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Which Ash is your favorite?

Which version of Ash do you like the most?

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Peachy

Peachy

Disappointment
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So fourteen years into the anime Ash has changed design-wise and behavior-wise many times. I would like to know which one you like the most design and behavior-wise.
 
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Definitely Hoenn. Ash didn't rely on a rival to keep him motivated in that region but instead visibly improved as a trainer through the growth of his team and a couple of significant battles that pegged his complacency down a notch. I also enjoyed the student/teacher dynamic between him and May because it demonstrated that he could call on his own experience to help a new beginner on their way.
 
DP. Houen and Kanto were fun too but DP wrote him well when he seemed to have run his course. Plus he was the best of the battlers. DP Satoshi wasn't perfect of course but I think that he's as good as he's going to get. I liked how I could understand Satoshi at this point in the series too and his faults were played with on a different level from before. I love how his attempts to make friends with everyone was questioned and how he had lessons to learn from his rivalry with Shinji too. His friendship with his companions wasn't great but they did blance him out. Plus I like his pokemon and his interactions with them. It is narrow but I think DP was the best in terms of Satoshi.
 
I'm having a hard time between AG or DP Ash.

In AG, Ash is his own rival, developing himself to become better than how he was. Even though his given rival showed up much later, his development stayed from the start of Hoenn and moved on towards DP.

Speaking of DP, his development is tested continually against not only the Gym Leaders and whatever opponent he faces, but also against his rival with equal experiences as him but is more leveled up.

I do like Ash's interactions with the group equally in both series, although less in DP even though I enjoyed Ash and Dawn's interactions more throughout the DP series. Battles were equally impressive, development of characters were well-handled and the journeys were pretty good. Still stuck in the middle here though with what to decide.
 
Kanto/Orange Ash was the funniest version of his character, simply because he was such an idiot and did so many ridiculous things. He may not have been a good trainer AT ALL, but watching him go on by the seat of his pants and fail at everything was hilarious.
 
Uh...... Thanks for helping me Aestivate, this is my first thread in the Anime section. But on topic, my favorite Ash is the DP one. That's where I started watching the Anime. But to be fair I have watched most of every series ( I haven't seen all of Johto too much fillers :-( .) Hoenn is a close second though.
 
I would say that the first "three" Ash's all had their interesting perks.

Kanto Ash was a lovable oaf. He ventured out not knowing what the hell he was doing, but tried to play it off like he was pretty damn cool. This lead to alot of comical moments within the group that were enjoyable. He could tend to be very sarcastic at times ( he still maintained these qualities in Johto as well), but at the same time a dumbass. His position as the idiot of the group made sense and was justified.

Even though Ash was a pretty crappy trainer for the most part in Kanto his personality is what really made him fun. I can go back and watch some of the older episodes and still laugh at his antics. When it came down to the League, it really showed that his lack of persistent training cost him dearly, and in quite an embarrassing way too. He obviously grew from this, and it showed somewhat in Johto. In Johto he was still a pretty enjoyable character. You could tell he wasn't quite ready to venture out on his own, in a mentor type role..but his skills visibly improved. The results of his growth showed in that he was able to finally beat his rival with the very same Pokemon that cost him the previous League conference.

Hoenn Ash really felt like a huge step forward for Ash's character. In this series he was put into a mentor type role. Him being in this role really felt like the results of his previous experiences, throughout the original series. I think at this point Ash should have stayed in a mentor type role in all series onwards, but that obviously is not the case given the current series. Given Ash's position he was prone to arrogance, and thought he was hot shit at times. This was the case when he though he was undefeatable, and thought he could beat an Elite 4 member with no sweat...only to get crushed. Even though Ash didn't have a rival to really spur him to improve...it was defeats like the ones against Brawly, and Drake that showed him he still had a long way to go. His interaction with May and Max was spot on, as he helped her with her battles and she was so influenced by him that she started battling exactly like him. Max looked up to Ash a great deal, by series end as well.

DP Ash was where he was at his best IMO. Once again he was put into something of a mentor role, however he also learned of some of the limits to his battling style, and thus learned a bit from Dawn as well. His rival is what really made him a character you want to root for. He was put into a position where his very mentality of training was called into question. Paul was hands down the best rival the series has ever had, and Ash benefited as a character from it. We saw Ash actively, and extensively training his Pokemon to prove his point. His failures made me really feel for him, and you really wanted to see him succeed. Once again this series felt like it was a part of his continuing story given that, it wasn't treating continuity like shit. He was at his best by the end of this season, and it really felt like he got to where he was personality wise, and skill wise because of his previous experiences.

BW Ash? Well, he's just shit.
 
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I honestly wish Ash acted a bit more like his Hoenn self in Sinnoh, speaking strictly personality-wise. Ash's personality was getting very bland in DP, almost to the point where he felt wooden and stiff, but his skill as a trainer and rivalries saved him.

Hoenn Ash still retained some of his impulsiveness from Kanto/Johto mixed in with new maturity, which I liked. Such as when he got angry when he lost to Brawly and told Brock to shut-up, or him trying to pick a fight with wild Breloom with his bare hands. I thought Hoenn Ash had the perfect balance between the two extremes of Kanto/Johto and Sinnoh.

BW Ash is...eh.
 
Dang it. Why is this not multiple choice? I can't decide between Hoenn Ash and Sinnoh Ash.

Kanto Ash (as well as Orange Islands) was indeed hilarious. Those were some of the most memorable times in the anime for me simply because they were the first and they were entertaining. Ash was a rookie to a T and he showed it. That still didn't make me dislike him though, as it was believable and you wanted to see him improve and catch em all! His character was very easy relate to, even if he was indeed stupid at times he had some notable emotional moments.

Good times.

Johto Ash was like an improved Kanto Ash. He was really starting to take things seriously here I believe and he finally truly broke out in this series as a great trainer when he defeated Gary. He matured a little over the coarse of the season. This Ash overall felt like a transitional phase.

Hoenn Ash like Gliscor'd said still had some of that impulsiveness from the previous seasons, but you could tell that it was very mellowed out. This was his first true step into maturity, and I really loved his mentor like role. His interactions with the characters in Hoenn made sense and were great to watch. He didn't need a rival because like said he was challenging himself by taking on new ventures like mentoring May and so forth, and he mellowed out even more when those like Drake taught him about humility.

Actually, I'd have to say that this Ash is likely my favorite. He was just so cool.

DP Ash had kinda mellowed out completely but not entirely to the point where he was too stale to enjoy. This Ash actually felt like a true culmination of his entire journey, and he received a rival who would test that journey. Ash's development in DP was nice because of his training with his Pokemon, interactions and learning with Dawn, Paul of coarse, and his overall experience. Truly, it felt like Ash's development and character had reached the summit of the mountain and it would be finished.

....and then it plummeted strait to hell in BW.

I can't vote in this pole because I'm torn between the cool factor of Hoenn Ash, and the culmination of character development of Sinnoh Ash. Heck, even Kanto Ash is tempting to vote for, simply for nostalgia and he was entertaining. At least I know who I'm NOT voting for lol
 
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Battle Frontier Ash was the shit! However, his voice I loved was in Hoenn.
 
Sinnoh Ash seemed the most intelligent to me, and his battles were the most interesting in DP. Hoenn Ash comes in at a close second place, though, since he did a good job building up May's confidence, and it seemed like Ash really used his previous experiences in Kanto, Orange Islands, and Johto to his advantage.
 
I personally think that Ash was at his best in Sinnoh. He was a very experienced Trainer at that point, and it was easy to see that he knew what he was doing.
 
There's a certain fondness for the hyperactive dumbass Ash of Kanto lore, and I really enjoyed his first real step into maturity by Hoenn, but ultimately I voted DP!Ash because he truly felt like a culmination of all his experience gained from past journeys to that point. It was also the point that his entire stance was being challenged by a truly well-done rival, which sparked even more maturity in Ash. He wasn't as spontaneous and wild as he was in the past, but I honestly didn't mind it because it really felt like Ash was genuinely aging and making real progress on a journey that wouldn't be an endless loop.

So even though Ash was notably more mature in DP, he was still easy for the general audience to relate to and he didn't lose the core traits that made him Ash Ketchum in the first place. His story in DP really made me want to see him succeed, and his performance in the Sinnoh League truly shined, as I felt Ash was nearly at his peak; his prime, so to speak.

Then BW fucked all of that up by outright saying he never aged, everything you knew about the anime before BW was a lie, and Ash can lose all of his accumulated experience at the turn of a dime to extend the show's longevity for stupid, stupid reasons. I see BW Ash and every time I feel like I'm being tricked with sorcery.

I gotta cling to DP Ash and keep telling myself that BW is a fabrication and not a real thing that buttfucked Ash-in-his-prime for eternity.
 
Hoenn Ash was my favourite because I think he truly seemed to shine on his own then. Sure, he was being a mentor to May, but it was clear that he had matured a lot on his own, he was standing on his own two legs, and he was taking his training a lot more seriously. In other words, that's exactly how I envisioned him to be in his prime. :thumbup:

I liked Johto and Sinnoh Ash too, but Hoenn Ash was the best for me.
 
Yeah, I definitely would have to go with DP Ash. He wasn't as much of an idiot and seemed to have a little, tiny bit of dignity. Something he seems to lack in BW:-/. I don't know what happened to him there, but it seems like he lost all of his memories from previous regions. Would it kill him to at least mention Brock or Misty? or Paul:sweat:? You'd think he suffered from amnesia. Or maybe he blocked it from his memory.
 
Hoenn Ash for sure! He had mellowed out since his Kanto/Johto days but still had that enjoyable energetic spark to him, he had great moments with May, Max and Brock, and as much as I wanted Brendan as his rival he got on in AG without one. Less is Morrison is a good Hoenn example of that competitive attitude I loved throughout the show of old. I thought AG Ash really hit the balance just right, whereas DP Ash just felt a bit bland to me. Yes, there were moments, but idk, his interactions felt more forced and I thought the writers didn't spice them up enough.
 
Kanto Ash was hopeless for the most part, but also hilarious to watch. There were times where he would say or do something so dumb, it was utterly cringe-inducing, but it was the good type of cringe, the foundation of many a great comedy. It's understandable that he knew little about Pokemon, because he was a new trainer and had lots to learn, so when he overcame difficult trainer obstacles, such as getting Charizard to finally obey him, you can't help but feel happy for him. I didn't like how he had to rely on so many badge handouts, but I blame that on the strange writing of the first series.

By the time Johto arrived, Ash was clearly a much better trainer, and was great to see how much he had developed, especially since he actually battled every gym leader properly this time. His silly moments were less numerous, and I really could have used more of them during the more tedious parts of this series, but it was an inevitable change to his character, and it still felt like he had much more to learn about the world of Pokemon.

Hoenn Ash was even better. Now he began to seem far more mature, especially with two new members for the group to him to mentor and interact with. Leaving behind his previous Pokemon to build up a new team of Hoenn Pokemon further proved this, and his battle strategies with his Pokemon were getting very good indeed. Plus, there was no more Gary as a rival to stay one step ahead of him the entire time and make him seem useless in comparison; perhaps that's why he was so much more relaxed?

Sinnoh Ash is him at his best, and he's the one I voted for. This sadly seems to be his peak for now, the climax of over four regions worth of experience. Though he was far more mature by this point, he had a thrilling rivalry with Paul to keep him on his toes, fantastic interactions with Dawn and tougher gym leaders than ever before. He was robbed at the Sinnoh league, I tell ya, robbed...

Though I gave Sinnoh Ash my vote, I see the above four Ashes as the same character. Unova Ash, on the other hand... As far as I'm concerned, this isn't the same guy, and I would have been far happier if they had replaced him. It's extremely frustrating to see him acting like such a clueless moron again after watching Hoenn and Sinnoh Ash, and it's difficult to care about his adventure anymore; How do we know they won't do this to him again in a few years time? He isn't quite as stupid as he was in Kanto, but even if he was, it wouldn't be as entertaining as it was back then, because we know he is capable of far more than what the writers want us to think. It doesn't help that by becoming thick again, he is continuously giving Iris ammunition to bitch at him, but I must still like him a bit, since her criticism of him makes me so angry. I pray the real Ash is still in there somewhere; I only hope he doesn't take too long to return.
 
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My favorite Ash has gotta be the Hoenn Ash. Ash in Hoenn was kind of a mix of his Kanto/Orange Islands/Johto and Sinnoh self. In Hoenn he grew as a trainer, not because he was trying to prove to someone like Paul he is a powerful trainer and he is worth someones time, but instead he grew for himself. I like that he became more mature in Hoenn and acted as a mentor towards May and all along, retaining parts of his personality such as his impulsiveness and his arrogance. Plus he still had his 4kids voice and out of the 3 outfits he went through after Johto, his Hoenn outfit was my favorite.
 
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