Do you think Ash/Satoshi should be replaced?

[Sheep]

Satoshi has been the main character of the Pokemon anime ever since its debut in 1997. Every character to have traveled with Satoshi, excluding Team Rocket, has since been replaced; this makes him the only character to have stayed for the anime's entire run thus far. Do you feel bored of having Satoshi as the main character for so long, or are you glad the writers decided to keep him around for as long as they have? Please explain why or why not.

 

[Cybersai]

Re: Do you think Satoshi should be replaced?

If TR are wrapped up with Best Wishes, then yeah, I think its time to send Ash off to. If they're going to bother eliminating 90% of the cast, and as we know Iris/Cilan and all the other BW characters will be gone by the end of this arc as well, you might as well wrap up the main character and do a REAL reboot for Gen 6.

As we're already noticing, Ash is just going to be stuck in an endless loop with each new gen. Even if he gets strong by the end as he was in DP, it gets undone when the next saga starts.

15 years is a long time for one character, its time to have him win a league, enter a Champion league using ALL his older pokemon, and then give us some sort of epilogue and we can be done.

 

[Peppermint Phoenix]

Re: Do you think Satoshi should be replaced?

yes. All the casual fans left with misty so there would be no huge shock and rating drop. Cause little people would stop caring cause they already stopped caring. As for younger fans I'm disattached to them COMPLETELY so I can't say but there is a new group of power rangers every season so imagine it wouldn't be a huge deal. Ash though I love the guy is now a one dimensional messiah so he can and should cut. Besides this can give the writers opportunity to experiment.

 

[Cybersai]

Re: Do you think Satoshi should be replaced?

yes. All the casual fans left with misty so there would be no huge shock and rating drop.

It was earlier than that. Most "casual fans" stopped watching when Ash let go of Charizard in early Johto. That was the turning point when most people also started to get bored of the anime, thanks to the fillers and the GS ball mishap.

As someone who was around from the very beginning, and box office sales of the Johto movies in the U.S. prove it, most casual fans dropped the series somewhere around mid-Johto.

Getting back to the point, Ash being dropped won't make a difference to older fans because most older fans WANT him to have closure. If you were to poll every active Pokemon anime fan right now, I'd wager at least 85% of them would vote to finally wrap Ash's story up and give him proper closure.

Only 15% of the fanbase wants Ash to go on forever in an endless for decades to come. And if you want proof of these statistics, we've had polls on this in the past.

 

[Ghetsis-Dennis]

Re: Do you think Satoshi should be replaced?

They should've gone with Hillbert and Hilda, with a brother/sister relation, as the new protagonists.

 

[Cybersai]

Re: Do you think Satoshi should be replaced?

My guess is if they finally have a good Team Rocket conclusion, all they else have to do with Ash is have him win a league and enter a Champion league and get some sort of notable victory. After that just have Ho-oh fly overhead one last time, (or even have Ash catch it, which at this point, doesn't seem unrealistic anymore given what's happened), and call it a day.

Ash could have been replaced at the end of any gen really, the end of DP would have been a good time to do it if they allowed Ash to win a league, but alas. So yes, he should be given closure after a 16 year history.

 

[Jukain]

Re: Do you think Satoshi should be replaced?

Welcome to Ash thread #2744.

Anyway, we came to the conclusion that it's not so much Ash, but Pikachu by association. However, if anyone else ends up with a Pikachu, regardless of it being a different Pikachu, everyone will cry c/p and no one will be happy. In all honesty, would the anime be any different? We'd just get another trainer on a senseless badge quest, who may not be as experienced. However, you got me with the fact that the writers don't care about experience, they'll just make them skilled beyond reason anyway. (Trip) So guess what, it's still a copy/paste, and there's nothing you can do about it. Before you argue that they could make someone with a better personality, that would depend on if they wanted to retool the anime entirely, which I don't think is that good of an idea. Please, stop making like this is the first time this has happened in the anime ever and either leave or shut up!

 

[Cybersai]

Re: Do you think Satoshi should be replaced?

Why do people act like if Ash was ever replaced that a new trainer wouldn't be any different? It is wrong, that's like saying just because Dawn was another coordinator her character and/or story was exactly like May's, which we know wasn't true.

And besides, the anime thrives on repetition. A new trainer would not be aimed at us, but new kids from the future.

We're not supposed to be watching the anime after 15 years! The writers never intended the fans to stick through it the whole way through. Old fans grow up and new kids start watching.

 

[Cloudskye]

Re: Do you think Satoshi should be replaced?

My guess is if they finally have a good Team Rocket conclusion, all they else have to do with Ash is have him win a league and enter a Champion league and get some sort of notable victory. After that just have Ho-oh fly overhead one last time, (or even have Ash catch it, which at this point, doesn't seem unrealistic anymore given what's happened), and call it a day.

Ash could have been replaced at the end of any gen really, the end of DP would have been a good time to do it if they allowed Ash to win a league, but alas. So yes, he should be given closure after a 16 year history.

I agree with this. I mean, really. Ash has been around for a long time, and even so, it is getting kind of old. I, personally, want to see Ash become champion, and then let it rest at that. Five regions, countless episodes and Pokemon later, they need to learn when to call it quits.

 

[Ampharos King]

Re: Do you think Satoshi should be replaced?

I believe that Ash is far too valuable as a stock character to ever be replaced in the anime. Ash is supposed to be based off of Satoshi Tajiri himself, the creator of the Pokemon franchise. Even though Tajiri no longer works on the games with Game Freak, the man is still credited in each of those games simply because of his relevancy. The same could apply in the anime. The writers may not have the heart in them to ever replace Ash's presence in the anime, as it may further disrespect everything that Tajiri himself had worked hard to create up until this point.

If Ash should be replaced, then Pikachu should not be too far behind. Most of the posts in this thread only accounted towards American fans, and how the majority of viewers had discontinued from watching the series after the end of Johto. Keep in mind that it is in JAPAN, not in America, where Pokemon receives the majority of its viewership. Pocket Monsters is a very popular anime, so much so that it consistently ranks at or near the top 10 most watched anime series every single week in Japan.

Pikachu is, indeed, the franchise's biggest and most familiar character. His presence and appeal alone may contribute to those high ratings, and certainly Pikachu would not be even the least bit interesting without Ash by his side. While there has not been much merchandise focused on the Ash character himself, Pikachu products such as talking plush figures are continuing to be sold in Japan up until this very day. Pikachu is arguably the franchise's biggest selling point, especially in Japan.

Ash should not be replaced simply because it may affect the franchise's marketability. You really cannot replace Ash without replacing Pikachu, or vice-versa. We, the fans, instantly recognize Ash and Pikachu as a solid pair. Take one half of that pair away, and the franchise in of itself loses some of that momentum when it comes to advertising new products.

Some people may complain that Ash has been the focus of the anime for far too long, that the writers should replace him with a much older, experienced trainer in an attempt to expand the market to appeal to older audiences. I always felt that Pocket Monsters was a series generally geared towards younger audiences, with slight undertones such as mild violence and complex characterization in order for their other family members to watch as well. I've always felt that replacing the most crucial characters in any television series would change that series's reputation and likeability forever. If the anime had wanted to change its main demographic, they would have already done so by completing scrapping Ash and Pikachu's endeavors.

I am not even sure if the fans, whether they would be from Japan or internationally, would react positively to a possible Ash replacement. Many of the international fans may have left the series precisely because Misty was replaced by another female protagonist after the end of Johto. Imagine what would result if Ash himself was replaced? Imagine if Pikachu was replaced by another pokemon in the future? The writers would not risk axing Ash or Pikachu off just to vitalize this series for a bit longer in an attempt to "freshen things up." Such a bold move might cause severe damage to the franchise as a whole.

 

[Jukain]

Re: Do you think Satoshi should be replaced?

So what you're saying is that they should make an anime for older fans, then? I still don't think that's a good idea.

EDIT: Ninja'd

 

[Cybersai]

Re: Do you think Satoshi should be replaced?

Would many of us still be watching this anime if Ash, Pikachu, or TRio were not present?

Does that matter? If the show was ever rebooted 100%, I'd give it a chance to see what it would be like. If I couldn't get into the new characters or just got tired in general, I'd stop watching. What I do does not matter, because I know millions of little kids will start watching that new saga as their first season and go from there.

We've just seen a long-lasting staple like Brock leave and nothing has changed. Misty also wound up never getting a comeback to the main cast because the writers felt the show could continue on without her, and sure enough it did for 10 years. If TR are on their way out next, Ash cannot be far behind.

They'll give a Pikachu to a new trainer with a different personality, much like we've seen repeat Pokemon on main characters before with different personalities. May's Bulbasaur/Squirtle or Dawn's Cydnaquil come to mind.

 

[Cloudskye]

Re: Do you think Satoshi should be replaced?

There's nothing wrong with the series as it is now...but for crying out loud, they called him 10 at the beginning of the Unova saga! You can only be 10 for so long. The series has been running for 16 years. I was 1 when it came out. I'm 17 now, and I've sat through just about every Pokemon movie, special and episode there is. You can only do so much before the series gets dull. I would love to see something that doesn't focus on Ash so much. Maybe something following one of the other characters from different seasons. Like Jimmy (At least I think that's his name, anyways. The one from Chronicles), or they could look in on Dawn, Misty or May.

 

[Cybersai]

Re: Do you think Satoshi should be replaced?

Just curious, but why do people act like this can never be done? Is it because it hasn't happened yet?

Remember the other things people used to think when the show first started?

- Misty would never leave
- Brock would never leave
- Wobbufett would never leave
- Contests would never be dropped
- May/Dawn would never leave

What exactly is so odd about thinking about an anime with a new male protagonist? The way some people talk they think its unthinkable. Ash is NOT the franchises mascot.

Ash is NOWHERE in the games. Even Red, his game counterpart, hasn't had a re-appearance since GS.

People do not associate Ash with Pokemon. He is not tied down to the franchise at all.

 

[SSJ_Jup81]

Re: Do you think Satoshi should be replaced?

There's nothing wrong with the series as it is now...but for crying out loud, they called him 10 at the beginning of the Unova saga! You can only be 10 for so long. The series has been running for 16 years.

I hate this argument. Who cares about that fully. Pokemon isn't the only show that's been around for a long time where the characters don't age. Prime example is Sazae-san. Anime started in 1969. She's still in her late 20s (I think), her brother and sister are still elementary school students. Her parents are still the same age. Her husband is still the same age. Her son is still the same age. They haven't aged either.

Conan of Detective Conan has been 6/16 since that series started in 1996 (manga started in 1994). His friends are still the same age too from when the series started.

Doraemon has been around since 1979 (even though the series itself has taken place in about 2010), and the main character (and his friends/parents, etc.) haven't aged.

Maruko of Chibi Maruko-chan has been 5 since the series started back in the early 90s. Shin of Crayon Shin-chan has been 5 since the series started back in the early 90s, etc.

If the formula isn't broken, no need to fix it. It works for Japan.

 

[Cybersai]

Re: Do you think Satoshi should be replaced?

The ironic thing of it all is Japan does like cycling through characters. Almost every long-running anime in Japan has cycled through characters.

There's a reason the games didn't continue having us play as Red in every new gen.

 

[Cloudskye]

Re: Do you think Satoshi should be replaced?

I hate this argument. Who cares about that fully. Pokemon isn't the only show that's been around for a long time where the characters don't age. Prime example is Sazae-san. Anime started in 1969. She's still in her late 20s (I think), her brother and sister are still elementary school students. Her parents are still the same age. Her husband is still the same age. Her son is still the same age. They haven't aged either.

The timeline of the shows/movies don't make sense. In the third Pokemon movie (not the actual movie, but the short before it), it's stated by Ash that it's the one year anniversary of Pikachu and Ash meeting. That would make him 11. Not 10. There's probably more, but this is the one that sticks out to me the most. It's inconsistent to the age they give him at the beginning og the Unvoa saga.

 

[SSJ_Jup81]

Re: Do you think Satoshi should be replaced?

The ironic thing of it all is Japan does like cycling through characters. Almost every long-running anime in Japan has cycled through characters.

There's a reason the games didn't continue having us play as Red in every new gen.

That's true, but seems with animated series, it doesn't seem to matter as much. Look at Lupin III. Those characters haven't been aged much either, even though the voice actors are old and you can hear it now, especially with Fujiko's voice actress who has voiced every version of her ('cept for like that one film where they all had to use other voice actors for the main four) and of course the main voice actor for Lupin died back in the 90s and was replaced. Lupin's been around since the 1960s.

 

[Cybersai]

Re: Do you think Satoshi should be replaced?

I was mostly talking about anime like Gundam, Yu-gi-oh, etc. all change their casts. Even Dragonball tried to shift things to Gohan for awhile.

 

[SSJ_Jup81]

Re: Do you think Satoshi should be replaced?

The timeline of the shows/movies don't make sense. In the third Pokemon movie (not the actual movie, but the short before it), it's stated by Ash that it's the one year anniversary of Pikachu and Ash meeting. That would make him 11. Not 10. There's probably more, but this is the one that sticks out to me the most. It's inconsistent to the age they give him at the beginning og the Unvoa saga.

I still wouldn't think much of it. It's not the only series where the characters are purposely not aged even though there could be a lot of inconsistencies. Shinichi in Detective Conan had a birthday, but his character is still technically 6 (as Conan). Movie 1 focused on Shinichi's birthday.