Why is he such and awfully handled character?

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>>33409586
Why is he such an awfully handsome young man?
FTFY

>>33409586
God XY Ash was so sexy. I want this boy back. Badass competent shonen hero Ash who has a cute waifu crushing on him. XY was the best.

>>33409586
He's not though. The whole purpose of the anime is not to tell an epic story of a hero becoming a pokemon master, it's to market the games and introduce the franchise to children and he does a very good job of that.

>>33409612
XY Ash was a fucking soulless too-perfect abomination with zero charm and I'm fucking glad he's gone forever.

>>33409621
You can still sell shit and make the character accomplished, see YuGiOh and Gundam.

>>33409628
XY Ash had a great personality. He was like a matured version of AG and DP Ash

>>33409586
He'll always be awful and by extension the Pokemon anime will always be awful. You can't have an anime with the same character for two decades and not have him be bland and horrible. Writing is all about development and what is development that resets or is heavily clipped back every season?
Makes more sense to market the anime with the game protagonists and ditch Ash. But TPC thinks kids are too stupid to handle new protagonists in a show even though other toy anime handle it fine.
Even fucking Naruto reset things and are using a new protagonist (allegedly).
People who think the XY anime was good are just... wow. You do you, I guess. But personally I think Ash's involvement is holding back the anime from ever having potential. As long as he exists as a main character it will always be terrible. Ashfags will defend this character to the death for some reason, which is probably because they self insert as him somewhat.

>>33409630
YuGiOh and Gundam both ditched their main characters after a while though. You can't have the character make a shit ton of accomplishments without it getting boring and you needing a new start. It's clear they don't want to ditch Ash and Pikachu ever.

>>33409630
Yugioh ratings are worse

>>33409586
Because he isn't a character. He's now almost much of a mascot to the brand as Pikachu, thus he must be as bland and stagnant as possible. It's the Mickey Mouse effect. Mickey used to be a character, then he became pretty much a logo.

Aside from the OS, both DP and XY would have been the perfect time to retire Ash. I don't know why they didn't take it either saga.

>>33409793
Because his marketing potential is more important to TCPi than good storytelling. They don't care about using the anime to tell a good story, it's a marketing tool and nothing more.

>>33409801
But there's no difference at this point. If the SM anime had the SM boy protagonist and we had a different Pikachu, the majority of it would play out the same. Ash and TR should have been retired.

>>33409806
TR are popular in Japan, they never left

>>33409801
This. Ash will always be 10. He will always have a new batch of pokemon forneach region and in some cases "reset" to match the journey of the game character of said region. He, along with the anime, is an advertisement for the games and franchise in general.

>>33409768
And yet, Pokemon is even MORE boring BECAUSE ASh is always losing.

I'd rather watch someone win all the time than lose all the time.

>>33409828
It wouldn't be so bad if Ash won some leagues and lost others.

Like win one league, lose one in the next saga, then win the next one, etc.

>>33409828
You don't watch the anime, stop pretending. He wins plenty of matches in the actual season, he just doesn't get the big win at the end.

>>33409820
>>33409801
>>33409621
Fuck off with this "marketing" and "glorified commercial" meme. The anime is largely it's own thing, just how the games and trading cards are their own thing.

If this anime lasts another 10 years, Ash will still be 10, and he will still lose every league. He can't win because the showrunners say that would remove his "motivation". This show is pretty much a Simpsons or Spongebob at this point--it's existence is more important to the brand than what's actually shown on TV. It's pure marketing.

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>>33409868
So are you just stupid or what? Do you really not understand the anime exists for marketing purposes? It's a pretty old idea to make a TV show to push toys and such.

>>33409868
I was like you, once. Like 15 years ago. I too thought Ash had a character. Then I grew up and began to understand how businesses work.

>>33409871
>This show is pretty much a Simpsons or Spongebob at this point--it's existence is more important to the brand than what's actually shown on TV. It's pure marketing.
Except those shows have no continual story and are have plots isolated on an episodic basis.

>>33409891
So you're retarded. Got it.

>>33409896
He is a character though. If your high school economics class is the apex in your understanding of business, then you've got more serious issues to sort out.

>>33409903
The anime has that with filler episodes, and one could argue each region acts like a stand alone "episode". But yes, the anime is primarily serial in format. What I meant was it's been around for so long that it's become stale, but is a cash cow, just like the Simpsons/Spongebob.

>>33409741
But the thing is that he kinda developed. If you ignore BW, the character evidently matures from AG to DP to XY.

I actually agree they should retire Ash, especially because this cycle can't go forever. SM Ash is totally different from XY Ash for example. Just get some new kid with his Pikachu or something.

>>33409641
DP and XY Ash had nothing in common other than both being his most powerful incarnations. XY Ash was hotblooded and trusted his instincts to guide him through battle, while DP Ash hated walking into a battle without a plan. I'll never understand why people always compare the two.

>>33409938
Why are you getting so angry over a Japanese children's cartoon?

>>33409945
>What I meant was it's been around for so long that it's become stale, but is a cash cow, just like the Simpsons/Spongebob.
The same could be said about the games, or the trading cards.

The trading cards at school and actual TV commercials for the games are what got me into the games.

The show was the last thing I discovered.

>>33409938
So you think they make the anime just out of kindness to entertain the children of the world?

>>33409977
Some people get pretty defensive when you point out they've been watching a commercial ad for Japanese children for years.

>>33409998
No. They make it as another form of entertainment to expand their brand and franchise. To strengthen brand recognition and significance, while also getting people interested in their other products.

The TV show could also be used to push their VHS/DVD/Bluray releases and movie sales.

>>33410041
>They make it as another form of entertainment to expand their brand and franchise. To strengthen brand recognition and significance, while also getting people interested in their other products.

That's marketing, friendo. That's exactly what people mean when they say the anime is an ad.

>>33410023
All anime that isn't some arthouse piece is a commercial for the source material.

>>33410041
VHS tapes don't exist anymore. This isn't 2001, bub.

>>33409831
apparently if he wins a league they think his journey is over which is dumb.

The Pokemon are the only protagonists, all merch is pokemon

>>33410023
>they've been watching a commercial ad for Japanese children for years.
...To persuade them into buying a video game made for Japanese children for years?

>>33410066
Please tell me something I don't already know.

>>33410072
It is, but considering he's going to continue on to the next region whether he wins or loses, doesn't it make the whole thing pointless even if they give him a win?

>>33410077
PMD full-length anime confirmed?

>>33410072
The Japanese are logical and creative, my ass

If they don't want to put effort into Ash, stop with Pokemon Master bullshit

In the 90's, Ash was the shit. I remember how everyone at school thought he was a great trainer. Then he lost to Richie because Charizard disobeyed him. But we pressed on, and saw him win the Orange Islands after Charizard's arc was completed. But it was when the Johto filler hit that the "mascot" status of Ash began to solidify. Kanto had a lot of quirky episodes, some with overt Japanese influence (Ghost of Maiden's Peak and Obon, for instance).

>>33410139
Kanto was the best season because it wasn't afraid of anything.

Guns
Huge breasts being squuezed
Crossdressing
Epileptic seizures
Blackface
Turned into fucking dolls
Getting killed

>>33410161
Fuck yeah that was awesome

>>33410161
I don't remember those

>>33410177
I hope you're trolling.

>>33410184
Maybe i just watched the dub

What difference does it make? He can still win all the time like Yugi and still be on the show.

>>33409949
>But the thing is that he kinda developed. If you ignore BW, the character evidently matures from AG to DP to XY.
No, Ash matured from OS to AG, but then the writers realized he had matured to the point of being a blank slate character, so every season after that completely reinvented him.
>DP Ash was relatively mellow and spent all of his free time practicing new techniques
>BW Ash had a child-like wonder and would often overreact to things
>XY Ash was hotblooded and aloof
>SM Ash is a good-natured idiot

The series just makes up a new personality that fits with whatever tone they're going for that generation. All of them seem to emphasize different traits of OG Ash rather than building on each other. XY Ash is every bit a departure from previous seasons as BW Ash.

>>33410189
The crossdressing, blackface, "turned into dolls", and Ash dying happened in the dub. The others were Japan-only, or were censored.
Crossdressing was the Celadon Gym match episode. Blackface was Jynx and Santa episode. Doll episode was the Saffron gym/Sabrina arc. And Ash died in Lavender town when playing arubd with Haunter.

>>33410194
Yugi was canned after a couple of seasons though. And Yugi literally couldn't lose without losing his soul or other big stakes stuff.

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>>33410161
Only that? Yokai is more lewd than it, Pokémon is so kddy lol

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>>33410230
Stop saving thumbnails, anon.

>>33410207
Wait, I think there were guns in Squirtle's debut episode, which was in the dub.
Those were all pretty memorable episodes, especially the entire Sabrina arc. If you can't remember Brock and Misty turning into dolls...man I feel sorry for you as a Pokemon fan.

>>33410230
This. If you want "mature" content in your kid shows, try Yo-Kai Watch. It gives zero fucks.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtKYn45tEXE

>>33409956
DP Ash is also the most soulless of the bunch.
I don't know why people call XY cardboard, when in DP, he was basically a battlebot with the occasional loss from Paul.

He never felt anything, and was stupidly bland.

>>33410230
And the studio is OLM too, i'm glad yw is not a nintendo ip

>>33410258
Reminder that OLM produced Berserk around the same time Kanto was airing

>>33410238
I want to cum inside every single slut in that picture

>>33410268
And was So shit, OlM is a shit studio

>>33410326
Never before has such shit taste ever been spoken in 4fhan.

>>33410230
>>33410238
Is that supposed to be lewd? Looks pretty tame and safe to me

>>33410338
Fuck I'm drunk

So are they afraid if Ash wins a league over losing it over and over again, this will somehow hurt their marketing campaign?

Are they retarded?

>>33410689
I think the idea is that if he wins, he'll finally be a master (whatever that means) and there's no more point to his journey. I don't get it personally, but then I don't actually watch the anime anyway.

>>33410731
They actually said "Pokemon Master" was above even the Champion, as beating them would only be a step to "Master". So:

Wining the regional League =/= Pokemon Master
Beating the E4 and Champion =/= Pokemon Master

In short, it's pretty much a bullshit goal.

>>33410796
Actually, they've never really clarified what a Pokemon Master is at all intentionally. They want it to be an unobtainable goal everyone is striving for.

>>33410818
The funny thing is, most of the recent people who have beaten Ash or won the league, it's not even treated like a big deal which begs the question...why not let him win? Alain just went to bumming around caves with his Loli and the Professor, Virgil went back to his job of being a ranger or w/e. Who the fuck know what happened to Tobias.

>>33410256
holy shit that was fucking gold

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>>33409586
>show is about Ash being on a journey to become a "Pokémon master"
>Pokémon master obviously just being a vague term so kids will continue to follow the show and buy their products
>if the term was ever explained kids would just do the task and lose interest
>they can't backpedal anymore because other characters seemed aware of the term
>can't retire Ash either because Pikachu is the mascot and they can't replace him
>Ash is forever destined to lose the pokémon league and learn everything from scratch
I am really glad the manga exists, at least they were smart enough to change protagonists before entering this awful limbo

>>33409586
>expecting a complete, deep, well-developed male protagonist in a Chinese cartoon for little kids
Anon...

>>33410161
That's just old anime, they didn't fucked around back them

>>33410161
>>33410207
Aschtually Jynx was never blackface, it was a ganguro joke that westerners never got because its a japanese thing

>>33410230
>>33410238
That is moe not lewd you brainless ironic weeb

>>33411003
I want old anime back.
90s anime was best.

like, none of the series that come out nowadays are interesting at all. I only watch the old stuff.

>>33409586
I wish they would retire him so badly, but I know they never will.

>>33409586
Define awfully handled

>>33411257
>watch old anime
>men are fucking chads
>women are feminine and have normal looking bodies instead of balloon tits or moeshit everywhere
>not afraid to show nudity or women getting slapped
>cheesy disco music that is catchy as fuck
Its refreshing, makes me wish I was a teenager in 80s or 90s Japan

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>>33410853
Reminder that Ash is a loser and Gary was right.

>>33409586
I want sass master Ash back from the first season. He used to be an incompetent trainer, but he always had something funny to say.

>>33411636
And Gary quit like little bitch
and also broke any remaining illusions of progress for show

>>33411002
You can do a decently written character regardless of the target audience. "Being for kids" is not a good excuse.

>>33412103
Pokémon core concept is garbage for good writing

>>33410065
Rarely. Unless the studio also owns the source material that's just a bieffect.
Most anime aimed at teens/adults today are "commercials" for merch aimed at otakus that lack impulse control.

>>33412103
Ash is a bland character.

>>33412353
Even so, the characters in those shows actually accomplish shit. They aren't held back by "this show is just to sell toys!"