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New 11 episode series, "Pocket Monsters: Mezase Pokemon Master", starts January 13th 2023

SunGodNika1997

You can call me Tanner.
Maybe it's the collective negativity finally getting to me, but as someone that's been mostly enthusiastic and open-minded towards MPM, even I'm starting to feel numb towards it at this point. Might have been an alright conclusion if this was done nearly a decade and a half ago, but both the series and Ash have changed so much that it's just baffling that they decided to go out this way. I still view MPM as a symptom of the greater issues with JN, but it's still frustrating to watch it play out this way.

I have so many mixed feelings. I will still most definitely be sad to see Ash go. In spite of the fact that his journey lasted far longer than it should have, Ash and the Pokemon anime were an important part of my childhood and development, and seeing them leave is a bitter pill to take in some regards. With that being said, the end of Ash's journey can't come soon enough, as mediocre as it might end up being. Change is hard, but change is also needed. I've seen enough of the new series to be reassured of a brighter future for the Pokemon anime. We can only hope they've learned from the many shortcomings of the Ash anime.

EDIT: As an additional, I make it no secret that I have an undying love for OS. It is near and dear to my heart on a personal level that I can't even begin to dive into on this thread. However, MPM serves as a cautionary tale that sometimes the thing you really love is best left in its original form. It might seem like a great idea to bring things back to formula (*insert Norman Osborn meme here*), but more often than not it's going to feel like an all-style, no-substance recreation, and that's part of the problem we have before us.
 
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Blood Red

【推しの子】
I don't get the fascination with Mt. Silver of all things, for me that's the most edgy part of the 'Redification' of Ash if you will. Vanishing from the region and going alone to a snowy mountainous place....it worked well for the games as a coolness factor but just doesn't for Ash's character in the anime. Especially when it's been established Mt. Silver isn't really a training hub either in the anime
…yeah, that’s the joke.
 
I don’t think anyone was expecting Shakespearean writing. Obviously this show has always been glorified marketing and full of surface-level writing, poor pacing, missed opportunities, repetitive formulaic episodes, Team Rocket ad nauseum, and one of the slowest developments of a character ever (while still refusing to age him).

However, was is really hard to ask for more episodes in Journeys with old companions returning and getting updates for their ‘future’ ahead? Or even more obvious: having Ash’s old Pokémon come back and battle in the PWC seemed like a no-brainer decision. C’mon, it’s been so many years since Charizard got a proper battle.

I mean, whatever, at least a lot of old companions got post-series episodes in earlier series and we generally know where they’re at and what they’re doing. As for the reserves, at least they helped train the JN team to reach ultimate glory. It is what it is.

However, for the last 11 episodes, did we really need a quieter conclusion of random fillers?

It could have been 1 episode devoted to each series. As in Ash spends an episode with each of his regional teams and there could have been a montage of him remembering that respective series and companions. That’s half the episode. There still would have been room for a random POTD/COTD or TR plot, and/or Latias can still follow Ash.

Just something that would have signified tribute and a proper bookend to a 26-year-running show. That’s all.

The fact that somebody could watch these episodes and not realize that Ash’s story is ending says something.

Yeah, we probably shouldn’t have been this invested in the show. But I thought the staff would try a little harder.
These are my feelings 100%, you come to trust the writers, you start to hope but naah, plus the marketing team are hype experts, but then you always get disappointed. Awful.

Great montage, despite everything, it's great to remember all the moments you love (In my case many episodes of kanto, contest, paul, greninja, purity and love of alola , ) I wish mpm would have met everyone's expectations, it sucks, but it is what it is, there is no point in continuing to complain about something that has already been done, it's over and we better remember the good moments
 

Dark_King25

Shillmon Defender
When you watch other anime, You see characters grow up and also become more relatable because they will probably experience the same things as you did as you age
then there’s Ashy Boy who will never grow up and it’s just annoying in the long run. It really pisses me off how annoyingly allergic the pokemon anime is to the concept of growing up
 

Morax

King of heroes
When you watch other anime, You see characters grow up and also become more relatable because they will probably experience the same things as you did as you age
then there’s Ashy Boy who will never grow up and it’s just annoying in the long run. It really pisses me off how annoyingly allergic the pokemon anime is to the concept of growing up
The problem isn't aging. The problem is that his character lacks depth. Think about it, what do you know about ash other than the fact that he likes Pokemon? His favourite colour? His favourite food? He's a completely blank slate
 

Satoshi no masara

Professional couch potato
Kinda hard to get emotional to see Ash go with how underwhelmed I felt in these past few episodes. Who knows, maybe episode 11 is where those emotions will finally kick in but for now, nothing in these "special" episodes is making me not want Ash go.
 

Rohanator

Well-Known Member
The problem isn't aging. The problem is that his character lacks depth. Think about it, what do you know about ash other than the fact that he likes Pokemon? His favourite colour? His favourite food? He's a completely blank slate
Ahem, his favourite colour is dark green and his favourite food are croquettes
 
The problem isn't aging. The problem is that his character lacks depth. Think about it, what do you know about ash other than the fact that he likes Pokemon? His favourite colour? His favourite food? He's a completely blank slate
The food that Brock prepares !!

His favorite color must definitely be blue, I mean look at Lucario and Greninja and Ash's clothing color

And let it be the last time you mess with my Ash !!!!
 

masdog

What is the airspeed of an unladen Swellow?
He's a completely blank slate
Some of those gaps are filled in like favorite food. But outside of that, I think this is intentional so that the target audience can project themselves on Ash.
 

Durrendal

Well-Known Member
Let's not blame the writers and showrunners for how PM2019 and MPM turned out. If your next project was set, didn't have to carry anything from your current and the directive is to wrap up this one, who is going to blame them for setting their to be expired project on fire?

They're probably saying it good riddance and dancing on Ash' figurative corpse.

It also now makes a lot of sense why Goh was created. To create a test case for another protagonist and to tarnish the current show to make way for a new one.
 

SunGodNika1997

You can call me Tanner.
Let's not blame the writers and showrunners for how PM2019 and MPM turned out. If your next project was set, didn't have to carry anything from your current and the directive is to wrap up this one, who is going to blame them for setting their to be expired project on fire?

They're probably saying it good riddance and dancing on Ash' figurative corpse.

It also now makes a lot of sense why Goh was created. To create a test case for another protagonist and to tarnish the current show to make way for a new one.
Really confused about the message here. Are you saying the writers and showrunners were dealt a bad hand, or that they intentionally sabotaged this last Ash outing in preparation for the new series?

In the case of the former, I'm not saying the showrunners should burn for their mistakes, but just because someone was dealt a bad hand doesn't mean you can't still criticize what they did with what they were given anyways.

As for the latter, that's just bordering on conspiracy. Purposely sabotaging the product to make way for something else is not a viable strategy in the real world.
 
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