How Has Your Opinion Changed Of Characters?

[Habunake]

We all know that not everyone likes (or hates) characters right away, so here basically tell how your views on certain characters have changed:

Ash- To be honest, I really disliked him during Season 1. I found him annoying, bad taste in fashion, and a pretty lame team. I must say I like the more maturer Ash of AG+ more then I liked the old one.

Misty- Was always just *there* to me. I liked her Staryu (awesome NINJA) and Psyduck though. Never cared when she left much, but I find her more interesting in her Hoso's though, and her occasional reappearances.

Brock- Can't imagine the show without him at this point. Always thought he had neato Pokemon, but never was a favorite of mine.

Max- Didn't care for him at first, but grew on me ever so slightly. I was kinda hoping he'd break away from May and go to Sinnoh with Ash...

May- Found her more interesting the Misty, and was kinda sad to see her go. I started to like her alot more when she got Combusken for some reason.

Hikari- I thought she was cute at first, then she was kinda stale when DP started...but now I'm warming up to her quickly.

Gary- He became a bad-ass in the finale of AG. Now I want him to come back like that. I didn't like the friendly Johto one, or the totally rude Kanto one.

Tracey- I kinda miss him.

Team Rocket- Loved forever, and still do.

 

[Jo-Jo]

I don't think I've ever had a major change in opinion towards a Pokemon character. Although I liked Max a lot when I watched my first ep of AG, and now I'm 'meh' about him.

 

[Doctor Oak]

I wouldn't exactly call Gary "friendly" in Johto - he just wasn't Shinji mind, but he wasn't exactly Ash's best friend. The only difference between his later Kanto appearences and his Johto appearences (early Kanto to middle/late Kanto was the most different, but the same can be said for every character) was that he got more involved in Johto.

The only real opinion on the characters that has changed for me is May - who was much more entertaining in the Battle Frontier than she was in Hoenn. Although her contest against Brock went a fair way to me being happy enough to see the back of her (and Max!! yay!) at the end of AG. That and her Gamesharked Squirtle.

But I digress, once she knew what she was doing as regards to contests, she was much more entertaining to watch in them.

 

[Snake Bandage]

I used to dislike Ash and Tracey... Ash for being a moron and Tracey for the Scyther incident. But I grew up since and now I know better. Now I'm more indifferent to the current Ash and rather miss the impulsive, arrogant Ash from Kanto, and I love Tracey tons, especially after watching the Hosos where he's a major character. His stupid old Scyther is the one to blame for the Scyther incident, anyway. =P

There's also May and Max... I didn't care for them at all at first, thinking they weren't terribly interesting. But they both really grew on me, and I was sad to see them both go in the end of AG. Max in particular became my favorite twerp ever.

My dislike for Hikari and Shinji just grows with every passing episode. I think I'll want them both hanged by the end of D/P. >>;

Team Rocket... well, I've always loved them. But these days I have a clear preference for James. He's just become the most interesting character of the three. The fact that he's the least nucking futs of the trio helps too. Of course, I still love Jess and Meowth to bits and pieces, but I just like James more.

 

[Cybersai]

May was much more interesting when she didn't know what she was doing. One of the reasons AG was enjoyable is how much May's character changed over the course of her run, but watching her constantly fumble in early AG was the best part.

May wasn't as interesting in BF as she was in Hoenn, mainly because she was competent and didn't have her funny quirks from Hoenn. I assume that's why the writers had her play off her rivals in BF, that was the last strength the writers had with her after she moved into the competent stage.

I have no idea why people want all the characters to be competent. Ash was funnier when he was an idiot in Kanto as well.

I liked Max better in Hoenn as well, back before the writers ran out of stuff to do with him. BF Max was pretty pointless, yet in Hoenn he actually had quite a number of episodes.

My opinion changed of Misty from "great" to "meh" in Johto when all she did was stand around for 150 episodes doing nothing. The changes made to her personality made her, quite frankly, boring, and the fact that she never did anything but stand around holding Togepi didn't help matters either. It boggles my mind every time someone wants Misty back into the cast, after her performance in Johto, why would you want that over more interesting female characters who actually have a plot?

I was fine with Brock until I realized his character was never going to amount to anything. Right now I only care about his Pokemon, (Greggle and Sudowoodo!), but the character himself has been stagnant for years now.

 

[Kasumi]

Ok let's see:

Ash: I always liked him from the start, and I kind of miss his n00bishness from the first seasons, but it's great how he has become a better trainer over the years.

Misty: she is and will always be my favourite character. It was really sad to see her go, but the Hosos proved she matured as a character and as a Gym Leader. Not to mention she's doing a better job at it than her sisters.

Brock: I dunno, like Habu, he's always been there for me. But when he left in the Orange Islands I missed him. I was actually happy to see him back in the Johto saga. He provides a lot of comic relief, though the ear pulling Max copied from Misty was really lame in AG and made me not care much about him until he got Bonsly in the Battle Frontier season. I'm glad he stayed for DP though, because he's having more screentime and has gotten 2 awesome Pokémon like Greggory and Sudowoodo.

May: when AG first came I didn't care much about her. I actually liked her, but her annoying fanboys got on my nerves and I started to hate her with a passion towards mid to late AG. Then I realized it was really stupid to hate her because of her fanboys and now she's okay in my book. Besides, if it weren't for her, we shouldn't have met Drew and Harley and all the interesting Co-ordinators we saw during AG and BF. It's a shame we didn't get any Hoso-like specials focusing on her adventures in Johto. Well, maybe someday we will.

Max: I hated him from the beginning and I'm incredibly happy to know the annoying "know-it-all" brat is not around anymore.

Tracey: I always liked him because he's a "Pokémon artist" like me. He was a better character in the Hosos though, but even so, I loved how he was the only one brave/smart enough to tell (and realize, unlike Brock) Ash and Misty they liked each other.

Team Rocket: my opinions on them have varied over the years. Sometimes I find them interesting, sometimes incredibly boring. However, James will always be my favorite Rocket and any episode focused on him is usually great in terms of comedy and character development. Especially in "Sweet Baby James".


Edit: Forgot about Hikari. She's okay in my book, though her Pokémon are more interesting than her.

 

[Doctor Oak]

I have no idea why people want all the characters to be competent. Ash was funnier when he was an idiot in Kanto as well.

The battles (One of the main reasons I still watch the anime) are much better when the characters are using their brains, know what they're doing and pull off something interesting. Comparing May's Kanto Grand Festival to her Hoenn Grand Festival just shows how much being "better" means better battles.

 

[Habunake]

Then I realized it was really stupid to hate her because of her fanboys

If that was a valid reason, I could hate 2/3rds of the characters.

 

[Cybersai]

The battles (One of the main reasons I still watch the anime) are much better when the characters are using their brains, know what they're doing and pull off something interesting. Comparing May's Kanto Grand Festival to her Hoenn Grand Festival just shows how much being "better" means better battles.

Her Hoenn Grand Festival matches were far after her "newbie" stage. And her battles with Harley and Drew were considered very good in those eps. You're talking about a stage of May's character that went up to her first two or so Contests, whereas afterwards she was battling fine.

Do you honestly remember Hoenn whatsoever? The more you talk about the subject the more it seems like you barely paid attention to it. Beautifly Vs. Medicham remains one of the best Contest battles in the series, and that was way back in her second Contest.

Not to mention her Kanto team wasn't as good as her Hoenn one. Beautifly/Skitty > Munchlax/Squirtle.

 

[Doctor Oak]

Her Hoenn Grand Festival matches were far after her "newbie" stage. And her battles with Harley and Drew were considered very good in those eps. You're talking about a stage of May's character that went up to her first two or so Contests, whereas afterwards she was battling fine.

Her battles in the Kanto GF were better.

 

[Habunake]

Agreed.

The Absol/Flygon vs. Squirtle/Combusken kicked MAJOR ASS!

 

[Cybersai]

Her battles in the Kanto GF were better.

Which is because it was better written, it was the climax to a 4 year rivalry. It has nothing to do with how competent a character is.

Ash, for example, is a much better trainer now than ever before. Yet some of his Gym matches nowadays can be very underwhelming compared to prior ones. Does this mean Ash's competence is at merit? No, its that the writers simply write some battles better than others.

Back to May, the majority of her Hoenn Contest battles were much better scripted than the Kanto ones. Beautifly Vs. Medicham was more impressive than her non-GF matches in BF, and that was only her second Contest. There's a reason Contests were always well-liked, you were just three years late to the party for some bizarre reason.

Its not how competent a trainer is that affects the battles, or else each of Ash's Gym battles nowadays would blow all the Johto/Hoenn ones out of the water. Some do and others don't, simply because the writers screw up certain battles more than others.

 

[Doctor Oak]

But May was written more competently in the BF arc, and her battles were written better, and because of this, I enjoyed watching her in the BF more than I did in Hoenn.

Oh Snap, could that be exactly what I said in less words about 3 posts ago? I think it might just be. :O

 

[Nando]

I enjoyed the Kanto Grand Festival for two reasons: Soledad (yum) and the fact that May kicked Drew's ass all the way back to Larousse City in it. I was on the fence about Drew until "Thinning the Hoard!," in which the scene of Drew going emo and abusing Absol made me hate him with a passion. Unfortunately "The Unbeatable Lightness of Seeing" let him go out on top, I would've liked nothing more than for May to slap him down into his place once and for all. And this is coming from someone who hated May the entire time she was on the show.

Bleah, except for May, I liked/still like pretty much all of them. Max didn't bother me too much.

 

[Lil Brother]

Within a year, I went from wondering why Max was on the show to tolerating him to hating him to loving him to continually forgetting his existance.

Everyone else I've had no real issues with. Before I really got into forums, I liked May a lot but then Scott's rants about how she saved the series and such have made me spite her from time to time, though. Funny how that works.

 

[Jukain]

Ash has always been somewhat the same to me. He is the protagonist. His personality has changed much over the years. His battles no longer rely on a luck factor, but sometimes the methods he uses to win can be contrived. He still holds some arrogance, as Brandon has so wonderfully shown us. This is his primary personality flaw, however, and no matter how much time passes or how many battles he wins, I think he will still carry this flaw.

Misty. She was interesting for a while. She kept Ash in line, and I don't think Ash has ever truly beaten her except to obtain Totodile. I don't think she is needed anymore for that role. Ash has matured enough to no longer need someone setting him straight. I have not seen Chronicles, I did not feel it was necessary. What I saw in the Togepi two-parter was, however, enough to tell that she is becoming a strong trainer in her own right. She is respectable, but no longer interesting enough to be a main character. *wears anti-flame helmet*

Brock somewhat confuses me as to what his purpose is other than support, cook, and comic relief. More than once, he has been shown having talents that could've earned him a decent living by now. Focus on him has gone down gradually over time. He does have rather comical moments, though, which his new voice has done so well to portray. I like that the poison frog is the new gimmick to stop him from flirting. I guess I am rather indifferent to him, but he does the funniest things at times.

Gary was once the rival we loved to hate. The competent rival. The one always several steps ahead of Ash. He cooled down in Johto, gaining more respect for the skill Ash was developing. The final battle of their rivalry will always be a memorable one. His reappearance at the end of AG has caused a great stir amongst the fandom. I am among those that think that this means Gary will take the place his game counterpart took in G/S/C: as leader of the Viridian Gym. We do not know this for certain, though. Like Misty, I believe his function has been served, and now that Ash has a new rival in Sinnoh, Gary shall remain in the background, but still interesting to see every now and then.

May gave us Contests and all the things associated to them. She was somewhat a girly girl, though, but with a tough resolve. She is a likable character, and certainly worthy of her own story. I am glad she has gone to Johto to pursue an independant Contest career. I do not think this will come to pass, though. I cannot say much of Max, except that he could one day make a decent pokemon trainer. I'm indifferent on him.

TR has always been one of the anime's running gags. Their history tells that they were treated unjustly, however, and that is why they came to TR. I will agree with everyone else that James has shown the most growth. He is questioning the motives of their schemes at times. James has also shown that he is capable of fantastic battling skills given the right motivation. Jessie and Meowth, however, still have issues. Even though they like being TR, they have hearts, and have been known to help Ash and co. at times. They will always have one purpose, though: to be blasted off agaaaaaaain! *ding*

I have ignored DP largely due to it being in Japanese, and I just don't want to bother with subs. I know some things, but not enough to have an opinion of DP girl or Ash's rival.

 

[Hyatt]

Hmm, a thread requiring long posts seems right up my alley

let's start off with Ash
Ash: at first I had a crush on him, then I hated him because I thought of him as Team Twerp, then I became neutral to him.

Misty: I've always loved her, although at the beginning I liked the group as a whole. I began to appreciate her in the later seasons, even before she left. Then when she did, I really appreciated her. You dont know what you've got till it's gone.
Now, I dont think about her too much (sometimes, I get into her again though) because I'm more focused on characters like Shinji, Clair, Hinata, Natane, you name it. But I'm still a true blue Misty fan (pun intended) and I will always be, as I never felt even a remote dislike for our sweet redhead.

Brock: I kinda used to have an obsession with him because he looked different from Ash and Misty and most Pokemon characters. Then when Kenji came around, I began to hate him...... especially when he replaced Kenji.

Kenji: this is weirdly my most intense changing, even worst than May... and now that I think about it, I've never posted this on any forum so you all may find this an interesting read

When I first saw the Orange Islands, I developed a huge huge huge crush on him. However I didn't go on the computer at all so I had no pics of him

I dont know how it happened but that huge crush grew into the biggest hatred imaginable. I wrote stories of Kenji being a demon and me and a bunch of other trainers hunting him down to slay him. I'm not gonna say anymore about the bad stuff I did cuz even if this isn't SPPf, I dont want to go overboard.
After that hatred died down, I was just afraid of him.

But as I got into Pokemon again, that fear died down into neutrality. And then I began liking Kenji again. And then I began to find him cute (but not to an extreme extent)

Max:
The second my friend and I saw him, my friend said that he looked like a Harry Potter wanna-be. But I began to kind of like him. And then when I finally got on the internet, I became a fan of his and the Max fanclub was the very first internet forum club I joined. I became co-owner. But the club died down long long ago....

Now I can say I'm no longer an actual fan of Max. I'm pretty neutral to him. He is cute sometimes but sometimes he's annoying (especially during the episode when Brock met Azami and Azami actually blushed and Max had the nerve to pull Brock's ear even though Azami's face was obviously red.

Spoiler

I wasn't really upset when he left, I just thought it was adorable how much emotion he showed in the final episode

but weirdly, it doesn't bother me when people bash him to death and whine about how annoying he is.

May -
The second I saw her picture in the game guide my cousin had, I was crushed. The shade of her hair color was such an eyesore to me. Her outfit wasn't much better, it blended in and overall didn't make her a really cool looking heroine. She was boring

But when I started seeing screens of her and hearing that she replaced Misty, it was a mix of sadness and excitement. Pokemon was getting a new character, and the possibilities about this girl seemed unlimited. She was the new trainer of opportunity and I couldn't wait to see her animated. I was sad, however, to see the first and longest living heroine Misty (one of the Pokemon girls I grew up with) leave the cast.

When she first aired, I loved her, because she looked exactly like the girl I had been playing as in Ruby. I had grown rather fond of May's design and her haircolor didn't really matter anymore. I was ecstatic to find out she had captured a Torchic. I felt as if May and I had a special connection.

I guess you could say that once May caught a Beautifly and began her life as a coordinator, I drifted apart from her. I had no interests in contests and her new Pokemon were different from mine. And I just started to dislike her.
I had a huge impulse to hate her later, and was happy when Drew tormented her in his first episode. I couldn't stand her and since I had an account on SPPf, I did the dumb thing of ranting about May.

Then I grew back into her again. AdvanceCloneShipping turned me on and I was fascinated with contests. I even joined her SPPf fanclub :O I remember joining her PokeCommunity fanclub and finding fanboys all over the place.... thank GOD they stayed in the fanclub though.

Finally I began to hate her again. The fanbase began to annoy me and I began to realize that May wasn't that great.
Now I still dislike her but

Spoiler

now that she's gone, I'm not really hating her.

Hikari: I liked her, the second I saw her Sugimori, then I really liked her when her episode aired. However, when IkariShipping started and Shinji's battle episode aired, I hated her. But then I went back to liking her once Shinji's episodes were over. The result
Hikari without Shinji = I like her
Hikari with Shinji = I hate her

Shinji: When his pic first appeared in Corocoro(?), I immediately was glad he was replacing Brock and thought he was kinda cute. Then when I found out Brock was staying anyway, I was bummed out. When Shinji's episode aired, I saw a bad screenshot and said "Oh screw the anime!" Then I saw another episode and I began to like him
My like for Shinji was still yet to reach it's climax when "Forest of Hesitation! Shinji again!!" (yes, I know the name by heart) aired.
Now, let's just say on a scale from 1 to 10 with one being regular hate and 10 being regular love, I'm a 100
aka
INSANE SHINJI FANGIRL!!111

Later, I will add a special post about Clair

 

[Trainer Lisa]

Hmm......

My opinion of the characters hasn't changed at all. I still like everyone in the show, just like I always have.

But anyway, I'll list my opinions, so everyone can know how I feel about the characters.


Ash: Do I even need to say how I feel about Ash? XD

My obvious crush on him aside, I personally feel that he's incredible. He's an awesome character!! He does an outstanding job of being the main character, and protecting his friends or his Pokemon whenever they're in danger from someone/something. In some episodes, Ash almost seems invincible or immortal, but you can blame that on the writers and how they absolutely LOVE to make Ash get hurt (that's why I've come up with the term Main Character Abuse, because the writers like to make Ash feel pain - why they do this, I have no idea). Anyway, moving on, I love the way Ash thinks during his important battles, especially gym battles. He can think of a really cool strategy or a way to get past his opponent's defenses in the blink of an eye. And like people have said before me, Ash's battles can greatly differ from good to bad, and that's mostly due to how the writers have written his gym battles and other important battles. And as far as Ash's personality goes, Ash is a great friend, he's brave, determined, and yes, he does have flaws, such as being overconfident in battle (that has happened very often) or being arrogant or dense, but Ash's flaws have never bothered me.

Ash was funnier when he was an idiot in Kanto as well.

Actually, to be quite honest, Ash was still funny in both Johto and AG. In fact, there's been plenty of times in Johto and AG where Ash has been dense, and that really makes me crack up. XD Anyway though, I like the smarter Ash of Hoenn a lot more than the less-knowledgeable Ash of Kanto. That's why I will always prefer the Johto Ash and Hoenn Ash > over the Kanto Ash.



Misty: She's okay, and even though she's no longer in the show anymore, I still like her. Personally, I've never been much of a fan of her though. I just like her, and that's it. She's a great friend to Ash, an awesome gym leader, and I like her Pokemon. But other than that, she doesn't mean much to me. That's why I didn't care whether or not she left the show.


Brock: I like Brock a lot. Now, I don't love him, cause I don't have a crush on him or anything. But anyway, Brock is my second favorite character on Pokemon. In general, he's a great guy. In every season of the show, whenever the "girl of the group" gets in a fight with Ash, Brock is always the one to break up that fight. I like how he takes care of everyone, as if they were his own family. That's awesome!! I also think that Ash and Brock have a good friendship, that's why I would hate it if Brock ever left the group permanently. I'm glad that Brock is there, not just for Ash, but for everyone else too. I have to admit, he's a great cook. If it weren't for him, everyone in the group would probably starve to death. And I also have to mention that during all 3 seasons of Johto, Brock was the one who (most of the time) was great with directions. He had the map and the guidebook, and I think he always had a pretty good idea of where the group was supposed to go, and how they could get to the next town. Of course, there's also the comic relief thing, and how Brock goes crazy every time he sees a pretty girl or he sees Officer Jenny or Nuse Joy. I love those scenes. I think they're hilarious. And finally, I like Brock's Pokemon team as well, and I think he is a great trainer.



May: I like May. And I admit, I like her more than I like Misty. But that's only because the writers seemed to "spotlight" May more than they did Misty. Like Scott has said once before, May was like the co-star to Ash in AG, so she always received a lot of screentime. As a result of May being featured more often this Misty, I got attached to May, and I enjoyed most of her contests as well. I love her Pokemon team. I think she does a great job in her contests, and well, that pretty much sums up my thoughts about May. And by the way, in the beginning, I thought it was hilarious how May didn't like Pokemon, and how she didn't know much about battling at all. Hehe, I thought it was great how Ash had to teach her most of the technical stuff about battles and everything, so she could become a great trainer and coordinator.


Max: I like Max, and I always have. I'm kinda sad that he won't be around anymore after the BF season, but oh well. I realize that May and Max are brother and sister, so they're like a "package deal". You can't have one character there without the other. Anyway, as for why I like Max, I guess I like him because he's funny. I liked how in AG, he would always pull Brock away by the ear. And I love the fact that, Max is usually the one to do something or say something to make Ash angry (and angry Ash = very hot :-D ).



Hikari: To be honest, I don't have an actual opinion of her yet. That's because I haven't seen any D/P episodes. I don't care much about Japanese episodes, and I haven't had the time to download any subtitled episodes. I'm mostly a dub person. Anyway, I will say this though. From what I've heard about Hikari, apparently, her personality is just like mine. I'm surprised that the writers would actually create a character with a personality like that, but I'm glad they did. Now that gives me a reason to like that character's shipping with Ash (because it would be just like the pairing of me and Ash, lol).


Shinji: I can't say anything about him, mostly because I don't know anything about him. I know that he is Ash's rival in the D/P season, but that's it. And like I said, I don't watch Japanese episodes much, so I won't be able to say anything about him until I either see a subtitled episode of D/P or the dubbed D/P season starts.



Tracey: I like him. He's a great character. He draws Pokemon, and he has an interesting personality. It's a shame we don't get to see him very often, but I think it's cool whenever he does show up.


Gary: I like him a lot. He's really cool! I admit, all throughout the first season I hated him, and that was because of the awful way he treated Ash. He was so mean to him! Sure, that was very encouraging for Ash, to have someone to beat all the time. But I always wished that Gary wouldn't be so rude or disrespectful towards Ash. During Johto, I finally got my wish when the writers made Gary be "nicer" towards Ash. Yes, they still had a very good rivalry going, and Ash was still trying to be better than him. But Gary wasn't much of a jerk as he was back in Kanto (thank goodness for that). Ever since Johto, Gary's been another favorite character of mine. He's just really cool, and he has great Pokemon as well.


Team Rocket: They're okay. I like Jessie, James, and Meowth, but mostly because they are always funny and they will sometimes work together with Ash and everyone. They're the only members of the Team Rocket organization that I actually like. Out of the three characters, Meowth would be my favorite member of Team Rocket because I like how he translates Pokemon language for the group whenever that's needed. And I just like Meowth's personality a lot. I like James too. He's cool, and he's actually a great trainer, and I found that out when I saw the episode "That's Just Swellow". Sure, he was using Jessie's Dustox, but that doesn't matter. He's still a good trainer, in my opinion. Now Jessie on the other hand, well no offense to any Jessie fans, but she's my least favorite member of Team Rocket. And that's because I don't like her attitude. She's mean and nasty whenever she wants to be, and I just don't like that kinda stuff. I like her Pokemon, just not her. I also don't like her because of her attitue towards Ash. I mean, all of Team Rocket hates Ash, but I think Jessie hates him the most (I don't know why, it just looks that way to me). And obviously, I don't like the Team Rocket organization, because it seems very evil (in my opinion). And I hate the idea of how they want to steal every Pokemon in the world and make them their own, to use them for whatever plans they might have.

 

[Habunake]

I like him a lot. He's really cool! I admit, all throughout the first season I hated him, and that was because of the awful way he treated Ash. He was so mean to him!

You might not like-a the Shinji.

 

[Lil Brother]

PTL, is Superman your favorite super hero?