While Pokémon’s initial start with their new voice crew was shaky at first the diamond and pearl series breathed back energy to the franchise. Over time the characters have become just as significant as the older seasons from before. From a movie perspective, the entries have varied in storytelling but mostly average on the side of acceptable. For diamond and pearl, this trilogy of films revolving around the legendary Pokémon of different realms has been inconsistent in its stories despite them being all connected. The Rise of Darkrai (2007) felt more like set of random events because of a misunderstanding. While Giratina and the Sky Warrior (2008) kind of picked up the slack. Only to then for the ball to dropped slightly on this finale. It all feels very up and down.
The plot in this story wraps up the encounters of Ash and company from the last two films involving Palkia, Dialga and Giratina into a final conflict. The new legendary Pokémon to be revealed is Arceus (Tom Wayland), a creator of worlds. Essentially a god. After being awakened by the ripples in dimensions thanks to Palkia, Dialga and Giratina, Arceus seeks what it created ages ago called the jewel of life. Unfortunately, the memory Arceus last recalled was being betrayed from Damos (Dan Green) the last person it encountered, so now Arceus descends with the intent of payback. Meanwhile Ash and company meet Sheena (Carrie Keranen) and Kevin (Wayne Grayson), two specialists in the background of Arceus and who can also connect with Pokémon’s hearts. Strange but ok.
As there should be no shock, the Yuyama Sonoda duo are back again for another round of directing and writing together. It’s crazy how long these guys have been doing it for. What’s also crazy is how uneven they’ve been as well in their entries working on this franchise. Continuity cannot be discredited here as this and last film both have made sure to acknowledge past events very clearly. On the other hand, this does not change the fact that the story telling is very repetitive in this entry. When Ash and company first learn of Arceus is past they are told by the Sheena and Kevin. Then through a series of flashbacks it’s told again. There are even flashbacks within flashbacks in this entry. It’s not terrible but it feels more like padding than actual storytelling.
Another thing that doesn’t make complete sense are the timelines involved. Pokémon The Movie: 2000 (1999) was bad because it had randomly put Ash at the center of a prophecy. Here it does something like that but in a different way and also including his friends. That should bring into question more things than just altering certain events. Voice acting performances though were good despite only some of supporting characters actually participating. Wayne Grayson, Carrie Keranen and Dan Green are known for their roles in Yu-Gi-Oh. Tom Wayland also has experience in various dubbing of Japan related content like One Piece, Mobile Suit Gundam Seed and even Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. And nothing needs to be said for the other main actors as they’ve already proven themselves over time to make themselves the characters know and enjoy.
Visually the animation is nothing really to criticize over. Animation is digital now and no longer cell driven so the scenes that take place look good. Cinematography again was handled by Takaya Mizutani but not much can be said about it since no real camera exists in regular animation. CGI has been integrated pretty well now into the show and its film entries. The film score composed by Shinji Miyazaki is another component expected to be around and with no domestic album release. For what is heard though sounds appropriate for the scene displayed and for the movie as a whole. Nothing that stands a lot but it’s worth hearing if given the possible opportunity to do so. The question is when will a domestic album be available again? It’s crazy there’s not enough interest for these scores.
Rounding out the stories from previous films, this entry shows how all the events are connected which is good. And while the voice acting, animation and music are all from what one would expect, the timelines involved and narrative repeats itself more than necessary. This leads to just an average finale.
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