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- Feb 26, 2014
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With new year approaching, perhaps it is a good time to judge the series thus far. Overall, I can say that this is going to a slow start. With the format changed from Gym Quests to School Life, it was obvious that Ash is not going to be traveling across the Alola islands as he would normally do. The classroom style of his new Alola friends means more characters, but it comes at cost making the friendship bond feel a lot weaker compare to previous traveling companions in the past. Individual characters get their own spotlight while others fade into the background or simply do not appear in the episode at all, if the Sophocles episode is any indication. This means that Ash and Pikachu gets the majority of the focus.
On the one hand, it makes sense since Ash is the main protagonist. On the other hand, Ash virtually matured after 20 years and there is not a lot you can go with in terms of his character. Previous series tend to mask it by having him bounce off of his companions and their story arcs, making him as a particular foil and mentor in retrospect. And that makes him more interesting in my opinion, the same way that Captain America is to the rest of the Avengers. However, with the other main cast members not really making a large impression due to a more loose group setting, the writing shortcomings on Ash's character are more pronounced in my opinion. If he was a brand new character with little to no history beforehand, I would be more engaged since I want to know more about him. But I am to assume that he is the same Ash from 1997-2016 since they mention the Tauros. And thus, I am left wondering on who am I suppose to be watching. Is Ash suppose to be a rookie or a veteran? The series offers mix messages in that he's a rookie when it comes to school life but is way too good when it comes to Pokémon battles.
It's not helped by the fact that the next movie is about Ash's original adventures, back when he can be considered a genuine kid starting off on his adventure with his Pokémon. That movie kinda killed my interest in Ash's Alola adventures because the Kanto region has a lot more personal stakes involved for Ash than in any other region and thus make him a more engaging character to follow. That and it renewed interest for me to travel across the land rather than staying in school. On the plus side, Rowlet and Rotomdex are fun, but I get the feeling that's going to be his team for a good chunk of the series, given that Sun & Moon doesn't seem to bother foreshadowing Ash's future Pokémon other than a possible Grubbin.
On the one hand, it makes sense since Ash is the main protagonist. On the other hand, Ash virtually matured after 20 years and there is not a lot you can go with in terms of his character. Previous series tend to mask it by having him bounce off of his companions and their story arcs, making him as a particular foil and mentor in retrospect. And that makes him more interesting in my opinion, the same way that Captain America is to the rest of the Avengers. However, with the other main cast members not really making a large impression due to a more loose group setting, the writing shortcomings on Ash's character are more pronounced in my opinion. If he was a brand new character with little to no history beforehand, I would be more engaged since I want to know more about him. But I am to assume that he is the same Ash from 1997-2016 since they mention the Tauros. And thus, I am left wondering on who am I suppose to be watching. Is Ash suppose to be a rookie or a veteran? The series offers mix messages in that he's a rookie when it comes to school life but is way too good when it comes to Pokémon battles.
It's not helped by the fact that the next movie is about Ash's original adventures, back when he can be considered a genuine kid starting off on his adventure with his Pokémon. That movie kinda killed my interest in Ash's Alola adventures because the Kanto region has a lot more personal stakes involved for Ash than in any other region and thus make him a more engaging character to follow. That and it renewed interest for me to travel across the land rather than staying in school. On the plus side, Rowlet and Rotomdex are fun, but I get the feeling that's going to be his team for a good chunk of the series, given that Sun & Moon doesn't seem to bother foreshadowing Ash's future Pokémon other than a possible Grubbin.