Hi there If you know me at all you know that Im an absolute Pokmon fan. This obviously includes the games but beyond that it includes the entire Pokmon universe. This universe includes games manga plush toys games cards LEGO soon and the Pokmon anime. For over 25 years this anime was known for Ash from Palette Town The Team Rocket and Pikachu until early 2023 when The Pokmon Company announced the end of the Ashera and a new series with a new protagonist and a new story: Pokmon Horizons. https://diamant.ink/wpcontent/uploads/2025/03/likopokemon.gif With the end of what I call the first real season of Pokmon Horizon I figured it was time to do my very first anime review there and tell you why Pokmon Horizons is part of my life. Context Its April 13 2023 and the next day the first episodes of the new Pokmon series Pokmon Horizons will be released in Japan. At the time I was actively following Pokmon Journeys in French the last arc of the Ash era and I was already in a mood where Pokmon Journeys made me evolve enormously and really immersed me in anime for good I hardly followed any at the time it was very occasional or even nonexistent depending on the year. For Pokmon Horizons I decided to watch the series in OV and not in VF Version Franaise French version to avoid the frustration of having to wait months or even a year for the anime to catch up with the Japanese version. When Horizons came out wed just started the final tournament of the Galar League which lasted a good ten episodes just to let you know that we still had a long way to go. I was very skeptical when Pokmon Horizons arrived because for me Ash was the very essence of what Pokmon anime was having grown up watching the anime over the years of my childhood whether on TV or DVD. The only season I didnt see at all was the Sun and Moon arc. A very effective start The first episodes are released and... its already a monumental slap in the face. In 48 minutes the first 2 episodes were broadcast together as one big block Horizons gave me a huge slap in the face to Ashs 25year career. I have to say that between the 5485151st attempt by Team Rocket to capture Pikachu and what happens in these episodes one of the two scenarios is much more mature and enjoyable to watch. Whats more this is one of the few times that a Pokmon has been incorporated into the anime before the main games in the series and not just any Pokmon either as its a Pokmon that will be central to this season 1 that Ive named: Terapagos. https://diamant.ink/wpcontent/uploads/2025/03/yawnpikachu.gif In the original version this season 1 is divided into 4 arcs: Liko and Roys departure Episode 01 to 25 The Sparkling of Terapagos Episode 26 to 45 Terastal Debut Episode 46 to 67 Rayquaza Rising Episode 68 to 89 In the U.S. and European versions each season comprises 2 arcs for the time being with season 1 including episodes 01 to 45 and season 2 from 46 to 89. Each arc follows a different storyline while retaining a common objective and compared to the Ash era where the objective was just to become the master you could watch an episode on the fly without having seen any previous episode and still be totally lost The narration of Pokmon Horizons puts a MONUMENTAL slap in the face of 25 years of anime with Sacha because the episodes really do follow one another linearly and its not microadventures that advance the story as was the case with Journeys for example but a whole adventure that you follow from start to finish. Unique and endearing characters There are 4 main characters in this series: Liko Friede Roy and Dot as well as their partner Pokmon Cap Pikachu and the trio of 9thgeneration starters. Narratively the one who replaces Ashs role is Liko who will form a trio with Roy and Dot over the course of her adventure. As for Friede hell let you explain what he is in the series if he doesnt forget. Ill focus on the trio in this section. Roy: The one who we love to trash talk https://diamant.ink/wpcontent/uploads/2025/03/pokemonhorizonsroypokemon.gif Lets start with Roy because its going to be pretty short. Roy is a very energetic character who thinks of only one thing: fighting. In the adventure his goal is to capture a specific powerful Pokmon and therefore be strong enough to train. Hes a bit of an airhead relies a lot on strength and little on strategy and loves to sing. Except that relying on his strength and not his strategy makes him a bit of a hothead and even the writers have to play up to that because compared to Liko and Dot right now even after 89 episodes we know very little of Roys backstory. Im hopeful that one day well get a real Roy backstory but until then I and some other people who follow the series closely here love trashtalking him even if we do like him a little but shush. Liko: An adventuress despite herself https://diamant.ink/wpcontent/uploads/2025/03/sprigatitoliko.gif As mentioned above Liko is Ashs replacement and its with her that we begin and follow the adventure from episode to episode. Originally from Paldea shes a character who evolves over the course of the series: at first shes a character whos lost in her thoughts her emotions and who has no confidence in herself. Then as the adventure progresses she becomes a person who gains confidence in herself and in her friends and her Pokmon and who manages to lose herself a lot less. I wont say too much to avoid spoiling the series. Her goal in the adventure is at first to live a student life abroad but this is quickly compromised right in episode 1 when she has to protect something very sentimental to her. At first glance she doesnt have much of a backstory like Roy but Liko is the character who evolves and matures the most over the course of the adventure. However it would be a lie to proclaim that Liko has no backstory being the main character and Ashs replacement she is the central character of this adventure and as time goes by we learn that she is much more involved than we could have imagined and we finally learn that she has a huge story around her. Dot: My beloved https://diamant.ink/wpcontent/uploads/2025/03/dotdotpokemon.gif The one Im most fond of in the end. Dot is a very introverted and shy character but shes also strategic and competent. In the trio shes the one with the most backstory with a few episodes dedicated to her and her past. She doesnt appear at the start of the series although... so its a good dozen episodes before we get to see her little by little until she joins the duo of Liko and Roy and the duo becomes a trio. Her goal in this adventure is to open up to the world and to protect those she holds dear to her heart. I could really write a novel about why I adore Dot more than any character in this series or even in the Pokmon universe but this is a review of Pokmon Horizons not of the character Dot herself and that would be spoilerfree. But to make a long story short I recognize a lot more of myself in her than anyone would imagine. If you know me at all you know how passionate I am about this character. Pokmon horizons: my favorite safe place Its been 2 years now this April 14th that every night from Friday to Saturday Ive been watching the episodes with English subtitles before going to sleep. At first I was just watching but after the 3rd arc I started to share my impressions of the series here on the forumshttps://anilist.co/forum/recent?media=158871 which few people were doing before by posting threads on each episode from episode 48 onwards and which Im still doing today. More than just another Pokmon series Horizons is for me a new formula in Pokmon anime that works and completely overturns 25 years of Ash anime. The story is so much better developed and imposing enormously more mature and serious the animes artstyle is in step with the times and you can feel that they wanted to go in a new direction at the risk of losing fans by breaking everything. But its successful very successful. The anime isnt perfect and there are a few gray areas such as the lack of Roys story or the absence of the secondary Pokmons that the trio obtain along the way including one in particular that obviously comes from Roy. But as far as Im concerned Pokmon Horizons has done so much for me personally made me feel so many emotions joys tears and discoveries that I cant give it anything other than a 10/10. Remember when I mentioned Liko the fact that she evolves enormously in the series? Well Im like Liko totally in two years Ive evolved enormously with Horizons. Ive made some sublime friends by opening up to others and investing a lot of time in the Horizons community here on anilist and every episode has been a breath of happiness and a cure for any sadness I may have. Its a real appointment that I cherish above everything else in this world. And Im limiting myself a lot to avoid saying too much and spoiling certain moments its very hard especially not to talk about Dot but each episode really is my little safe place a little hour of pure happiness in which I forget that the world exists and put myself in a bubble that I cherish so much. A bubble Im happy and proud to be in. A bubble that takes me away from all the worries of the world all my negative thoughts all my fears all my worries and which just for the time of an episode and a post on a forum makes me dream. https://diamant.ink/wpcontent/uploads/2025/03/screenshot202503220410342.jpg