Seel Family
An article in which I have more to ramble about general character design than the featured Pokémon.
My opinion of Seel is dismally cut and dry. I find it to be a very… “okay” Pokémon. It’s a design that I struggle to make a substantial-sized article over.
However, that doesn’t mean I think Seel’s design is a failure. It’s a remarkably streamlined caricature of pinnipeds, to the point that it almost looks at home with 30’s-era cartoons. Seel’s simplistic design is flawlessly executed.
But in terms of general appeal, seals and sea lions usually only grab my attention for as long as the thought, “Aw, how cute.” I have nothing against them; there are simply other animals (and by extension, character designs) that spark more discussion out of me.
And when Seel’s Pokedex lore merely harps what you’d expect from its real-world influences, I genuinely can’t provide additional unique commentary.
I have no doubt that a true pinniped enthusiast could write essays about Seel in a similar fashion to my endless rambles about birds and birdlike Pokémon. I respect Seel for what it is, but it doesn’t personally steal my heart.
"Meh"
While Seel is an effective simple design, for me Dewgong sits within a spectrum I’d like to call “Simply Boring.”
Dewgong’s appearance is so clean, it’s nearly featureless, and I actually hate saying that. As an evolution, Dewgong doesn’t entirely feel like it’s a cop-out “Pokémon 2.0.” Unlike Poliwrath, Clefable, or (especially) Rapidash, Dewgong’s features are changed just enough so that it’s distinguishable from its predecessor.
As I’ve shown in previous articles, I’m not vehemently against minimalist character design. I’ve given favorable reviews to the likes of Farfetch’d, Bellsprout, and Oddish. Even Clefairy – a character I admit can be easily confused with other Nintendo properties – has my highest praise.
And it’s not like real-world dugongs are complex animals, either. Their bodies are highly streamlined to better suit their aquatic lifestyles.
In this case, Game Freak is simply following the source material, with a little of their cartoony flair injected into it. They’re not inherently wrong or lazy for taking that route.
Even with all this in mind, I still can’t sway my opinion of “Simply Boring” Dewgong.
I often find clean character designs incredibly difficult to analyze. If I’m not sold on what few features they offer, they feel wholeheartedly unremarkable to me. Dewgong’s biggest crime isn’t that it’s design is “horrible,” it’s that I get nothing out of it. It’s the kind of filler to a roster that’s easily forgotten.
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