Your fave Ash Ketchum design?

[Hikamaru]

While SM is the most blatant case, this has basically been the deal with *all* of Ash's outfits since DP:

Ever wondered why the male PCs never appear on the show outside of minor cameos? Because Ash is literally filling in their role, hence him wearing their clothes.

(As an aside, this is likely also why the male PCs themselves have looked very boring and samey since Gen 4. They're basically being designed to be new outfits for Ash, so they all have to have Ash's color scheme and be at least somewhat based on Red, if not an outright clone of him.)

It is definitely sad that the anime is to blame for male protagonist designs getting worse every generation. AG was probably the only truly unique Ash outfit when you look at it, since it was a hoodie and not a long-sleeved coat.

 

[Starry Windy]

Personally, I like Ash's attire in both Hoenn and Kalos saga. While Hoenn clothing looks pretty sporty in a way, Kalos clothing seems to be a perfect match as well.

 

[BettyNewbie]

It is definitely sad that the anime is to blame for male protagonist designs getting worse every generation. AG was probably the only truly unique Ash outfit when you look at it, since it was a hoodie and not a long-sleeved coat.

And, the only reason we got a unique design in AG was because there was no way the show could've gotten away with putting Ash in Brendan's outfit. Unlike Lucas & Co, Brendan was actually designed to be his own character and not a rip-off of Red, so his design wasn't even remotely compatible with Ash's.

Combine that with the "controversy" that surrounded the color of Brendan's hair, and it's not hard to see why GF has played it very safe (and boring) with male PC designs since Gen 4. Look past the scarf, and Lucas is little more than FRLG Red palette swapped to RBY Red's colors. Hilbert is literally nothing more than a teenage version of Red, and the same goes for Calem. Not counting remakes, it's literally been over a decade since we last had a male PC that wasn't a Red clone dressed in blue.

 

[Hikamaru]

And, the only reason we got a unique design in AG was because there was no way the show could've gotten away with putting Ash in Brendan's outfit. Unlike Lucas & Co, Brendan was actually designed to be his own character and not a rip-off of Red, so his design wasn't even remotely compatible with Ash's.

Combine that with the "controversy" that surrounded the color of Brendan's hair, and it's not hard to see why GF has played it very safe (and boring) with male PC designs since Gen 4. Look past the scarf, and Lucas is little more than FRLG Red palette swapped to RBY Red's colors. Hilbert is literally nothing more than a teenage version of Red, and the same goes for Calem. Not counting remakes, it's literally been over a decade since we last had a male PC that wasn't a Red clone dressed in blue.

Then there's the fact Brendan's original outfit had long sleeves. Long sleeves are definitely not Ash-worthy, which definitely explains why the BW outfit did Hilbert's jacket but with a recolour and short sleeves.

 

[CidHazard]

It is definitely sad that the anime is to blame for male protagonist designs getting worse every generation. AG was probably the only truly unique Ash outfit when you look at it, since it was a hoodie and not a long-sleeved coat.

Wait why are we blaming the anime for the game protagonists character design exactly?

Isn't that the game's designers fault for not giving the protagonist a more interesting design? The anime design team bases Satoshi's new outfit on the protagonist of the new game, and have zero input on what next protagonists outfit will inevitably look like.

It's not the Anime's fault for the Game designers choosing a consistent design philosophy for each of the male protags. Each of them sporting a jacket (With Lucas being notable for having a vest in his first appearance) Until Sun's stripped T-shirt.

 

[BettyNewbie]

Wait why are we blaming the anime for the game protagonists character design exactly?

Isn't that the game's designers fault for not giving the protagonist a more interesting design? The anime design team bases Satoshi's new outfit on the protagonist of the new game, and have zero input on what next protagonists outfit will inevitably look like.

It's not the Anime's fault for the Game designers choosing a consistent design philosophy for each of the male protags. Each of them sporting a jacket (With Lucas being notable for having a vest in his first appearance) Until Sun's stripped T-shirt.

The anime has more influence over the games than we like to believe. GF knows that it's the main marketing tool for the games, and they've also realized that Ash will be the one promoting the games in said marketing tool rather than the gen's actual male protagonist. Thus, the male protagonists always have to have a design that's compatible with Ash's so Ash can be made to look like them on the show. Ash is based on Red, so they have to be based on Red, too. Ash always wears red/blue/black/white, so they have to wear red/blue/black/white, too. It's been going on for 11 straight years now.

It wasn't always like this. Just look at Gold and Brendan. Gold was certainly inspired by Red (and it was actually justified in this case, as GSC were sequels to RBY), but he still looked very different from him. His color scheme was different, his hair style was different, and he even wore his hat differently.

And, of course, Brendan bore absolutely zero resemblance to Red, whatsoever. And, why should he? He was supposed to be a different person, and it's not like RSE were even connected to RBY like GSC were. He had no legitimate reason to to look like Red/Ash, and neither does Lucas & Co.