Basing on what i saw so far im liking Best Wishes.It may not be my favorite series but they are definitely one of better ones providing me some laughs and entertaining moments.
Chemistry between Ash,Cilan and Iris is pretty good with clashes between Iris and Ash,dissidence between Iris and Cilan about science and mutual respect and admiration prevailing between Cilan and Ash allowing for some great interacting.Even though i still prefer original trio dynamic both in Kanto and Johto having that colorful chemistry of tension,support and humor containing certain charm which i cant get from current group i feel BW trio feels like a big step forward from DP dynamic we received.
Ash is good character as always liking his mix of maturity and impulsiveness.I also like that he tried new concept starting to rotate pokemon which provides him with more variety to choose from when battling gym leaders or other trainers.
Iris is good character with me.
Her hyperactive and calm side with her wild attitude and bratty behavior works well within group providing humor and interesting character interaction.Her capability of taking things on her own while being little wild,being already somewhat experienced as trainer and back-story which still leaves us with lot of unanswered questions makes her a very compelling and complete character imo.Pokemon team from somewhat stubborn Emolga,insecure Axew and one hell of a hitter in form of Excadrill is also something which i like about her.
Cilan is so so.I like his personality seeming like well rounded character liking his arrogance and tendency to tease along with showing his caring side and admiration for Ash strategy and bonding he achieves with his pokemon.His career of being pokemon connoisseur is nice addition too wit there existing benchmarks through which his knowledge and skills can be measured.
Team Rocket becoming more competent and actually threatening is definitely one of best refreshing changes we had in years with Jessie and Jams new role being given by Giovanni making them actually competent for a change instead of being treated like punching bags all the time.Plot twist with Meowth joining twerps was also something unexpected and i have to applaud writers for creativity to pull of his joining as trick which served purpose to contribute to TR plan.
Gyms were good more or less so far and one of things i like about Best Wishes is inclusion of Don George tournaments which gives opportunity for other characters beside Ash to shine and receive some much needed spotlight.
That being said when it comes to rivalries Bianca seems promising liking her ditzy and eccentric personality having tendency to often rush in things without thinking and im grateful Ash finally received female rival.Although her lack of development and constant loses are starting to be disappointing and if this tempo continues she might end up as nothing more than joke rival which would be a real shame because she has potential to actually become competent and decent opponent to Ash.
Langley is good rival liking her clashes with Iris and arguing and im definitely interested in seeing how will that rivalry between them continue on.Same for Cilan and Cabernet which seems to be in inferior position(doesnt happen very often with things usually being other way around when it comes to rivals)playing role of trying to catch up with Cilan skill .
On negative side:im not too keen on BW series trying to act like some sort of Kanto rehash failing to deliver feeling of going back to basics which would make more sense if original trio was reunited imo.
Another flaw is lack of references to older regions and characters like Misty,May,Tracey etc. being as usual ignored and neglected .
Pacing is more or less pretty bad at this point with gaps between gyms being unstable following Kanto formula of group reaching next town in matter of few episodes which left Ash at this point with half of required material to qualify for league.Unless Unova slows down this will be one of fastest long regions in history causing consequence on many characters ending up neglected and underdeveloped.
Trip seems too one dimensional for my taste not having much of appeal being rather step down from Paul.His battling skills are rather sub par,he isnt fleshed out as character to justify his level of strength and his paranoid fear from anyone coming from kanto with no explanation or justification being present behind it isnt helping his case either making him xenophobe.
All in all im on one hand pleased with Best Wishes to certain extent but i also feel there is lot of potential being wasted so far in it.
I don't see how the same 3 people can suddenly lose the chemistry they had, but yes, if it helps you sleep at night, when I think 'original trio chemistry' I have Kanto in my mind.
Sometimes i wonder when was last time he watched Johto.This region had several things being treated poorly but chemistry between original trio was among Johto highlights.Ash,Misty and Brock in Johto still actually felt like genuine group of friends having good chemistry and several memorable moments.They felt like group which knew themselves having their principles,certain spark and great dynamic with their personalities mixing very well.Many people thought dynamic between them was one of best both in Kanto and Johto.
What this group needed in Johto was more screen time which hampered chance to see them shine and interact more,but they still had chemistry which can be noticed in several episodes with their personalities meshing well.