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Forum - View topicREVIEW: Pokémon Horizons: Season 3 - Rising Hope Part 1 Anime Review
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EmeraldSaucer
 Posts: 978 |
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The batch of episodes is some of the most frustrating for me in Horizons so far. Because they have such a cool setup with our team at their lowest point, separated and scapegoated for crimes they didn't commit. And absolutely nothing comes of it. Liko and Roy can go on the exact same adventures they have always gone on, parading around in broad daylight despite supposedly being wanted criminals (you would think Spinel would do anything to identify the Rising Volt Tacklers), and we only ever get the most miniscule amount of animosity or suspicion thrown their way, immediately dissipated by them going "we didn't do that" and everybody going "oh ok then". It's yet another example of Horizons not willing to go all the way with its more serialized narrative by being afraid of actually exploring consequences within said narrative
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Juno016
 Posts: 2592 |
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I'm not quite sure how you concluded with this. For one, the conclusion of the previous arc was "This adventure is yours that you decided to take." The arc really shows how they've taken this lesson to heart. They used to be strung along by Friede and crew, but now the kids are inspiring the adults and running the show. Not to mention, the kids aren't just saying "We didn't do that". They're challenged multiple times and their specific actions in the episodes' plot is what proves their sincerity and empathy, making it hard to believe they're bad people. As for Spinel, I suspect the crew's disappearance in that time led him to dismiss them as a threat any longer, and now that he's aware of their resurgence, he's holding their public shaming up his sleeve for an important momentーrisky for him and likely to backfire due to his arrogance (as oft villains fall), but still nonetheless going to be used in a pivotal moment to maximize the scheme's efficiency. Remember, these are the people who used the crew's own adventure against them once already. It's quite up their alley to keep our allies, and Terapagos, around as a future trump card to fulfill their own goals. I suspect they're already doing so by building their assets (the strong spheres) so they can have a public show of defeating the villanous Rising Voltteckers again. |
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EmeraldSaucer
Posts: 978 |
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They aren't challenged at all lmao. Every single instance in this and future episodes amounts to someone pointing out that they are the Rising Volt Tacklers (after they make no effort to hide it most of the time), them saying they didn't do the things they are accused of, and the person going "oh ok" and the episode moving on. You can try to positively spin that to be about empathy or whatever, but what it ultimately amounts to is basically nothing coming from this plot point since there is no actual conflict or character growth derived from them being accused. A semblance of consequence without actually having any consequences within the story
If that were the case, there would be no reason to accuse them in the first place and to continue accusing them up to the present day of the story (as seen multiple times). This is just an excuse for lazy writing for why Spinel would place the blame on a nebulous group without identifying the members of said small group - a villain being stupid not because it's in their character, but because the writers don't want to actually write around their own set-up because that would require slight deviation in the episodic adventure formula. Something that as I have pointed out multiple times in these reviews, Horizons is regularly wishy-washy about, refusing to actually pick a direction and so ending up in a bland middle ground |
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Juno016
Posts: 2592 |
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First of all, when spoiler[Liko's classmates find out about Roy being in the Rising Voltteckers, they go after him. Then Liko stands up to them and announces that she's also a member of the Rising Voltteckers. This scene is intended to show that she's changed her mind about feeling stuck and is proud of her place in the crew, allowing her to move on. Crucially, we don't get to see her confused classmates' ultimate reaction, but we get a short time skip to that evening, where Roy questions Anne if things will be okay after Liko's confession. Anne says she thinks it's better that the truth is out because it means Liko can finally be honest with herself. This implies the students haven't come around yet and the tension will last going forward. When they meet up with NyabbiDaisukikko and she finds out they're the Rising Voltteckers, she refuses to give them information about the Black Rayquaza and challenges them to a battle. She's furious. Then Ult shows up being chased by a bunch of wild pokemon and NyabbiDaisukikko is ready to try and fight them off, but Liko and Roy don't blame the pokemon for Ult's transgressions and instead use moves and singing to bring the wild pokemon under control. This show of empathy toward wild pokemon directly contradicts the rumors around the Rising Voltteckers, and NyabbiDaisukikko realizes that even she showed less consideration than they did for the wild pokemon (also, she lied about having Black Rayquaza info ). Thus, she changes her mind about them and believes them. Later on, when Molly tells them to drop the name, because their reputation is in the gutter, the kids explain the situation with NyabiDaisukikko to express their heartfelt wish to quell the rumors with their actions. Molly is impressed with their resolve and goes back on her request, trusting that they'll be okay.]
The whole point of the rumor was spoiler[for Exceed to use the already-disbanded and missing group of adventurers' name as storybook villains to boost Exceed's own reputation as "heroes" in the public eye so they'll trust them with their new devices. With their reputation in the trash, that alone would be a deterrent not to reappear. Either way, Spinel does not appear too concerned about their eventual reappearance. Last time, this was because he was consciously using them to fulfill his goals. I assume this time is no different. When the crew finally hear from Friede in his encrypted message, he talks about how the rumors have made it hard for him to investigate and meet back up with the crew as well, so he's lying low.] None of this is subtle. It's all central within the text of the show and relevant to the characters' motives and development. I don't know why you think it's "lazy writing". It's not super complex, but it has substance to it. |
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Thatguy3331
 Posts: 1811 |
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Normally a new character into the main cast can feel rough but Ult feels like a really nice addition to the cast and became a very fast favorite of mine. I wish the show allowed him to bounce off other cast members a bit more as throughout the show it starts to get comical how the show will have Ult just be somewhere else whenever they don't feel like having him around for a scene (It is in character for him sure but alot of times I can see the strings so to speak)
I do, sadly, have to agree that it feels like Liko gets a bit of a backseat during the timeskip, which isn't to say she gets nothing to do but, again I do wish it were a bit more and a bit better (there's one particular stretch of the timeskip that ended recently that's pretty dreadful all around in how dull it is but that is beyond the scope of what's spoken of in the review) I was pretty happy with the status quo shift on the whole, biggest reason being Horizons is finally able to stop playing at having mystery elements as I always felt that was the weakest part of the show. I will second in that the cast do infact get challenged in show for being RVT but I also agree that said aspect isn't used as well or often enough as it could be. I think, generally speaking Horizons is just a show that leaves alot of things to be desired even if there is still a good amount of things to like. |
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