and grows.

Did anyone else laugh at the weird image of the twerps and Kellyn riding Dodrio? And then again when Dodrio attacked Fearow by pouncing on it?

The annoying part of Rangers in the anime is how a useful Pokémon just so happens to be right there when needed. It makes more sense in the games when you capture them before you need them, or when you see one you need later and have to go back and find it again.

Liked how everyone got to do something in this two-parter. The only ones who didn't really do that much were Team Rocket.

I'm so impressed they kept the BGM for these two episodes. It really is superior than when they try to merge different styles of music, and makes the episodes feel much more entertaining. Now if only they would do this for every episode. :/
 
Lil Brother said:
Did anyone else laugh at the weird image of the twerps and Kellyn riding Dodrio? And then again when Dodrio attacked Fearow by pouncing on it?
Click to expand...

I have to wonder if anybody else took the Fearow and Dodrio thing as an intent. referance like I did.
 
Luna Tiger said:
*tears at her hair* I HATE AURA.
It's the lamest pluh device that could ever be used. Ash cannot be so vastly special to encompass so much DIFFERENT types of specialness. That's like having three different types of unrelated cancer: so bloody unlikely, it's statistically impossible. HE IS NOT THAT SPECIAL.
DAWN with Aura, I could've tolerated, but...blah-hell! Stupid deux ex machina!


And I hate muted violence. When Kellyn had Dudrio jump on Fearow's back, part of me believed they would not have him attack it because of potential 'oh SHIT' factors, despite having the Drapion beat-fest just earlier. But then Fury Attack, and I'm all about the 'either give me BLOOD, or don't pull that crap!' That would (and should) have been a gorefest.
Click to expand...

Its a cartoon, what do you expect, cartoons ignore all laws of what makes sense. I knew this show from the get go, Pokemon never made sense to me anyways, but I just go on the ride. And what you think it better with Dawn anyways, it wouldn't be any different much either. You should loosen up! :P

I actually liked it, but maybe since I seen it before, its not all that special to me. I love the part when Ash kicked Drapion in the eye, that was my favorite part the whole episode.

There was a part that J seems to hear Ash somehow, I don't know, not a big deal, but it seemed she sensed Ash. Well, its only me.
 
I really disliked this episode. At least much more than Part one.

The whole "aura" thing was okay though.

If Drapion was holding Ash at arm's length, how did Ash kick Drapion anyway?

Hunter J looked about like she was at the age to retire too.

How could Fearow even hold all of that weight? Did it really need a Drill Peck?

I give it a 6/10
 
I loved how within the first 5 minutes of the show Ash was nearly burned alive and dropped hundreds of feet to his death. :-D Not that I don't love Ash, but it's not often we see that kind of stuff on this show. What way will J come up with of trying to kill Ash next time?

And then Pikachu grabs onto Drapion's eye and Ash kicks the other one. I just loved that part.

It was a bit convenient how there always happened to be a pokemon around, but the whole point of this special is to promote the new game.

Things seemed to be much more rushed than last week. Like the writers had bitten off more than they could chew.

My only complaint would be that last scene with Team Rocket. Originally they sounded really serious with their motto, and you could tell they were going to try to kick some ass. But in the dub it came off as goofy as usual. Well, slightly more goofy than that since they changed the motto up. But I'm not sure Team Rocket has ever been serious in the dub. J using the cloak was absolutely hilarious though. Why bother to fight them when they can beat themselves?

I'll miss not having the soundtrack messed with.

Next week's episode takes the kickass up a notch. Prepare to bow down before the greatness that is Croagunk!
 
Lil Brother said:
J's freaking awesome. My love for her character just grows and grows and grows.
Click to expand...

For real. As much as I know Lisa's going to chew me out for this, I really want to see J again so bad!

Rocket Girl said:
Next week's episode takes the kickass up a notch. Prepare to bow down before the greatness that is Croagunk!
Click to expand...

You said it!

You know, with all the gender differences being introduced to the anime, I didn't see a single black neck among those Dodrio. Should I be surprised?

I did NOT expect Ash to use a "tire slash" move. Then again, I also didn't expect Ash to kick Drapion in the eye. Don't tell me anyone else didn't notice.

Aw, man. I really wanted to see Dodrio use a Tri Attack. Just this once.
 
Ok so I saw part two at least and I loved it. Is voice acting allowed to be discussed here? I'd like to say Sarah did a good job on Ash here. At least that's my opinion if not I'll keep my mouth shut. Animation was brilliant. I myself love the whole Arua storyline and hope it keeps poping up down the road. I like Ash being special its great. J trying to kill Ash a lot is intresting, wonder what shey'll try to do next time she meets up with him.
But yah over all good episode. I enjoyed it both Jappaness version and dubbed.
 
My goodness, that ep was BOMB!

I follow the dub, and lately I'm seeing more and more Kanto-esque storylines here. After Part 2:

I have a new found respect for Dawn. I'm a huge fan of May and Misty, but the writers are handling Dawn so well, she just gets more and more awesome.

Brock! The way he handled Croagunk today seemed like the old Brock we used to know, a bit more seasoned, maybe. I liked the fact that they didn't make him gush over the appearance of Solana and Jenny (timing would've been off).

Ash. Even Ash is back to his flippin old self. I want more of him like this!

Two rangers in one ep? Plus Jenny? Man it must be a serious case then. No complaints! This special was perfect to show in time for the release of the new Pokemon Ranger game.

I imagine Hunter J is giving off that vibe to the younger kids, much like Giovanni aggravated us when we were younger.

The music was perfect the way it is! Very fitting.

THEY HAVE THE FORMULA RIGHT! THEY HAVE THE FORMULA RIGHT!

Long story short, if they keep this up, I cannot wait to see the rest of DP.

edit: I forgot to mention the excellent animation and battle scenes. 8]
 
Matkin22 said:
One thing that I wonder: where did Hinata's Plusle/Minun (whichever it was) disappear to in this episode?
Click to expand...

Kind of a shame that it didn't appear. Although iirc, Plusle isn't capturable in the new Ranger game.

I'm assuming that it's at Solana's homebase or where ever Rangers store their partners.

As for the episode itself, I sorta liked it. Although the whole Aura deal needs to be either explained or toned down, but I have the distinct feeling that it's going to be dropped entirely by the 5th generation, because they're probably going to introduce a brand new superpower that Ash somehow possesses.
 
PDL said:
Although the whole Aura deal needs to be either explained or toned down...
Click to expand...

I refer you to Movie 8: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew.

But yeah, another great episode. It seemed a bit rushed towards the end, but overall I was pleased with it. J really seems like a nasty piece of work; I certainly hope she gets her comeupance by the end of this series.

Oh, and those complaining about Ash always being the one who seems to get in the middle of all these crisis... he's the main character! That's like complaining Batman is always the one to fight Joker or the Penguin.

Don't think about it so much. Just repeat to yourself "It's just a show, I should really just relax..."
 
joshnickerson said:
I refer you to Movie 8: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew.
Click to expand...

But isn't it a bit unusual how they just randomly gave Ash these special powers. It's fine to show that he's special, being the main character and all, but having those powers just come out of nowhere like that's just unusual.

And I don't really expect anyone to give a full explaination on how he acquired them.
 
PDL said:
As for the episode itself, I sorta liked it. Although the whole Aura deal needs to be either explained or toned down, but I have the distinct feeling that it's going to be dropped entirely by the 5th generation, because they're probably going to introduce a brand new superpower that Ash somehow possesses.

But isn't it a bit unusual how they just randomly gave Ash these special powers. It's fine to show that he's special, being the main character and all, but having those powers just come out of nowhere like that's just unusual.

And I don't really expect anyone to give a full explaination on how he acquired them.
Click to expand...
I hold a rather dissimilar opinion. I feel the aura backstory adds an interesting facet (especially in sensitivity, emotionally, intuitively, and how Ash relates to Pokémon, taking that at least one step deeper) to Ash's character complex rather than being hindrance and I rather think that it's a new and interesting course to land. I don't see it as a "brand new superpower" or a superpower at all so much as I see it as a magic and (perhaps hypersensitive) intuition (as stated) of sorts or some sort of connection. I don't think we'll ever see Ash develop his aura capacities so much that he'll be able to fly or fire off beams out of his hands on a whim because, quite frankly, I don't think the writers have gone about giving him said superpowers (though I could be wrong on that).

As for a backstory, well, backstories work... but that's the flaw of them - they only work in certain and different echelons. It plays into context as well as opinion and how the characters may work and develop with select circumstances.

joshnickerson said:
Oh, and those complaining about Ash always being the one who seems to get in the middle of all these crisis... he's the main character! That's like complaining Batman is always the one to fight Joker or the Penguin.
Click to expand...
I agree with this fully. Keeping the main character challenged keeps the main character in check and keeps the main character both strong and vigorous. It also adds intrigue, rather than just having the character lapse to brushing everything off and breezing through everything.

As for the episode itself, I liked it. Not as much as the first part, but I still like it. I felt the music worked very potently and the emotional and dramatic beats worked nicely as a complimenting BGM keeping the visuals well accompanied. It reminds me of why I hold the Japanese BGM in such high esteem. The battles themselves were good and I liked the connection that was furthered between Ash and Riolou, and how Ash saved Riolou furthermore and what lengths he went to in doing so.
 
Last edited:
Wow, this was a pretty good episode.

I really enjoyed seeing Ash sense and receive Riolu's Aura! It was exciting seeing him do something like this! ^_^

And of course, I also liked the part where Ash kicked Drapion in the eye. Hehe. You're so awesome, Ash! XD

I also liked the ending scene, where Riolu used its Aura to say "thanks" to Ash. Aww, poor Ash. When he was receiving Riolu's Aura, this seemed a bit painful to Ash. I mean, he had this weird expression on his face, which made it seem like he was in some sort of pain (although, that could've been because Ash was within VERY CLOSE range, when he was receiving Riolu's Aura). ^^;

And then, after feeling Riolu's Aura, Ash seemed confused for a minute. Heh, I love it when he makes that adorable face! XD


Anyway, as for Hunter J, she has to be the most evil villain on Pokemon, ever. Seriously, it wouldn't surprise me if she attempts to kill Ash again, the next time she shows up. O_O

Also, I liked how they kept the BGM in both the Riolu episodes. And with this episode especially, I loved how they used a lot of music from the 8th movie! Really, the BGM fits so well with this episode! <3


ShadowDeeps said:
I hold a rather dissimilar opinion. I feel the aura backstory adds an interesting facet (especially emotionally, intuitively, and how Ash relates to Pokémon, taking that one step deeper) to Ash's character complex rather than being hindrance and I rather think that it's a new and interesting course to land. I don't see it as a "brand new superpower" or a superpower at all so much as I see it as a magic and intuition (as stated) of sorts or some sort of connection. I don't think we'll ever see Ash develop his aura capacities so much that he'll be able to fly or fire off beams out of his hands on a whim because, quite frankly, I don't think the writers have gone about giving him said superpowers (though I could be wrong on that).
Click to expand...
Yeah, I completely agree! ^^

Ash having a strong Aura himself, and being able to "feel" Pokemon's Aura directly isn't really a super-power. I don't consider this as Ash having super-powers at all. Because, honestly, Ash is still very much a normal human in the anime. And I really don't see why people are making this conclusion, but oh well....

In my opinion, the writers have simply added to Ash's importance in the anime, by giving him this awesome ability. And of course, Ash possessing this ability is a direct reference and continuation from Lucario and the Mystery of Mew. <3<3<3
 
Last edited:
The funny thing about Aura is that, with some tweaking, it can be used to fill in some loose ends.

It could explain why Ash seemed to "connect" with Corphish during his second battle with Anabel. That seemed pretty similar to the way he could sense and communicate with Riolu in these episodes. Maybe Anabel's communicate-with-nature abilities were because she had sensitivity to Aura? It would work pretty well considering literally everything is said to have an Aura, and Anabel could sense the feelings of things like plants and stuff like that.

As for the source of being in-tune with Aura, it seems to me like it was just something you’re born with. Perhaps it even has to due to the nature of a person, like an exceptionally kind-hearted and courageous person is destined to possess this sensitivity. Ash being chosen by destiny somehow would go along well with Ho-Oh presenting itself to him and him being the one to stop the destruction of the world. Maybe in a way it’s possible that Ash’s Aura powers are partially the source of all these amazing, off-the-wall things happening to him all the time. He’s “meant” to be there to save the day and witness extraordinary events.

Maybe it could even be the reason he seems able to understand Pikachu better than he should be able to at times. Just randomly speculating. Also just noticed that Aura and the Force are astonishingly similar. :o
 
Please note: The thread is from 18 years 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