You know, after watching The Strongest Mega Evolution Act IV, I can officially I liked these specials better when they were called Pokémon Origins. I may have been critical of parts of these specials before, but this is the first time I can say I didn't like Act IV.
This post is going to be addressing both Act IV and XY and Z, but I do like the latter. There will be some spoilers. Read no further if you intend to watch Act IV or XY and Z.
I can officially say that Alan had his chance as a character. He doesn't represent me at all as an older fan. This isn't helped at all by the fact that Kensho Ono finally learned to voice act. Way too late for that, dude.
This could have been the moment where he could have been fleshed out more as a character. Instead, they decided that since this was the last special; they made it way too difficult to go back and do more. This is the special that will be officially tasked with killing the Mega Evolution specials.
He decides to have 10 battles with barely any rest between them; he doesn't treat anyone besides his Charizard with any decency, and rather than try to comfort his associate Maren in her time of need (I hesitate to call them friends at this point); he runs off seething with rage for no adequately explored reason at all, which comes completely out of nowhere since I don't know anything about these characters; hence I don't really care about them at all.
I mean, N acted the way he did because he wasn't used to being around humans; generally preferring the company of Pokémon. Alan, however, is never given a reason why acts this way. I don't think he will be at this point.
Generally, with characters like Ash, Goku, Monkey D. Luffy, and the Elrics from Full Metal Alchemist; we get to see what they want to do, see how they set about doing it and all the things they go through as a result. That is basic storytelling. While Alan has technically been introduced, he has been by no means established. Without any positive or redeeming qualities, he's just there.
Memo to the people involved: a distant, emotionally void character is not how to appeal to older viewers. He turns me off as a fan, and I also think he's a terrible role model for children.
Now for the XYZ series: the first couple episodes were pretty good, complete with a new opening and ending, with the latter involving Bonnie and the Zygarde Core (I got tired of the Little Glee Monster song a long time ago).
Team Flare has also been distinguished from their game counterparts; channeling Lysander's energy into the rest of Flare; especially in the case of the scientists. They seem downright gleeful of the fact they're willing to harm children to accomplish their goals. Xerosic in particular has this very creepy, Josef Mengele-type voiee that gives me chills every time I hear it.
It's also just as well that Alan kept walking at the end of the pilot; since I personally don't want him and Ash to meet, much less battle. If the opening is any indication; there could be a whole Civil War/Dawn of Justice type situation going on, with the cynical Alan contrasting the idealistic Ash.
It may not have been as good as the pilot of XY in general, but like I said; it should be an overall satisfying series.
If the Mega Evolution Specials could not show what Alan was capable of, then XY and Z is going to be their last chance. The 20th anniversary is coming soon, and at best; I could see their dynamic being handled similarly to Paul, and to a lesser extent, Trip. He may be an asshole, but at least he's not 100% a dick.
He may not be a sociopath like Paul; but with Origins and the mainline series, Red and Ash are at least written like leads. Alan was written more like a rival or even a villain. After four specials, I really don't know anything about him. Thus, I am forced to conclude that I don't consider Alan to be a relatable character, I consider Ash to be one. Overall, I can say the Mega Evolution Specials were an interesting experiment; but compared to Origins as potentially replacing the mainline series, they failed. At least they're better than Chronicles, especially in the case of The Legend of Thunder. To quote the Agony Booth, "it committed movie-suicide in only one installment."
Tell me what you think of this arc; and I'm going to get back to work on this project I was working on when I'm done with my Spanish homework. See you space cowboy.
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