Forum - View topic

NEWS: Pokémon Sun & Moon TV Anime's 1st Promo Video Shows Ash in School & Battle

Well, Toei obviously doesn't care about Pokemon anime, since they have absolutely nothing to do with it

Those few clips look really good. The decision to send Satoshi to a boarding school isn't a terrible one, in the idea that he won't drastically be de-leveled(beyond the fact he's only got Pikachu). I could see some sort of graduation Pokémon League. I'm hoping they'll sell it well; it kind of reads like Red secluding himself atop Mt. Silver to train, except this is much more kid-oriented.

Man, Pokémon's original audience refuses to quit, though. Satoshi looks fine. He's got a more youthful, rounder streak to him, almost as if this was a careful consideration made to appeal to kids...

Ash was practically the same age as I was back in Generation I when I watched the anime. Somehow now 17 years later he's gotten younger. What is his trick? How does he do it?

I just really hate when any show seemingly makes a protagonist goofier to try and be a hit with young kids.

[

I'm equally not too fond of a series becoming darker just to try to look edgier.

leafy sea dragon wrote:

[ I'm equally not too fond of a series becoming darker just to try to look edgier.

I don't know why. It worked perfectly well for Digimon. Digimon started out a pretty light hearted series for little kids but it became progressively darker as the show went on. Tamers is the darkest season of Digimon and it's still highly praised for its mature writing and memorable characters. The new Tri movies have also been pretty positively received from the fans for a somewhat darker take on the classic Adventure characters. I think my biggest problem with the Sun and Moon anime so far is that from these clips, Ash just doesn't behave like the same Ash I grew up with or even the same Ash from what little I saw from the recent XY series. Like Ash was always kind of hyperactive and getting in trouble from not thinking ahead, but it was never portrayed in this over exaggerated goofy manner they're portraying it here. Ash still always acted in a way that felt natural for an anime character to act but like Ash just feels so cartooney and ridiculous in this new anime. It's just not giving me an animeish feeling and it feels more cartooney to me. Like can you imagine Brock and Misty in this new style? I think that would be a travesty to see if they did that.

This is a jarring change, sure, but the Pokemon anime has basically been doing the exact same stories over and over again for 19 years. Sending Ash to school means the old formula is out the window; if he's a student, he can't travel around and run into Team Rocket every week. It looks like this is an attempt to shake things up, and I'm excited to see where it leads.

Also Ash has always been a gigantic dope, so him posing like one in a poster seems pretty in character to me.

I don't know why. It worked perfectly well for Digimon. Digimon started out a pretty light hearted series for little kids but it became progressively darker as the show went on. Tamers is the darkest season of Digimon and it's still highly praised for its mature writing and memorable characters.

Keyword here, is that the Ash, the writers(which changes each season) are writing for Ash are for NEWER audiences of kids each generation of games adapted to the anime, to keep Ash relatable to kids.

Actually, that was the downfall of Digimon. Tamers' ratings were poor compared to Adventure and 02, and the toy sales were also very underwhelming compared to previous series. Tamers was the first step towards the initial cancellation after Frontier, so I wouldn't say it worked for Digimon.

Dextres wrote:

Keyword here, is that the Ash, the writers(which changes each season) are writing for Ash are for NEWER audiences of kids each generation of games adapted to the anime, to keep Ash relatable to kids.

That still doesn't change that it's lousy writing. And if the goal is to keep the main character relatable to kids and what his actual personality or even design is like doesn't really matter, why don't they just retire Ash already and reboot it with a brand new character? Most people who still watch the anime don't seem to care they keep rebooting the sidekicks every season and just how relatable is this modern Ash? It always seems like most fans are tired of Ash and everyone always talks about how much cooler Red is in the Pokemon manga. I just don't see the point of keeping Ash if his sole purpose now is to be this soulless proxy for kids.

Again, it does not matter that it's lousy writing, it's BUSINESS. This is focus on the Pokemon anime with the same main protagonist and mascot(pikachi) by the protagonist side. This is not focus on "most fans"' but to the target audience of kids/newer audiences of kids.

Again, it does not matter that it's lousy writing, it's BUSINESS. This is focus on the Pokemon anime with the same main protagonist and mascot(pikachi) by the protagonist side. This is not focus on "most fans"' but to the target audience of kids/newer audiences of kids.

Well there is a point though. There is no point of Ash being the main character when the old cast are laregly forgotten anyway. Is he even a selling point? I doubt. For one, he does not pose an admirable figure because he just couldn't even learn the basics of the universe.

He does not grow, not just physically but also skill-wise. Still a rookie after nearly 20 years. It makes a lot more sense to follow a fresh rookie and his/her growth per generation instead of resetting someone that should have become OP as f by default even if he spent all this time purely kicking Pidgey ass.

If the show sets its path to cater to the new kids, what is the point of keeping Ash that is a relic of the very first season? And going by the trailer, he is even not that anymore. Just the laughing stock of all community. Let him rest in peace, seriously

Again, it does not matter that it's lousy writing, it's BUSINESS. This is focus on the Pokemon anime with the same main protagonist and mascot(pikachi) by the protagonist side. This is not focus on "most fans"' but to the target audience of kids/newer audiences of kids.

Well...Then I honestly hope that the anime show of Sun and Moon will be exciting and funny enough to keep those newer kids interested for the long haul. Last time I checked, Pokémon's popularity among kids in Japan has been on a steady decline for some time now...

Still makes MONEY.

The main focus is Ash & Pikachu, not the other cast. This isn't about Ash & pikachu growth, it's about retaining the reliability of Ash as a 10 year old rookie trainer for younger audience of kids new to the series to relate with.

Even though I'm not really liking Ash's new character design I'm still going to give this new Pokémon series a try for atleast a few episodes anyway. Who knows it might actually turn out to be good.

Actually, that was the downfall of Digimon. Tamers' ratings were poor compared to Adventure and 02, and the toy sales were also very underwhelming compared to previous series. Tamers was the first step towards the initial cancellation after Frontier, so I wouldn't say it worked for Digimon. If I remember correctly from back in the day, most fans back then were critical of Tamers because it didn't have the Adventure characters in it anymore, not because of the darker content. And I don't know about Japan, but how many Digimon fans in America really watched the show for the toys to begin with? Maybe some diehard fans did, but it always felt like it was Pokemon that people liked for the toys and the games and people liked Digimon mainly for the anime and maybe a few of the games but I never felt like they pushed the toy side of Digimon too strongly in America. There was also the issue that Tamers came out during that time period where Fox Kids was changing ownership and 4Kids was taking over and Frontier had the issues of airing at random times on random UPN networks after Fox Kids turned into the Fox Box.

Whatever it's ratings were back then, I feel like Tamers obviously has the stronger lasting power than the Pokemon anime. I still always hear Digimon fans rave about how amazing Tamers was whereas I always just hear a lot of frustration about Pokemon and how it was only good until after a certain point of the franchise. I love the first two seasons as much as the next Digimon fan, but it's clear from an adult perspective those seasons had all the issues with plot holes two dimensional villains. Tamers had more moral ambiguity and dealt with more complex themes and the Digimon were always a lot cooler in it.