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Why do people think Ash lost his personality in Sinnoh?

It's mainly because of the dub actor switch. After Veronica Taylor stopped voicing him people felt he was a different character.

I still feel he's a different character to this day because of this, though it's been this way since Battle Frontier for me in English.

Though, there's more to it than that: Ash also started getting more battle hungry and he wasn't very funny anymore when he tried to be this way.
 
Well personally I think that because of the dub VA change, and the fact that Ash became more serious, is why this happened. Like Sarah sounded robotic in her voicing of Ash IMO. And the fact that the writers can't write mature characters well is what made this happen.

This is an even better explanation: I couldn't put this any better myself-- spot on analysis, man, spot on.
 

pokefandt

Well-Known Member
Does the idea about Ash loosing his personality extend to the Japanese version as well for you guys?
 

Lord Trollbias

Y'all Salty Bishes
I personally though he became more serious, more mature, and more focused on his goal and less on his childish nature in the previous sagas. Not losing character but just progressing.
 

Lorde

Let's go to the beach, each.
Does the idea about Ash loosing his personality extend to the Japanese version as well for you guys?

I mostly watched DP in Japanese and I never thought that he "lost this personality" regardless; he was just more focused in my opinion.
 

teamaquagrunt

Active Member
I still feel he's a different character to this day because of this, though it's been this way since Battle Frontier for me in English.

Though, there's more to it than that: Ash also started getting more battle hungry and he wasn't very funny anymore when he tried to be this way.

It was basically this for me. He also seemed angry a lot of the time and for some reason wanted to be Paul's friend even though Paul made it clear he didn't want to be friends with him. I don't remember him being like that in Hoenn and before and he was definitely not as battle hungry. It was very stressful to watch.
 
I mostly watched DP in Japanese and I never thought that he "lost this personality" regardless; he was just more focused in my opinion.

I have a feeling I have Sarah Natochenny to thank for ruining this character for me, honestly. Lately, I've been seeing DP in Japanese w/subtitles and...I'm not hating him nearly as much as I did in English. I also appreciate the much better script writing there-- no "Observation! I'm an observer: I'm doin' it" lines helps.

Does the idea about Ash loosing his personality extend to the Japanese version as well for you guys?

Not nearly as much, but he still got a bit more...how do I say this...robotic and stiff to me: it's mainly Sarah N. for me in English, honestly, I think-- I didn't hate DP Ash in JPN nearly as much as I did in ENG.
 
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Jfloydian

Ash <3 Misty
I think Ash lost a lot of the spark that made him a unique character in Pokemon. He lost the little quirks that made him not only special, but more entertaining. Being more mature and focused is a good thing but I think they are writing mature a little wrong. He has become a little dull to me due to this.
 

pokefandt

Well-Known Member
I have a feeling I have Sarah Natochenny to thank for ruining this character for me.



Not nearly as much, but he got a lot more...how do I say this...robotic and stiff to me: it's mainly Sarah N. for me in English, honestly, I think-- I didn't hate DP Ash in JPN nearly as much as I did in ENG.

Rica Matsumoto has the character down pat at this point, she's been voicing him for . . it's getting close to twenty years at this point.
 
Rica Matsumoto has the character down pat at this point, she's been voicing him for . . it's getting close to twenty years at this point.

Yeah, I agree: still, I've noticed that the JPN Version also doesn't have nearly as many stupid lines as the English dub of DP did coming out of Ash-- it's really the dub change that made me dislike DP Ash, but I do think in general he started getting robotic and stiff at times outside of battle.
 
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charizardfan

Well-Known Member
I never got this. If anything, DP improved on Ash by finally striking a balance between the more comedic and flawed aspects of his personality and the more serious, competent side of him. OS, and AG to a slightly lesser extent, often overplayed the former two to a point where it sometimes became very difficult to believe he could really be headed towards great things in the future. And frankly, it hurts one's ability to sympathize with him when episodes like the first Brandon battle come around and he spends it acting like an annoying, overconfident brat who gets himself and everyone around him into serious trouble because of his own stupidity (it doesn't help that Ash supposedly learned a lesson similar to this at least three times beforehand). DP showcases a more well-rounded character who still had a ways to go, but finally demonstrates consistently that he had the tools and the drive to get there.

Ash was taken more seriously in DP than prior series, yes, but episodes like DP034 and DP088 (and plenty others) show that he could still be dumb, impulsive, tempermental, and reckless. That this was balanced by an increasingly more serious, driven, and competent side was a good thing, as it helped give off the impression that Ash was growing and improving. He doesn't need to, nor should he, be a joke all the time.
 
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Emperor Empoleon

Honor of Kalos
He was just more focused. Even that ultimately came from his feelings for his Pokemon, as he told Paul in Chim-Charred/DP081

Because the producers think mature = robotic. He's lacking passion.

What exactly was robotic about Ash with the Paul and Chimchar plotlines hanging around...?

If anything, he was pushed to express more passion for his personal beliefs on Pokemon because of that.
 
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Navin

MALDREAD
DP Ash honestly gets a lot of flak for being "stale", "robotic," "battle borg." I mean I can agree with the last one at times and that indirectly causes him to be a bit stale at times. But for the most part, I liked him seeing him more mature and serious - it was him growing up just as he himself was growing as a trainer. And I connected to it on a personal level.
 

CyberCubed

Yeah, ok!
Its because Brock got so stale in DP he had no character to play off of. The Ash/Dawn dynamic was basically Ash interacting with his twin sister, so if you didn't care for that there wasn't much to do on with the DP trio.
 

Platinum fan.

RetiredPokemonMaster
For me, it has nothing to do with the dub actors change. That's just an excuse as far as I'm concerned. For me personally, the character just ran his course. Everything they could do with his personality they did from OS through AG. DP showed me the true flaws of keeping Ash forever and by the 3rd episode of DP I was already wishing he was replaced because he wasn't fun to watch anymore. I've been watching since Kanto so I'm clearly out of the age group this show aims to please, but I'll never fully agree with the anime's choice to keep Ash on the show forever. To make matters worse the anime actually makes some very fun and interesting sidekicks and side characters but they always have to be secondary to Ash and his generic personality. He also repeats the exact same mistakes over and over again. They do this so he can relate to the young audience, even when they have rookie trainers on the cast that can do that roll of being a silly rookie making humorous mistakes. When Ash does it, it just comes off as been there done that, and I don't find it at all entertaining. Ash's charisma also dropped heavily for me during DP. I found everyone in Diamond And Pearl fun or exciting minus Ash, Brock, and TR. All of which are what I call OS survivors. They were the only ones in DP I didn't like...well and Kenny to some extent too.

The only good thing DP did with Ash was keep him a good battler and his Paul rivalry/Chimchar story. Being a good battler doesn't exactly make you a compelling character. The Gym Leaders and Champions are good battlers and half of them are just as generic personality wise. Take away Paul and I wouldn't have even followed Ash's journey in DP. Then there was the group dynamic. Ash and Dawn were okay for the most part, but Brock really dropped hard in DP. All three members contributed to the downfall of the DP main cast but Brock did the most harm. So this also brought the groups personalities down.

Now I'm sure many of you are going to hate everything I just wrote. This is just my opinion on DP Ash. He was still a powerful trainer but I found the character dull and boring at this point. You can only do the same thing over and over again with the same personality for so long before it grows stale. I do think Ash does have a personality in DP. Just a repetitive, uninteresting, boring one. Again just my opinion.
 

MattySadler

Well-Known Member
Lol?

It's Ash Ketchum and the Pokemon anime series. Shouldn't that be enough of an answer?

The show hasn't been particularly touching or emotionally invoking for years and years. In fact, the last time I can remember being "touched" by the show as when Charizard left for the Charicific Valley. Ash used to be oozing with personality and character. He was stubborn, headstrong and so determined about his goal, but that is gone now. He has been personality-less since mid-Johto at least.

The show in general is bland, lacks personality and is very repetitive, and the main character totally reflects this.
 
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