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Your Thoughts On Ash Staying In The Anime?

Should Ash Stay?

  • Yes, stay as main character.

    Votes: 21 45.7%
  • Yes, but downplay him to supporting character.

    Votes: 9 19.6%
  • No, drop him already.

    Votes: 16 34.8%

  • Total voters
    46

AznKei

Dawn & Chloe by ddangbi
I think some Ash fans are a little bit too dependent of the show and are less forgiving about any changes from the Ash's character that don't appeal to them. Like people liking Ash from XY because he was a badass character and found insulting that the Ash from SM became a butt monkey, especially that despite the different themes, XY & SM are just one series apart to each other.
 

Frozocrone

Miraculous!
He should have gone in OS, either Kanto or Johto, ideally Kanto.

If the anime is meant to advertise the games, then they should have used the protagonist of each game for each season. So Ethan for Johto, Brendan for Hoenn etc etc and use the female protagonists/rivals more prominently.

Ash has been here too long to realistically cut him, let him stay, even if he's a static, bland character at this point .
 

FrozTKnight

Will ORA ORA ORA you
Its too late to replace Ash so don't bother trying now unless they want to completely reboot the series.

If they wanted a new protaganist every new region they should have done in Johto with Ethan, and looking how successful Jojo was it could have worked if they made each protaganist unique.
 

DatsRight

Well-Known Member
I think some Ash fans are a little bit too dependent of the show and are less forgiving about any changes from the Ash's character that don't appeal to them. Like people liking Ash from XY because he was a badass character and found insulting that the Ash from SM became a butt monkey, especially that despite the different themes, XY & SM are just one series apart to each other.

It's more ironic since in most other series, Ash IS a butt monkey anyway, just still a badass in spite of it (which SM obeys).

I feel like Ash works better as a clown anyway, XY Ash slowly lost a sense of humanity without it, becoming more a figurehead for the others than proper company.
 
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horrahforyou

Pokemon and Kamen Rider is life
That's why a lot of fans from the games considering to have a anime based on Special / Adventures manga. Because mainly they were tired of seeing Ash over and over again travelling region by region.
 

Satomine Night

The Power of Z!
And even if Ash became a master, it's not like we don't have any material to work with from evil teams to the lore of the region itself.
True, Ash could become a Pokémon Master and still remain the protagonist of the series. I don't think becoming a Pokémon Master would stop him from continuing to travel to different regions and meet and catch new Pokémon.
 

DatsRight

Well-Known Member
I like the idea of Ash being a misfit anyway. It ties in with how he was at the start of the show, and him never really quite meeting his goal and finding a proper place in society kinda fits that. He's the 'Almighty Janitor' the strange unsuccessful guy that looks unremarkable at face value, but everyone who knows him thinks he's one of the most remarkable and wonderful people they've met.

Even during the early points of XY, before the excess idolisation kicked in, Ash sort of fit this bill, acting like just a weird goofy kid at face value but then alarming everyone by randomly turning into this complete badass when the time required it. SM merely encapsulated that trait.
 

satopi

Life doesn’t end, …it changes.
I like the idea of Ash being a misfit anyway. It ties in with how he was at the start of the show, and him never really quite meeting his goal and finding a proper place in society kinda fits that. He's the 'Almighty Janitor' the strange unsuccessful guy that looks unremarkable at face value, but everyone who knows him thinks he's one of the most remarkable and wonderful people they've met.

Even during the early points of XY, before the excess idolisation kicked in, Ash sort of fit this bill, acting like just a weird goofy kid at face value but then alarming everyone by randomly turning into this complete badass when the time required it. SM merely encapsulated that trait.
Yeah Ash was always the underdog and underestimated until he proved those naysayers wrong. I think him being glorified and idolized is really unlike his character. Even when his rival/opponent has fangirls like Gary and Dento, he doesn't pay them any mind or like when he first came out of Professor Oak's laboratory and he had the local folks and his mom cheering for him in the first episode, he felt pretty uncomfortable and embarrassed. I think he found his place in Alola by not being a mentor or figure to look up to but like an equal like he was in OS and BW.
 

DatsRight

Well-Known Member
Yeah Ash was always the underdog and underestimated until he proved those naysayers wrong. I think him being glorified and idolized is really unlike his character. Even when his rival/opponent has fangirls like Gary and Dento, he doesn't pay them any mind or like when he first came out of Professor Oak's laboratory and he had the local folks and his mom cheering for him in the first episode, he felt pretty uncomfortable and embarrassed. I think he found his place in Alola by not being a mentor or figure to look up to but like an equal like he was in OS and BW.

I could argue there's a bit of worship with Lillie, but in a far more natural 'goofy big brother/shy little sister' sort of relationship. I can't complain there since I like those type of chemistries. The difference between that and the pedestal he got throughout later parts of XY is that there is a contrast, Ash doesn't act like a role model outwardly in SM and Lillie knows that, but ultimately he's sweet and dependable to her so she ends up looking up to him a bit. Lillie still likes Ash as a person that can make her smile and shows concern for her, not a figurehead with some aura of awesomeness.

I think after a while Ash's ego just calmed, in Kanto he was constantly chided and treated like a failure so obviously he felt he had a lot to prove there. Sure he had superiority complex at times, but ultimately he just wanted some damn respect. Other regions were calmer (for the most part) and they didn't keep trying to take him down a peg. Even in Alola, where he's king butt monkey, he's within a very welcoming family atmosphere so he takes it all in stride (though Nanu shown his temper can still be played on if people push him enough).
 
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U.N. Owen

In Brightest Day, In Blackest Night ...
The current arc of him trying to be some kind of Master is probably why people are tired of him. Either start a new arc with something different driving the plot or somehow get me to be invested in Ash as a character. Seriously, a young person going out into the world doesn't cut it for me when everyone does that.
 
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DatsRight

Well-Known Member
As mentioned before, I have noticed the recent series and movie, while still giving Ash the lion's share of spotlight, seem to be putting more emphasis on an ensemble cast, with him not being the all encompassing part of it. The SM cast in particular have a background together before he came along and while he gets focus in terms of being the newcomer, there's a lot of it revolved around him learning about their families and traditions and goals.

This is a double edged sword since while it means the show's lore revolves less around Ash, it also means the writers have to do more to make him stick out among all this, thus he immerses and demonstrates more of a proactive character. So in a way, he is and isn't the highlight of the show.
 
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Leonhart

Imagineer
I'm not sure why Satoshi being the main character is still so controversial. He's arguably the anime's most popular human character, so him staying for two decades was inevitable. And unlike other fans, I don't think that him being replaced would be such a good idea.
 

xEryChan

Demon Child
Ash is the main character of the anime. He is the glue the holds everything together and I can’t ever see the anime without him. If he were to leave, their ratings would plummet as a lot of people would stop watching, myself included.

Ash is not going anywhere, guys. I hate to break it to you but its true. I also can’t see them reducing him to a secondary character in favor of someone else. The closest I could see happening is another DP where the focus is shifted between Ash and another character but that’s it.
 

AuraChannelerChris

Easygoing Luxray.
Ash is the main character of the anime. He is the glue the holds everything together and I can’t ever see the anime without him. If he were to leave, their ratings would plummet as a lot of people would stop watching, myself included.

Ash is not going anywhere, guys. I hate to break it to you but its true. I also can’t see them reducing him to a secondary character in favor of someone else. The closest I could see happening is another DP where the focus is shifted between Ash and another character but that’s it.

I hooooooooonestly don't think anyone looks up to Ash or even cares much for him, so he's expendable (yet we know he's eternally stuck with the show). People only like the animated Pokemon, though.
 

AznKei

Dawn & Chloe by ddangbi
The closest I could see happening is another DP where the focus is shifted between Ash and another character but that’s it.
I would love something like that to happen or at least give the companions more screentimes/spotlights than what it's shown in the recent series. It would have benefited everyone who cares about the companions and Ash imo.
 
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