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Preview Pocket Monsters the series (2019)

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Gotta side with everyone here who's said the episodic comment isn't really that big of a deal. Most of the arcs within the anime, when they have them, do tend to be relatively short (there are a couple of exceptions, mainly leagues) so I don't think it's going to be too jarring or different or anything like that.

Also, I don't see why this would automatically prohibit old characters or Pokemon from appearing. Brock and Misty's arcs in SM were literally two episodes apiece. The writers can obviously fit in those kinds of things to shorter arcs if they want to.

I feel like there's been a lot of clickbait articles floating around about the new anime, so I really enjoyed getting to read direct translations from that article. There were some very cute details in there! Loved reading about some of the main differences between SM and the new series and how Rica tends to act like Ash when she's recording his lines.
 
Last I checked, Sunday night was just as much school night as Thursday night. Much more importantly, however, we live in an era where children are not tied to television schedules more than any time since the dawn of the TV. Most children are very tech savvy these days, and have access to DVR, on demand, and the vast internet. Now more than ever before, children are able to watch the content they want, when they want. In that vein I would personally imagine creating content that becomes "must watch" is a better strategy than just spewing randomness that someone may or may not care to see. Its hard to imagine the producers of Pokemon are that out of touch, which is why I feel this is more of an excuse than anything else.

In general, kids still enjoy episodic anime and series. That's why many anime and series directed to children are still episodic (even if there is an overarching arc).

Kids don't worry so much about the idea of "filler" (which doesn't really exist in a mainly episodic anime), but they could enjoy the self-contained adventures where they see new places and Pokemon.

Also, kids can look for information, but they will only look for information if they are interested. That's why it is convenient if the episodes are easily accesible for them (if an episode isn't accesible, it could alienate them).
 
Just wanna say, I absolutely love the special art they've commissioned and are sharing on Twitter to commemorate these first few episodes. I wish they'd carry this on, I'd love to see similar official art for a Rocket episode <3

I just hope we get something Rocket related period soon, they're completely absent from every summary thus far
 
In general, kids still enjoy episodic anime and series. That's why many anime and series directed to children are still episodic (even if there is an overarching arc).
Also, kids can look for information, but they will only look for information if they are interested. That's why it is convenient if the episodes are easily accesible for them (if an episode isn't accesible, it could alienate them).

I think you're giving kids way too little credit. Like, for me personally, the first series I got to watch was Diamond & Pearl, back when I was 6, which had a good amount of call-backs and references to past series (not to mention past characters, like Aipom, Brock, May and all of Ash's reserves returning). So, as a kid who didn't watch the previous series back then, you'd think that I would've been very confused by all of them. But, actually, it was the opposite. Most of them actually intrigued me and made me want to learn more about the anime (and those that didn't... well, I just payed them no mind), which led to me searching around the internet to learn more about Pokémon (which led to me learning about the OG and AG series and the characters and Pokémon from those series and finding Bulbapedia and learning about the games and even finding out that there was a continuation (the infamous Best Wishes series) that I didn't know about because, for whatever reason, it wasn't broadcasted in my country). And back then, while pretty big, the internet wasn't as huge or as accessible and ubiquitous as it is today. So, if kid me could do all of this back in 2006 and beyond, then surely today's generation (who are practically born with technology in their hands) would be more than capable to search for info about Ash's past companions and his other Pokémon on the internet.
 
I think you're giving kids way too little credit. Like, for me personally, the first series I got to watch was Diamond & Pearl, back when I was 6, which had a good amount of call-backs and references to past series (not to mention past characters, like Aipom, Brock, May and all of Ash's reserves returning). So, as a kid who didn't watch the previous series back then, you'd think that I would've been very confused by all of them. But, actually, it was the opposite. Most of them actually intrigued me and made me want to learn more about the anime (and those that didn't... well, I just payed them no mind), which led to me searching around the internet to learn more about Pokémon (which led to me learning about the OG and AG series and the characters and Pokémon from those series and finding Bulbapedia and learning about the games and even finding out that there was a continuation (the infamous Best Wishes series) that I didn't know about because, for whatever reason, it wasn't broadcasted in my country). And back then, while pretty big, the internet wasn't as huge or as accessible and ubiquitous as it is today. So, if kid me could do all of this back in 2006 and beyond, then surely today's generation (who are practically born with technology in their hands) would be more than capable to search for info about Ash's past companions and his other Pokémon on the internet.

It is not my intention to give children little credit.

However, not all kids are equal. There are children who could be intrigued, but others could be confused and alienated.

Children will look for information if something interests them, I have never questioned that. As you say, it's easier today, but they important thing is that they need to be interested.


Regarding episodic anime, as a kid, I enjoyed a lot of these self-contained adventures. I wasn't so interested in an overarching arc (in OS, I guess the League was that), but the particular adventures Ash and his group live each episode.

In general, I think many kids could really enjoy self-contained adventures. That's why the episodic style is so popular in anime and series for children.
 
It is not my intention to give children little credit.

However, not all kids are equal. There are children who could be intrigued, but others could be confused and alienated.

Children will look for information if something interests them, I have never questioned that. As you say, it's easier today, but they important thing is that they need to be interested.
If someone wasn't interested in the anime, they wouldn't even count as fans in the first place. What makes you think that having some random CotD instead of a past character, which mind you will be a lot more interesting and actually encourage the newer fans to check out the past series, will interest someone if the latter can't?
Regarding episodic anime, as a kid, I enjoyed a lot of these self-contained adventures. I wasn't so interested in an overarching arc (in OS, I guess the League was that), but the particular adventures Ash and his group live each episode.

In general, I think many kids could really enjoy self-contained adventures. That's why the episodic style is so popular in anime and series for children.
The episodic structure and past characters have no co-relation in any negative way. If anything, they benefit each other. I'll leave this post by @sc190191 here, he does a better job of explaining it.
Last I checked, Sunday night was just as much school night as Thursday night. Much more importantly, however, we live in an era where children are not tied to television schedules more than any time since the dawn of the TV. Most children are very tech savvy these days, and have access to DVR, on demand, and the vast internet. Now more than ever before, children are able to watch the content they want, when they want. In that vein I would personally imagine creating content that becomes "must watch" is a better strategy than just spewing randomness that someone may or may not care to see. Its hard to imagine the producers of Pokemon are that out of touch, which is why I feel this is more of an excuse than anything else.


I really hope you are right.

On a separate note, the age old argument that past companions reappearing would be too much for the new audience has reappeared for the millionth time. Although I have argued against this many times in the past, I have thought of an example that may be useful, although very few on here change their minds to age old arguments, and with certain individuals it isn't even worth trying (valiant effort @Panky.. but many have failed before you and will continue to fail after...).

Anyway, on to the example, take the episode "Hot Springing a Leak". Dawn happened to already have a preexisting relationship with Leona. Leona had never appeared before in the anime, so none of the audience knew who she was. The episode wasn't dedicated to establishing Leona and Dawn's past relationship, it was just a regular filler type plot for the era. Having Leona instead of a random cotd didn't damage the episode in anyway, in fact it probably made the main cast's involvement more believable, because sometimes they get overly involved with people they just met. For many, it was pretty cool to see a glimpse into Dawn's past as well, getting to meet one of her old friends. The episode still stood on the same plot it could have with a random cotd, and whether you liked the episode or not, it really didn't make a huge difference that Dawn knew Leona, if anything it only improved the episode.

Now take this example into present day, I can't see using someone like Dawn instead of a new cotd for a filler type episode being anything but good. They don't need to delve into the fact that Ash already knows her, in fact, imagine in real life when you are introducing an old friend to a new friend. If you want the two to like each other, you don't just reminisce about stuff only one of the friends could relate to, you try to include both. In the same vein, an episode with someone like Dawn could take place exactly as it would have with a random cotd and not be off-putting to new audience. On the other hand, it would make literally thousands of people extremely happy and be watched by people who aren't even watching the anime anymore. If it is done frequently enough, instead of being an Alola, Kanto type nostalgia fest, it can just be a character in the series being involved in a completely new plot with very little set-up necessary.

Although times have changed, characters that were extremely popular during their original run in the anime were liked for a number of reasons, and there is little reason to believe the same characters wouldn't be liked anymore. It also is easier on the writers and artists because they aren't coming up with new storylines and designs. Sure some cotds have specific backstories, so you can't always substitute an old character, but in many cases in could work extremely well. I really fail to see the negatives. If new fans don't really like the old character, it really isn't any different than if they didn't like a cotd, but they do get a glimpse into a friend from Ash's past, which can be interesting, even to new fans. But lets say someone really loves Dawn in a return episode, then finds out she was a main character for an entire series, and goes back and watches it, I can't see that as anything but positive (well unless they decide they like DP a lot more than today's stuff and become as negative as I am...).

The new series may not even have cotds, but there still is plenty of ways to involve old characters, especially with every region being involved. I really fail to see any negative in involving old characters, and there are so many positives. That being said, I still am not optimistic it will happen, but I think it is worth stating where I am in the argument as to its feasibility.
 
If someone wasn't interested in the anime, they wouldn't even count as fans in the first place. What makes you think that having some random CotD instead of a past character, which mind you will be a lot more interesting and actually encourage the newer fans to check out the past series, will interest someone if the latter can't?

As a kid, I enjoyed a lot of random adventures with CotD. It's possible other kids will enjoy that too.

The point of making an anime easily accesible is to attract new audience. Past characters won't be so special for a new audience.

That said, although I don't think we will see old companions returning (especially not as permanent members of the cast), I would not assure that it will not happen.

Let's wait and see.
 
I think you're giving kids way too little credit. Like, for me personally, the first series I got to watch was Diamond & Pearl, back when I was 6, which had a good amount of call-backs and references to past series (not to mention past characters, like Aipom, Brock, May and all of Ash's reserves returning). So, as a kid who didn't watch the previous series back then, you'd think that I would've been very confused by all of them. But, actually, it was the opposite. Most of them actually intrigued me and made me want to learn more about the anime (and those that didn't... well, I just payed them no mind), which led to me searching around the internet to learn more about Pokémon (which led to me learning about the OG and AG series and the characters and Pokémon from those series and finding Bulbapedia and learning about the games and even finding out that there was a continuation (the infamous Best Wishes series) that I didn't know about because, for whatever reason, it wasn't broadcasted in my country). And back then, while pretty big, the internet wasn't as huge or as accessible and ubiquitous as it is today. So, if kid me could do all of this back in 2006 and beyond, then surely today's generation (who are practically born with technology in their hands) would be more than capable to search for info about Ash's past companions and his other Pokémon on the internet.

People needing to look stuff up on considered bad storytelling. Not that I disagree with you, but a story should ideally be accessible without needing to look stuff up online.
 
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People needing to look stuff up on considered bad storytelling.

That's not how sequels work. A sequel (which is what every new series has been in relation to the previous one) will naturally make references to events that happened in the previous instalment(s). Having characters mention past events or having characters from the previous series appear isn't bad storytelling. If anything, I'd say it's quite the opposite, since it helps make the previous seasons and the overarching story (in this case, the journey of Ash Ketchum) feel more connected and coherent. What would actually be bad storytelling is if they made references to events that happened to them in the past but were never shown before (like, for example, Ash saying that he once fought against Lance or that he won a famous tournament that we've never heard of before) or having stuff happens that was never properly established before and would only make sense if you read some expanded material (like, let's say, Pikachu suddenly having a completely different moveset and it inexplicably knowing moves that didn't exist prior to Gen 8).

So, in short, no, having past characters return or having references to past events be made isn't bad storytelling.
 
As a kid, I enjoyed a lot of random adventures with CotD. It's possible other kids will enjoy that too.

The point of making an anime easily accesible is to attract new audience. Past characters won't be so special for a new audience.

That said, although I don't think we will see old companions returning (especially not as permanent members of the cast), I would not assure that it will not happen.
If people enjoy CotD, I can pretty much guarantee they'll enjoy recurring characters more. For your second line, I'll just assume you didn't read @sc190191 or you wouldn't have typed that out.
Also, the SwSh wild battle theme remix sounds absolutely LIT. We NEED a soundtrack release. NOW.
Indeed, though I hope they also mix up every Gen's soundtracks. And for that matter, we need a proper BW, XY and SM anime OST release.
 
If people enjoy CotD, I can pretty much guarantee they'll enjoy recurring characters more. For your second line, I'll just assume you didn't read @sc190191 or you wouldn't have typed that out.

That not necessarily will happen. New audience could consider old characters not different from CotD, since they don't have the emotional attachment to these characters.

I've read some things that @sc190191 have say. I don't exactly know what you are speaking.
 
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