Pokemon Sun & Moon

Once XY(&Z) was ending, they started releasing trailers for Sun and Moon, I was looking at the optimistic side of things. Through my eyes I saw Sun and Moon trailing off of the XY series as a sort of "calm before the storm" if that makes any sense. After all the action that was brought by the previous season, the drama, the development, all the characters acting as one and thinking about the others, I felt Sun and Moon would be about Ash and him preparing for his next journey and learning what he could before his next big step into a new region and ... a new adventure. What I thought and what I've been watching are two completely different things.

I was enjoying it at first but as it went along I started losing interest. I looked at this installment of the series as a "laid back time" meaning that this wasn't going to be as serious as previous generations before it since the Alola region is such a relaxed and easy going place, but I never expected it to be so uninteresting. I wanted to see travelling between the groups. Going all over the island and learning new things. With the idea of school they could have done so much. Make every new unit take place on a different island (schools are on each island) or each new lesson is taught in a particular part of the island that it relates to.

I understand this whole generation is going to be centered around school but I honestly don't like that. Having to try and relate with and enjoy characters isn't possible for a lot of us because of the way that the writers have been taking the series. In my view, Mallow is really the only one in the entire group who actually seems to care. It's almost like they took Ash from XY and copy/pasted him into Mallow and just gave the Sun and Moon Ash a completely new personality.

I want to go back to something like XY or Diamond and Pearl. We saw just how well they could write the characters and develop them. Sure there were a few dull moments but I'm sure each and every one of us can say that the following episodes that were not filler always made up for it. Hell, even the fillers at times were amazing. I want to have that feeling where every week when I watch an episode, I can leave it to last on my list because it's the one I'm looking most forward to. With the maybe 3-5 anime that update on Thursdays that I'm watching, Sun and Moon is always the first and I just say "let's get it over with". I want the feeling where I can come back and wait letting the suspense build up and finally watching the episode and then thinking about how good it was for the rest of the night.

If I ever watch a Sun and Moon episode now, at the end I'm either thinking "Why the hell is Ash so annoying? Seriously can you just act like you used to?" or "That was boring... Only decent thing that happened was Mallow actually attempting to get everybody to participate..." THIS IS NOT WHAT THE SHOW IS ABOUT.

Pokemon is a show about Ash who is setting out on his journey to be a Pokemon master while along the way he meets new people, makes new friends and learns from everyone. Sun and Moon doesn't include any of this. Kiawe for example could have had such a big role if they did not make him so annoying. He was the only one who had a Z-Ring when Ash first came here and he could have taught Ash and actually been a rival if they wrote Ash to have the same personality he once did. Lillie was supposed to have the largest role in the group seeing how she was the main characters in the games except now she barely does anything other than playing the role of an "informant" supplying the main characters with useful information as well as the "tragic heroine" since she can't touch Pokemon, other than Vulpix/Shiron, and always needs help from others. Lana is just meh. There's nothing to great about her other than the rare moments where she shines. And then Sophocles is just- *throws up*.

What I'm trying to say is that this series is nothing like a Pokemon series. This just feels like some random slice of life/fantasy/school life/comedy crap about a group of kids who just met some random kid who is hyper and they run around with their pets and one of the people in the group of kids is scared of pets so the others keep pushing their pets onto the one that's scared of pets so she won't be scared anymore. Then one of the kids is trying to get them to stop and have them all work together or make everything fun for them and they are the only one that leaves any impact on us. Then there is the hyper kid who comes there with nothing and then gets an OP power up and then one of the other kids who has an OP power up tells him that he has to be really strong to use that power up until the pet that gave the hyper kid that power up toys with him and says "lets show this snot nosed brat what you can do" and then they fight but the hyper kid doesn't win but still shows up the cocky snot nosed brat. Then the story continues for 25-27 episodes until SOMETHING GOOD FINALLY HAPPENS and then we have to wait god knows how long until something good happens again.

What a Pokemon series should have is what we've seen in every other region (besides black and white... Let's just not mention that). It should be a sense of a team where they treat each other like a family member. A group of 6 just doesn't work out. It just feels like they're classmates with no relationship whatsoever. Everyone should enjoy being with everyone, wanting to spend time with each other and learn from everyone or help each other. Have a sense that wherever one goes, the other goes and makes the journey/even a little bit more interesting. Everyone should have a goal or dream they are striving to get and actually show DEVELOPMENT TOWARDS THE DREAM OR GOAL.

Sun and Moon from my eyes is not a "Pokemon Series". It's a lazy attempt at trying to appeal to an audience that is just not interested. Unless I can see a light in this very, very dark and dim place that the anime is currently in then I'll keep my nose out of it and continue to watch something that actually has me wanting more.

Here's the thing with Sun and Moon. If you're going into this after watching XYZ, and expecting it to be similar in any way. Don't. This show isn't anything like that. And to be fair, it isn't TRYING to be anything like that.

For this season (or region, or whatever), the show takes on a more slice of life style, and as a slice of life show, it is decent. You have some likeable characters, each with their own personalities, and they're all in a school. Why is Satoshi (Ash) in a school? IDK, but don't question it.
Now, although the characters are decent to begin with, ... after 146 episodes, you would expect them to like. Change. But that doesn't really happen as much as I would have liked. We do get some decent development through Lillie, and to be honest, this show would have been a lot more engaging if there was a more prominent overarching arc about her and her family. (Like seriously? There was so much being hinted at with her family, BUT it just doesn't end up being talked about). The other characters don't really get too much development, instead choosing to solve small problems that they have, but not too much else (I.e., one character is afraid of the dark so… his electric mouse lights up. Solid development I guess)

The biggest change is clearly the animation, so I'll briefly touch on that. It's worse, but it's still alright. Satoshi's design is kind of annoying at first, but it's not really a big deal. In all honesty, it fits very well with the intended slice of life format, so it's not really something to hold against this show.

The biggest problem for me is the actual story/plot. I know I'm saying that it's more slice of life, so like. This shouldn't be a problem. But it's really missing that little something that makes pokemon, pokemon. So we no longer have gym battles, and instead have the island challenges. What are these island challenges? That's kinda the problem. I DON'T REMEMBER. Nothing about this is memorable. I NEVER remembered how many of these challenges he had completed, or even what he did to get them. This is mostly my own fault for having a bad memory, but I really feel that it could have been done in a better way. Maybe the fact that the school setting is there throughout is part of the problem. I don't really know. (as in, the fact that the setting is the same for most of the series makes it easier to kind of mesh everything together and not remember as much as I would have liked to)
(There's also another problem that I have with the story, but I won't go into it as it would involve too many spoilers)

Overall, although there seems to be something lacking in this series, it does do a good job at what it's attempting to actually do. And don't get me wrong, there were many, many enjoyable moments throughout the series. If you go into this KNOWING that it will essentially be a slice of life, then this will definitely be a very good and enjoyable show, so if after reading this, you think you might be interested, then you should definitely watch it! The issue for me is that I didn't want this to be what it is, because I don't feel as though this is what pokemon SHOULD be. But don't let that stop you! (Unless you're like me, in which case, let it stop you. Although if you are like me, you'll be watching it anyways).

See you all in Galar!

Now I dont think ive ever been more annoyed to watch something that is so dear to me.
Lets jump right into this dumpster fire

The story is an 8/10. This is the only part of sun and moon that I actually enjoy. I think the story of alola was one of the best ones (at least by the game standards) and having it animated was slightly exciting. UNTIL I SAW THE ARTSTYLE

1/10 is complementing. This is just gross to look at and its not even all the characters, iTS JUST ASH. He looks like atrocious in every way. The other characters and pokemon look great ... but ash... oh boy does he look like the largest Cleveland steamer.

The sound is a 3/10. If they found a way to match the SM/USUM soundtrack into the show (now I know games are separate but the music was amazing.) it would have a higher score but since the music blows it gets a 3.

Dear God if I could put 0/10 I would in a heartbeat. Once again ash looks like shit. Lana, Mallow, Lillie, Kiawe, Fatass and kukui look good and if ASH didnt exist id probably give the characters a 7/10.

Enjoyment is a 2. Id rather my dog shit out a sock than watch this. Now i know that might be an over-exaggeration but its just a poor sad excuse for a show with the status of pokemon.

Overall this show is a 5. Its horrible. Dont feed your kids on this.

I've been going around in mental circles for a while, trying to figure out how I wanted to do this review... Because the thing is... This IS a good season. It was just-- by a wide margin-- not my favorite season.

There were a lot of things it did well that just weren't for me. But I kind of knew that would be true as soon as I saw the trailers for it when it first came out all those years ago. Everyone kept telling me I would get used to the art style. I still hate it. It looks fine on all the new ... characters, but it looks awful on Ash and Team Rocket and all the old faces. And that may sound like a really insignificant, don't-judge-a-book-by-its-cover sort of complaint, but the art style can say a lot about a show. Especially when it's changing from season to season like Pokémon does. Sun and Moon's designs were a little goofier. In line with the season as a whole being a lot more lighthearted. And that's fine for a kids' show, and it could be perfectly enjoyable at times...
(I liked all the characters. In fact, as a whole, I think this season has the most likable cast of characters of any Pokémon season I've watched. And the final episode was really heartfelt. Watching Kukui and Burnet hug him goodbye actually made me tear up a bit. Ash's mom has had some good moments over the years, but we've never really gotten to see Ash have a real family dynamic with anyone, and that aspect of it here was really great.)
But Pokémon really hit its current peak with XY&Z for me. I loved that it got a little more serious. Anything toned down from that was going to be lesser in my eyes. Just a matter of preferences, I guess.

Storywise, it was just weaker overall in my eyes. It really brought me back to the early seasons of Pokémon, where we went so long in between gym battles that it barely felt like there was a story at all. The island trial episodes were cool... but they really didn't feel like they held any significance over anything, especially because you didn't even end up needing ANY sort of qualifications to enter the region's first Pokémon League.
The Ultra Guardians aspect of the story... watching these kids form their own sort of pseudo-Power Rangers team was cool. (I love me a good magical girl-esque transformation sequence.) But suffered from the same problem. Everything just felt so disjointed here. The Ultra Beasts could show up on a whim... whenever the writers ran through enough of their other episode ideas, I guess. They posed enough of an actual threat to the region that I feel like the kids could have at least been looking for some way to keep the portal closed... I just really needed an overarching story for this season, and never quite found it. Like, once we got into the story with Lillie's family and amnesia in season one, things got really good for a while. Gave me hope. And then it all kind of just fell apart again.

But ultimately... all the real complaints I have about this season... come down to me starting to believe that the writers and I must have very different opinions on what makes up the fundamentals of Ash as a character. Yes, he's easily excitable and has this unrivaled love for all things Pokémon... but I just can't see him ever being happy settling down in a place like Alola to go to school. Not even with great friends. Not even if the school offers new Pokémon-related experiences each class. It's just... not Ash. It felt too stagnant for him. I can't see the extremely spaced-out island trials scratching his competitive itch. At least when he's on the road, it feels like he's actively working towards the next challenge.

I guess it's fitting but... This whole 'journey' through Alola feels like a vacation for Ash. In general, it's just not the place for him. Everything's just a little TOO laid-back. As a whole, it didn't really feel like a region for a serious battler like Ash. And in general, it feels like the writers handicapped his battling skills a bit, especially as the series went on. Like, yes, Ash is known for being the guy who can get out of a tight spot with sheer willpower and crazy ideas... but sometimes it feels like the writers forget that he IS capable of actual type-based strategizing too.

There are a few exceptions throughout. Gladion and Kukui...(Hau could have been an example, but we barely see him.) Kiawe takes it seriously, and Lana also had a competitive edge, though the series (unfortunately) never seemed to take her as seriously as Ash and Kiawe. I don't think there's any better example than the few episodes where the class visits Kanto and Ash gets to really shine-- back in his element-- sparring with the gym leaders of old... while it quickly became clear that his new friends had really only understood battling in theory up to this point. Hell, Mallow doesn't have her moment where she realizes she shouldn't ever just give up mid-battle until the MIDDLE OF HER POKEMON LEAGUE MATCH... That whole League was a joke and actually really annoyed me, but... Deep breaths.

Anyway. Sun and Moon was fun and cute and lighthearted and I DID enjoy a lot of it. I mean, Rowlet's the most adorable thing this franchise has ever created, so I have to give it points for that. It's just... not what I want Pokémon to be. We got to see it at its best in Kalos, and a story like this one just couldn't live up to my expectations after that. I know practically nothing about the next region... (I've literally only seen the starters and this sheep Pokémon and that's it.) But I'm hoping it picks back up again with the next season, and we get to see more of Ash as he was meant to be.

Pokemon Sun & Moon, highly regarded well amongst those who enjoy anime for its difference from the previous plots of the other previous seasons of Pokemon, yet highly hated (and seen as a disappointment) by fans of the long-running series.

TL;DR: You'll enjoy it if you haven't kept up with the series and are coming back after watching only the first couple of regions (Kanto & Johto). You'll probably find a lot of faults with this series and may come to hate the anime if you've kept up with the series through the Kalos region.

This review will be based on the point of view of ... a fan of the series from day one (of games and anime). This review will also try to be as spoiler-free as possible, but there might be some minor spoilers so keep that in mind.



Ash has finished another journey from the Kalos region and decided to hop on a plane with his mom to take a vacation in the Alola region. Ash then finds the Alola region interesting and wants to stay thus starting up the premise of the entire anime.



Story: 3/10
My main gripe with the story is the fact it basically disregards man relationships between Ash and his peers. The Pokemon series has always been about the camaraderie between the characters and how they bond throughout their journey (eg.: Ash, Misty & Brock the iconic trio, or Ash, Dawn, & Brock from Diamond and Pearl). The Pokemon series has also been about the friendship Ash develops with his Pokemon (e.g: Ash & Butterfree, Ash & Chimchar, Ash & Froakie). However, Sun & Moon as an anime completely disregards the building of the friendship between both humans and Pokemon. Yes, there are some episodes focused on the characters and their backgrounds, however, I feel like there are too many "main" characters that the writers cannot find the balance of developing the relationship with Ash & his "friends". For example, his relationship with Lillie (*minor spoiler warnings*). Lillie is a girl who was introduced in the main series of video games and put into the anime. Her storyline is just as important as it is in the video games, however, is extremely underdeveloped. Her relationship with Ash is also not developed so when Ash does his "Ash" thing of saving everyone and the world, it doesn't feel as impactful as it does like in Pokemon X, Y (&Z). It really disappointed me that arc because there was so much to explore with Lillie like how they did with Bonnie in X, Y (&Z) but they cut the arc short and it was extremely forced.

Another gripe of why I rate the story so low is the disregard of Ash's dream of becoming a Pokemon Master. The definition of a Pokemon Master has never been explicitly stated, but one way to see as achieving this goal is to win battles by defeating Gym Leaders & winning the Pokemon League of the area. However, this is thrown out of the window in this series making many non-Pokemon fans very happy that they changed it up. But as someone who has enjoyed this anime to see how Ash travels throughout the regions, I personally hate it. Ash's journey is stagnated on Mele Mele island and it's rare to see him travel to the other islands. The thought of traveling and exploring the world (even though it was the same basic plot throughout Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos) it was interesting. Adventuring through a new region is new and exciting because it's always about the journey and the things that happen in them. Staying on one island, however, is not interesting (and sometimes creates snooze-fested episodes, because I think (from watching and playing all the games) a Pokemon Master is established as Pokemon Master because of their travels of exploring and meeting new Pokemon and people. Ash doesn't travel and explore the other islands, he doesn't camp out anymore in the forest or in-between cities, he just stays in his nice cushy home at Professor Kukui.



Art: 3/10
Oh my, if I could say the things I wanted to say about the art styling of Pokemon Sun & Moon (S&M), I'd probably be hated by the majority of the consensus of the non-pokemon fanbase of S&M. Many people enjoy the artistic choices Sun & Moon make from having the characters draw in certain ways to portray emotions, and sometimes playing off of drawing styles of different Animes. However, as a Pokemon fan, it disgusts me. Why? Because Pokemon has had its definite style of Art set from the moment that it came out as an Anime back in the late 1990's. The anime has changed a bit in style in terms of having better fighting scenes between Pokemon during a battle, but this is completely disregarded in S&M. This was really quite disturbing for me because I saw nothing wrong with the art styling, and no matter what season of the Pokemon series you saw a picture of, whether it's the original series or Pokemon Diamond & Pearl, you knew it was a Pokemon series. However, when Pokemon decided to take the drawing styles of different animes to incorporate it into Pokemon, they lost what made Pokemon, Pokemon by it's drawing style.

Also, all battle scenes in S&M are rated 1/10 for me because every time a (insert pokemon) battles (insert another pokemon) with an attack, whether it's a water vs a water attack, or an electric vs fire attack, it results in an explosion. This personally as a fan of Pokemon battles ticks me off the most. I watch the anime to see how an actual move would look like when put up against another move, not to see explosions happen 24/7 when it shouldn't be happening (e.g: water vs water move).

Sound: 8/10
It has the classic Pokemon tunes that also draw in from previous seasons. The openings about being a Pokemon Master & songs about the mysteries of Pokemon. It's not overly spectacular but it's still that classic Pokemon style of music.

Character: 3/10
I know Ash every time he goes to another region has to disregard everything he's learned in the previous region. The only time Ash has somewhat remembered what he learned from the previous region is when he traveled to the Johto (Johto because it was connected to Kanto) & Kalos (actually retained some brain cells and a sense of battling skills). However, in Alola, the same thing happens again, although it is quite heavily implied the relationship between Kanto & Alola is strong. Ash in this series disregards everything he learned in Kalos and has actually become less intelligent as a character and I never thought it was possible. His understanding went from a pre-teen (10/11/12 yr old) to almost a 7/8-year old. It is childish his understanding of thinking from what you see normally in the Pokemon series regarding his battling style. Maybe I was spoiled in X, Y (Z) by his diverse usage of Pokemon throughout the season like his rotation between Pikachu, Froakie (and it's evolved forms), Hawlucha, Fletchling (and it's evolved forms). However, in S&M, Ash rarely uses his other Pokemon in battle, only focusing on Pikachu. This gravely disappointed me because it's not like Rowlett, Litten & Rockruff are terrible battlers as Pokemon but he just uses Pikachu, and only uses the others when battling a (insert important person).

The other reason why I rate the characters as a 3/10 is that of Team Rocket. Over the years Team Rocket has turned into comedic relief in the series. But, since this anime has turned one of its main focuses of the genre into comedy, Team Rocket is just tossed to the side. I'm not a huge fan of Team Rocket but the regards to them as comedic relief & as villains are rather pathetic. Team Rocket in previous season has had some rather successful attempts as villains which were nice to see, however, nothing has succeeded for Team Rocket even though some of it should have. Another reason Team Rocket is a pretty poorly written is that of Bewear. I understand that Team Rocket could never "blast off" because of the ratings of keeping it as a kid show and it implies the "death" of them, but to have Bewear stop them every time? After the first time, it was not funny. It was just irritating. Bewear as a character is written horribly and instead of focusing on trying to catch Team Rocket before they blast off, write about how it doesn't stop them while they're building a machine or something.


Enjoyment: 8/10
I'm Pokemon trash, so matter how much this anime is a disappointment compared to the other seasons, I'm still going to watch it. I'd watch Pokemon even if it was drawn in stick figures and probably enjoy it as well. Pokemon is something childhood me loves and it still stuck with me throughout my entire life (Pokemon game came out the year I was born so I've been a fan ever since it's creation).


Overall: 6/10.

As a long-time Pokemon fan that was hoping to see something good, especially because in X, Y (&Z) Pokemon fans were spoiled with good storylines, good development of characters and great battles. I'm (always) caught up with this anime, and everything compared to it just pales in comparison of what a Pokemon series should be.

If you're a fan of just anime in general and have not stayed with this series, you'll probably enjoy it because "it breaks the stereotypes" of what a Pokemon anime "should be like". If you enjoy seeing references to other animes in terms of art-styling, you'll enjoy this. If you have been a long time fan (and someone who was expecting something along the lines of what they saw in the Kalos region) you'll definitely be extremely disappointed in terms of storyline, characters, and art.

ok i have been a pokemon fan before i knew about anime and i was excited to know they were contuing but wtf happened to ash like this man looks like a 6 year old.

story 3/10
the only good arc there is when ash and lillie and the kids went to save lillies mom i was hyped watching this

art 8/10
the art is fine the only thing holding this from a 10/10 is ash

character 7/10
ok pokemon has so many fillers it is a filler anime but i enjoy the ones with lille, mallow and that fire dude besides that i only watched it cause ... of my baby brother thats 3

enjoyment 7/10
ok i enjoyed XYandZ so much like easily the best pokemon that will ever be made but this started something brand new. the reason this is not a 5/10 is beause my baby brother likes it and i love that kid to death

overall its a 6/10 and i do not plan on rewatching it well bye bye

A fairly fresh take on the Pokémon anime. The story is more open ended and the artstyle is changed somewhat significantly. These changes made it a hit or miss to the audience. You will either love it or hate it. Like with many long-running series, there are some crappy episodes (especially the filler ones). The action is good despite the logic doesn't follow the games that much. Animation is decent and shines in the action-heavy and comedic scenes.

I think this series is worth a watch if you like slice of life. You will need to commit a lot of time on this since it is ... 146 episodes long though you could skip a couple of episodes without that much penalty also, you don't need prior knowledge to previous Pokémon series to know what's going on (It's a bonus if you know the original anime though).