#anime evolution

Some samples of digital sketch commissions :) As much as I love drawing Shibes, I wanted to take a break from them by doing some commissions for a bit!

Hope to see you at Akimatsuri this saturday !

Look at Yokai Watch please. Also a show for kids, does little-to-no character development, with less overreaching plot, and yet...

... we have some pretty intense scenes/gags in here. Not just “shippy” but actually canon. That’s one of my fave from the show so far and it really shows that among all the silliness or the lack of regularly progressing plot... there are actually some fucked up psychological/relationship model moments (perhaps it’s even a bit of nice development? not yet sure). Keita, you are absolutely not normal in that regard and also... she actually likes it when you’re being an idiot!

See, there are a lot of fun things SM Satoshi owns to Amano Keita but if at some point in the future of Pokemon Satoshi was finally allowed to be involved in some small romantic situations/gags... and I mean real romance, not fandom “ships” or one sided artificial ‘crush’ (looking at you Serena!)... then that would be amazing! Maybe I would actually start to like his character more and stop seeing him as a vessel for non-romantic (and sometimes pretty dry) pokemon love. Also, such a shift would most likely open much more possibilities for some cool Rocketshippy moments/dialogues - far more interesting and fresh rather than highly ambiguous Rocketshippy frames or great moments as we know them from Rocketshippy history of the show. Starting with SM, the TV series already allows for wedding and marriage between the main supportive characters so... that’s a start towards something interesting, I guess? Although, it must be said: I would dislike it if Musashi and Kojiro got some sort of “romantic plotline” and if Rocketshipping actually became canon (or some sort of a big focus/end game). For many reasons but mainly:

1. Team Rocket is pretty philosophical and symbolic, on so many levels. I find it fitting that different people can view them both as friends or a couple. In any case, they’re already eternal partners and that makes it even more impactful. I like it that it’s left ambiguous and remains of no essential importance.

2. Making it canon wouldn’t make sense except just for the sake of it. Even more, it’s very likely the writers would butcher something in weird ways just to craft such a storyline all of a sudden. It’s like they are already together (except for some crisis episodes like “I have a silly period/fantasy for something”, usually Musashi, and it’s a kids show so it’s understandable) + they really don’t need to marry. They’re free spirits, such traditions don’t bound them except if they do it as a motto when they see fit.

So yeah, I would gladly see more romantic plots or Rocketshipping in Pokemon, although not to get too serious, because I wouldn’t like to see Rocketshipping become canon or get any sort of sudden ‘plotline development’ which would feel kind of silly and forced. Even dumb, especially that they’ve been together for so long. Unless it’s done brilliantly and extraordinarily, semi-silly with some semi-symbolical undertones and perhaps also a bit ambiguous in a way that I can’t even imagine... but that’s unlikely, right?

In any case, whether we discuss Satoshi or Rockets, back at the start of SM... I remember many people being concerned Pokemon would shift to become more lile Yokai Watch which would ruin it because Yokai = just dumb for kids without plot and all that. But... the truth is... while it’s important for Pokemon to remain Pokemon... you actually want for it to become a bit more like Yokai Watch in many many areas (and believe me when I say that SM anime doesn't come even close to that). What would be the benefits of it becoming more like Yokai Watch in these areas? Well... making it more fun, less predictable and unlocking all the tabu Pokemon anime generally doesn’t touch. In that case: some ongoing romance and pretty amazing gags/character features.

I'll be at harumatsuri animeevolution on march 17th at the Nikkei National Museum and Cultural Centre Burnaby BC from 10am to 6pm. Look out for @mosobot64 and I at table 40! 

Mosobot64's twitter: https://twitter.com/Mosobot64