watching the first episode of pokemon horizons and it's super interesting how liko constrasts with ash
ash is extroverted, goal-oriented, confident in his ability to befriend pokemon (includng his starter). liko is the opposite, she's anxious and nervous and doesn't know what she's looking for yet.
it's really cool how different they are, it leaves room for a lot of different dynamics and plotlines for this series compared to the original pokemon anime
ok so i'm caught up (episode 17!!). i have to say i really really like this series thus far, I think it's the refresh anipoke has needed for a long time. here's some more thoughts as spoiler free as possible:
the animation is gorgeous and the characters and pokemon are full of personality. all the good parts of the anime (well, most of them) seem to be present in horizons, if not done better (so I won't be going into the specifics of those. would take too long). they add a lot of modern tech and culture to the anime which i would have been apprehensive about but they incorporate it pretty seamlessly. it feels like a pokemon anime for the modern kid, which i really like!
the villains seem to be very competent and organized and a real threat though which... i'm not exactly a fan of. team rocket was competent in unova and it was so boring. maybe i'll warm up to them but it just feels like every episode is Escaping These Dudes when I really prefer lesser stakes in anipoke. might make other ppl want to watch it more though! idk we'll see
i wonder how long pokemon horizons will last honestly. one gen? two gens? the thing is with the story they've set up I can't imagine it lasting as long as ash's, there seem to be set goals and milestones with liko and while ash had that too, he always had the possibility that he wouldn't pass the league and would move on to the next region (and also they didn't know when to end his). it's possible that after this arc is resolved she just does other stuff but idk how long that would last (and i can't imagine her getting a similar vein of arc as the current one). i want it to not go on too long and have a satisfying ending, so hopefully we'll get that.
i heavily suggest giving the current episodes a look!! it good