#hz048

[ianime0]

Pokemon (Shinsaku Anime) | Ep48 | Art Class

[amelikos]

Amethio and Roy are both imitating Friede for their Terastal pose.

[smilingperformer]

Something about light looking rain nullifying Hogator's Flamethrower completely didn't click well with me. It just didn't seem right. It doesn't do that in the games, has it done so in the past in anime either?

I don't know why, it just felt odd and lowkey bullcrap <_<. I kinda get what they aimed for with that scene but I'm sure even less-powerful Flamethrower would have sufficed as a shock?

[hupla222]

Silly Little Summaries HZ046-HZ050

Silly Little Summaries is back and with a brand new tag! Now it should be easy to find the whole series, just use the silly little summaries tag. I have no idea why it took me this long to add it. I guess I just kept forgetting. Anyway this is the first on for the new arc, so on to the "reviews":

HZ046: Car Girl, Friede Jr., and Anti go to school + Kovu and Kiara are incognito

Alternate Title: Best Boy is back and he finally gets a hug

HZ047: Cat Girl bakes her way to a loss but still wins anyway

Alternate Title: Kiara left her boyfriend somewhere and throws a fit over cake

HZ048: Friede Jr doesn’t get art

Alternate Title: Best Boy is still the best, even if he did absolutely nothing

HZ049: Anti is not Social + Big Sister Iono

Alternate Title: Social gets kidnapped by a car

HZ050: Anti and Big Sister Iono duke it out and Swag learns to dance with water

Alternate Title: Kiara wants churros and Kovu is awkward

[that-one-sylveon]

It almost feels like Roy's character was created just to piss me off. It's clear that the show favors him and his arc, but he's just so annoying. HZ048 was hard to get through, but I'm excited for Dot's episode!

[michaellambert]

Let's Talk About Pokemon HZ048

Let's Talk About Pokemon HZ048

[ianime0]

Pokemon (Shinsaku Anime) || Hassel Episode 48

[amelikos]

Some character notes and episode notes for HZ048, writing them down for future reference.

The ep starts with Roy doing some training with Hogator and gets too fired up during it. Afterwards, the trio heads to Bowl Town and a festival seems to be taking place. They meet Hassaku (Liko calls him sensei too!) who explains that it's an art festival that takes place every year and that he is there as an art instructor. Colza's sculpture of the Black Rayquaza and the Kimawari is at the entrance of the festival and is the centerpiece of it (nice that they brought it up again after HZ010). Roy asks Hassaku if Colza is at the gym because he wants to challenge him so he leads the trio there.

Hassaku and Colza have nicknames for each other, which Liko notices and she asks them if they are friends. Colza explains that Hassaku is his mentor and that he helped him when he was going through an art block and that his current art style took shape thanks to him. They go back a long way.

Liko's dad shows up too, and she is surprised to see him there. He knows Colza (which was brought up before in HZ009 and HZ010), and also Hassaku. Makes sense that the three of them seem close given that they are all artists. Liko tells her dad she passed her basics test. She also introduces Dot to him since it's the first time they meet. Dot seems nervous, and Alex tells her that he heard about her from Liko. Dot is going out of her comfort zone a lot since the beginning of this chapter, she is meeting new people and feels a bit anxious about it.

Roy tells Colza that he is there to challenge him, and Colza is also curious to see how much Roy has grown. However, he has no time since he is busy finishing an art piece for the festival so Roy has to wait. Hogator seemed curious about it. Roy tells him he can't wait because he wants to get stronger to battle Rayquaza again, but Nemo shows up and suggests they battle. She also tells Roy that since students can't use Terastal against each other during the course, she'll go by these rules and won't use it against him. Roy tells her she can use it though, and she points out he seems confident. Interesting exchange there.

Either way, they battle. Nemo seemed happy about Roy's Hogator learning new moves. She just seems to be about recognizing potential where she sees it and encouraging it, because she brings up the word "fruitful" a lot. She wants to participate in Roy's growth as a trainer (which she did in this episode). It started raining partway through their battle and Roy didn't notice it, which is one of the reasons why he lost because he was so engrossed in the battle that he didn't pay attention to his surroundings. Roy immediately wants a rematch against Nemo and says he lost because of the rain, but Colza tells him it's no use and that he cannot win as he is now.

Hassaku suggests that they should all try making art pieces for now. The rule is that they should make a piece together with their Pokemon. Liko and Dot are on board, but Roy still wants to battle Nemo. Liko says it'd be good for him to switch things up, and she makes him notice that Hogator seems interested in Colza's art. So Roy is willing to try for Hogator. Nemo leads the trio to the gym, which serves as a public workspace during the festival, so they can make their pieces.

Liko decided on painting something which fits her since she likes drawing and she is creative. She wondered if she could paint something nice like her dad (which is cute, because she admires him as an artist). She got help from her Pokemon who all painted with her. Nyarote was really into it too and used her paws and bud. Liko ended up doing a painting of Oliva and called her piece "Oliva in full bloom". Two things I like about it. The proximity Liko feels towards Oliva (the first of the Six Heroes she met after Rayquaza, the first one she decided to help, Oliva showing up to protect her from Spinel, and to help her calm down Galar Fire, Oliva being a Grass type like Nyarote fitting Liko's themes of life etc, there is a lot going on here and I like that Liko just feels close to Oliva and decided to paint this Pokemon specifically). Also liked the use of "full bloom" in the name of the piece, like in Liko's Terastal phrase (which I think fits Liko's character since she really is blooming alongside Nyarote and revealing her potential, being more courageous and going forward, etc).

Dot took on a more mechanical project. Kanuchan liked the material so she decided to give it a try and really got into it. She asked Roy to let her borrow Kaiden. It was nice to see a one on one interaction between Roy and Dot (they have moments, but usually we see more Liko and Dot or the trio in general, so it's always cool to see Dot interacting with more characters one on one). I also always like when a character lets another borrow their Pokemon, because it shows trust between them (and we need to see Kaiden more, so it's good she thought about him). Either way, Dot made a ferris wheel and had her Pokemon and Kaiden help show it off with their moves.

Roy took on a clay project. He is into crafting things (after all, he made a secret base back in his island, and he created things several times during the show like when he wanted to help Kaiden, he also fixed the ship flag etc). Hogator was looking at art of Lizardon, so they decided to made Lizardon with clay. It's always adorable when they emphasize how much Hogator looks up to Lizardon and wants to be like one someday (which, btw, is a good way to use older gen in contrast to the current gen, and how the mentor character, Friede, has these older gen Pokemon and inspires the kids etc, there is a lot to be said but I just like how Horizons uses these concepts efficiently). Either way, at first Roy couldn't use the clay well so Colza gave him a hint that anything in reach or in sight could be the clue he needs to create his art. Roy eventually figures out that he needs to use Pokemon moves as materials, and that hints can be found in all places (and the same goes for battling). He managed to complete his piece and its title is "I wanna get stronger", which is inspired by both his and Hogator's feelings. Colza was impressed, and deems that Roy is ready to take on the basics test.

On to the battle (Hogator vs Usokkie). It was good. I think new BGM were used during it? I hope we'll get to hear more new tracks during this chapter. Roy is growing more strategic as he managed to guess who the real Usokkie was (after the latter used Subtitute) after seeing it sweat from Hogator's Flamethrower (it wasn't Roy's initial intention, but something he managed to see after his consecutive use of the move, so maybe in the future, he'll try to think more before battles or come up with similar strategies using his environment or things he notices etc). Roy used Terastal too, in response to Colza using it (different from Liko, who used it first against Kaede). His Terastal phrase was great. For a character like Roy, I would have expected something going on about "fire" or "passion", but the fact he talked about the crystal of his dreams caught me off guard in a good way (he is much more of a poet than I thought). There is this longing feeling to it, in relation to his dream, which I find interesting. He also used "shine", just like Liko (which makes sense since Terastal is described as the phenomenon making Pokemon sparkle and shine like jewels, so maybe Dot will use that verb too for her own Terastal phrase).

Either way, Colza knew most of Roy's moveset but the one thing he didn't account for was Hogator knowing Nitrocharge, which is eventually the move that defeated Usokkie. Roy won the battle (he faced Colza and lost before, so I figured he'd win this time, but it's still satisfying to see the buildup paying off!). I like the way Roy's growth as a trainer is depicted tbh (it's slowburn, he is taking small steps every time but it feels organic to me). Colza congratulated him and told him he passed the basics test. Also liked that Roy was specifically set up to face Colza, who is an artist, because as an artist, he takes time to analyze things etc, and that's something Roy needed to learn since he is more impulsive and tends to act first and think later (he tends to be hasty and impatient but needs to take time to think.. Roy is quite perceptive already, he just needs to make a conscious effort not to rush).

The ep ends with Dot feeling nervous knowing she'll take on her test next, and the trio deciding to visit the food stalls at the festival. (The preview was also cute, because Liko and Roy hype up Dot for her test and she is a bit embarassed about it)

Anyway, this ep was written by Michihiro Tsuchiya. The most recent ep he wrote was the Nyahoja backstory ep. He also wrote Hogator and Kaiden's argument back in HZ017, among other things (so it makes sense Kaiden appeared here).

Additional note, but Colza's way of speaking is kind of funny. I didn't pay attention that much to the way he spoke back in HZ010, so it kind of surprised me seeing him refer to others casually as "kisama" and talking in a grand way.. On the other hand, Hassaku seemed overly polite in his speech pattern.

[amelikos]

It was sweet seeing Dot make friends with Botan by herself, especially since she initially didn't want to make any IRL friends at the beginning of the show. I always wanted her to make friends with someone outside of her usual group, just like how Liko has Ann as a school friend and how Roy got close to Nemo and befriended her. So it's quite significant seeing Dot branching out and making her own relationships. She was a bit awkward talking to Botan at first but they both have similar interests and Dot seemed excited to be able to talk about tech stuff with her (Liko and Roy don't really understand this kind of stuff and aren't into it, so it's not something Dot would talk about with them). And Dot was the one who suggested they exchange contact info and asked Botan to let her know if she learns anything about Agate, so she made the first step in trying to maintain contact and was proactive about it. Dot even thought she wouldn't be able to ask anything to Agate (when she suggested Botan ask Agate directly if she was curious about her, but they both said they were no good at this kind of thing because they are reserved and awkward), but she still actually managed to hold a conversation with her. She underestimated herself quite a bit there.

Also, it was really cute how Dot got excited about the monthly issues of the Occulture magazine. Kind of reminded me a bit about HZ042 when she was talking about how cool Irukaman is. I like seeing her have her own interests and hobbies outside her Gurumin stuff. Roy likes books too (he borrowed lots of picture books from Liko's father), so it's nice that Dot shares interests with her friends and that it's something she could talk about with them. She immediately shared the Scarlet Book stuff with Liko and Roy at the end, too.

Additionally, it was fun seeing Dot bond with Terapagos since it didn't happen much before. Terapagos is important to Liko, so I like that Dot gets close to Liko's Pokemon friends (kinda like how she noticed something was up with Nyarote in HZ051 and tried to push Liko to make up with her). Dot noticed that Terapagos seemed to like the drawing in the Scarlet Book too, she is paying attention to this kind of thing. It made me remember HZ033 a bit too. Because in that episode, Terapagos reacted strongly to both Liko and Roy being in danger (Liko and Roy were both reflected in Terapagos's eyes at some point) and transformed to protect Liko from danger. So I wonder if Dot will become one of Terapagos's motivations in the future if there is some trouble going on, now that Terapagos is getting close to her too.

[amelikos]

Interview and monthly summaries.

Recent interview with Minori Suzuki (Liko's VA), translation here. (I haven't seen the link for the interview in Japanese so idk where this was published.)

Lots of interesting talk about how much Liko means to Minori Suzuki and how she feels like she is growing alongside her as a voice actress. Minori Suzuki mentions that she is very close to Roy's VA (Yuka Terasaki), and that they've been friends for many years (Liko's VA debuted as a voice actress in the Macross anime, and Roy's VA voiced a character in that show too). Seems like they grew really close with time (kind of gives me a deeper appreciation for Liko and Roy's friendship knowing that their VAs also get along outside of work).

Liko's VA mentions that the current staff has both older and younger people so they learn a lot from each other. She specifically mentions Ohtani Ikue and Megumi Hayashibara (who have been voicing in Pokemon from the beginning). Ohtani Ikue mostly voices Pokemon, like Pikachu, and had a few human characters roles, her major one being Sango (very important). Megumi Hayashibara voiced Musashi and plenty of other Pokemon. She voices Nyarote in Horizons.

Liko's VA talks about how intense the dubbing session for HZ056 was, as she put her everything into it. She mentions that we got to see new sides of Liko in that episode (such as her refusal to give in, etc). Nice insight from her VA on that specific episode.

---

Monthly summaries and staff lists for the current month. Contains spoilers for the month of August 2024.

Anyway, just putting this out there before the episodes in question are broadcasted. I am mostly paying attention to who writes what.

HZ061 and HZ062 will both be written by the same person, Michihiro Tsuchiya (see here and here). No summary for HZ062 for now (which is totally when Hogator will evolve, and that's probably why the summary is "hidden" for now). Michihiro Tsuchiya wrote the episode in which Mibrim evolved (HZ053), and he is seemingly the one who will do the same for Hogator. He also wrote Roy's basics test with Colza (HZ048), and he is the one taking care of his implementation test too. Dot also had the same writer for her basics and implementation tests episodes.

I am hoping HZ062 will have the same kind of writing as HZ040 tbh (Nyahoja's backstory episode, which is so far my favorite ep written by Michihiro Tsuchiya), aka capitalizing on everything that happened in the show up until now to make Hogator's evolution feel special. (HZ040 was really good to me because of how it utilized every aspect of Liko and Nyahoja's bond, drew parallels between the characters and their tendancies to hold back, made callbacks to scenes in the first episodes and shed a new light on them and changed our interpretations of them etc.) Anyway, I'll wait and see. This is the first time Michihiro Tsuchiya writes two episodes in a row, I think.

As for HZ063, link is here. Naohiro Fukushima writing Liko's implementation test felt a bit unexpected to me since he usually writes Dot-centric episodes. Also, Liko's basic test wasn't written by him (HZ047 was written by Kureha Matsuzawa).

I'm a bit curious about the summary mentioning that Liko will be told about Grusha's past. Part of me is thinking about how Grusha is specialized in Ice types so that means Liko is facing someone who has the same type as Sango's main partner (and how it might help her get closer to Sango somehow, just like how Roy facing Dragon types when he battled Hassaku made him think about Rayquaza). And how she'll get to learn about Grusha's past and Grusha seems cold on the outside, but has a passionate side within. Which could be similar to Amethio? Anyway, this is just me relating this to the Explorers characters I feel Liko is closest to. I think these kinds of meetings could eventually help her, if the narrative intent is to get her closer to some of the characters in the Explorers and maybe learning about their pasts too. Who knows!

Anyway, I also really like that Liko's tests involve her facing Pokemon her main partner is weak to (Bug and Ice), because it means they are specifically pushing her and challenging her that way. The fact that Grusha is the strongest Gym Leader too. Though I'm mostly curious about the emotional aspect of this confrontation. It's interesting that Liko is facing someone described as cold and harsh (that mention of her and Nyarote melting his icy heart with their fiery bond too).