since i've watched the new PKMN OP a million times, i'm going to gush about this shot since im scrubbing through it like a massive nerd.

(BG: i am a 2D animator! so unlike certain yt critics, i know what im talking about )

this segment of the opening is what i'm calling "Enjoy, You Simps." here's what these four images are

- leon and charizard
- leon vs raihan (first frame)
- leon vs raihan (last frame)
- raihan and duraludon

begins and ends w/ with their big ol' faces

i like anime because its "do more w/ less." OPs get more leeway but you can still see simple tricks to create more animation than there actually is

flip between these frames - leon's the same, but the bg changes

drawing another frame = $$
zoom already painted BG a little = free

but you don't mind because leon's pose is GREAT. when you animate with less frames, that means you make your few available frames look GREAT

leon's anim has 8 unique frames, the last 3 of little leon where only his cape moves. his animation is snappy! your focus then shifts to

charizard! in this show if you're spending more time on animation, it'll be on the pokemon themselves! (its about them, after all.)

first two keys are played in quick sequence, 3rd key is held for 3 frames (though the fire changes slightly to keep the momentum going)

here we got charizard mid fire conjuring, HOLD on that second image, then FWOOSH, SCREEN IS COVERED IN FIRE! (those two keys are held for two frames, with a gentle camera shake. another shortcut!)

special effects animation is SUPER IMPORTANT! note the circular motion of the fire

we're halfway through this shot! camera pans and toward the recipient. why its duraludon! as we turn away from charizard, we follow the flame toward duraludon who is charging up...

BRIGHT!!!!! FLASH!!!!!! look at that stellar difference between these two keys

its a quick and effective animation of duraludon using steel beam, and you won't get lost because the focus of each key is on duraludon's mouth! powerful and dynamic, for such a stiff creature.

these four keys, as we move away from duraludon to discover the trainer, are played in quick sequence! the battle continues, but the camera wants to see who duraludon's trainer is!

oh its leg man!

similar to leon, he's only got 6 unique frames, but each pose is drawn so nicely you wouldn't care. and just like leon, his frames are held for 2-3 frames, but the BG moves to keep that momentum going.

so, a breakdown of how the camera moves!

1. close up focus on leon
2. he winds up -- we follow his hand
3. throws out his hand, zoom out, reveal charizard
4. char shoots fire, camera pans following fire, reveals duraludon, dura counters
5. move past dura, zooms in on raihan

the flow of these shots is basically

1. look its leon
2. leon is battling
3. who is he battling?
4. oh its raihan
5. now its raihan's turn for the opening
6. wow raihan cute

and if you noticed the timestamp, that shot was just 2 seconds long! so much action for 2 seconds and it was all fantastic. its frantic and energetic like a pokemon battle, you get to focus on each character, and!!! its cool.

anyway raihan leon dating bye

and silly me, here's a link to the video so you can see all this in action. all two seconds. (starts at 0:59)

another link since that video has since been taken down: