One good reason Ash can't age

[jireh the provider]

And speaking of his age, as someone that lost track of the anime series of Pokemon, if they let him grow up and deal with non-shounen topics (aka topics and conflicts of common adulthood, then that gives a complicated conundrum.). Thus, for me, if he starts to grow, the shounen aspect may as well be dropped and start having adulthood themes similar to captain bebop (I don't know the Japanese term for Older Male Adults)

 

[Aduro]

And speaking of his age, as someone that lost track of the anime series of Pokemon, if they let him grow up and deal with non-shounen topics (aka topics and conflicts of common adulthood, then that gives a complicated conundrum.). Thus, for me, if he starts to grow, the shounen aspect may as well be dropped and start having adulthood themes similar to captain bebop (I don't know the Japanese term for Older Male Adults)

Do you mean seinen? And Cowboy Bebop? If so that really means over 18 stuff, and I don't want pokemon to go that far, I mean having a characters like Faye or Vicious from Bebop would be far too dark for a franchise for kids or a seinen's level of sex, drugs or murder.

 

[Mrs. Oreo]

And speaking of his age, as someone that lost track of the anime series of Pokemon, if they let him grow up and deal with non-shounen topics (aka topics and conflicts of common adulthood, then that gives a complicated conundrum.). Thus, for me, if he starts to grow, the shounen aspect may as well be dropped and start having adulthood themes similar to captain bebop (I don't know the Japanese term for Older Male Adults)

The thing is, the franchise in general is typically of the shonen genre, so adult themes wouldn't work well any ways even if he aged. ^^;

 

[Ofrea123]

Wasnt he only stated to be 10 in the dubs? Any statements made in dub are just not accurate :/

 

[Mrs. Oreo]

Wasnt he only stated to be 10 in the dubs? Any statements made in dub are just not accurate :/

No he was stated to be ten even in the Japanese version, most recently in the Hoopa film quiz.

 

[Bahmo]

The Pokemon series has quite a lot of things in it that don't lend themselves to very adult material, but the only thing that is really keeping Ash ten is their keeping him as the focus. They could just as easily cater to a ten-year-old audience with new characters that are ten each generation.

 

[RedJirachi]

The Pokemon series has quite a lot of things in it that don't lend themselves to very adult material, but the only thing that is really keeping Ash ten is their keeping him as the focus. They could just as easily cater to a ten-year-old audience with new characters that are ten each generation.

They can't cater to the target demographic with an 11-year old? Because they did that in the original games with Red, and no-one made a fuss out of it. No reason why Ash can't become eleven already

 

[Bguy7]

They can't cater to the target demographic with an 11-year old? Because they did that in the original games with Red, and no-one made a fuss out of it. No reason why Ash can't become eleven already

But can you give me a good reason why he should be 11? It would literally change nothing, so might as well keep the status quo, especially since Ash's character is built around being a 10 year old kid at this point.

 

[Bahmo]

But can you give me a good reason why he should be 11? It would literally change nothing, so might as well keep the status quo, especially since Ash's character is built around being a 10 year old kid at this point.

Ash's character is built around striving to win leagues, too, but he's not allowed to win them. If their reason to keep him ten and keep him there is to pander to children, then it must be acknowledged they can't even pander right, because the children playing the video games and card games this anime is ostensibly a commercial for have a desire to win. I'm guessing many actual ten-year-olds accomplish more in their Pokemon games than Ash does, long before they turn eleven!

What, I repeat, what is the appeal of this squeaky-voiced, one-dimensional, oblivious, perpetual loser?! It's been posted that he's popular in Japan, but why? How can they even have any idea how much it's Ash that's popular and not other things about the series, when they don't try to test that theory by shutting him out? I really think there's nothing going on here other than Japan's excessive tenure culture, wherein it's seen as a moral obligation to keep people employed in jobs they prove they can do, even if their utility to consumers is execrably mediocre. Mind you; America's "customer is always right" ethos has its own problems, but Pokemon is a consumer series; the company should try to account for diminishing returns.

 

[tommytoe]

What, I repeat, what is the appeal of this squeaky-voiced, one-dimensional, oblivious, perpetual loser?! It's been posted that he's popular in Japan, but why? How can they even have any idea how much it's Ash that's popular and not other things about the series, when they don't try to test that theory by shutting him out? I really think there's nothing going on here other than Japan's excessive tenure culture, wherein it's seen as a moral obligation to keep people employed in jobs they prove they can do, even if their utility to consumers is execrably mediocre. Mind you; America's "customer is always right" ethos has its own problems, but Pokemon is a consumer series; the company should try to account for diminishing returns.

The anime staff will probably have to pretty soon, whether they want to or not. The show's ratings have been dropping consistently for several years now so without some sort of change to the status quo, the anime might well be cancelled.

 

[Bguy7]

Ash's character is built around striving to win leagues, too, but he's not allowed to win them. If their reason to keep him ten and keep him there is to pander to children, then it must be acknowledged they can't even pander right, because the children playing the video games and card games this anime is ostensibly a commercial for have a desire to win. I'm guessing many actual ten-year-olds accomplish more in their Pokemon games than Ash does, long before they turn eleven!

I'm failing to see your point. It looks like arguing against Ash in general, not arguing that he should age.

What, I repeat, what is the appeal of this squeaky-voiced, one-dimensional, oblivious, perpetual loser?! It's been posted that he's popular in Japan, but why? How can they even have any idea how much it's Ash that's popular and not other things about the series, when they don't try to test that theory by shutting him out? I really think there's nothing going on here other than Japan's excessive tenure culture, wherein it's seen as a moral obligation to keep people employed in jobs they prove they can do, even if their utility to consumers is execrably mediocre. Mind you; America's "customer is always right" ethos has its own problems, but Pokemon is a consumer series; the company should try to account for diminishing returns.

I find him appealing because he's the character I've grown up with. But with that aside, I see no reason to dislike him either. He's not a perpetual loser, as he wins 95% of his battles. Yes he loses in leagues, but those are justified losses, as he's up against the best of the best. Squeaky-voiced? Are you complaining about the voice acting or just about the age? Either way a new character wouldn't change much on either front, as he'd still be a kid and the voice actor would be one that sounds like a kid as well. One-dimensional and oblivious, I'll give you those, but I question what's wrong with the oblivious part.

 

[tommytoe]

To add on to Bguy's points, if you're that negative towards the show, why even watch it? I hardly ever watch it anymore but when I do, it's more of a "so bad it's good" sort of thing. But going by your criticisms (which I think are all valid for the record), it sounds like the show doesn't even work for you on that level.

 

[U.N. Owen]

To add on to Bguy's points, if you're that negative towards the show, why even watch it? I hardly ever watch it anymore but when I do, it's more of a "so bad it's good" sort of thing. But going by your criticisms (which I think are all valid for the record), it sounds like the show doesn't even work for you on that level.

Pardon me, but there are those fans who wish to see if the show gets better. I admit, I dislike the show, but there are parts I truly enjoy.

 

[Bahmo]

Pardon me, but there are those fans who wish to see if the show gets better. I admit, I dislike the show, but there are parts I truly enjoy.

Nailed it.

I've only seen a bit of the anime post-G2, and it's not all that terrible; plus the generations I still watched were by no means flawless, but they had heart going for them. The bonds Ash had with both his Pokemon and human companions were what made the series endearing. However, everything about that gets undermined when Ash's friends are treated as dispensable. Simultaneously, there's the nagging feeling Ash could win leagues if he just kept and training his more powerful Pokemon instead of swapping out for new, inexperienced ones. Ash doesn't work as a hero for me because he doesn't correct for his big faults and he's void of an ethical base; this is doubly true because the answer is right in front of him constantly.

So to answer Bguy's questions, what switching out Ash for a new child would change for me is it would lend more dignity to the series. A show that ultimately exists to sell things isn't exactly wholesome to begin with, but it's totally possible to advertise for new regions and new Pokemon without having to make an old character throw out his old friends in favor of then; if only they chose to promote the latest generation with a new character who started with them. That they don't is what tilts the balance from a petty extended commercial to a petty and reprehensible extended commercial. Children deserve role models; a guy who will just dump his friends and has a broken work ethic is no good role model.

 

[Bguy7]

Maybe he could win a league, but would he be a better trainer? Not necessarily. By constantly rotating his team and training a new set of Pokemon every region Ash is giving himself a broader range of experience by working with a large variety of Pokemon, experience that he would never gain working only with the same six. There's more to being a good trainer than just having powerful Pokemon, and it is arguable that the experience gained by working with a multitude of Pokemon is more important than having six powerful Pokemon.

So to answer Bguy's questions, what switching out Ash for a new child would change for me is it would lend more dignity to the series. A show that ultimately exists to sell things isn't exactly wholesome to begin with, but it's totally possible to advertise for new regions and new Pokemon without having to make an old character throw out his old friends in favor of then; if only they chose to promote the latest generation with a new character who started with them. That they don't is what tilts the balance from a petty extended commercial to a petty and reprehensible extended commercial. Children deserve role models; a guy who will just dump his friends and has a broken work ethic is no good role model.

In what way does Ash abandon his friends? When it comes to his human friends, they leave him because their paths are separate from Ash's, not because Ash is dumping them. And his Pokemon friends are far from abandoned. Ash uses them from time to time in leagues and other important battles, and checks in on them while they're at Oak's lab.

 

[JudySpell]

Pardon me, but there are those fans who wish to see if the show gets better. I admit, I dislike the show, but there are parts I truly enjoy.

Would Ash aging really change the show for the better though?? Him growing up just seems trivial to me.

 

[U.N. Owen]

Would Ash aging really change the show for the better though?? Him growing up just seems trivial to me.

Short version: A snowball's chance in hell.

Long version: The problem of Ash does not lie within the age, but rather the character itself. His job as the idealization of a pokemon trainer is literally his only train besides gluttony. He doesn't have varied interest. When he reacts to the villains, he reacts as if they were Team Rocket no matter how horrible they are. Ash has so little characterization that some people have made the argument that he is not even a character. He is a skin little kids can put on when they play the game. Personally, you could replace Ash with any of the game protagonists and nothing would change except I would be complaining about that character.

 

[Mrs. Oreo]

They can't cater to the target demographic with an 11-year old? Because they did that in the original games with Red, and no-one made a fuss out of it. No reason why Ash can't become eleven already

Good point but to be fair even if he becomes eleven, I dunno if it would be significant cuz I'm sure he'd still look and act somewhat the same as he does now. :]

 

[tommytoe]

Good point but to be fair even if he becomes eleven, I dunno if it would be significant cuz I'm sure he'd still look and act somewhat the same as he does now. :]

Without showing more aspects of his personality, a sense of consistent character development and the like, I don't think Ash turning 11, 12 or 20 would help anything. For me, the way he's written is much more important than his age.

 

[hanniebanans]

Maybe he's doomed to be 10 forever.