Starting with the elephant in the room: yes, Sun and Moon’s artstyle departs from the rigid, 90’s-inspiring designs that I and so many other grew up on. Yes, it takes a while to get used to Ash’s squishy, five-year-old design, especially if you're a fan of the preceding Pokémon XY series. But I promise that Sun and Moon is really special among the Pokémon anime entries, if you’re willing to give it a shot.
First of all, Sun and Moon is by far the most “anime” of the Pokémon generations, which I think adds to its charm. With Ash attending school, the anime gets to dive into slice-of-life. The static setting allows the anime to flesh out a larger ensemble cast, and to great success for the most part (even the Pokémon get more personality than in some previous generations). The squishy, simplified artstyle allows Studio OLM to really shine when it comes to animations (though admittedly, they go a bit too hard on the comedic art to me, particularly in the first part of the series). The Z-move routines feel like the most anime thing to come out of Pokémon yet, and the Sentai anime references in the Ultra Guardians arcs make me crack up every time. But if Pokémon battles and Ash’s ‘never’-ending quest to be the very best are what have attracted you to the anime, those are still there. Yes, Ash feels a little more directionless in this generation, and he doesn’t battle as much as he usually does, but it’s clear that he still has all of his trainer chops, and the battles, while generally brief, are still lots of fun.
The increased character focus on a larger ensemble cast is coupled with much longer, concentrated story arcs that are rare to previous generations. This is seen most in Lillie, whose mother Lusamine runs the company that is critical to several arcs, and whose brother Gladion becomes Ash’s main rival (and whose father… well, that’s a Pokémon Journeys debacle). The connections that Lillie and her family have to Ash, as well as to each other, allow you to get really invested in them, particularly when they develop in leaps and bounds as Lillie does. It also makes the world feel large yet interconnected in a way that previous generations haven’t. Ash still gets to be a ‘chosen one,’ as he is so frequently in the movies, but he also is peripheral to some of Sun and Moon’s largest plot developments. It makes Sun and Moon feel homey and family oriented, yet still epic when it needs to be.
It’s also worth noting that Sun and Moon takes risks compared to other generations of the anime, and not just in the artstyle. Sun and Moon has character death, abduction, marriage, and a lot of other not-very-Pokémon-y things, including Ash’s first (SPOILER, but come on, you already know this) league victory. In general, Sun and Moon takes risks to present something new and exciting, and for the most part, I think those risks pay off.
Of course, Sun and Moon is far from perfect. A lot of characters don’t get nearly the amount of character development they deserve (cough, Mallow), if they get development at all (cough, Sophocles). I love the way that Sun and Moon sets the standard for recurring professor characters, but I’m pretty sure we all only love Kukui and not Samson Oak. The Ultra Guardians arcs, while great on paper and memorable for the memes, were mostly wasted opportunities. Gladion, while being an adorably edgy goodboi, doesn’t force Ash to actually develop as rivals like Paul have done in the past… and of course, the filler runs rampant. Then again, no one expects any Pokémon anime to be peak fiction, and these are all flaws that previous generations of the anime have dealt with themselves.
I honestly believe that Sun and Moon has some of the best that Pokémon anime has to offer. If you have ever liked any part of Pokémon, please give Sun and Moon a try, and PLEASE watch it in sub because the score is far better than what the dub comes up with, particularly in the emotional scenes.
