Do you think Pokémon is childish?

[FastTonyDeNiro]

Pokemon is a childish franchise, yes. At least the concept. How can trainers going around collecting cute little animals with special powers, not be childish?

Like everyone else has said, ya the anime is for kids. And the games were too, originally. But now that all of those 8 year olds who started out with red or blue are now 18, nintendo has progressed the games a bit to fit that audience, as well.

 

[The warden]

ike everyone else has said, ya the anime is for kids. And the games were too, originally. But now that all of those 8 year olds who started out with red or blue are now 18, nintendo has progressed the games a bit to fit that audience, as well.

I'm one of those 8 year old kids who is now 19. I think the to play the Pokemon games (well) you have to be quite smart, I don't think that makes it childish at all.

 

[Trainer Marsh]

The series isn't childish. I think that if that were the poll question, no one would vote "Yes it is".

I also don't think anyone disagrees that it is a kid's series.

So the real debate is:

What is the difference between being childish and being a kid's series?

 

[Inferno1]

well the game can be played by Kids but the outer games and some of the ingame things to still attract some teens and some older people who like pokemon for example Ivs and Evs yes some kids can work them out but it is hard the stratgie at the battle frontier wi fi battle there is heaps of things that still atract adult or teen players

 

[Artyte]

Reply

Thanks for posting such an issue, this issue have perturbed me many times when my friends feel that it is childish to talk about pokemon.

My views? Absolutely no. 1: Pokemon was never intended on any age group of audience (for information, search out on pokemon history through wiki, i don't wanna explain), however, it has been an increasing trend that the anime tend to show childish pictures like a power ranger big robot. That doesn't really support it to be childish as, the anime also show many real life examples which relates to how ash and his friends journey throughout the journey, mature as they partake in cultural festivals, especially on some episodes. If you feel that pokemon is childish because of its "go pokeball!", then i would say, bleach, a famous japanese anime, is childish because of its "shinka!". 2: A franchise with the ability to have such a large influence on the world do not have the status of childish at all. In pokemon's case, it has even been described as a hegemon rather than a childish article of fact by a journalist. Pokemon also has a large influence on the pop culture of the contemporary world, and is still making its way to fit themselves as the best in the entertainment section. Pokemon is also known to be used as a reference in school to teach. According to these actual facts, how do one refer it as a childish article?

If I was to say pokemon is childish, how similar to hello kitty or hamtaro is it?

We gotta take into consideration what is the definition of childish and how does it apply to any form of entertainment from the franchise. To me, i've watched a lot of the pokemon anime and is actually more mature than most of the teenagers-intended japanese anime. This is because teenagers-intended japanese anime show a lot of violence for the sake of violence whereas pokemon shows more friendship, and reality related cases.

 

[⋚Raika⋚]

The anime is really childish, but the games are definitely NOT childish.

 

[Percy Thrillington]

Of course it's chidish. It was made for children, after all. That doesn't mean we can't act like kids and enjoy it every now and again though, amirite?

 

[EJ]

The anime is quite childish nowadays but the first seasons were actually decent. The game itself can be seen as childish but when you try it it's really not as bad.

 

[Mezase Master]

Please note that when I asked if you think of it as a kid's series, well, I asked if you you think of it as a kid's series. Yes, it is, but let's imagine that you just starting playing Red or Blue for the very first time of your life and you knew nothing about it otherwise. Would you have fun, thinking it's common for anybody at every age was playing such a game? Or would you feel more like you might as well be playing a Sesame Street game or one of those edutainment Mario games?

The animé has made it obvious that it's directed at kids, and everybody's saying that the cute Pokémon like Pikachu and Piplup are proof that they're only trying to target kids. Those are only the ones mostly advertised, however. Imagine if Pikachu was just as unknown in popular culture as a giant powerful Pokémon like Groudoun? The variety of cute and powerful is part of why I think it's a good series for everybody, and much like EarthBound and Final Fantasy, think it's fit for anyone of any age (those have much more depth, though).

 

[EJ]

When I first picked up Blue, pokemon was already a thing of the past (at least for my peers) so I played it anyways just to see what it was like because I had never tried it. I thought it wasn't so childish after all and I thought it was quite fun and entertaining.

 

[FastTonyDeNiro]

The animé has made it obvious that it's directed at kids, and everybody's saying that the cute Pokémon like Pikachu and Piplup are proof that they're only trying to target kids. Those are only the ones mostly advertised, however. Imagine if Pikachu was just as unknown in popular culture as a giant powerful Pokémon like Groudoun?

But why are those cute little pokemon the ones they advertise, and not big scary looking pokemon like Gyarados or Machamp? Because they're marketing the series towards younger kids.

Obviously there are parts of the games geared more towards an older audience. This is why I said in my first post the games have evolved as the original players have gotten older.

Little kids probably don't take the time to EV train, seeing as they probably don't even understand it. But they do train their starter to level 100 and use no other pokemon, and they love it. Whereas those older players can take the time to raise a full team, EV train, go to the battle frontier, whatever.

It's like a Disney movie. They are obviously made for little kids. But there are always those parts in the movie just for adults, things that little kids won't understand, but will entertain older people.

 

[Bibliophibian]

The anime? Definitely. The general theme of "love, trust and friendship can conquer everything, and jerks always lose" is kind of a giveaway to me.

As for the games, they don't seem to be aimed at anyone in particular. They're simple enough to be enjoyed by kids, but there are some more complex elements to them that can make them appealing to the older crowds too.

 

[Trainer Marsh]

Please note that when I asked if you think of it as a kid's series, well, I asked if you you think of it as a kid's series. Yes, it is, but let's imagine that you just starting playing Red or Blue for the very first time of your life and you knew nothing about it otherwise. Would you have fun, thinking it's common for anybody at every age was playing such a game? Or would you feel more like you might as well be playing a Sesame Street game or one of those edutainment Mario games?

The animé has made it obvious that it's directed at kids, and everybody's saying that the cute Pokémon like Pikachu and Piplup are proof that they're only trying to target kids. Those are only the ones mostly advertised, however. Imagine if Pikachu was just as unknown in popular culture as a giant powerful Pokémon like Groudoun? The variety of cute and powerful is part of why I think it's a good series for everybody, and much like EarthBound and Final Fantasy, think it's fit for anyone of any age (those have much more depth, though).

But you understand what I'm saying, right? You ask two different questions in the topic title and in the poll question.

Also, there is a difference between Sesame Street/Eduntainment games and games for kids. Eduntainment is designed specifically for pre-schoolers or people who have no real abilities when it cmes to manipulation of devices. They lack depth, story, characters, or any real interest beyond a tool. A kids series is aimed, IMHO, at like 8-10 year olds- old enough to manipulate games, and when you think of kids, you think of kids those ages. These games will usually have plots that will hold the kid's attention, but isn't exactly strong or complex(See: Pokemon), have developed characters and emotions though neither will be fantastic(See: Pokemon), and have depth though not too much(Pokemon is the exception to the rule). And the 'flaws' that I pointed out(story, characters, emotion) aren't flaws if you have an imagination- which kids have and lucky adults have held onto. That is the difference and why I have two very different answers to the topic question and the poll question.

Nothing about the franchise is childish, with the exception of the first manga that I know of. However, it is, to the product, a kids series.

And there isn't anything wrong with that.

 

[Sexycheese]

The series is very childish and the only people who in reality I know who think like me that the games are not childish are a few emos and a 6 year old girl......her Mew is evil.....

 

[bearsfan092]

The anime is for kids. It sucks, along with pretty much all other anime. Yes, superlative generalizations FTW!

The game appeals to all. You can play ingame as a casual fan. You can battle online with other novices who don't know about IV's, Ev's, and natures, or when you get older, you realize there's a surprising amount of strategy in that little cartridge.

 

[. R e ð e m p † i o n]

even more since hoenn. Kanto and Johto were up for teens, i think even older people could watch it.

I disagree with your point of view there. I just don't see the differences between the first, second and third seasons which you say makes the third, childish.

Personally, I would say Pokemon isn't childish, well, the general idea of it for starters. It was originally meant to entertain or to target the younger audiences. For the mature, I would say it would be quite uncomfortable for them to watch because of the influences their age acts upon. To me, Pokemon is awesome beyond any judgment and I would not care if I were 20 and still interested in it.

Pokemon doesn't need to be categorized because the younger audiences and players, people like myself and the mature can all enjoy it. There isn't any rule written in any law book what age limit restricts the enjoyment series and games Pokemon brings. It's a hobby for all ages and I would not have it any other way.

 

[hank jones]

YES!

At my school pokemon is definitely nerdy. None of my friends do it, so i'm like the only one. I know its nerdy, so are all video games. But i dont care. Just because i do one nerdy thing, dosent mean im a nerd...

 

[ShinjisLover]

Not if you watch the Japanese version. The English version is fairly childish, but has its adult-themed moments. Well, maybe not 'adult-themed' per say, but it can get 'mature'. Especially with all of the violence. And the fact that James is totally gay in the English version.

 

[BenjiTheKid]

The anime kind of is. I apologise to the people who watch it; but, I've thought this for a while. A few months ago, me and my ex girlfriend couldn't find nothing to watch. So, I popped in my old Pokemon VHS (the Pikachu one... I think it had episodes 1-3) and we sat down to watch it. Half way through the first episode we were laughing our butts off going "Why did we ever enjoy this?" I mean, I understand why some older teenagers/adults like the show... but, I do think it's kind of childish.

The games and cards, however, aren't as much. After all, the cardgame takes a lot of thought and strategy. Which, kids do have, yes. But, most of the best Pokemon card players I've known are about 12-17. And the video games take strategy, too. Most of the best Pokemon game players I know are even older than 18!! The BEST one I know (he LITERALLY beat XD and Blue Version in a day and a half) was well into his 30's!

And, to the person who said the games are advertising the anime... I always thought it was the other way around? Was I just thinking wrong? o.O

EDITED TO ADD: Another poster said something that made sense to me...

the poster mentioned how the anime uses cute Pokemon like Pikachu and Piplup to advertise a new season and things such as. Which, would make it obvious as to why it's targeted at kids. What about the video games? They usually use cooler looking Pokemon to advertise. Red and Blue used Charizard and Blastoise. Gold, Silver, Crystal used Ho-Oh, Lugia and I think another bird? I can't remember what Crystal used... (checks Google) the dog! Suicune... I think I spelled it right. Ruby and Sapphire used legendaries, too. And, so do Pearl, Diamond and Platnuim. The only exception to this rule was Yellow version where Pikachu was used.

Wouldn't that be a hint at the games being more targeted towards an older audience? As pre-teens and teenagers look for video games with "cool" things?

 

[evilishan]

No way, the anime rocks and sometimes has some underlying messages that only adults can get.

The games can be for both.