How do you expect the writers to go about writing the 8th gen?

[AznKei]

It's not just arc development though, it's agency and charisma. The ongoing problem throughout the anime is that we have several characters that do ALL the goal arcs/comedy/battling/pathos while the others stand around being dead weight (hell for a long while such a role could practically be termed "The Brock"). Ash for example is doing fine right now despite not being that dynamic a character because he's colourful and versatile enough to keep himself busy, the others despite having MORE potential for fleshing out spend way more time just standing there in the background.

I mean, when your co-star does all the exciting work, takes all the slapstick abuse, and has all the charming interactions while you....maybe get in the odd exposition or snarky line or two, of course you're going to be seen as a far more useless and boring addition, arc potential or not. It's like trying to compare Buster Keaton against some prima donna who doesn't do their own stunts and half asses all their lines in one take.

Sorry, I just don't want him period, not even as a deuteragonist. At this point, he's just too influencial to the anime so they most likely going to abuse him in the long run. Sure, I praised the Power Of Us movie by having the cast balanced, but it's something that could only work in a movie format, and he's still got most of the fights in the movie. That's why it wouldn't work in a anime format, unless the anime producers are really willing to put much more effort to the companions/classmates in the long run.

 

[Redstar45]

So long as they give the new character proper screentime and a characterisation that is allowed to equal him in agency and charm it can surely be done. Hell the new characters have more potential to be compelling because they can be given more dynamic development and even more intricate backstories than Ash. SM to me succeeds when they actually bother with the supporting cast, it's major error is having jarringly large factors it doesn't try at all, with absurdly stagnant or sometimes bland teams and too many episodes Ash is the only one contributing anything to the plot.

The AF arc was a downgrade from the games for example, but it shown this setup well enough, with Lillie being the more central focus but Ash still having a major supporting role.

Well i think give Satoshi his own story won't be able ruined main Pokemon anime show with new characters that would refresh the series overall and they could definitely be not worried about the game aspects too much
and tell the stories way that feel naturally and workable and might give his rest of Pokemon that anime could not do with him kept going to one region to another as well .
Give os-sm cast more to do then doing nothing or have stupid filler that wasting our times
Since the movie have nothing to do with the Pokemon anime show anymore this could definitely help canon!Satoshi have a END to his own character development and arc too.

 

[DatsRight]

The sad thing is that BW is arguably the one case they tried to maintain even limelight for all the protagonists, though even then possibly only because they cut corners other places like dumbing down Ash continuity wise and robbing Team Rocket of their personalities for a long duration instead.

 

[Kintaro]

Cilan was actually handled very well for a male companion for most of BW, it's just his flamboyant personality wasn't for everyone although I personally liked him. I also liked that Iris/Cilan were actually given rivals unlike Misty/Brock, although they were generally treated like fodder.

In some ways Iris/Cilan were handled a bit better than Misty/Brock but in other ways they were not. Regarding Iris probably a lot of the dislike she got wouldn't have happened if the writers made her more cutesy and carefree and never tried to repeat Misty's dynamic with her, but made her more like a fun loving jungle child. Besides that and handle her pokemon a bit better in particular Axew and Dragonite in general. But I guess it doesn't matter now, BW is nearly a decade old already, lol

 

[Nodame]

I don’t mind Ash, but not XY Ash.

I care mostly about the female leads in this show, I want a female character with a fun personality and a battle oriented goal with lots of action and cute Pokémon.

 

[Redstar45]

I don’t mind Ash, but not XY Ash.

I care mostly about the female leads in this show, I want a female character with a fun personality and a battle oriented goal with lots of action and cute Pokémon.

Well the chance of that is kind low as writers team don't seem think like us Westerners fan

 

[Nodame]

Well the chance of that is kind low as writers team don't seem think like us Westerners fan

Dawn had a co star role and May was pretty close. It’s not impossible to have a female with similar role for Gen8.

 

[Kintaro]

Serena's role in the later half of XY increased, but since showcases only went on for less than 2 years it went by very quickly. I wonder if the writers thought XY would go on for 4 years like AG and DP did, then it would have made more sense why the pacing in the first year of XY was rather slow especially with Serena. I would have loved it if her arc started around XY20 or so rather than Xy59, we could have seen her get at least 4 pokemon and get more focus to herself in terms of goal or even battles.

 

[DatsRight]

Serena's role in the later half of XY increased, but since showcases only went on for less than 2 years it went by very quickly. I wonder if the writers thought XY would go on for 4 years like AG and DP did, then it would have made more sense why the pacing in the first year of XY was rather slow especially with Serena. I would have loved it if her arc started around XY20 or so rather than Xy59, we could have seen her get at least 4 pokemon and get more focus to herself in terms of goal or even battles.

The pacing for SM was even worse though. I think the writers would have caught onto the pattern by now.

 

[MidnightMelody]

To be fair I don't think anything can be said until we see the region. For the most art every series minus SM has had the same vibe. SM had a different one due to the chill vibe of Alola. With that said if Gen 8 goes back to the pre Gen 7 vibe I am expecting it to be more like the other series. We might keep the same art style not sure but we might have one more similar to the older one. If Gen 8 is for example is much more story and action focused I doubt they will do another slice of life/comedy series. The truth is Gen 7 would not have worked with the older style and while I am not a big fan of it I have come to accept it. Even if Gen 8 doesn't do gyms as long as it does more of a "action quest" story I think the anime will be ok.

The pacing for SM was even worse though. I think the writers would have caught onto the pattern by now.

TBH I feel SM got good once the Guzzlord two parter began. It seems the forced comedy has been reduced a lot

 

[Spider-Phoenix]

TBH I feel SM got good once the Guzzlord two parter began. It seems the forced comedy has been reduced a lot

I think that happened after the timeslot change (in Japan). The comedy became less forced and the episodes felt better overall. The only exceptions were

Spoiler: Spoiler

Eevee's capture and misty/brock return

Which were episodes I didn't like. But all the others were a lot more likeable.

I feel like the production finally found its footing in regards to how this series should be. But that's just me.

 

[mehmeh1]

I think that happened after the timeslot change (in Japan). The comedy became less forced and the episodes felt better overall. The only exceptions were

Spoiler: Spoiler

Eevee's capture and misty/brock return

Which were episodes I didn't like. But all the others were a lot more likeable.

I feel like the production finally found its footing in regards to how this series should be. But that's just me.

what happened with the quote? It said shoz999 said it, even though it was midnightmelody

 

[Kintaro]

I actually thought the first year of SM was the weakest but liked 2018's episodes a lot better. The first year had some really bad comedy and it took awhile for Ash and his team and the other characters to get focus. In 2018 they started better focusing on everyone and recurring characters.

 

[DatsRight]

Season One I think was the most rounded year and when things were most running at a smooth enough rate. Season Two had most of the main issues with the series start to sink in (uneven pacing and character focus, MASS filler, stagnancy in teams) but it had some nice experiments with storylines and dynamics. I'm guessing Season Three is starting somewhere around this point.

 

[LilligantLewis]

I don't really think we'll get a Dawn-like role for a female lead again, if only because we're 3 gens later and they seem content not to do it anymore.

Do you think the writers knew before DP started it was going to last 4 years? Because that's the only way to have enough time to have two lead roles.

And who knows! Maybe they'll stretch Gen VIII out to 4 years with the first games, then a third game/sequels, then Sinnoh remakes, then Let's GO! Pichu and Togepi

although they were generally treated like fodder.

nah, Iris didn't even beat Georgia until WTJC, and even there it was only because Dragonite didn't listen to her. She didn't even have a legit win over Georgia the whole generation.

 

[Kintaro]

I think Dawn only got a co-star role because it was a natural successor with what they started with May. The Misty ---> May ----> Dawn transition naturally had each main girl getting a bigger role than the previous.

Then they stopped that because Iris/Cilan were meant to mirror the original trio, and Serena's role was bigger than hers but not as big as past girls and Bonnie also got some focus, and now we have the 3 SM girls sharing spotlight. So for the most part they never went back to it.

 

[AznKei]

I think Dawn only got a co-star role because it was a natural successor with what they started with May. The Misty ---> May ----> Dawn transition naturally had each main girl getting a bigger role than the previous.

Then they stopped that because Iris/Cilan were meant to mirror the original trio, and Serena's role was bigger than hers but not as big as past girls and Bonnie also got some focus, and now we have the 3 SM girls sharing spotlight. So for the most part they never went back to it.

It's disappointing really. You have fans who really care about the recent Pokegirls and the anime producers are making insufficient efforts to develop them.

 

[DatsRight]

It's disappointing really. You have fans who really care about the recent Pokegirls and the anime producers are making insufficient efforts to develop them.

It's a shame really, despite the creative team in earlier days stating outright that the girls were only there for eye candy, there did ironically seem more of an attempt to make them characters. Even Misty was designed less around her gender and more as a character and foil (and the living definition of "Not so above it all"). She did slip out of focus in Johto, but there were still moments they tried to bring back her old personality.

Right now it actually feels like they're struggling to care about the girls this series (despite adapting one of the most iconic and sympathetic females in the entire franchise), and in spite of the new found leeway in formula, they're much more restricted to gender based roles, generally only doing the cutesy stuff and having less emphasis on actual flaws and personal challenges, things necessary to make them compelling protagonists. The show even seems to be slipping in and out with the "girls don't ever get hit" approach at times now, which in a very slapstick heavy series, is very detrimental to how much of a role they can have. It's glaring some episodes choose to barely even feature the girls, making it about the only series the male companions aren't the third wheels.

I really don't want the anime to end up one of "those" shows, the ones we've seen a billion times before where the boy protagonists do all the fun stuff and have most of the complex attributes and development (if usually at the expense of representing all the negative qualities of the dynamic) while the girl protagonists are just feminine sheets of cardboard unable to do any role higher than a straight man. If anything I loved how the anime was one of the few aversions of this out of cartoons I usually watched at the time, but if this keeps up Gen 8 may have the most boring female companion yet.

 

[Pokegirl Fan~]

It's a shame really, despite the creative team in earlier days stating outright that the girls were only there for eye candy, there did ironically seem more of an attempt to make them characters. Even Misty was designed less around her gender and more as a character and foil (and the living definition of "Not so above it all"). She did slip out of focus in Johto, but there were still moments they tried to bring back her old personality.

Right now it actually feels like they're struggling to care about the girls this series (despite adapting one of the most iconic and sympathetic females in the entire franchise), and in spite of the new found leeway in formula, they're much more restricted to gender based roles, generally only doing the cutesy stuff and having less emphasis on actual flaws and personal challenges, things necessary to make them compelling protagonists. The show even seems to be slipping in and out with the "girls don't ever get hit" approach at times now, which in a very slapstick heavy series, is very detrimental to how much of a role they can have. It's glaring some episodes choose to barely even feature the girls, making it about the only series the male companions aren't the third wheels.

I really don't want the anime to end up one of "those" shows, the ones we've seen a billion times before where the boy protagonists do all the fun stuff and have most of the complex attributes and development (if usually at the expense of representing all the negative qualities of the dynamic) while the girl protagonists are just feminine sheets of cardboard unable to do any role higher than a straight man. If anything I loved how the anime was one of the few aversions of this out of cartoons I usually watched at the time, but if this keeps up Gen 8 may have the most boring female companion yet.

It already is one of those shows, and has mostly been one of those shows, especially during the past 2 series. We haven't had one female companion that's truly a serious and competent battler and the ones that do have a battling goal, it's more only for performing and such and lack the competence.

That's why I have no hope for the female companion next series and I doubt the series in general will even be good at all

 

[DatsRight]

It already is one of those shows, and has mostly been one of those shows, especially during the past 2 series. We haven't had one female companion that's truly a serious and competent battler and the ones that do have a battling goal, it's more only for performing and such and lack the competence.

That's why I have no hope for the female companion next series and I doubt the series in general will even be good at all

Well, I suppose the 'bro' focus is a nice change (Kiawe and Sophocles are the two that usually get the best moments besides Ash because of this, rather than being the usual inactive male companions).

It's odd in the case of SM though, the lead writer is female, you'd think this series would have the most open minded approach to developing girl protagonists rather than firing blanks.