- So we kick things off with the Zarude's anthem (?) about how they bully other pokémon to look cool;
- So many wild Zarude and we can't catch those in the game. Thanks, Game Freak;
- The Zarude are talking. Probably pokémon speak translated for viewer's convience;
- Zarude swings the trips by using Vine Whip Scarlet Spider's style;
- For a male, baby Koko looks like a girl;
- What's up with all those bishounen as of lately?;
- Ah, there's the mandatory slapstick that Simon Benett said does so well with test audience of children;
- Guess baby Koko used butt toxic on Zarude... And it's super effective;
- The other Zarude got scared out when baby Koko sneezed... Well nowadays, it's the sort of thing that's supposed to scare you!;
- That other Zarude being pissed with the one who is the star of the movie was a bit too pissed with the other going to be a parent. C'mon, Yajima, only the few of the few fujoishi who ship pokémon will find that appealing!;
- So... Zarude did try tracking down Koko's family, finds out what's obviously the place where they used to be before the very obvious death yet keeps the child;
- Kind of weird Zarude didn't... You know, just let Koko on the doorstep of some human family? Granted, the idea is "he got used/attached to the kid" yet it's kinda weird they didn't toss that possibility;
- Now for the actual protagonist of this thing: Ash and Pikachu;
- So Ash didn't let Delia hanging the way the trailers made it seem like;
- I like that little exchange. It's rare seeing them interacting that way. Actually, I don't even recall Delia looking so distressed and worried over Ash in the show like... Ever;
- Koko's voice actress doesn't even try to hide he's a girl... It's distracting hearing "??" (son) and hearing what's clearly a woman's voice;
- Ash tries to catch... A Cramorant? Of all things, man...;
- There goes Pikachu's explorer hat. Lasted just enough to justify the tie-in plushie;
- There's the TR quota for the movie. I just... Can't get used to Jessie's outfit. Not having the sleeves on the upper part of her arms is so weird... It looks she just pieced scrap together or something...;
- Now, Ash tries to get a Flapple. Guess that Ash IS allowed to be interested on catching anything he seens in a Goh-less universe;
- And for the mandatory Shokotan-voiced character. Hope she is actually useful for something...;
- Whenever I see a Seedot I remember that filler from WAAAAY back on Hoenn when Ash and co found Birch... And then he does that weird number of imitating a Seedot. Seedot's voice sound so... Earworm/memetic I keep remembering and even repeating it from time to time (I'm a weirdo!);
- A human going up against a pokémon. Now that's some Shonen Jump spirit right there;
- Darn, I mixed the wild Zarude with "dada". Guess the cape is all about making sure we can distinguish who's who;
- Guess that wild Swovet is the same baby!Koko "got" during the single dad segment? Can I joke about being it being the weird cousin? (Step-mom would be too cheap and obvious even if possible in a universe that allows hot skittys on Wailord action);
- Guess they cut the scene of Ash seeing the falling kid and jumping to his rescue;
- I can buy Meowth's disguise... But what about Wobbuffet's? Why does it even need a disguise?;
- Soooo... Who's gonna pay for all the damage Koko's doing?;
- You know, if that trainer's Dreadnaw gets scared and willing to run away aimslessly so easily... Shouldn't it just be on its pokéball?;
- Guess Ash's allowance only allows him to get a shirt and pants... C'mon, Ash buy this kid some shoes... Or just have a scene of Koko ditching those;
- The bit with the pokémon dancing... They really should've used the Maximizers. C'mon, gotta do more to fit the SwSh promotion quota!;
- That Cinderace reminds me a lot of Goh's. Wonder if it's a visual nod even if it's not the same?;
- And what kind of trainer puts a Ferrothorn against a Cinderace? Is this Ash thing widespread in the SUPERIOR universe?;
- Hey look, a background cameo of the New Pokémon Snap characters;
- Look at all those Falinks separated... Funny watching this in the same week the TV show is having a Falinks episode;
- You gotta love how Ash doesn't judge nor acts weird with Koko clearly being unable to talk or walk like a human. That's classic Ash right there;
- So they bring up that whole game lore thing about pokémon eggs being things Celebi brought from the future. C'mon, in the internet age it's highly unlikely kids will fall on myths like storks, or honeys and bees;
- Hearing all those "zaza" made me remember of Wolzard (from Magiranger) doing his spells;
- The movie promotion hyped Zarude so much... Then they tried to promote Galar with stuff like the Cramorant or Ash playing with Falinks... But screw that, that Skwovet is the stand out/breakout star of this movie;
- Pikachu looks at the photo and says "pipi". The way he did... Wonder if the brazilian dub will censor it 'cause that's a slang for the... uh... masculine reproductive organ (but then so is part of his freaking name except the other slang form uses a "c" but I digress);
- If they weren't so deadset on being evil, TR would make terrific undercover police officers/secret agents;
- Now... We finally get the one scene that made the news.... Ash finally mentions his dad... As we've been told it's as uncerimonious and casual as we've been told but it's interesting seeing it be delivered specially when you are hearing it with Rika Matsumoto's voice. Interesting how he mentions it. I still think it should've been better if he just mentions stuff Delia told him. It'd make more sense and tie in with their earlier scene;
- I dunno, I still like to cling on the version of Ash's father as told by Takeshi Shudo in those anime novelizations. I dunno... People says it's dark but I'd just call it "sober". Some dads are deadbeat and completly uncaring but that shouldn't prevent kids from growing to be unlike them. Ash could symbolize that fairly well;
- But then, maybe that old idea can still work and maybe Ash just came to outgrow it? Stuff like his words of motivation to Ash are something he sees as good advice?;
- Still weird not doing more with that... Not even a simple flashback with a shadowed figure? Weird they go all the way to mention such enigmatic figure - elusive enough that just this exchange was brought up on japanese interviews about the movie - yet don't try to delve a bit more into it? I mean, show even a still image or two wouldn't take away the focus on Koko's and Zarude's father-son bond;
- Actually, seeing Ash's conclusion about how it's usual for kids fighting with their parents, but everything get ok later and THEN being all deep with "family are something mysterious, right?" seems like the kind of thing someone would say after a lot of thought and soul searching... So I guess Shudo's idea for Ash's dad could still work here after all... Ash just outgrew any sort of ill-feelings he might have beared....;
- The joke about Team Rocket not having slept would have worked better if someone spotted them, they tried to say they were just working and then the person leaves as he/she says to him/herself "Man, those guys are very hard-working people!";
- I love how Ash is so casual and normal saying "well, he grew with pokémon so he doesn't speak our language". C'mon, Ash not everyone is so accepting lol;
- I still adore him for being that way;
- Interesting the clash of versions. Here they clearly talk about the death of Koko's parents... And here we see how Ash is fully aware and understanding of those matters to the point he tries to politely explain it to Koko. Quite a contrast from what SM pulled with Stoutland's death. Not that one are better than the other but it's still interesting seeing two different versions of Ash having different views from what's essentially the same thing;
- That Skwovet is such a fine character. It could've easily be a lead in the anime...;
- Gotta love how Yajima made the derp com early route pokémon so charismatic... Bunnelby, Skwovet...;
- The chief researcher is a bad guy... To the surprise of nobody;
- Why do they use those big mecha bot things when they've just used a pokémon? I get it's the way of making a distinction between the bad guys and the good ones but still;
- They do have pokémon after all...;
- I'm impressed everyone else is just fine with tying two kids and locking them in a carrier. While still tied. No one thinks that's kind of sketchy? I guess that Japan indocrinates people to respect your superiors but enough is enough...;
- I like this movie TR actually got to contribute to the plot;
- I wonder if James' head being swallowed by that Cramorant is a hint he'd have one if Yajima did a SwSh series;
- About time the researchers figure out their boss is crazy;
- He... Pratically recorded proof he is crazy? Like... Why he'd do that? Why keep those files for so long?;
- They... Actually showed how Koko's real parents died... That was a dark one, Pokémon;
- Dada Zarude with-no-sandstorm actually begs the other pokémon to help out;
- He even appeals to some of them's ego like Ninjask being the fastest lol;
- Ash turned his hat backwards! Time for some serious business;
- Though it bothers me Ash doesn't use other pokémon. He has to have some. C'mon, there's no companion anymore but at least show what AU Ash besides Pikachu and the Charizard from ICY!;
- I don't have a problem with Koko randomly using Jungle Healing... Considering how it's been showed, it seems to be a move that draws the power of nature and channel it to cure. So since he grew in the forest, Koko could get in tune with nature thus tap on this power. Assuming they work with the idea of guardian spirits, maybe they judged Koko's cause worthy. But if you want a more nature-oriented theme, the other explanation works too. I see it as kind of how Saint Seiya worked the idea of cosmo and the "seven senses". It was something humans were born with but as humanity evolved it went unused for so long they had to make effort to tap into it;
- That scene was cool. Specially how Pikachu used his tail as freaking sword. Suck it, Zacian! Good old Pikachu is still the best;
- Koko hugged Ash... I... Think it's first time I see someone doing that to him;
- So... Koko decides to do a journey of his own... Strange... One would think he'd join with Ash... Either way, Koko doesn't seem like he'd follow on a normal kid journey;
- Wow, he really went after Ash. Guess he'll be a sort-of companion like Sorrel and Verity? Even if we won't see more since movie's about to end;
- Guess not. Either they go the same way or not lol;
- Kind of mixed with that ending though... I get what they are going for but I dunno... Felt a bit... Extra?;
- I love Ash calls on Delia just for the sake of seeing her... Which makes the fact Yajima pulled a reference to Ash even weirder... What's the point of having Ash compare Koko's dad to his own when it's clear his bigger attachment is with Delia? Heck, it works even better if he just compared Koko's situation then with his relationship with his mother;
- At the last second they finally put Celebi on it. Honestly, I like Lugia's role on Power of Us better;
- Skwovet and Cramorant dancing ending. I... like it;
- ... Dancing doesn't fit the music though.
Overall, solid movie. I wish I could say it was extraordinary and out of this world. I really want to love it so much since I have a big soft spot for adoption stories but... I dunno... It works. It's not bad or average, but putting into numbers it's like an 8 out of 10. Not a bad grade but close to the best section.
The clear Tarzan homage doesn't bother me. It worked for the theme they wanted to use and the pokémon they have sell promote and sometimes it's better do "obvious" than try to subvert convention and come up with a convoluted story.
Once again, Yajima keeps his way of using Ash as a catalyst for the featured character's growth. I like this theme because since because they can only advance up to a certain point, it's way better using his strong points as a catalyst for other people's growth. I can see why it's not a favorite take for some but I don't mind they taking that route with him.
TR's usage here was really good. I think I haven't seen such a natural inclusion of them here since the Lugia movie. They are involved with the plot rather than just being there so they can say Hayashibara, Miki and Inuyama are here which is just how we should treat the characters.
The movie's pacing is fantastic. Aside the epilogue (will get to it in soon) everything went on very smoothly to the point I don't feel it drags and overstays its welcome nor it just overly rushed with them wanting to pack so much. I'd say the smaller cast certainly helped here.
My main issue with the movie is that the lead in to Koko deciding to leave his nest in the end felt... A bit throw-in? I can see where they are going for but... It doesn't work much with the message. I think it'd work better if it played in the ending with a little montage of suggesting after some time he decided to leave his lot. I mean, yeah, the anime theme is about leaving your nest and growing up in this wide world but I feel like it was adding way too much sauce on something that had enough already. You don't really need that scene to complement the theme of the movie. I feel like a better closure would be the Zarude coexisting with the humans and we see Koko is learning human language with the doc chick with Shokotan's voice or something. Like, he can barely speak human and now roams around spreading the word? They focused so much on the family bond then pull a separation all of sudden. I get Japan's culture has this whole thing of growing up early and not having to rely on/burden others but... It feels like the kind of development more adequate for sequels. There's doing enough and there's doing too much.
Also, Ash's non Pikachu pokémon remain being Copperajahs in the room. I get it's easier and more simple just having him using his ace/starter but I dunno... It wouldn't hurt show something else even if it's a pokémon his main universe counterpart had. Granted, you could write it off as Ash doing things like his new region journeys, ditching the old team and taking only Pikachu, but there's so many times you can do that it becomes repetitive. It's the one thing I missed from previous movies. Even if they didn't appear every time we've been showed they existed. I highly doubt showing he has a Charizard or a Heracross would hurt. Greninja would be the kind that could create questions but even a Donphan would have worked really.
Either way, it's still a very serviceable movie. A few things prevent it from being truly extraordinary but it's very good and a sign the AU is going the right route.