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Would the show be received differently if Iris/Cilan were reversed with Misty/Brock?

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Cybersai

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Let's say that in the Kanto saga, Iris/Cilan were Ash's first travel companions and were Gym leaders in Kanto in the games. Misty/Brock of course would be reversed with them, so they would be Gym leaders in BW. Their personalities/roles etc. are exactly the same as we know now. Hell, even their Pokemon would be reversed with the respective gens, so Iris would still have Axew in Kanto, etc.

Do you think the show would have been received differently if Iris and Cilan were Ash's first companions? Would a green-haired waiter and a slightly darker skinned female protagonist catch on back in 1998?
 
Re: Would the show be received differently if Iris/Cilan were reversed with Misty/Bro

People here probably wouldn't be annoyed with Iris much. Her calling Ash a kid is just... what she did.

Surely people would like Brock's lovey-dovey personality, but they might criticize him for not being as cool and classy as Cilan.

Pokeshipping could be Ash x Iris. "Bring Iris Back" campaigns would reign. (Which is "B.I.B." Which spells "bib." Which kinda sounds cool...)

Heck, would there be "Iris's song"? Not that I'd expect Iris would be treated like the current Misty in every way...
 
Re: Would the show be received differently if Iris/Cilan were reversed with Misty/Bro

The show would've been said to have jumped the shark, going from 13 years of interesting and well-written supporting characters to some boring pieces of background objects that never did anything.
 
Re: Would the show be received differently if Iris/Cilan were reversed with Misty/Bro

To be honest much like Brock's eyes were considered controversial in how they'd be viewed by American audiences at the time, I wonder if Iris' design would have been well received since she's a bit more unusual for a female lead, especially for the shows start. The fact that there was such pressure on how Brock's eyes would be viewed led to the creation of Tracey really said a lot....and this was when the anime first started!

Its for the same reason I don't think Dawn's skirt size would have been allowed back in the early days of the anime. Back when Pokemon was a well known fad and if Dawn had been around during the height of the shows popularity, I think those old parent groups that complained about Kadabra being "evil" or stuff like that would have complained about Dawn's skirt length. Most likely 4kids would have gotten out their heavy paint brushes.
 
Re: Would the show be received differently if Iris/Cilan were reversed with Misty/Bro

There would be no Tracey (thank you), and as said before

Adamant said:
The show would've been said to have jumped the shark, going from 13 years of interesting and well-written supporting characters to some boring pieces of background objects that never did anything.
Click to expand...
 
Re: Would the show be received differently if Iris/Cilan were reversed with Misty/Bro

If Iris and Cilan were Kanto characters joining Ash as first traveling companions i suppose how show would be received just as well like it was with original Ash traveling companions with people adjusting to them just like they did with any other group not knowing for anything else.

However i still think how original trio would still hold popularity it has becoming so much recognized even if Misty and Brock came of as Ash companions much later.Reason why original trio is loved so much and reason why out of all replaced girls only Misty caused such repercusions with people wanting her back wasnt because of being first characters but because people liked dynamic and entertainment value which original Ash companions provided working as one cohesive and close group of friends.

I gather group of Ash,Cilan and Iris in Kanto would achieved same success more or less as group it has obtained as current traveling companions in Best Wishes becoming quickly popular among fandom but to be fair original traveling companions wouldnt fall behind any less being largely accepted even if they came later.

Adamant said:
The show would've been said to have jumped the shark, going from 13 years of interesting and well-written supporting characters to some boring pieces of background objects that never did anything.
Click to expand...

Out of curiosity from where do you get such impression?
Misty and Brock are just as good characters like Cilan and Iris are having their qualities,unique goals,good pokemon and interesting backstories.
They surely did things not being #background statues" having their important place in pokemon history.
 
Re: Would the show be received differently if Iris/Cilan were reversed with Misty/Bro

It depends on how it was done. We could've just had a different face, same story sort of deal. (The characters are different, but what they did was the exact same as Misty and Brock) If we're talking a full reversal, as in their personalities stay intact, then it would be rather confusing. To me, it would look like the writers lost their focus, going from more serious sort of characters to more goofy ones. I can't elaborate because the comparison is unfair, Misty and Brock have full arcs of history, and Iris and Cilan have not completed their story yet. That was just the most apparent comparison I could make. The hidden question is "Does nostalgia inflate people's opinion of the past characters?" I will say for some people it does. To me, just because they were first doesn't mean they were better.
 
Re: Would the show be received differently if Iris/Cilan were reversed with Misty/Bro

Iris and Cilan would probably have less characterization, and Misty and Brock would have more as they came later after multiple experiments with other main characters between them.

Or not. Either way, it'd be the same. If Iris and Cilan were in the original trio, they'd be the ones that the diehard nostalgic fans you never see anymore refuse to acknowledge left the series for good.
 
Re: Would the show be received differently if Iris/Cilan were reversed with Misty/Bro

I think they would have been just as popular. The BW dynamics are very similar to the Kanto ones so I don't think they'd be a whole lot of difference.
Iris reminds me of Misty a lot in her personality and Cilan really reminds me of Brock. I think the thing that would have made me less of a fan in that situation would have been the lack of Pokeshipping. That played a big part in my enjoyment of it, and I'm guessing quite a few other fans would feel the same.
There could have been some racial issues with Iris's character, but there was with Brock's character so, swings and roundabouts really.
 
Re: Would the show be received differently if Iris/Cilan were reversed with Misty/Bro

Does this mean Iris might be replaced by a female Tracey in the OI arc?
 
Re: Would the show be received differently if Iris/Cilan were reversed with Misty/Bro

~2NE1~ said:
Does this mean Iris might be replaced by a female Tracey in the OI arc?
Click to expand...
And then when Iris comes back, she would probably get depressed for some unknown reason when Prof. Ivy's name comes up.

Also, Ash would've won against Cilan's Pansage battle with the sprinkler system and a Thunderbolt, lol. I'm glad we had moved away from pity badges over time.
 
Re: Would the show be received differently if Iris/Cilan were reversed with Misty/Bro

CrackFox said:
I think they would have been just as popular. The BW dynamics are very similar to the Kanto ones so I don't think they'd be a whole lot of difference.
Iris reminds me of Misty a lot in her personality and Cilan really reminds me of Brock. I think the thing that would have made me less of a fan in that situation would have been the lack of Pokeshipping. That played a big part in my enjoyment of it, and I'm guessing quite a few other fans would feel the same.
There could have been some racial issues with Iris's character, but there was with Brock's character so, swings and roundabouts really.
Click to expand...

Iris probably would have been the same as Misty as far as shipping hints go, I feel like they would have gave the first girl the most hints and if Iris were the first she would have had the same sorta hints as Misty. I think it wouldn't have been as popular, Kanto had much better character chemistry and emotional moments, IMO. You really felt like Ash, Misty, and Brock were BEST friends, you don't get that feel with the other trios. It had comedy, emotional moments and the group had a very strong bond. The originals are irreplaceable and if it was Iris/Cilan and the show was handled originally in the beginning as it is today in BW I don't think Pokemon would be the iconic show everyone grew up with. IMO
 
Re: Would the show be received differently if Iris/Cilan were reversed with Misty/Bro

Well if they were reversed then people would view Iris/Cilan as the original characters, so it'd make no difference. Likewise the BW trio does have wonderful chemistry, and the way Iris and Cilan clash is also really good as well.

The only difference is there's no shipping subplot with this trio, and Iris is obviously not pinning for Ash.
 
Re: Would the show be received differently if Iris/Cilan were reversed with Misty/Bro

People's nostalgia goggles would just recalibrate themselves and you'll get fan demands for Iris' return and claims that Cilan is irreplaceable and Brock doesn't hold a candle to him.
 
Re: Would the show be received differently if Iris/Cilan were reversed with Misty/Bro

Now that I think about it Iris's catchphrase will make so much sense. Then Ash being mature will also make sense on Iris's part.
 
Re: Would the show be received differently if Iris/Cilan were reversed with Misty/Bro

* Not much shipping in the early seasons and the fandom. Much more (and sudden) shipping hints in BW...
* Iris would have a huge following within nostalgic fans...
* No Tracey, for that matter...
* Dent would be remembered as a boring and bland character with repetitive gags ("it's X time!", "X Sommelier!", etc.), a battle-narrator and the cook of the team...
* Takeshi would be very popular within this forum and the fandom, with his randomly falling for the girls and trying to flirt with them. Cabernet would be his rival and a breeder, and Takeshi would hit on her as well...
 
Re: Would the show be received differently if Iris/Cilan were reversed with Misty/Bro

LOL, well that's assuming Cilan would have lasted for 600 eps like Brock did. There's no guarantee the character runs would have been exactly the same.
 
Re: Would the show be received differently if Iris/Cilan were reversed with Misty/Bro

Gliscor'd said:
LOL, well that's assuming Cilan would have lasted for 600 eps like Brock did. There's no guarantee the character runs would have been exactly the same.
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I can't see why. According to Takeshi Shudō, only reason for Kasumi's leaving and Takeshi's staying in the show is their respective genders.
 
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Re: Would the show be received differently if Iris/Cilan were reversed with Misty/Bro

That's funny, that's not how I interpreted the Takeshi Shudo blogs.

Brock originally stayed to be the exposition man of the group, whereas he felt Misty was the least justified because Brock filled the mentor role,
and Misty's own story wasn't focused on much.
 
Re: Would the show be received differently if Iris/Cilan were reversed with Misty/Bro

martianmister said:
I can't see why. According to Takeshi Shodō, only reason for Kasumi's leaving and Takeshi staying in the show is their respective genders.
Click to expand...

Wrong. Kasumi left do to low ratings.
 
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