Still watching?

[mr_pikachu]

It goes without saying that Pokémon has been around for a little while. For years, watching the anime was part of my weekly routine, but amidst various other obligations (as well as some disappointment over the Unova arc), I started to fall off the bandwagon. I'd still like to catch up when I have a chance, though, even if I am a decade out of date at this point.

Are others here still keeping up with Pokémon? If you are, then in your opinion, how do recent seasons and movies compare with the earlier ones? Speaking as someone with numerous fond memories of classic episodes, I'd love to get a sense of how the more recent content compares.

[Mikachu Yukitatsu]

To be honest, I don't follow the anime anymore, per se. I don't even know if it's on Finnish TV right now. I do have Netflix though, but, to be blunt, I detest their language policy when it comes to Pokemon. They have had all those animes from Code Geass to Kakegurui in Japanese but Pokemon has to be in European languages only.

The newest season I watched through was XYZ from Japanese DVDs and I recommend the original version for anybody who hasn't seen it. It's very dramatic and shonen-esque, particularly the last 20 episodes are very interesting and the last opening is catchy and sounds if not just like, then almost like Heavy Metal.

That being said, I haven't watched a single Alola episode because I have seen how they draw the characters and I honestly don't like the style. To end this post to a positive note, I must mention I was finally able to watch through the Orange League during the coronavirus lockdown. The very same season Finland skipped way back in 2001.

[mr_pikachu]

That being said, I haven't watched a single Alola episode because I have seen how they draw the characters and I honestly don't like the style.

Thank you. Every time I've seen a picture from Alola, I've done a double-take, as it just doesn't look right to me. Was there some reason why they changed the art style? It doesn't seem like that was necessary, and I have a hard time believing that anyone was clamoring for such a change. (I haven't checked yet, so sorry for the uninformed comment, but I'm kind of hoping that later seasons reverted the art style to something resembling its earlier form.)

As for the Orange Islands, I really enjoyed that region, and I always questioned why it was never in the games... never mind the fact that the anime arcs always followed the games rather than vice-versa. The two-episode battle at the end of the season still gives me chills. (For that matter, I even enjoyed how the Orange Islands were depicted in the latter portion of the Electric Tale of Pikachu manga series, and in my opinion, the climactic moment of the last battle was even better in that version.)

[Fett One]

I still watch the show. Admittedly, I watch more out of habit than any real desire to see the show continue. I'm usually doing other things while the show is on in the background.

I am impressed with the team lineup that Ash has this season. They gave him a Dragonite, Gengar, Dracovish, Sir'fetched, and Lucario. Given that three of them are from older generations, I never expected to see them on Ash's team.

[Mikachu Yukitatsu]

I really can't see and don't know why they changed the art style. And it's not just how they drew Ash and friends, in XYZ, you see a more grown-up Ash who has learned from his mistakes, while Sun and Moon seems flatten it all to a blatant attempt of a slapstick comedy.

When I became a mod in Anime and Manga forum, I felt obliged to catch up with the anime for a little while. However, I never took action and like with you Fett One, it might just be an old habit rather than desire. Multitasking while watching an anime isn't my cup of tea though.

[mr_pikachu]

Good lord, that's an absurdly strong team. Apparently Ash has come a long way since the "Charizard won't listen" days....

Mikachu, I agree that I'm not a big fan of multitasking during anime; I'm usually more inclined to treat it as a special occasion and focus all of my attention on what I'm viewing. It occurs to me, though, that I doubt I'll ever catch up with Pokémon if I have to carve out dedicated time for each individual episode, so I might wind up trying Fett's multitasking approach. In the end, half-watching would at least be better than not watching at all.

[Drago]

I only got a little into Johto before packing it in. I wouldn't mind starting from episode 1 again someday.