What’s the best Jessie episode, James episode and Meowth episode (as in, one for each) in your opinion? Also, which character that made their debut in the games has the best/worst anime portrayal and why?
answering your second question first cause i have less to say about it!!!!
gonna be real i haven’t played all the games eheh..... but, um, i actually think ALL the game characters are better in the anime? like. i legit think they’re kinda boring in the games compared to how the anime portrays them xD idk. theres so many. if i had to pick a fave i probably like anime!lusamine the most in terms of contrast.
as for the first question, oh god thats hard
meowth: it’s cliche and an obvious answer but EP070/go west young meowth is probably the deepest window into meowth as a character. unlike the other two he really wears his heart on his sleeve all the time (i mean, save for when he’s scheming/lying) so his inner depth is almost always on display, he rarely hides parts of himself away. this episode shows most of what you don’t get to see on the reg as well as what you do--his romantic heart, his stalwart determination, his refusal to give into anything or anyone. its gud episode.
jessie: mmmmmmmmmmm gonna have to say xy063/a fork in the road, a parting of ways! simply because it shows off the most facets of her personality at once. it leans into the trait that hashtag woke folks on tumblr like to ignore about her which is that she’s desperate for stability and to be a housewife specifically. it’s got her kinking on a brunette doctor which is what she does best. it shows of one of her most tragic traits--that in the game of fight, flight, or fawn, she’s a fawner. she will completely bury her true personality at times to make someone love her back. on top of that, the narrative shows us that this IS a toxic trait on her--because the person she falls for falls for another woman who is loud and rude and brash and the person jessie is when she isn’t pretending to be meek and quiet and wifeable.
it also showcases her bond with wobbuffet in crystal clear detail, with her trying to release him in a moment of “live your best life, forget about me” like she does with all her fucking pokemon except wobbuffet is the ONE who chases after her and is like hi mom shut the fuck up you are my best life and i would kill in your name provided the thing i am killing hits me first. this episode cements that jessie and wobbuffet have one of the strongest trainer/pokemon bonds of any pair in the whole anime. wobbuffet quite literally defies his own passive nature to run to her side, away from love and stability. they are so fucking romantic.
james: fucking ag147/sweet baby james. this is james at his rawest. this is james with literally no facades. okay, well, some facades, but much less than usual. when james tunnel visions in on one specific goal he is the most single-minded individual in the world and he completely 100% forgets who he is in the interest of pursuing it. all his more muted & cowardly traits go away. within the first like 4 mins of this episode he is screaming at jessie and meowth he doesn’t give a fuck. hes at his saffron estate talking to the only people in his “family” (they’re servants in the sub & his grandparents in the dub) who treated him like a whole human person keeping it on the fucking d/l that hes in the mafia and the kids show up and he just no fucking hesitation runs at the door and locks himself outside with them like HI WE’RE TRUCING. WE’RE TRUCING NOW. I WON’T DO SHIT DON’T SAY A WORD WE’RE TRUCING and ash is just like um. ok
james is fierce in the face of anything trying to keep him from nursing his sick pokemon back to health and that includes literally blasting his own teammates off because they’re acting like shitheads. in the same episode we have him being incredibly soft awake by its bedside and genuinely connecting with may over their shared worry. james is literally not trying to do anything other than what HE wants to do in this episode. he doesn’t let anyone walk all over him, he doesn’t let anyone take what he wants away. and he does all this with GIANT PORTRAITS OF HIS ABUSIVE PARENTS LOOMING OVER HIM. i dont even fucking care man i dont care. this is james’ fucking episode like if you want to see the person he really is at heart, determined and unyielding and strong and with a heart full of love that does not quit, this is the goddamn episode. oh my fucking GOD i love james.
