Is Pokemon REALLY Still Popular Among Younger Audiences?

[KyokuseiXRyusei]

I didn't see another thread like this, so here goes.

I've been wondering if anybody else has noticed that children these days aren't as interested in Pokemon as children were 15 years ago. Though I must admit the video games may still be popular, there aren't many people who still play/trade/collect Pokemon cards anymore. Many kids say they don't even know what Pokemon is. (I don't blame them though; the anime here airs at 6 AM. Who is awake or at home during that time anyway? They should air it in the Afternoon instead...) Anyway, don't get me started on the manga. From what I've experienced, I see more teenagers (13+) who are into anime/manga in general reading the Pokemon manga/watching the Pokemon anime. I even see people with Pikachu/Pokemon themed backpacks/t-shirts/games in high school.

So I'm just curious if anybody else has noticed this. Do you really think the Pokemon anime should still be exclusively for younger audiences? Do you think Pokemon is more popular among kids now or young adults who watched it since it was released when they were kids? Do you think the anime determines whether younger audiences play the games?

 

[dewdott]

i think the anime is more popular among the age of 15+ because people who watch the anime in japanese oniline would probably be an older audience i dont think pokemon should be a kid show

 

[chella182]

I dunno, the kids channel that airs the new Pokémon anime here have given it a pretty decent slot (11am - or thereabouts - on a weekend), indicating that enough people watch it to make it worthwhile. Although just 'cause it's on a kids channel doesn't mean kids are watching it I suppose...

I don't really talk to kids, so idk how interested they are in it. I was talking to a few mams not long ago who said their kids loved the Pokémon anime, though. I don't think it's as popular as it was when I was 10/11 though.

 

[Perico]

Actually it's not easy to say if young people still watch Pokemon. But I think that it's less popular now. I mean, when I was younger I loved watching Pokemon, the first seasons were amazing but then it started getting worse and worse, in my opinion. Nowadays, I seldom see any channel where Season 1 of Pokemon is on, where the real essence of the anime can be appreciated.

Although the Pokémon games are not for kids at all (they can be played by anyone, because you decide how complex do you want the game to be), I think the anime is for younger audiences. I mean, they focus on teaching the importance of friendship and another human values, which an adult likely (you know, there are all kind of people xP) has already assumed. Ash would die for his Pokemon, they help each other and they care about everyone. Those are human values which they're trying to transmit. The battles (most of them) are not really exciting and you can even foretell what's going to happen, or at least expect it. All these things make me think that the anime is perfect for younger audiences. Anyway, if you like it, it doesn't matter how old are you.

 

[soulavenger]

The major reason for the lack of interest in Pokemon Franchise by younger generations is that,the pokemon craze that was sweeping the world over the last decade or so has died down a little.At that time,pokemon was like a new phenomenon,unknown to all and was seen as the next big thing to hit the world.Many of the people were only drawn to this franchise because of the hype surrounding it around the world.But,as people started to know the franchise,they got more and more interested in it and were finally hooked to it.Nintendo,also realizing and utilizing this opportunity launched a series of card games,mangas and various other products to satisfy our appetites.But,for the younger generation,this type of exposure is not available at such a large scale.Various other things have taken the place of pokemon at world stage,though it still commands more than respectable share of followers, most f whom were there from the start or have been influenced by someone who was there at the beginning to witness it all.

But,inspite of these challenges, I saw more young people playing and talking about playing pokemon 2-3 years ago than any other franchise.So,the magic of Pokemon still commands a strong presence among the youngsters.

 

[voicerocker]

Pokemon was a fad for a while. EVERYONE had cards and knew what it was. The fad phase has been over for a good long while, but in general, as an anime and a video game series, it is still very popular.

Pokemon is Nintendo's second biggest franchise. The only franchise bigger for Nintendo than Pokemon is Mario himself, which means even the Legend of Zelda, as popular as it has always been, isn't as big as Pokemon! It only seems less popular because it isn't a fad anymore, but it is still plenty popular.

 

[BrandoSheriff]

I think it has died down a little. Like voicerocker said, everyone who was anyone had the cards and the games and the merchandise. Now it seems the only people who do are the ones who grew up with it in the first place. All of my younger relatives think I'm weird for loving Pokemon like I do, thinking it's only for little kids, but they don't even like it themselves.

My opinion is, it's more popular around teens/adults who grew up with it and had Pokemon in their childhood.

 

[weedle_mchairybug]

Considering that getting children and families to watch a show is actually the most basic way of getting high ratings, the decrease in the show's ratings, even in Japan, seems to set off a large amount of warning sirens about the direction the Pokemon Anime is going to go, as it might end up cancelled soon if it keeps up. TV producers tend to get very desperate when their ratings collapse. For example, West Wing included two scenes of Donna and Josh sleeping together in one episode apparently out of a desperate attempt to save their ratings. Heroes had something similar, where they had Claire Bennet, for no reason at all, changed to a lesbian/bisexual and hinting at a romantic relationship with Gretchen, and the series was on the red by that point. Both times, it only further ensured its cancellation. I fear that the creators of the Anime will end up pulling a similar trick, especially with the poor ratings of AG in Japan (even Johto did better ratings wise), and I suspect DP (although that's based on the early portions of the saga).

Now, that doesn't necessarily mean that the Video games will be cancelled as well. Just look at Mario and Zelda: Those games had cartoons via DiC, and even when those cartoons were cancelled, they still had enough popularity for their franchise to continue in spite of that.

 

[Yamiidenryuu]

Considering that getting children and families to watch a show is actually the most basic way of getting high ratings, the decrease in the show's ratings, even in Japan, seems to set off a large amount of warning sirens about the direction the Pokemon Anime is going to go, as it might end up cancelled soon if it keeps up.

Ratings on nearly all TV shows in Japan are dropping, due to declining birth rates and people just generally not watching TV as much anymore (or streaming their shows off the internet). It's not something unique to Pokemon, and it's not setting off any "warning sirens".

 

[weedle_mchairybug]

Ratings on nearly all TV shows in Japan are dropping, due to declining birth rates and people just generally not watching TV as much anymore (or streaming their shows off the internet). It's not something unique to Pokemon, and it's not setting off any "warning sirens".

Besides Pro Life News, the declining birth rates wasn't reported in any news sources, so I doubt its as serious as that. We've really got to fix the birth rates in Japan anyhow, though.

 

[Bounsweet]

I don't talk to any kids at all, so I can't judge this.

But, I think it is still popular, although marginally less. I went in the toy aisle recently and although the Pokemon section was a lot smaller, a lot of the toys were still bought, so it's selling.

 

[kokotko]

Yes, it is. I have a young brother (8) and he watches Pokemon whenever he can! Even tho we don't have tv channel airing them and my complete database is only in English/Japanese!
I'm sure Pokemon haven't lost anything from their power, the problem is in the abundance of other anime concerning battles like bakugan and beyblade, even Naruto... Pokemon featured much more in the anime and still is popular among kids.

 

[Rainbow Arcanine]

I don't really know, it kind of lost the previous love. Some kids might watch it nowadays but others are probably interested in Bakugon, Yugi-oh and stuff like that. Not many people I know are still interested in the anime at least. Personally, I still think its pretty cool but that's just me :P.

 

[Hikamaru]

My opinion is, it's more popular around teens/adults who grew up with it and had Pokemon in their childhood.

I agree with this, I hardly see any kids watch it anymore.

I think the most people I still see watching the anime today are those who grew up in the era when Pokemon was still a fad. I was one of those people.

 

[Queen]

My brother still enjoys Pokemon. Well, he referred to the Best Wishes series as 'gay'. Maybe he just misses Brock and Misty.
But, kids nowadays are more into bloody violent video-games, not many children enjoy the innocence of Pokemon.

 

[Iceshadow3317]

Here in Central Time Zone it comes on at about 8 or 9 in the morning and comes on daily on Boomarang at about 5 to 6. But answer you question,yes I think they should just go ahead and start making it for older viewers. I don't really see much pokemon stuff anymore at all in stores. Most kids probably don't know what it is now. I don't even see the games being as popular for kids now. It's mainly 13+ kinds I see getting the games.

 

[voicerocker]

Here in Central Time Zone it comes on at about 8 or 9 in the morning and comes on daily on Boomarang at about 5 to 6. But answer you question,yes I think they should just go ahead and start making it for older viewers. I don't really see much pokemon stuff anymore at all in stores. Most kids probably don't know what it is now. I don't even see the games being as popular for kids now. It's mainly 13+ kinds I see getting the games.

With Pokemon being Nintendo's 2nd biggest franchise, even above The Legend of Zelda, I doubt the majority of kids don't know what Pokemon is. The only reason people suspect Pokemon is "fading" is because it was a fad years ago and nearly everyone was into Pokemon for a while. But the most important thing people need to look at is the sales of the main series games. Gen 5 broke sales records, which is a good sign that the games are still popular, with B2W2 selling also selling well. (And they've yet to be released internationally)

As far as toys go, there was a good long time that the Walmart where I live didn't carry any Pokemon toys. But they started again when Gen 5 started. I think Pokemon is still very popular, it just isn't a fad anymore.

 

[Nina]

Although the Pok?mon games are not for kids at all (they can be played by anyone, because you decide how complex do you want the game to be)

A little note. Just because something can be enjoyed by everyone does not make it "not for kids". The Pokemon games are for kids, and that's a fact.

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For everything else, you have to understand that this is a Japanese show. Even if kids in other countries don't like Pokemon as much as teenagers or young adults, doesn't mean they will change their target age range for you. If it's doing well enough in Japan, their target audience, there is no reason to change it.
Pokemon was CRAZY big a while ago, and even if it doesn't reach that super high level again, doesn't mean it's not doing well. It's doing more way more than well and will continue as what it's mean to be, a game/anime/manga series for children, that can also be enjoyed by adults.

 

[weedle_mchairybug]

With Pokemon being Nintendo's 2nd biggest franchise, even above The Legend of Zelda, I doubt the majority of kids don't know what Pokemon is. The only reason people suspect Pokemon is "fading" is because it was a fad years ago and nearly everyone was into Pokemon for a while. But the most important thing people need to look at is the sales of the main series games. Gen 5 broke sales records, which is a good sign that the games are still popular, with B2W2 selling also selling well. (And they've yet to be released internationally)

As far as toys go, there was a good long time that the Walmart where I live didn't carry any Pokemon toys. But they started again when Gen 5 started. I think Pokemon is still very popular, it just isn't a fad anymore.

Except this isn't a minor decrease in ratings for the show, this is more like a steep decrease. And I've seen toys for DP, a few times whenever I travel.

I also should point out that the ratings are significantly decreasing even in Japan, where Pokemon there is definitely not a fad. According to the Japanese ratings the last I checked, which was around the time DP was starting, AG had done worse than even Johto, with DP only being a brief increase, and even then only down to Advanced Battle. It seemed to decrease from the 9 to the 8, maybe 7 range.

However, just because the anime gets cancelled completely doesn't mean the games will be cancelled as well. Need I remind you that both Mario and Zelda are still continuing strong despite their TV shows being cancelled very early into their run (Mario's TV series stopping at Super Mario World, and Zelda didn't even last more than a season)? If they could pull it off, Pokemon most certainly can as well.

 

[Yamiidenryuu]

Except this isn't a minor decrease in ratings for the show, this is more like a steep decrease. And I've seen toys for DP, a few times whenever I travel.

I also should point out that the ratings are significantly decreasing even in Japan, where Pokemon there is definitely not a fad. According to the Japanese ratings the last I checked, which was around the time DP was starting, AG had done worse than even Johto, with DP only being a brief increase, and even then only down to Advanced Battle. It seemed to decrease from the 9 to the 8, maybe 7 range.

Like I said, the ratings on everything are decreasing. It might interest you to know that, despite having "low" ratings, Pokemon still regularly makes it into the top ten highest rated animes with decent regularity. And the Pokemon anime is still popular in japan- they regularly release Pokemon merchandise in conjunction with Pokemon that appear in the show, and they ever released Cilan and Ash figures fairly recently.