A Ripple in Time

A Ripple in Time is a 6-minute short made for the Pokémon X Daniel Arsham art collaboration. This short actually marks a few firsts for the series with the biggest thing being that this is the first time a piece of the Pokémon anime has been officially released subtitled in English for worldwide streaming. The subs are accurate but one thing that could be hit or miss is the localization choices since all Pokémon and attack names use their official English names from the game series for consistency. While this does make it feel more natural for English speakers, my personal preference would be to ... use the Japanese names for the Pokémon since I am learning the language and would prefer to learn the names of these Pokémon while I watch instead of getting tempted to look at the subtitles which are baked into the video itself and reading "Cubone" instead of listening and hearing "Karakara" for example. It's a minor thing that might bother some people so keep this in mind.

The main draw to this short is the artwork and animation which makes a lot of sense considering this was made for an art collaboration. A big thing is that this short reverts back to an art style a bit more reminiscent of that of the original series (Indigo League-Master Quest for dub watchers) as compared to more simplified art style of SM and Journeys. It isn't an exact match though as a lot of the sharp edges on characters are a bit more rounded like SM and Journeys, but the overall body shapes and facial features on characters definitely take more from the original series. These aspects match a bit closer towards specifically around when the anime switched to digital animation and coloring. It takes the best of both styles which allows for fluid movements like the more recent seasons while still having that classic Gen 2 look and feel. A lot of the coloring takes advantage of modern techniques with lighting, as while the areas that are shaded are exactly where they would be shaded in the earlier seasons. It makes a good balance between updating the classic style while still being in line with it. The art style for SM and Journeys has been a bit controversial for some fans and this short is definitely more in line with what fans want to see, and it looks good. Backgrounds also have a more classic feeling to them, perfectly adding imperfections and little bits of color going outside of the lines of objects to replicate the hand painted background assets that were used in Gen 1 and 2. All the statues of Pokémon are also really cool and interesting looking and are based off of actual pieces by artist Daniel Arsham that were produced for this collaboration.

The soundtrack is classic Pokémon reusing tracks from the original series. For a good portion of the short the anime's version of Green/Blue's champion theme plays and it is a very solid track. If you liked the soundtrack of the original series, you definitely would enjoy the soundtrack since it is exactly the same. There isn't a whole lot of talking outside of the beginning battle between Satoshi/Ash and the trainer in the tournament. Since it is in Japanese all Pokémon use their Japanese cries for the very few that are audibly heard. Rica Matsumoto and Ikue Ohtani are pretty iconic in their roles as Satoshi/Ash and Pikachu and pretty much have their same level of quality that they put into their performances in the main series.

The story and characters are pretty basic in this short. Satoshi/Ash is literally the same character as always but there isn't too much setup as to why he is in this battle at the beginning and as to why he is chasing Celebi, besides it just being an excuse to show off the cool artwork that was produced for this collaboration. If this short were to be considered a part of the anime canon it would have to be after Pokémon 4Ever - Celebi: The Voice of the Forest but the canonicity is rather questionable. Satoshi/Ash meeting Dialga would not really work if this were to take place in the actual anime canon as he didn't meet Dialga until the Darkrai movie and this short clearly takes place during Gen 2 due to the appearance of characters like Nanako/Casey and Hiroshi/Ritchie. This short is definitely a one off and is not canon. That being said for longtime fans of Pokémon there are lots of cameos of classic characters including your classic Gen 1 and 2 staples as well as Shirona/Cynthia from DP. None of these characters really do anything, they just are there for fans to say, "Oh cool I recognize them". This is definitely the weaker aspect of the short.

Overall, I'd say it's very enjoyable if you go into it from the artistic side which is what this short was made for. I'd give it an 8 since even though the story is pretty nonexistent, it succeeds in what it wants to be as an art piece. This anime is directed by an artist, and it shows with the amount of love and care put into the art and animation. The fact that it also is the first officially subbed Pokémon anime that makes it even more historically important for the franchise and is definitely worth the watch if you are a fan of Pokémon or grew up with those older anime episodes