What are your unpopular opinions about the anime?

[Pokeshipper_]

Chloe is better than the blue girl and the green girl in Alola and it's not close

 

[Pokegirl Fan~]

Ash was worse in XY than he was in BW. I don't like how they did a complete 180 on him from going from reset and brain dead to Mr. Perfect who can do no wrong.

I also found XY and XYZ to be of the, if not the most boring series of the entire anime.

 

[Pokeshipper_]

Ash during XY was the most out-character Ash we've been known. Most of you think Ash during XY was the best one only because he had that hero shonen shadow you like so much, but, in the end, the true Ash is not similar to a shonen hero. He has a well defined personality and it's far from his characterization during XY.

 

[Sham]

Ash during XY was the most out-character Ash we've been known. Most of you think Ash during XY was the best one only because he had that hero shonen shadow you like so much, but, in the end, the true Ash is not similar to a shonen hero. He has a well defined personality and it's far from his characterization during XY.

I know this was suppose to be a portrayal of how much Ash loves his Pokémon and adding on to this “hero” aesthetic but jumping off a Skyscraper was already a lot but then jumping into a Volcano was overkill in my opinion.

 

[cricketlaxwolvesbandy]

XYZ Ash was the most in character to Ash. SM and JN are not.
XY Ash is the perfect teenage Ash, which he was older in XY.

 

[satopi]

Ash was worse in XY than he was in BW. I don't like how they did a complete 180 on him from going from reset and brain dead to Mr. Perfect who can do no wrong.

I also found XY and XYZ to be of the, if not the most boring series of the entire anime.

I really enjoyed XY(&Z) for the most part during its airing but the characterization of Ash was the worst. Ash in BW was brain dead/reset as far as battling but it was the interactions and personality that won me over. I disagree with the whole Ash was the most mature in XY and how he wasn’t a total battle bot just because he had subtle moments of vulnerability or forcibly acting silly that came off as unnatural like when he’s dancing or being overly expressive about science being amazing. AG, DP, and even SM showed him to be very mature that came off natural while still keeping his regular self. It was absolutely ridiculous how so many people, teenagers and adults alike, felt so moved and inspired by Ash’s basic sense of philosophy. His image of being a messiah was stupid and out of touch. They never took into account of Ash’s past accomplishments, they just knew him as the guy on tv that jumped from the tower to catch his Pikachu and got saved by Blaziken Mask.

 

[satopi]

I didn’t mind Hau’s anime adaptation but I also didn’t play the SM games. I’m missing out lol.

 

[RafaSceptile]

I disagree with the whole Ash was the most mature in XY and how he wasn’t a total battle bot just because he had subtle moments of vulnerability or forcibly acting silly that came off as unnatural like when he’s dancing or being overly expressive about science being amazing.

Ngl those moments are more notorious because it is a sudden change between how XY Ash is portrayed and how he acts in such moments.

 

[Spyro39]

XYZ Ash was the most in character to Ash. SM and JN are not.
XY Ash is the perfect teenage Ash, which he was older in XY.

Hate to break it to ya, but a kid doesn't become a teenager at 10 years old.

JN was the best Ash in terms of personality IMO (a mixture of his goofy nature from SM and his battling skills from DP/XY). Also is the first series where Ash's personality didn't do a complete 180 from its predecessor since OS-AG-DP.

 

[Sham]

This might be a crock pot theory but I truly feel after the reception of BW, they tried to pull a 180 and make Ash from making dumb decisions to somebody who’s constantly praised as a hero and glorified and then gave a Pokegirl that’s extremely passive and admires everything Ash does.

Once SM came, they immediately remembered that Ash is a child and should behave as such.

The issue is, in a sense minus the training skills, BW Ash felt more like a continuation of DP (personality not trainer skills) and XY turned him into some glorified hero which he was never portrayed as such even in DP. Sure it could be argued XY is DP’s successor in battling skills but absolutely not in terms of personality.

 

[Sonic Boom]

When your character is written with personal flaws, it makes their high moments shine all the brighter. It's the reason why people absolutely love TR-focused episodes, adore James's bonds with his Pokemon, and why Jessie's release of Dustox is an iconic moment.

When your character is written with no flaws and is an expert in everything, it makes their high moments.....just moments. Everything is super, so nothing is.

 

[Blood Red]

XYZ Ash was the most in character to Ash. SM and JN are not.
XY Ash is the perfect teenage Ash, which he was older in XY.

I really wish Ash's actual age represented the appearance and personality he got in XY.

 

[satopi]

I really wish Ash's actual age represented the appearance and personality he got in XY.

What if his body ages but his mentality is stuck at 10 years old which explains why he continued subtly growing in height, hair growth, change of seasons, muscle loss, etc. It also explains why Kukui called him a moocher and with the growing trend of older adults adopting teenagers/young adults, it makes sense. Canonically he’s said to be 10 years old by the narrator who lost track of time and eventually passed, but everyone’s been aging this whole time.

Coma dream confirmed!

 

[VoltTacklingPika]

Discussing Ash is made harder by people's tendency to resort to extremes when describing his personality. Him being more error-prone in BW doesn't make him "brain dead", just as him being focused on battles in XY doesn't make him a "robot". Ironically, for all the accusations of this show flanderizing Ash, the community does a damn good job of it themselves. It keeps taking select moments from certain shows and using it sum up Ash as a character while ignoring moments from the same shows contradicting that, because it doesn't support the narrative.

Ash being dumb in one season vs another, being a better/worse trainer in one season vs another, etc. really doesn't matter. The actual differences lie in how he's presented and framed and the type of relationships he has. For example, BW Ash and XY Ash are the same in terms of maturity as a person. Both interpretations show him as internally driven, well-travelled, less confrontational than he used to be, and capable of putting the needs of others before his own. However, Ash's relationship with Iris and Cilan is totally different to his relationship with Serena, Clement and Bonnie. The former is a trio with strong personalities and very defined world outlooks, while the latter has Ash with the dominant personality inspiring others who have yet to nail down their world outlook. The chemistry is entirely different, in turn giving a different impression of the character.

When people XY is the best version of Ash, I think it largely comes from this. There's a certain level of reverence for Ash inherent in XYs writing that didn't exist in BW. The story is largely based around Ash's conviction being inspirational to others. Part of that is allowing him to flex his knowledge and experience, which is vindicating to viewers. Equally, when people say BW is the worst version of Ash, I think it comes from the lack of reverence the writing had for him. We had to see him be spoken down to by characters who weren't as accomplished as him, which wasn't very satisfying, especially as it never really went anywhere.

Now, BW's treatment of him was more in line with what came before. XY clearly marked a sharp change in direction, for better and worse. BW, though, suffers from being the fifth series in the anime, when Ash has got some good accomplishments under his belt (OI Champion, Battle Frontier winner, semi-finalist in the Sinnoh League). It ploughs ahead as normal, forgetting to ask if Ash should be treated this way and if fans would be satisfied seeing that.

 

[MasterTobias]

Once SM came, they immediately remembered that Ash is a child and should behave as such.

More like they forgot who Ash was, they took away his wanderlust which is one of his prominent and important traits to have him stuck in an island, thats a trait every version of Ash had before.

Both interpretations show him as internally driven, well-travelled, less confrontational than he used to be, and capable of putting the needs of others before his own. However, Ash's relationship with Iris and Cilan is totally different to his relationship with Serena, Clement and Bonnie. The former is a trio with strong personalities and very defined world outlooks, while the latter has Ash with the dominant personality inspiring others who have yet to nail down their world outlook. The chemistry is entirely different, in turn giving a different impression of the character.

I agree with the general idea of this but there is certainly some differences between versions.

What Ash did during Elesa's gym for example is certainly not something he would do even in OS in which he was at his most arrogant and clueless.

 

[VoltTacklingPika]

The Elesa gym is an outlier, though. It's not indicitive of how Ash apporached gyms in Unova and I find it unfair to constantly use it as a stick to beat BW with.

 

[satopi]

I wished the TRio wasn’t so stagnant. They’re actually decent when it comes to battling in general, as shown in AG. They don’t have to be 100% serious at all times in order to be seen as a threat.

 

[satopi]

I don't know why anyone with a mental age over 12 would find anything appealing about the latter two series, unless they are contrarians.

WTF?! Talk about insulting. Lots of people will tell you the same just by watching pokeani above the age of 12. There’s many reasons why someone could like them but that doesn’t mean they’re some rebel that hates popular opinions. Even when you dislike a saga, you can still find some good in it.

 

[Observer]

Discussing Ash is made harder by people's tendency to resort to extremes when describing his personality. Him being more error-prone in BW doesn't make him "brain dead", just as him being focused on battles in XY doesn't make him a "robot". Ironically, for all the accusations of this show flanderizing Ash, the community does a damn good job of it themselves. It keeps taking select moments from certain shows and using it sum up Ash as a character while ignoring moments from the same shows contradicting that, because it doesn't support the narrative.

Ash being dumb in one season vs another, being a better/worse trainer in one season vs another, etc. really doesn't matter. The actual differences lie in how he's presented and framed and the type of relationships he has. For example, BW Ash and XY Ash are the same in terms of maturity as a person. Both interpretations show him as internally driven, well-travelled, less confrontational than he used to be, and capable of putting the needs of others before his own. However, Ash's relationship with Iris and Cilan is totally different to his relationship with Serena, Clement and Bonnie. The former is a trio with strong personalities and very defined world outlooks, while the latter has Ash with the dominant personality inspiring others who have yet to nail down their world outlook. The chemistry is entirely different, in turn giving a different impression of the character.

When people XY is the best version of Ash, I think it largely comes from this. There's a certain level of reverence for Ash inherent in XYs writing that didn't exist in BW. The story is largely based around Ash's conviction being inspirational to others. Part of that is allowing him to flex his knowledge and experience, which is vindicating to viewers. Equally, when people say BW is the worst version of Ash, I think it comes from the lack of reverence the writing had for him. We had to see him be spoken down to by characters who weren't as accomplished as him, which wasn't very satisfying, especially as it never really went anywhere.

Now, BW's treatment of him was more in line with what came before. XY clearly marked a sharp change in direction, for better and worse. BW, though, suffers from being the fifth series in the anime, when Ash has got some good accomplishments under his belt (OI Champion, Battle Frontier winner, semi-finalist in the Sinnoh League). It ploughs ahead as normal, forgetting to ask if Ash should be treated this way and if fans would be satisfied seeing that.

You're right, why should the writers flanderize Ash when the fanbase can do it for them. I do get what you're saying though, when people don't like a certain version of Ash they tend to exaggerate some of the negative aspects they have of him and sometimes that will extend to the series that they are currently watching as well.

Ash was worse in XY than he was in BW. I don't like how they did a complete 180 on him from going from reset and brain dead to Mr. Perfect who can do no wrong.

I also found XY and XYZ to be of the, if not the most boring series of the entire anime.

Yeah the Advanced series was pretty boring when you look back at it, I remember there was two episodes back to back on Boomerang, I think they were May's contests episodes, anyway I was so bored that I watched a god awful Vanilla Ice movie called Cool as Ice or something.

 

[cricketlaxwolvesbandy]

Here's a hot take: BW at it's worst was still better than SM and JN ever were and will be and I don't know why anyone with a mental age over 12 would find anything appealing about the latter two series, unless they are contrarians.

I agree but that last part is exaggerating. I loved Littens development arc and TRio in SM. I also loved Littens capture episode (Stoutland )