Pokemon Sun and Moon – Episode 1

Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time! Can you feel the excitement? CAN YA FEEL IT? That’s right, it’s new series time, and today we’re beginning a series that I’ve been wanting to watch for years now. Just in time for the next generation of Pokemon, we’re diving back in to the last generation of Pokemon, and checking out the widely acclaimed Sun and Moon anime!

Though the Pokemon anime has been running consistently ever since its start back in the ‘90s, it’s traditionally been seen more as a series for young Pokemon enthusiasts than the “sakuga crowd” or whatnot. That’s not to diminish its importance, of course – on the contrary, Pokemon was one of the most important properties in introducing and normalizing anime in the west. I myself was a fan of pokemon specifically before I learned the appeal of anime more generally, and even saw the first Pokemon movie when it came out in theaters (it came with a free Pokemon card!).

But while Pokemon has always been a massively influential cultural force, its progression into a visually accomplished production has been significantly more gradual. Sun and Moon represents a serious break in this franchise in terms of its character designs, as designs that had remained relatively static for nearly two decades were reimagined with softer lines and rounded curves, making them far better suited to fluid character animation. I’ve already played the Sun and Moon game, and found its cast immensely charming there, meaning I’m very excited to see them in motion, and to return to an anime I haven’t watched since I was a child. Let’s check out the first episode of Sun and Moon!

Episode 1

And we open with… an ad for the series I’m about to watch. Well, this is already showing off the stretchiness of Ash and Pikachu’s new designs

Character design is an art unto itself, but to lay out some very basic principles, what makes a design “animation friendly” is generally how easy it is to portray that shape in motion, and contort it while maintaining its fundamental identity. This means that animation-friendly designs tend to have softer curves and less intricate linework, thus enabling character motion without demanding the reorientation and redrawing of a massive number of tiny lines. It also helps to build your designs out of clear geometric shapes, which can be contorted or deformed while still conveying the “essence” of your character. This allows for more expressive animation, and enables principles of energetic movement like the “squash and stretch” we often associate with playful, creative animation

This explanation is not to say that embracing animation-friendly principles and simplified designs is always “correct” – it’s an artistic choice like any other, just one that happens to enable the kind of playful, cartoonish animation you’d expect from a sunny children’s show

Wait wait hold up, they’re asking me to grab a notepad or something, I wanna win a 3DS

Oh man, this introduction is lovely. Ash and Pikachu approach the islands by jet ski, and we get a series of beautiful cuts beneath the water, as they charge past a lively reef. This sequence demonstrates what I meant by “distorting the design while maintaining its essence” – Ash’s hair has much more flowing volume to it than the rigid spikes I’m used to, and it can be distorted by the water here in a way that still feels true to this design, but results in a much more lively visual experience

Absolutely terrific squash and stretch animation for Ash and Pikachu’s rise out of the water, as they shake their heads to get the water off

Man, this episode is just a feast so far. Lots of fluid little bits of character acting, and very lively expression work

Lana laughs, and Ash shifts from surprise to laughing along with her. The strengths of great character acting, telling an emotional journey across a few seconds without words

This OP is extremely charming. I like that for Sun and Moon, it doesn’t seem like Pokemon is sticking to the usual “Ash plus boy and girl companion” model – instead, it’s just him hanging out with all the lovable dorks of Alola together

There’s such a power to effectively designed minimalism. I feel like Lana’s design might be the best example here – her theming is so clear in her design, she might as well be a Scorching Ping Pong Girls character

Now we’re just getting a bunch of Litten being adorable animation. This show is too good to us

Wonderful energy in this cut of Litten being startled. A lot of Pokemon designs are naturally animation-friendly, since they’re designed around clear shapes and contrasts. The Litten’s face is still clear even as it’s superdeformed for this howl

Is Ash’s mom married to a Mr. Mime

D’aw, Ash’s little run in a circle when describing his adventure. So much personality in this movement!

Amazing. The whole explanation for how they got here is covered in like twenty seconds of fast-forwarded flashbacks, complete with squeaky sped-up mouse voices. Happy to see this show is as bored by exposition as I am

And so we have our first narrative hook – finding out what’s in the egg

This town looks a bit like parts of San Francisco. I’ve never actually been to Hawaii though, so maybe there’s an even more direct parallel there

Kinda funny hearing them explain clearly game-based concepts like “air ride Pokemon” here. Shows like this are such convoluted, loving pitches for the games they’re selling

Mr. Mime’s hand is definitely resting on Ash’s mom’s leg

Amazing expression for Ash when this Pokemon pinches his nose. I really like how this episode doesn’t feel the need to offer an obvious narrative path – it’s just Ash exploring Alola and having fun, flavorfully animated experiences with new Pokemon

It’s interesting to consider how the known qualities of your audience can impact the flexibility of your narrative. For an audience of Pokemon fans, simply discovering new Pokemon is likely a satisfying reward unto itself, and thus this episode doesn’t necessarily need to include a clear narrative hook. Of course, leaning on assumptions like this naturally leads to a work with limited appeal outside of its core audience, but if you don’t really care about expanding that audience, it’s not necessarily a problem

See also – the rampant proliferation of isekai shows that disregard so many standard assumptions of characterization, exposition, and storytelling that they’re basically unwatchable to non-isekai fans

Sooner or later, Ash always finds himself in the tall grass

Some nice layouts in this forest, with foreground objects both creating a sense of depth and implying Ash is being watched

A Bewear just starts totally wrecking shit while squeaking at them. More excellent expression work

And there’s Lillie! And the rest of the gang! And they’re running Ash over with Tauros

Lillie’s character animation is just as excellent as Ash’s – there’s a lightness in her step that feels very different from the rambunctious energy of Ash’s movements

I love the design for the Pokemon School. We’re getting a lot of nice aerial scenery shots

An aerodactyl skeleton demonstrates that aerodactyls have ridiculously large heads

It’s always a little odd to me in Pokemon games how no subject really exists except for Pokemon. Everyone is crazy about Pokemon, everyone has something to say about Pokemon, every new activity is “a normal activity, but with Pokemon.” That myopia of perspective kinda-sorta works for a game, but I’ll be interested in seeing how it works out for a TV narrative

More expression work demonstrating the fluidity of simplified designs – rather than limit a character’s expressive range, designs like this allow animators to embrace highly expressive exaggerations, or even full style shifts, while maintaining the essence of the original

Professor Kukui arrives

Aw shit, it’s the Skull Gang

Another funny consequences of this world’s all-Pokemon focus – “if you don’t do what we say, we’ll beat you up… in a highly regulated, formally sanctioned Pokemon battle!”

Oh no, they’ve got like three of those Trump ferrets

Ooh, Pikachu’s “spring into action” cut is terrific

Oh man, they are just showing off with these attack animations. From a show that was traditionally known for still frames over speed lines in battle, we’ve reached this feast of fluid camera work, as the camera slides along each Pokemon to follow the energy of their attacks, demanding constant perspective-shifted redraws all the while

More fluid animation and dynamic camerawork for Kaki’s debut of a Z move. The Z moves feel like a really good idea, dramatically speaking – they let the trainers get more directly involved in the action and outcome of a fight

“You’re tired in a good way.” A very mom thing to say

Kapu-Kokeko, the island deity, at last fully reveals itself

“TAKE THIS COOL WATCH, CHILD OF DESTINY”

And Done

Dear lord that was a fun adventure! From the color work, to the direction, to the expressions… and my god, that animation. I can’t imagine this series maintains that level of fluidity in both action scenes and incidental character acting throughout, but it was an absolute treat to experience here, and to watch these characters introduce themselves with such expressive physical presences. I already know this cast pretty well from the game, and was delighted to see their friendships illustrated with such personality and care. Additionally, this episode moved efficiently through basically all of this story’s initial setup, leaving us with a clear narrative hook and a charming party to pursue it. Sun and Moon does not disappoint!

This article was made possible by reader support. Thank you all for all that you do.

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