Thread: Baffling the Bouffalant!

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After being attacked by a herd of Bouffalant, Iris is separated from Ash and Cilan along with Axew, Oshawott, Tepig and Snivy. As the two splinter groups wander through the forest in search of one another, they learn that in order to avoid being attacked by the Bouffalant again, they must all wear afros of their own.

In today's dub, the word "afro" is taboo. (not too surprising, the games did it too)

Anyone else found the reference to AG082 in this ep with the whole Tepig/Oshawott rivalry starting over food?

Originally Posted by pokedax_e

Anyone else found the AG082 reference in the whole Tepig/Oshawott rivalry?

Corphish and Torchic 's fight and how it started by one stealing the other's food? . Water versus Fire? I haven't officially watched the new ep yet but I remember AG082 pretty

Brilliant episode from start to finish.

This episode really makes me like how well that Axew (especially) is being dubbed - the range being used makes all of the emotions come through very well. Axew running from the Bouffalant came with the perfect amount of panic. For an episode fairly heavy on Pokemon to Pokemon interaction, the good job done helped a lot. One minor complaint is that they still fail to take advantage of the words you can make - Audino was in a position where 'I dunno' was the perfect response, but it just came out like all the others. They put puns in the Pokemon names for that very reason, I wish they'd make better use of them.

Other than that, there's not much to say, it's just a fun episode that had me laughing a lot. Iris being conscious of her hair at the end is a bit strange (which makes me look forward to seeing if Dawn comments on her hair at some point, she might be more interested than you'd think in fashion). I do also kinda like how Cilan took a bit of a back seat in this episode - as much as I like him it's good to shift the focus away. That meant the episode got to spend a bit more time focusing on the Pokemon interactions, giving them all much needed time to show off the personality hidden under the surface. I kinda wish that Krokorok was in this episode - firstly because of how stupid it is that Ash catches a Pokemon and it disappears the next episode, and secondly because I'm sure it would have been brilliant, even if it just was with Ash/Cilan and only got a few seconds on screen.

Tepig as a jetpack is brilliant, as was Snivy winding them up. It's scenes like that which make me wish the anime occasionally did fake outtakes to run with the credits, just to show that idea going wrong. Who wouldn't want to see Oshawott thrown out of a forest?

Originally Posted by Champion Kouzan

Originally Posted by pokedax_e

Anyone else found the AG082 reference in the whole Tepig/Oshawott rivalry?

Corphish and Torchic 's fight. Water versus Fire? I haven't officially watched the new ep yet but I remember AG082 pretty

Yeah in fact this episode was pretty much some kind of rehash of AG82 with:

A water type stealing a fire type's food sparking a rivalry.

A group of wild pokemon attacking Ash and the gang.

Ash and the gang getting separated.

Everything gets sorted out in the end.

The only difference:

No one evolves.

Rocket Dan is missing.

We have a Joy clone.

No fight scenes are censored.

And...Wigs!!!!

Where are the Afro Circus jokes?

This episode was funny thanks to the Afros.

Originally Posted by pokedax_e

Originally Posted by Champion Kouzan

Originally Posted by pokedax_e

Anyone else found the AG082 reference in the whole Tepig/Oshawott rivalry?

Corphish and Torchic 's fight. Water versus Fire? I haven't officially watched the new ep yet but I remember AG082 pretty

Yeah in fact this episode was pretty much some kind of rehash of AG82 with:

A water type stealing a fire type's food sparking a rivalry.

A group of wild pokemon attacking Ash and the gang.

Ash and the gang getting separated.

Everything gets sorted out in the end.

The only difference:

No one evolves.

Rocket Dan is missing.

We have a Joy clone.

No fight scenes are censored.

And...Wigs!!!!

Hey! I wanted to point out the source material! Ah well, there's also "For Crying Out Loud," "Forest Grumps," and at least a few others, or at least enough that someone's seen this a few times already.

Come to think of it, Oshawott was acting like a bit of a jerk for no reason, and that made his conflict with Tepig feel contrived.

Also, I'm not sure I buy the idea that Bouffalant will attack anybody unless s/he's wearing an afro, and is therefore Bouff's best friend. Especially the sudden presto-change-o where Axew's not wearing an afro and then suddenly is (courtesy of Snivy), and Bouff's suddenly like, "Oh, okay, you're cool."

At least Cilan didn't spontaneously claim to be a Hair Connoisseur. And as for the hair, I'm pretty sure Iris was channeling all of us in the audience. (Or at least me.)

As soon as I saw Iris treating the injured Bouff, I knew he'd be the one who wouldn't care about the hair and would then save her from his hair-obsessed buddies.

Originally Posted by Samurott

In today's dub, the word "afro" is taboo. (not too surprising, the games did it too)

What's the deal with that anyway? Do afros now have some sort of negative connotation or something? I don't get out from under my rock much, help a fella out here.

Originally Posted by Super Chao Maniac

Where are the Afro Circus jokes?

Da da dadada da dada Surskit!
Da da dadada da dada ____!
Surskit, ____, Surskit, ____,
Pokemon, Pokemon, Pokemon, ____!

Very fun episode!

Originally Posted by Grave-E

Originally Posted by Super Chao Maniac

Where are the Afro Circus jokes?

Da da dadada da dada Surskit!
Da da dadada da dada ____!
Surskit, ____, Surskit, ____,
Pokemon, Pokemon, Pokemon, ____!

I don't get it.

It's a reference to Madagascar 3.

I think the issue with "afro" is not that the word or hairstyle itself is taboo, but the fact is it existed originally as a symbol of African-American pride and was linked to the Civil Rights movement and "black is beautiful".

So, using it as a gag-hairstyle I guess is the issue, since it's taken a legitimate hairstyle that was once a symbol of pride and turning it into a joke.

Originally Posted by Quattro ~ Bajeena

I think the issue with "afro" is not that the word or hairstyle itself is taboo, but the fact is it existed originally as a symbol of African-American pride and was linked to the Civil Rights movement and "black is beautiful".

So, using it as a gag-hairstyle I guess is the issue, since it's taken a legitimate hairstyle that was once a symbol of pride and turning it into a joke.

I think the Disco Era and the time afterward have already done that. I doubt a kids' show made in Japan can do any more damage.

Originally Posted by DracoMan

Originally Posted by Quattro ~ Bajeena

I think the issue with "afro" is not that the word or hairstyle itself is taboo, but the fact is it existed originally as a symbol of African-American pride and was linked to the Civil Rights movement and "black is beautiful".

So, using it as a gag-hairstyle I guess is the issue, since it's taken a legitimate hairstyle that was once a symbol of pride and turning it into a joke.

I think the Disco Era and the time afterward have already done that. I doubt a kids' show made in Japan can do any more damage.

Well the episodes in DP with flint were not censored so i didnt think any would be in this episode. though i smell reused plots froms episodes in AG and Johto...

That was a refreshingly unusual and different episode!
The whole idea behind all this, wearing a wig to trick the Bouffalant, was a welcome change, what I didn't like about it, though was the fact that those Pokemon were implicitly portrayed as being stupid cows (pun intended!). After all, who wouldn't realize that a person is still the same, even when wearing wig? I'm getting the feeling cow-like Pokemon will always be stigmatized as slow-witted and dumb.

Apart from that, I liked the episode and its clever plot elements, especially Snivy, Oshawott and Tepig joing forces in the end. Their strategy was pretty smart and resulted in a combination that sure was worthy seeing.

All in all, I have to say that although being a filler, this week's episode had much to offer and I'd definitely like to see this kind of story writing more frequently.