Why is there such a large appeal for charizard in the anime?

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jonathan keller

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Charizard seems to be getting a whole bunch of screentime lately. The question is why?

I get it. He's one of the most popular pokemon aside from maybe pikachu. But ash had a charizard, Alain has a charizard. And now Kiawe( the fire trial-captain) has a charizard! You can see him riding it in the poster, and if you pause the clip in the trailer right after they show team skull you see kiawe with the same charizard along with his turtonator.
 
Trevor also had Charizard but that was a short appearance. Charizard is a popular pokemon in the franchise. So it be natural for it get a lot of screen time.
 
Arceus the Dragon said:
Trevor also had Charizard but that was a short appearance. Charizard is a popular pokemon in the franchise. So it be natural for it get a lot of screen time.
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Yes, but it's not pikachu. Why don't they let another Gen 1 pokemon get some spotlight. Like Nidoking for example. He hardly gets any screentime
 
jonathan keller said:
Yes, but it's not pikachu. Why don't they let another Gen 1 pokemon get some spotlight. Like Nidoking for example. He hardly gets any screentime
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Well, Pikachu has been with Ash for 6 regions and it is going to Alola so it would have more screen time than Charizard. Mewtwo is another popular pokemon but it doesn't get much screen time. They could give another pokemon screen time but that depends on the writers.
 
Arceus the Dragon said:
Well, Pikachu has been with Ash for 6 regions and it is going to Alola so it would have more screen time than Charizard. Mewtwo is another popular pokemon but it doesn't get much screen time. They could give another pokemon screen time but that depends on the writers.
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Mewtwo had 3 movies. I don't see your point when you said it doesn't get enough screen time.
 
I think you already answered your question when you stated that he's one of the most popular pokemon. Charizard's been a fan favourite since the early days of the franchise, so he's an obvious pokemon to turn to as a means of tapping into the nostalgia market, while being a "cool" pokemon they can market simultaneously to the current generation of kids. You're not going to get that same effect with Nidoking.
 
The thing is...isn't the whole "Lizardon is super popular" thing really just one big self-fulfilling prophecy? It gets a ton of screentime, so people become more familiar with it, so it becomes popular, so it gets a ton of screentime, so people become more familiar with it, so it becomes popular, so it gets a ton of screentime...

The exact same thing happened with Gekkouga.
 
garrison-san said:
I think you already answered your question when you stated that he's one of the most popular pokemon. Charizard's been a fan favourite since the early days of the franchise, so he's an obvious pokemon to turn to as a means of tapping into the nostalgia market, while being a "cool" pokemon they can market simultaneously to the current generation of kids. You're not going to get that same effect with Nidoking.
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Well... nidoking was just an example. It can be any other pokemon really. But I see what you're saying.
 
Their are 5 Pokemon who will forever be remembered as time moves forward Pikachu, Charizard, Mewtwo, Lucario and Greninja.... No one knows for sure why 4 of them are popular, but they are and always will be.
 
Charizard was always going to be popular, by virtue of him being the box mascot of Red version. Blastoise and Venusaur are also popular among Pokemon fans, but I feel like there are several things that go into Charizard's favor. First of all, Ash's Squirtle and Bulbasaur never attempted to evolve, while Charmander went all the way into Charizard. This was also during a time where the anime was at its peak of popularity, so those of us who were watching back then could see just how powerful Charizard was back then. It really struck for plenty of people, myself included.

Aside from the anime, what else goes into his favor? For one, while both Japan and America got Red version, it's worth noting that America only got Red and Blue, while Japan started with Red and Green and got Blue later on. I bring this up because Charizard is the mascot for a version released first in both territories; Green had Venusaur while Blue had Blastoise. This meant that Venusaur had less exposure in America while Blastoise initially had less exposure in Japan. This makes Charizard more of a global representation of the Gen I games, more than Blastoise and Venusaur.

Charizard's legacy can also be seen throughout the franchise. In the Pokemon Trading Card Game, the original Charizard base set card was considered one of the strongest cards in the game. In Super Smash Bros., he was a Pokeball Pokemon in Smash N64 and Melee. In Brawl and Smash 4, he was promoted as a playable character. In Pokemon Adventures, Blue also used a Charizard. All of this exposure of Charizard eventually snowballed together, with Charizard now having many appearences across Pokemon media. He's playable in Pokken Tournament, a game with only a handful of playable characters. Other characters in the anime are using him too, including Red in Pokemon Origins. Lastly, he was notable enough to gain two Mega Evolutions, with both forms being viable in competitive play.

My point is, Charizard was destined to be marketed and promoted from the start. Charizard's prominence in Pokemon Red, the anime, TCG, and many other things that occurred during the series peak led to him becoming this popular today. Personally, I love the Zard. He's my favorite Pokemon, and I main him in Smash 4 and Pokken Tournament. The amount of exposure Charizard got has definitely paid off for the Pokemon franchise, and he will remain a series staple for years to come.
 
Pokefan19 said:
Their are 5 Pokemon who will forever be remembered as time moves forward Pikachu, Charizard, Mewtwo, Lucario and Greninja.... No one knows for sure why 4 of them are popular, but they are and always will be.
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Well....Mewtwo had 3 movies and was part of one of the best scenes in the anime. So I can see why he's so popular.
 
Because it's one of the most popular Pokemon.
 
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