Showcase, Debut! (863)

[Andydemon]

I can't say I'm surprised Serena lost on her first time, but I personally would've been happier had she lost by a landslide to Shauna instead of being taken out early because of an accident. Maybe that's just what I've gotten used to after seeing it happen with May and Dawn. I know these aren't battles like in the Contests of old as much as I wish they were, but still.

And I was not expecting Serena to cut her hair like that. I had a Final Fantasy 9 and Tales of the Abyss flashback when that happened.

 

[Disaster_Lord]

Holy cow, she looks like Nia from Gurren Lagann now.

Cannot unsee...

 

[Eneci]

Think it was a solid episode. I like contests more than Showcases that is certain.

Serena's new outfit looked good, but I'm not a fan of the hair. Hope it grows back in a dozen of eps.

 

[Joltik-Kid]

Short hair all day everyday... Ugh, Serena might just top Dawn for cuteness D:

 

[jason0597]

Huh, well this was a surprise. Best episode in XY for me so far. Was really emotional.
The animation really stood out in that scene, and the music really contributed to the whole atmosphere.
A loss was expected, but for her to take it this seriously, a whole flashback and a remake? It introduced a lot of character development for her, wonderful.
On her new design, I'm impressed actually. The ribbon was also something to take note of. She does look a bit taller and, older/more mature?
Mushasi (Musabbi her fake name in Tripokalons) was really odd this time, no points at all.
And that judge? She came out of the blue, who is she?
Overall: 9/10

She reminds me of Bianca for some reason...

Spoiler

[img139]http://i.imgur.com/jBJz5gg.png[/img139][img139]http://i.imgur.com/KJ4nukM.jpg[/img139]

 

[Lorde]

Shauna winning has me all salty tbh. I liked Yashio though; she slayed, we're like long-lost sisters. The animation was gorgeous and the amount of development that Serena got was surprising imo. Overall, a decent start for Serena's goal.

 

[phanpycross]

Can we just take a moment to completely gush over the animation from this episode?

Everybody is going nuts over Clemont vs. Ash's animation, but like, that Serena crying scene, like Holy F*ck was that insanely pretty.

 

[Janovy]

Can we just take a moment to completely gush over the animation from this episode?

Everybody is going nuts over Clemont vs. Ash's animation, but like, that Serena crying scene, like Holy F*ck was that insanely pretty.

Agreed.

Also, the writers went for the obvious symbolism here: Serena cutting her hair as the sun was rising.

 

[sheepgoesmeep]

Serena's new look is great, in my opinion she's much cuter than before
It really is a shame that she lost, but I'm sure she'll learn from this and come back stronger because of it.

 

[Pokegirl Fan~]

I finally got around to watching the episode. Showcases look great imo. We finally get to see how they work and I'm really looking forward to more of these. Jessie being the 1st one eliminated made me laugh. I loved Shauna's performance, and I'm glad she won. I either wanted her or Serena to win, and having her win progresses her rivalry with Serena. Serena's performance was going great, until Fennekin tripped. That was an emotional part for me. The scene where she cut her hair was the most emotional and probably the best scene of the episode for me. I also like that Serena seems more determined and I can't wait to see her next showcase. Also the mysterious elderly woman is interesting, I wonder what role she'll have later on.
10/10

 

[Afrodisiac]

I'm so impressed. o_o

This episode was simply amazing, I haven't felt this kind of emotion for a Pokémon episode since AG, everything was top-notch, the animation, the drama, the heartbreaking haircut scene, I'm speechless. Yoshio's got me intrigued soo much. Serena looks amazing, better than her previous design.

The actual Tripokalon contest setting was good imo, but the perfect scenario would have been a Theme performance, Showcase then a 2v2 battle in the final rounds. However it is what it is and I enjoyed it overall.

 

[Citronic Gear On]

This episode more or less blew me away, especially the part where Serena broke down into tears on the dock. That whole scene was near-perfect — the music, the lighting, the flashback, the sincerity — but in a way it was also really tough to watch just because of how emotional it was. The Tripokalon was pretty interesting, and I got a good laugh out of Jessie's first "attempt" at winning one.

This is easily one of my favorite episodes of the anime in a long, long time. 9.5/10

 

[CodaX]

Absolutely love Serena's redesign. Her rapid character development as of late is really sucking me back in to the anime.

I think Showcases, while maybe not as compelling as contests, have potential to be amazing as we go on. We only got to see a little bit of the Coumarine Showcase, so it felt slightly rushed, but things will definitely heat up. Jessie and Pumpkaboo though <3

 

[Everlasting]

Powerful, powerful episode.

I drifted away from the Pokémon anime lately, but I was curious about how Serena, my favorite XY character, fared in her first Pokémon Showcase. I must say, when I read in the comments that Serena truly cut her hair (back when I last participated in the discussions on the forum, it was a heavy speculation), I was taken away. I had to watch it.

It was definitely worth it.
I've never been this emotional in a Pokémon episode since Dawn's Contests. It was breathtaking. The development was so real. I've been waiting a long time to get a Pokémon episode this good. Wow. And to think Ash did little to nothing in this one, I'm truly happy.
Seeing Serena cut her hair and change her clothes was definitely a surprise. But it just means she's ready for a new beginning. Such symbolism... That scene, where she was standing still, remembering everything she's been through in her life-changing journey was very emotional. And when she cried... I teared up a bit, too. It caught me.

I think I might hop in the Pokémon anime again, if episodes are to be this good once in a while. XY is definitely on the right track.
9,5/10.

 

[Mr. Reloaded]

Had it not been for the beard and the slightly different hair style, I would have mistaken the Tripokalon announcer with Sabo from One Piece lol.

Now the episode itself I thought was really damn good, like wow. I remember when people gave Serena s*** for Doing jack all for the first quarter of the series and to see her grow this way and even cut her hair as a sign of growth is great.
And with Braxien on the way I'm sure this going to be some of Serena's most memorable highlights. Wish Clemont would get some decent development.
9/10

 

[nameman]

And thus ends this Arc. Make no mistake about it friends: this was a story arc a la the Summer Camp/Korrina. This was a great episode, potentially one of the greats of the entire Anime depending on how things go from this point on. This was the true end of the Serena's Dream Search. That powerful, emotional scene at the pier could have easily been the point where Serena just gave up. Instead, she chose to keep at it. The elements of this episode have been spoken of, so all I'll say is I can't wait until XY064 to continue Serena's new storyline.

 

[nuzamaki90]

That crying scene, Jesus Christ. I could of sworn i was watching Pokemon, not Naruto.

I initially his away from the internet this morning because I didn't want to be spoiled at all. I wanted the same surprise factor everyone else got, and manwas it worth. I think the Tripokalon overall was pretty nice, so much tension over dressing up you're Pokemon made me laugh. I know for a fact Jessie got cheated out of the first found, because the mummy Pumpkaboo was amazing.

Serena losing to something so trivial as Fennekin tripping was just depressing, and seeing her cry touched my heart. That haircut scene so deep.

Overall, 10/10 episode for me, Pokemon needs more deep development episodes like this. New Serena is best girl.

 

[WaterShuriken]

I am pleasantly surprised. They managed to get something as bland as a beauty contest adapted very nicely in the Pokémon world. I enjoyed the audience's importance in the episode, however I hope that doesn't lead to obvious favoritism in the future. So I'm guessing that the themed performance was Beauty? It would explain why Jessie got no votes despite having an amazing costume for Pumpkaboo. Shauna winning was expected but she did it well. To lose because of such a small mistake is disappointing in anyone one does, I can see why Serena took it hard. I enjoyed that it was her Pokémon that motivated her instead of going the Ash-way. Serena is showing a realistic growth period since the beginning of the series. Sure, it took many episodes compared to the ones we have left, however she only has to win three showcases compared to five contests. I found her new design a bit off-putting at first but its growing on me slightly. The only thing that bugs me is the baggy space on the upper torso but its a minor nit pick.

 

[e9310103838]

The haircut is important because of the symbolism...I'm not an expert on Japanese culture but in terms of traditional Chinese culture, someone cuts their hair to show resolve whether it be towards a goal or to correct a mistake...it's a symbol meaning to forget the past and start anew...the haircut may as well symbolize Serena's resolve to succeed despite her loss with a redesign to go with it...it might seem trivial in the western culture but hair is a VERY big deal traditionally in Asian cultures...

About haircut culture, this most commonly used in the lovelorn in Asian, just add.;380;

 

[phanpycross]

As much **** as the pokemon anime gets, I cant find an anime where the crying is harder to watch, that scene legit hurt to watch IMO.

This episode kinda felt like the end of an era tbh, which is prolly what they went for.

Only gripe would be that her cutting her hair herself. For some reason that just seemed overly hardcore to me, and I was hoping Fennekin was gonna burn it off

Jesus christ XY has just been solid lately, makes me feel bad for the previous sagas tbh.

10/10.