Not true for the anime. Whenever something anime related is displayed, it's always Ash and Pikachu, not only his Pikachu.
I would contend that as long as there's a Pikachu, a new protagonist would step in as the new face just fine after an initial transition.
In that case, they might as well continued the Mystery Dungeon shorts or episodes focused only on the Pokémon like the Tiny Trio Adventure episode. But it's don't.
They don't because they've pigeonholed themselves into the current format. A blank slate offers opportunities to reinvent the anime, while still retaining some core elements from how it's done now.
That's because One Piece is a highly planned out graphic novel series with a more mature demographic. And the only characters that stay are merely Ash, Pikachu, and the TRio. The latter on the other hand have been in danger many times of being replaced considering they can use the regional villain organizations but are only here because of fan popularity. Ash isn't Team Rocket. Not once have they thought of replacing Ash, everyone else but him since this is his journey.
That's exactly my point. Ash isn't a Bart Simpson, but neither is there an elaborate story planned out for the rest of his journey. He's basically plateau'd out in terms of development, scenarios he's been placed in, etc.
Team Rocket is kept for popularity, sure, but also because they serve a simple function of being the convenient episodic villain whenever the writers don't want to think too hard and need a convenient plot device for the heroes or COTD/POTD to blast off. They're also comic relief. The anime isn't about their journey.
Which he can... and will. All we know is that winning the League in the anime will make you the region's Champion. We haven't even seen the Champion challenging the E4 after becoming Champion.
When? Another 20 years from now?
The anime already takes several years per region, but at least, barring the Unova League fiasco, it always allowed Ash to go one step further as a trainer. After XY though, there's no more excuses. It needs to happen in the next five years, either at end of SM or in Gen 8.
The league is the culmination of all of Ash's efforts (capturing, raising, bonding with his team). It only happens once every 3 or 4 years. Most of the target audience might see 2 at most before they move on from the show. All they'll remember is yet another failure.
Yes, but not for Alola. Ash has different goals now that there isn't a league yet in Alola, which isn't a "rinse and repeat". He drops off his Pokémon at Oak's to showcase and use the new region's Pokémon and challenges the regional League on his own. Adding a new protagonist won't change the anime's "rinse and repeat" status quo since you've reduced it to just Ash getting new Pokémon, dropping it off at Professor Oak's ranch, and competing in the League. Yes anyone can do that, which is why Ash has new traveling companions every saga yet it won't change anything if Ash is replaced.
Alola isn't
that different either. It's still a collection quest, where instead of gyms, Ash completes Grand Trials and earns Z-Crystals instead of badges. We don't yet know how the end-game of SM will play out with regards to the league that Kukui is trying to build.
You're assuming there won't be any change. There are numerous ways to go about with a fresh slate. There may be more recurring Pokemon and characters (unlike in the current anime where they're never seen again), episode sequences not centered around the MC but with another character elsewhere, etc.
You might say, "Well they can do that with Ash." Yes, they theoretically could, but they clearly are complacent with this rinse-and-repeat format. A blank slate would give them freedom to reinvent the show. Besides, more importantly, Ash's journey as it is right now needs to end.
And that's a good thing? Unless you're one of those fans who think Pokémon should mature simply because you're older, I don't think it'll change much. Only we've had that was with Alan and despite people loving (or hating) him, the Mega Evolution Acts were merely a set up to a bigger arc.
Of course it's a good thing. Allowing an iconic character to finally achieve his goal and going off a high note after so many years would be poignant and memorable.
???? Uh... this show has ALWAYS been Ash centric.
Um, yes, that is what I said...?
If there's anything this show ever taught you, it was that no one, even the best of the best, gets to achieve their final goal even if he/she "deserves" it.
Because that's a positive message? That works once or twice, maybe thrice, but when it's the case for the
sixth time in 20+ years, that's BS.
I saw no inevitable end after the end of DP. Ash learned from his mistakes, took in the advice and experience he encountered, and continued on to his journey. Ash is going to have more goals, obstacles, and milestones in his career.
What other goals? He's only ever had a single major, true goal. What other obstacles and milestones are there for him that he hasn't yet achieved since the start of the show?
There's reasons on why they don't clearly define what a Pokémon Master is.
It doesn't matter. They've very clearly established that winning a league is
the big goal for Ash.
What? His personality doesn't change each region. Yes we see certain sides of him given the situation but his whole character hasn't changed. And a generic slate? That's funny considering some people has always found him to be generic or boring no matter how mature or competent battler he is perceived.
So you're honestly telling me that the Ash in DP, BW, XY, and SM was the same and consistent? Well obviously, if you're putting the least common denominator as "He's nice and loves Pokemon" then yeah anybody would be the 'same.'
So it's less disrespectful for the staff to just write him off? To give up on him for a young, fresh face no one won't know nor care about at first?
Allowing Ash to succeed and go off on a high note is the complete opposite of disrespectful.
Lol, that's true for any show that has a new character...
His big goal isn't just merely winning a League. It's becoming a Pokémon Master, an undefinable goal he himself may not know what it's entirely about but the journey itself that he experiences that counts. Given the actions he shown, he may want to win the regional League but even if he doesn't, he doesn't let the loss bring him down and is only competing just to face off against strong Trainers. He wouldn't have even stayed in Alola if he was only in it to win the League but we know he has other priorities.
At the end of the day, it's what he competes for in each region: leagues, Battle Frontier, Orange Islands challenge, Alola trials. Obviously, the journey matters, but that journey is because he has a goal that he wants to achieve.
Dragging Ash for another 10 years and denying him that when it's far past time for him to do so is the epitome of lack of loyalty to a protagonist.
The anime /=/ the games. We're not in control of Ash and if we were, he would surely win the League in a single region. But sadly, he is merely an average Trainer. Poor Ash, people will only like him if he wins the League.
..... Now that's the real joke.
Except the anime has made it very clear now that he's no longer just an "average" trainer. He has the maturity, skills and Pokemon that he's raised to
easily win a league.
Considering that you said that a lot of people think he's a joke for not winning a single League (ignoring the Orange Islands League) and continue to mention the sagas where he was ranked best, yes, he is just league ranks or he must be some stoic/serious/non bumbling idiot a.k.a. "mature", and strong battler to you. His career is his representative of his character growth. Ignore that he showed maturity or any of his regular traits in that inferior BW or SM sagas.
-.- Don't twist my words. I don't know where you're getting that I'm saying "maturity" = "stoic" or that BW and SM are inferior.
It's not my problem the anime had consistency from OS-DP in depicting on a broad-scale a clear arc in terms of how his personality grew as well as training skills. I don't mind SM Ash, but I'm not going to pretend there are no fluctuations of how he was in BW to XY to SM.
Or maybe it's because he has a never ending journey? I don't know, they've been doing quite a lot with his character lately that wasn't out of character or reimagining him as something he's not like those iterations of Mickey Mouse.
A "never ending journey" doesn't quite work when the anime itself has demonstrated his growth as a person, and the upward trend of results. In fact, after XY, they've basically reached the 'end-game' of the show as it is right now, which is winning a league.
Because he isn't what you imagine him to act like? He isn't consistently ranking up in the League? Ash's character/personality has always been clear throughout the sagas. Yes he grew out of his old antics but he wasn't some great character that stopped developing after DP. Saying he's only friendly and enthusiastic about Pokémon is just overly simplifying his character.
That's precisely what you're doing though. You're simplifying his character if you're arguing that he's been the same and that his character makes sense from DP-SM.
It's not what I'm imagining. The show
has had him consistently rank up in every series but BW, to the point that the only thing left is winning the league.
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This, too. Ash's core personality has never changed. Sure, he has matured over the course of the anime, but to say that his personality is changed to suit the current series is an insult to his character, IMO, and ignores the fact that his core personality has been an unchanging element of his character since the beginning.
It's not insulting. It's the truth. BW goes for a 'reset' - Ash behaves more "like a kid" and his Kanto self. XY goes for an action-packed, 'Ash rules' saga - he's depicted as the cool, brave leader. SM goes a slice-of-life slapstick comedy - he's overly enthusiastic (contrast that to his mellowed out DP persona).
Of course his "core" will be the same, but that doesn't deny that he has been molded to fit the series tonality in BW/XY/SM.