Seasonal Pokemon Anime?

[Jeal]

It's a great idea. I've thought of this several times. A 50 episodes anime every generation like Digimon would be very better.

 

[Power Up]

The biggest thing, and why seasonal anime wouldn't work, is that the Pokemon anime exists to market the games.

A lot of anime either exist as their own thing (like Gurren Lagann et al.) or to advertise the manga that it's based off of. Of course, in that case, the manga is consistently running either weekly or monthly so there's a constant influx of that product. Pokemon isn't so. The games exist but if the anime were to just wink out for a few months, I'm sure it would hurt sales.

On top of it, Pokemon has no real reason to take a break. Most anime are seasonal either because they're envisioned as 1-2 cour series that might expand beyond that, or because they need to give the manga time to create more. Pokemon is created as a long-series to begin with and has no manga it needs to try and stay faithful to.

Without the need to go seasonal and the detriment it would serve to the goal, regardless of the production, I really find going seasonal would be ultimately pointless.

I addressed this in my post. The anime could still market the games, but it would do it much less.

How much does the Pokémon anime really benefit sales? Surely they could air bunch of animated promos anyway. Generations did just that and people liked it a ton. Pokemon anime fervor dies down after a couple of months and that’s already less people watching and less promotion there

There is a end goal. Ash becoming a Pokémon master.

Na. I personally do not see, why the Pokémon anime has to change so drastically. If you do it, than it would not be Pokémon anymore. I mean, think about it. If you want to change the cast, the story structure, the art design, the writing and the theme of the show, why not create a completely new show from the start. From your description this could easily be a brand new show with new characters and a new story to tell. I really don't see why this has to be Pokémon. It's like with some of the western shows like Rise of the TNMT, Powerpuff Girl 2016, DuckTales 2017 and Teen Titans Go!. They change so much, that all of those reboots could just be a brand new show instead.

I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty sure 20 yrs of the exact same thing year after year gets terribly boring after a while. Considering how widely well received Origins was, it goes to show how great the Pokémon anime can be when it doesn’t need to follow a strict set of guidelines.

No one said anything about replacing Ash or Pikachu

Can't you guys just do this yourselves? Obviously you can't when a saga is new and airing for the first time, but for any older saga, you can just watch the important eps and the best fillers, and skip through all the generic stuff.

Uh, ye, but I’m talking current. Plus we don’t know what’s filler and what isn’t. With a seasonal Pokémon anime, there would be already much less filler.

 

[Epicocity]

I addressed this in my post. The anime could still market the games, but it would do it much less.

How much does the Pokémon anime really benefit sales? Surely they could air bunch of animated promos anyway. Generations did just that and people liked it a ton. Pokemon anime fervor dies down after a couple of months and that’s already less people watching and less promotion there

There is a end goal. Ash becoming a Pokémon master.

Considering that the anime sells more than just games but also merchandise, it benefits it a lot I'd say. Think about it. By going year-round, it ensures there's...something...to market through the year. Whereas once you go seasonal, distribute it to a few months and then no new merchandise would really appear the next half of a year. And of course games are going to drop sales after a couple months. That's natural. But unless you have data on every single piece of merchandise sold I don't think we can really make that case for it.

I also think Generations mostly appealed to Western/older fans and not even the core demographic. Plus they were telling things from the games more or less, not quite the same as an anime.

And when I said "goal" I meant goal of the production team, not the characters.

 

[AznKei]

I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty sure 20 yrs of the exact same thing year after year gets terribly boring after a while. Considering how widely well received Origins was, it goes to show how great the Pokémon anime can be when it doesn’t need to follow a strict set of guidelines.

I'm actually surprised that people would expect things that would favor them after over 20 years when most of audience who watched the show since it started either retired completely or stick with the games only and accepted the reality of the show.

 

[U.N. Owen]

1. More use of budget(better animation and art)

The cynic in me says that the 50 episode a year budget would be devoured into slightly better animation and art and used to market.

 

[Leonhart]

It's a great idea. I've thought of this several times. A 50 episodes anime every generation like Digimon would be very better.

Better how? Because other than getting less filler, I'm struggling to see how a 50-episode saga would be beneficial in the long run.

 

[U.N. Owen]

Better how? Because other than getting less filler, I'm struggling to see how a 50-episode saga would be beneficial in the long run.

I must agree from a marketing perspective. People might hate Ash, be apathetic to the anime, or love him to pieces, but the marketing behind him is pretty solid. Ash Ketchum is iconic. For anime that changes cast every year or season, it brings the problem of brand building into the forefront.

 

[Jeal]

Better how? Because other than getting less filler, I'm struggling to see how a 50-episode saga would be beneficial in the long run.

The arguments were given in the first post of the thread. Better animation, more time to write the story, better ratings.

 

[Dragalge]

The arguments were given in the first post of the thread. Better animation, more time to write the story, better ratings.

I don’t think ratings will ever be saved considering they’ve been on a decline due to online streaming slowly taking over TV.

 

[Jeal]

I don’t think ratings will ever be saved considering they’ve been on a decline due to online streaming slowly taking over TV.

Animes like One Piece and Dragon Ball still get great ratings. And I sure that their target uses more internet than Pokémon's.

 

[AznKei]

Animes like One Piece and Dragon Ball still get great ratings. And I sure that their target uses more internet than Pokémon's.

Yeah but One piece & Dragon Ball despite being successful are still a fraction of profits than Pokemon makes, which is the most succesful media franchise in the world, so the show could just cash cow by showing the Pokemons on screen and still be profitable. Very different visions here.

 

[Jeal]

Yeah but One piece & Dragon Ball despite being successful are still a fraction of profits than Pokemon makes, which is the most succesful media franchise in the world, so the show could just cash cow by showing the Pokemons on screen and still be profitable. Very different visions here.

You are right, but it wouldn't be better if the anime had better ratings, so it would promote to more children? A seasonal anime would be effective in that.

 

[Spider-Phoenix]

It's a great idea. I've thought of this several times. A 50 episodes anime every generation like Digimon would be very better.

I used to think the Digimon's structure is better.

Nowdays? Not so sure.

Look how easily Digimon started to fall on nostalgia pandering. I mean, I felt Appmon was mostly missed/side-lined by Tri despite being a much better product.

I think what makes the anime have such lasting power isn't just the power of Pokémon as a franchise but also the fact they've decided to keep Ash, make him be always "acessible" to newcomers and stick with it.

The "static" the series might have is what helps it last for so long.

 

[Jeal]

I used to think the Digimon's structure is better.

Nowdays? Not so sure.

Look how easily Digimon started to fall on nostalgia pandering. I mean, I felt Appmon was mostly missed/side-lined by Tri despite being a much better product.

I think what makes the anime have such lasting power isn't just the power of Pokémon as a franchise but also the fact they've decided to keep Ash, make him be always "acessible" to newcomers and stick with it.

The "static" the series might have is what helps it last for so long.

Well, I never said that they need get rid of Ash. The thread is about the benefits of a seasonal anime.

 

[Slapstick-Olivia]

I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty sure 20 yrs of the exact same thing year after year gets terribly boring after a while. Considering how widely well received Origins was, it goes to show how great the Pokémon anime can be when it doesn’t need to follow a strict set of guidelines.

Sun and Moon actually gave this anime a new fresh paint job with out sacrificing the core elements of the anime. I'm not really sure, if I really want something in the style of Generations. Yeah, the animation looks great, but I still think it way to be dark and serious for an anime with colorful monsters that only can say their names. It is the same issue I sometimes have with Digimon, where the anime can be sometimes serious and in the other half it is like a whacky comedy adventure for kids.

I think Pokémon works best, as a simple, lighthearted show. And if the show really wants to go in such a different direction, it should just become its own unique brand new show with new characters and a new story to tell.

 

[Yuugis Black Magician]

The cartoon series has been infinite cour for a reason: it exists to be a constant commercial to keep Pokemon in the public eye. They won't go over to a seasonal approach.

 

[Power Up]

Considering that the anime sells more than just games but also merchandise, it benefits it a lot I'd say. Think about it. By going year-round, it ensures there's...something...to market through the year. Whereas once you go seasonal, distribute it to a few months and then no new merchandise would really appear the next half of a year. And of course games are going to drop sales after a couple months. That's natural. But unless you have data on every single piece of merchandise sold I don't think we can really make that case for it.

I also think Generations mostly appealed to Western/older fans and not even the core demographic. Plus they were telling things from the games more or less, not quite the same as an anime.

And when I said "goal" I meant goal of the production team, not the characters.

Why can't they use something like Generations for promoting tho? Little 5-minute eps that showcase only the games would promote the games much more than a long running anime with fillers and junk.

The cynic in me says that the 50 episode a year budget would be devoured into slightly better animation and art and used to market.

That's on the animators.

I must agree from a marketing perspective. People might hate Ash, be apathetic to the anime, or love him to pieces, but the marketing behind him is pretty solid. Ash Ketchum is iconic. For anime that changes cast every year or season, it brings the problem of brand building into the forefront.

Who said he had to leave?

I don’t think ratings will ever be saved considering they’ve been on a decline due to online streaming slowly taking over TV.

Other anime shows are seriously popular. Mainstream anime get tons of views

I used to think the Digimon's structure is better.

Nowdays? Not so sure.

Look how easily Digimon started to fall on nostalgia pandering. I mean, I felt Appmon was mostly missed/side-lined by Tri despite being a much better product.

I think what makes the anime have such lasting power isn't just the power of Pokémon as a franchise but also the fact they've decided to keep Ash, make him be always "acessible" to newcomers and stick with it.

The "static" the series might have is what helps it last for so long.

Ash wouldn't leave in this scenario

Sun and Moon actually gave this anime a new fresh paint job with out sacrificing the core elements of the anime. I'm not really sure, if I really want something in the style of Generations. Yeah, the animation looks great, but I still think it way to be dark and serious for an anime with colorful monsters that only can say their names. It is the same issue I sometimes have with Digimon, where the anime can be sometimes serious and in the other half it is like a whacky comedy adventure for kids.

I think Pokémon works best, as a simple, lighthearted show. And if the show really wants to go in such a different direction, it should just become its own unique brand new show with new characters and a new story to tell.

First of all, I said I wanted the Pokemon anime to be more like Origins and for promoting they could use what they did for Generations.

They sacrificed battles, which would be arguably one of, if not the most important core elements.

The cartoon series has been infinite cour for a reason: it exists to be a constant commercial to keep Pokemon in the public eye. They won't go over to a seasonal approach.

It's an idea.

 

[Epicocity]

Why can't they use something like Generations for promoting tho? Little 5-minute eps that showcase only the games would promote the games much more than a long running anime with fillers and junk.

Who's really going to remember 5 minutes of something that has no real connection to anything compared to a 22 minute show that gets to show off Pokemon in different ways? I know I barely remember the small advertisements I see but I remember something I've invested more time into. Even a filler. I remember the filler where Hawlucha and Froakie teamed up and it sold me on how awesome Hawlucha was, which may not have happened until much later. That was a filler that sold me on a Pokemon.

 

[Slapstick-Olivia]

3 - 5 minutes shorts like what Sega did with Sonic Mania Adventures? I'm not sure if this works for Pokémon or if people would like this.

 

[Yuugis Black Magician]

The cynic in me says that the 50 episode a year budget would be devoured into slightly better animation and art and used to market.

That's not how things work. Money for fifty-two episodes simply would not be given to OLM by the production committee. The 'budget' has no real impact on the quality of a cartoon in Japan, either. The quality is dependent upon the production staff's skill and the availability of talent. Pokemon is luck enough to have a really strong production schedule in that episodes are usually being key animated five months before they air, as opposed to a lot of anime not being finished until between 1-14 days before they air. Sun & Moon's quality has increased thanks of course to the simpler and less restricted character designs but also the plethora of really strong animators that worked on it. Production of Movie #21 really used up most of those young animators so the last six or so months of the series was pretty dry on talent but the next few months should be pretty good unless the production assistants aren't able to recruit anyone to rejoin the series.