A time of change?

[Toastie]

So, the anime format is getting comfortable. A little to comfortable?
It's always the same story: Ash journeys to a new region, bringing Pikachu along, meets the female player character of the region, then meets up with Brock (or vice versa.)
Do you think there's going to be a change? What would you like to see happen?
I, personally, would like to see Misty return, but give the Male player character a reacurring role as well. You see, I've been watching earlier episodes (ones with Misty in) and noticed they are much, much funnier. I know this obvious, but if Misty became a coordinator and her Gym was taken over by one of her sisters, who realise that battling isn't so bad after all, her arguments with Ash would return. These usually end in Ash getting hurt, which is satisfying to see.
I've had my say, now you have yours!
P.S. If this is to similar to another topic, then feel free to lock it.

 

[Doctor Oak]

It's funny how you think the anime is getting stale and, yet, your recommendations for fixing that is to retread even older ground by bringing Misty back and unoriginally making her a co-ordinator - ie: even more stale.

Regardless, the anime's formula isn't likely to change. Japan is pretty anal about taking a single formula and sticking to it forever - just look at Super Sentai (Power Rangers). That's pretty much identical year to year, but still pretty damn successful for doing so. With Pokemon continuing to be a huge success, there's no way they're going to massively change anything about it.

I wouldn't be remiss if they just finally got rid of Brock in the next Generation though. He finished serving his purpose a long while ago, and his complete lack of any real activity on the show - and especially the movies - really do make him nothing more than a third wheel with a mildly amusing comic relief aspect.

I don't even care if they just bring in some other random male character to replace him - the fact they'll be new will at least mean there'll be something to do with them.

 

[Mystic_Suicune]

I agree with the Doc. I feel that Brock is just the cook and nothing more than that and the comic relief. And Misty would make it even more repetitive, and I can't see her as a coordinator.

Even if I agree with the Doc, I still have my own opinions. Now this has been discussed many times but three words: new protagonist please. I mean, if it made Yu-Gi-Oh! more interesting, why wouldn't it help Pokemon? However, once again, Doctor Oak is right; the single formula works well for Japan, so there isn't much chance for a huge change. If there was a new protagonist, it would probably be the same kind of story line.

What I think would be interesting, is having the story told from Jessie, James and Meowth's (or any character but Ash's) point of view. I feel that would fill in some gaps.

 

[KoL]

As far as the "bring back Misty" issue goes, Alex is right - if Misty had stayed and Brock had left, people would be complaining about how stale she is. Bringing her back isn't going to freshen up the show, all it will do is dig an old grave and at the end of the day, it's best to let sleeping dogs lie.

I personally think the anime as a whole just needs a complete redo. It needs new characters, new story (or at least, a fresh version of the same-old same-old Pokemon story,) and more of a direction and plot than Ash's story had. I've not watched the anime for years, and I can safely say I'll never watch it again until these changes happen. If they don't happen, then I'll never watch it again, period. I'm not bashing the anime's success here by any means - I just don't watch shows I don't like.

 

[Spix]

Now, I haven't watched the anime since it first started airing, but I'd like to bring this perspective into the discussion as well. Most people who enjoyed Pokemon as it first started, game, anime, or cards, felt some form of skepticism or estrangement when generation II Pokemon appeared. I can't help but feel that this section of the audience would feel even less connected to the Pokemon anime if they were to replace Ash, Brock, Jesse, James etc. with other people.

It's one thing to have these characters come in and out of the series as it progresses, but if not even one familiar face was left, wouldn't you feel a bit out of place watching these people you don't know? I guess I'm making some large assumptions about how others feel about the anime, but as far as I can tell from people I've talked with, this general mindset is no stranger. If they were to introduce new characters gradually, or (heaven forbid) Ash grew up and finally became a Pokemon Master or Gym Leader or whatever, that would be another story. It'd have finality, and a polite nod to the older audience, I feel. If it were the case that it became a very abrupt reboot of the series, however, I would be pretty pissed off.

My point is, yes, the anime needs some changes. But I'm also hesitant to accept any changes to something with such a large amount of nostalgic value.

Also, yes I realize that people above the age of 12 aren't exactly their target audience. But we're still a part of the audience, however small or large we may be in proportion.

 

[RLRL]

Pokébeach had an interview with someone to do with the anime about a year ago where they asked about the possibility to have brock leave and have a male join the party instead, it was made pretty clear that the anime designers are happier just changing the female protagonist every generation rather than ditch brock. What I thought was funny about the interview was the concept of the GS ball, apparently it was originally going to contain celebi and there be a story arc around celebi, instead it was a main character in the 4th movie and the concept was dropped in hopes that people watching the show would just forget about it.

It's also pretty clear that even if Ash does win a tournament he will never stop just going to new regions, not representing the games main protagonist doesn't really factor in when it comes to plugging the same franchise as far as the anime is concerned, in the same vein that every game contains pikachu really, they're iconic for the franchise. Raikou legend of thunder and the housou episodes are pretty much the best we'll get for non ash related episodes really.