How do you feel about Ash?

[Palamon]

What do you think about Ash, as a character? (If you're going to post "hate", explain why you don't like him, please.)

 

[pkmin3033]

I find it quite difficult to like Ash as a protagonist, but that's mostly because I find him extremely difficult to relate to, and when it comes to character development I don't see much point in getting attached when he's only going to be reset back to factory default at the end of the season. Ash is predictable, which makes him boring. But then, this is not an unsurprising perspective for me to have...I'm twenty-six, I've been watching the anime since I was around nine or ten - so, about Ash's age according to the writers - and in all that time they've done literally nothing with him. He's travelled more than I ever will and had so many adventures, but at the start of each new series it's like he's just starting out. It starts to wear thin on you after a while. Has with me, anyway.

I think, as far as protagonists go, Ash is as inoffensive as it's possible to be, which is good. He has some annoying habits, but in every series - even Unova - he shows signs of growth and development. But he's nothing special. He's just an excuse at this point, rather than someone to get emotionally invested in and actively root for.

So, he's not exactly bad, but he's not good either. He's just...there.

 

[Kurosaki]

I obviously do like Ash, however that is sometimes back-and-forth, because I liked him in Orange Islands, Advanced Gen, Black and White, and now XY&Z, but when I was really young and Kanto was on I didn't really care for him. I remember being like 8 or 9 and going "ASH IS STUPID" Same with during Johto, and Sinnoh. There are some series where I find him more interesting. Though, back when I was into roleplay, I did roleplay him for like five years, so I think that during that time he kinda grew on me, too. Or I'm sure that played a part. Then again, you can change up or add things to a character when you roleplay them, so I ended up giving him more of a personality than he has in most canon episodes. It is also fair to say that when I was 13 I had a massive animu crush on him. orz

I do think XY&Z is adding a bit more to his character, and at least Pokemon characters have more expressive eyes nowadays.

& To comment on some of Meloetta's post, yes the resets are really always a letdown. Maybe he would have a better personality now if he didn't keep reverting back to the start every series. I think his basic personality is cute and I like his Japanese voice actress a lot, but I still wish that some of the changes he went through would stick. Not that they ever will. :|

TL;DR: I like Ash quite a bit, but I wish they would let him have permanent character development DDD: for the love of god

 

[Luzu]

I could probably go on for quite a bit about Ash's character, if that says something about how I feel about Ash. And, of course, I mean that in a good way. I don't really feel like going into depth at this point, maybe at a later time, but overall I adore Ash. I really do.

A lot of it has to do with some other things that I do on the side, such as roleplaying. It's made me look into Ash more as a character and into his character development. Or rather, his roller coaster of a development. Really, Ash is like of like a project. Taking bits and pieces and trying to put them together to really form something of it and honestly, I'd dare say that in my experience that I've done a pretty good job of it. Of course, there are a few things that are really hard to explain out characteristically, but there's only so much you can do with the writing and the fact that they like to restart him in nearly every region.

That said, I enjoy watching his development. How it grows. How it falters. Even how it "restarts" (to an extent) so that I might find a way to interpret it for roleplay reason. After all, it's much easier and more enjoyable to play a character when you can explain it in both your terms and the character's terms. And because of that I actually find myself relating to him a lot because I've learned that your growth as a person will not always go up. It'll go up, down, sideways, backwards, and as a whole will just continue to form throughout your life. I know that I haven't always made progress and that my progress goes backwards sometimes. The same goes for Ash, really.

 

[Lizardo]

Really, it depends on which series I'm watching Satoshi in and how he's written in it.

I don't need Satoshi to be a complex character or to be overly-bratty and silly (as in the earliest Kanto episodes). He's never been the former, and I actually find the latter pretty irritating. Likewise, I don't really care that he essentially "starts over" with each new series. I get what kind of series this is. By this point, if you don't like seeing Satoshi "reset" then you're watching the wrong anime.

Satoshi is at his best when he's driven, when he has well-established relationships with most of his Pokémon, when he has an actual character arc, and when he's shown as a capable trainer who nonetheless makes visible improvement throughout a series. Basically, if I can look back at Satoshi and his Pokémon at the end of a series and not think that their whole journey was a waste of time, that they got a little stronger (even if they don't win the League), then that's when I'm pretty fond of Satoshi as a character. Good examples of Satoshi "done right", in my opinion: OS!Satoshi (though, not for the reasons others are usually so fond of this character; I actually dislike that side of him) and DP!Satoshi.

It's in those series where Satoshi just exists to be "there", or to be a clown, and when his Pokémon make no notable improvement, that I really don't like him much at all. Good examples of Satoshi "done poorly", in my opinion: AG!Satoshi and BW!Satoshi.

 

[illumine]

In general, as with the Greninja arc, there is a certain sense in which their development over the years has been fairly stilted, and while people seem to want them to develop, there is a certain sense in which even when they have situations like these thrown their way it doesn't seem to change much and they don't go anywhere with it. They might want a character less oriented towards filler and then absorption in their plot if they want to end an arc of the anime notably, or in general may look towards introducing new leading characters in the newer arcs rather than just relying on this lot to keep on going, and hoping for some variety from the females - although it has to be said that they generally seem to have put more focus and variety into Serena's competitors than Serena herself.

As a character, they had significant problems, including a focus on plot over battles and so on which meant that they had to get most of their early badges through some sort of chores or errands rather than by actually taking on the Gym, which was generally speaking handled far too amicably and was quite lame ultimately. Further, they have a tendency to wander into various groups and shipping situations without really doing enough to avoid or rebuff these, or in general come across more as touring things than as a character who makes any demands of them, or tries to give things a direction that they would prefer, which is generally a problem.

 

[Pebbles]

i find him annoying
i find him brave
i find him passionate​

 

[Kurosaki]

That said, I enjoy watching his development. How it grows. How it falters. Even how it "restarts" (to an extent) so that I might find a way to interpret it for roleplay reason. After all, it's much easier and more enjoyable to play a character when you can explain it in both your terms and the character's terms. And because of that I actually find myself relating to him a lot because I've learned that your growth as a person will not always go up. It'll go up, down, sideways, backwards, and as a whole will just continue to form throughout your life. I know that I haven't always made progress and that my progress goes backwards sometimes. The same goes for Ash, really.

I love the way you worded this. c: From a roleplay standpoint, the reset thing is pretty handy. I used to base my roleplays primarily on Hoenn!Ash, and eventually DPPt, because those were what was airing at the time, but I might've written him differenlyt had he been, say, Kanto Ash, hahah.

Like, in a way I dislike the resets, because he tends to mostly seem to lose his memory, and they never really talk about his past adventures much. Though, also it makes him less stagnant as a character, because if you don't like him in one series, there is a chance that he's going to act different or learn differently later on down the line - and I've always liked seeing him change, even if it's disappointing when some changes aren't kept.

But I also feel like the more recent series have been nicer to him, I'm really liking Ash a lot in Kalos! Though, that's just my opinion. I know some people are irritated with him in this one. lol

 

[Luzu]

I love the way you worded this. c: From a roleplay standpoint, the reset thing is pretty handy. I used to base my roleplays primarily on Hoenn!Ash, and eventually DPPt, because those were what was airing at the time, but I might've written him differenlyt had he been, say, Kanto Ash, hahah.

Like, in a way I dislike the resets, because he tends to mostly seem to lose his memory, and they never really talk about his past adventures much. Though, also it makes him less stagnant as a character, because if you don't like him in one series, there is a chance that he's going to act different or learn differently later on down the line - and I've always liked seeing him change, even if it's disappointing when some changes aren't kept.

But I also feel like the more recent series have been nicer to him, I'm really liking Ash a lot in Kalos! Though, that's just my opinion. I know some people are irritated with him in this one. lol

Oh yeah. I played Unova!Ash mostly myself and I know that if I played Ash from a different series there would be subtle ways on how I'd write him differently. Especially between say... Kanto!Ash and Sinnoh!Ash where the difference is far more vast. It's these subtle differences that are one of the reasons why I enjoy playing Ash as a character (that and he just... flows so easily with me. Probably because I can connect with him fairly well).

I feel like they don't talk about his past because no one brings it up. Ash is open to talking about his other journeys when people ask. But if someone doesn't say something he won't say a thing. Or y'know if it's related to something, such as the reason why he brought up Charmander in the N episode. With that said that's... why no one other than Pikachu would know how many times the kid has died haha... Imagine if his friends learned about some of them (such as his 'death' in the Victini movie. Horrible way to 'die'.) Watching Ash change from season to season is fun to depict and figure out reasons why it happened. What about the atmosphere in his companions and region that is causing him toact like this in comparison to the other series, and so on!

I really like XY!Ash as well. I really do. I just wish that the writers would write in more moments with Ash and Pikachu because you can't have Ash without Pikachu and I really feel like that they haven't shown that enough in the series. I played XY!Ash for only a little bit before my life got too busy to roleplay daily, but during the time I roleplayed XY!Ash instead of BW!Ash the one thing that I did differently from the show is those moments. They're just so important to his character and that's something that has and should never change. But things like how he's taken a leader role compared to his other role BW! would be one of the few subtle things that'll be present in writing XY!Ash instead of BW!Ash.

Maybe it's because I've played him longer, but I honestly enjoy writing BW!Ash more than XY!Ash. He's just so carefree in BW to a fault that it's exciting to roleplay in comparison to the more determined XY!Ash. But both are really fun to play under the right conditions! Annnddd this whole this is making me really miss roleplaying Ash whoops!

 

[Kurosaki]

Maybe it's because I've played him longer, but I honestly enjoy writing BW!Ash more than XY!Ash. He's just so carefree in BW to a fault that it's exciting to roleplay in comparison to the more determined XY!Ash. But both are really fun to play under the right conditions! Annnddd this whole this is making me really miss roleplaying Ash whoops!

Clipped part of it! xwx Hopefully we're allowed to let this stay in the thread, rather than us being poked to take it to VMs. lmfao BUT UM, yeah I getcha. I actually prefered Hoenn and Sinnoh, because it was more dramatic writing! Then again, I'm just a sucker for drama. In that regard, I also roleplayed Shinji for awhile, and just gave everyone a hard time. If I jumped back into it, I think writing for anyone in XY&Z would be fun.

So yeah, all of his different "personalities" are interesting, even though he usually has parts to his character that remain the same.

For the sake of the thread's actual topic, it's also fair to say that he has sentimental value to me, because I'm super into voice acting, and Ash was one of the first characters I really practiced on in regards to that. So his Japanese and American voice actresses are people that I look up to. :D

Also, I do agree that it feels abnormal to have so few Ash and Pikachu moments in XYZ. Even in the gym battles, they're not what they used to be.

 

[Kieran]

XY& Z is making me change a little opinion on the anime and him, especially since it's far less sugarcoated.

Am starting to like his more serious character now.

 

[Famon]

I find Ash as a sad and misfortune protagonist who's doom to watch other people getting better stuff then him and fulfilling their dream while he just keep failing just because the writers of the freaking show Hates him.

 

[TheLegendaryGuy]

He's my favourite character from the anime, although i don't like his serious nature in xy and z. Btw, he was, is and forever remain my favourite, because of his great spirit, his love and care for pokémons and the great strategies he makes during battles.

 

[weedle_mchairybug]

I could tolerate Ash in Kanto, largely because, hey, he was a newbie, and newbies often make mistakes (though that being said, there WERE instances where his being a newbie was not an excuse for some of his stupidity, like when he sicced Caterpie on Pidgeotto and nearly got it eaten). I definitely could tolerate him in Orange Islands, Johto, and even Sinnoh and Kalos, largely because he DOES actually either win or actually show signs of improvement. I did not tolerate him at all in Hoenn or especially Best Wishes, the former because he stayed the same rank as before, not to mention his rookie team making the Hoenn Gym Leaders barring Brawly (due to needing to rematch against him) and Roxanne (since Pikachu won that match without the rookies playing any role at all, and Pikachu's an established veteran) look about as incompetent as Team Rocket in Ash Catches a Pokémon (and while I did tolerate him in Battle Frontier due to actually having a success, later entries treated that win as a joke due to losing against people he really shouldn't lose against, which combined with how Hoenn turned out and May being replaced with Dawn just for the latter to reuse May's goal seemed to depict AG as completely pointless. At least Johto, even with all its filler episodes, actually HAD Ash advance in rank, so it was well worth the wait.), and the latter because he went full idiot in that series. And even with Sinnoh and Kalos, while I am glad that Ash does have difficulty taking out the gym leaders, I wish they just limited it to the rookies losing to the gym leaders rather than to established veterans. Sorry, Satoshi, but Best Wishes was bar none the WORST Ash incarnation due to deciding to make him into a total idiot that made even Indigo League Ash seem intelligent. Even Kanto Ash never mistook a human for an Axew (the closest he's ever gotten to mistaking a human for a Pokémon was in The Kangaskhan Kid when he mistook Officer Jenny for a Chansey, and even THERE, that was because she was hidden in the bushes in a clear sting attempt and wore a Chansey hat, so his mistaking her for a Chansey was quite understandable, unlike the incident with Iris, where her height alone should prove she's human and NOT an Axew which are approximately the size of Pikachu.).

 

[Guest123_x1]

I could tolerate Ash in Kanto, largely because, hey, he was a newbie, and newbies often make mistakes (though that being said, there WERE instances where his being a newbie was not an excuse for some of his stupidity, like when he sicced Caterpie on Pidgeotto and nearly got it eaten). I definitely could tolerate him in Orange Islands, Johto, and even Sinnoh and Kalos, largely because he DOES actually either win or actually show signs of improvement. I did not tolerate him at all in Hoenn or especially Best Wishes, the former because he stayed the same rank as before (snip)

I'm going to second what you've said. I believe Ash has long been past his prime. The fact that he was mostly reset to start Unova (with that series being marketed as a 'reboot'), and also that he always leaves all of his Pokémon behind save for Pikachu and his traveling partners always leave (especially the female ones) during the transition to a new region gives the anime as a whole a feeling of being 'tired' and 'dated' (I don't know if this kind of scenario applies to the anime industry, but I know letting a live-action show become tired and dated can lead to top production staff being dismissed, as Nancy Jones of Wheel of Fortune and Roger Dobkowitz of The Price is Right found out the hard way back in 1995 and 2008, respectively, with both being replaced to take the shows in a "new direction."

 

[Crying Charizard]

I don't like ash because he doesn't age and he can't win a single league.

 

[smocks]

lol personally I think he'd was a mess after Sinnoh, cause Sinnoh was his peak in my opinion :P (he got the farthest in the Pokémon League)

Also, the fact he's still 11 (or 10 idk) makes me want to punch a wall. The writers could've of made him at least 12 or eleven and a half lmao

 

[Palamon]

I'm going to be very honest about how I feel about Ash.

I liked him throughout all of the original series and Johto, he may have been arrogant and a brat, but the 4kids depiction of his character was better in the original series than say, Sinnoh. After around Battle Frontier, Ash got annoying for me. Maybe it was the change of the dub studios or something, but his post Hoenn personality just wasn't for me, I guess. I ended up "hating" Ash for quite a few years after that, but then Kalos happened, and I saw a new light on his character. Maybe it's just my imagination, but Kalos Ash seems more... mature? The Litleo episode made me realize that. Suppose, his attitude in Kalos is more mellow than his selfish "I only wanna battle" attitude is why I disliked him most of Sinnoh. So, basically Kalos Ash > all the other versions of his character.

 

[Luzu]

Clipped part of it! xwx Hopefully we're allowed to let this stay in the thread, rather than us being poked to take it to VMs. lmfao BUT UM, yeah I getcha. I actually prefered Hoenn and Sinnoh, because it was more dramatic writing! Then again, I'm just a sucker for drama. In that regard, I also roleplayed Shinji for awhile, and just gave everyone a hard time. If I jumped back into it, I think writing for anyone in XY&Z would be fun.

So yeah, all of his different "personalities" are interesting, even though he usually has parts to his character that remain the same.

For the sake of the thread's actual topic, it's also fair to say that he has sentimental value to me, because I'm super into voice acting, and Ash was one of the first characters I really practiced on in regards to that. So his Japanese and American voice actresses are people that I look up to. :D

Also, I do agree that it feels abnormal to have so few Ash and Pikachu moments in XYZ. Even in the gym battles, they're not what they used to be.

Ehhh, I don't see why not! We're talking about Ash's character and how we relate it to RP, so it's still within the topic imo.

I honestly haven't watched all of Sinnoh and Hoenn for me to play Ash from those eras confidentally. However, I will say that I have done preetyy dramatic things with Best Wishes!Ash because regardless of which Ash it is it's pretty much to see what limits you can push him to. And I dare say that I really pushed some limits with him, which is something because Best Wishes definitely has the most laid-back, "light-hearted" Ash in the series! And the amazing thing is that despite all of it I found that he was just as sincere as he always is, which is something that expands over all the series, imo!!

Which, honestly, is one of the precious things I love about him.

As for his characterization in Kalos yeah, he's more 'mature'. This is mostly because his companions are all new to adventure and such. Things that Ash is experienced is. There isn't an older character in the group that, while looks up to him, also takes care of him like a younger brother. So with that he's more of a leader in XY. It's something that I both like and dislike, as while we see his more mature side it does make me miss a few of his other sides of him, as well.

 

[RegalSin]

Ash was great at being a dunce and all. That said in the official and original comics ( before it was edited down ). Later in the show it just becomes about him and his Charizard. That is when he becomes pointless. It is like Why Ash, Why?

Every episode after that I just rely on the unofficial ( mens romance stuff ) with Ash. I imagine Ash retired with his new poke-girl collection. That is how it end. Every episode from then on is just blah blah buy this bhuy this.