Pokémon Concierge (2023) is, first and foremost, a love letter to stop motion animation, which really feels like the only way you could tell this specific story. It helps that it’s beautifully done, rendering lead Haru, a new concierge at the hotel, in a world that feels lived in, inclusive of its delightfully and literally crafted toy-like world.
Speaking of Haru (JP VA: Rena Nonen, EN VA: Karen Fukuhara), Pokémon Concierge follows her primarily, showing her life after a tortiously long week of millennial nightmares ranging from being dumped via text message to injuring herself twice. It’s a truly relatable hot mess of snowballing bad news, and it sets the perfect transition from big city living to the laid back life offered at the Pokémon Resort. But not everything is easy breezy: in fact, Haru’s still got a lot of growing to do, but thankfully, she won’t have to do it alone.
Joining Haru is Watanabe-san (JP VA: Takemura Yoshiko, EN VA: Lori Alan), the lead manager of the resort and the best masseuse around, Tyler (JP VA: Okuno Eita, EN VA: Josh Keaton), a perennially chill guy who does a bit of everything, including extreme yoga, and Alisa (JP VA: Fairouz Ai, EN VA: LImani Hakim), a calm and collected hotel worker who can handle any situation thrown her way. Together, they form a quartet of dedicated workers who help guests of all ages–and pocket monsters of all types and sizes–find a slice of paradise, and let me tell you: it works so, so wonderfully.
Even though the show is only four episodes, I found myself immediately nestled in this slice of the sprawling world of Pokémon. Perhaps this is the lovely Alola region. Maybe it’s a dreamy corn : we never find out and honestly, it doesn’t matter. What matters is Haru’s day to day and the little moments, ranging from goofy antics with the elemental monkey trio of Pansear, Pansage, and Panpour to helping a disabled Magikarp. In the world of Pokémon Concierge, the smallest, most intimate moments matter the most, and that’s where the true magic of this show really is. That’s where it’s heart is and that’s why I definitely want The Pokémon Company and Dwarf Studios to team up again for a second installment in this incredibly detailed world.
Pokémon Concierge is an easy recommendation for me: it’s easy to binge with its eighty minute runtime over four episodes and is the perfect cozy weekend watch. Plus, it’s also got a fantastic new single (and theme song for the show) entitled Have a Good Time Here by eternal city pop queen Takeuchi Mariya. Additionally, the English dub stands out as deeply emotive, gut-bustlingly hilarious, and truly endearing. Of note is Haru’s actor, who provides the best internal monologue anytime Haru gets hit with a bit of millennial ennui. All this comes together in one magical experience, rendering this Netflix-exclusive truly timeless and utterly enjoyable.
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