#like i know that the plot will end up changing because Liko's pendant doesn't stay a pendant - i know some spoilers but

[sage-nebula]

I'm about to start episode 15 of the Horizons anime (I was really behind), and I'd just like to say once again that the PokéAni fans that refused to watch it just because it didn't have Ash and/or the TRio in it are really, really missing out.

Aside from having gorgeous animation, music, and a fresh premise, the cast of characters in Horizons is really solid. The adults of the Rising Volt Tacklers crew (Friede, Orla, Mollie, Murdock, and Landau) are all interesting and are around just enough so that the kids are safe, but that the stakes are still raised high enough so that it's believable when the kids are in danger. Because the stakes in Horizons are genuine stakes; we are shown from the get-go that the primary antagonists, the Explorers, are not just goofy guys that can be trifled with, and they haven't come up with something they want to steal on the spot after a chance encounter, either. They are genuine threats that, at least at the point I'm watching, really are too strong for Liko and Roy to handle on their own, and so they need Friede and the rest of the RVT to help them train and become stronger. This doesn't mean that Liko and Roy are helpless and can't do anything -- they do quite a lot on their own! -- but there are stakes in the ongoing plot in this anime (and there is an ongoing, narrative plot!), and the adult crew are around just enough to help out when things get dicey for the kids, who are newbie trainers.

Liko is a really refreshing protagonist; she has a lot to learn about the world still and so is curious and ready to see and experience new things, but she's also cautious and unsure of herself and her place at first, which leads to her getting lost in her own thoughts and tripped up by her own anxiety at times. But we get to see her grow; she comes out of her shell a little more episode by episode, and seeing that marked character growth is wonderful to watch. Plus, as the primary protagonist, she's central to the ongoing narrative plot; the pendant that she inherited from her grandmother is what the Explorers are after, and she takes an active role in wanting to solve its mystery, taking the step herself to not be just a damsel needing to be protected by the RVT, but instead being the heroine of her own story (something she lampshades in an early episode lmao). She has a concrete motivation for being on this journey and stake in the plot. Liko is great!

And for everyone I've seen who says, "I miss Ash," well . . . Roy's your boy! Don't get me wrong, Roy is very much his own character and person; but Roy has a lot of the same personality beats that Ash did in the later sagas (you know, when they'd truly decided to throw out all semblance of who Ash was when he was originally conceived as a character to instead be who they wanted him to be vis-a-vis what type of shounen protagonist is popular nowadays). He's extremely energetic, loves pokémon and gets along with them readily, and is enthusiastic about seeing new places. Except this wasn't just an Ash copy-paste, because we're given concrete reasons for this, too; Roy grew up on a remote island near-ish Kanto, and never left that island for his entire life. He was always told fantastical stories about faraway adventures, but never got to experience them for himself, instead attending remote schools and spending his days otherwise playing with wild pokémon in the forests on his island. In fact, Roy grew up on one story in particular: the story of an ancient adventure who journeyed with six pokémon known as the Six Heroes, including a shiny Rayquaza, to the ends of the world. And then Roy finds an ancient pokéball containing that very Rayquaza, releases it on accident, and that gives him the motivation to join the RVT so that he can chase the Rayquaza and finally set off on a journey of his own, to solve the mystery of the ancient pokéballs and shiny Rayquaza. So again, it's a unique motivation and stake in the plot! While still, also, being a character type you're likely to enjoy, if you enjoyed the Ash who acted like a rockruff in order to train his rockruff. (Because Roy? Jumped off a rock over and over to try to teach a wattrel how to fly.)

The Horizons anime has an ongoing narrative plot that the main characters are actively engaged in and have a reason to pursue. (Because I forgot to mention, but Liko's pendant responds to Roy's ancient pokéball.) They're brand new, unique characters whose personalities are informed by their background and who grow as the episodes progress, because even the episodes that are a bit more slice of life are still informing them as characters and are progressing their characters forward. The ongoing plot is never forgotten, nor is the threat; in an episode where the crew is shopping, a merchant off-handedly mentions Amethio and his sidekicks (they're the main three Explorers that the RVT have faced so far), and Friede picked up the reference and pounced on the potential lead on what their enemies are up to, and so on. You fully believe that the adult crew of the RVT has known each other forever, and they're so warm and kind to Liko and Roy when they join the crew. Not to mention Dot, Murdock's niece, who is also absolutely delightful and I can't wait to see more of her.

All in all, I cannot stress this enough, if there are any fans of the Ash anime that still haven't checked out Horizons because they feel it won't be the same . . . well, it's not the same. But it's really, really, REALLY good. And you're really missing out on something great if you continue to pass it up.