CrystaI
The Pokemon Observer
- Joined
- Feb 20, 2011
- Messages
- 1,174
- Reaction score
- 641
After all these years of observing the Pokemon anime and behaviour of anime fandom, it seems like there exist such a big gap between the expectations (or should I say preconceived notion? Or conceptual bias? Whatever one wants to called) from the fandom and the end result that is presented on-screen by the producers' side. Such gap, may be it is the quality, the genre, style of writing, tone and/or atmosphere, the utilizations of characters, story plot flow and/or progress, the animation graphics, voice-acting, or something that is not listed here.
I would like to understand and clarify that gap, so I would like to ask for opinions from the Pokemon fandom, what is your expectations of Pokemon anime, and what is your overall view on the current Pokemon anime?
Please note this is a strictly personal opinion thread. Please don't attack the others if opinions crashing.
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For me personally, if I looked at the background settings of the Pokemon world, IMO it just meant to be a show of the genre of adventure and fantasy in modern world settings, probably a bit of sci-fi as well due to the advance technology in the Pokemon world. Because (Pokemon) battle is meant to be the center of the show, it should also be action-oriented. Moreover because Pokemon battle is considered as a kind of sport within the Pokemon world, it should then also be sport-related as well.
With such genre in mind, I expected Pokemon anime to be a Shonen show targeted towards the late preteens or early teens, having a more serious tone because there are battles, meaning there may be injuries (or even death). As there are actions, I expected to battle some Big Bad villains that may cause a threat to the world, they should be treated seriously, don't just ignore the villains and treat them as jokes. If not having such bad villains, then it can be sport-themed, so in that case it should focus on the glory and triumph of become the top in the league, showing the difficulties and enormous efforts the protagonist experienced during the process of aiming the top. Also more importantly showing the righteous "sporting spirit" of the protagonist by giving him challenges, such as how he reacts if he was forced to play dirtily?
But, if I look at the Pokemon anime that we have currently , it is just the complete opposite from my expectations. It is for the early preteens, the atmosphere is too lighthearted and carefree which is just not suitable for an action-oriented adventure show. The themes are too simple, there are no questioning of morals and ethics. The standard of good and bad is just too binary, bad is meant to be bad and good is meant to be good for no reason, not even questioning why the character is bad/good. Battle challenges doesn't feel challenging enough to bring out the triumphant feeling, at least not for me personally.
Then for the characters, I don't even feel like starting on this, because I think most Pokemon anime viewers knows all the general problems exist within each single character. From the protagonist Ash Ketchum, all sorts or villains especially TRio, the companions sidekicks, the Pokemons (both handheld and wild ones), the recurring sub characters, up to the CotD. They all have problems (double meaning intended).
There are just more I can't even listed. From characters to story plot flow, from the structure of Pokemon anime world to formula of story-writing. There is just such a big gap between my expectation and the presented Pokemon anime that is not fillable at all, unless the producer completely remake a new Pokemon anime.
BTW, Pokemon Special manga IMO portrays the Pokemon world and story most "appropriately". It just feels like that is the "correct" way to tell a Pokemon story. Hence I like it.
I would like to understand and clarify that gap, so I would like to ask for opinions from the Pokemon fandom, what is your expectations of Pokemon anime, and what is your overall view on the current Pokemon anime?
Please note this is a strictly personal opinion thread. Please don't attack the others if opinions crashing.
===============================================
For me personally, if I looked at the background settings of the Pokemon world, IMO it just meant to be a show of the genre of adventure and fantasy in modern world settings, probably a bit of sci-fi as well due to the advance technology in the Pokemon world. Because (Pokemon) battle is meant to be the center of the show, it should also be action-oriented. Moreover because Pokemon battle is considered as a kind of sport within the Pokemon world, it should then also be sport-related as well.
With such genre in mind, I expected Pokemon anime to be a Shonen show targeted towards the late preteens or early teens, having a more serious tone because there are battles, meaning there may be injuries (or even death). As there are actions, I expected to battle some Big Bad villains that may cause a threat to the world, they should be treated seriously, don't just ignore the villains and treat them as jokes. If not having such bad villains, then it can be sport-themed, so in that case it should focus on the glory and triumph of become the top in the league, showing the difficulties and enormous efforts the protagonist experienced during the process of aiming the top. Also more importantly showing the righteous "sporting spirit" of the protagonist by giving him challenges, such as how he reacts if he was forced to play dirtily?
But, if I look at the Pokemon anime that we have currently , it is just the complete opposite from my expectations. It is for the early preteens, the atmosphere is too lighthearted and carefree which is just not suitable for an action-oriented adventure show. The themes are too simple, there are no questioning of morals and ethics. The standard of good and bad is just too binary, bad is meant to be bad and good is meant to be good for no reason, not even questioning why the character is bad/good. Battle challenges doesn't feel challenging enough to bring out the triumphant feeling, at least not for me personally.
Then for the characters, I don't even feel like starting on this, because I think most Pokemon anime viewers knows all the general problems exist within each single character. From the protagonist Ash Ketchum, all sorts or villains especially TRio, the companions sidekicks, the Pokemons (both handheld and wild ones), the recurring sub characters, up to the CotD. They all have problems (double meaning intended).
There are just more I can't even listed. From characters to story plot flow, from the structure of Pokemon anime world to formula of story-writing. There is just such a big gap between my expectation and the presented Pokemon anime that is not fillable at all, unless the producer completely remake a new Pokemon anime.
BTW, Pokemon Special manga IMO portrays the Pokemon world and story most "appropriately". It just feels like that is the "correct" way to tell a Pokemon story. Hence I like it.
