Some trivia from Yuyama regarding the anime and M20

[AlolanMoonZPrincess]

Well it is nice they confirmed Ash never ages since I'm pretty sure this was the first time the staff said it

 

[Videreludus]

I wish the Pokémon anime were treated like in the games. Every series had a new protagonist so the age weren't a problem.

 

[Taste of Tea]

I feel most fans wanted Ash to age with them... for him to show growth, change and to mature. When he didn't everyone gave the Pokemon Anime crap for it... Those kids who watched him back in the 90's are on their early to mid 20's now, and they find it hard to connect/relate to a ten year old.

Tbh, it's senseless for said 20-year-olds to even expect the anime to cater to their whims when its target audience is elementary school children. Like, how selfish of older fans to expect appeasement from a show that isn't meant for them.

 

[weedle_mchairybug]

Tbh, it's senseless for said 20-year-olds to even expect the anime to cater to their whims when its target audience is elementary school children. Like, how selfish of older fans to expect appeasement from a show that isn't meant for them.

You know, I always get irritated when people act like we just want the anime to cater to our whims when feeling like Ash should age. I don't even watch the show anymore, so I could care less about whether the show is catering to my personal views (personally, I would have wanted Ash to capture a WHOLE lot more Pokémon than he does and probably actually win Johto, not to mention include elements of Star Fox, yet I can accept it not having those bits). All we want is for Ash to actually succeed in his goal, simply because the entire POINT of having a goal is to accomplish it. And don't state that it won't work for elementary school children. Dragon Ball also was for elementary school children as well (and to a certain extent Z and Super), that didn't stop Goku and the other cast from aging, having kids, passing torches, and actually maintaining character development. There are PLENTY of anime geared towards elementary school children that have the characters aging and developing. And quite frankly, the fact that the anime is actually LOSING audiences rather than gaining new audiences makes it pretty clear that even among its target age bracket, their current writing is NOT well received.

If the writers wanted a floating timeline with negative continuity, they shouldn't even bother giving Ash a specific goal like becoming the World's Greatest Pokémon Master at all. Just have him state he is traveling for the sake of adventure and not even caring about the payoff, like Sonic at the end of Sonic Heroes for example.

And for those Japanese kids who are left out of the loop and want to watch all the old episodes, don't worry, all they need to do is go to their nearest electronics store and purchase a DVD boxed set of the old episodes. Heck, even watch them online via Hulu or Netflix, or even YouTube. There's plenty of ways for them to get caught up.

 

[Taste of Tea]

I guess I'm partially at fault for not really understanding why some people who don't even watch the show anymore still care about Ash's progress and age. At least I can comprehend why current viewers express their disappointments about the show's flaws since they're actively invested in the series, but even those people should realize by now that Ash won't go through any kind of drastic developmental change. Nineteen years' worth of the same basic formula kind of proves this.

 

[BettyNewbie]

You know, I always get irritated when people act like we just want the anime to cater to our whims when feeling like Ash should age. I don't even watch the show anymore, so I could care less about whether the show is catering to my personal views (personally, I would have wanted Ash to capture a WHOLE lot more Pokémon than he does and probably actually win Johto, not to mention include elements of Star Fox, yet I can accept it not having those bits). All we want is for Ash to actually succeed in his goal, simply because the entire POINT of having a goal is to accomplish it. And don't state that it won't work for elementary school children. Dragon Ball also was for elementary school children as well (and to a certain extent Z and Super), that didn't stop Goku and the other cast from aging, having kids, passing torches, and actually maintaining character development. There are PLENTY of anime geared towards elementary school children that have the characters aging and developing. And quite frankly, the fact that the anime is actually LOSING audiences rather than gaining new audiences makes it pretty clear that even among its target age bracket, their current writing is NOT well received.

If the writers wanted a floating timeline with negative continuity, they shouldn't even bother giving Ash a specific goal like becoming the World's Greatest Pokémon Master at all. Just have him state he is traveling for the sake of adventure and not even caring about the payoff, like Sonic at the end of Sonic Heroes for example.

And for those Japanese kids who are left out of the loop and want to watch all the old episodes, don't worry, all they need to do is go to their nearest electronics store and purchase a DVD boxed set of the old episodes. Heck, even watch them online via Hulu or Netflix, or even YouTube. There's plenty of ways for them to get caught up.

Well put, Weedle McHairyBug.

The big problem is that Ash's story originally WAS going to have an endpoint, and it was only decided later on that he would become a never-aging mascot protagonist on an endless journey. Ash's story was never meant to go past Johto, and the day he stopped aging was the day TPTB decided that he should continue on into a region he had no business being in (Hoenn) because they didn't have the guts to drop him in favor of new protagonists.

 

[Rad Dudesman]

I doubt it's really Ash they're worried about replacing, but moreso Pikachu, the mascot of the franchise.

Ash and Pikachu are a pair, so if one goes, so does the other.

 

[BettyNewbie]

I doubt it's really Ash they're worried about replacing, but moreso Pikachu, the mascot of the franchise.

Ash and Pikachu are a pair, so if one goes, so does the other.

Storytelling taking a backseat to advertising and monster marketing... That's the entire story of this show. :rolleyes2:

If keeping the yellow rat around was that big of a deal, then they could've kept Ash around as a recurring older mentor figure for the new protagonists. Or, one of the new kids could've simply gotten a Pikachu of their own.

 

[Videreludus]

I really believe that Ash being 10 forever is one of the reasons why the ratings are low, what's the point at watching someones journey if you don't know if he never complete it or never get his goal?

Storytelling taking a backseat to advertising and monster marketing... That's the entire story of this show. :rolleyes2:

If keeping the yellow rat around was that big of a deal, then they could've kept Ash around as a recurring older mentor figure for the new protagonists. Or, one of the new kids could've simply gotten a Pikachu of their own.

The problem is that Ash's Pikachu is the mascot of the series and if the writers would replace Ash they would give the new protagonist only the regions new Pokémon.

 

[BettyNewbie]

The problem is that Ash's Pikachu is the mascot of the series and if the writers would replace Ash they would give the new protagonist only the regions new Pokémon.

Pikachu is in every Regional Dex except BW's. It's just the Pokémon itself that's the franchise's mascot, rather than Ash's specifically.

 

[Alexander18]

Ash remains ten for the younger audience. The show is aimed at kids. Not adults. So anyone who doesn't like that Ash is always ten has to accept it.

I agree with the first post of the thread. The movie is set in the alternate universe. That means it is not canon to the anime series or to the other movies.

 

[weedle_mchairybug]

Ash remains ten for the younger audience. The show is aimed at kids. Not adults. So anyone who doesn't like that Ash is always ten has to accept it.

I agree with the first post of the thread. The movie is set in the alternate universe. That means it is not canon to the anime series or to the other movies.

Just because something is set for a younger audience doesn't mean they need to keep Ash 10. Look at Dragon Ball and its various successor series. That was geared to the same target audience as Pokémon, being a Shonen series like Pokémon, and that series has Goku and everyone else in the main cast aging with no real problem. If the target audience didn't have a problem with that, the target audience won't have a problem with Ash aging either. Heck, most Disney films are aimed at kids, yet last I checked, a lot of the main characters aren't 10 years old, but in their mid-to-late teens.

 

[Alexander18]

Just because something is set for a younger audience doesn't mean they need to keep Ash 10. Look at Dragon Ball and its various successor series. That was geared to the same target audience as Pokémon, being a Shonen series like Pokémon, and that series has Goku and everyone else in the main cast aging with no real problem. If the target audience didn't have a problem with that, the target audience won't have a problem with Ash aging either. Heck, most Disney films are aimed at kids, yet last I checked, a lot of the main characters aren't 10 years old, but in their mid-to-late teens.

I prefer that you don't reply to me please. All you gonna do is start an argument with me. I stand by my opinion that Ash is ten because he is made for the younger crowd. Pokemon is not Dragon Ball or other shows.

 

[weedle_mchairybug]

I prefer that you don't reply to me please. All you gonna do is start an argument with me. I stand by my opinion that Ash is ten because he is made for the younger crowd. Pokemon is not Dragon Ball or other shows.

Dragon Ball is still made for the younger crowd, though, so it still counts. They're both part of the Shonen genre, which is geared towards little boys. If it worked for one series, it would work for any series in that genre, and yes, that means if Dragon Ball can get away with having Goku and co. age without even hampering their target audience, then Pokémon can do so as well. It either works or doesn't.

And the writers may make Ash 10 permanently, doesn't change it from being a completely stupid decision to paraphrase Nick Fury from The Avengers.