This video gets really close to implying "Pokémon don't look like Pokémon anymore" which is a statement that frustrates me quite a bit, but I'll try to give it a less knee jerk response:
First off, not only was that poll unfair to Gen 8 due to not being out yet and Gen 7 due to being paired with Gen 8, it only really shows what his viewers and followers like, rather than the fanbase as a whole. Taking a quick look at his content, he seems to make a lot of Dragonball videos, so people who like Dragonball and grew up when both Dragonball and Pokémon were at their peak popularity were probably a majority of voters, which would explain why votes leaned toward the first three gens. However, since he doesn't really use it as an argument and only uses it as set up for the video, so I won't dwell on it.
That's Tsunekazu Ishihara, this is Satoshi Tajiri (I won't hold it against him):
Most of the video is about the development of Red and Green, some stuff I knew or had a vague idea of. Sugimori does like adding certain touches to keep Pokémon from being too cute (though no matter how hard I looked, I couldn't see the "distinctly jagged" fur on Pikachu), but the same applies to tough Pokémon too, he would add some touch ups to make it less tough looking.
The Eevee story was pretty adorable.
About the Red and Blue sprites not "posing for the camera", they are all poses. What feelings a pose conveys does matter, but it doesn't change the fact that it was made to do so. You can argue that every frame of animation is just one pose transitioning into another, that's just how it is to show off a characters body language. If he wants poses to be more action oriented or looking off to the side instead of directly at you, then that's fine, but they're still poses. I'll admit that this is really just semantics and nitpicking so it doesn't really bother me, but it does bother me that he uses this as an argument to suggest that the current Sugimori artwork make Pokémon look like toys instead of creatures in a lived in environment and does it by comparing them to the early Sugimori art instead of the sprites. Not only that, it's by picking specific ones to make the point, he uses the Red and Blue sprites of Scyther, Poliwrath, and Goldeen as ones that don't pose for the camera, but before that he uses Mankey and Butterfree as examples of "Pokémon being sketched by a researcher", but they look like their staring at the camera to me. He compares the old Raichu art to the Alolan Raichu, but doesn't bother with comparing old and new Scyther art, which happens to both be in action poses.
Honestly, I probably would've taken this better is he just said "I miss the watercolor artwork" or "I prefer sprites to 3d models" instead of Cherubi picking to make a point, I would at least be able to understand that.
Saying that current artwork look like toys instead of creatures really undermines the amount of effort and thought that Game Freak puts into each Pokémon, Game Freak is not at all giving the cool Pokémon the backseat and it's not like there was much of a strict design philosophy for Gen 1 and 2, it was more about the hardware limitations, the video even points out the differences between the original Red/Green with Blue where Game Freak took the time to change up the sprites to make them look nicer, Game Freak were able to get more creative, so they did. Game Freak always tries new ideas with designs as hardware improves and Sugimori encourages everyone to test what a Pokémon can be.
Why is Weavile in Gen 6?
Too often people suggest that Pokémon are abandoning realistic designs in favor of cartoon-like ones, but that ignores the goofy and cartoon-like designs that existed in the very beginning. He mentions that Morimoto talked about a poll in Game Freak the Exeggcutor won, saying that it doesn't follow the cute is always best school of thought that modern designs have. Well, for one, Exeggcutor is a pretty round and smooth looking design that the video claims the new designs mostly have, also, Morimoto was probably talking about this poll:
https://helixchamber.com/2018/08/07/tajiri-manga/
Exeggcutor is in first, but Chansey and Clefairy follow it, so these cute smooth looking designs have been important to Game Freak for quite awhile. Also, I know some of the places are obscure so we don't know the full list, but if Pikachu was as popular as Sugimori said, it's a little strange that it's not in the top 10, so I think this poll
might have been before Pikachu was designed. If he wants to imply that Game Freak has a variety of tastes in Pokémon designs that are not just cute, then that's true, but just because they create cute designs doesn't mean they abandon other types of Pokémon.
I honestly don't really get what the deal was with recreating Scorbunny. He tried to make it a mixture of different elements of different Gen 1 Pokémon, he tried to give Scorbunny Meowth's feet and Mankey's arms, but decided that Scorbunny's face shouldn't be flat and he apparently couldn't keep the ears (I assume because he thought they were too smooth). "I decided to step back and start from scratch and study some real rabbits" ...so, like Game Freak does? It honestly just felt like he straight up didn't like Scorbunny, Grookey and Sobble didn't get as drastic a change Scorbunny got. I also feel that it's pretty hasty to decide what the Gen 8 starters should look like since the game isn't out yet and we know next to nothing about them.
The redesigns were kinda cute I'll give him that.
"Things feel less handcrafted and more factory produced"
It is interesting that he brings up Diglett, since earlier they claim that Pokémon in Gen 1 use more realistic designs and add some imagination, well personally I think that Drilbur looks more like an actual mole than Diglett does, Diglett/Dugtrio are more like a Whack-a-Mole, Alolan Dugtrio even has hair made of steel that can function as a helmet. But you know, it is pretty magical to think that a persons childhood doodles had become loved by people around the world. His guest clearly understand what an artists or creators work can mean to them, but I don't quite understand why he believe modern designs to be "factory produced". I don't care much about Buzzwole, but other people do and James Turner, the designer of Buzzwole, is clearly happy to see how much other people love it. We honestly have little idea about what each designer were thinking when creating Pokémon, they could have any sort of childhood memory associated with it, but unless they speak in detail about them, we won't know for sure. But I do know what kind of effort goes into Pokémon and how long of a process it is, so to hear modern designs described as "factory produced" is very frustrating.
"Look; Mark and I are all but certain there isn't a discussion happening behind Game Freak's closed doors"
Well since there is more involved in Pokémon designs than just drawing them, I'm sure Game Freak does have some discussion.
"I kind of feel like the spirit of what made Pokémon look like Pokémon, has been replaced by plastic imitations. It almost seems like they missed the point of what Pokémon were established to be as in the first two Generations." (Not important, but why use Mystery Dungeon Squirtle with current Charmander and Bulbasaur?)
I don't think it was Game Freak that missed the point, it's fine to just not like modern designs, but Game Freak deserves a little more credit than this. We have a balloon rabbit (Wigglytuff) and you want to talk about what Pokémon are established to be? We have a pig monkey that's just a fuzzy ball with limbs (Primeape) and you want to talk about what Pokémon are established to be? We have a dipping bird made of programming (Porygon line) and you want to talk about what Pokémon are established to be? We have a walking plug (Elekid), a shape-shifting blob (Ditto), a punching bag (Wobbuffet), letters (Unown), a dog that's an artist with a paintbrush tail (Smeargle), whatever Chansey and Blissey are and you want to talk about what Pokémon are established to be? I'll tell you what Pokémon are established to be;
varied, and they have been so since the beginning even with the limitations Game Freak had. Sugimori seems far more aware of how Pokémon are perceived than people realize, he tries to avoid creating "Pokémon that don't look like Pokémon", but still tries to make each one stand out in its own way and encourages staff to try out interesting ideas. Game Freak definitely did not miss the point, and it may be just me, but I feel the spirit is still there.
"I'm speaking purely about the design principles behind the current generation of Pokémon themselves. Designs that look like they fit in more on a store shelf than the actual world, living and breathing."
He shows a picture of Meltan, but funny enough, Masuda actually thinks that Meltan could fit in with Gen 1 really well. Really, this just makes me think about how nice it would be if Detective Pikachu came out and people have their thinking turned around. Like, they would see Pokémon of later Gens hanging out with Charizard and Friends and see that it doesn't look weird at all, that be pretty neat. Anyway, yeah, there aren't really any design principles or things like that since they use a rotating staff, any design principles probably just come from the individual and Game Freak definitely think about how the Pokémon would live in the world, where would they live and what they'd eat, they probably give it far more thought I can imagine. Honestly, I don't expect everyone to know how Game Freak design their Pokémon before they give their thoughts on them, they don't have to know, Game Freak doesn't expect them to know, and it really doesn't matter. I do care though, when someone can claim that another persons potential favorite Pokémon, doesn't look like a Pokémon, or that Game Freak is running out of ideas, or that it shouldn't exist. Of course, I'm not going to argue anytime that happens, but it really just isn't fun as a discussion. He clearly believes Kanto (and maybe Johto) to be the best, that's fine, really, it is. He doesn't like how the modern Pokémon look, that's fine, really, it is. But when such people try to find some objective decline in Pokémon designs, naturally the people who like those designs will come to argue. Attitudes like the ones expressed in this video aren't new, but they are always frustrating even when only vaguely expressed. Especially when you understand the effort that goes into the Pokémon that someone out there loves as much as you love your favorites. Seriously, you don't have to like every Pokémon, you can only love Gen 1, it's fine, really, it is, just don't bring what others like down to put what you like up.
