Pokemon Anime General Discussion

[BlueTidalGamer]

This show is 20 years old now. Where has my life gone?!

 

I do owe quite a bit to this show as it was the first anime I ever watched. I can recall my first experience with it to this day. It was around the time we got our first cable box, and I tuned into Sky 1 where Pokemon was airing. The first episode I ever watched was Holy Matrimony, the one where James was being forced to get married. Talk about a strange way to first experience the series! I wasn't sure what to think of it after finishing it. It wasn't until the next episode I watched, being Primeape Goes Bananas where I started to really enjoy the anime and got hooked since. 

 

Like many kids of our age, I would always make sure to head straight for the TV after school to watch the show and every morning before going to school. The episode that aired would be the topic of the playground after the first lesson and many of us watched it. The First Movie was also an experience I'll never forget. I still feel bad for my mum having to sit and watch it ^_^'

 

By the Master Quest season, I had finally dropped out of the show due to its repetitive format and countless filler. I caught a few episodes of the Advanced season when it first aired on ITV's Up On The Roof show, but it never truly brought me back so I passed on it again. 

 

Years later I'd look back on the show and said to myself, "Why did I ever think this show was good?" I grew a hatred for the series and never looked back again. That was until many years later when the XY seasons were airing in Japan.

 

Word was getting out on how great the XY seasons were, and I refused to believe it. After many months of continuing to see praise, I gave in and gave the XY episodes a shot just to see what the fuss was about. I watched the first 5 and thought, "This is actually pretty decent. Maybe I'll watch a few more." Then I got super hooked and kept on going throughout all of 2016 to marathon all of XY and XY&Z. The animation was a massive upgrade, the music was spectacular and the best of all, the human cast was actually really great! Serena turned out to not only be my favourite character of XY, she is now my favourite character of the entire show. Her development was great and she was really fun to watch. Even Ash was a pretty decent character as well who had some pretty badass moments at times. The XY seasons also made me realise to always watch the series in Japanese only. So yeah I loved the XY seasons.

 

Pokemon is not a perfect show by any means. The early seasons are flawed, a majority of the films are pretty rubbish, most of the filler is dull and though Ash's existence is to be there as the show's target audience, he isn't able to fully develop as a character. But despite its problems, it's lighthearted fun that means a lot to many people who have grown up with the series since the beginning. If it weren't for this show I wouldn't have got into anime, so I thank it enough for that.

 

Happy 20th Pokemon anime. You will never be a Pokemon Master Ash, but people will always be there to watch your adventures.

 

[PC the Hedgehog]

Gonna share our fond memories of the Pokemon anime, eh? I'm down with that.

I was introduced to the anime--and the games, for that matter--via a Nintendo Power promo video. Unfortunately, I didn't get the channel it aired on, so I had to wait. My first episode was "Dig Those Diglett". Watched the show religiously every morning before school.

My love for the show cooled around the time the first series ended and they started the Orange Islands. I continued to watch the movies, but I pretty much gave up on the series proper until they announced 4Kids was being let go from dubbing the show (Holy crap, can y'all believe it's been over A DECADE since then?) My curiosity drew me back in, and even though the current dub cast still pales significantly by comparison, I've been watching the show continuously again since Battle Frontier. I even went back and rewatched all the Johto and "Advanced" episodes I missed over the years (along with hilarious commentary from the great comedy website Pokemopolis).

I'm not the super huge fan of the show I used to be, but it's been a constant for a good chunk of my life, and it always provides a good time every week. Plus, it got me into anime as it did so many other kids, and I've been introduced to an amazing world of shows since then. Thanks, Pokemon. Here's to 20 more years.

[Big Panda]

Gonna preface this post by saying this NOT an April Fools prank.

It turns out the English Sun and Moon dub has officially started airing today...

...in Canada!

And here's the opening:

...AND ENDING:

EDIT: I'm also reading that they've replaced the background music again, including going back and doing it in the first two episodes.

[E-122-Psi]

Well way to bring down everyone's hopes again, TPCI. D:

It's a shame in the case of the Sun/Moon dub, because here you can tell at least SOME of the team are actually trying. The actors are decent and sound enthusiastic with what they have (checked a clip of the third episode, Rotomdex by all miracles didn't end up with a horrible voice XD), and the end credits for once splice in the Japanese animation. But the script and music editors are their usual bland selves and don't know how to respect the original work.

You'd think the company would put a bit more effort for the 20th anniversary, when they'd be bringing in a lot of viewers again. I have a bad feeling about the 'I Choose You' movie.

[Celestia]

21 hours ago, Ernest-Panda said:

EDIT: I'm also reading that they've replaced the background music again, including going back and doing it in the first two episodes.

Ah, now that's impressive dedication to disappointing everyone.

[PC the Hedgehog]

A ska Pokemon opening.

Really.

Guess its a refreshing change over "generic rock ballad #30", but it sure is weird.

[Ellipsis-Ultima]

So Episode 20 

Spoiler

Ash goes to some island, helps a Pokemon out of a gap, and gets healed by Tapu Lele.

But the next one is so freaking sad ;_;

Spoiler

The Stoutland that Litten was taking care of dies, leaving Litten devastated.

Even Meowth felt bad for it, Bewear giving a sympathy hug was really nice though.

On a more happier note, Ash finally gets Litten and it also tries to learn Fire Fang in the process.

 

[Meta77]

Xy was probably the best series overall. To bad we don't get a complete adventures manga adaptation or the way early comics

[Kevin]

On 4/6/2017 at 2:19 PM, Fusion Ellipsis said:

So Episode 20 

  Reveal hidden contents

Ash goes to some island, helps a Pokemon out of a gap, and gets healed by Tapu Lele.

But the next one is so freaking sad ;_;

  Hide contents

The Stoutland that Litten was taking care of dies, leaving Litten devastated.

Even Meowth felt bad for it, Bewear giving a sympathy hug was really nice though.

On a more happier note, Ash finally gets Litten and it also tries to learn Fire Fang in the process.

 

I was personally caught off guard that the anime portrayed an actual death in the show since the closest it came out was mentioning Charmander dying if its tail flame went out.

[Soniman]

ASH ENCOUNTERS SOME LIFE LONG FRIENDS

Spoiler

 

[Dejimon11]

So it's not going to be a retelling of the first episode/season. That's actually good to know to be perfectly honest. 

[PC the Hedgehog]

So...the anniversary movie is a retelling of the start of Ash's journey, but...with new traveling companions and Pokemon from other gens thrown in? On one hand, I'd prefer a faithful retelling of Ash's original Pokemon journey as a treat for fans who grew up with the show. On the other, the way they're approaching this film is so bizarre that I can't help but be intrigued by it.

[azoo]

Hmm. Okay.

Less hyped but alright. Seems neat. I guess?

Wow lol.

[Kuzu]

Who the fuck are Misty and Brock lol.

[Ferno]

Ok this dude intrigues me:

Hmmm? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm?

This dude is the most interesting thing about the movie imo and I need to find out more.

[QuantumEdge]

A bit of my hype died off when I saw no Misty and Brock and instead some new folks with pretty forgettable designs (can't help but think we've seen people like them before).  Interesting that we've got non Gen I Pokémon, but I guess they've gotta promote Sun & Moon somehow.  However if this is what's going to bring Ho-Oh into the spotlight, then so be it I guess...

[Waveshocker Sigma]

An alternate universe story starting back at the beginning in a version of the world where all of the other regions were already known to exist instead of that "Only 151 Pokemon" nonsense. Neat!

It's a shame about Misty and Brock, but this is significantly more interesting than what people thought it was going to be.

[-Robin-]

The sheer avarice and open disrespect the Pokeani staff have toward its own fanbase is a sight to behold.

 

 

[Kuzu]

2 minutes ago, -Robin- said:

The sheer avarice and open disrespect the Pokeani staff have toward its own fanbase is a sight to behold.

Not using Misty and Brock is suddenly "disrespectful"? ooookaaay.

[Soniman]

7 minutes ago, Kuzu the Boloedge said:

Not using Misty and Brock is suddenly "disrespectful"? ooookaaay.

it kinda is, im used to it so im not even that chaffed but omitting two majors character for randos in the movie meant to celebrate 20 years of the anime is pretty damn shitty.

its like..... lets just replace Bulma and Oolong in DB Path to power, who cares, their dynamic and relationships with eachother and goku werent important anyway lol

[Kuzu]

Just now, Soniman said:

it kinda is, im used to it so im not even that chaffed but omitting two majors character for randos in the movie meant to celebrate 20 years of the anime is pretty damn shitty.

lets just replace Bulma and Oolong in DB Path to power, who cares, their dynamic and relationships with eachother and goku werent important lol

Ok, Bulma yes, but Oolong? Really? you really think he's relevant to anything Goku does?

In any case, I really don't feel like Brock and Misty were as important as most of the fanbase likes to hype them up to be. Neither of them had much in the way of goals (well Brock did, but that quickly trailed off :V) and were more or less tagalongs to Ash's adventures. They didn't have a lot of battles under their belt, and the amount of focus episodes they had could be counted on one hand. Don't get me wrong, their dynamic with Ash was great but the original writers of the series are long gone and the head director passed away. Even if they did comeback, it definitely wouldn't be like how we remembered them.

The only reason I could see anybody being upset is because of the nostalgia and they wanted to relive their childhood etc etc. I'm nostalgic for the old series, but not enough to consider this "a complete betrayal of it's fans" like most people are taking this as. That's the type of fan entitlement that I seriously cannot stand from a franchise.

[Soniman]

34 minutes ago, Kuzu the Boloedge said:

Ok, Bulma yes, but Oolong? Really? you really think he's relevant to anything Goku does?

In any case, I really don't feel like Brock and Misty were as important as most of the fanbase likes to hype them up to be. Neither of them had much in the way of goals (well Brock did, but that quickly trailed off :V) and were more or less tagalongs to Ash's adventures. They didn't have a lot of battles under their belt, and the amount of focus episodes they had could be counted on one hand. Don't get me wrong, their dynamic with Ash was great but the original writers of the series are long gone and the head director passed away. Even if they did comeback, it definitely wouldn't be like how we remembered them.

The only reason I could see anybody being upset is because of the nostalgia and they wanted to relive their childhood etc etc. I'm nostalgic for the old series, but not enough to consider this "a complete betrayal of it's fans" like most people are taking this as. That's the type of fan entitlement that I seriously cannot stand from a franchise.

You can list off all the problems you have with then but that doesn't change eye fact that people care about these characters and wanted to see them come back regardless. And this is an AU, there's no reason all the problems you listed couldn't have been fixed or reworked for this movie, I think seeing these character in refined roles could've actually have been interesting. 

Dismissing everyone who wanted these characters back as nostalgia lovers and not people who are genuine fans is pretty presumptuous tbh. Fan entitlement is one thing but expressing disappointment that the original trio isn't reuniting for a 20th anniversary movie and instead we get them replaced by  new characters no one cares about  is more then reasonable from my point of view 

[azoo]

I woke up this morning and realized "okay this is actually terrible, I hate it, and I hate everyone involved".

Thanks, TPC, as usual for that delicious disrespect. Don't know what I'd ever do if you actually made something I want again. :v

[Big Panda]

You guys, I've figured it out:

Ash is a Timelord. That's why he doesn't age, and why he always has companions on his journey.

The reason this movie is so different from the original series is because somebody's changing his timeline. But who?

This little fucker.

Because he is, in reality, a time-splinter of

This big fucker.

Alain is intent on completely altering Ash's history, to turn all his wins into losses, to turn all his losses into even bigger losses. Alain is the route of all evil.

It totally makes sense you guys! Right?! ...right?

[Radiant Hero Ike]

I never liked Misty so I don't care much about that, this looks even cooler than I thought with all the Pokémon from other generations.

But if Ash is still in Kanto, he should encounter her and Brock if he goes after the Gyms again.

43 minutes ago, Azoo said:

I woke up this morning and realized "okay this is actually terrible, I hate it, and I hate everyone involved".

Thanks, TPC, as usual for that delicious disrespect. Don't know what I'd ever do if you actually made something I want again. :v

Isn't that a bit harsh?