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What's with this

SinnohEevee

Well-Known Member
XY was sexist. They had Serena say that battling is for boys.
Showcases were dumbed down Contests (eventhough there was ORAS) and were only for ladies.
Serena then states that her goal is to become more attractive for Ash.
 
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TheWanderingMist

Paladin of the Snow Queen
XY was sexist. They had Serena say that battling is for boys.

I don't remember her saying that, and even so, that would only represent her opinion, not all girls' opinions, especially given the existence of Bonnie, who clearly loves Pokemon battles.
Showcases were dumbed-down Contests (eventhough there was ORAS) and were only for ladies.

The for-girls-only part was weird. However, they were much closer to the in-game version of Contests, and they also let the Trainer be a normal part of the Performance whereas it was clear Jessie was odd for doing that in Hoenn and Sinnoh.

Serena then states that her goal is to become more attractive to Ash.

This is a cultural translation thing that doesn't get across. It's an idiomatic turn of phrase that essentially means that a person wants to improve themselves/become a better person overall if I recall correctly. Just go to the Amourshipping Thread v3. It's around page 92 or so where they debunk your argument better than I can.

EDIT/UPDATE:I'm not saying they're the most rational people, but they had this argument come up way back last October and the only reason I know of it is because I wanted to see how crazy things went there at XYZ47.
 
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Pokegirl Fan~

Liko>>>>>Ash
XY was sexist. They had Serena say that battling is for boys.
Showcases were dumbed down Contests (eventhough there was ORAS) and were only for ladies.
Serena then states that her goal is to become more attractive for Ash.

The dub confirmed that's not what she meant at all thank God. That's one reason never to watch the English subtitles because some things are translated weirdly and also Japan has a different culture than the Western part of the world so there's that too.
 

TheWanderingMist

Paladin of the Snow Queen
The dub confirmed that's not what she meant at all thank God. That's one reason never to watch the English subtitles because some things are translated weirdly and also Japan has a different culture than the Western part of the world so there's that too.

Yeah, Japan's not that conservative when it comes to girls, even if compared to the West it seems really restrictive. Wait, did I just see someone compliment the dub? One more thing to check off my "Is the world going to end soon?" list...
 
The dub confirmed that's not what she meant at all thank God. That's one reason never to watch the English subtitles because some things are translated weirdly and also Japan has a different culture than the Western part of the world so there's that too.

To be honest I believe Serena saying "I will become a prettier woman for you" line all to well. All the sub versions of that episode all say the same thing. I realize that sub mistranslates plenty but they can't ALL be wrong on that one. And honestly the reason why I think the dub changed that line is to avoid mcontroversy towards CartoonNetwork than anything (not to explain Japanese Serena's choice of words) because numerous fans would be upset with them translating "sexism". As upsetting as that line was I believe it was what Japan was going for and the Pokemon dubbing company just changed it to save their butts, wouldn't be the first time they changed a character/lines in order to avoid controversy,
 

TheWanderingMist

Paladin of the Snow Queen
To be honest I believe Serena saying "I will become a prettier woman for you" line all too well. All the sub versions of that episode all say the same thing. I realize that sub mistranslates plenty but they can't ALL be wrong on that one. And honestly the reason why I think the dub changed that line is to avoid mcontroversy towards CartoonNetwork than anything (not to explain Japanese Serena's choice of words) because numerous fans would be upset with them translating "sexism". As upsetting as that line was I believe it was what Japan was going for and the Pokemon dubbing company just changed it to save their butts, wouldn't be the first time they changed a character/lines in order to avoid controversy,

Her farewell was also part love confession, so it was likely intended as a secondary meaning if it was intended that way. I believe the exact phrase was "more charming woman", which is an idiomatic thing like I said before where its meaning is "better person" rather than "more attractive person".The subs weren't mistranslating, it's that idioms don't translate so things end up getting taken literally more than they should. And honestly, who hasn't tried to become a better person to impress someone they like?
 
Her farewell was also part love confession, so it was likely intended as a secondary meaning if it was intended that way. I believe the exact phrase was "more charming woman", which is an idiomatic thing like I said before where its meaning is "better person" rather than "more attractive person".The subs weren't mistranslating, it's that idioms don't translate so things end up getting taken literally more than they should. And honestly, who hasn't tried to become a better person to impress someone they like?
I can competely understand where you're coming from and being a "more charming woman" is way better than "a more attractive woman". I just thought that comment was out of line and kinda OOC even for Serena. However I wish she would of just confessed in XY(Z) episode 45 where they went on a "date" and battled. It would of paced it better because honestly what I got from her goodbye was "Okay so bye Clemont and Bonnie and oh yeah Ash I want to become a better woman for you so wait for me" and it just left a bad taste in my mouth that her final goodbye HAD SOMETHING to do with amourshipping (not bashing just never was a fan). And between her constantly idolizing Ash, blushing around him and well going on the journey in the first place because of him... I'd much rather prefer her making her new journey around Hoenn about HER. Not attempting to become a better person for Ash
 

LilligantLewis

Bonnie stan
Agreed. Serena's just a beginner, while Aria is far more experienced. It wouldn't make sense for Serena to take the title of Kalos Queen from Aria that quickly.

Not to mention that the audience who voted for Aria was pretty biased to begin with, so even if Serena had been strong, she couldn't have won.
 

LilligantLewis

Bonnie stan
Wow this thread has been revived? It was the better thread than the similar "Why did the writers gave Serena so little..." thread.

Also LMAO at me I can't believe what I said two posts above this one
 

Pokegirl Fan~

Liko>>>>>Ash
I really wished Serena had a chance to actually finish a one on one battle even if it really had nothing to do with her goal. Like she should have been allowed to finish that battle without Team Rocket and Ash interfering in Battling at Full Volume.
 

LilligantLewis

Bonnie stan
I really wished Serena had a chance to actually finish a one on one battle even if it really had nothing to do with her goal. Like she should have been allowed to finish that battle without Team Rocket and Ash interfering in Battling at Full Volume.

That would have been so epic. Also I wish Jimmy had reappeared. Full battles should have started at the quarterfinals so that Ash could beat Sawyer and Alain and then lose to JIMMY in the final! It would have at least been better than what we got. Alain did not deserve to always win after Siebold. Also it would have been cool to see Pikachu lose to a Pikachu. I don't think that's ever happened before
 

TheWanderingMist

Paladin of the Snow Queen
I really wished Serena had a chance to actually finish a one on one battle even if it really had nothing to do with her goal. Like she should have been allowed to finish that battle without Team Rocket and Ash interfering in Battling at Full Volume.

It's too bad she ended up in an action oriented saga. SM would've done her much more good.
 
I personally think it's the image this girl has. If I would compare Serena with other famous characters, she is more the princess type of character similar to Princess Peach from Super Mario and the Princesses from Disney. And they are not the type of characters that we would put in the role of a fighter. Their are the love interest of the main hero, a reasons for them to go on a quest. Serena I would say falls into the same category. She is not the person that a writer would put in to the role of a person who battles. S
 

LilligantLewis

Bonnie stan
I personally think it's the image this girl has. If I would compare Serena with other famous characters, she is more the princess type of character similar to Princess Peach from Super Mario and the Princesses from Disney. And they are not the type of characters that we would put in the role of a fighter. Their are the love interest of the main hero, a reasons for them to go on a quest. Serena I would say falls into the same category. She is not the person that a writer would put in to the role of a person who battles. S

This is actually a really good answer to the OP question. This thread got way too off topic lol
 
This is actually a really good answer to the OP question. This thread got way too off topic lol

I also think that one of the reasons many girls in the anime are reduced to been not a fighter or do not so many battles unlike the males is, because the producers of the show want the girls to be just the eye candy of the show. Sorry, that I have to bring this trope up again, but at the end, it i the truth. The girls only purpose in the anime is to look cute and do cute stuff. That doesn't mean that their are bad characters, at the end all characters with the exception of Dawn, Ash and TR all of them are underdeveloped. But the anime is written in the way, that a specific type of character has to play a specific type of role. Characters like Brock are only their to be comic reliefs, characters like Cilan are their to be used as a sort of exposition guide and the females are most of the time only their to look pretty or cute. Even a very good written character like Dawn is at the end also juts a cute, good-looking girl with a lot of fan service, even thought they handle her correctly.

So in my eyes it's not only Serena that is has this problem. It's all of them. Iris and Jessie are the only exception, because of of them fill the role as their own unique character. But this is like I said not the way the anime roles. And I also think that even the audience do not want a more unique girl. Look how popular Serena has become. She did barley anything in the anime and and became one of the most popular characters of the show and only because of cute fanservice like the pretty cloths she was wearing or the shipping that they never really used in the anime.
 
I personally think it's the image this girl has. If I would compare Serena with other famous characters, she is more the princess type of character similar to Princess Peach from Super Mario and the Princesses from Disney. And they are not the type of characters that we would put in the role of a fighter. Their are the love interest of the main hero, a reasons for them to go on a quest. Serena I would say falls into the same category. She is not the person that a writer would put in to the role of a person who battles. S

The thing is, this is a show where practically every kid who owns a Pokemon is expected to battle. So Serena was no exception in spite of her girlyness.
 
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