Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. It’s presumably well into the springtime whenever you’re reading this, but as of the moment I’m typing, it is currently my friggin’ birthday, and that means we’re watching some Sun and Moon. My rigorous professionalism prevents me from outright taking the day off, but I’ll be damned if I’m spending it anywhere but the islands of Alola!

We’re currently in the midst of a sumptuously animated climactic arc, with Lusamine having just sacrificed herself to the nether realms in order to save her daughter. I’ve frequently wondered how the show was going to adapt Lillie’s game arc, and it appears this is the answer: by shuffling all of Lusamine’s outright villainousness over to Elton, the anime has turned her story into one of familial neglect and redemption, rather than some genuine supervillain shit. Regardless, the short of it is that the Ultra Beasts are attacking, and it’s up to our group of scrappy youngsters to save the day. Let’s return to the embattled shores of Alola!

Episode 51

With our team embroiled in battle, it seems like it’s up to Island King Hala to handle the pokeproblem. I appreciate him tackling this challenge with his usual sense of gravity and impact

The answer’s obviously “Altar of the Sun,” but I kinda wouldn’t mind another trip back to Kanto

And of course, that dread beast Continuity demands some genuine recapping, though this episode keeps it pretty quick

Incredible dick move by Elton, as he immediately shifts to blaming Lusamine for what happened

Oh, I love this. The episode opens with Lillie seemingly in shock, echoing her trauma from the first time she encountered this Ultra Beast. The scene lingers just long enough for you to think she might be retreating into her shell, but then she rallies instead, confidently declaring her intent to rescue Lusamine. A powerful moment of personal growth for our heroine, as she literally squares off with the demons of her past and emerges stronger

The machine is too damaged to reopen the Ultra Hole, meaning they’ll need to find another route

Meanwhile, Nebby has evolved into… a smaller, sleepier Nebby. Figures

This OP is resulting in some Chimera Ant “You Can Smile Again!”-tier tonal whiplash

“I Can Reallillie Do It! A Determined Runaway Act!”

The cool yellow light of their aircraft’s interior lends an appropriately somber tone to their return trip. Sun and Moon is aesthetically defined by bright colors, which naturally enhance its general sense of cheer. But the very qualities that make these colors perfect for Sun and Moon generally make them less appropriate for this arc, and so we’re frequently seeing the characters trapped in rooms with dark or melancholy lighting like this, so the colors and drama don’t clash

Frankly, Ash as a general personality is a bit ill-fitted to this sort of melodrama, as we can see in his perky statements being rebuffed by the siblings’ silence

This scene also takes the further step of cutting out all background sound design, creating a great sense of formality and stillness, and emphasizing how the siblings are now alone with their thoughts (an effect that’s further enhanced through Lillie looking at her reflection in the window, a universal shorthand for self-reflection)

Wonderful superdeformed cuts of Lillie reacting in surprise at Gladio knocking on her door. In an episode so generally light on cheer, rare points of tonal relief like this are all the more important

Love the detail of Lillie dramatically over-packing for her attempted runaway attempt. I appreciate the effort, but you don’t get three carry-ons and a roller backpack when you’re running away from home, Lillie

Back at the Pokeschool, Ash fills the class in on the tumultuous past twenty-four hours, while we get to enjoy a pan of the pokemon napping on each other. Sun and Moon knows what the people need

Kukui suggests they ask Island King Hala what to do. I’m guessing the Aether Foundation is about to lose those developmental tax breaks it’s been enjoying

I forgot how friggin’ big Hala’s Pokemon is. That dude can’t possibly fit through the doors of this building, he must need to be unsummoned and resummoned every time he wants to come inside

Love the detail of Pikachu worriedly shaking Nebby to see if something will happen

Hala states there is a legend passed down between island kings, the “Legend of Solgaleo.” It must be rough to live in a videogame world, where all of your ancestral legends and traditions exist solely to facilitate the journey of some random child protagonist

“Solgaleo,” ie “Sun + Lion,” which pretty well describes its subject

The funny thing is, the Pokemon games’ storytelling is pretty rudimentary, meaning the stuff the anime builds around the game’s events generally possesses more thought and substance than the stuff that’s actually loyal to the game script

The team heads to Poni Island, the location of the Altar of the Sun. Some beautiful new backgrounds as we cut in on Gladio and Lillie’s approach, emphasizing the rich colors of this island’s rocky steppes

“It’s not just you. I’m with you, too.” The circumstances might not be ideal, but this is still serving as some key bonding time for our siblings. Nothing like someone being dragged into a ghost dimension to bring a family together

Oh my god, they actually run into a block-moving puzzle, and Lillie almost gets herself killed by a spike trap. I love this – Lillie just naturally assumes videogame logic works here, and Gladio immediately responds with “why are you touching dangerous objects in a mysterious temple”

And then she just assumes a massive chasm has an invisible bridge crossing it. Lillie with confidence might not actually be a good idea

She’s aware of her current uselessness, but as Gladio assures her, there’s no point in wallowing in helplessness – you have to move forward regardless

Immediately taking that questionable wisdom to heart, Lillie charges directly into the next room without making any investigation or trap checks, instantly alerting fifty hostile pokemon

The followup is good, though; the two of them actually share duties during the pokemon battle, with Lillie even offering key tactical suggestions. She might not be much of an adventurer, but she’s a pretty decent pokemon trainer by now

Some nice flourishes of perspective here, creating shot-countershot compositions to enhance the sense of active movement as Gladio makes his play

I appreciate that Gladio didn’t let this massive dust cloud go to waste, and instead takes this opportunity to strike a cool matching pose with Silvuddy

The rest of the team arrives at last! Gladio tells them that this is a family matter, and Ash rightly responds that that’s stupid

There is a larger logic to his response, to be fair: a culture of sharing means you share in everything, not just your idle happy adventurers, but also your emotional troubles

And at the Altar of the Sun, the Guardian Deities await!

And Done

Lillie, I love you, but you are not invited to my D&D party. In spite of Lillie’s questionable investigation skills, the party has successfully navigated the temple’s various booby traps, and have arrived at the Altar of the Sun. Although this was a fairly action-packed episode, it was actually pretty light in terms of animation, relying more on effective tricks of lighting and storyboarding to affect the right dramatic tone. What that says to me is that the animators are gearing up for something truly special, as we race towards the climax of Sun and Moon’s first major arc. And what wonders will the art team offer us in realizing the world of the Ultra Beasts? I can’t wait to find out!

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