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Review S20 EP02: The Guardian's Challenge!

WatcherMark

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Again, only discussing dub changes to this episode.

- The Japanese music was entirely retained.
- Sophocles' Togedemaru gets a dub voice (something I didn't touch on in the last episode since you could barely hear it). This makes it the first electric rodent to not keep its Japanese voice.
- Rockruff also gets a dub voice.
- When Pikachu used the Z-Move, several frames were slowed down... this may be a UK thing though as I've seen CITV do this before on other shows. As before, the attack text is removed.
- This time, Samson Oak names all the Pokemon he does impressions of with puns worked in where possible... he even makes an extra one by saying the students had to "Rapidash off" (which is weird because there's no physical impersonation). Kakui also mentions afterwards that this the "Cross Chop of friendship always lands a critical hit"... I've only seen the subs which look like they were run through Google translate for this episode, but I'm pretty sure game terms weren't thrown around in that exchange. Otherwise, no major script changes.
- Unlike last episode which seemed to retain some of the original vocal effects, Tapu Koko is entirely dubbed.
- Who's That Pokemon? was Rockruff. Again, the 'To Be Continued' subtitle was omitted.
 
While this is no Lumiose CIty Pursuit!, it's still a pretty epic second episode. I was surprised Ash lost his Z-Crystal that early, but at least he'll be able to get another one.

Again, I really like all the companions in this series and felt like the all had something to contribute. Which was something I felt XY(Z) had trouble with.
 
Ash got wrecked in all of those 'challenges'. although he was at a complete disadvantage in all of them and did pretty well.

Ash why did you know how to do that Z move :L.

Shame it'll be months before we get episode three, ah well.

I do quite like Mallow and Lille so far. Blue girl seems interesting too. Will have to decide which to waifu in time.

Also, all these puns. That critical hit one... XD
 
So I checked out some decent subs to this episode... and I was wrong. Professor Kukui's line about the 'Cross Chop of Friendship landing a critical hit' is a faithful translation from the original so really nothing to complain about there. Also, gotta admit, I prefer Sophocles' voice to Māmane's.

You know, if all the dub episodes were like this then I would actually still watch it... but as we all know, the music is almost certainly gonna be replaced when the proper dub is released. Plus we haven't even got to Team Rocket.
 
Dub was good. Only a few new thoughts to mention.

I thought it was weird that Ash knew the name of the Electrium-Z. "Feeling" it due to Tapu Koko's presence isn't enough for me. Also, I forgot to mention it in the last dub review, but I like how Tapu Koko's voice is bird-like since he's based on a rooster.

Pikachu using Gigavolt Havoc as a punch still looks weird to me. If he was using it from a physical move, that would be different, but both of his electric-type moves are special... Eh whatever. I hope Ash starts the Island Challenge quickly, I want to see more Z-Moves:)

9.3/10 for the dub.
 
School hijinks! okay, not really.... That new title card with Pika and the starters dropping down from the sky is adorable as heck.

So the first half of this episode is pretty low key, focusing on the class and their interactions with each other and with Ash. Having all those 'Alolan Surprises' for Ash to welcome him into the school was nice. I'm glad the writer's withheld Team Rocket's presence from these first two episodes. It was nice to have the bulk of the time spent on introducing us to the school and meeting Ash's classmates and getting to know some things about them first.

<insert comment re: Ash and a puppy> :)

Things get really interesting during the back half of the eppy when Tapu Koko shows up again and literally gets in Ash's face and confronts him, stealing his hat and taking off. And I noticed that the dialogue was changed in the English dub. In the original Japanese, some of the kids were saying that they had never actually seen Tapu Koko before.

So Tapu Koko is really trying to get Ash's attention and communicate its feelings to him. I feel here, even more than in the first episode, that Tapu Koko possibly has some foresight into future events that are going to be playing out, and it wants to get Ash onto the path it needs him to be on for when the excrement finally hits the fan down the road. I wasn't really that surprised to see the power that came from Ash's bond with Pikachu. After all, if he is capable of synching his aura/feelings/whatever with Greninja's to activate the bond phenomenon, then he surely ought to be able to do the same with Pikachu to activate their Z-move power. And it should stand to reason that his bond with Pika would be much stronger than his bond with Greninja because Pika's been with him far far longer.

From this point, I'm mostly interested to see how often Tapu Koko will choose to interact with Ash and in what manner. Will it leave Ash to his own devices to compete in the island trials and become worthy of wielding a Z-Ring? Or will it intervene from time to time in order to 'steer' Ash in a certain direction?

So, for me, I feel the series is off to a good start only based on these first two episodes. Only time will tell if the writing is going to be consistent and the storylines interesting, or if it will veer off the track and start sliding downhill. I really hope for the former rather than the latter.

And, oh yeah, I was going to make a sarcastic comment about Ash & Pikachu partially destroying the forest Pokémon's habitat, but then I realized that when it rains, it will fill up and become a pond. So, yay Ash, you made a pond!
 
Hope they keep the Japanese music otherwise that's a facepalm. Change Ash's voice (Sarah doesn't fit this Alola version of Ash), and tweak Lillie's voice.

And I'm surprised that he is taking the trials although he had to be 11 to do so but... anime logic.
 
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- Sophocles' Togedemaru gets a dub voice (something I didn't touch on in the last episode since you could barely hear it). This makes it the first electric rodent to not keep its Japanese voice.
- Unlike last episode which seemed to retain some of the original vocal effects, Tapu Koko is entirely dubbed.
- Who's That Pokemon? was Rockruff. Again, the 'To Be Continued' subtitle was omitted.
- This already has me even more fearful on the music subject, since TPCi are still doing paint edits, script changes/rewrites, etc, but Togedemaru being the first main rodent Pokemon not to keep its Japanese seiyu's voice is not a good sign at all.
- Again, not a good sign, Tapu Koko sounded kind of like a pigeon in the dub at times to me.
- Why would they even get rid of the "To Be Continued" subtitle at the end? Only the Chronicles dub team did this before, to my knowledge- again, I have a feeling this is the calm before the storm, though I hope against all hope it's not.
 
- Why would they even get rid of the "To Be Continued" subtitle at the end? Only the Chronicles dub team did this before, to my knowledge- again, I have a feeling this is the calm before the storm, though I hope against all hope it's not.

They usually get rid of the "To Be Continued" subtitle for Sneak Peeks. It was omitted in AG's Dub Sneak Peek IIRC,
and it was omitted in DP and XY's dub sneak peeks. The subtitle will/should return when SM begins its proper dub run on Disney XD sometime this year.
 
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So Ash and Pikachu finally begin their adventures in the Alola region. That's sure to be interesting, right! ;)

I liked how Kiawe was visibly upset about Ash simply receiving the Z-Ring from Tapu Koko, and explained that one needed to pass the trials proper to be able to use Z-Moves well. I am liking him, with his serious nature, quite a lot already. Also, a nice setup for Ash's island challenges, I say. Though, does that mean Ash is finally 11? :X3::rolleyes:

SAMSON OAK! :love::D

MALLOW! :love::love:

The "surprises" that were planned for Ash were quite interesting, but it was sad seeing that Ash's friends, except maybe Kiawe, were clearly at an advantage in their respective challenges, instead of it being an even fight. Oh well! :rolleyes:

The battle against Tapu Koko, though short, was quite entertaining. Nice seeing Electric Surge in the anime. Also, liked how Tapu Koko apparently taught Ash the Z-Dance for Gigavolt Havoc. I like this Pokémon!

All in all, a nice, well-written episode. But two consecutive episodes without Team Rocket! Hmm... When was the last time that happened? o_O
 
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