where on earth to start with the older anime seasons...

[terashards]

so as we are all probably aware, i am a massive horizons fan. thing is, horizons is really my first time being into the pokemon anime. i watched a little bit of DP on the TV as a kid when it was current, and i've seen a tiny bit of the original anime as well, but after trying again and again to properly get into the anime over the years, horizons was the first time that the anime really stuck with me. i do also enjoy a lot of the movies (spell of the unown, heroes, and secrets of the jungle are my favorites), but i'm not sure those really count for the purposes of this thread lol.

now that i'm into horizons though, my interest in the anime that came before it has once again piqued my interest. for one i'm just more interested in watching the anime than before, and i dunno, i'd like to be more filled in on this show from a historical perspective, too. i'm unsure if i'm truly capable of really investing myself in it, especially considering i've tried and failed so many times, but i think i'd like to give it a shot again. i just... i don't know where i want to start, or where i have the best chance of actually getting invested. i have sort of asked for advice on social media before, and i've gotten such a wild mix of answers that i still feel just as lost as before. i'm hoping asking here instead might provide at least a little more clarity even if not everyone agrees.

basically, for a horizons fan trying to get into prior seasons of anipoke, what would you recommend as a starting point and why? (please don't fight with each other by the way!! everyone's opinions have merit)

 

[Mialentia]

The ashime is so vast and generally light on story that you can probably start wherever you like, so I'd recommend just going for the season that calls out most to you personally.

I know that's kind of a copout answer though lol so if you want something more specific I'd go with Sun and Moon! It's not my favorite but it's really good, and the reason I'm recommending it is because it's probably the closest you're gonna get to horizons because of how character-driven and full of heart it can be. The comedy is also a nice bonus to be able to just turn your brain off and enjoy most of the time, while the handful of emotional episodes are wonderfully put together and make me cry every time. It's got a really strong emotional core overall

 

[ii kanji]

If you can’t bear to commit to watching the whole thing from beginning to end (it is a big old commitment let’s be honest) I’d suggest either XY or SM. Both of these work really well as standalone series without needing to know the history in depth and have their own cohesive internal narrative arcs.

I loved both but the one that feels like home for me is SM because of the great balance between not taking itself too seriously but with real emotional depth underpinning it. (XY was also quite emotional though and I think the only series I shed actual tears for in its last episode…) I’d say if you prefer character driven stories then SM and XY for a more plot driven series.

 

[Daren]

It's tricky, especially since many of the series' end on cliffhangers since they of course wanted viewers to continue on to the new series. What in particular do you enjoy in a TV series? That might help people narrow it down.

If you haven't already, I do recommend watching the first two episodes of the series, "Pokémon, I choose you!" and "Pokémon Emergency", since the main cast are introduced in them (though of course they'll be pretty different if you skip ahead to XY or Sun/Moon afterwards, but the context might help). The official youtube channel has them (and most episodes of the Kanto and Johto eras).

Pokémon: Indigo League (Season 1)

It’s Ash Ketchum’s tenth birthday, and he’s ready to do what many 10-year-olds in the Kanto region set out to do—become a Pokémon Trainer! Things don’t go ex...

www.youtube.com

 

[terashards]

What in particular do you enjoy in a TV series? That might help people narrow it down.

i didn't include anything about this in my original post because like... i know that what i typically enjoy in shows, i am not going to find in anipoke lol, most of the anime i watch is usually pretty heavy and serious, or includes emotionally complex lesbians, or both. not that i'm immune to the occasional lighter fare (i've seen the entirety of nichijou which is the funniest show i've ever seen in my life) but yeah

If you haven't already, I do recommend watching the first two episodes of the series, "Pokémon, I choose you!" and "Pokémon Emergency", since the main cast are introduced in them (though of course they'll be pretty different if you skip ahead to XY or Sun/Moon afterwards, but the context might help). The official youtube channel has them (and most episodes of the Kanto and Johto eras).

i actually have! i've seen a good amount of the first season of the anime so thankfully i'm not totally missing out on that context. but thank you for the recommendation! i didn't realize the youtube channel had already caught up with johto actually

anyway that's two votes for SM so i'll keep it in mind... a friend of mine who i trust with his anipoke opinions really didn't like how SM handled lillie and her family, and lillie and her family are like my favorite thing from the games, so i was kind of off-put from starting with it. perhaps we'd disagree, though

 

[Mialentia]

not that i'm immune to the occasional lighter fare (i've seen the entirety of nichijou which is the funniest show i've ever seen in my life) but yeah

Wait you watched nichijou!? hell yeah I love that show. peak humor

a friend of mine who i trust with his anipoke opinions really didn't like how SM handled lillie and her family, and lillie and her family are like my favorite thing from the games, so i was kind of off-put from starting with it. perhaps we'd disagree, though

yeah tbf lillie's family situation is not like either SM or USUM, it's like... in between? that's definitely a shame, but I think the rest of the show is worth putting up with it. It's really worth experiencing

 

[terashards]

Wait you watched nichijou!? hell yeah I love that show. peak humor

yes, i watched all of it YEARS ago and i need to rewatch it at some point because i think it's the only anime i have ever watched that actually had me laughing out loud at the screen

eah tbf lillie's family situation is not like either SM or USUM, it's like... in between? that's definitely a shame, but I think the rest of the show is worth putting up with it. It's really worth experiencing

i don't necessarily need it to be the same (i don't care about the anime directly adapting the games very much) but he was frustrated with the handling on its own merits within the show. i can't really repeat what he said though cause it's not like i've personally seen it

 

[nickdt]

so as we are all probably aware, i am a massive horizons fan. thing is, horizons is really my first time being into the pokemon anime. i watched a little bit of DP on the TV as a kid when it was current, and i've seen a tiny bit of the original anime as well, but after trying again and again to properly get into the anime over the years, horizons was the first time that the anime really stuck with me. i do also enjoy a lot of the movies (spell of the unown, heroes, and secrets of the jungle are my favorites), but i'm not sure those really count for the purposes of this thread lol.

now that i'm into horizons though, my interest in the anime that came before it has once again piqued my interest. for one i'm just more interested in watching the anime than before, and i dunno, i'd like to be more filled in on this show from a historical perspective, too. i'm unsure if i'm truly capable of really investing myself in it, especially considering i've tried and failed so many times, but i think i'd like to give it a shot again. i just... i don't know where i want to start, or where i have the best chance of actually getting invested. i have sort of asked for advice on social media before, and i've gotten such a wild mix of answers that i still feel just as lost as before. i'm hoping asking here instead might provide at least a little more clarity even if not everyone agrees.

basically, for a horizons fan trying to get into prior seasons of anipoke, what would you recommend as a starting point and why? (please don't fight with each other by the way!! everyone's opinions have merit)

The best regions to start in are probably Hoenn and Kalos, due to them having the least amount of throwbacks to the older seasons, but even then i would try to avoid the Battle Frontier arc for throwback reasons and watch Kanto/Johto beforehand.

 

[da man/man]

A little late but, Kanto, Johto, Hoenn(to a much lesser extent but a little Ig), and Sinnoh, are all quite connected, so if you simply want avoid throwbacks, I'd suggest Black and White, despite it being famously hated, if not compared to other regions it's actually a really good standalone watch (the only throwbacks I can think of is Ash's Charizard coming in at the end for a bit of fanservice, and Dawn shows up at one point, but other than that I don't think there's many).
X&Y has little to no call backs and can be completely standalone, while the slice-of-life episodes are lacking the battles are peak (even though I really like SoL so I didn't enjoy it as much).
Sun and Moon actually has a lot good slice-of-life as well as good battles, and is just overall lighter/goofier in tone than the others.
Journeys is comprised of like 45% callbacks so I wouldn't recommend that to start...

TLDR:
Black and White is a good starting point
X & Y is less slice-of-life more battles
Sun & Moon has a good combo of both and is overall what I'd reccomend
You could always start at the BEGINNING beginning, but I doubt anyone who isn't me was crazy enough to do that XD (yeah I watched from beginning to end, spare yourself lol)

 

[Falaish]

As said, Kanto and Orange Islands is the beginning of the show and you see how Ash and all the other characters like Team Rocket, Misty/Brock, Gary, etc, start off, so it's almost required viewing. Also Ash's original Kanto starters/team which are important.

After that you can pick and choose really. You can continue in into Johto but it's very long and has the most filler of any series, so if you get bored you can just skip around. The later seasons like BW, XY, SM, etc. are all pretty standalone and you can really watch them in any order. AG and DP have the most connection with the OS but DP is generally the most important to Ash's character due to Paul. Really the show is designed where you can watch at the start of a new series without having seen what came before, the writers do this because they knew a new generation of kids came on board with each series and don't have to watch literally hundreds of old episodes to catch up.

 

[-PokemonBattleFanatic-]

If you like the filler/COTD episodes

Start at first series which has the best COTDs and when Team Rocket wasn't annoying and stale. It also has Pokerap and Pikachu's Jukebox.

If you don't care about any of that and want mostly the battles I'd start at the very end of Orange Islands (Ash vs Drake) and then go to the Master Quest season which skips most of the Johto filler and I'd say this was when the battles started getting good (Johto League).

The gym battles improved overall in AG

The battles overall peaked in DP

The animation peaked in XY

You can easily skip BW, SM and JN as all 3 are inferior to every series that came before it including OS.


OS

• COTDs/Kanto
• Ash
• Misty
• Brock
• Gary
• Team Rocket
• Charizard
• Bulbasaur
• Squirtle
• Ash vs Drake
• Johto League

----‐-----------------------------------------

AG

• Ash
• Sceptile
• Swellow
• Drew
• Harley
• Gym Battles
• Battle Frontier
• Hoenn League

----‐-----------------------------------------

DP

• Ash vs Paul rivalry
• Gym Battles
• Sinnoh League

----‐-----------------------------------------

XY

• Mega Evolution Specials
• Gym Battles
• Kalos League