Should Ash Ketchum & other characters in the Anime, grow older?

[LegendChu]

Its been almost two decades now, since Pokemon's first episode aired - in Japan on April 1, 1997 & in the United States on September 8, 1998. From then, till now, the main protagonist, Ash Ketchum of course, has always been 10 years old & the other characters haven't grown older either.

Do you think that its time for Ash to age a few years, I mean at least let him be a teenager, coz I think that'd bring a bit of freshness to the series! :)

Pika Pika :chu:

 

[Famon]

Its been almost two decades now, since Pokemon's first episode aired - in Japan on April 1, 1997 & in the United States on September 8, 1998. From then, till now, the main protagonist, Ash Ketchum of course, has always been 10 years old & the other characters haven't grown older either.

Do you think that its time for Ash to age a few years, I mean at least let him be a teenager, coz I think that'd bring a bit of freshness to the series! :)

Pika Pika :chu:

Let me explain it to you this way , If Ash grow older he would be old enough to date them--

Or

Not to mention , Serena wouldn't has to be Deaged.

 

[machomuu]

It wouldn't add anything to the show. Most of the reason Ash remains the same age is so that he can be the same symbol today as he was way back when, a relatable child figure. The games have been getting pretty ambiguous with ages as of late, but there it's pretty simple since the MC doesn't have a personality, so the player can inject his or herself into the MC without the game really having to do anything on its part.

Ash, on the other hand, does have a personality, and aging him up would require a little tinkering- not just with him, but also with the world at large. Of course, they could always just retain Ash as he is but make him older, but the thing about that is...well, what's the point? It'd be strange to do something like that in a trivial manner after all this time and to just continue the show normally.

So yeah, I'd say no. I don't really see a merit to it, especially considering Pokemon isn't much of a character show and aging's greatest merits would be in showing change and development.

 

[Pinkie-Dawn]

Ash & co. would still be underage for their fans to fall for. The anime is suppose to follow Ash's journey within a span of 1 year, which is why he stays 10.

 

[Hikamaru]

Like Macho and Pinkie said, there is a reason why Ash is still 10. It's mainly due to the target audience and they want a protagonist who they can easily relate to, plus I imagine a lot of the target audience who play Pokemon are usually around 10 anyway.

 

[Little hero]

Like Macho and Pinkie said, there is a reason why Ash is still 10. It's mainly due to the target audience and they want a protagonist who they can easily relate to, plus I imagine a lot of the target audience who play Pokemon are usually around 10 anyway.

I don't think that Pokèmon is attractive to the new kids. I read some articles:

First: Yokai Watch took over Japan:

"Japan's kids love game series Yo-Kai Watch, and one fan says it's because grownups don't"
Here:
https://en.rocketnews24.com/2014/07...h-and-one-fan-says-its-because-grownups-dont/

Second: Pokèmon is old in Japan:

"Pokemon is so old that some of the kids who grew up watching it now have kids of their own. Pokemon isn't the cool, hip thing anymore. Pokemon's that thing that my mom and dad used to play."
Here: https://dogasu.bulbagarden.net/old_news_archive/january_2015.html

Third: Adults buy Pokèmon more than the new kids:

"The fact that more and more adults are playing Pokémon with each successive game tells us that the series' existing audience is getting older."


Pokémon's Audience Is Growing Older:
Here:https://www.siliconera.com/2014/12/01/pokemons-audience-growing-older/

 

[UltimateFrosty08]

Well I feel he is aging because he doesn't say hes 10 ever since Johto If each Gen he ages one year next Gen he will have a Car XD (If he doesn't fail the test LOL) and to add everything together sorry but if Ash was not aging they wouldn't add time like in the first season near the end when the Pokemon center was repaired after Ash blew it up they said it was a year ago making Ash 11 and in a Johto before movie Short Ash and Pikachu were celebrating the day they met, Ash's B-day making him 12 my guess is he is a Midget and the lack of parenting caused Ash not to grow up.

 

[Mawa]

I'll love to see them grow, but in another serie. Like a Pokemon serie more adult.

 

[LegendChu]

In my opinion, Pokemon's target audience is actually teenagers, so it wouldn't hurt if Ash ages by about 3-4 years.

Pika Pika :chu:

 

[Famon]

Honestly , Ash should atleast be 12 year old !
That way , it would be easy to see Age Difference between him and Shota/Manon.
Plus , Animator has no problem in making Ash's companion curvy if they are 12 year old.
If May reappear then she will be the 1st character to grow even though she just has a tiny ponytail.

 

[janejane6178]

Honestly , Ash should atleast be 12 year old !
That way , it would be easy to see Age Difference between him and Shota/Manon.
Plus , Animator has no problem in making Ash's companion curvy if they are 12 year old.
If May reappear then she will be the 1st character to grow even though she just has a tiny ponytail.

Omg Famon, I usually like your posts.
But what's up with May? You mention here in every post lately LOL.
I don't want her to return since she was my least fav companion girl.
The only likely candidate to make a come back is Misty, which I would like very much :)

 

[Famon]

Omg Famon, I usually like your posts.
But what's up with May? You mention here in every post lately LOL.
I don't want her to return since she was my least fav companion girl.
The only likely candidate to make a come back is Misty, which I would like very much :)

Because I accidentally watched An AG Episode and with ORAS release , I kind a realized that May is too irresistible.
All this time , I have been trying to replace her with Dawn & Serena but its was futile because Watching May again takes all my affection away.
Its one of the reason I'm so crazy about Shipping , I just want someone better then May.
May is definitely the most well-written character considering that she was even more hopeless then Ash !
The Problem was the whichever idiot took over AG got carried away with Contest & Drew So much that he forgotten that Ash is main protagonist , Not May.
Also , Atsuhiro Tomioka disprove Advanceshipping and decide to support contestshippiing therefore May is the only girl Ash can't have.
However , If the Anime goes though a Timeskip then I guess May would be better choice as Ash's next traveling companion or Prime Love-Interest ! Because May is the only character who make me feel the thrill I felt watching Doreamon , Dinosaur King and Digimon Adventure 02 !

 

[UltimateFrosty08]

Because I accidentally watched An AG Episode and with ORAS release , I kind a realized that May is too irresistible.
All this time , I have been trying to replace her with Dawn & Serena but its was futile because Watching May again takes all my affection away.
Its one of the reason I'm so crazy about Shipping , I just want someone better then May.
May is definitely the most well-written character considering that she was even more hopeless then Ash !
The Problem was the whichever idiot took over AG got carried away with Contest & Drew So much that he forgotten that Ash is main protagonist , Not May.
Also , Atsuhiro Tomioka disprove Advanceshipping and decide to support contestshippiing therefore May is the only girl Ash can't have.
However , If the Anime goes though a Timeskip then I guess May would be better choice as Ash's next traveling companion or Prime Love-Interest ! Because May is the only character who make me feel the thrill I felt watching Doreamon , Dinosaur King and Digimon Adventure 02 !

Omg Famon, I usually like your posts.
But what's up with May? You mention here in every post lately LOL.
I don't want her to return since she was my least fav companion girl.
The only likely candidate to make a come back is Misty, which I would like very much :)

??? ~_~

 

[Kenchiin]

?????????????

.... Alright so moving on, Satos- I mean, Ash is 10 years old. That will probably never change. It's a marketing thing. Plus he's really a baka stupid, so it would hurt see he grows up and he's still stupid.

 

[Guest123_x1]

As much as I'd like the idea of Ash growing older as the series goes on (it would freshen the show a bit), let's face it, though; it's never going to happen. Besides, characters in many animated shows generally don't age as the series goes on.

I do want to touch on the below points:

Second: Pokèmon is old in Japan:

"Pokemon is so old that some of the kids who grew up watching it now have kids of their own. Pokemon isn't the cool, hip thing anymore. Pokemon's that thing that my mom and dad used to play."

[snip]

Third: Adults buy Pokèmon more than the new kids:

"The fact that more and more adults are playing Pokémon with each successive game tells us that the series' existing audience is getting older."

What's happening with Pokémon now is pretty much the thing that happens with a lot of media franchises. The initial target audience grows older, and, oftentimes, changes are made to target to younger people.
In a somewhat similar yet unrelated note, this reminds me of why the traditional oldies radio format (songs from 1955-64) is all but extinct from terrestrial radio these days. The target demographic gets older and older, and advertisers no longer see the format as being profitable (Most of the people who recognize the hits from such acts as Buddy Holly, The Everly Brothers, and even Elvis Presley's earliest hits are age 65+ now.)

 

[DBZ fan]

I would be open to whole age idea. As long its in moderate dose not going overboard with it.

Somesort of small timeskip where characters are showed maybe 3 years older would allow pokemon anime to breathe in artistic liberty department and allow for more variety in development of protagonists.

If anything it would add new life in their characterization which is to expect as they become older, deliver new change in styles and their looks and open ground for more profound character development you couldn't do with them in current form. Not to mention it would make passage of timeline and whole adventure lasting for over 18 years more believable and justified to follow.
Bringing Ash, current main and older main characters as more relatable to follow and someone with who viewer could identify himself, because just like we do they would grow from all those experiences, journey and new challenges which appear in their lives as they become older as well.

I would be certainly interested in seeing how woud Ash act older. Would cognition of dealing with new obstacles in life change his view on world and those he wants to protect. Would he become more aware of his mistakes in past and breaks which held him back from becoming pokemon master. Maybe we coud see him question whole desire behind wanting to become pokemon master and what this truly represent to him bringing new facets to his characterization. Like for example his whole quest being connected to his missing father who is master himself.

Discover new feelings he wasn't aware of before like love, resentment.
Etc.

Or showing May or Dawn as they grew older as winners of Grand Festival. Introspecting their feelings of becoming popular and how are they coping with pressure and high expectations imposed by society on them. What hapened with their oldr rivals and did they created new ones creating diversity of interactions and ways in which their personalities could have evolved.
Resulting in bigger increase of ambitions and new objectives they set infront of themselves to reach.Such as Dawn revealing interest in Wallace in her DP specials viewing him as idol. Possibly awakening in her desire to follow his footsteps and become new contest master.

Reveal what would be happening with Misty during all that time and how much her life changed. Maybe we would see her sporting new look and hairstyle after being talked into it by her sisters resulting in lot of comedy scenes. What new pokemon she acquired. What new people she met, tournaments she entered and skills she gained in her possible solo travels as she worked in becoming water pokemon master.

Showing her few years older preparing to battle evaluators and pass tests in attempt of becoming first E4 female using water pokemon suceeding her idol Lorelei and effectively accomplishing her dream. Dive into Misty emotions inside her and question if she has what it takes to reach her dreams when being compared to all those water experts thinking of giving up.
Or how much long separation of her older friends like Ash, Brock etc affected her .
Etc, etc.

There exists lot of potential there.
Because it is kinda ridiculous to expect how all those regions and travels Ash went through, meeting of new friends, catching pokemon and leagues happened in less than one year.
That is completely unbelievable and to make things worse; several mentions of time passage in pokemon show doesn't help either only creating all those unnecessary plotholes.

Like in Kanto when Ash with Misty and Brock was preparing to challenge Viridian gym saying he can't believe one year already passed. In Johto during Pikachu special within part of third movie Ash celebrated anniversary of day he met Pikachu. In Sinnoh this happened again with Ash recollecting on his journey through DP being mentioned how one year passed. Etc.

What would be especially cool in case of Ash and others becoming older is in witnessing reunion scenes behind very close and old friends exchanging on their experiences. Remembering their past times and adventure. Show them teasing each other, checking if old habits between themselves changed and allowing for their relationship to breathe and develop on deeper, more substantial level.

Gathering together to stop some upcoming danger or join each other on whole new adventure again as they work toward achieving dreams and reaching desired destinations in company.
Like we seen with Digimon Tri Adventure doing, Naruto Shippuden when original squad was collected together again, Dragon Ball Super etc.

Im not gonna lie i always wanted to see Ash, Misty and Brock for example reunited for one more journey together and how their strong bond and all those adventures they had would reflect on their meeting. Especially if they grew older.

 

[Lunaturret]

Its a yes for me more in a different anime style i guess so pokemon but not pokmon more Japanese without the american art style feel

 

[Famon]

Here is a question ,
We know Ash is 10 year old .
But we also know that Shota and Manon are also 10 year old .
But Does Ash look same age as them ?
Another question , Is Maylene is same aged as Dawn ???
Because we know Dawn is 10 year old since she just got her 1st pokemon! But we also know that Maylene being training for a longer time then Dawn.
So , we can't get their experience level because both of them are 10 year old ! It feeling like some imaginary year gone by without none of them aging.
This agelessness creating more confusion ! So I think Ash should be atleast 12 year old , Practically every other protagonist of Kids Anime are now ether 12 or 13 year .
Even Nobita from Doreamon is One year older then Ash .

Plus , If Ash was 12 year old then Korrina might able to become better love-interest then Serena.
Specially if Ash & Korrina's relationship was like Ash & Shauna from Hoenn -

 

[UltimateFrosty08]

Plus , If Ash was 12 year old then Korrina might able to become better love-interest then Serena.
Specially if Ash & Korrina's relationship was like Ash & Shauna from Hoenn -

Sorry if this offends you but PLEASE JUST STOP WITH THE DATING CRAP ITS DUMB

At least you didn't talk about May :)

 

[jfuze174]

Ash is not ten he's atleast 14 I know there was an episode where he had a birthday plus there was a pokemon league that he had to train a few months before he started