Buizel ni hamatteru?!
Those of you who frequent BMGf, watch out for t3h copypasta.
Okay, admittedly, Nozomi didn't have very interesting interaction with Dawn in the ep, aside from the predicted advising Dawn to use Contest-style moves to help her defeat Buizel--which ended up being pretty important to the ep and all, but it's not like Dawn even thanked her for the tip afterwards so it's not anything I'd call support for Appealshipping, as much as I was looking for hints.
And still no tension between Dawn and Nozomi--though they did mention that they were both going to show up at the Contest in Yosuga--that's Hearthome, no? Kind of a long ways off... and they make it sound like it's the very next Contest that Dawn is entering, so we'll have quite a wait. No wonder they stuck Nozomi in this ep.
Best moment of characterization for Nozomi in this ep was her comment on TR's motto, which I think just makes her own because first of all, how many chars aren't too busy giving the usual "omg wtf" stunned reaction to comment on--or in this case, critique--TR's motto? I can't translate the whole of it, but among other things she said it was "not beautiful" and "the part at the end was too long." That's more of a critique than most people are capable of giving on a sprite/fic/fanart. =P And then James objects, "Stop treating this like a Contest!" I love the fact that Nozomi seems so fixated on Contests--even TR's motto doesn't escape her Contest mentality. XD!
Gonna play the devil's advocate (well, given my stance on Appealshipping) and say that if any character might have increased in Nozomi's interest in this ep, it was Ash, as she saw just how much of an obsessive oddball he is when it comes to Pokemon training. I'm not saying her notice of him in this ep is a Nozomi x Ash hint--really, I don't think it's anymore of a hint than Nozomi giving Dawn the advice. However, it's also worth to notice that at the beginning, while it was logical for Dawn to show off her ribbon to Nozomi, out of nowhere Ash feels like he has to show off his badge as well, even though he knows Nozomi is only interested in Contests. I was really expecting her to react with more disinterest too, but I guess the writers didn't want her to seem like a jerk (though it would've helped emphasize her one-track mind regarding Contests). Quite frankly, I'd be amused if we got more interesting Nozomi and Ash interaction, just for the fact that all the Pearlshippers and Ash x name-your-other-girl shippers will TOTALLY IGNORE it, whereas if Nozomi had been Misty or May or Dawn they'd have been all over it. Ah, selective vision of shippers. ;P
And is it just me or was the battle animation in the ep pretty damn sweet? Or perhaps it's just that I like watching Glameow battling... Though my favorite moment of battle animation was near the end of the first half of the Buizel vs. Pikachu battle.
As everybody has already said, Buizel is this season's badass Pogey. "HAI LOOKIT TEH GUY W/TEH POWRFUL PKMNZ! I CHALLENGE J00!!1!1!" In the preview narration, clearly Ash was looking forward to challenging Goyou, but apparently Buizel wants first dibs on the battle. Awesome Buizel vs. T3h Most Awesomest Goyou('s Bronzong) = I think I'm going to die of fangirl blood loss at some point in the next ep. @_@
For the record, I'm really glad that the badass Pogey DIDN'T go to Ash this time, and though there's a lot to suggest that at some point in the future there may be an Aipom-Buizel trade, I find myself hoping that Dawn keeps the Buizel, if only because it promises to play off of Piplup's character very well. Hell, the squabbling between Buizel and Piplup in the preview is giving me new shipping ideas. >>;
Okay, now that I'm done gushing over this ep/the next ep, I might as will say *something* vaguely critical:
The one thing that bothered me about this ep is the transition from Buizel being surrounded by the Bubblebeam to suddenly going head-to-head with Piplup in Aqua Jet vs. Peck, and then BUIZEL BEING THE ONE TO FALL. Wasn't this the same Aqua Jet that pwned Nozomi's Glameow, which is hinted to be almost as strong as Ash's Aipom? I get that they were going for the whole "using Contest-style moves will be advantageous against Buizel since it only knows straightforward battling style," but in that case at the very least they should've had Buizel stay trapped by the Bubblebeam or SOMETHING to show that it actually made a difference. They did (sort of) redeem the lameness of that by having Piplup win using Whirlpool in the end, which is a lot more believable than "OMG PWNED BY PECK." =/
P.S. Random thing that amused me in this ep:
"Dai--jou--"
"BUUUUU~II!"
(I can't believe that at one point I thought only the dub resorted to trivial wordplay. XD)
Okay, admittedly, Nozomi didn't have very interesting interaction with Dawn in the ep, aside from the predicted advising Dawn to use Contest-style moves to help her defeat Buizel--which ended up being pretty important to the ep and all, but it's not like Dawn even thanked her for the tip afterwards so it's not anything I'd call support for Appealshipping, as much as I was looking for hints.
And still no tension between Dawn and Nozomi--though they did mention that they were both going to show up at the Contest in Yosuga--that's Hearthome, no? Kind of a long ways off... and they make it sound like it's the very next Contest that Dawn is entering, so we'll have quite a wait. No wonder they stuck Nozomi in this ep.
Best moment of characterization for Nozomi in this ep was her comment on TR's motto, which I think just makes her own because first of all, how many chars aren't too busy giving the usual "omg wtf" stunned reaction to comment on--or in this case, critique--TR's motto? I can't translate the whole of it, but among other things she said it was "not beautiful" and "the part at the end was too long." That's more of a critique than most people are capable of giving on a sprite/fic/fanart. =P And then James objects, "Stop treating this like a Contest!" I love the fact that Nozomi seems so fixated on Contests--even TR's motto doesn't escape her Contest mentality. XD!
Gonna play the devil's advocate (well, given my stance on Appealshipping) and say that if any character might have increased in Nozomi's interest in this ep, it was Ash, as she saw just how much of an obsessive oddball he is when it comes to Pokemon training. I'm not saying her notice of him in this ep is a Nozomi x Ash hint--really, I don't think it's anymore of a hint than Nozomi giving Dawn the advice. However, it's also worth to notice that at the beginning, while it was logical for Dawn to show off her ribbon to Nozomi, out of nowhere Ash feels like he has to show off his badge as well, even though he knows Nozomi is only interested in Contests. I was really expecting her to react with more disinterest too, but I guess the writers didn't want her to seem like a jerk (though it would've helped emphasize her one-track mind regarding Contests). Quite frankly, I'd be amused if we got more interesting Nozomi and Ash interaction, just for the fact that all the Pearlshippers and Ash x name-your-other-girl shippers will TOTALLY IGNORE it, whereas if Nozomi had been Misty or May or Dawn they'd have been all over it. Ah, selective vision of shippers. ;P
And is it just me or was the battle animation in the ep pretty damn sweet? Or perhaps it's just that I like watching Glameow battling... Though my favorite moment of battle animation was near the end of the first half of the Buizel vs. Pikachu battle.
As everybody has already said, Buizel is this season's badass Pogey. "HAI LOOKIT TEH GUY W/TEH POWRFUL PKMNZ! I CHALLENGE J00!!1!1!" In the preview narration, clearly Ash was looking forward to challenging Goyou, but apparently Buizel wants first dibs on the battle. Awesome Buizel vs. T3h Most Awesomest Goyou('s Bronzong) = I think I'm going to die of fangirl blood loss at some point in the next ep. @_@
For the record, I'm really glad that the badass Pogey DIDN'T go to Ash this time, and though there's a lot to suggest that at some point in the future there may be an Aipom-Buizel trade, I find myself hoping that Dawn keeps the Buizel, if only because it promises to play off of Piplup's character very well. Hell, the squabbling between Buizel and Piplup in the preview is giving me new shipping ideas. >>;
Okay, now that I'm done gushing over this ep/the next ep, I might as will say *something* vaguely critical:
The one thing that bothered me about this ep is the transition from Buizel being surrounded by the Bubblebeam to suddenly going head-to-head with Piplup in Aqua Jet vs. Peck, and then BUIZEL BEING THE ONE TO FALL. Wasn't this the same Aqua Jet that pwned Nozomi's Glameow, which is hinted to be almost as strong as Ash's Aipom? I get that they were going for the whole "using Contest-style moves will be advantageous against Buizel since it only knows straightforward battling style," but in that case at the very least they should've had Buizel stay trapped by the Bubblebeam or SOMETHING to show that it actually made a difference. They did (sort of) redeem the lameness of that by having Piplup win using Whirlpool in the end, which is a lot more believable than "OMG PWNED BY PECK." =/
P.S. Random thing that amused me in this ep:
"Dai--jou--"
"BUUUUU~II!"
(I can't believe that at one point I thought only the dub resorted to trivial wordplay. XD)