Shadow vs Mewtwo Review

I wasn’t expecting another rematch so soon. Death Battle don’t do a lot of rematches. Aside from Goku vs Superman which they’ve done three times, Link vs Cloud, and Master Chief Doomslayer, Death Battle don’t really go back to their old episodes too much. And no, Samus vs Boba Fett doesn’t count since that was a remaster, not a reanalysis.

But I’m always open to them redoing older episodes. Especially given a lot of older episodes are pretty outdated. Either due to the characters having new stuff, or the initial analysis simply not being very good. There’s plenty of older episodes that could use an update, but none need it more than Mewtwo vs Shadow.

This is a particularly infamous episode of the show. Not because of a controversial result like Ben 10 vs Hal Jordan, or because it was simply a shitty idea like the episode that shall not be named, but for one simple, very easy to see reason. It fucking sucked!

The episode had a lot of behind-the-scenes issues and it greatly affected the final product. The animation was rushed which resulted in a lack lustre battle, for some reason they asked Takahata101 to do a bad job at voicing Shadow in a weird attempt to homage the voice acting in the Adventure games, I don’t get it either, and the analysis was pretty fucking bad. They used Sonic Boom for Christ’s sake. I still don’t know why that was a thing they did at the time. Like every Sonic episode from that time period did it. It was bizarre.

In short, the episode was screwed over. If there was any episode that needed another go around it was that one. Thus we have Shadow vs Mewtwo. Yeah, they even reversed the character names because they want to distance themselves as far from the original as possible.

Now I was both excited and weary for this episode. Excited because I do genuinely like the matchup. It’s great thematically, I love both series and combatants, and it’s just one of those episodes that has great vibes. These two work great with each other. It’s also the one chance for Shadow to have a legitimately good episode since he hasn’t exactly had the best run on this show. Shadow vs Ryuko is fine, but he can have better.

On the other hand, it’s a Sonic episode. which means I have to once again deal with Sonic power scaling. And as I said in Cell vs Metal Sonic I hate Sonic power scaling. It delves into the worst aspects of the franchise and makes me realise how, well there’s no easy way to say it so I’ll just be blunt, shit Sonic lore actually is. Let’s be honest, love or hate the series, I think we can all agree that Sonic’s worldbuilding has been a complete fucking mess for decades now.

But we are also dealing with Pokémon which is equally as messy. Have you read some of those Pokédex entries lately? Half of it doesn’t make a lick of sense. Add on a debate that is dependent on a shit ton of variables that will piss off people regardless of what they buy, and we’re staring down the barrel of a potentially confusing episode. Fucking psychic types man.

But you know what, Cell vs Metal was great. Honestly I regret being as harsh as I was in my review because on rewatch, it really is the best episode of the season so far. So I am expecting it to be fun. Something I can at least be entertained by even if I don’t understand the analysis. Which was thankfully the case. Hell the analysis wasn’t even that confusing.

Honestly it was a pretty good analysis overall. It covered both characters stories well, it went over all their relevant abilities to the debate, and the results were clear, made sense based on the evidence presented, and the arguments didn’t have any major holes in it.

Speaking of which, I might as well get the result out of the way, Shadow won with the argument ultimately being that his superior speed, Chaos Control and resistances allowed him to overcome Mewtwo’s wider arsenal. That seems fine to me, and it was the general consensus based on what I saw online. I will say I appreciate how close the match was. They were pretty evenly matched in terms of power which I wasn’t expecting.

While I have a feeling some will take umbrage with what they used, like it being a soft composite Mewtwo for example, I’m mostly fine with it. I don’t like how they implied Doom Shadow is equal to a super form, but they didn’t even do anything with it so I’ll let it slide. Hopefully that doesn’t get brought up again because I do not like where the chain of thought leads.

But overall, I have no issues with the reasoning, and the entire analysis before that is damned good too. It goes without saying that this is miles, MILES better than the previous episode. in fact I might as well get this out of the way, there is no comparison. This is the better episode and it’s not even close. There’s no point in even thinking about the original now, so I will no longer mention it.

One thing I really appreciate about it is the respect they gave Shadow. Not that previous episode didn’t, but it always felt begrudging. Like there was a part of them cringing at him and being embarrassed a little bit for liking him. I never got that here. They still make comments on him being an edgy edge boy, but it feels like they’re in on it. They get that’s why people like him and embrace it.

Honestly it really felt like a love letter to both combatants. Mewtwo’s story is handled perfectly. Getting across why he’s such an interesting character, and it was nice seeing them cover all of the alternate Pokémon media like the manga.

Shadow’s was good too, but it was going over a lot of stuff we already knew since he’s been on the show a few times before. It’s done better here, but aside from the Doom powers, which weren’t even that important, it wasn’t anything new. It felt like going the motions a bit. Seriously, we need a Sonic character who doesn’t use the Chaos Emeralds on this show because if I see Solaris one more time I’m going to fuck up a Chao.

Really though my only issues are to do with pacing. Yeah, yeah, you know the drill by now. It goes by too fast, there’s too much information thrown at you and has too many black boxes. But that’s not what I mean this time. No what I mean is it feels like the analysis are winding to a close but then keep going. Like about halfway through it feels like they’re wrapping up but then they have more.

It’s more noticeable in Shadow’s analysis where they cover the end of his story but then go into the Black Doom stuff. It was a little awkward. I get Black Doom is the most recent development in Shadow’s story, at least in regards to Shadow Generations, but you could have structured this better.

But overall, it’s a great analysis. For Shadow in particular it’s nice to see one that does the character justice. But here’s the thing, the analysis is irrelevant. Oh it’s good, but it is not the reason you will come back to this episode. That is the animation. Because Jesus H Tap Dancing Christ is this animation good.

Make no mistake, when I type these words I mean them with all sincerity, this is the best 3D fight of the show. Not the season, the show. This tops all of them and that is not something one can say lightly. Oh you can point to some 3D battles that did things better individually. Goku vs Superman had better vibes and meant more to the show overall. Galactus vs Unicron had grander scale. Even Cell vs Metal Sonic arguably has more personality and aura farming.

But Shadow vs Mewtwo is the full package. It gets everything it needed to right. It has just the right scale, the choreography is incredible, the banter is on point, there’s an actual set up for once (member those?), and it does all of this while having some of the most expressive, energised animations I’ve seen in a vs fight.

This animation is impeccable. The characters are so bouncy and have so much expression and personality. It really feels like they took the bouncy expressiveness of classic animation, with the badassness and cool factor of modern anime. I cannot adequately express how much I love this animation. It is exactly what I love about the medium.

What I find funny is how this episode manages to find a balance a lot of the 3D episodes don’t. See when it comes to 3D Death Battles there’s two different sides, the Torrian side and the Devil Artemis side. The Torrian side is better at the fight choreography, but not as good at character animation and expressions. The Devil Artemis side is the opposite, they have great character animation and expressions, but their fight choreography is on the weaker side.

I will admit that’s a bit of a simplification, but you get the idea. In 3D Death Battles you will have fights with great choreography or great character animation, but very rarely do you get both. It happens don’t get me wrong, but not as often as you think. Shadow vs Mewtwo is one of those exceptions, and it is fantastic.

The animation was done by Souljen who has done a lot of animations for Lythero. I’m not super familiar with his work, or her I’m not sure on the gender, but I am absolutely checking their stuff out after this. They have serious talent and I hope this isn’t their last episode. Keep their number Death Battle.

There’s so much to love about this animation. They incorporate pretty much every big thing these two had. All the moves and abilities you would want to see in this fight is showcased in a big way. Yes, even the fucking spoon. Because why not, it’s stupid but t’s a fun kind of stupid. The only thing missing is Shadow’s guns and swords, but honestly it’s probably best they weren’t here. It wouldn’t fit the vibe of the battle.

That’s another thing this episode excels at; it’s just got a great atmosphere to it. The nighttime setting looks really cool and fits both characters super well. It’s just got an innate coolness about it that makes everything just that little bit better.

I could glaze this animation like the last bagel in the donut box, but I think you get the general idea. But it isn’t just the animation that makes this battle great though, it’s also the fantastic characterisation and banter. This is some of the best banter I have seen in a long while. Not since Goku vs Superman if I’m being honest. Not only is the banter cool as fuck, but it’s also perfectly in character for both.

Mewtwo’s solemn rage and Shadow’s more aggressive in your face personality are both perfectly captured here. But it also manages to capture the other sides of their personalities too. Shadow’s drive to fight for Maria and Mewtwo’s reflections on the nature of life and protectiveness of Pokémon. It captures the full essences of these characters and not just the surface level stuff. Something a lot of Death Battles don’t really do.

This is some of the best character writing the show has ever had. For Mewtwo it’s great to see them show what makes him so interesting, but for Shadow this is a redemption. The previous Shadow episodes never really got the character. Either treating him as a joke or only playing him up as the cool guy. Not really showing how complex he can be. This episode actually gets it. It does understand what makes Shadow interesting, and it shows it perfectly.

All elevated by a great voice performance by Ryan Negrón. The third actor for Shadow on the show, and by far the best. Although Takahata wasn’t really given the best direction so I can’t be too harsh, and the other guy was fine, but he turned out to be a total asshole. Negrón not only sounds like the official voice actor for Shadow, but he also captures the pathos that makes the character so interesting. He isn’t just trying to be badass or cool; he’s trying to be the character in all aspects.

But for as good as Negrón is, Mewtwo’s voice actor Kevin Urban steals the show. An amazing performance that not only sells Mewtwo’s badass strength, but also his solemn more reflective personality traits. He’s definitely leaning more into the Mewtwo Strikes Back side of the character, and as someone who grew up with that movie, I have no notes. He was pitch perfect.

The last thing to mention is the battle track “Chaos Strikes Back”. It’s a pretty good one, but it does sound like it leans too much into the Shadow side of things. I mean it has the guy from Crush 4 on it, of course it was going in that direction. It didn’t feel like it had a balanced sound that captured both series. I didn’t hear much Pokémon in this.

To be honest I was a bit worried that this episode was going to be a case of a Shadow episode featuring Mewtwo. Between the track and the sneak peak leaning more towards Shadow it felt like that was going to be the case. Luckily it wasn’t. Mewtwo is given lots of respect and feels like a true equal. He does not feel like an afterthought.

But that respect is what I take away from this episode the most. This episode feels like an apology. The good kind, not the YouTube kind. It is a battle done to right a previous wrong, to give the combatants a fight they could be proud of. A goal it succeeded at with flying Ho-ho colours.

Honestly, despite both characters having other matchups, I don’t want them to come back. Not because those matchups ae bad, but because I don’t think they could top this. It’s funny, Shadow was in desperate need of a good episode, and he has ended up with one of the best episodes of the show. This really feels like the perfect end to his run on the show.

Even his final line being a direct callback to all his previous episodes feels like a capstone to his run on the show. I don’t want him to come back. He doesn’t need to come back. Let this episode be his legacy on Death Battle. Same with Mewtwo since he has his perfect showing too. How ironic, to go from one of the worst episodes in the show’s history, to one so good I want neither fighter to return due to them not being able to top it. if that ain’t a glow up I don’t know what is.

Goku vs Saitama is next… that’s it. don’t know what I can add to that. So let’s just end it here.