Hey everyone- given all the noise around Mega Voltage and the anime as a whole; I thought I would do something I've been contemplating a while. Despite what some have claimed otherwise, I have maintained the main deterrents to Pokémon Horizons were never the different "anchor" characters or new storylines in and of themselves. I have maintained that telling me you don't like HZ is not a controversial viewpoint and shouldn’t be treated like one. I in turn, have only seen HZ as just okay (something to leave on in the background while I'm doing anything from writing to playing my Switch); but I have no need to go after the show's supporters. With all of this in mind, there are valid points being raised by longtime fans about HZ (especially as the 30th anniversary and Generation X draw ever closer; with a new anime in the works). So, I thought I would go over the most common ones as firmly but fairly as I can. Here are 10 valid critiques longtime fans have with Pokémon Horizons.
First, I will establish that you obviously won't be seeing the obvious hot takes that have been repeated so often they've lost all meaning. Second, this isn't a formal "top 10" list, just ten critiques that have merit among all the fluff. Lastly, I thought I would lead with the honorable mentions; so I can establish what you can expect. Usually, I do that near the end; but in this case, I'll make an exception.
Honorable Mention- Furthering the "problem" it was intended to solve
One common argument in favor of HZ is that it struck a balance between kids today and the older fanbase who were kids of yesteryear. While not untrue on a surface level, I'd submit that only really works if you look at it from a very specific angle. From another, this anime to other parts of the audience is a solution in search of a problem. I've argued this before, but audience clarity is key. Your average kid won't be interested in corporate smear campaigns, and your typical person my age won't be terribly invested in some internet celebrity's fans.
Honorable Mention- Higher standards and more variety in family entertainment
This point will be expanded on in the main list, but it's still worth mentioning here- Pokémon isn't built the same way as other shows of its ilk. It showed up exactly where it needed to be to succeed in pop culture and built its brand carefully over the years that followed. I'm of a mindset that HZ might have worked fine in the 2000s as a spinoff; but pitching it as the mainline option in a far more competitive landscape was always going to be tough. On top of how close it was to the end of the previous anime, simply having a different story structure and anchor character was only going to keep hold of the audience and critics for so long. With more and more offerings for families and demands for better options all the time, merely being "different" isn’t enough anymore.
1. Inconsistent handling of the source material
One thing I have learned over the years in and out of this fandom is there are creative liberties that one will accept and others one will not. I would argue one not need capture the letter of the original work; capturing its spirit is even more important. Though my feelings on HZ remain complicated (why my reviews will be arc by arc instead of individual episodes); I maintain it works a lot better when it actually adapts the games instead of going off on its own.
It's why Terastal Debut is probably the best of the arcs I've seen; though even that isn't without its caveats. I still believe changing Grusha as a character wasn't necessary as the other Paldea gym leaders didn't get that treatment. Likewise, if they wanted a character-focused story; the Generation IX games would have been the ideal template to follow. I understand earlier seasons embellishing details; but there's been an increasing willingness to accept the source material in another medium. We'll touch on this again later in this list; but the approach to adaptation feels like an overcorrection to a large portion of the audience.
2. Unclear placement in franchise canon
Far from the new anchor characters, a far greater deterrent myself and others faced with HZ is the lack of clarity in just where it fits in the near 30-year history of the franchise. I was among those hoping that the new direction would mean greater clarity of just how the anime functions in relation to its predecessors. Regrettably, that ended up not being the case. In fact, outside the Tera leak; there has been no clear official statement about just where the show is in relation to the previous anime or games. That isn't a problem other franchises have; and it would be appreciated if we all knew for sure whether or not it's an alternate universe.
3. Slower pacing
This is one of the more understandable criticisms of this anime, and one I've heard fewer people try to justify. When used correctly, a slow-burn pace can work wonders for a story; but when it makes the experience harder to invest in, it's a surefire way to have your audience take their business elsewhere. This ties directly into my next point; and these two are among the most common counterarguments towards reasons people have praised HZ. I know previous seasons weren't always the best about this either, but things were at least happening in episodes that weren't key to the plot. Here, every episode is plot-relevant and makes the experience as much of a stagger as Wo-Chien (using a turtle-based Pokémon or Regigigas' "Slow Start" would have been too obvious). It is possible to write a serialized story where it doesn't feel like it takes an entire arc to do one story event where other shows can have multiple; friendly reminder.
4. Mystery box storytelling not being for everyone
While the "mystery box" story device can and has been used to tell decent stories; I've never been a huge fan of the device being used in and of itself for a story. For a sizable portion of the audience, that was a bigger deterrent than the new leads and still is. At best, it's like the GS Ball 2.0. At worst, it's withholding basic story and character details for no reason. It's also among the plot devices that's trickiest to get right and easiest to screw up. I didn't drop the show outright over it; but I am among those who deliberately chose to wait for whole storylines to make it online.
5. Other options in the franchise doing more (with less)
To me and others, merely having a different lead and story structure isn't enough of a reason to check something out and never was to me. It's how those elements are used; and I found other areas of the franchise far more interesting in telling different stories in the same fictional universe. As pictured in this section, Pokémon Concierge presented a better understanding of the material and what I want out of it from an adult perspective than HZ did in a fraction of the time (I am looking forward to the next season soon). You'd be harder-pressed to find anyone who loved the neo-noir of the live-action Detective Pikachu more than I do; and that story did a better job to me of presenting the Pokémon world through an adult lens while also being fun for today's kids. Multiple web OVAs canon to the games are online with more to come. While this will continue in the second half, I will say this- you don't always need two years and over 100 episodes to tell your story. Sometimes, by doing less; you end up with a story that does more.
6. Heavy alterations to the world-building
On paper, adding an airship and a more consistent adult presence to the show is a way to help set it apart from its predecessors. However, the flip side to that coin is that it inadvertently made the world they were traveling seem a lot smaller. In all honesty, I am actually among those who were glad that Terastal Debut had the older characters as mentors and the children traveling Paldea at ground level; as the independent study program of the "Great Paldea Treasure Hunt" was one of my favorite aspects of the games. Even areas that would lend themselves naturally to the kind of storytelling HZ is aiming for aren't fully-utilized (Area Zero had less screen time than the anime-original Rakua) or outright omitted (Blueberry Academy has yet to make an appearance- not against it; but also not holding my breath for it). Overall, the world-building in HZ isn't the worst ever; but it lacks the same magic as its predecessors even when pulling from the same source material.
7. The utilization of the new elements
This applies to both the anime itself and its video game source material- I'm a person that argues and has argued that it's not just adding new elements to a work that is key; it's how those elements are utilized. In order to dispel the belief that it's nostalgic fans who disliked the idea of retiring the previous lead, I will mention my favorite seasons are from Sun and Moon and Journeys- the sagas that ended that 25+ year run. Both the former's slice-of-life elements and the latter's "anything goes" approach incorporating material from the whole show up to that point helped recreate the feelings I got spending afternoons and weekends watching the original series in days' past. I even appreciated implementing ideas from the games (both console and mobile) in unique ways and coming up with new stories out of whole cloth. In the case of HZ, I'm not among those that thought they went too far in shaking up the status quo. Given how the games have had more willingness to break from conventions, I'm among those that thinks it didn't go far enough. I'm not saying HZ would have had to have the leads collecting all the stakes to fight the Titanic Monarchs; but it would have been nice to see how the characters responded to the box legendaries or Ogerpon instead of putting everything on Terapagos. I'm also dismayed Arven wasn't given any lines, since Nemona and Penny were well-represented in the anime. Though others I've spoken with remain adamant that the HZ cast will remain as long as their seniors; I'm among those who will not be surprised if that ends up not being the case.
8. Downplaying the importance of battles
This has remained one of the more common critiques of HZ- though the battles that it does have are certainly standouts; this element seems to be significantly downplayed this time around. Whether it's fighting an enemy faction; rising through the ranks in the league or an Eastern-infused take on over-the-top Looney Tunes cartoon violence, it's a foundational element of the franchise. Yet, the way HZ has handled them has been a point of contention among the fanbase. Not only are they far less common than they once were; they don't necessarily hold the same impact in the overall story. Part of this can be attributed to the changes in character and story; but I would have preferred connecting personal growth to growth of skill rather than compartmentalizing it.
9. The weight of comparison
This has been one of the juiciest nuggets to address; especially as someone who's gone out of their way to not compare HZ to the previous anime unless absolutely necessary. Yet, one of the major arguments in HZ's favor I'm glad is being disputed is its comparisons in other areas of the franchise. I've mentioned it before, I will mention it again- merely having a different character and story setup isn't a free pass for me to like something. It's doing something with those characters and setup that is the key. I will specifically state that I do not agree with the comparisons to the manga, with Adventures/Special in particular. Though I may not agree with every change made there either (changing some of the player characters' personalities, making Surge and Sabrina antagonists among numerous others); I can at least understand why they were made. I just find it strange how even after the games have proven that you can tell a story with the franchise beyond "there is opponent, fight on, now go and rest our heroes;" the main anime still remains hesitant to fully embrace that. The storylines in Scarlet and Violet and its expansions would have been perfect to adapt for Horizons, and the fact so little has is honestly a bigger disappointment than the change in lead cast. These alone are textbook examples of how the weight of comparison can crush a work before you even press play. If you were to ask me about why I prefer 2019's Detective Pikachu and the stop-motion Pokémon Concierge over Horizons; it's simple- they didn't sell themselves as a bold new take on the franchise, they sold themselves as stories with unique visuals and intriguing ways of implementing different genres into the Pokémon world... which just happened to turn out as bold new takes on the franchise. With both being followed up on in the near future, I honestly feel more confident in those than I do about HZ lasting till Generation X.
10. An overall less memorable experience
Regardless of what happens, it's clear that HZ has much to accomplish in order stick in the public consciousness to the same way its predecessors did. Though a core audience loves the new direction; it certainly is never good when my research process discovers that viewing figures stopped being reported sometime around Terastal Debut. Streaming numbers are also regularly outside the top 10, so what ends up happening for the 30th anniversary will be dependent on how Mega Voltage lands at the end.
All the same, there's a reason why for every fan who has latched onto HZ; there's others that just moved on after JN (and by proxy; the last quarter-century of anime). In my and many others' case, it was simply the way To Be a Master and Distant Blue Sky said; "thank you for sharing this story with us- now go find a new one to enjoy!" With that being the case, there's also the sentiment that in its changes to the story and characterization; it made the anime less enjoyable compared to its seniors. I do not hate or even dislike Horizons, but it's less memorable to me and others; to the point where it's yet to rise beyond a "second screen" when I'm writing, editing or playing my Switch. It's fine, but it's not actively raising the cool factor or fun factor the way what came before has. I would more readily show my nephew the Indigo League or Journeys than Horizons any day; and I would do the same for myself.
Though the future of the anime after this remains uncertain (opinion remains divided whether or not this cast will be kept long-term or Generation X will have someone else); it is clear that Pokémon Horizons is not without valid critiques from longtime fans. I certainly will not be against bringing back past characters or using ones from the games; but I guess I will know more after I finish Rayquaza Rising and start Mega Voltage. All the same, I’ve never considered disliking HZ a controversial opinion and I would appreciate if it weren’t seen that way. I still think it’s all right, but I’ve never understood the more effusive praise others have given it. That will be all for now, and I will see you again soon- take care.
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