• Hi all. We have had reports of member's signatures being edited to include malicious content. You can rest assured this wasn't done by staff and we can find no indication that the forums themselves have been compromised.

    However, remember to keep your passwords secure. If you use similar logins on multiple sites, people and even bots may be able to access your account.

    We always recommend using unique passwords and enable two-factor authentication if possible. Make sure you are secure.
  • Be sure to join the discussion on our discord at: Discord.gg/serebii
  • If you're still waiting for the e-mail, be sure to check your junk/spam e-mail folders

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

Satomine Night

The Power of Z!
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.
Ash is one of the main reasons I still watch the anime. As @xEryChan said, he is the glue that holds the anime together.
 

Victorian Rush

Weather Manipulator
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.

That’s not true, I only watch the anime for Ash. To me, Ash is more than just the main character, he is the string that holds everything together. He is not expendable.
 

Leonhart

Imagineer
NanoMoltres said:
I'm quite fond of Ash and Pikachu and would be greatly bummed if they were dropped from the main cast, I think they should stick around for as long as the mainline anime goes on.

I'd be sad if Pikachu were dropped (as unlikely as him leaving would be), but as far as Satoshi is concerned, I can take him or leave him. I haven't liked him much since XY, so I wouldn't be too upset if he were replaced: I'd simply worry about how his replacement would be handled.
 

DatsRight

Well-Known Member
I was kinda apathetic towards Ash initially, but SM gave him a very likeable 'competent weirdo' personality. He's rather fun and endearing to watch right now, even if I admit he's still not exactly dynamic.

I do admit the show would probably work better going for more a straight up ensemble cast setup like what some other cartoons like Winnie the Pooh and Thomas the Tank Engine do, where Ash is the de facto main protagonist but everyone else gets nearly as much limelight and it's still an equal guess whether it will be an Ash/Lillie/Kiawe/Lana/etc episode. Ash if anything is one of the characters better equipped to supporting roles right now anyway, he has some fun starring roles, but he can shine just as well helping one of the others in their agendas because he has a personality that bounces off of everyone in a fun way. Kiawe is similar, and Lillie and Sophocles are getting there, but they and the others could really use more center stage moments to develop them (though I'm starting to give up on the Mallow episodes).
 
Last edited:

keepitsimple

site of lies
Yeah I'd drop the show if Ash was replaced. Obviously he won't be though so it's all good.

I honestly have no interest in following anyone else's gym/trial/league quest and I'm baffled as to why some people actually think replacing one character with a new one would magically make the show better. I get why people are tired of Ash, but just wrapping up his story quickly and replacing him would feel so weird because he still has a long way to go as a trainer

besides, it comes down to the actual writing of that character. They could easily make the show worse. How would you want this replacement to be like?
 
Last edited:

AznKei

Dawn & Chloe by ddangbi
Yeah I'd drop the show if Ash was replaced. Obviously he won't be though so it's all good.

I honestly have no interest in following anyone else's gym/trial/league quest and I'm baffled as to why some people actually think replacing one character with a new one would magically make the show better. I get why people are tired of Ash, but just wrapping up his story quickly and replacing him would feel so weird because he still has a long way to go as a trainer

besides, it comes down to the actual writing of that character. They could easily make the show worse. How would you want this replacement to be like?
Do you still watching it though? I haven't seen you much in the SM threads...

I'm pretty sure if they changed the protagonists every series since Johto, people would most likely get used to these by now and nobody would question how Ash is important to the show. But they didn't and kept him in every series to the point that it's impossible to replace him, as he's deeply integrated to the show.

As for Pikachu, we can have many versions of them owned by the main protagonists or the companions.
 
Last edited:

Spider-Phoenix

#ChespinGang
There are a lot of people that do though. I still watch the series for Ash.

Same here. He's the character I'm most interested in whenever I watch an episode. One-off things like DP's first episode are good for novelty but I like some Ash in my pokémon series.

Ash is one of the main reasons I still watch the anime. As @xEryChan said, he is the glue that holds the anime together.

That’s not true, I only watch the anime for Ash. To me, Ash is more than just the main character, he is the string that holds everything together. He is not expendable.

I'd not use glue as much as I'd use "the face of the franchise". I remember when we had the Pokémon Go craze and public transportation put "be careful to not throw yourself in the rails" signs around the station and one of the pokemon-related symbols they used was Ash's Kanto hat.

Honestly would not watch the anime if Ash wasn't in it

I'd probably watch it for curiosity's sake but I do agree it wouldn't feel the same.

I honestly have no interest in following anyone else's gym/trial/league quest and I'm baffled as to why some people actually think replacing one character with a new one would magically make the show better. I get why people are tired of Ash, but just wrapping up his story quickly and replacing him would feel so weird because he still has a long way to go as a trainer

besides, it comes down to the actual writing of that character. They could easily make the show worse. How would you want this replacement to be like?

The thing with replacing him is that we'd basically get a character who'd have the same role: be the protagonist, do the main quest. But we have Ash to do all that already. Seems like too much work for not much gain.
 

HoundoomFan

shy shipper
He should’ve been dropped around the end of Johto, or at the longest sinnoh (when Brock left). The isshu series would’ve been a little more tolerable imo with an actual newb instead of ash acting like he was when he was a newb. Nowadays, I don’t care at all about ash. His character doesn’t really matter as most of his plot revolves around him getting 8 badges & failing at the Pokemon leauge, then going to the next region with a random personality change but rinse & repeat. I’ll give props to alola ash though, as he’s doing something a little different & acting like an actual 10 yr old with trainer experience unlike isshu ash (addressed earlier) & kalos ash (rarely acting like 10 yr old & more like boring typical main male shonnen character). But at the end of the day, I’m more invested in his companions as they can have some actual development & we can learn more about them to be invested with them. Ash lost my investment in sinnoh, since he is forced to be stuck in the show & there isn’t really anything to keep interest in him as he’s just going to continually fail to keep the show going. At the end of the day though, it doesn’t matter to me because I’m still watching.
 

DatsRight

Well-Known Member
Ash at least works well as a foil for the companions when it's their development time in SM, giving them someone to bounce off of and better demonstrate their own attributes. If the limelight was a bit more even I'd say Ash would have an indispensable role in SM, since a lot of the companions get better character displays with his brasher but positive personality to contrast against. Kiawe and Lillie in particular likely wouldn't be as fun without him.
 

Entweeb

Active Member
I would say keep him. It's like changing the main character from Conan to Haibara in Detective Conan. Or removing Pikachu for Togedemaru. For the franchise, it's not the best idea. It's like removing saber face from Fate Stay Night. No way in hell are they ever gonna do that. The way things are, removing Ash or his Pikachu is bound to blow something up. The reason as stated by GF was that Pikachu went from a popular pokemon in the game to a full-blown mascot was when they attempted to use the anime to show off a kid traveling with their Pikachu. Removing Ash for a different character isn't going to mean much, but if Pikachu stays consistent with how people associate with the yellow critter, people are gonna be mad. If you remove Pikachu, then you face kids not seeing the mascot. If you have Ash giving away Pikachu, you have angry folks all over the internet and a damning field day for YouTubers like The Know to complain about. Ash works period. He's simply too perfect as the bland hero of the series. He's recognizable, he's generic, and he represents something profitable. Sure, at some point they might have a new series when their demographic shifts and the mascot changes. But at the moment, until someone kills Pikachu and their target demographic aren't children too young to steal vodka from a liquor mart, he's not going anywhere. Because I seriously doubt children their age is giving enough thought as we are into ships and story over someone recognizable with a brand.
 

Leonhart

Imagineer
DatsRight said:
Ash at least works well as a foil for the companions when it's their development time in SM, giving them someone to bounce off of and better demonstrate their own attributes.

That says more about the awful handling of the SM cast than it does about the benefits of having Satoshi around from my vantage point. If they were developed well, they wouldn't even need Satoshi as a foil.
 
Last edited:

DatsRight

Well-Known Member
That says more about the awful handling of the SM cast than it does about the benefits of having Satoshi around from my vantage point. If they were developed well, they wouldn't even need Satoshi as a foil.

Not precisely. As many mention in a previous thread, Ash works better bouncing off of other characters, and one of things I think degraded the use of character agency in previous series, aside from the blatant overuse of formula, was the characters never really merging their talents together in a clever way outside Team Rocket curbstomps that nearly anyone could do. A lot of people liked Ash and Clemont's dynamic in the earlier parts of XY for example since it was arguably the first truly developed 'brains and brawn' dynamic the series had, with Clemont's unique gadgets and smarts complimenting Ash's battling and physical prowess. When things swayed him out of limelight for Serena, who comparatively didn't have as many dynamics or niches that could play against other characters in standard stories, things started to become more generic and dumbed down again.

I see episodes of SM where the characters do get moments that work alright without Ash interfering, usually when it's their turn in centre stage, but those moments of team work and interaction do really help a great deal and add a bit extra life that wasn't often there before in previous series. A good way to make a story more character driven is thinking how one character's attributes comply with another around. Supporting roles can actually be fun and intuitive now.

Take the Ultra Guardian episodes for example, which are all about the companions merging their heads and special attributes together to make some sort of unified plan to stop an Ultra Beast that can't be stopped with simple battling. Sure there are a couple undeveloped companions that are straggling behind and not getting much involvement, but it's a good way of bringing out character and seeing how all the cast bounce off of each other and take affect on how things play out, which makes them more interesting and proactive than waiting for a COTD or Team Rocket to appear and make a simple plot to move things along for them, a formula I could argue is a far more blatant case of a protagonist failing to hold up a plot without another character or plot device.

Take Kiawe for example and notice that, despite getting as many central roles as the usual male companion his chemistry with Ash as a rival and mentor and more developed turns as the lancer/powerhouse of the squad allows him to stick out far more than some previous third wheels like Brock who were often restricted to exposition or running gags.
 
Last edited:

Satomine Night

The Power of Z!
I'd not use glue as much as I'd use "the face of the franchise". I remember when we had the Pokémon Go craze and public transportation put "be careful to not throw yourself in the rails" signs around the station and one of the pokemon-related symbols they used was Ash's Kanto hat.
When I said Ash is the glue that holds the anime together, I meant that he connects all of the series together. Without him, the Pokémon anime would seem like several disconnected stories, rather than one narrative (whether that narrative is cohesive or disjointed is a matter of personal opinion, and sort of irrelevant here).
 

Ignition

We are so back Zygardebros
I can respect the pokemon anime for not changing the main character like other anime's have done, but in other ways there's only so much they can do with him at this point
There's so much they can do, but the writers don't explore his potential to the fullest. It's not as much as the hypothetical new protagonist but there's room for growth
 

AznKei

Dawn & Chloe by ddangbi
There's so much they can do, but the writers don't explore his potential to the fullest. It's not as much as the hypothetical new protagonist but there's room for growth
They have over 20 years to explore his potential to the point I don't care anymore and that my main focus is the companions since we know they'll be gone after each series.
 

Ignition

We are so back Zygardebros
They have over 20 years to explore his potential to the point I don't care anymore and that my main focus is the companions since we know they'll be gone after each series.
Doesn't change the fact that there is room for it. SM has expressed his more fun loving side. I doubt any companion or potential new protagonist would be given different treatment
 

AznKei

Dawn & Chloe by ddangbi
Doesn't change the fact that there is room for it. SM has expressed his more fun loving side. I doubt any companion or potential new protagonist would be given different treatment
Yeah, I know. I might be spoiled with other animes/shows, but I'm still not impressed enough of their attempts to make SM more interesting or the amount of companion spotlights to shine.
 
Top