Part two of the Pokemon double feature moves on to Top 10 Pokemon Trainers.
Haters Gonna Hate
10. Zoey
A character who in fandom has become more of a prince than any male character, Zoey can guarantee to make anyone swoon in appreciation.
9. Jessie
I wouldn't have bothered placing her on this list but makes up for it with style and reached a new level of awesome when she became a contest regular; well considering that her personality is a mirror of her own mothers, it comes as no surprise.
8. Paul
Gary Oak may have been arrogant but is considered the nicest guy in the world compared to Paul, and he actually works better in the long run as Ash's rival as he's the first one to actually challenge Ash's training style and force him to become stronger.
7. Gary
Of course I have fond memories of Gary as well, although not as arrogant as his first appearance, Gary sticks in peoples heads as the one trainer you wanted to see defeated and once he was defeated he pretty much left the show.
6. James
James appears much higher on the list because his back story gives him great character development. His personality shines through his Pokemon as well when you look at how much love he receives from them in rather amusing ways.
5. Cynthia
Probably the best Pokemon Trainer in the world, ultra cool and always strong and actually does more than just show off her power, Cynthia will always remain the benchmark for all trainers.
4. Ash
Rated lower because Black & White made him stupid, Ash is every Anime fans first protagonist, you follow his endless journey, and you wonder if he'll ever succeed, he manages to avoid the "Miracle Rookie" label that plagues many substandard cartoons and watching some of his achievements you actually feel proud of him.
3. Misty
I'm not the only one who misses Misty. Misty is every Anime fans first Tsundere even if you don't learn the term until much later on. Misty's outer shell is mostly Tomboy but hides a very feminine personality along with huge maternal instincts beyond her years. I'm sad that she won't come back but considering that she's now a powerful Gym Leader with a friggin Gyarados, I'm actually pleased for her.
2. Brock
Brock is Ash's longest serving traveling companion and is well known for being the world's biggest flirt. But here is a question: Why wouldn't you want to be with Brock? He can cook, he enjoys cleaning, he's great with kids, a decent Pokemon trainer, he's actually studying to be a Pokemon Doctor and will devote his life to you and yet he's not married! Poor Brock, the creators just like to troll him.
1. Dawn
I'm going to anger a lot of purists for this but I largely believe that Dawn is the most perfect character you're ever going to see in Pokemon because she is the most human. She has real faults, makes mistakes, learns lessons, has dreams, has fun and reacts to every situation with real emotions. I accuse Ash of being typecast into a typical idiot male lead, I accuse Brock of being the creators plaything, I even accuse Misty of not reaching her potential when the opportunities arose; the only thing I accuse Dawn of is not enough screen time.
As requested by Nimbusoak who wanted to see a Pokemon feature but Pokemon being such a huge franchise, lets divide this into two lists, to begin with Top 10 Pokemon.
10. Ash's Buizel
Featured as a main team Pokemon throughout the Sinnoh league and able to match the likes of Lucario, Buizel is always ready for any challenge.
9. Brock's Croagunk
Despite spending most of his time as a foil for Brock's flirting, Croagunk seems to serve the job better than Max & Misty previously, the look on his face is priceless.
8. James' Mime Jr
I wouldn't picture Mime Jr ever being part of Team Rocket but considering how childlike James' innocence could be sometimes it actually makes a lot of sense.
7. Mewtwo
As voiced by the great Dan Green, a tragic Pokemon who spent his birth process in a dreamlike world alongside a clone of Dr Fuji's dead daughter who was his only friend until she died during the cloning process, Mewtwo responded by killing everyone on the island in Pokemon's most brutal scene. His hate has subsided a bit since being free of Giovanni but makes a return in the latest movie to fight Genesect.
6. Meowth
Voiced by the late Maddie Blaustein, Meowth is the charismatic talking Pokemon of Team Rocket. Driven by love to talk and walk like a human and a hatred for his evolved form, Meowth will never grow any stronger but makes up for it with personality and frequently feels sorry for Pokemon who share his problems.
5. Ash's Charizard
He's here for one reason and one reason only, for someone of my generation who watched him refuse to fight and make Ash lose, told me that lead characters are capable of losing and made Ash a better character for it.
4. Dawn's Piplup
Dawn's Piplup is mostly here for facial expressions as they are some of the most priceless of the Diamond & Pearl saga. Piplup likes to pretend to be Dawn's knight and emphasizes that by refusing to evolve.
3. All Lucario
The most bad ass Pokemon of all time and the only non legendary to get his own movie, whether it be the companion of a knight or the fighting therapist of Gym Leader Maylene, Lucario has never been disappointing.
2. Ash's Infernape
Out of all the Pokemon owned by main characters not even Pikachu has had as much back story as Infernape did. Beaten to death by Zangoose and abused by his former trainer Paul, Ash trained Infernape into a huge power house that featured probably the best League match in Anime history.
1. Ash's Pikachu
But it's automatically clear who number one is, of course it's going to be Pikachu, I mean he is Pokemon. Grossly over powered and insanely loyal, don't expect the franchise to ever drop him from the series even if we fall out of favor for Ash.
Time for another edition of the Endless Wardrobe, a feature showcasing items I can't be bothered to write a full post for so let us begin.
I've Returned
I'm back now so keep on a look out for some new content including a couple of top tens and a cartoon vault entry from Scotland. As with my last post, please don't be afraid to send requests.
Blazblue Anime!
I didn't think it would be too long before we saw this, an Anime based on Arc Systems most stylish game but I won't even think of adding this to a best video game Anime list without Professor Kokonoe.
You have been warned.
Sub vs Dub
To save myself from having to write about this later, I do prefer dubs as I can't read that fast but understand that certain Anime suit a sub, especially when covering Japanese customs which don't translate well in English vocals. In other cases I'll watch subs if that's the only option.
My OCs
Something I've not brought up before are my OCs, I do enjoy writing stories and have written the occasional fanfic in the past, but in every one, my OCs are involved. If there is enough interest in this, I'll submit some fanfic in the near future.
That's it for now, watch closely for the next review.
I'll be on break until Monday due to traveling so in the mean time I'm opening requests.
You can request anything for Retro Retrospect or my sister world Walk of Fame.
You can request.....
A top ten list
Any Anime I haven't covered
A cartoon for the Vault
or a character who deserves a place on the Walk of Fame.
I look forward to hearing any requests and I'll be back on Monday 20th May.
See ya later.
A Falcon Punch occurs many times throughout anime in which a single punch shows to have enough impact to not only hurt but be exaggerated to the point of earth shattering proportions so to honor that here are the top 10 Falcon Punches.
Rules this time: No multiple punches.
Disqualified: Domon Kashu's Burning & Shining Fingers aren't technically punches.
Honorable Mention: Captain Falcon himself from the F-Zero Anime for making this possible.
Dishonorable Mention: Ash Ketchum's fail punch on Mewtwo.
Now to begin.
YUKIMURA!!!!
10. Bunshichi Tawara from Tenjo Tenge & Seiji Sawamura from Midori Days
Both tied for 10th for doing exactly the same thing, destroying a freaking car. Seiji's punch goes so far it hits the driver whereas Bunshichi's punch launches the car as if it's on a spring.
9. King Kazma from Summer Wars
The awesome bunny avatar from the Summer Wars film gets an epic one on the antagonist Love Machine sending him flying through the firewalls.
8. Naruto from Naruto
I wonder how many people remember Naruto's first epic moment when he goes insane and delivers the biggest knockout punch to Haku. Tsunade & Sakura have their best punches but Naruto's is the first memorable moment of one of anime's biggest shows.
7. Shizuo from Durarara
The ever bad tempered Shizuo has always had exaggerated strength but one of his early punches not only sent a guy flying but his clothes fly off as well.
6. Goku from All Dragonball Series
Goku's Dragon Fist attack redefines the term Shoryuken by summoning a freaking dragon but in his early days he found fame with the Dragon Fist move by defeating King Piccolo with it. By the final series it still looks awesome.
5. Takeda Shingen from Sengoku Basara
Takeda's favorite way for showing his love, his fist of manly love between Tiger & Cub. Okay I can't fight it. YUKIMURA!!!! YOUR LORDSHIP!!!!
4. Natsu from Fairy Tail
An early one used on Jellal Fernandes during the Tower of Heaven arc. The impact almost destroys the tower in the process. A key moment in the series as this is the first appearance of Dragonforce.
3. Takamura from Hajime no Ippo
Boxing anime Hajime no Ippo really goes to town with it's fights by having punches so powerful it disturbs the air space around it, but Takamura's finisher on Brian Hawk is amazing for one reason.
It started with one of the biggest "Oh Crap" moments in anime history.
2. Luffy from One Piece
If you want a single punch to carry the weight of the world then Luffy's strike on the Tenryubito certainly shows that, animated beautifully and gave us the turning point of One Piece as a series.
1. Simon from Gurren Lagann
But if you want a Dynamic Entry for your punch then Simon's your man. In an up scaled version of the same punch Simon received from Kamina even quoting "Lets see you grit those teeth!" Simon takes the more epic approach by flying out of his mecha and laying one in the face of Rossiu.
