When it comes to “Pokémon” and “animation“, I bet everyone agrees that the most interesting combinations of the two in recent years have been the various web series promoting the release of the new main-line games, starting with Shingo Yamashita‘s Hakumei no Tsubasa (Twilight Wings) for Sword and Shield, then Yuki Hodokishi Futaai (Hisuian Snow) for Legends Arceus, and lastly, Houkago no Breath (Paldean Winds) for Scarlet and Violet.
I’m a bit late to the party here since Houkago no Breath, the one short series I’m going to cover in this post (as you might already have inferred from the title), came out quite some time ago, but having watched it just recently gave me the perfect excuse to write about it (and hopefully I’ll find the time to come back to the other two aforementioned series and put together some thoughts to share here as I’m really fond of them too).
As usual, I’ll try to break down the series episode by episode, by highlighting and commenting on the aspects that caught my eye the most, and in spite of its short running time, being, well, a short web series consisting of 4 episodes, each around 10 minutes in length, there’s a lot of neat details and visual choices to appreciate here, perhaps also thanks to the completely different production circumstances this kind of projects have, as opposed to the much tighter environments of the average TV anime production.
The series director for Houkago no Breath is Ryouhei Tekeshita, who unsurprisingly also storyboarded the first episode. And I said “unsurprisingly” because the episode starts off with some intricate POV cuts from the perspective of a small Gimmighoul and a sequence of dynamic camera work showcasing the lively region of Paldea and its inhabitants, human and not. One thing this immersive perspectives and camera movements definitely succeed in, is making the world feel alive and engaged, suggesting the cohesion and balance between people and Pokémons, and the integration of the formers in the latter’s every-day lives.
The story follows three original characters, appointed by the principal to make a video to promote and “showcase the splendor of the Academy“. The group, consisting of Ohara, Aliquis, and Houma, is presented in way that even visually hardly leaves any space for interpretations: unlike the world they live it, they lack cohesion.
Being positioned at opposite sides and depths in the frame, their lack of involvement with one another is pretty apparent, and thus the use of physical position and strategic framing is established as a major visual theme of this series from its very beginning stages. It’s in fact just a few cuts after this one that another instance of expressive framing foreshadows the contents of the next episode, and also ties back to the idea of our main characters lacking connections, not only between themselves, but also with others as well, as the group of students (which Nemo is part of) who are having fun in the background is isolated from everything else by the frame of the window (and furthermore, in contrast with the previous shot of our main trio, those three are all physically very close, facing directly towards one other).
It’s within this hopeless-seeming context that we’re introduced to the main theme of this episode: the burden of expectations. Ohara, through whose perspective we’re experiencing the current events, is a flute player in the school orchestra, whose conductor is none other than her own father. It’s not hard to imagine what this is leading up to. The expectations on her shoulders (being also appointed to perform a flute solo at the next concert), are crushing her and her passion for music; the only light able to bring her out of this pressing situation being her companion Pokémon Fuecoco (Hogator). And it’s exactly thanks to the little creature’s efforts recovering her scratch-covered flute, that in an attempt to run away from the unpleasantness she feels, she had tossed off a cliff at Mt. Nappé, where she ventured with the excuse of the Paldean traditional “treasure hunt”, that she indeed finds her true treasure right in her bond with Fuecoco; a bond that’s able to reignite her passion for music and playing the flute.
The bonds with others are what made Ohara grow and eventually reconnect with what really matters to her. This newly found resolve and strength, portrayed as little plants sprouting from the very snow where she was about to suppress her passion in, are what’s going to propel her forward, approaching her next challenge.
Moving on to Episode 2, the continuity in core themes carries on, as after a flashy and dynamic battle scene, we’re now following Aliquis in his journey discovering what bonds really mean to him. Having lost his battle against Nemo, his ambitions of becoming the strongest trainer are cornering and oppressing him (as effectively conveyed in this suffocating shot). Ultimately, he’s so unable to find a solution to his lack of strength that his insecurities push him so far as to conveniently lay all the blame on his companion Pokémon Meowscarada (Masquernya), lashing out on her in the most harsh of fashions (accompanied with some great use of negative space, as in the shot above).
It’s finally time for his return game against Nemo, and now that he’s cornered not only by his own ambition but by his opponent on the field as well, it’s once again through a physical medium that we see the realization of how important bonds truly are; Aliquis tries to reach for the Pokéball containing Meowscarada, but in its stead he finds one of the spherical, stuffed sweets that he and his companion are so fond of, an important symbol of their relationship and growth (as previously shown in a flashback). Filled with guilt for what he’d said not long before, and also overflowing in a newly discovered resilience, he desperately calls out to Meowscarada who makes her appearance in a rather flashy way; in the beautifully, actually dark environment, the shining and flamboyant Terastallization looks even more bright an mighty (also worth of note is how the the synchronization between the two is conveyed by the layout of the close-up shot, with each of them occupying a parallel and equal amount of space in the frame), and the final stretch of the battle between the two trainers begins, while the episode, instead, ends, leaving us with a cliffhanger.
Aliquis has actually lost to Nemo again, but that’s hardly of any importance, since this recent experience made him realize that his bonds are what his strength finds its very roots in, and much like Ohara after the events of the first episode, he’s now ready to dedicate himself to the new challenge that awaits our three main characters.
It’s the third one, Houma, however, who still needs to understand where to find the resolve he lacks, or more specifically, what his role is in this word where everyone else seems to have already found their own and proved themselves in some capacity. That much is true even in the smaller scope of this team working on the promotional video for the academy, where Houma is the only one of the three being left out (as conveniently reminded by the clever framing in the above shot).
His own little adventure is much more direct in its approach compared to the other two’s, as Houma decides to join the supposedly dangerous and nefarious Team Star in order to get some scoop on them and gain the position and respect he craves for within the academy. All the energy and zeal he poured into this daring endeavor of his though, didn’t seem to have paid off at first, since the people at Team Star revealed to be a kind and compassionate group, quite the opposite of the wicked image people have of them. It’s again thanks to the companion Pokémon, Quaxly (Kuwassu), who evolved into Quaxwell (Welkamo) during the time they spent together with Team Star‘s Caph Squad, that the adventure actually bears its fruits, as Houma realizes that what he was truly striving for was already there by his side the whole time, a true bond of mutual care and understanding. Through the self-confidence arising from the strength of his now fully realized bond, he’s finally able to fit into the same frame (both metaphorically and physically) with the two other main characters, as the next day there’s no distance between the three of them, in direct contrast to how this episode, and the show in general, had started. Purposeful and deliberate use of position in the frame doesn’t get more expressive than this.
The last episode, Episode 4, also being the last in terms of length clocking in at just below 8 minutes, starts off in an unusual way compared to what we got used to with the other three. Instead of following a specific member of the cast (or any of the three for that matter), we’re presented with a generic student sitting at his desk, picking up his Rotom Phone to watch what seems to be a newly published video on the academy’s website; that’s right, that’s exactly the promotional video our three main characters have been working on the past three episodes.
A beautiful montage of footage depicting Paldea‘s wilderness, showcasing, of course, Pokémons in their natural habitats (including some really cool cuts with great photography at play) brings us back to the very first sequence in this series (albeit without Takeshita‘s signature camera work this time) portraying all the harmony and appeal of this highly involved world, alternating with footage of trainers intent on battling with each other, all accompanied by a harmonious orchestral soundtrack. In short, it’s the result of Ohara, Aliquis and Houma‘s combined efforts to showcase the true splendor of their region Paldea, of their academy, and alsoof the world of Pokémon in general.
The video goes on until around the half-way mark of the episode, first with Ryme‘s live performance on stage, and then with Nanjamo (Iono)’s intervention, giving a brief introduction to the region’s Gym-leaders.
When it comes to the technical side of things, it’s impossible not to mention the absurd quality and consistency of this character acting sequence animator Kaito Tomioka crafted for his beloved Nanjamo. The insane amount of drawings makes it so that there’s always something moving in every frame and truly captures her energetic and electric personality. The way the movements’ inertia is taken into account really gives volume to the whole animation. And beyond that, I even had to cut the clip to around a third of its length since it was so long the file size was surpassing the upload limits; this goes to say that with this (relatively) short cut, which by itself is already outstanding enough, you’re just getting a taste of how incredible (and incredibly fun to watch) the whole sequence is. Truly a remarkable work.
To close off this episode (and thus the whole series as well), the main trio is once again reunited in that same classroom (this time again, they’re all close to one another), enthusiastically yakking about how well received the video they put together was, highlighting how everyone poured something about them in the making of it, also resulting in their own personal growth. Not only the bonds with their Pokémons were strengthened thanks to this ensemble work, but a new bond within the three has also been born, with Ohara, Aliquis and Houma seeing each other off until their next quest together, and then moving forward, each to their new adventures.
It’s always super fun to check out these web series and appreciate their quirkiness and particular attention to details, and all the passion you can feel the people who worked on them poured into every single sequence. They’re also relatively short, which is a huge advantage both as a consumer who likes to rewatch stuff many times, and as a writer, since my thoughts on them can be fully covered within a single article like this one. I really hope to come back to other content in this format (whether related to Pokémon or not) and spend some time writing about it again sometime.
SHINSEIKI 