Slaking Kong! (455)

[CyberCubed]

But Scooby-Doo? Not this time, Gadget!

I'm getting a little bored with Pokemon's animation. Yeah, I know what you're thinking guys, "Getting bored? Where have you been?" But it's high time they started to step up to the plate. Why do we have to put up with only one or two episodes with great animation? Let's see that the whole way through. Weekly basis or not, there's more to animation than walking, running, and mouth flaps. Heck, the gang must suffer from the worst case of pit sweat ever seen.

Next week's preview wasn't spectacular either. Things are so cut and dry.

Well as you said, animating a new episode for practically every week for the entire year with only a one week break has got to be taxing.

If Pokemon only had 2 new episodes a month or something, then yeah, I'd expect stellar animation in each new episode. But c'mon, we know these guys are stressed. Writing, storyboarding, and animating new episodes on a weekly basis? These guys don't get any time off!

By that, it's no surprise that the writing or animation takes plunges during certain weeks, because they're almost slaves to the series. After watching this new episode, makes me imagine a bunch of Japanese men being whipped by a ton of Aipom to churn out a new ep every week.

Anyway, this episode rocked. Pictures don't do it justice, I loved it. Pretty much a split Ash/May spotlight episode, since they both had major parts devoted to them due to their hat/ribbons being stolen.

 

[Missingno. Master]

Yeah, I hope Aipom becomes the next Jigglypuff/Snubbull/Delibird/Loudred.

OFFTOPIC; I made 2 other posts in this thread and now they're both gone. WTF happened here?

 

[Torkoal Stu]

Was I the only one who thought the Aipom wearing Ash's hat looked too much like the older Pichu bro? o_o

Yeah, I hope Aipom becomes the next Jigglypuff/Snubbull/Delibird/Loudred.

Can Loudred really count? It was in it for like what 2 episodes? And only in Dewford, IMO Spoink is a better example of Jigglypuff than Loudred since Spoink showed up in TWO DIFFERENT places while Loudred was only on Dewford, also no the Exploud Loudred and the Loudred from the Jiggly episode were not the one from Dewford.

But Jiggly, Snubbull and Delibird are unable to be argued against due to their constant poping up, not as much for Delibird though.

OMG more Anime mis-sizing, Slaking looked waaaay smaller than Norman's, maybe it was to seem like the Giant Slaking Robot was bigger?

 

[V Faction]

Well as you said, animating a new episode for practically every week for the entire year with only a one week break has got to be taxing.

If Pokemon only had 2 new episodes a month or something, then yeah, I'd expect stellar animation in each new episode. But c'mon, we know these guys are stressed. Writing, storyboarding, and animating new episodes on a weekly basis? These guys don't get any time off!

By that, it's no surprise that the writing or animation takes plunges during certain weeks, because they're almost slaves to the series. After watching this new episode, makes me imagine a bunch of Japanese men being whipped by a ton of Aipom to churn out a new ep every week.

Other anime's do it no problem and their animation is at least a step up above Pokemon's. That's what I'm trying to get at: that there isn't (or shouldn't) be any restrictions on the quality of the episodes' animation other than the direction of the animators themselves.

Digital art to work with? It's there. A high following of interest? You bet; Pokemon is a super popular series, both on and off the anime. Episodes of anime get brought out every week for a number of series out there. What's stopping Pokemon from matching Naruto or One Piece?

Even the style seems flat, but that could be just simple mimicry of the Pokemon art style itself. That can't excuse the absence of expression and liveliness in animation, though. And that all kind of ties into the episode. Why can't we see Slaking accidentally fall asleep. Where's May's cute sheepishness? Did Max stop being a know-it-all brainer? What's stopping them from having James being dashing or Ash being headstrong or putting some effort into how funny a character can act? That's what I'd like to see... Something that reminds us that these characters aren't just pieces of cardboard.

 

[Squirtlefan1]

Well there is a future episode called Aipom and the King revealed by Serebii today which may include the one that took Ash's hat which is when one of the group may capture.

 

[Addydo]

Saw the episode Pics. I was disappointed that the Giant Slaking turned out to be a TR Robot. The normal size Slaking looked a bit to small an thin, compared to Norman's. Other than that I liked it. Also, Aipom looks like a great Pokemon for Ash; I sure hope he catches it in that one episode after the GF!

 

[HoennMaster]

I was disappointed that the Giant Slaking turned out to be a TR Robot.

As was I. I was hoping for a true giant pokemon like Claydol from Izabe Island. Anyway, It turned out to be a good episode besides that.

 

[Yamato-san]

And I'm no Advanceshipper, but I'd sure as hell take it over Pokeshipping and Contestshipping. To my friends CyberCubed, Dark Wobbuffet, and various other Advanceshippers, I'll be rooting for you with this episode. May Satoshi (or his Jukain/Oosubame under his control) be the one to save Haruka from falling to her death and not Takeshi/filler dude.

[watches Haruka get saved by Jukain] YAY! ^^

Sweet, they played that b*tchin' music from Ariados's Scary Face appeal in this episode (it was during the first scene at the gate, I think). Speaking of music, this episode also featured a pretty spiffy instrumental of "Spurt!"... but then Symphonic Medley played near the end (I knew that song was getting to be over-used -_-).

Is it just me, or when Haruka opened her Ribbon Case at the episode, it made the same sound effect as a Monster Ball expanding (if it did that before, I certainly never noticed)? Why the hell does that case have to sound like an electronic?

V Faction, I can agree with you on the animation. When they're walking at the beginning of the episode, I swear, in some scenes, it almost felt like they were some cut-outs glued to popcicle sticks with someone just bouncing them up and down to give the impression of walking. In this day and age where computers make everything easier, there's really no excuse that the good animation comes once in a blue moon, especially when you gave examples of other long-running series that do use high-quality stuff week after week (BTW, you forgot Bleach, which f***ing owns your soul).

 

[Feity]

Hmm, needs more fog.

Naw, just kidding. Looks for now like Aipoms gonna be a follower, or maybe he'll be like Spoink and just show up again.

 

[ghost master]

[watches Haruka get saved by Jukain] YAY! ^^

I totally called that one.

The episode was ok not the best in the world but it was alright. Now lets wait another 2 weeks for the GF to start.

 

[Blaziken master]

It was great to hear a lyricless version of the current theme, it really spiced up the action.I loved the part where swellow collided wiith the slaking robot.

 

[V Faction]

[watches Haruka get saved by Jukain] YAY! ^^

One of the coolest things about the episode.

Is it just me, or when Haruka opened her Ribbon Case at the episode, it made the same sound effect as a Monster Ball expanding (if it did that before, I certainly never noticed)? Why the hell does that case have to sound like an electronic?

Since I can't remember too well, was the new one always like that? The case is rather gimmicky when her previous one was suitable enough.

(BTW, you forgot Bleach, which f***ing owns your soul).

I did, didn't I.

 

[The Great Butler]

I'm rather sick of Sceptile >_> Other than that, great episode. The Aipoms were utterly adorable, and Slakong being a TR Mecha was definitely a surprise.

 

[Gravy]

I'm glad I didn't get my hopes up too high for this one, as quite frankly, it was rather boring.

I don't know about anyone else, but Slaking being another of Team Rocket's robotic contraptions ruined it for me. There were so many different paths they could have taken with that beast, but they just HAD to whittle their choices down to Boring Avenue and Generic Boulevard. Why not an overly passionate Slaking, or an insanely powerful, yet comically incompetant bum? WHY NOT A SLAKING THAT ACTUALLY ACTS LIKE SLAKING?!
Even driving away from Slaking Kong's personallity, we could have had some other interesting developments in it's place. How about one of Ash's team facing off against the collosal fiend and using their height difference to their advantage for example.

It's the kind of situation that makes you want to rip the hair from your head, because with a set-up like this, there's a lot they could have accomplished.

The actual plot wasn't anything to write home about either. That little jaunt with the hat lovin' Aipiom was, for lack of a better word, pointless. I honestly didn't give a crap about the ape pokémon's plight, nor were any of the developments particulary interesting. Whoop-de-doo, the pokémon find out their god is a fake and Ash and company help 'em out. Big friggin' deal.
I'm afraid one or two cool moments like Sceptile rescuing Haruka and Wobbuffet in a wig don't make the episode any better.

...and why the hell was Vigoroth there? Come on, apart from the knuckle dragging arms, it doesn't look much like an ape at all.

Even the style seems flat, but that could be just simple mimicry of the Pokemon art style itself. That can't excuse the absence of expression and liveliness in animation, though. And that all kind of ties into the episode. Why can't we see Slaking accidentally fall asleep. Where's May's cute sheepishness? Did Max stop being a know-it-all brainer? What's stopping them from having James being dashing or Ash being headstrong or putting some effort into how funny a character can act? That's what I'd like to see... Something that reminds us that these characters aren't just pieces of cardboard.

Hole in One. Touchdown. Goal. Homerun. Bullseye.
In other words, I whole-heartedly agree. There's absolutly nothing stopping them from improving the overall quality of this show, as they most likely have the budget and resources to do so. It's a shame they consistantly insist on taking a 'if it ain't broke, dont fix it' approach to most episodes, as the way a show is animated can really effect the overall enjoyment of the show. I guess as long as it gets decent enough ratings, they have no motivation to really go the extra mile.

Though if I may say so, I thought Combusken's rotating Quick Attack and juggular peircing Sky Uppercut looked incredibly slick. Sh!t, that entire battle scene with Seviper was a saving grace. The quality kind of boosted for a whole 15 seconds (!!!) and then dropped again when stock-footage-James whipped out his Cacnea.

 

[Yamato-san]

even though the show's animation is still pretty lackluster, you must admit, the music seems to have taken a step in the right direction (read my previous comment on instrumental Spurt! and Ariados appeal BGM). Remember last year, when we were complaining about the music seeming too cartoony? But yeah, I can agree that this episode was pretty lackluster for the most part.

I don't know about anyone else, but Slaking being another of Team Rocket's robotic contraptions ruined it for me. There were so many different paths they could have taken with that beast, but they just HAD to whittle their choices down to Boring Avenue and Generic Boulevard. Why not an overly passionate Slaking, or an insanely powerful, yet comically incompetant bum? WHY NOT A SLAKING THAT ACTUALLY ACTS LIKE SLAKING?!
Even driving away from Slaking Kong's personallity, we could have had some other interesting developments in it's place. How about one of Ash's team facing off against the collosal fiend and using their height difference to their advantage for example.

come to think of it.... why the hell didn't they expand on the giant silhouette that Taylor (the filler guy) saw? If Kekking Kong's just a robot, then what the hell was that flashback all about? Just a little plot device that got dropped faster than the GS Ball? For that matter... is it just me, or did Taylor say "ichi nen mae" (one year ago) when talking about his encounter? Given how much younger he looks, there is no way in hell that could've been a year ago (if I'm getting the quote wrong, please correct me).

Oh, I forgot to say this in my last post, but... thank god the "Remembering Pokemon DX" is finally gone. That had to have been one of the more retarded parts of the already retarded Pokemon Trivia Quiz, and it was not worthy of the name "deluxe" ('specially when regular "Remembering Pokemon" actually seemed more complex). This new quiz they got actually doesn't seem that bad compared to most... though, to people like us fans, whom are very knowledgeable on each Pokemon and their types, it's still crap. I still await the day Orchid's Lectures make a comeback, but at least this is much less intelligence-insulting than that DX bulls***. We even get a change in background music (instrumental Pocketari Monstari).

 

[Korobooshi Kojiro]

Noooo! Taylor was the filler characters name, that is 2 letters away from my real name! Why won't they use Tyler for the COTD for once!

Anyway, okay episode, that Aipom is cute and I hope Ash catches it. I actually was surprised it was a robo-Slaking, no one saw that coming. Spurt BGM ROCKS!

 

[The Benmeister]

I would have to agree with the members who said that this episode could've had much more potential. And that's because it could have. In fact, the potential was there...but nothing happened to bring it out in the form of excitement. I was suprised that the giant Slaking was a mecha, but for most people that would either be a make or break point in this episode. Sadly, it was more of a break point than a make point.

The King Kong sequence wasn't even that long. It was like everything in it was stuffed into the preview and nothing else seemed to matter. I thought the episode might actually provide a decent King Kong spoof, but now I know not to make future similar errors like that again.

And small Slaking - how about no. They seemed very out of place.

Sceptile is very overshowcased, but it probably only appeared in this episode as it was the only thing big enough to catch May.

I, myself, preferred the Jessie and May rivalry over everything else in the episode. I really loved Jessie's evilness, and taunting May with her ribbon case *insert outrage from rabid May fan*. Of course, Jessie was doomed from the start, but at least we had a good Combusken vs. Seviper battle. In fact, Combusken got a lot of battle spotlight in this episode.

And despite the cuteness of the Aipoms, I don't see any relevance to the whole hat plot at all.

 

[Dreamcoat]

What about taking it easy with Slaking? Yes, I know it seems smaller than the one Norman owns, but try and stop for a moment and think about it.

It should be obvious for anyone with even the slightest amount of intelligence that this is one of the very few examples used to show that the PKMN in the animé are all different individuals and they are not all the same, just like it's the case for us humans.

 

[The Benmeister]

I'm focusing more on the fact that the small Slaking looked out of place more than anything else. They can be individual all they want, but that doesn't stop them looking slightly odd. In fact, they should've replaced them with Slakoth or Primeape since usually the 'head Pokemon' is one of a kind in that particular location. The Blastoise in Kanto comes to mind, as does the Venusaur, as does the...well, you get what I mean.

 

[S.Suikun]

I was wondering if we would ever hear that instrumental Spurt again. The only time we heard it before was in the preview for the Deoxys special. Is it me, or were there some seriously off-model faces in this episode? Regarding the normal Slaking being a bit small, I believe this was done by the same animation team that did the Smoochum episode, which featured some very stunted Jynxes.

Really, not much to say about this episode other than the Aipom plot being a possible foreshadow for the Aipom episode after the Grand Festival.