Greetings, Pokémon Trainers! Taikamodo here, with my first top...well...anything, on Fanpop! I got bored sitting in my room, and rather than doing something productive, i sat down and watched all the Episodes of the Anime, from Kanto to now. And while i love the Pokémon Anime, it's basically half my childhood(The other half being DBZ), there are a few things about it that i would change if i had my way with it. So, here's 5 of them!
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Number 5:Replace The Protagonist
Now don't get me wrong, i love Ash(Not sexually, of course). He's an icon after so many years of being the main character, nearly 20 Years, in fact. Entire generations of people have grown up watching Ash's adventures, and as a result, he's become nearly irreplacible. Seeing Pikachu without Ash would be like having a PB&J without the J, and we all love the J. J is love, J is life. However, if you had 20 year old J in your PB&J, you wouldn't love it anymore, would you? No! That's the problem Ash faces; He's 20 year old J and nobody wants him near their PB anymore.
...Is this analogy getting weird for anyone else?
Anyway, i'd have completed Ash's journey in Johto, because the original trio of Ash, Misty, and Brock was broken up afterwards, Ash's original VA left, and after two league losses in a row, Ash seemed doomed to eternally-not-good-enough status, which he was and still is. Nobody cares about Ash at this point, which is sad, but it's The Anime's fault. I'd take a Yu-Gi-Oh! or Digimon route and replace the main crew every two regions, giving each protagonist time to connect with the audience without overstaying their welcome.
If replacing Pikachu is too hard, then don't! New protagonist, new Pikachu! Boom, problem solved!
_________________
Number 4: Change The Target Audience
Okay okay, i know that Pokémon games are targeted towards children, so it only makes sense that the Anime, which is there to promote the games, targets that audience too. Back in 1997 when the Anime first aired, that made a lot of sense. Games were actually still for kids at that time and most kids didn't even know what Pokémon was, so targeting kids, the majority of people who would buy or play Pokémon back then was a smart move. But that was1997, and this is nearly two decades later.
The world of gaming and it's place in the world have completely changed since the 90's. Games are now made mainly for teens and adults, standards for what makes a good game have drastically improved, and gaming has an undeniable place in society. Kids these days don't even play kids games, they tend to gravitate towards the First Person Shooters and Sports Games. Things like Pokémon are viewed as kid games, and when you're a kid, being reminded of your child status in the world is one of your top pet peeves.
The fact is, Kid Games as a whole are a dying breed, and while Pokémon Games likely won't suffer from that, the Anime will. The kids that grew up with Pokémon are teens and adults, and those teens and adults are now the bulk of people playing Pokémon. Kids don't play Pokémon because Pokémon still packages itself as a Kid's game, whuch only pushes kids away from it because the "cool kids" play Call of Duty and NBA 2K. Am i saying suddenly make your games full of gore and death? No!
But i am saying to embrace your real audience a bit more, move into the Naruto and Dragon Ball levels of maturity. In case you're unaware, Pokémon's genre in Shonen, a genre targeted at teenage to young adult boys, a genre including most Main Stream Anime. Think Naruto, Dragon Ball, One Piece, Fairy Tail, Bleach even. All Shonen, just like Pokémon, but still able to add some maturity to their stories. Well, Fairy Tail's not the best example, but....it's got bewbs. So there.
C'mon Pokémon, i believe in you.
_________________
Number 3: Take Inspiration From The Manga
The Pokémon Manga. There are a lot of different Pokémon Manga, one of which even starred Ash, although that one didn't last too long after Kanto and didn't follow the Anime's plot too closely. However, the specific one i'm talking about is the Pokémon Adventures Manga, the most popular one of the bunch. It's usage of the game characters, crazy awesome plot and the fact that it continues every generation have made it stand out among the other Pokémon Manga, and most importantly, Red's in it! Red!
IT'S GOT MOTHERFU-
*Gets tranquilized*
Ahem....But fanboyism aside, the Manga's really good, and the Anime could easily draw some inspiration from it. You know, like a somewhat darker story, more interesting characters, crueler villians, stuff to put Pokémon on the map again as an Anime worth watching.
_________________
Number 2: Change The Formula
One of the biggest reasons why the Pokémon Anime receives so much flak is that it's been the exact same for nearly 20 years. Filler, Gym, Filler, Gym, Filler Gym, Filler, Gym, League Loss, Rinse, Repeat. While Sun&Moon sorta makes this point invalid, assuming Gyms return in Gen 8 and Ash is still there, you can bet your bottom dollar he'll be right back to losing the first gym battle, coming in the top 8/4/2, and doing it all again next time. Heck, you can bet your top and middle dollars too.
Gimmie dem dolla dolla billz BOI!
Ahem.
Anyway, i'm not saying abandon Gyms entirely, but throw something refreshing into the mix! Have Ash actually win and challenge the Elite 4, have Evil Team #979 attack during the League, have Ash win via disqualification, making him determine to get a legit win next region, something! Having him get wrecked by legendaries, F**king Cameron, and BSburn from Alan's Charizard wasn't exciting. It was like watching Ash get kicked in plums for the sixth time in a row, while eating stale Popcorn off the floor of a Movie Theater.
Bad, bad all around!
_________________
Number 1: Explain What A Pokémon Master Actually Is
Seriously. No, i'm not joking, i'm not trolling, i'm serious guys. Think about it, we've watched Ash chase this seeming unattainable dream for nearly two decades, and after all that time, we still have no clue what exactly a Pokémon Master is. All we know is that for Ash to reach this goal he has to at least become a regional champion, and that doesn't tell us much. At least with othe Anime there's a clear goal. Naruto? Hokage, leader of the village. One Piece, Gol D. Roger's treasure. Fairy Tail? Find Igneel, and....uh....
Bewbs.
Anyway, it's hard to get truly invested in someone's goal when you have no clue what it is. Plus, it gives each new saga a stronger connection to the others if he's working towards a goal we actually know. If you were in School and had to write a paper on your goals in life, you couldn't write, "I wanna be a Hghfdrgvcrtologist" and then not explain. You'd have to tell your teacher, in the paper, what a Hghfdrgvcrtologist is!
Explain yourself, Pokémon.
________________
And that's my list! Did you agree with it, did you hate it? What would YOU change about the Pokémon Anime?
'Till next time, i've been your host Taikamodo, and i hope you liked the Article!
Peace!
_________________
Number 5:Replace The Protagonist
Now don't get me wrong, i love Ash(Not sexually, of course). He's an icon after so many years of being the main character, nearly 20 Years, in fact. Entire generations of people have grown up watching Ash's adventures, and as a result, he's become nearly irreplacible. Seeing Pikachu without Ash would be like having a PB&J without the J, and we all love the J. J is love, J is life. However, if you had 20 year old J in your PB&J, you wouldn't love it anymore, would you? No! That's the problem Ash faces; He's 20 year old J and nobody wants him near their PB anymore.
...Is this analogy getting weird for anyone else?
Anyway, i'd have completed Ash's journey in Johto, because the original trio of Ash, Misty, and Brock was broken up afterwards, Ash's original VA left, and after two league losses in a row, Ash seemed doomed to eternally-not-good-enough status, which he was and still is. Nobody cares about Ash at this point, which is sad, but it's The Anime's fault. I'd take a Yu-Gi-Oh! or Digimon route and replace the main crew every two regions, giving each protagonist time to connect with the audience without overstaying their welcome.
If replacing Pikachu is too hard, then don't! New protagonist, new Pikachu! Boom, problem solved!
_________________
Number 4: Change The Target Audience
Okay okay, i know that Pokémon games are targeted towards children, so it only makes sense that the Anime, which is there to promote the games, targets that audience too. Back in 1997 when the Anime first aired, that made a lot of sense. Games were actually still for kids at that time and most kids didn't even know what Pokémon was, so targeting kids, the majority of people who would buy or play Pokémon back then was a smart move. But that was1997, and this is nearly two decades later.
The world of gaming and it's place in the world have completely changed since the 90's. Games are now made mainly for teens and adults, standards for what makes a good game have drastically improved, and gaming has an undeniable place in society. Kids these days don't even play kids games, they tend to gravitate towards the First Person Shooters and Sports Games. Things like Pokémon are viewed as kid games, and when you're a kid, being reminded of your child status in the world is one of your top pet peeves.
The fact is, Kid Games as a whole are a dying breed, and while Pokémon Games likely won't suffer from that, the Anime will. The kids that grew up with Pokémon are teens and adults, and those teens and adults are now the bulk of people playing Pokémon. Kids don't play Pokémon because Pokémon still packages itself as a Kid's game, whuch only pushes kids away from it because the "cool kids" play Call of Duty and NBA 2K. Am i saying suddenly make your games full of gore and death? No!
But i am saying to embrace your real audience a bit more, move into the Naruto and Dragon Ball levels of maturity. In case you're unaware, Pokémon's genre in Shonen, a genre targeted at teenage to young adult boys, a genre including most Main Stream Anime. Think Naruto, Dragon Ball, One Piece, Fairy Tail, Bleach even. All Shonen, just like Pokémon, but still able to add some maturity to their stories. Well, Fairy Tail's not the best example, but....it's got bewbs. So there.
C'mon Pokémon, i believe in you.
_________________
Number 3: Take Inspiration From The Manga
The Pokémon Manga. There are a lot of different Pokémon Manga, one of which even starred Ash, although that one didn't last too long after Kanto and didn't follow the Anime's plot too closely. However, the specific one i'm talking about is the Pokémon Adventures Manga, the most popular one of the bunch. It's usage of the game characters, crazy awesome plot and the fact that it continues every generation have made it stand out among the other Pokémon Manga, and most importantly, Red's in it! Red!
IT'S GOT MOTHERFU-
*Gets tranquilized*
Ahem....But fanboyism aside, the Manga's really good, and the Anime could easily draw some inspiration from it. You know, like a somewhat darker story, more interesting characters, crueler villians, stuff to put Pokémon on the map again as an Anime worth watching.
_________________
Number 2: Change The Formula
One of the biggest reasons why the Pokémon Anime receives so much flak is that it's been the exact same for nearly 20 years. Filler, Gym, Filler, Gym, Filler Gym, Filler, Gym, League Loss, Rinse, Repeat. While Sun&Moon sorta makes this point invalid, assuming Gyms return in Gen 8 and Ash is still there, you can bet your bottom dollar he'll be right back to losing the first gym battle, coming in the top 8/4/2, and doing it all again next time. Heck, you can bet your top and middle dollars too.
Gimmie dem dolla dolla billz BOI!
Ahem.
Anyway, i'm not saying abandon Gyms entirely, but throw something refreshing into the mix! Have Ash actually win and challenge the Elite 4, have Evil Team #979 attack during the League, have Ash win via disqualification, making him determine to get a legit win next region, something! Having him get wrecked by legendaries, F**king Cameron, and BSburn from Alan's Charizard wasn't exciting. It was like watching Ash get kicked in plums for the sixth time in a row, while eating stale Popcorn off the floor of a Movie Theater.
Bad, bad all around!
_________________
Number 1: Explain What A Pokémon Master Actually Is
Seriously. No, i'm not joking, i'm not trolling, i'm serious guys. Think about it, we've watched Ash chase this seeming unattainable dream for nearly two decades, and after all that time, we still have no clue what exactly a Pokémon Master is. All we know is that for Ash to reach this goal he has to at least become a regional champion, and that doesn't tell us much. At least with othe Anime there's a clear goal. Naruto? Hokage, leader of the village. One Piece, Gol D. Roger's treasure. Fairy Tail? Find Igneel, and....uh....
Bewbs.
Anyway, it's hard to get truly invested in someone's goal when you have no clue what it is. Plus, it gives each new saga a stronger connection to the others if he's working towards a goal we actually know. If you were in School and had to write a paper on your goals in life, you couldn't write, "I wanna be a Hghfdrgvcrtologist" and then not explain. You'd have to tell your teacher, in the paper, what a Hghfdrgvcrtologist is!
Explain yourself, Pokémon.
________________
And that's my list! Did you agree with it, did you hate it? What would YOU change about the Pokémon Anime?
'Till next time, i've been your host Taikamodo, and i hope you liked the Article!
Peace!
we coudnt belive who's plain we sawl lawrence plain!
Ash what the heck is he doing here?
I dont know april he should have lernd his lesion the last time.
yea if he is going to try to get lugia for himself he is going down.
Twerps help us!!
oh god ash said it's team rocket.
didint you hear us help us you little twerps.
fine we will save your buts like always i said while rolloing my eyes.
pidgeot fly and go save thim said a mysterios voise.
who's there? it is i sir aaron and my nephew riley.
riley is that you i asked. and your sir aarons nephew but how can that be.
it is a long story he said sweet coming down his fase. sir aaron said you were my cussins. what were your cosins. yes said sir aaron jumping of pigeot with team rocket. I am your father.......................................... YOUR ARE FATHER?! yes that is why you have the same aura as me. But paul is are have brother. well i have 3 wifes
Ash what the heck is he doing here?
I dont know april he should have lernd his lesion the last time.
yea if he is going to try to get lugia for himself he is going down.
Twerps help us!!
oh god ash said it's team rocket.
didint you hear us help us you little twerps.
fine we will save your buts like always i said while rolloing my eyes.
pidgeot fly and go save thim said a mysterios voise.
who's there? it is i sir aaron and my nephew riley.
riley is that you i asked. and your sir aarons nephew but how can that be.
it is a long story he said sweet coming down his fase. sir aaron said you were my cussins. what were your cosins. yes said sir aaron jumping of pigeot with team rocket. I am your father.......................................... YOUR ARE FATHER?! yes that is why you have the same aura as me. But paul is are have brother. well i have 3 wifes
ash was my brother going up in the pokemon leage was taugh but we did it together as a team a duble battle team.
Ash... infernape use mach puch on electrive.
april...infernape use flame wheel on ursering.
paul...use auroa sphere ursering and electrive use thunder.
april and ash... not this time paul infernape use what!! infernape using blaze are you reddy use flair blitz.
paul... ursering slash electrive thunder.
then the power colided making evrey thing light up whin every thing cleard electrive and ursirng are unable to battle victoy goes to ash and april kethchum from palleit town.
we did it!!
cytheia here is your trothie.
paul... ash april can i travel with you?
shore paul we leve to go to pallet town you should come with us. ok. then the next stop is to say bye to dawn and go back to kanto with brock.well we better hurry before we miss the boat.
Ash... infernape use mach puch on electrive.
april...infernape use flame wheel on ursering.
paul...use auroa sphere ursering and electrive use thunder.
april and ash... not this time paul infernape use what!! infernape using blaze are you reddy use flair blitz.
paul... ursering slash electrive thunder.
then the power colided making evrey thing light up whin every thing cleard electrive and ursirng are unable to battle victoy goes to ash and april kethchum from palleit town.
we did it!!
cytheia here is your trothie.
paul... ash april can i travel with you?
shore paul we leve to go to pallet town you should come with us. ok. then the next stop is to say bye to dawn and go back to kanto with brock.well we better hurry before we miss the boat.