Hello all, and welcome the heck back to Wrong Every Time. Today I am thrilled to dive into a Sun and Moon episode that I’ve been assured is a scorcher, featuring an actual gym battle with Ash’s old companion Misty. Sun and Moon has been relatively light on gym battles as a whole, which has suited its slice of life style nicely – but when they do appear, the production holds nothing back, and dazzles with action animation that any show would be proud to call its own.

As for this episode in particular, the credits couldn’t possibly be more stacked. The animation director is Satoshi Nakano, one of Sun and Moon’s actual character designers, and the series’ chief animation director, who along with this episode only handled key animations on the OPs, as well as Sun and Moon’s final episode. Normally, Nakano is reserved for animation direction on actual Pokemon movies – something he shares in common with this episode’s overall director, Masakatsu Ijima. This is one of only three episodes where Ijima handled not just the storyboard, but directorial duties as well, so we can be certain this episode will possess a holism of art design and fluidity of animation that’s the rival of anything in the series. We’re in for riches I can’t even begin to imagine, so let’s not waste a moment more, and get back to Sun and Moon!

Episode 43

Ash on the pokeproblem today, just moments before he gets utterly wrecked by Misty

“Which of these Pokemon battle Pikachu in today’s episode?” Oh god, they’re all water types. Gym leaders only possessing pokemon of their chosen type is one of those things that works great for a game for children, but not so cleanly for a television drama

Damn, Misty’s gym is fancy. She’s got like a whole convention center

In spite of his perpetual “why this” hand posture, Psyduck seems quite happy to see everyone

Oh shit, both Misty and Brock are fighting! This is gonna be incredible

The professor explains how the gym circuit works in Kanto. This must have been a fun episode for some original pokemon fans, now watching with their pokemon-playing children, and regaling them with tales of the old days

Brock and Misty roasting Ash for the pity badges they gave him back in Kanto. Good content

Some great incidental character acting for Misty here, and you can really see Nakano’s influence as animation director. The character art this week feels truer than ever to the rounded shapes and clean, graceful linework of their fundamental designs. It’s pretty interesting seeing Misty in this style!

And not a moment wasted, as Lana and Mallow quickly set to work obliterating Psyduck

So many nice flourishes of character acting, like Lana hopping in victory here

Popplio has leveled up his balloon powers. This water-filled balloon attack offers more opportunities for the animators to show off, as Psyduck is visually distorted by the water while spinning in air

Also plenty of personality afforded to the pokemon themselves, like Psyduck considering Misty’s instructions after immobilizing his enemies

This episode is also putting those character designs to their clear intended effect: using the simplicity and clean curves of the characters to allow for more fluid, cartoonish movement, embracing animation principles like squash and stretch that are frequently incompatible with anime’s detail-heavy, limited animation style. Misty comforting Psyduck illustrates the clear appeal of those principles, as her face distorts to echo her feelings

Sophocles gets utterly owned by the regional pokemon differences. I figured it was odd that he wanted to fight Brock, but he was operating under the impression that Geodude was a Rock/Electric type, and thus could still take damage from electric attacks

Lillie’s getting some great trainer cuts here too, which is nice, considering how infrequently she actually fights

Funnily enough, this episode is also providing some of the best genuine strategy tips of the series so far. “Don’t be limited by the guidebook’s recommendations,” “look out for unique synergies between your pokemon,” and “be keenly aware of your opponent’s options” are all great advice!

At last, Brock versus Kaki. Brock sends out Steelix to face Turtonator

Once again, the sideline fighters offer some genuine strategic back-and-forth, as they discuss the type matchups of this pairing. This episode is celebrating the actual gameplay of pokemon more accurately than any before

The battle starts off strong with some impressive effects animation, as a gust of wind sends fire spinning around Steelix

Yeah, the smoke, fire, and explosion animation is on point here, appropriate for a Turtonator battle

Oh my god, the sense of speed and movement in a three dimensional space! Ambitious camera work follows the rapid flow of the combatants’ movements, with a great sense of impact as it stops and shudders for each clash. This is the benefit of possessing such synergy across your storyboarding, animation, and direction – the camera movement feels inseparable from the action itself, and greatly enhances the energy of the production

And these angular impact frames as Steelix mega-evolves! This sequence abandons the general fluidity and gentle curves of Sun and Moon’s usual designs, embracing harsh angles and rapid pose-to-pose jumps, like something Hiroyuki Imaishi would create. It works perfectly for the inherently angular Steelix, and creates a sense of profound force for this transformation

Mega-evolutions work particularly well for antagonists here, since they’re all about shifting into an imposing visual form. They ratchet up the sense of danger in a purely visual way, allowing for an even more dramatic counterattack

Ahhhh, I love how the Steelix’s not-fully-contiguous body enhances the sense of movement as it surges forward, with fragments of steel flashing in front of the screen. And then this tremendous crystal attack… what the HELL is this episode?!?

Also, the trainers’ posing and character animation is as vivid as it’s ever been. I like the actual acting here – the way the trainers throw their bodies forward, combined with the dramatic foreshortening, makes it seem like they’re really throwing actual blows at each other, rather than just telling their pokemon what to do

A mix of energetic impact frames, distorted reactions, and smears for Marowak’s appraisal of the battle. Just give us all the presents, please

And of course, this episode features Pikachu at his most expressive. Decades of animators have imbued that little mouse with an absurd range of emotional expression

Misty throws out a goddamn Gyarados

Ooh, I love this cut of Pikachu running across the rocks for his Quick Attack. Uniquely sketchy linework here, with some splashes of shading purely through linework, which helps facilitate the morphing nature of this rock bridge. All the ground we can see shifts with Pikachu’s movement, creating a sense of profound momentum as he races towards Gyarados

Also excellent use of thicker lines than usual, enhancing the solidity of the big impacts

“This is what her anti-Pikachu strategy looks like.” A very good point by the professor – in spite of water-types possessing a natural disadvantage against Pikachu, Ash’s Pikachu has been one of Misty’s most consistent sparring partners, and thus she’s necessarily developed specific countermeasures to beat it

Just an insane glut of impact frames and effects splendor as Gyarados mega-evolves. This episode is an endless buffet of riches

Ah, this cut of Pikachu running down Gyarados. You can’t storyboard for this and expect your average animator to pull it off – this is a specialist cut, in an episode that’s already overflowing with them

“Use Quick Attack to run on the electricity.” Goddamn, Ash. I’m sorry I doubted your battling abilities – apparently, when you’re fighting your old rivals, you absolutely rise to the occasion

And the professor announces he’ll be introducing pokemon leagues in Alola. HELL YEAH

And Done

Holy shit, what an accomplishment that was! What a celebration of Sun and Moon’s signature animation style, and what an exemplary parade of so many of animation’s highest pleasures! An incredible display of animated momentum within a shifting three dimensional space, that was simultaneously brimming with more old-school attractions like impact frames and effects animation, alongside Sun and Moon’s signature loose character movement. At the same time, it was also thrilling and inventive in a pure tactical sense, and a resounding tribute to pokemon’s history, characters, and dramatic appeal. Sun and Moon has been a special series all along, but this episode was something else – basically a perfect slice of this franchise’s bountiful strengths, embodying all the merits of its visual style. What a gift of an episode… now to watch it again, and drag my housemates along with me!

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