charizardfan
Well-Known Member
That still doesn’t answer my question as to why the dubbed voice of a character should matter. It’s a dub. Unless I absolutely have to, I don’t form any opinions on character’s based on anything but the original version.1) It was VERY pleasant for all of us who watch the English dub to have to listen to it.
Frankly, I think Ash's voice in either dub is inferior to the Japanese version, so why should it matter to me what he sounds like in English?
Unlike the episode where Ash and May got into their big argument Ash actually had a good reason to be annoyed with Dawn, who was just as much at fault as he was. I don’t even think that was DP Ash’s best episode by a long shot, but it hardly compares to the way he endangered everyone in AG178.DP004, anyone? Arguing with Dawn like a 5 year old made him so much better than AG Ash. The more I go back to DP, the less I like Ash in it, too.
There are several episodes in DP where Ash asks someone to train him or takes a lesson based on someone else’s battle style. He even takes a lesson from one of his rival’s Pokemon.Ash was happy to learn from others at any point...really?
The fact that he lost due to arrogance seriously undermines the statement that “he took Brawly seriously”, which he didn’t. It took a bad loss to force Ash to realize that he shouldn’t have underestimated Brawly in the first place. And let’s not forget that he got one of his Pokemon injured because of this.Of course he took Brawly seriously! That's why he lost-- due to arrogance.
DP Ash, while never actually losing his trademark confidence, nonetheless realized that Gym Leaders were strong without needing to put one of his Pokemon through hell in order to realize it. Accordingly, he planned ahead for several of them, thought out what Pokemon he'd be using, and frequently trained them so that they'd be in top shape when the time came for the battle.
The difference being that Ash in Kanto was an inexperienced rookie who had yet to fully grasp the fact the world was a big place filled with many strong trainers and he had a lot to learn if he planned on being successful, which was something Ash was only going to learn on his Pokemon journey. By the time we get to AG, Ash had participated in two regional Leagues and gone through three regions, and had learned this lesson many times over. But even if you want to make excuses for Brawly (which even I do), the fact that Ash continued to act this way two Gym battles later and in the episode with Drake just negates not only the development Ash went through in the OS but in that very same series as well.Yes, that's been something Ash has done since Kanto, thank you.
Which is why I find it increasingly hard to sympathize with AG’s Ash, who often had to learn the same lessons about arrogance more than once and constantly whined about getting to his next Gym battle to the point where he’d unfairly snap at his traveling companions when he thought they were holding him back, and even had to be convinced to make allowances for May's Contest journey. Meanwhile, DP Ash mostly accommodates Dawn's journey as well as his own, agreeing to make stops so that she can get her ribbon. Unlike the AG episodes where he'd be training his Pokemon instead of supporting May in her Contests, he actually sat down and watched Dawn compete. He visibly invested in her journey, even getting upset when she lost her second Contest in a row. So really, between the two, it's not DP Ash who was the "battle obsessed freak". At least, not more so than any other incarnation.No, a flat, stiff battle obsessed freak isn't a character worth sympathizing with.
That’s not to say Ash can’t have his flaws. Even DP Ash had flaws, mostly apparent whenever Paul showed up and Ash would allow his emotions and desire to prove himself, his Pokemon, and his beliefs to override his better judgement. But even this comes from a more sympathetic and understandable place, considering that Ash’s strong bond with his Pokemon has always been one of the character’s most fundamental traits and he wasn’t in the wrong for thinking the way he did. The best part of that, however, was that - unlike AG’s Ash and his arrogance - this had never seriously happened to Ash before. We had never gotten a recurring rival who challenged any main character on that level. It was a new situation Ash was placed in and had to adapt to, which went a long way towards revitalizing and developing the character after four years of AG. If Ash ever got stale and repetitive before BW, it was in AG. DP actually gave Ash a fresh and new storyline with a well thought-out antagonist to oppose him.
Actually it’s stupid because DP saw Ash participate and show interest in things that had little to do with strict battling. Nice try, though.5) Good for you, because obviously you can't address that part-- that's the stupidity here.
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