Do we underappreciate filler too much?

[Sonnas]

I feel like in SM it strattles the line between which episode feels like filler or a plot important one since I feel like most of them are filler and only will be plot important when the writers want it to be that way.

 

[Leonhart]

I feel like in SM it strattles the line between which episode feels like filler or a plot important one since I feel like most of them are filler and only will be plot important when the writers want it to be that way.

In SM's defense, since it has a much different formula than previous sagas, I give it a pass in terms of its filler content since there was hardly a main subplot throughout the entire saga to begin with. I mean other than Satoshi attending school, he wasn't actively doing anything in particular for those three years he spent in Alola.

 

[DatsRight]

That's natural since few people get invested in the troubles that minor characters face, so by default the writers don't spend much time focusing on their Pokemon either. For some reason, I prefer fillers where the cast meets a wild Pokemon over fillers where they meet a COTD.

I tend to prefer episodes that focus more primarily on the main characters and their personalities driving things more than outside forces, even if it's just simple parables or gag episodes, it's nice to see cases where the protagonists have agency outside their goal focus or beating up bad guys. The main issue is that before SM, the show wasn't always great at blending these with the main formula, so often rather than any sort of satisfying third act, Team Rocket just sort of interrupted it and the early plot was just forgotten about.

 

[SerenaRulez]

I feel like in SM it strattles the line between which episode feels like filler or a plot important one since I feel like most of them are filler and only will be plot important when the writers want it to be that way.

SuMo had a lot of good fillers for the most part even though there were a few misfires there too haha. I think that SuMo being a slice of life series helped to make its fillers more tolerable.

 

[matt0044]

I think my favorite fillers are when Team Rocket takes center stage rather than be a go-to conflict for the twerps. Better yet, they should have their own b-plots in each episode separate from what Ash is doing, supplementing the episode rather than taking it over.

 

[Leonhart]

I think my favorite fillers are when Team Rocket takes center stage rather than be a go-to conflict for the twerps. Better yet, they should have their own b-plots in each episode separate from what Ash is doing, supplementing the episode rather than taking it over.

I also appreciate fillers where the Rocket-dan trio face a conflict other than them fighting Satoshi's group. Then again, the Ralts episode from AG was a filler and it had one of the best Rocket-dan battles of the whole series.

 

[Sonnas]

In SM's defense, since it has a much different formula than previous sagas, I give it a pass in terms of its filler content since there was hardly a main subplot throughout the entire saga to begin with. I mean other than Satoshi attending school, he wasn't actively doing anything in particular for those three years he spent in Alola.

And the Island challanges?

 

[game3524]

Yeah but the writers kinda suck at balancing out filler episodes to make them worth watching. They put in the least amount of effort developing the so called Pokemon of the day in fillers.

I don't think that is the problem.

The writers have proven that they can write worthwhile filler. The issue is Pokemon's length each series. Each series post Kanto/OI has been at least 140 episodes and Pokemon just doesn't have enough interesting content to have that many episodes, which is why we get so many duds in every series. The writers aren't perfect, but they are put in a tough position given the merchandise-driven nature of the series, which is out of their control.

 

[Leonhart]

And the Island challanges?

He participated in them yes but they weren't his main priority in that saga, at least not at first. They were just activities that he decided to do when the chance presented itself and a nice break from fillers. Not that I didn't enjoy the trial episodes somewhat overall, it's just that to me they seemed less important than Gym battles, especially since the Alola League didn't require Satoshi to participate in the trials, anyway.

 

[Sonnas]

He participated in them yes but they weren't his main priority in that saga, at least not at first. They were just activities that he decided to do when the chance presented itself and a nice break from fillers. Not that I didn't enjoy the trial episodes somewhat overall, it's just that to me they seemed less important than Gym battles, especially since the Alola League didn't require Satoshi to participate in the trials, anyway.

Then why include them in the first place if it wasn't required to for the League? Just to keep people's interegue when it'll only move when the writers want it to happen?

 

[AuraChannelerChris]

Nah.

We're doing just great at the amount we use.

 

[catzeye]

I think at times we do.

There are legitimate issues with some fillers being repetitive and forgettable. But there are really great fillers that give us unique character interactions, insights to personalities and sometimes just fun. Love! Petalburg Style remains one of my favorite episodes to day and that was filler. When filler is unique like that episode (and many of the OS and SM episodes) then I have no problem

I do have an issue with filler episodes that are unoriginal and take up valuable time towards more plot relevant things. For example, a lot of the AG filler could have been used to further the Aqua/Magma plot or give some spotlight to Max and Brock.

 

[Ubermuk]

I do have an issue with filler episodes that are unoriginal and take up valuable time towards more plot relevant things. For example, a lot of the AG filler could have been used to further the Aqua/Magma plot or give some spotlight to Max and Brock.

Yeah I dunno why the writers couldn't handle developing Team Magma and Aqua back then. They had so much game material that they could've adapted and it all went to waste.

 

[Leonhart]

Then why include them in the first place if it wasn't required to for the League? Just to keep people's interegue when it'll only move when the writers want it to happen?

My guess is that they were shown in the anime to promote the games, just like most other features and storylines. My point was simply that given SM's structure, it made sense that there was a lot of filler in between important events, yet that didn't stop the saga from being good towards the end.

 

[DatsRight]

It felt like after a while, the writers got so used to using COTD and Team Rocket as a crutch that they forgot how to do proper character stories anymore. Even basic parables tended to get cut short and just be about 'beat up Team Rocket' in a not so very connected way (in earlier episodes they at least tended to be more intrinsic to the story and offer a better challenge) with the characters seldom learning anything from the experience. Even some continuity episodes later on tended to cop out with the Team Rocket interruption plot because they couldn't play things out in a satisfying way (eg. the Florges vs Goodra feud arc somewhat unfluidly getting hijacked by them and then getting resolved too easily).

SM felt like an attempt to get the basics running again, with more tame character driven episodes where they do at least get some moderate personal challenges or experiences, even just simple ones like 'confessing to getting a fact wrong' or 'accepting when someone has to leave'. In fairness they were sometimes quite good at this, with us sometimes getting very poignant 'special' episodes looking into a character's background or insecurities. I kinda put SM on a similar boat as shows like New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh or Friendship is Magic in that while it's rather quiet and episodic light heartedness for the most part, it does try to have a lot of heart and give the characters a rather poignant amount of introspective. Even the plots that aren't as well executed often feel more fully realised than previous series, with the characters tending to have the correct roles and agency the whole way through rather than using the formula as an escape clause.

 

[Leonhart]

I didn't mind the Rocket-dan being used as crutches for filler episodes in the olden days since I quite liked them in OS and the early parts of AG. It's just that by the middle of Houen when we began getting a lot of filler episodes between Gyms and Contests, the constant barrage of Rocket-dan appearances in fillers began to wear on my nerves.

 

[DatsRight]

I didn't mind the Rocket-dan being used as crutches for filler episodes in the olden days since I quite liked them in OS and the early parts of AG. It's just that by the middle of Houen when we began getting a lot of filler episodes between Gyms and Contests, the constant barrage of Rocket-dan appearances in fillers began to wear on my nerves.

I think it's that oftentimes in earlier seasons, the episodes were more creative in bringing Team Rocket fluidly into a plot, or alternatively would fetch them out of it quickly enough to let the main story continue. As seasons continued, the stories got too diluted, or they'd essentially make the start of one and then have Team Rocket butt in and negate the necessity of a proper third act, just beat them and whatever happened in the episode beforehand will just be forgotten. Even the ways they got beaten no longer had any poetic link to the problems of the earlier story and became interchangable one sided battles. It didn't help that TR's chemistry with the protagonists began to dwindle by that point.

I feel that, while arc and goal focus on protagonists improved by this point in time, their actual agency and ability to progress stories just by personality and spontaneous contributions was beginning to dwindle (if not earlier in Johto in fact) and so the main formula got dumbed down to accommodate this. Some seasons would go in and out with this, but generally the formula felt increasingly less character driven as time went on, more just an automation button when they ran out of ideas.

 

[J Bouken]

I prefer to remove the label "filler" altogether and judge episodes on whether they're simply entertaining or not.

The least entertaining episodes tend to be the ones where the writers churned out the most basic of scripts because they just needed an episode for that week. It's hard to describe but you can immediately tell when watching.

Production plays a role as well, because the writers know these episodes are low priority for animation and therefore cannot be too adventurous with the scenario.

SM made these episodes more of a priority, so there was a higher number of weird and wonderful "filler" episodes. An episode about baseball for example becomes a lot more entertaining when they know the animators can have a blast with it.

 

[Ubermuk]

One thing that I wish is that fans wouldn't throw the word filler around like it's a curse word. It seems like immediately when we get a new episode that doesn't involve some major event people are quick to call it filler but that word has gotten a bad reputation. It's almost like a demeaning word used by fans who don't like slower and laid back episodes.

 

[Leonhart]

SM made these episodes more of a priority, so there was a higher number of weird and wonderful "filler" episodes. An episode about baseball for example becomes a lot more entertaining when they know the animators can have a blast with it.

I personally disliked that baseball episode, although it wasn't because it was filler, but rather because I'm simply not a fan of the sport. But I enjoyed the Nagetukesaru filler a lot more for instance because even though I wasn't a fan of the sports angle, I did like seeing one of my favorite Gen VII Pokemon star in it. In general, I can tolerate fillers that focus on a Pokemon that I like.