I don't know about physical development, but I still stand by my view that May and Serena were way too young to have breasts. If they were 16, heck, 14 even, I could buy them having that chest, but not when they are 10. They might socially and legally be considered adults, but they definitely can't have been physically adults. In fact, even in the Anime, they generally refer to them in terms that make clear they are still children and not adults even if they are legally that.
Socially, I can agree. Can't say they were treated differently development-wise, though.
By "developmentally" I was referring to how they physically look. In that no one actually looks like they're ten when they're younger, but at the same time you can generally recognize an adult when you see one. My point being that the Pokemon world seems to start certain developments at different ages. Puberty, for instance, which likely starts at a younger age or happens more quickly/lasts longer.
It may not be a romance anime, but you have to admit, her having unresolved feelings for Ash comes across as being a bit too integral to her character, and even her performer goal comes across as being little more than an excuse. Misty at least actually HAD a goal relating to Water Pokémon since Kanto, for example, and did work to go through that goal.
No, I agree with you there. I'm not saying that they don't have anything else to their characters except their relationship with Ash- quite the opposite, actually. In most cases save for Serena and Misty, save for what shippers make of certain situations, there was no real romantic subtext anywhere. They'd play around with it from time to time, but that was about it. Hell, it could get pretty damn platonic (I mean, just look at High Touch).
Rather, it makes the relationship between Ash and the girl in question more interesting. Looking at, say, May or Dawn, the friendship between them has little personality. It's friendship at its most basic and that works, sure, but to make up for that they had to use the characters' personalities rather than the nature of the relationship itself to make it work. In Misty and Serena's case, though, they definitely had the relationship in mind. Actually, part of the reason I decided to give this season a look was because I heard that Pokemon had finally decided to use the "childhood friend/promise" trope and that there was a girl who was actually interested in Ash and I just had to see. And lo and behold.
So yeah, it's definitely present. I mentioned this in the other thread, but I really wouldn't be surprised if something did happen between Ash and Serena solely because the last time we saw anything close to this was with the girl who was originally supposed to stick around for the entirety of the series. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if there was a confession.
I would, however, be surprised if it went anywhere. That wouldn't work for the show unless they gave Ash up (which I'd be all over).
