While it’s easy to love adorable Pokémon like Pikachu and Eevee, seeing lesser-appreciated Pokémon get a moment in the spotlight warms my heart. A recently released animated short film in Japanese focuses on the grumpy pig monkey Pokémon Primeape. Although the short film hasn’t been released in English yet, the Japanese version is worth watching for the animation alone, as it might be the best thing Primeape and the other Pokémon in it have ever seen.
The 10-minute short film is called “Angry Primeape Observation Diary” and can be viewed on the website official Japanese Pokémon YouTube channel
It’s a classic story about the power of friendship and the joy that comes from accepting the people (or Pokémon) around you for who they are, rather than trying to force them to behave a certain way. It also just looks beautiful.
There is a moment in the final battle where Primeape almost loses but gets back up. It comes to life and violently attacks its opponent for a final attack. The Pokémon charges forward, the ground around it bends, and an aura of energy surrounds it. And while this action sequence is pretty impressive, I also appreciate the slower parts of the animated short. In particular, the animators created a rich and colorful still image of Primeape and the trainer heading towards another victory. This shot stands out from the screen with its combination of pen and ink drawing and bright colors.
The credits for the short confirm that The Pokémon Company hired several experienced animators for this project: It was directed by Seishirō Nagaya, who did the lead animation for The Pokémon Company Chainsaw Man and worked on several projects for the Shadowverse Anime. Kyuta Sakai created the character design and is cast for several roles in popular series such as: Steins; goal. The Pokémon designer for this short, Susumu Matsunaga, has worked on several Mobile Suit Gundam series and previous Pokémon films.
In the end, the team managed to pack a tremendous amount of personality and movement into a bite-sized short film. Even if you’re not the biggest Primeape fan, I’d recommend checking it out.
Kallie Plagge, senior editor at Polygon, contributed reporting and translation to this story.