Why doesnt Serena get a special episode?

[janejane6178]

She looked unique in both styles so I cant pick one =]

 

[Leonhart]

Tbh, even in XY(Z) I liked long hair Serena better, despite being very similar to her game counterpart. I know her new look was meant for her character development but there's some instances where she looked odd imo.

I agree, and after seeing how Kasumi's design turned out when she showed up in SM, I'm nervous about how SM's animation might butcher Serena's looks. Then again, as long as she comes back to fulfill an interesting role possibly involving Contests, the rest might not bug me as much.

 

[satopi]

I agree, and after seeing how Kasumi's design turned out when she showed up in SM, I'm nervous about how SM's animation might butcher Serena's looks. Then again, as long as she comes back to fulfill an interesting role possibly involving Contests, the rest might not bug me as much.

You're nervous about how she's drawn? Pfft, there's more important things to focus on and Kasumi looked fine. If you think fluid animation's gonna butcher her looks, you gotta get your eyes checked. The animation will enhance how she presents herself.

 

[Satomine Night]

I agree, and after seeing how Kasumi's design turned out when she showed up in SM, I'm nervous about how SM's animation might butcher Serena's looks. Then again, as long as she comes back to fulfill an interesting role possibly involving Contests, the rest might not bug me as much.

First off, you're confusing animation with art style. SM's animation is much more fluid than the animation of previous series, especially when it comes to the human characters, so the animation won't butcher any character's looks. (Of course, this doesn't include those times when the animation is intently "wonky" for humor's sake.)

IMHO, Misty looked great in the SM art style. Brock was the one who looked slightly...off, but that was because of his hair, which was drawn more "vertically" than it was in the OS-DP art style. The main difference between the SM art style and previous series' art styles is the softer, rounder lines. With Serena's character design being a little softer already, I don't think she will be butchered by SM's art style. In fact, I don't think she'll look that much different, to be honest.

 

[AznKei]

You're nervous about how she's drawn? Pfft, there's more important things to focus on and Kasumi looked fine. If you think fluid animation's gonna butcher her looks, you gotta get your eyes checked. The animation will enhance how she presents herself.

The animation didn't really matter if people didn't like the slaptick comedy and theme of this series, in which the artstyle blended into them. There's a reason why some people think that the XY Ash and SM Ash aren't the same person.

Personally, she looked fine to me too, despite only seeing her in 2 episodes.

 

[Satomine Night]

The animation didn't really matter if people didn't like the slaptick comedy and theme of this series, in which the artstyle blended into them. There's a reason why some people think that the XY Ash or before and SM Ash aren't the same person.

The comedic theme of the SM series is unrelated to the quality of the animation. The fact of the matter is that SM's animation is more fluid than the animation of previous series, especially when it comes to the human characters (who tended to be stiffly animated in previous series). In that regard, @satopi is right in that SM's animation isn't going to butcher Serena's looks. Whether the art style butchers Serena's looks is a matter of personal opinion, but better animation is not going to butcher a character.

 

[AznKei]

The comedic theme of the SM series is unrelated to the quality of the animation. The fact of the matter is that SM's animation is more fluid than the animation of previous series, especially when it comes to the human characters (who tended to be stiffly animated in previous series). In that regard, @satopi is right in that SM's animation isn't going to butcher Serena's looks. Whether the art style butchers Serena's looks is a matter of personal opinion, but better animation is not going to butcher a character.

Sorry, but I see the animation related to the artstyle, especially if we're taking account of the studio budget. They can't have XY artstyle, in which I believe is more detailed, with fluid/varied animations.

 

[Satomine Night]

Sorry, but I see the animation related to the artstyle, especially if we're taking account of the studio budget. They can't have XY artstyle, in which I believe is more detailed, with fluid/varied animations.

Of course art style and animation are related. A simpler art style allows for more detailed, more fluid animation. No artist or animator would deny that. That's probably why SM's art style is simpler than previous series' but its animation is more detailed and more fluid. XY's art style was more detailed, but that made it harder to make the animation fluid, and this was most noticeable with the human characters.

Not too long ago, I rewatched a few episodes of XY, and one of the first things I noticed was how stiff the animation seemed after watching SM for so long. Sure, the art style is more detailed, but again, as I said above, a detailed art style often comes at the price of fluid animation. XY hid that very well with dynamic camera angles and flashy effects, particularly in battles.

Stiff animation doesn't just mean the characters' movements are stiff. Stiff animation can also mean a lack of or limited movement. This is more the case with the Pokémon anime.

 

[satopi]

The animation didn't really matter if people didn't like the slaptick comedy and theme of this series, in which the artstyle blended into them. There's a reason why some people think that the XY Ash and SM Ash aren't the same person.

Personally, she looked fine to me too, despite only seeing her in 2 episodes.

Putting the genre aside, I specifically said that the animation will enhance how she presents herself, meaning that regardless of how she looks or what angle they want to use her in, the animation itself will visually show the viewers with how she's like in regards to her character. As I said before, look at Jessie. When I look at her now compared to other series, I can tell what kind of a person she is, and that's just by looking at her and observing her. Her conniving smile is shaped wickedly like a witch complimented with her natural sharp eyes screams "I'll steal from you and won't care." She gives off an air of arrogance and high self confidence, you can tell that she's a selfish character, concerned only for herself on most days. Now if Serena was in SM, they'll still make her cute like Misty but I don't know what "fears" people have for her showing up. Serena's looks are only skin deep (that's really the only "fear" I've been hearing about her returning in SM aside from being Amourshipping bait) and I doubt they'll neglect the opportunities to use her for comedy. Misty and Brock's (in character) antics were used for comedic effect but were still shown to be a threat when needed so if Serena does return, she will be in good hands.

@Satomine Night is right about the theme being irrelevant to the quality of the animation. If anything, she'll look the same.

Sorry, but I see the animation related to the artstyle, especially if we're taking account of the studio budget. They can't have XY artstyle, in which I believe is more detailed, with fluid/varied animations.

The XY artstyle may be detailed in terms of character design but I find SM to be subtly detailed. If you ever notice some scenes, the small details, aside from the over exaggerated facial expressions, are there yet ignored or brushed under the rug (or worse yet, picked apart of the more horrid in between scenes or mistakes like the recent scene of everyone enjoying the smell of Sweet Scent but only Pikachu looks deformed.)

 

[AznKei]

Of course art style and animation are related. A simpler art style allows for more detailed, more fluid animation. No artist or animator would deny that. That's probably why SM's art style is simpler than previous series' but its animation is more detailed and more fluid. XY's art style was more detailed, but that made it harder to make the animation fluid, and this was most noticeable with the human characters.

Not too long ago, I rewatched a few episodes of XY, and one of the first things I noticed was how stiff the animation seemed after watching SM for so long. Sure, the art style is more detailed, but again, as I said above, a detailed art style often comes at the price of fluid animation. XY hid that very well with dynamic camera angles and flashy effects, particularly in battles.

Stiff animation doesn't just mean the characters' movements are stiff. Stiff animation can also mean a lack of or limited movement. This is more the case with the Pokémon anime.

Like you said the dynamic camera angles happens particularly in battles, which doesn't happen frequently or they're brief in the series.

But anyways, it doesn't bother me if the XY(Z) characters looked stiff or the SM characters have those crazy expressions. And I might like the old style Serena better, but I do get used with with the new style. So they're not really my concerns.

What I care about the show regardless if it's SM or XY is that I wanted to see the companions spotlights, outside of Ash and Pikachu. The fact they pushed the latters alot is what disappointed me.

But I do understand that the changes between XY & SM are significant that it's hard for everyone to accept them, in which what my replies earlier are about.
And I don't think it's wise to judge people's preferences.

 

[satopi]

I think SM has been doing a pretty good job so far when it comes to the character spotlights. They have been putting Ash in supporting roles ala making him take a backseat in exchange for another character to shine like Lana. Even with cases like Mallow or Sophocles, Ash wasn't the one who outshined them. The episodes, mainly Mallow's were boring (not that I agree) or didn't give her another Pokémon/learn a new move despite at the end of the day, did progress her cooking goal. I think XY was doing fine with their character spotlights but 2 major problems were that 1. their goals weren't very appealing and 2. they were tied to Ash. Clemont was a great character up until his loss at the Lumiose City Gym where he got reduced to a background character, even his later character episodes were more about his Pokémon than him and in the end, he never really changed as a person. Serena's character episodes got a lot better along the way and she steadily got rid of the Ash umbilical cord. I also feel like since their goals weren't appealing or Serena, Clemont, and Bonnie wasn't doing anything interesting for the most part, Ash heavily overshadowed them. I think DP did a pretty great job with each main character named not Brock (but even he did something great at the very last episode.)

I'd rather have Ash outshining a character from time to time than Team Rocket interrupting and ruining the whole mood just to finish their stupid routine of unsuccessfully capturing their Pokemon.

 

[DatsRight]

I'd be interested in Serena appearing in SM if it abided by their slice of life formula. Serena was stuck in an action series in XY, so in spite of having non-battle priorities she was still stuck in the standard formula of battles and stopping bad guys which she wasn't really suited for. SM doesn't have to do that, they could just make an episode completely driven around her character and what she can make entertaining.

Ash would likely appear prominently, but give the current companion episodes, I don't think he'd get too much in the way, he tends to be a better foil this series and play a part that doesn't outright steal the others' thunder. If anything I think there'd be potential with SM Ash interacting with Serena, it might be more two way. If Ash's interactions with Misty in the two parter apply, they might be careful not to lose too much of his old dynamic either, just spice it up a bit.

 

[AznKei]

I'd rather have Ash outshining a character from time to time than Team Rocket interrupting and ruining the whole mood just to finish their stupid routine of unsuccessfully capturing their Pokemon.

I see. But I liked the Team Rocket focus episode not too long ago where they fought against Gengar and obtained the Z-Ring & Mimikium Z. I would be delighted if Ash & Pikachu didn't show up at all in that episode for once, not even 1 second of them being in the sidelines. To me, it's all about the message, the writers wanted everyone in the audience to care about them constantly, in which unfortunately I don't.

I would also be delighted to see a Serena's special episode without them, not even 1 second of showing them in a flashback. If she meets another Pokegirl or their respective rivals, I would like her to say something like "I met a cool guy in Kalos who told me to keep working hard on my goals.", without directly referring to Ash.

 

[satopi]

I see. But I liked the Team Rocket focus episode not too long ago where they fought against Gengar and obtained the Z-Ring & Mimikium Z.

That's probably the most they'll ever get in a saga or we'll have to wait until Gen 9 for them to do something cool and important like in BW. I really liked the episode too.

I would be delighted if Ash & Pikachu didn't show up at all in that episode for once, not even 1 second of them being in the sidelines. To me, it's all about the message, the writers wanted everyone in the audience to care about them constantly, in which unfortunately I don't.

That's fine. We honestly don't get much episodes of Ash and Pikachu not appearing.

I would also be delighted to see a Serena's special episode without them, not even 1 second of showing them in a flashback. If she meets another Pokegirl or their respective rivals, I would like her to say something like "I met a cool guy in Kalos who told me to keep working hard on my goals.", without directly referring to Ash.

I can definitely see this happening! It happened with Brock & Cilan (without any flashbacks)/Cilan & Clemont. Also sort of happened in the first Mega Evolution episode where Manon mentioned Ash by name but he never appeared. I don't see the point in Serena name dropping him to a potential past companion or random girl when she doesn't even know if that person knew him. I find it kind of dumb. Maybe she should have a Dawn moment where she mentions Clemont instead of Ash despite them not interacting much.

 

[AshxSatoshi]

One thing I’m wondering is if are they just going to skip over Iris’ cameo and go straight to Serena’s or address Iris’? Despite Iris not being well liked in the west (although even that seems to be simmering down for some reason) there were definitely questions on why she didn’t appear in XY. I wonder how they’ll handle that.

 

[DatsRight]

They claim they just neglected continuity plots altogether for XY, Iris was just collateral damage.

That's probably the most they'll ever get in a saga or we'll have to wait until Gen 9 for them to do something cool and important like in BW. I really liked the episode too.

While I can sadly see that happening, the fact Giovanni's got some sort of plot connection this time leaves me hoping TR might have developed involvement this series. Even then TR have at least been getting moderated arc focus this series, it would be nice to continue with that, trying to get Z Moves and resources to keep on level with Ash instead of just remaining stagnant comic relief and getting quickly outclassed. The fact TR ended up lazy plot devices and jobbers for nearly all Serena's episodes last series was a point of contention for me. They're just not interesting used that way all the time and they don't make the twerps interesting that way either.

I'd be disappointed if Serena appeared and just went into that same rut rather than using the opportunity to give her full character focus in a slice of life plot. Like how Dawn appeared in a whole batch of twerp-exclusive episodes at last in BW (as interesting as it would have been seeing her react to a menacing TR).

 

[AshxSatoshi]

They claim they just neglected continuity plots altogether for XY, Iris was just collateral damage.

Which is why it would be unfair to include Serena in SM before Iris or at the very least a mention. Hopefully they find a way to incorporate both girls into the series. It would be funny and totally unexpected if Iris returned in her BW2 outfit as well. Also Misty coming back definitely gave me hope about an Iris appearance eventually.

 

[LilligantLewis]

the Ash umbilical cord.

[cue an @AuraChannelerChris joke]

 

[Deleted member 384931]

I hope honestly that they let another companion reappear. Like Serena,May and Dawn to explain about Contests and Showcases. That would be a GREAT way to give PROPER goals to the Aloloan girls. And let Sawyer/Alain return to show a REAL battle.
Serena and Iris (oh god SM affected me so hard that I want Iris to return) deserve a comeback or special episode more then Misty tbh. They can still do a lot with Serena and Iris. Not with Misty. How the heck she got a Mega stone?

 

[AznKei]

I hope honestly that they let another companion reappear. Like Serena,May and Dawn to explain about Contests and Showcases. That would be a GREAT way to give PROPER goals to the Aloloan girls. And let Sawyer/Alain return to show a REAL battle.
Serena and Iris (oh god SM affected me so hard that I want Iris to return) deserve a comeback or special episode more then Misty tbh. They can still do a lot with Serena and Iris. Not with Misty. How the heck she got a Mega stone?

Misty & Brock got a comeback in SM because it's about Mega Evolution vs Z-Moves and their strongest Pokemons are Mega Evolution compatible, although Lysandre did have a Gyarados. May has Blaziken, but we already saw Mega Blaziken from Clemont's dad in some episodes from XY(Z). But yeah, I think their reapparences are unfair for Serena & Iris. We might not see them for a long time, but they got the most amount of specials and cameos so far in the anime.

As for Serena, May & Dawn, I would really like to see their adventures together.