Blastmaster
Well-Known Member
This forum has a reputation for arguing in circles and sticking adamantly to certain opinions no matter what. I can't really change that, but I'm curious as to what opinions actually have changed, for better or worse.
OS hasn't changed too much for me, I don't think it's aged well in most departments. That said, I've gotten a lot more appreciation for its comedic dialogue, which even I have to admit is still the best to this day. It does really make me wish they'd kept Ash's snarky edge moving forward.
AG's gone down somewhat because of the highly aged animation and just having a lot of awkward middle child syndrome. I respect that it changed a lot for its time, but compared to what we have nowadays it does feel very "safe" for the most part.
DP unsurprisingly has pretty steadily increased over time, though for different reasons than you might think. It's actually Dawn and Piplup that have grown on me the most. I think they easily earn their main character status the most out of all the main cast, and Dawn's relationship with Ash is probably my favorite in the show, compared to years ago when I found them to be nothing special. The angle they took with Paul also only gets better for me the older I get. That said, I do understand the criticisms about pacing and filler formula.
BW I've actually softened up on a good amount. While I don't find it great or anything, I have more appreciation for its changes to the TR formula (though I still have issues with them) and the semi-frequent battle tournaments, which are actually really well done.
XY has soured significantly over the years, which probably won't come as much of a surprise. I actually loved it when it was airing, but rewatching it and reading others' thoughts kills sooo much of the hype factor that really carried it for me in retrospect. I'm also a lot harsher on the Superman-esque interpretation of Ash in this series, which I don't think has aged well. With that in mind, I respect Alain a lot more than I used to. I have my issues with him, but the "victory is boring" trope they used with him is actually pretty admirable.
SM... really hasn't changed much for me, though I was never all that hard on it to begin with. It's mostly just okay on average with a few really amazing moments sprinkled here and there. Breaking the formula has its merits but it still has a lot of the anime's inherent flaws.
OS hasn't changed too much for me, I don't think it's aged well in most departments. That said, I've gotten a lot more appreciation for its comedic dialogue, which even I have to admit is still the best to this day. It does really make me wish they'd kept Ash's snarky edge moving forward.
AG's gone down somewhat because of the highly aged animation and just having a lot of awkward middle child syndrome. I respect that it changed a lot for its time, but compared to what we have nowadays it does feel very "safe" for the most part.
DP unsurprisingly has pretty steadily increased over time, though for different reasons than you might think. It's actually Dawn and Piplup that have grown on me the most. I think they easily earn their main character status the most out of all the main cast, and Dawn's relationship with Ash is probably my favorite in the show, compared to years ago when I found them to be nothing special. The angle they took with Paul also only gets better for me the older I get. That said, I do understand the criticisms about pacing and filler formula.
BW I've actually softened up on a good amount. While I don't find it great or anything, I have more appreciation for its changes to the TR formula (though I still have issues with them) and the semi-frequent battle tournaments, which are actually really well done.
XY has soured significantly over the years, which probably won't come as much of a surprise. I actually loved it when it was airing, but rewatching it and reading others' thoughts kills sooo much of the hype factor that really carried it for me in retrospect. I'm also a lot harsher on the Superman-esque interpretation of Ash in this series, which I don't think has aged well. With that in mind, I respect Alain a lot more than I used to. I have my issues with him, but the "victory is boring" trope they used with him is actually pretty admirable.
SM... really hasn't changed much for me, though I was never all that hard on it to begin with. It's mostly just okay on average with a few really amazing moments sprinkled here and there. Breaking the formula has its merits but it still has a lot of the anime's inherent flaws.