Amourshipping General Discussion - V.2 *Spoiler Warning*

[pokesrini]

You can argue about whether that gift that Ash gave was a hint or not, but I think we can say with certainty that Amour hasn't regressed.

Well, you and me will see when information about it gets revealed.

Also, do you mean like a... mouth happily open in amazement, while echo (words on his head) saying "Wow... so nice..."?

Oh so you were just saying. I thought you actually knew something about that episode because you quoted it so exactly xD Hahah

I'm not quite sure how to describe it. For the sake of this, I am assuming you are a guy, but it can work just as good if you are a girl too. Now imagine if a best friend of yours- a really close friend walks up to you in some formal event, dressed beautifully in a gown, her hair all done very well...in general, she looks great. If it were me, my reaction would be like, "Damn! You look great!" It would be vocal. I wouldn't mind being loud about it. Now imagine if that girl was someone you liked. My reaction would be like, "Damn...she looks amazing..." i wouldn't be loud about it, even if there was no chance of her hearing it. I would just...sort of whisper it. You know, subdued excitement.

I'm not sure if you get what I'm saying, but I think that if it is just a close friend, then the reaction would be more vocal and outgoing. The example was displayed by Clemont in the same New Year's Preview. He was like, "OMG! She looks so good!". You know he was almost fangirling that moment. I expect that Ash's reaction would be far more subdued. At this point it is too early for us to see him whispering, "Damn..she looks beautiful.." or something like that to himself. We might see something like, "There she is..." in a subdued manner.

Me browsing 9gag when suddenly....
Le wild amour post appears!

Ash, what have you done!? Lol

Spoiler: 9gag

[img139]http://img-9gag-ftw.9cache.com/photo/aVWQg6n_700b.jpg[/img139]

LOL if only he actually said that, and won the league xD So someone did put it up on 9GAG! I knew it was just a matter of time.

 

[Sheepy Lamby]

Me browsing 9gag when suddenly....
Le wild amour post appears!

Ash, what have you done!? Lol

Spoiler: 9gag

[img139]http://img-9gag-ftw.9cache.com/photo/aVWQg6n_700b.jpg[/img139]

What if he doesn't (as usual)
Good one dude! ^^ It made me spit my drink!

 

[mavyric]

I just realized something!

So right now the general consensus is that the ribbon Ash gave to her is for the costume that Serena wears during the ED right?

However, I just now noticed the background during that dancing scene in the ED......with the way it gradually lights up and the lamps to the side, isn't that like a mini version of the lights lighting up and fireworks of the Promise/Vow tree?



[img300]http://i.imgur.com/vGoU5La.jpg[/img300]

Here's to hoping this will be a plot point later in the series. Like maybe she'll be struggling to think up of a performance and was inspired by memory to come up with this theme of her receiving a gift from Ash

 

[pokesrini]

I just realized something!

So right now the general consensus is that the ribbon Ash gave to her is for the costume that Serena wears during the ED right?

However, I just now noticed the background during that dancing scene in the ED......isn't that like mini version of the lights lighting up and fireworks during the scene where Ash gives it to her?

View attachment 14319

Here's to hoping this will be a plot point later in the series. Like maybe she'll be struggling to think up of a performance and was inspired by memory to come up with this theme of her receiving a gift from Ash

What an uncanny resemblance! LOL I must say...AshSerena first posted the similarity between the ribbon that Ash gifted and the ribbon Serena wears in the DreaDrea sequence. And you seem to have taken it one step further with this!

I must say, the resemblance between this part of DreaDrea and the Vow Tree episode gift scene is just too much! Incidentally, I think XY060 will be the last episode showing DreaDrea at the end, or at most XY064.

There is a possibility that we will see such a scenario as you suggest in future. Let's see! But really, this resemblance is very strong xD

 

[--VIRGO--]

How this gift cannot be considered as a hint, if this is actually first time, that Ash gave something to girl, who he travels with. When he had no apparent reason to do that. He won the ribbon. Out of nothing gave it to Serena. To her it means very much. Some guys would like to see kissing in that episode, but it won't happen very soon. I guess previews are bad things overall. Or if you don't wanna be spoiled to much refrain from watching it. Wait until an episode actually airs. If you haven't seen preview, you would feel very satisfied by the outcome of the episodes.

 

[PokeHero96]

Hey guys! It's been awhile since I last posted on here. I just finish catching up with the thread, I mostly skimmed through the posts though aha! *ahem* theres quite a lot of negative feedbacks about XY059, which it sad to see because, even though I understand that it lacked hints, it was actually a really nice episode!

I know there are complaints about these scenes, but honestly, Ash getting distracted was hilarious! It's just when he shouts out Serena's name to show her what he had found, that was so cute! I know in the end he runs of, but still.

1) I loved Serena's reactions to when Ash got distracted, she's either shocked or pouting haha! It just goes to show, that Serena wants Ash to acknowledge her and what she says etc... Plus it's nice to see Ash wanting to also show her a bunch of stuff he found too until he runs off they both wanted the same thing really haha!

2) I loved the scene where Serena helps Ash decide on a present, well.. I'll say gives him the idea. That was one of the nicest scenes in the episode their faces though, their just getting closer damn it

3) Ash giving her the present! I loved this scene so much. And I hope that the ribbon will come into play soon, hopefully she'll wear that dress she wore in the ending and boom! Puts the ribbon around her wrist. Or maybe just keep it as a good luck charm, or add it too her new design, either way, I hope it comes into good use

About the next episode, I don't really see anything big happening. I just see him cheering her on, and, if she does end up loosing, comfort her in any way. Plus Serena cutting her own hair ?? crazy stuff! Seeing the gangs, mostly Ash's, reaction to her with short hair if going to be interesting! Plus hearing her response to their reactions.

 

[matthew11]

Well, I'm really late for this, but I just watched the fabled episode.

I literally laughed at some scenes where potential hints could've occurred. I was like "Oh It might happe- ow it didn't Lol". Other than that, it was heartwarming not only from the last scene of the episode, but from the whole episode itself. I mean, I even noticed how everyone's expression was so heartwarming, and even some times when Serena's voice was so sweet when talking to Satoshi. All other circumstances that relate to this are self-explanatory.

The last scene was part a letdown and a thumbs-up for me. Satoshi giving that blue ribbon or whatever that is to Serena, I'd consider that a hint from him even though he didn't show signs of affection. But, one thing I was expecting from the last scene was more screen-time. In my opinion, this scene was 'supposedly' the secondary focus of the episode and I think it should've had more screen-time "to show that they're strengthening their bond". And I was hoping that the scene would potentially give off some major hints itself other than Satoshi giving something to Serena. But that would be wishful-thinking. Ah well. In the end, I wasn't disappointed Lol.

 

[LightningMaster95]

How this gift cannot be considered as a hint, if this is actually first time, that Ash gave something to girl, who he travels with. When he had no apparent reason to do that. He won the ribbon. Out of nothing gave it to Serena. To her it means very much. Some guys would like to see kissing in that episode, but it won't happen very soon. I guess previews are bad things overall. Or if you don't wanna be spoiled to much refrain from watching it. Wait until an episode actually airs. If you haven't seen preview, you would feel very satisfied by the outcome of the episodes.

he probably figured that the ribbon would be something that can help serena in her showcase/tripokalon since he cant use it. what would be the point of him having it when it wont help him at all while it helps serena decorate her dress or pokemon....its hard to consider that a hint

 

[Red and Blue]

he probably figured that the ribbon would be something that can help serena in her showcase/tripokalon since he cant use it. what would be the point of him having it when it wont help him at all while it helps serena decorate her dress or pokemon....its hard to consider that a hint

My feelings exactly. If ash had actually bought it for her, then that would be something. But the fact that we just gave it to her due to the fact that he had no practical use for it just makes the moment feel platonic rather than shippy. I won't deny there wont be hints from ash in the future, but I don't count the gift as thefirst one

 

[ashsfuture]

The gift the blue ribbon that Ash won by random luck! sure he didn't know exactly what to do with it, so was he just going to throw it away of course not! then if you look at the moment when Ash gives the gift to Serena It kinda reminds you of episode 7 when Serena gives Ash the bag of cookies, and Serena gives her reason for the cookies, she says it's a gift for all your hard work and a thank you for what you did for me back then! So this time the roles are reversed Ash gives Serena the blue ribbon, but it's not like Ash was just giving Serena the gift for no reason which really would have made no sense at all! plus Serena is wondering why Ash is giving this to her and I really don't think it had anything to do with Serena's showcase/tripokalon(though she could use the ribbon for her showcase) cause it seemed like Ash was saying to her that it was because of her that he was able to find a gift for his pokemon, but what did he say afterwords that made Serena really happy?

tbh just seeing Ash give Serena a gift is a nice hint from him, as I said before if the gift was given to her for no reason then Ash giving the ribbon to Serena wouldn't have mean't anything really, The best way to put this is that this shows that Serena has an impact on Ash even when it doesn't involve gym battles, still it's nice to see Ash and Serena's bond grow!

what if there was an episode where Ash wanted to do something special for Serena kinda like a celebration for her hard work in the pokemon showcase, what do you think he could do for her? or Serena wanted to do the same thing for Ash as well, but this would be like celebration for him winning all eight badges

 

[PokéBram97]

Hey guys,
The last time I posted something was a few hours after episode 47, the episode in which Serena decided to join the Tripokalons. I remember the days after that episode: It was the old thread, and a lot of people were negative about the future of our ship. They said: Serena is now going to focus on her new goal (love) , and she will forget her love for Ash. People were also ''depressive'', because Serena didn't blush for a long time, hint drought etc.
12 Episodes in the future, and look where we are now: Okay, maybe the writers just hyped this episode to much, but if I we just look to what we've got. Blushing Serena's everywhere; Ash having a hard time finding presents, but Serena was again the one who helped him; and ,imo, the most interesting: Ash giving Serena a gift.
What I'm trying to say: I agree with most of the shippers on this threat. The writers shouldn't rush it, otherwise there will be no more suprises in future, and it would be unnatural. We are just 59 episodes in the anime. Give the writers a chance to build Ash' and Serena's relation brick by brick, and with as finally result a big Amour Piramid or something.

 

[Sheepy Lamby]

ScienceIsSoAmazing was kind enough to get information from non-English sources about the fact that Japanese people consider a gift at the end of a "date" a sign that one person like the other one...what I mean is -in Japanese culture- Ash likes Serena oh my Arceus!!!!
Thanks again dude, I expect your post any time soon!
Can someone else confirm this? I didn't know that a gift at the end of a "date" means that the guy likes a girl!?

 

[Citronic Gear On]

ScienceIsSoAmazing was kind enough to get information from non-English sources about the fact that Japanese people consider a gift at the end of a "date" a sign that one person like the other one...what I mean is -in Japanese culture- Ash likes Serena oh my Arceus!!!!
Thanks again dude, I expect your post any time soon!
Can someone else confirm this? I didn't know that a gift at the end of a "date" means that the guy likes a girl!?

There are indeed some people out there who are making this argument. But for now, I would suggest that we treat it with skepticism...one thing that has me skeptical is, if it's true then why didn't we hear about it until now?

And let's all suppose this is true...even if it is true, Ash wasn't giving the gift to Serena with "date" in mind. His act of giving the gift to Serena might have effectively made it kinda-sorta a "date" by consequence, but it doesn't change the fact that Ash didn't see it as such. That means we should be careful with how we interpret the scene. If Ash didn't view it as a date, is it safe for us to jump to the conclusion that he was trying to tell us that he likes her? I don't think so. Still, I think that the gift-giving scene was cute, and this just reinforces the symbolic importance of this scene, as I argued a few pages back: http://www.serebiiforums.com/showth...V-2-*Spoiler-Warning*&p=17604902#post17604902

So I would urge us all to be careful. Last thing we want is to jump to an erroneous conclusion that could backfire on us in the end.

 

[Sheepy Lamby]

There are indeed some people out there who are making this argument. But for now, I would suggest that we treat it with skepticism...one thing that has me skeptical is, if it's true then why didn't we hear about it until now?

And let's all suppose this is true...even if it is true, Ash wasn't giving the gift to Serena with "date" in mind. His act of giving the gift to Serena might have effectively made it kinda-sorta a "date" by consequence, but it doesn't change the fact that Ash didn't see it as such. That means we should be careful with how we interpret the scene. If Ash didn't view it as a date, is it safe for us to jump to the conclusion that he was trying to tell us that he likes her? I don't think so. Still, I think that the gift-giving scene was cute, and this just reinforces the symbolic importance of this scene, as I argued a few pages back: http://www.serebiiforums.com/showth...V-2-*Spoiler-Warning*&p=17604902#post17604902

So I would urge us all to be careful. Last thing we want is to jump to an erroneous conclusion that could backfire on us in the end.

This is a tricky one, that scene may be a "hint" considering cultural differences (if what you heard is true)
The point is Ash did it unconciouslly that boy has no idea of what a date is!! But the writers knew that Ash can offer "hints" even if he is not aware of them just to make us (the shippers) discuss...
Of course we always have to take it with a grain of salt... dude, don't burst my bubble! Just kidding

 

[Zack_in_Black]

You know, now that I think about it, I believe that the culture differences between countries also may lead to misconceptions. I mean a lot of us live in the U.S and we have different views on romance and stuff than those in Japan because they are completely different cultures and everything has different meanings. I mean just look at the comparisons between U.S and Japanese shows, Avatar: The Last Airbender had some kissing, hugging, hand-holding etc. and it wasn't that abnormal for those scenes to happen, this was also an English anime (correct me if I am wrong). Now we look at two anime shows from Japan that I am fairly familiar with, Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh, neither of which has had anything that is considered very romantic as compared to Avatar. Also when you think about it, almost every animated English movie has someone kissing or hugging another and have a place for romance. So I think that cultural differences play a very large role in what we see and don't see when it comes to shows like this that are intended for younger audiences. That is just something we can't change and can't expect to change. But I also think that the rating changing to PG is also a sign of things to come because they did up the rating and even though it is still intended for younger audiences, they could also fit more in that will appeal to older fans as well now.

I just think that culture plays a large part in things with this anime and what most of us expect out of it. But as always, correct me if I am wrong here because I am not an expert on Japanese culture.

 

[Sheepy Lamby]

You know, now that I think about it, I believe that the culture differences between countries also may lead to misconceptions. I mean a lot of us live in the U.S and we have different views on romance and stuff than those in Japan because they are completely different cultures and everything has different meanings. I mean just look at the comparisons between U.S and Japanese shows, Avatar: The Last Airbender had some kissing, hugging, hand-holding etc. and it wasn't that abnormal for those scenes to happen, this was also an English anime (correct me if I am wrong). Now we look at two anime shows from Japan that I am fairly familiar with, Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh, neither of which has had anything that is considered very romantic as compared to Avatar. Also when you think about it, almost every animated English movie has someone kissing or hugging another and have a place for romance. So I think that cultural differences play a very large role in what we see and don't see when it comes to shows like this that are intended for younger audiences. That is just something we can't change and can't expect to change. But I also think that the rating changing to PG is also a sign of things to come because they did up the rating and even though it is still intended for younger audiences, they could also fit more in that will appeal to older fans as well now.

I just think that culture plays a large part in things with this anime and what most of us expect out of it. But as always, correct me if I am wrong here because I am not an expert on Japanese culture.

Great comment dude! Many of us forgot that "cultural differences" matter.
If we analyse the last episode, we would also see a tear in Serena's eye while talking to her mom.
Did the writers push the characters emotions too far considering their "cold" culture? Serena crying? Ash giving a present after a meeting? what is this???

 

[shipperfan]

My guess if they are gonna start showing this ship more it'll be when you least expect it. I mean why else would they finally make a girl partner know Ash when they were kids and have a major crush on him? And not the other 4 girls? XD And I forgot who posted that Serena wouldn't go with Ash after this season is over. Have you all forgotten Misty and being there until the end of Johto? LOL

 

[pokesrini]

I think Science brought us a great point. Seems like we have been making another mistake in addition to our first mistake of expecting too much. We expected that the date should be significant according to our cultural values- mostly American/Western. Now I did go around several places like YouTube and stuff where the gist of what the Japanese were saying was that, "I don't know what you guys are insinuating. The episode was fantastic!" Some even went to the extent of saying that this is the biggest hint yet that AmourShipping will be canon in the end, and the likelihood of that was boosted drastically.

Now while that may have been a bit of a stretch, it does seem like this episode was very rich in deep symbolism. I guess this was a sudden and unexpected source of optimism for those AmourShippers who seemed rather down in the dumps after the episode. Looks like this also sort of helps me push my Pacific Rim type love-story theory. No blatant romance, but deep, deep trust and support, and a very strong bond. And if you ask me, it is an equally beautiful story.

All in all, there is hope yet (a lot of it), and seems like we got a rather unexpected source of optimism. Thanks once again Science for bringing up an excellent point.

 

[Sheepy Lamby]

My guess if they are gonna start showing this ship more it'll be when you least expect it. I mean why else would they finally make a girl partner know Ash when they were kids and have a major crush on him? And not the other 4 girls? XD And I forgot who posted that Serena wouldn't go with Ash after this season is over. Have you all forgotten Misty and being there until the end of Johto? LOL

To attract female audience and old fans (like some of us) who had enough of the same formula (battle-filler-battle-filler)
The fact that Misty followed Ash during Johto makes me think that Serena might do the same and follow Ash to the next region, who knows? :O

I think Science brought us a great point. Seems like we have been making another mistake in addition to our first mistake of expecting too much. We expected that the date should be significant according to our cultural values- mostly American/Western. Now I did go around several places like YouTube and stuff where the gist of what the Japanese were saying was that, "I don't know what you guys are insinuating. The episode was fantastic!" Some even went to the extent of saying that this is the biggest hint yet that AmourShipping will be canon in the end, and the likelihood of that was boosted drastically.

Now while that may have been a bit of a stretch, it does seem like this episode was very rich in deep symbolism. I guess this was a sudden and unexpected source of optimism for those AmourShippers who seemed rather down in the dumps after the episode. Looks like this also sort of helps me push my Pacific Rim type love-story theory. No blatant romance, but deep, deep trust and support, and a very strong bond. And if you ask me, it is an equally beautiful story.

All in all, there is hope yet (a lot of it), and seems like we got a rather unexpected source of optimism. Thanks once again Science for bringing up an excellent point.

Optimism is the last thing we can lose
The question is, are the writers thinking on non-Japanese Amourshippers too? How much can they push the ship without affecting their own culture?

 

[pokesrini]

To attract female audience and old fans (like some of us) who had enough of the same formula (battle-filler-battle-filler)
The fact that Misty followed Ash during Johto makes me think that Serena might do the same and follow Ash to the next region, who knows? :O

Optimism is the last thing we can lose
The question is, are the writers thinking on non-Japanese Amourshippers too? How much can they push the ship without affecting their own culture?

I think that discussing about whether Serena might stay on, or whether Ash would continue to the next region at all, or such stuff is not worth at this point. We are still just 60 episodes into the XY saga, and while the various routes that the writers can take at this point are closing down one by one, there are still plenty. So let's discuss that at around XY120 if anything.

See...the ship can be canon too without affecting their culture. There are more than enough examples of animes with canon relationships. It is just that we need to understand the constraints of it, and adjust. And frankly, it isn't like it would be too much for us to think of it in their perspective. Like I mentioned, the subplot of Pacific Rim was perfectly understandable and incontrovertible at the end. Similarly the subplots of Naruto and the other animes were also more than satisfactory. So why not for Pokemon too? They are thinking of the worldwide fanbase. But that doesn't mean that they would bend backwards for us, especially when they really don't need to.