CHADhan Player.
The only ones who have an issue with the Anime tho are adults who have outgrown it and moved onto something else.
Which is the point; things are kept the same so its easier for children to jump in.
A lazy millennial who's good at what he does.
The thing is if they wanted to make it easier let Ash grow, while he travels with the current generation of protagonists. Even children of each generation can notice at the end, when everything comes to an end and that they watched it all for nothing. It feels like a cop out for them.
CHADhan Player.
And at that point, they'll move on to something else and let the next generation of kids watch it.
A lazy millennial who's good at what he does.
And that's why meta-series work better than just doing the same thing they are doing with Ash. Because they are still pandering to older generations, while still keeping to a tired cliche formula.
Simple: Instead of having Ash go all the way up, have him go all the way down.
Ash loses (albeit close) in Round 1.
Even in Kanto, he made the Round of 16. So Ash losing out the gate has an excellent bit of novelty to it, especially in the face of him being down to "the last out" in the prior outing.
Furthermore, what better way to say that the League doesn't matter than to just flop in that first round without a care?
True, it may spoil Dr. Kukui's hopes, but that's the nature of single-elim: a bad day (or a vulnerable matchup
) ends the run for even the highest seed.
Or, if that doesn't tickle your fancy...
Alola is literally Ash on vacation. He only has 4 pokemon. Rowlett hasn't evolved. Like..there's no hype at all even if the battles themselves turn out good.
While I would ask Precita to show me evidence of Ash's "incompetence", his other charges have some merit. Battles alongside Gladion and the Masked Royal notwithstanding, there really has been no buildup to this League prior to that showing. A fitting amount of (non-)hype for Ash to get ousted in Round 1 as above.
But now I would like to look at something that got a lot of hype. Sure from a Doylist perspective, having Brock and Misty back was appealing to Nostalgia, with meeting Olivia being a good payoff for Brock, a send-off of one of his key quirks.
But, what's Misty's payoff?
And why is there an Alolan League at all?
Perhaps the Alolan League is not meant to be an end... but a beginning, and a righting of a wrong...
It has been said quite often that Ash is at his best... when he has a Rival. Yet, even with Brock and Misty back... where is Gary (bleeping) Oak? For all intents and purposes, he is truly retired from competitive battle. This has left Ash without a Rival for his Myth Arc. A battling rival with roughly the same level of skill as Ash while also having a geographic and an emotional connection to him.
And, besides Gary Oak, only one other Recurring Character can fit these criteria.
Back in AG, I wanted there to be a bit of a duality between the main Anime and the "Chronicles". The Main Anime, in showing the progress of Ash, Brock, and the coordinator de jour, would show that one could use the same road (of adventure) to reach different goals. The changing cast members would actually further this viewpoint, showing their goals and dreams being partially fulfilled while traveling with Ash.
The Counterpoint, as should have been shown shown in some of the "Chronicles", would be that the same goal can be reached by different paths. The key one, of course, would be the quest to be recognized as a Master of Battle, as envisioned as a slot on Kanto's Elite Four. Ash's path was the seeming "quick" path, once one was ready; the other path would be working within the system taking seemingly boring jobs that, on the surface, seemed to involve training a desk, but gaining knowledge from instruction, and insight and patience from the monotonous aspects.
The path of the Gym Leader.
While I would put my Pokedols on "Ash loses in Round 1" if asked, my "pie in the sky" scenario would be for a Rivalry to be established in Ash's defeat... one that could match his Rivalry with Gary Oak, because that rival, and Ash's friendship with that person, has similar faucets to Gary...
My "pie in the sky" is for Ash to be beaten in the Alolan League... by Misty.
Leader of the Cascade Gym, fellow Kantonian, and Ash's first Companion,note Misty is the only character that can take Gary's discarded mantle.
And if she does, the Alola League will be not an end indistinguishable from the others; but a rebirth, lauded by fans old and new, whatever would befall after, either for Misty's run in Alola, or for the series thereafter.
Ash's feats in Kalos generated the sort of hype one gets from a playoff run: hope for victories in the present and over with a loss. Misty replacing Gary would create the sort of hype generated by a sports draft... hope for victories in the future...
On a side note, has Misty seen Ash's new training regimine yet?
...
You can't really compare Pokemon to Sofia the First, which is aimed at the 4-7 year old range. It's more comparable to Naruto or Beyblade in terms of age.
Actually, comparing it to Beyblade is pretty on-point. There are a lot of Pokemon-like anime that fall under the radar amongst non-Japanese anime fans, specifically because they're aimed at the 7-12 year old bracket. Pokemon gets leeway room because the adult fans grew up on it and know Ash. If it was like Beyblade or Yu-Gi-Oh, swapping MC's every few seasons, I don't think as many adults would be as interested. They'd focus on the seasons they remember best and ignore the rest. SM isn't aimed at fans who have watched the series for 10-20 years straight and it shows. That's why it has such a mixed-reaction amongst older fans.
The Misty/Brock eps were nice, even if nothing particularly special or important happened in them. Last years ep with the Mega Evolutions was better. I think their characters fit in with SM better than any arc since Kanto since it's more comedic based, whereas as we moved to Johto and beyond Misty/Brock largely became stagnant because they're not really meant to be developed as characters when they're on the cast.
It's also probably because Misty isn't lugging around Togepi anymore. Good god, it's amazing how that one baby pokemon literally sapped Misty of all her potential by the time we got into early johto till she left the cast.
CHADhan Player.
One thing I miss from the OG series is Ash being a fucking savage
Dude had lines for days.
A lazy millennial who's good at what he does.
...
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
Ever since BW, I've found myself missing Ash's stubbornness. He's just too pleasant nowadays. It's boring.
SM gives Ash odd moments of sarcasm towards things going (eg. the start of the Necrozma arc, or some of Rotom's "advice"). I don't mind him being more easy going, but I'd love more times like that where he has at least a passive self aware snark towards all the weirdness going on. A nice character can still have a subtle jaded or playfully sarcastic side.
I think the dynamic between him and Team Rocket suffers especially because of this, it's just not as funny having him playing them perfectly straight and serious instead of lampshading how repetitive their shtick is like he did originally. I liked the previous episode just because Misty went back to this ("We just beat you yesterday!") it made it feel like they were this annoying but intrinsic part of their lives again instead of just another forgettable stock bad guy butting into things unnaturally.
Edited by Psi001 on Jan 15th 2019 at 6:37:51 PM
I don’t know why I’m actually trying to make a discussion about this sort of thing but has anyone else noticed that during the OS of Pokémon whenever Misty was in a bathing suit, something nasty would be said or done towards Ash in one way, shape or form?
It’s just something that I suddenly took notice of that’s all. The Misty swimsuit effect
You mean Misty to him? I think it's because Ash would say something like, "You look like a girl for once" in episode 18 and she threw the beach ball at him. But I don't think it happened any other time. Misty was a tsundere, the 90's were a different time.
Many of the later female companions are girly and like showing off their femininity, so the embarrassing moments Misty had when she did things like that was the norm for the later girls. Misty received similar embarrassment in that Goldeen outfit she wore in the Exeggutor ep Charmander evolved in.
Well SM has three times the beach girl antics and Ash is Iron Butt Monkey there.
CHADhan Player.
OG Ash is still the undisputed in snark tho.
A lazy millennial who's good at what he does.
Oh, what about ‘Challenge of the Samurai’? Misty was seen in a bikini in that episode, and Ash was receiving non-stop put downs and criticism in that episode.
Then there was the episode about the slowpoke evolution and the following episode about the surfing thing, Misty was in a swimsuit in those episodes too and Ash got the short end of the stick in both of them
Then there was the ‘Double Trouble’ episode in the second season, Misty was in a swimsuit then as well and the very first thing that she basically does in that episode is deliver a back-handed insult towards Ash.
Then in the Johto region seasons, there was the “Shadow of a drought” episode which had Ash get accidentally bludgeoned by Squirtle’s water gun right after we saw Misty in a bathing suit. And I’m certain that somehow the “Hot water battle” episode had something within it to put down Ash in someway or another
Welcome to the 90's or early 2000's.
CHADhan Player.
Holy fuck, she's towering over him lol. She's probably wearing heels, but damn
A lazy millennial who's good at what he does.
To be a Master
It's Double Evolutions for the Price of One!
Welcome, Brionne and Vikavolt!
Edited by Shadao on Jan 27th 2019 at 9:53:32 AM
Lana is now the main girl in SM over Lillie. They're also taking their sweet time giving Ash Incineroar, although that'll probably happen within the next few months.
I think that that wedding photo from last week says otherwise. Lana may will get a more active role as a battler but Lillie still has some Deuteragonist cred with that photo. Just because you have your starter at the same level as Ash and Hau, doesn't mean you're central to the plot; to the contrary: it merely makes you a senior officer in the Hero Secret Service.
Leader of the Holey Brotherhood
Just put this in the game thread, and now I'm putting it here too. It's even more relevant on this thread I'd say:
Damn. That's a third degree burn right there.
Although it's not his team that decides whether he wins, but something far more powerful...executives!
OK, potential breaking news here. A title for a future episode has been revealed:
Discovering a New Species! I Got A Meltan!!
Judging by the title alone, it seems like Ash is going to catch a Meltan. Ash is going to catch a Meltan. After 22 years, Ash is going to catch a Legendary Pokémon.
Someone in the group will catch a Meltan. Heck, even Team Rocket could catch it at this point.
All we currently know is that it's a 2-parter, with the 1st part titled Arrival in Alola! Melty Metal Panic!!
Meanwhile, can someone tell me:
- What is going on on Poni Island
- Why the answer to #1 isn't the video below with the following substitutions:
- Ash-Greninja (voiced by Sanpei) subbing in for Zeo Ranger 5
- Ash's Sceptile (voiced by Sawyer) subbing in for the White Ranger
- Ash's Charizard (voiced by Alain) subbing in for the Dragon Ranger.note
And, of course, Ash himselfnote would be Dr. O. Though Ash could be Satochu, but in that case, Charizard (and Sceptile) wouldn't be able to comment on his new wardrobe.
ASH: I thought I might run into you.
CHARIZARD (Alain's voice): It's been a while, Ash. And I see you've switched to shorts.
ASH: They are delightfully comfortable and easy to wear. Let me guess, you want to fight.
CHARIZARD: You guessed right.
EDIT: Video that includes some of the outside scenes
Edited by DonaldthePotholer on Feb 9th 2019 at 2:29:20 PM
Ketchum's corollary to Clarke's Third Law: Any sufficiently advanced tactic is indistinguishable from blind luck.
While they are aimed at children, they don't try to stay safe or go for safe writing. I am saying too often the anime tries too hard to adhere to the status quo and it has hurt it. It's one of the reasons why I think it should have become a meta-series like Digimon.