Hello everyone, and welcome back to Why It Works. As the winter season continues its grisly course, today I’d like to once more escape from the muck and snow of my own chilly New England, off to the sun-kissed beaches and alluring jungles of Alola. Pokemon Sun and Moon has been a delightful ride so far, with its colorful, intricate background art and playful, expressive animation combining to create an aesthetic experience as joyous and energizing as Pokemon itself.
In narrative terms, the show’s mostly just been introducing key characters so far, though that process has of course been accompanied with plenty of small individual narratives and Pokemon battles. Sun and Moon’s overall structure seems most closely aligned with the slice of life genre; the focus is on having fun with friends, and though Ash is technically determined to become a Pokemon master, that goal currently seems roughly as realistic as Yui’s dreams of Budokan. “Fun with friends” also seems to be this show’s thematic heart – Ash loses more often than he wins, and thus finding satisfaction and camaraderie in simply competing is consistently emphasized. It’s a fine lesson for this show’s presumed audience, but I’ll be interested in seeing if the show complicates its narrative, now that most of the key players have presumably been introduced. Either way, it’s cold here and I’m ready for the beach, so let’s get back to Sun and Moon!
Episode 5
Lana’s handling the question this week. All this audience participation stuff plays nicely into Sun and Moon’s slice of life pretensions; slice of life anime tend to prioritize creating a space where the audience feels like they’re actually being included in a larger friend group, and children’s anime regularly speaking directly to the viewer perfectly compliments that
And we open the episode proper with Pikachu and Rockruff being adorable together, which basically sums up this show. Working on Pokemon as an animator seems like it’d be a uniquely challenging prospect; Pokemon designs include not just the actual character model, but also a unique system of movement that accompanies it, meaning key animators must learn to create not just convincing, but simultaneously playful movement for a variety of imaginary animals. Even just learning to convincingly animate a single animal requires serious practice, so this production must have some uniquely gifted artists
Another key factor for slice of life shows is background design – the characters must exist in a world that feels inherently inviting in some way, or at least convincingly lived-in. Sun and Moon’s backgrounds aren’t incredibly convincing in terms of depth or lighting, but that might actually be intentional – the show’s been running for over twenty years, and still values its aesthetic consistency (to the extent that when the show switched from cells to digital, it actually maintained a filter of “visual noise” to echo the cell look for quite some time). Instead, Sun and Moon’s backgrounds are given an inviting look through time-tested methods: their richness of color and detail
So much personality in Ash and Pikachu’s moments. I love their near fall in this opening bank footage
Even the call-and-response OP emphasizes that Sun and Moon is a communal experience the audience is being invited to
Ash’s team will be taking a field trip out to sea. Meanwhile, Team Rocket seem to have already forgotten they’re here to catch new Pokemon in general, and are instead stalking Ash through his school routine
Lana is going to be guest lecturer for their sea trip. DO YOUR BEST, LANA
I always thought Lana had one of the most adorable character designs, and I’m happy to learn her voice acting is also adorable
Also, Popplio was my own generation VII starter, so clearly she has good taste in Pokemon
Whoa, this transition cut with the koala Pokemon on the town bell. What a strange and ambitious choice – this cut pulls away from the bell and then spins around the Pokemon, demanding continuous redraws for a cut that serves as nothing but a scene transition
Pikachu and Popplio engage in a very silly race. As I mentioned before, physical comedy is one of the few fields of comedy that tends to be equally effective regardless of the age and experience of your audience; additionally, for characters like Pokemon who can’t really talk, physical comedy is one of the best ways for them to express their personalities
Lana and Popplio met when Popplio was being bullied by those nefarious skull gang goons. Extremely powerful “I gotta fix this” pout from Lana
“I didn’t want it to grow to hate humans, so I chose it as my partner.” Respecting the feelings of pets and other animals is certainly another of Pokemon’s core themes
Popplio’s signature skill is apparently making floating nose-bubbles, which is kinda gross and kinda adorable
Using Popplio’s bubbles for these wipe transitions is a cute trick
Terrific expression work across the board as Popplio accidentally soaks everyone
And beautiful colors as we move towards the sunset. This world is so incredibly inviting, and IT’S SO COLD WHERE I AM GODDAMNIT
And now we get these simplified, traditionally painted backgrounds for Meowth’s silly revery about Pokemon piracy. This episode is full of neat visual tricks
I only just now realized that Meowth is Nyarth in the original version, of course, because cats say Nyaa instead of Meow in Japan
Oh my god, Lana’s sisters are adorable
Ho and Sui stress-testing the elasticity of Pikachu’s new design
Lillie’s secret weapon is a goddamn full-body armored diving suit
Thicker-lined designs are a neat shorthand for stiffness, as Lana demonstrates when the teacher hands over control of the lesson
More of those incidental sequences of Pokemon just being Pokemon as we return, further integrating us into the everyday pace of this world
Lana is doing her very best to make one of Pokemon’s least interesting activities seem a little more exciting. I’m a solid proponent of Yoko Taro’s “all JRPGs should include fishing” ethos, but Pokemon has never really included much of a fishing simulator
“I’m a fire-type trainer, so I’m not compatible with water-type Pokemon.” The character/type theming of Pokemon characters makes for a funny incongruity with the actual experience of playing Pokemon. Having type specialists facilitates thematically coherent, attractive character designs, and also gives young game enthusiasts an easy strategic hurdle to triumph over, by building teams that counter that type. Of course, in practical terms, being a “type specialist” in Pokemon is an extremely stupid thing to do – it means your team is extremely one-note, and can easily get blown out by counterpicks. Thus, the nature of character design, as well as the gym badge system and natural learning curve of Pokemon, mean that the vast majority of Pokemon’s characters are always also going to be kinda terrible Pokemon trainers
Of course, the Pokemon franchise isn’t really designed for the sorts of people who agonize over type advantages and breed out perfect Pokemon – it’s designed for people playing their very first Pokemon game, who could really use the direction of a clear type to counter, and the validation of a not-so-difficult victory. The characters in this anime are designed to be relatable to that audience, and for young fans like that, picking a team that all matches your favorite theme or aesthetic preferences can be more rewarding than building a perfectly balanced fighting force. Once again, victory is not the point, finding joy in the experience is
Pikachu catches a Magikarp with his tail, making him a better fisherman than Ash
This long-distance shot of Lillie just helplessly wiggling around in her space suit is wonderful. There’s something about slapstick being seen at a great distance that can really amplify its comedic impact – in this case, Lillie’s genuinely panicked movements are rendered silly by their reduction into such small shapes
Team Rocket steal all the ride Pokemon, using their infinite supply of Meowth-shaped hot air balloons
And of course, Popplio’s water bubble ends up saving the day (after Ash almost gets all the ride Pokemon killed)
Love all these dynamic angles for the leadup to Team Rocket and Lana’s battle. Lots of dramatic foreshortening, and the strong expression work aligns neatly with these hyper closeups
BEWEAR JUST RUNS ACROSS THE GODDAMN OCEAN TO SAVE THEM. This bear is too powerful
And Done
Well, that was charming! As I expected, we seem to have entered the sturdy, slice of life-oriented stage of Sun and Moon, where the focus is simply on enjoying lighthearted adventures with Ash’s whole class, and highlighting the unique personalities of each of his new friends in turn. There’s not a huge amount for me to actively critique in this show, but there’s certainly plenty to enjoy, from its inventive expression work and beautiful backgrounds, to the simple positive energy exuded by this whole crew. Pokemon Sun and Moon is an extremely joyful production, and I’m continuing to have a wonderful time with Ash’s Alolan adventures!
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