Were we too hard on Iris?

[matt0044]

Much as I find issues with Best Wishes, Iris felt like people were quicker to jump to her in comparison to other elements. Hell, it almost feels like the writers acknowledge this vitriol and ditched Iris meeting Serena despite the set up.

Did we single her own too much? Did the writers regret her in retrospect? Christ, I won't name names but I've actually seen some accuse race and skin color as a contributing factor. Ye-ah...

Please don't make me regret this thread...

 

[Satoshi & Touko]

Yes, people are too hard on Iris. A big factor to her hate is her catchphrase, and how the Ash that was supposed to be in BW the awesome badboy sports hero was the most frequent victim of it.

 

[TheWanderingMist]

Too late. This thread will be locked in 3 days tops.

I don't know though. Just because she's my least favorite of the Pokégirls doesn't mean I don't like her as a character. Besides, Mallow is currently second to last in my rating and will probably bump Iris up a bit if she doesn't do something soon. The problem with Iris is that not only did the writers not evolve Axew, they didn't five her the other 5th Gen dragon even though they had the perfect opportunity, instead doing the Controversial (in the West at least) decision to just give her a Dragonite right off. Even a Dragonair would've been a better choice because at least then one of her Pokémon could've evolved. As it is, none of her Pokémon seemed to actually gain anything during the series.

 

[Pokegirl Fan~]

Yes. Ignoring all the Ash stuff I thought that she was entertaining especially when Cilan annoyed her and when Dawn returned. I also think her backstory was pretty good.

 

[AznKei]

The only thing I know, it's that she's the least favorite Pokegirl in Japan because she isn't attractive enough compared to other Pokegirls. Otherwise, I'm indifferent towards her.

 

[satopi]

For one, the writers don't regret her nor is she really hated there as opposed to some vocal Western fans. But to answer the question.... maybe? I don't know. I blame the English dub for making her sound obnoxious. I think people had more issue with her writing. She needed more focus episodes and some people took issue to her barely having Dragon Pokémon despite aspiring to be a Dragon Master and then when she did get another Dragon type, they hated her for getting a powerful, fully evolved one, which isn't her fault. I guess people were more petty towards her since apparently calling Ash a kid was "bullying" him when it was harmless teasing like Misty or when she called him out on his BS. There were also the punch in the gut when she beat Ash (but BW Ash in general was really off his game that saga.) Her Axew was also running off getting lost and whenever he got in a tough pinch, he DEM wins or learns a new move.

No issues as far as I know about her skin color/race.

I really liked her. Her backstory and character was interesting and fun but it wasn't explored enough. She had so much potential and even in her special episode, she's gotten even more intriguing by following Rayqueza. It was like a parallel of Ash when he saw Ho oh at the beginning of his journey. Had she been given co star status like Dawn, she wouldn't of had the issues that she has now.

 

[SH65]

No Iris was to me a boring pokegirl and I dare say the worst out of all of them.

 

[Leonhart]

If by "we" you mean the fandom as a whole, then yes. Not that she didn't deserve some critique for how she handled her Kairyu for instance, but she did seem like a magnet for petty criticism regarding a few trivial things such as her catchphrase.

 

[Mega Altaria]

To be honest, I'd say that Iris having more 'cool' Pokémon rather than having the 'cute' Pokémon, like that she had Dragonite and Excadrill, was what I think is a good thing as it somehow breaks the stereotype that girls should only have cute Pokémon, which I think is something she shouldn't be hated for. Like most people, I believe that the hate is mostly directed at her repetitive phrases and I do personally think that it can get a bit annoying at times.

 

[SinnohEevee]

I tried to rewatch a bit, and I have to say that may opinion didn't change. She's just annoying always belittling Ash (who isn't even my favourite character) and her development was poorly-handled. Her also being able to understand dragons came out of nowhere even though it's probably in the games. I don't recall her using it on Axew, so how could she just sense what a wild Dragonite was feeling?
Also, Axew barely did a thing. He was just Togepi 2.0 but they want to make us believe he can stand to Cynthia's Garchomp? Please! Hell will freeze over before that could happen.
Also, race has nothing to do with it except in the mind of some Iris fanboys that I won't name. Brock was people despite being brown in the anime.

BTW, I wasn't too fond of Misty, especially in Kanto. So Iris being Misty 2.0 isn't something I like. She's overrated too (Brock >>> Misty). Also, Cilan can shut up about evaluation time, he too was annoying.

 

[Champion Jared 14]

The only thing I know, it's that she's the least favorite Pokegirl in Japan because she isn't attractive enough compared to other Pokegirls. Otherwise, I'm indifferent towards her.

What exactly is this based on?

Yes, people were too hard on Iris. I think the bigger part of the disconnect is because she was such a radical departure from the contest girl archetype that was established before her. I also think people didn’t like her because Ash couldn’t or...well...didn’t get to flex his past accomplishments to show her a thing or two. People tend to like things that make Ash look good, or sing his praises. I tend to be more fascinated with characters who aren’t so easily impressed with him, which is in part why I liked her.

 

[AznKei]

What exactly is this based on?

You know Japan had a thing with the waifu and moe materials. I know it's not right to judge all Japanese fans but character popularities speak for themselves. There was a similar reason why another anime called Nichijou flopped in Japan, despite I liked the gold comedy on it, the girls aren't attractive enough.

 

[Champion Jared 14]

You know Japan had a thing with the waifu and moe materials. I know it's not right to judge all Japanese fans but character popularities speak for themselves. There was a similar reason why another anime called Nichijou flopped in Japan, despite I liked the gold comedy on it, the girls aren't attractive enough.

Yeah... I was looking more so for like a Japanese fan poll of favorites characters from the series but never mind.

 

[Zoruagible]

lol yeah, no.
BW has no rewatchablility unless it's Ash, Cilan, or TRio centric episode. Iris ruined every scene she was in with her hypocritical saying and utter disrespect for Ash.
And not to mention Axew wanted to evolve... but didn't. And instead of giving a Dragon master, you know... Dragons, they only gave her one Dragon capture and it wasn't even a Unova native Pokemon! Druddigon or Deino could have used some spotlight, not one of the Dragons we've seen a lot. Iris wasn't worthy of Dragonite, it was handed to her on a silver platter.

The people who defend Iris are too hard on Ash though. *mic drop*

 

[keepitsimple]

lol yeah, no.
BW has no rewatchablility unless it's Ash, Cilan, or TRio centric episode. Iris ruined every scene she was in with her hypocritical saying and utter disrespect for Ash.
And not to mention Axew wanted to evolve... but didn't. And instead of giving a Dragon master, you know... Dragons, they only gave her one Dragon capture and it wasn't even a Unova native Pokemon! Druddigon or Deino could have used some spotlight, not one of the Dragons we've seen a lot. Iris wasn't worthy of Dragonite, it was handed to her on a silver platter.

The people who defend Iris are too hard on Ash though. *mic drop*

"Lol yeah no"
immediately goes on to prove OP's point

 

[Navin]

Well, it certainly didn't help that BW had the awful, pointless "reset" for Ash, especially in the wake of Ash's grand achievements in DP. Iris calling Ash "a kid" rubbed it in for a lot of people, which made them redirect that anger onto her.

I don't think she's a bad character at all; rather, I just think other girls, especially the trifecta of Misty, May, and Dawn, were just flat-out better in terms of characterization and development.

 

[PokemonBattleFanatic-]

Iris never truly earned the right to own that Dragonite through actually defeating it in a battle and on top of that her Axew has yet to evolve or go through legit training,it couldn't be bothered to do so and would rather lay around in Iris's hair instead.She'd be less hated if she put more effort and focus on becoming a dragon master and had more on screen battles between her and Georgia.

 

[keepitsimple]

Iris never truly earned the right to own that Dragonite through actually defeating it in a battle and on top of that her Axew has yet to evolve or go through legit training,it couldn't be bothered to do so and would rather lay around in Iris's hair instead.She'd be less hated if she put more effort and focus on becoming a dragon master and had more on screen battles between her and Georgia.

She earned the right to own Dragonite for proving it didn't attack the power plant intentionally. Why is it that wild pokemon can't choose to go with Iris without a battle, but they can choose to be caught by Ash with no battle?

 

[PokemonBattleFanatic-]

She earned the right to own Dragonite for proving it didn't attack the power plant intentionally. Why is it that wild pokemon can't choose to go with Iris without a battle, but they can choose to be caught by Ash with no battle?

I don't approve of either,Paul's method is the one I respect the most.

 

[Champion Jared 14]

Well, it certainly didn't help that BW had the awful, pointless "reset" for Ash, especially in the wake of Ash's grand achievements in DP. Iris calling Ash "a kid" rubbed it in for a lot of people, which made them redirect that anger onto.

Basically this. As much as people ragged on BW and thought that version of Ash was a regression, I find it interesting how those same people simultaneously hold that he was a trainer still worthy of grand praise and admiration. I mean, he was basically a novice trainer who made several rookie mistakes along the way. Chalk it up to the fact that Ash simply didn’t belong in the anime anymore by the time BW rolled around. Those same mistakes would’ve been tolerable under a NEW protagonist and not one with an established history like Ash. Then again, the writers don’t seem to care all that much about continuity. Iris’ catchphrase was used ad nauseam, but in reference to BW Ash, it wasn’t completely unwarranted.