Pokemon Best Wishes!

It's been years since this show aired and I still love returning to it! (Note: this review is based on the English-subtitled, Japanese anime. I strongly recommend watching this series in Japanese to better appreciate the characters for reasons I will explain in later in this review.)

A very fun, easy-to-watch show, with exciting moments, updated character designs [while still maintaining the charm of the 90's style, the new eye designs show the brown of Ash's eyes in more than close-ups and tearful moments], and better animation quality than its predecessors, although it hasn't reached XY's peaks of beauty or Sun & Moon's lively fluidity yet, ... it still has well-animated battles and very expressive characters.

The soft reboot-esque beginning of the series makes it easier for newcomers and children to start watching without prior knowledge of the series, but it also rewards viewers of the earlier stories by including references to the past, reanimated flashbacks, and returns of some familiar faces (human and Pokemon!) in its second season. This review will focus on the first season.

Despite its flaws (a weak league and a strangely one-sided rivalry where Shootie, while framed as the main rival, isn't really written as such and his story arc mainly concerns the Champion Adeku/Alder, a frequently misunderstood-by-fans scene in the first episode [a sick Pikachu with Electric type moves temporarily sealed after an encounter with a Legendary loses to a stronger-than-usual starter Pokemon given to a trainer]), it has a lot to enjoy if you liked the humour, friendship stories, sense of adventure of the original series, as well as some very unique/quirky main characters!

I absolutely love Satoshi/Ash's dynamic with Iris and Dent/Cilan, theirs is a very genuine friendship, each have their own unique inter-group dynamics, and no one is just pushed to the background or ignored until they get a focus episode.

The friendship is very genuine, balanced, and natural, with friendly teasing (the dub didn't convey this very well, so Iris' teasing still sounded mean later on for a lot of people) and their own in-jokes (Dragon Sneeze, etc.).

Ash is the same character from the first series, although he originally came here on vacation, before getting so excited, he decided to take on the Pokemon gym challenge and aim for the Unova league!

Iris is a Dragon empath with empathy issues due to her past and much of her story arc is about learning to open up to and empathize with others' problems!

Dent/Cilan, a Pokemon Sommelier (a sommelier is an expert in food/wine marriages; a Pokemon Sommelier judges the marriage of human trainers and their Pokemon... using wine terminology, do you see why the dub had to change his dialogue and character so much?) starts out very arrogant and self-absorbed (running a PG-rated host club that double functions as a Pokemon Gym with screaming fangirls does that to a guy), but learns to see a new point of view and becomes kinder, but still hilariously self-absorbed and dramatic.
He's played by MamoMiya (like Tamaki from Ouran High School Host Club) which makes him very funny to watch in Japanese due to his theatrics and gratuitous use of English.

And these are just the main characters!! The rivals (Iris and Dent/Cilan also have rivals, not just Satoshi/Ash!) are also very funny and quirky, with their own motivations, goals, hobbies, and personalities that play off in amusing ways in the many, many tournament arcs of Best Wishes! which make use of this large cast of rivals.

As for Satoshi/Ash's "main rival," I found Shootie/Trip a very unique character, even if he wasn't invested as a rival for most of it (Kenyan/Stephan, Virgil, and even Bell/Bianca stepped up to that plate more), but he was a unique character and it was interesting seeing him clash with Satoshi/Ash on issues of morality (BW! 22), his cynical world view is quite unique, and seeing them become friends was cute (even if I do wish we had more time spent on that!).

The rivals are so colourful and varied in this series, EVERYONE gets a rival or two, and they're all so funny and different, there's a rival to fit everyone's tastes (Burgundy and Cameron are largely comedic, Georgia can be very funny too but also touching in how she develops and directly AND indirectly furthers Iris' growth, Bell/Bianca is a naive and spoiled-but-sweet character you'd love to cheer on, Shootie/Trip is one of those morally dubious rivals but he's kinder to his Pokemon and less sure of himself, with a surprising motivation that puts him in a different light from Shinji/Paul).

In short, any time I go back to this series, I find it very watchable and fun!!!

I wish the postponed two-parter would air (even if parts of it were repurposed for the Meloetta arc's finale, even XYZ's Flare finale), just to satisfy curiosity for how the first major Rocket mission ended in this series (the earthquake and Fukushima Daiichi disaster unfortunately occurred, preventing the episodes from airing [likely due to earthquake imagery and a possible nuclear power metaphor with the Meteonite which the Rockets seeked to weaponize... it would've been in very poor taste to air after that]).

Its exclusion leads to some episodes being reordered and a bit of a lull after episode 22 (which was supposed to lead up to the two-parter), but the series picks up again after a few episodes. Understandable. The original series also had similar issues after the banned episode.

The first season is more strongly liked and has wider appeal than the second (which takes different directions every few arcs and changes of the title the series to match).

A lot of characters aren't what they seem at first and should be given time to properly judge them; the Champion Adeku/Alder, for instance, is disappointing due to his character flaws compared to the idealized image another character has of him. That's the point. Keep watching to see him actually display his good qualities too, like his wisdom and strength.

I think this is one of the best pokemon seasons. Many people don't like it because it is a soft reboot.

I think their nostalgia is blinding them. I watched it in 2010 then rewatched it again in 2021 with all of the other seasons. The first pokemon season is the worst in my opinion because they are trying so hard to appeal to the western audience. The world is still a lot like the real world. But the game world is a lot alien. They were afraid that an alien world might weird out the audience and that's why the first season is so bad.

But ... here they are just presenting the real world of pokemon. They not trying to please the western audience. It is alien and different. That's why people don't like it.

Writing has gotten better with each season of pokemon. It shines very well in this season. Episodes are funny for me. I love Oshawott and Emolga. I like the new art style.

Ash's brain is reset and it might displease some but I don't care. Every new game gives us a mute protagonist and the entire game mechanism is introduced again. They did the same thing in the anime. I like the changes made to the team rocket. Because of these changes we got two season finales. One here and next one in the next season. These season finales feel great because of the entire build-up. Most of the previous seasons just ended anywhere. Team Rocket was the most annoying part of season 1. They did the same thing in each episode and dumb people enjoyed it for some reason. Now they are part of the story seriously and people are complaining. This season has a better structure than any of the previous ones.

Each episode is well written and something new happens. Each character and pokemon have so much more personality. I just love the cottonee episode.

Attack animations are changed. I saw some people complaining. This has been done first time in the anime but in the games, each new console has different attack animation.

Music from games is used more than in previous seasons and I like that.

The episodes where Meowth joins our crew are so fun. Iris even tries to capture Meowth.
In the Purrloin episode, Meowth and Oshawott fall in love with the Purrloin but it turns out to be a guy. So there are subtle jokes here and there in this season and I like them.

There is a lack of fillers. All eight badges are acquired in just 84 episodes. The travels between each town are small. Instead, more focus is given to battle competitions that happen in each town.

Many people dismiss this series because they changed many things that people loved over the years. I don't like to watch the same stuff again and again. That's why I like this. They did something new this time. Give this season a try. Yes, the next seasons of Black and White suck but this one is very good.

I've always loved Pokemon, so there's no doubt that I will love this series too. That in mind, so far, the first few eps have been very similar to the first season of Pokemon.
I'm enjoying the darker, less slapstick-heavy Team Rocket as they were becoming too farcical in the previous seasons.
I also like what we've seen of the Isshu region so far, the lack of prior generation Pokemon is a good idea on the part of the creators.
I had read that this season was going to be faster-paced and more exciting than previous seasons and I've certainly been excited to see the episodes and loved ... them but I think it's more love of new Pokemon as the story is as slow moving as it always was.

This show proves that anime pokemon staff are so determined to make pokemon more interesting than people think. They make sure made it really derpy and kind of interesting at some points. I usually don't watch the pokemon anime, but I loved playing Black so much that I checked this out and I'm glad I did because this is simply hilarious.

The story is pretty similar to other pokemon series; Ash ans friends going around on adventure to be the pokemon master. The different things are the different characters from the Unova region.

The best character is definitely Dent/Cilan because he's voiced by Miyano Mamoru and ... his personality is so weird and funny. Just hearing his random phrases about this taste and that makes me LOL.

The thing I don't understand is why there is no Cheren when there is Bel (forgot her English name). I feel like Cheren should be the main rival of Ash in this anime but idk why they made another character for that.

Now the main reason I watch this show is the Subway Masters! I'm so happy they made it to the anime even though some people just didn't (like Cheren, Black/White, N....). They just appeared on the latest episode and I can't wait for the battle subway episodes!

I liked the other seasons better because when you start by watching the other seasons the new and improved graphics in this season is kind of a shocker. I really hated this show when it first came out but know i have grown used to the graphics. the overall story is tahe same as the other plot- with average flow, its kind of an easy going show, not very fast paced. You can skim it without missing anything important. Good classic anime.

Here's my approach to kid's anime - choose a flavor and enjoy it.

Sure, there's some truly fantastic series being made sometimes, but a lot of things are just average. There's nothing wrong with average. Depending on your point of view, Average can be Above Average, or Below Average, or really awesome, or total crap.

When it comes to Pokemon, you don't want to watch all of it. It's been on for 15 years, it's never going to stop. So pick your favorite Generation, and watch that.

I picked "Best Wishes" because I loved the Black/White games. Plus, this series is modern, it uses digital ... ink, and is available in widescreen.

Story: One refreshing aspect of this season was the change for Team Rocket, they used to appear in every episode, but this season they're only used half the time. Jesse and James also get serious, they spend most of the beginning of the season succeeding in their schemes. Something else I noticed, every 12 episodes, we get a two-parter, a cool change of pace to show us that thing are not easy enough to resolve using one episode.

Sadly, Team Plasma do not appear until the end of this generation.

Characters: Ash's traveling companions, this time it's Iris and Cilan. I can predict that we will never see someone stick around like Brock did for Four Generations. I'm guessing the writers got tired of making the same gag over and over again, so now every traveling companion will be limited to each region, with only cameos every now and then.

Cilan takes Brock's role as "older brother" to Ash, and playing the man in the apron. Cilan's tick of comparing everything to food can get pretty grating sometimes. They also do a bit more with the fact that he is a gym leader and an expert on pokemon. They even add a rival for him named Burgundy, it's refreshing to see a character actually completely outclass their rival for once.

Iris is Ash's second companion, a Dragon Trainer, and a different take on the Tsundere Girl. Iris spent a lot of time by herself in the mountains, so it made her more bold, blunt, and energetic than an ordinary girl. While she sometimes berates Ash for not knowing things, there are times when she doesn't know things either. They add an Ice Type trainer named Georgia who is my favorite of all the rivals.

Ash gets a rival named Trip, who is just a watered down version of Paul.

Overall: I liked Pokemon Best Wishes. There are times when you just want to sit back and let the TV play. I wanted a super long simple show, and that's what Pokemon is. I give it a 7/10.

Good evenning everyone,

I dont know if its here i can say it or to where i should write but the number of episodes of this anime in this site is 84. This number is incorrect and can cause mistakes like mine.
The last two episodes of the season are the batle with the 8th gym and if you continue to the next season you see the mistake right away.
In reallity, this series has 86 episodes and after episode 86 it begins the new series, Pokemon Best Whishes S2.

Thanks for your time
FrankTobar

Here Comes another great Series, Best Wishes is the Best Series of All. Because of it's Good Animation and it's Fighting Scene's is One of the Best too.. When Diamond and Pearl Stop's I Thought Pokemon will Stop their Production, then Best Wishes was Release im so happy when i saw the new animation The New 3D Graphics make it even more lively and Colorful Surroundings. well what i only hate in Pokemon is that Ash didn't Age jeez.. how many Months or Years is he traveling and He Looks Much younger in Best Wishes (Maybe Because of the New Animation) Season 1 up to ... Season 15 Ash is Still 10 Jeez.! and also the Story is the same with Indigo League up to Diamond and Pearl Ash (Satoshi) Claims to Become a Pokemon Master with his Partner Pikachu and Along with his Traveling Companions: Misty (Kasumi),Brock (Takeshi),May (Haruka),Max (Masato),Dawn (Hikari),Iris and Cilan (Dent). Traveling Across The Pokemon World With These Regions Kanto,Orange Islands,Johto,Hoenn,Sinnoh and Unova.

Basically, for Pokemon: Best Wishes is wonderful.

Certainly if you come in already having seen a bit, maybe some as a kid, it's going to be a really nice surprise. Otherwise it's obviously not a top-of-the-line anime, but it never once tries to be. Mostly it's just a big load of fun.

Characters, in particular, are wonderful. As well as Iris and Cilan, who are both absolutely the best the entire anime has had to offer in terms of endearment (rivalling with Misty!), for the first time ever, there are fun supporting characters, too. They come a little bit late into the game, but this is pretty ... much a show that keeps getting better, so expect that all round.

The Pokemon especially are just great characters, with real warmth and fun. I was already a fan of the BW Pokemon, but pretty much all the ones I was unimpressed with have completely won me over through the anime. I can't believe that once upon a time, I didn't care for Axew at all. Believe me. That will change.

The dub is the best it's ever been. Music changes are still around, but usually make sense, and Pokemon characters like Snivy, Axew, Emolga, Scraggy & more are just given more charm. Team Rocket's weird, but whatever. It feels like the show's given up on them a bit too, and they're really just vague extras providing a bit of contrast now and again. They still have their place, it's just deservedly small.

Everything is surprisingly well paced - 'filler' episodes are fun, gym battles aren't always predictable: the only one I found a bit dull was Burgh. Unfortunately there's one major pacing flaw - the gap between Burgh and Elesa's gyms is ridiculously large, and there the series lags. But no real worry if you don't get impatient.

Stick around for Snivy, Emolga, Excadrill, and supporting characters Burgundy and Georgia - and the sincerely heartwarming Battle Club. The show probably isn't for you if you go in expecting genuinely well-produced anime with a deep story and tragic characters: but why would you? At being Pokemon, Pokemon is the best. And that's still pretty great.

Well, Pokemon always has the Same Storyline but it's still Great. The New 3D Graphics is the New Additional in Pokemon Best Wishes. The only thing i h8 in this Anime is that Ash is still 10 What the Heck 14 Seasons Have passed and still 10 jeez..