ICYMI: Pokémon Concierge Is a Delightful Vacation from the Stresses of Adulthood

By Elijah Gonzalez  |  February 15, 2024 | 10:15am
Photo Courtesy of Netflix
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ICYMI: Pokémon Concierge Is a Delightful Vacation from the Stresses of Adulthood
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Editor’s Note: Welcome to ICYMI! With so much TV constantly premiering, we’re highlighting some of the best shows you may have missed in the deluge of content from throughout the year. Join the Paste writers as we celebrate our underrated faves, the blink-and-you-missed-it series, and the perfect binges you need to make sure you see.

Over the years, there have been countless attempts at taking properties aimed at kids and “aging them up” to match their maturing initial audiences. Although there are a few examples of this being accomplished via official channels, like how Samurai Jack’s fifth season swung for the fences, most come in the form of fan projects. At their best, these can balance the appeal of the original while also introducing smart considerations that relate to an older crowd, but often the formula for going viral can be a bit more straightforward: take something relatively wholesome and make it violent or crass for the sake of shock value.

Palworld, the latest indie gaming smash that’s been dominating discourse and has over 19 million players already, cleanly fits into the latter case. Frequently described as “Pokémon with guns,” it takes heavy inspiration from GameFreak and Nintendo’s mega-hit, but injected with firearms and sweatshops. Its trailers lean into a particular brand of Internet humor as cutesy creatures are used as meat shields or shed tears while pulling long shifts assembling weapons in factories. There are many reasons why the game is taking off, but at least one element of its success is how it delivers an “edgy” or “mature” version of this family-friendly property that fans of the series have seemingly been craving.

As someone who got into videogames thanks to Pokémon but who has subsequently completely fallen off the series due to how little it’s evolved over the years, Palworld should hypothetically be right up my alley. But in all honesty, even beyond its survival gameplay not appealing to me personally, I find the specific way it tries to adapt this world for an older demographic to be a bummer. It feels like the cynical videogame equivalent to Happy Tree Friends or those terrible slasher flicks based on characters that have recently entered the public domain, such as Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey or the Steamboat Willie equivalent, which rely on the juvenile idea of taking something for kids and making it dark, man. The first trailer for Palworld made me chuckle, but it’s not a setting I want to spend any real time with.

However, just a month ago, we received an underrated show that accomplished the difficult task of building on something mostly marketed to a younger audience and introducing elements that make it deeply relatable to adults, all while maintaining the original’s appeal. I’m referring to Pokémon Concierge, the short but sweet stop-motion anime that recently debuted on Netflix.

The most immediate and obvious appeal of Dwarf Animation Studios’ new project is how drop-dead gorgeous it looks. Taking place on an idyllic island resort, we’re treated to clear blue oceans, vibrant foliage, and, most importantly, adorable critters, all brought to life with the tangible details of a physically-rendered world. While part of Pokémon’s draw has always been its creature designs, they’ve never looked quite this cute or tactile, and these lovingly-crafted felt figures make it that much easier to imagine being on vacation surrounded by these outlandish little dudes. Expressive animation helps further sell this vision, keying us into what these humans and their companions are going through.

And it’s not just the Pokémon themselves but how the costuming, staging, and backdrops come together to create meticulously designed dioramas that invite us into these seaside daydreams. The color scheme blends pastels with sea waves and greenery, creating an overriding sense of summertime pleasantness. It also helps that the camera wrings out every drop from this tropical locale, and this is very much a case where you can pause and get a phone background from nearly every other frame.

But, while there have been plenty of visually impressive Pokémon projects over the years, such as Studio Bones’ lavishly realized nostalgia bomb music video, Gotcha!, where Pokémon Concierge differentiates itself is by honing in on what it’s like to be an adult in this setting. Specifically, instead of focusing on the perpetual 10-year-old Ash Ketchum or any of the starry-eyed adolescent protagonists from the games, it follows the millennial anxieties of our main character, Haru. Right off the bat, we learn she just got through a week from hell, including being broken up with via text, a bombed office presentation, several hours wasted cooking a meal that sucked, and a bevy of small annoyances that made it feel like it was time to make a change. Because of this, she decides to take up a new gig as a concierge at the Pokémon Resort, where trainers and Pokémon alike go to lap up the sun at a perfect island getaway.

As her ship comes in, she’s greeted with a gorgeous view of this bucolic vacation destination. But of course, just because she’s bombarded with picturesque sights and cuddly monsters, that doesn’t mean she can turn off her buzzing adult brain. As Haru meets her co-workers and is literally given the instructions to relax on her first day, she assumes this must be some sort of underhanded evaluation and spends the next 24 hours stressed out about what she’s going to tell her boss during their morning meeting. The work of Japanese language voice actor, Non, and her English language counterpart, Karen Fukuhara, sell these painfully relatable anxieties with internal monologues that pack a punch. It’s clear Haru came from a high-strung corporate environment, and her arc over the show’s brief, four-episode runtime is primarily about undoing this damage.

There is a lot of honesty here, and it’s delightful to watch as our heroine goes from feeling thoroughly out of place in this chill environment to learning how to unwind as she befriends a Pokémon buddy of her own (in this case, an impossibly huggable Psyduck, whose constant headaches are a good stand-in for real human struggles). These initial challenges make it feel earned when she eventually internalizes the message to stop and appreciate the idyllic sights, like the calming ocean currents and abundance of scampering Pikachus.

When I was a kid, I spent a lot of time imagining expansive adventures in this fictional world, picturing travels, training, and encounters with outlandish creatures that culminated in a trip down Victory Road and a battle with the Elite Four. Now, as an adult, Pokémon Concierge offers a different fantasy that appeals much more to my current sensibilities: finding a chill place where worries about bills, employment, and work schedules fade into the background.

This series understands that being for “grown-ups” doesn’t necessarily mean I want to see these collectible creatures wielding AKs, but more that I would like to see perspectives reflected that naturally come with getting older. And more than that, the show assuages these concerns through its protagonist’s affirming arc and painstakingly realized tropical backdrop full of cute creatures, making it a soothing sight for weary minds. Its brief runtime may make it a vacation that ends a little too soon, but it’s still one I’m very glad I went on.

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Elijah Gonzalez is an assistant TV Editor for Paste Magazine. In addition to watching the latest on the small screen, he also loves videogames, film, and creating large lists of media he’ll probably never actually get to. You can follow him on Twitter @eli_gonzalez11.

For all the latest TV news, reviews, lists and features, follow @Paste_TV.

 
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