The Good Old Days? Or The 'Orrible Original Series?

[nickstr]

There are quite a few ways that I could attack this so I guess I could start with the character development, I guess you should watch Kanto again because there WAS character development. We saw Brock's siblings as well as his mother and father along with stories about their past as well. Not only that but we learned about Misty's older sisters and also why she was afraid to return to Cerulean City when Ash was going for the Cascadebadge and also learned about her past which was really quite sad. Not only that, we also learned why Meowth could speak and why he wanted to learn in the first place. Not only that but Jessie's rather depressing past was revealed and so was James' as well. These are all examples of character development and they are all from Kanto. Sure the characters of the day were not developed much but then again they were only on the show for one episode, hence the term "character of the day." And Team Rocket was a threat early on but later they became nothing but a joke in most cases. The show is also declining in popularity and Johto was more popular at its lowest rating, which was 8.8% in 2002 than Hoenn which was at 5.5% in 2006. Also Diamond and Pearl is low as well as of when Pokeani released the ratings for 2007 which were 6.9% and if the show is as great as you say the ratings should be higher than that but in reality this is what they are. These ratings are for Japan which is of course the home audience for the show so they are a bit more telling than those of the US.

 

[New Age Retro Hippie]

I remember the first time I watched the Pokemon series, I started on Episode 2 because I forgot it was on the previous day. I was pretty much hooked. I'd tune in every afternoon to see what was going to happen next; Pokemon quickly replaced Dragon Ball Z as my favourite anime. When the Orange Island saga started, I was still deeply interested. The Gym battles were really original, and I actually found myself wishing to play in the Orange Islands on my Pokemon Silver. Johto was an okay arc, but I started getting bored with it and soon I was onto new things. A little while later I peeked at Hoenn, only because I'd read an episode summary which stated Pikachu might explode. And so I watched it for a bit... And stopped after only a few episodes. I ignored Battle Frontier completely, but I did look at Sinnoh because... Well, it was Sinnoh. All I did was deduce that Dawn had an okay voice, watch a second episode and switch away, disgusted. How had my fond childhood memories turn into this? To be sure I wasn't merely fooled as a child, I decided to watch a few of the older episodes, and they were as good as I remembered them.

What has happened to my favourite childhood show? I've gone completely off it... They should have quit while they were ahead, or maybe hire new writers...

EDIT: Post of the 200th

 

[Vernikova]

Rekhyt, please wipe the nostalgia out of your eyes and realize (Cool a ryhme).

I think everyone has respect for the original series, to a certain degree of course. Recently, when I post in the old episode talkback threads, I realized something. Kanto wasn't really good.

Of course, this isn't a debate so I'll respect your opinion. But just think about it.

 

[PorygonSquared]

The show is also declining in popularity and Johto was more popular at its lowest rating, which was 8.8% in 2002 than Hoenn which was at 5.5% in 2006. Also Diamond and Pearl is low as well as of when Pokeani released the ratings for 2007 which were 6.9% and if the show is as great as you say the ratings should be higher than that but in reality this is what they are. These ratings are for Japan which is of course the home audience for the show so they are a bit more telling than those of the US.

Let me compare these statistics side by side with another long-runner. In the late 1970's, Doctor Who had an average viewership of 12 million, peaking in 1979 at 16 million. In the 1980's, the show had 3-5 million viewers, leading to its cancellation. Even with the 2005 revival onwards, the show has been getting a 7.5 million average viewership, a substantial cut from the 1970's viewership. (https://www.experiencefestival.com/a/Doctor_Who_-_Viewership/id/1332040)
Now I could use these statistics to say that the new series sucks compared to the old one, but that would be dishonest. The point is: It's a long-runner. Of course its ratings will be in decline.

 

[nickstr]

Sorry but the link you supplied led to a blank page. Of course long running shows will suffer a drop in viewership over the years, that much is a given but I would be concerned if the drop gets too far and Pokemon could hit this considering how many people are unhappy with it today. The reason why you are seeing complaints about the show is for this very reason, people are disappointed and thus unhappy they have every right to complain and their complaints could actually better the series as a whole but unfortunately it seems as though the people in charge could care less about what the fans think when in reality their positions depend on this and also on TV stations continuing to carry the show.

 

[Vernikova]

Johto was airing while the show was declining. But it doesn't matter how popular the series was. It could be the most popular thing on Earth, it doesn't mean it's actually good.

For example, the Jonas Bros. are popular, are they good? Same with the Mets, are they good? Obama? Naruto? Dragon Ball Z? You tell me.

 

[Roronoa Zolo]

Johto was airing while the show was declining. But it doesn't matter how popular the series was. It could be the most popular thing on Earth, it doesn't mean it's actually good.

For example, the Jonas Bros. are popular, are they good? Same with the Mets, are they good? Obama? Naruto? Dragon Ball Z? You tell me.

Jonas Bros = NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! never ever metion them again.They can't sing for their lives.
Dragon ball Z = Owns every Anime ever been created.(except pokemon)
Naruto = Who wears colour full things, and call himself a ninja
Mets = BlueJays!
Toronto Raptors = NBA Championship
Pokemon = Priceless.

 

[PorygonSquared]

Sorry but the link you supplied led to a blank page. Of course long running shows will suffer a drop in viewership over the years, that much is a given but I would be concerned if the drop gets too far and Pokemon could hit this considering how many people are unhappy with it today. The reason why you are seeing complaints about the show is for this very reason, people are disappointed and thus unhappy they have every right to complain and their complaints could actually better the series as a whole but unfortunately it seems as though the people in charge could care less about what the fans think when in reality their positions depend on this and also on TV stations continuing to carry the show.

Just Google Doctor Who Viewership then.

First off, are the fans the one writing the show? There's always the option to make your own show, ya know.

Second, the fans tend to have very conflicted views on how the show should be, so whatever the creators do, there will be complaints regardless. Thus, claiming that the fans' complaints could actually better the series as a whole is usually just arrogance on the part of one group, as one can just imagine the consequences of listening to one group over another.

Thirdly, many fans complain about the show because they are whiners that couldn't be bothered to move on. Rarely do you get a legitimate complaint from this fanbase.

 

[Unforgettable]

I have to say the Kanto days. Those were the best... yet... I dunno. It may have been my youth and my love for them. I still love them. XD

 

[Vernikova]

It's because they love Misty/May and want Ash to be given his badges. They want uninspired, unmemorable fillers and such that we got with Johto.

 

[Unforgettable]

I'm pretty sure you don't know the reason why I liked the first season and quite frankly I didn't like either one of those characters. The show now is the same as it was then, only more dumb than ever and the same old now predictable stuff. As a child, and when it was new, it wasn't nearly as predictable.

I now remember why I never post in this area *walks away*

 

[Vernikova]

I wasn't directing my comment to you Amane, so I apologize for the misunderstanding.

But how is the show more dumb? If anything was dumb, it was Kanto. The rest of the series is much more "intelligent".

 

[Unforgettable]

By dumbing I meant making it more "Kid safe" I know the show is for kids, but more things were allowed back when Kanto was around.
But the last two... I haven't been a fan of... not to mention it's just repetition anymore.

 

[Vernikova]

But the Ranger Special is great. Plus, there's Paul who abuses his pokémon and there's Hunter J. Kanto had what? A sinking ship and giant robot pokémon.

 

[GKS]

I liked it up to the Johto region. Then the theme shifted from being funny and something more uhh boring. I like it when Ash and Misty used to tease each other and stuff to tell you the truth, the new one just doesn't have the original feeling as Ash's character changed. SO I like the old ones more.

 

[nickstr]

It's because they love Misty/May and want Ash to be given his badges. They want uninspired, unmemorable fillers and such that we got with Johto.

The only reason why the Johto fillers were "uninspired" was because they focused on Ash too much and thus had boring and repetitive plots. If these fillers focused on Misty and Brock more then they would not have been that way. I did not care about the battles in Kanto but instead cared about the characters so I did not mind the whole being given badges issue. But you got me on that first thing there, that is one of the biggest factors that kept me from enjoying Diamond and Pearl when I tried to watch it and the other one was the terrible voice acting. Everytime Ash or Brock spoke I wished I was deaf and felt like hammering a nail into both of my ears just to do that very thing. About the only decent voice actor on the new cast who plays a main character seems to be the one who does the voice of Dawn but then again that is easy because she does not have anywhere near the depth of emotions that Misty had during her time on the series as a main character.

 

[Sceptile16]

Srry folks, for me it is the Sinnoh, because there is more details, more characteristic characters, and it shows how Ash, Dawn, and even Brock are growing to be better and better everyday...New series hands down!

 

[Crystal Clair]

With Pokemon, some people have said that the show has gotten better because the writers have gotten better. Back in the old Kanto days, they didn't exactly know where they were going. But as time went on, they began realizing what they wanted and DP is the (closest) final product to their perfection.

And for those who said that those who bash the old season haven't watched it in a while, I recently watched a review series of season 1 called WTF Pokemon which made me see how bad the season was. A link to the review collection (hopefully it isn't against any rules)
sure they complain about some dumb anime=/= game stuff and some "it's an anime, they can do that", but some of the stuff is flat out true

It's because they love Misty/May and want Ash to be given his badges. They want uninspired, unmemorable fillers and such that we got with Johto.

They're bitter Misty fans. Although I don't agree with the May part as much because she was a post Johto character.

I hate how everybody in 'Diamond and Pearl' are so gosh darn friendly. I remember when Team rocket was actualy a threat, When the gym leaders were evil, When Ash and Gary were Rivals!!
Seriosly! "Best friends till the end." !?
The second I heard that I stoped watching the show. Pokemon is definitely not the same!

Best friends till the end was basically AshxRichie and that was season one
Team Rocket was only a threat in episode two. From then on, they became pathetic. Being beaten by a Caterpie's stringshot attack? Digging holes? (they don't dig holes anymore, notice that?), traveling around forests with cardboard boxes for safety. Stealing giant vacuums? Sure stealing was a threat but vacuums?

Not everyone in Shinou is friendly. Shinji and Hunter J whom both are reoccuring characters are far from friendly.

Of course long running shows will suffer a drop in viewership over the years, that much is a given but I would be concerned if the drop gets too far and Pokemon could hit this considering how many people are unhappy with it today.

The only people that are unhappy with the show are the majority of this forum's anime section. I go to many Pokemon anime forums and I see one or two complainers out of ten maybe.

And as mentioned above, popularity =/= quality. Look at Naruto.

ASH should be at the front. He was the hero of Pokemon Series from the very beginning and always should be.

If Ash was still the center of attention in the show, then the show would get stale fast. At least with Hikari we have her rivals (although admittedly not as good as May's), her struggles and her contests.

They cleared off all the cartoons and replaced them wth retarded grown-up flicks like Reba. >X(

You're sixteen, you're going to be in the show's demographics in two years.

(I hope the word "nostalgiaphile" is more acceptable in these forums)

 

[Zathura]

Kanto was ok but I've always preferred Johto.

 

[~Skittlez~]

The good ol' days :'(
I watch em' on youtube occasionaly.