Hakumei no Tsubasa

This review is written to non-pokemon fans, like myself. I want to entice you with this short review.

I normally dislike Pokemon, because it isn't about much to be honest, but these short stories, they are about something. There are currently 3 episodes, that are about 6 minutes long. What I find outstanding is that each episode has quick pacing, is single themed and carries out that theme well. That's it really, that's why I think you should watch the first episode for 6 minutes.

I do have to say that: with Pokemon, I'm willing to suspend disbelief a little, because from my perspective it's a kid ... show. So I don't have to be that critical about the plot, like I'd be with Stein's Gate or Ghost in the Shell. And when I was willing to suspend that disbelief a little, I found this to be an incredible show. It hits right to the feels just like Porter Robinson & Madeon's anime styled music video Shelter hits the feels (a phenomenal music video by the way). I noticed some similarities such as:

1. Fast Pacing
2. One concept explored
3. Hitting on the feels
4. Not everything is explained, but if you're in the right mindset, that's fine

So yea, if you're a not a Pokemon fan, watch the first 2 minutes and see if you want to see the other 4. You might waste 2 minutes of your life, at the chance of seeing an unexpectedly fun mini-series. With those odds, I know what I would do ;-)

When I say I love Pokemon, that's an understatement. I LOVE Pokemon. It's been an integral part of my childhood, and to this day, I still buy the games, watch the anime (even with its rough patches), read the Pokemon Adventures manga, and I'm currently writing a super long fan fic for Pokemon, which is my current pet project. It's a franchise that's had a lot of staying power and even now, Pokemon continues to have an iron grip on the world because of the sheer joy it brings to everyone of all ages. But many, like myself, feel the TV anime that focuses on ... Ash and his adventures could benefit from either taking more risks or focusing on a different protagonist. So when a new studio called Colorido was announcing that they were making their own short anime based on the Sword and Shield games at the end of 2019, titled Pokemon: Twilight Wings, many were shocked. What in the world brought this on? Each episode would be seven to nine minutes long, released monthly, focusing on not just the prominent characters in the games, but featuring new protagonists. It was very well received, and now that I've seen the whole thing in its entirety, I can agree wholeheartedly that this is the Pokemon anime we really need.

Twilight Wings markets itself as primarily an ensemble drama, with the majority of its runtime focusing on episodic stories centered around various members of the cast, but the two real main characters are two young boys, John and Tommy, who are huge fans of the Galar champion Leon, but are stuck in the hospital because of unspecified illnesses. John in particular really wants to watch one of Leon's battle, and when Chairman Rose visits his hospital, he begs him to give Leon a drawing and a letter he wrote for him. The two kids really only appear in three episodes, the first one and the final two. Episode 2 focuses on the gym leader Bea training with her Pokemon, episode 3 focuses on Hop and his Wooloo and their quarrel, episode 4 is about Nessa learning to balance her modeling job and her duties as a gym leader, and episode 5 details Oleana's time with Chairman Rose. Episode 6 brings back Tommy and John, with the former reaching out to the ghost-type gym leader Allister to ask for his help. The only real overarching plot is John's wish to watch Leon battle, and that doesn't happen until the end, understandably, and a recurring character who always appears in each episode is a Corviknight taxi driver, who is always taking the protagonists of each episode to their specific destinations. The "Twilight Wings" portion of the title comes from the fact that Corviknight is a flying type Pokemon, and sometimes it's prominently shown during the twilight hours.

Studio Colorido has made a name for itself with their first feature film, Penguin Highway, and while I saw their movie A Whisker Away and didn't like it for a variety of reasons, I did genuinely like the animation. Twilight Wings is given the same care in the animation department, and I have to say, it looks gorgeous. Everything about it bursts with bright colors, from lush backgrounds to character animation that's as smooth as butter, really bringing the characters to life. But it can also be cartoony and zany when it wants to be, an example being episode 3. I also love the smaller details the animators put into every episode, such as various Pokemon performing little tasks in each episode, like Pumpkaboo serving as streetlights, or Mr. Rime doing a street performance, or an Alcremie sleeping on the counter in a cafe, a Sudowoodo sitting in a big PokeBall shaped pot, among other things. It really shows that the people who worked on this really cared about making Galar and its locales feel as alive and lived in as possible, and that they care about Pokemon's lore (Example from episode 6, a Pokemon called Lampent appears at a hospital, and the game's lore explains that they hang around hospitals to absorb the spirits of the fallen, able to sense when someone is about to die). I don't have much to say about the music, but it does sound nice, with airy woodwind instruments, energetic violins, soft piano tunes, and a whole array of versatile tracks that all stand out in their own way. There aren't any actual songs with lyrics and vocals, though.

Now, when it comes to characters, you're not really going to find much in the way of actual development here. Nobody overtly changes over the course of the stories, nor are they particularly complex or three-dimensional. Seeing as all the episodes are 6-9 minutes long, trying to flesh out a character in that timespan is really tough. Nobody has layers upon layers to discover, but then again, every episode focuses on one or two characters, giving them their own time in the limelight, gradually and slowly showing us what a day in their lives is like. Again, the show markets itself as a low-key, grounded ensemble piece, content to just show the characters in certain situations, how they deal with it, and let the animation speak for itself, giving the audience a small peek into their everyday lives without trying to be more ambitious than is necessary. I think the characters, from what little we see of them, are perfectly fine, with just the right amount of background and personality to them that they're stil engaging. They're not particularly nuanced or multi-faced, but at the same time, the show doesn't go too over-the-top with their quirks or personalities, so in a way, they still feel like people, and I commend the writers for that.

All of the stories contained in each episode are low-key and grounded, but still heartwarming and nice, guaranteed to give you the fuzzies. The final episode decides to up the epic a bit, since it has a Pokemon battle and all, but that's to be expected. So, no, Ash Ketchum ISN'T the center of the universe like the TV anime tries to convince us he is. The Pokemon universe is open to so many different stories and interpretations, and many people's first exposure to it was the anime, and with it being notorious for focusing on just one thing, compounded with the anime itself being notorious for running way too long, dragging things out, and focusing on pointless side stories that diluted the experience, it's understandable that Pokefans would want something different. Twilight Wings picked the best parts of the game, the setting and the potential for character exploration, and brought it to animation. Pokemon deserves stories that aren't solely aimed at little kids, even though that's it's main demographic, and I think the creators are starting to realize this. We got the Pokemon Black and White games, which really pushed the boundaries of its storytelling, drama, character development, and the amount of genuinely disturbing things it could get away with, Pokemon Generations animated various parts of the games and added their own interpretations of important events in said games, and now, Twilight Wings offers a nice, standalone slice-of-life piece focusing on the people of the Galar region just living their lives. I'm not counting the Pokemon Adventures manga here, as it was made by different people outside of Nintendo, and that manga already pushed a lot of boundaries even as the anime was running. Considering how many people like Twilight Wings currently, me included, I think GameFreak/Nintendo could benefit from allowing content creators a lot more freedom with making their own stories in the Pokemon universe. Hell, they greenlit a video game entirely about working in a cafe, so I think they can afford to do that!

It's not going to bring the house down, but Pokemon: Twilight Wings is a breath of fresh air for the animated Pokemon canon, and I hope more like it will be made.

As someone who hasn't watched a complete Pokemon series all the way through since Diamond and Pearl these shorts were a breath of fresh air from the typical Pokemon journey.

The story of this seven episode series revolves around a few characters and their interactions all linked by a Pokemon taxi driver. Each unrelated characters story has great character development and slowly weaves the entire series together to pull out to a great conclusion.

The art is superb compared to previous Pokemon series with highly detailed scenery and Pokemon.

The music and sound matches up well to the moods displayed throughout the series. Although nothing to memorable ... due to the briefness of each episode it allows for great immersion into the story.

As someone who has played Sword and Shield the characters matched up well with what I would expect them to act like. They are each humanized and displayed struggle that is overcame throughout the series making for some great expository to the game itself.

I enjoy Pokemon starting out from blue to the newest stories presented and although most of them are good if not fine to a reasonable person this short series is something that even non Pokemon fans would enjoy more than usual.

Overall I give this series a reasonable 8/10 and would recommend to anyone.

The Pokémon show I always wanted. I've been a fan of the franchise for as long as I can remember, but even as a child I didn't really enjoy watching the Anime. Repetive, plain, and a tiring protagonist. While the Anime has made much progress, especially since Sun & Moon, it still doesn't quite hit the spot for me. It is too shallow, too flat. The episodic format and the simple content makes it hard to get a feeling for the world, which is exactly what I am longing for. I wish to be immersed in the world of Pokémon, to feel like I get ... a glimpse into a living and breathing world. Twilight Wings, finally, provides just that.

Short, condensed glimpses into the world of Pokémon. Wonderful art and high quality animations. Pokémon shown in all their beauty, shimmering fur and shiny scales and all. Beautiful scenery and an intense battle choreography. Loveable, well written characters abound.While due to the episodes being as short as they are, there is no character *development* to speak of, the show gives fascinating glimpses into the lives of the episodes' respective protagonists. There's no big plot to the series, yet that meaningful and enticing character writing more than makes up for it. Together, all these aspects create a dense and meaningful atmosphere and a world that feels real, without being realistic, or worse, "edgy".

All in all staged so beautifully... oh if the games had even half the verve of this series!

Well, back to the series. Clearly, I am a big fan of it. No entry in the franchise in any medium has ever immersed me as deeply into the world of Pokémon as this short series.

The Twilight Wings mini-series does a sufficient job as a supplement to the Gen 8 Pokemon anime (aka Pokemon 2019).

The art is the selling point here and it is gorgeous. Showing wild Pokemon being pretty is arguably one of the Pokemon anime's greatest strengths and is definitely Twilight Wings' greatest strength. This is evidenced in most episodes, most notably when Pokemon are shown training in groups and/or their natural habitat.

Twilight Wings introduces a few characters, but doesn't deeply develop them (which is fine, as that's the main series' job). Instead, the mini-series offers a pleasant trip into the Pokemon World for anyone who simply enjoys ... spending time there.

This ONA series based on Gen 8 is a classic example of style over substance. It started to show some potential, especially because it's something like we're actually watching a story through the eyes of the Corvinight — hence the title of the series.

What really killed it is that with the episodes being released in a monthly schedule, they started to become stale and boring. It's a month of wait to watch fucking nothing in most of times. Wooloo episode, specifically, is the bottom of the pit. "Duh, it's cute, bruh". See? Style over substance.

Yes, you can see how much effort Studio Colorido puts ... in this, since animation is amazing, but there's nothing really interesting in the plot and it's just another Pokémon story. We learn just a very little (or nothing at all) about the characters, from the game or exclusive to this series.

Together, all episodes can be worth something, but the experience of watching this through half a year was suffering. You maybe can find it enjoyable by watching everything at once, in a binge-watching, but the effort to watch 5 minutes of nothing and then wait a month to watch 5 more minutes of it only worked against it.

The art and animations were great but it's another short anime about a boy in a region tot obsessed with Charizard.
there's no good story, it's just everyone talking about Charizard.

this is pretty getting too old and repetitive. yeah we get it, Charizard is cool but we don't need 4 freaking anime about Charizard only. there are other pokemon that deserve some love and spotlight as well.

Story: 3/10: Charizard propaganda
Art: 7/10
Characters: the gym leaders stories are cool but they are still invested in beating Leon and Charizard because there's nothing else to do in Galar
Enjoyment: few minutes per episode, meh
Overall: 4/10
...
I read better pokemon stories in fanfiction than this. at least some fanfics can make proper development and actual stories rather than 7 episodes about Charizard is cool