InMooseWeTrust
Jack of All Trades
- 803
- Posts
- 17
- Years
- Age 32
- Lansdale, Pennsylvania, USA
- Seen Apr 3, 2023
If you're wondering about Ash Ketchum's age in the anime, keep in mind that the anime (like most cartoons) uses a "floating timeline." That's where time flows forward in a linear way but the characters don't age and the plot doesn't change. Watch The Simpsons and South Park for other examples.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floating_timeline
Here's a thread where you talk about your experiences watching the anime through the years. Also which ones you like/don't like. I'll start.
Original Series
I watched the original anime when it first came out on UPN. This was right at the beginning when most American kids had never heard of Pokémon. I didn't really understand it much (was in 2nd grade/year 2) but I quietly looked forward to it. As the hype flared up, I mostly stayed a quiet fan.
The first episode I ever watched was Ditto and the Mysterious Mansion, and the first scene I saw in the episode (while flipping through channels) was Ditto transforming back from Meowth.
When the show moved to Kids WB, the hype went completely out of control. At the time I didn't have any cards or games, but some kids gave me some of their old cards and I loved the idea of collecting an army of monsters. I still watched the anime, quietly. I soon had a GameBoy Color and Yellow Version.
Adventures in Orange Islands
I thought Orange Islands was boring and pointless but still liked the tropical island setting. Ash showed a decent amount of character development and I was a closet PokeShipper. I didn't like Brock (and wished he never came back) but Tracey made me want to push him off that Lapras and let him drown, and Misty was boring.
Johto Journeys
The opening theme for Johto was a lot of fun and I always sang along. I liked all the new Pokémon and the region in general. While it seemed good at first, for whatever reason the show felt like it was going downhill with the same old baby Ash Ketchum trying to fail at being a Pokémon master and the tired old Brock fawning and Misty pulling his ear. I remember the earlier episodes and I also remember Ash's performance in the Johto League. But honestly, I don't see the point in trying to watch those other episodes again.
Advanced Generation
I watched a few episodes at the beginning and didn't care at all for it. To me, the whole concept of Ash starting over in a new region appealed to me but it was the same old Brock and Max was that annoying little kid I couldn't stand in school. I don't remember anything about the Hoenn League except the Meowth with boots.
But recently (and I mean only in the last few weeks), I've been going back and watching some AG episodes. The show just had a quiet, mellow feeling to it. I can't help but watch and feel content. For a lighthearted children's show, it was actually really good if you didn't want flashy music and over the top characters and bright lights all over the place, which is exactly what children's cartoons started becoming around that time.
Over time, I've really learned to like May. I hated her at first but she grew on me. An adult version of her would be someone like Delia Ketchum, but what's wrong with that? Then there was the episode where they get stuck on an island right before the Hoenn Grand Festival. Also, she seemed to have more character development than anyone else in the series, which is a big plus.
Battle Frontier
It was good seeing Ash with his old Pokémon and seeing familiar faces and towns in Kanto. But it just felt like a mix of really bad elements from both the original and Advanced arcs. I liked some of the battles with the Frontier Brains and I liked that one time-traveling episode where May saves that one guy's life. But for the rest.... who cares?
Diamond and Pearl
Fourth generation of Pokémon was the first time I felt like I was watching a world with a lot of really diverse animals. I watched almost every episode. I loved the contests. I didn't care much for Dawn because she reminded me a lot about those really annoying high-maintenance girls that I almost got involved with. I liked the supporting characters, and having Paul as a rival just made Ash into what I wanted him to be like in the original series.
Everything just felt so alive in that series. The people, the characters, the Pokémon, and even the movies. I was very, VERY entertained.
When I saw Ash go to Sinnoh for the first time, I was like "YAY NO BROCK!" And then the truck scene. Even though I hated Brock, at least Croagunk jabbing him was funny. Misty and Max pulling his ear was pointless.
If you want to ask where Croagunk takes Brock, there were some episodes where Brock was kneeling or sitting on the ground with his head down off the screen, but still near the other characters.
Best Wishes
At first I was really excited by the way they were rebooting the Pokémon franchise. Everything looked good in HD and I honestly thought Ash wasn't going to be a baby anymore. Boy, was I wrong.
I consider Best Wishes to be the worst anime series. The writing was boring. Iris and Cilan were worse than Tracey and Brock. The Pokémon had me excited at first, and the rotating team was promising, but it later turned out to be a really bad version of the original series. I gained back interest in the episodes with Dawn, but quickly stopped caring again. I don't want to watch the Unova League because doing so would ruin my childhood.
Decolore Islands
Seriously, what was the point of all that?
XY
I REALLY hope the writers don't let me down this time. I watched the first two episodes and was completely blown away. Ash looks (and acts) older, wiser and hopefully smarter. I saw Serena at the opening and I just thought "YES! FINALLY A GIRLY-GIRL WHO DOESN'T SUCK!" Then I read up on her in forums and let's just say these two better be a couple.
Yes, it's possible to have couples in a show for 10 year olds. There were a lot of boyfriend-girlfriend pairs in the Pokémon anime in the past, and one with main characters would be the best thing ever. I hope the writers don't disappoint me this time. I've watched A LOT of cartoons and live action children's shows with main character couples in them. Remember Tiny Toons? Babs and Buster were dating and they kissed in a few episodes. Or how about Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable? I used to watch both shows in my tweens.
I watched the third episode in Japanese yesterday and I'm waiting patiently for the scene where Serena meets Ash. So far I like Clemont and Bonnie better than May and Max. Both have very colorful personalities.
I already like what I'm seeing so far of the Kalos region. Everything looks so alive and beautiful. It looks like it's going to look and feel great, and if it does, I'll watch this as enthusiastically as I watched the original episodes.
Please try to stay on topic. I know how these threads turn into endless rants about Ash's age, shippings, how disappointed some people are that old characters aren't coming back, or whatever.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floating_timeline
Here's a thread where you talk about your experiences watching the anime through the years. Also which ones you like/don't like. I'll start.
Original Series
I watched the original anime when it first came out on UPN. This was right at the beginning when most American kids had never heard of Pokémon. I didn't really understand it much (was in 2nd grade/year 2) but I quietly looked forward to it. As the hype flared up, I mostly stayed a quiet fan.
The first episode I ever watched was Ditto and the Mysterious Mansion, and the first scene I saw in the episode (while flipping through channels) was Ditto transforming back from Meowth.
When the show moved to Kids WB, the hype went completely out of control. At the time I didn't have any cards or games, but some kids gave me some of their old cards and I loved the idea of collecting an army of monsters. I still watched the anime, quietly. I soon had a GameBoy Color and Yellow Version.
Adventures in Orange Islands
I thought Orange Islands was boring and pointless but still liked the tropical island setting. Ash showed a decent amount of character development and I was a closet PokeShipper. I didn't like Brock (and wished he never came back) but Tracey made me want to push him off that Lapras and let him drown, and Misty was boring.
Johto Journeys
The opening theme for Johto was a lot of fun and I always sang along. I liked all the new Pokémon and the region in general. While it seemed good at first, for whatever reason the show felt like it was going downhill with the same old baby Ash Ketchum trying to fail at being a Pokémon master and the tired old Brock fawning and Misty pulling his ear. I remember the earlier episodes and I also remember Ash's performance in the Johto League. But honestly, I don't see the point in trying to watch those other episodes again.
Advanced Generation
I watched a few episodes at the beginning and didn't care at all for it. To me, the whole concept of Ash starting over in a new region appealed to me but it was the same old Brock and Max was that annoying little kid I couldn't stand in school. I don't remember anything about the Hoenn League except the Meowth with boots.
But recently (and I mean only in the last few weeks), I've been going back and watching some AG episodes. The show just had a quiet, mellow feeling to it. I can't help but watch and feel content. For a lighthearted children's show, it was actually really good if you didn't want flashy music and over the top characters and bright lights all over the place, which is exactly what children's cartoons started becoming around that time.
Over time, I've really learned to like May. I hated her at first but she grew on me. An adult version of her would be someone like Delia Ketchum, but what's wrong with that? Then there was the episode where they get stuck on an island right before the Hoenn Grand Festival. Also, she seemed to have more character development than anyone else in the series, which is a big plus.
Battle Frontier
It was good seeing Ash with his old Pokémon and seeing familiar faces and towns in Kanto. But it just felt like a mix of really bad elements from both the original and Advanced arcs. I liked some of the battles with the Frontier Brains and I liked that one time-traveling episode where May saves that one guy's life. But for the rest.... who cares?
Diamond and Pearl
Fourth generation of Pokémon was the first time I felt like I was watching a world with a lot of really diverse animals. I watched almost every episode. I loved the contests. I didn't care much for Dawn because she reminded me a lot about those really annoying high-maintenance girls that I almost got involved with. I liked the supporting characters, and having Paul as a rival just made Ash into what I wanted him to be like in the original series.
Everything just felt so alive in that series. The people, the characters, the Pokémon, and even the movies. I was very, VERY entertained.
When I saw Ash go to Sinnoh for the first time, I was like "YAY NO BROCK!" And then the truck scene. Even though I hated Brock, at least Croagunk jabbing him was funny. Misty and Max pulling his ear was pointless.
If you want to ask where Croagunk takes Brock, there were some episodes where Brock was kneeling or sitting on the ground with his head down off the screen, but still near the other characters.
Best Wishes
At first I was really excited by the way they were rebooting the Pokémon franchise. Everything looked good in HD and I honestly thought Ash wasn't going to be a baby anymore. Boy, was I wrong.
I consider Best Wishes to be the worst anime series. The writing was boring. Iris and Cilan were worse than Tracey and Brock. The Pokémon had me excited at first, and the rotating team was promising, but it later turned out to be a really bad version of the original series. I gained back interest in the episodes with Dawn, but quickly stopped caring again. I don't want to watch the Unova League because doing so would ruin my childhood.
Decolore Islands
Seriously, what was the point of all that?
XY
I REALLY hope the writers don't let me down this time. I watched the first two episodes and was completely blown away. Ash looks (and acts) older, wiser and hopefully smarter. I saw Serena at the opening and I just thought "YES! FINALLY A GIRLY-GIRL WHO DOESN'T SUCK!" Then I read up on her in forums and let's just say these two better be a couple.
Yes, it's possible to have couples in a show for 10 year olds. There were a lot of boyfriend-girlfriend pairs in the Pokémon anime in the past, and one with main characters would be the best thing ever. I hope the writers don't disappoint me this time. I've watched A LOT of cartoons and live action children's shows with main character couples in them. Remember Tiny Toons? Babs and Buster were dating and they kissed in a few episodes. Or how about Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable? I used to watch both shows in my tweens.
I watched the third episode in Japanese yesterday and I'm waiting patiently for the scene where Serena meets Ash. So far I like Clemont and Bonnie better than May and Max. Both have very colorful personalities.
I already like what I'm seeing so far of the Kalos region. Everything looks so alive and beautiful. It looks like it's going to look and feel great, and if it does, I'll watch this as enthusiastically as I watched the original episodes.
Please try to stay on topic. I know how these threads turn into endless rants about Ash's age, shippings, how disappointed some people are that old characters aren't coming back, or whatever.
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