A New Change in Serena's Character Design...

[Dr. Buni]

As a short haired woman, this change pleases me. The hair was the least of Serena's problems though and I hope they address the actual flaws of her character.

 

[Bloodstained]

I'm afraid I can't bring myself to like it. Short hair certainly works for some girls, but I don't think Serena's one of them. At least, not with the art I've seen from NovaNoah. Change or get rid of the hat and maybe change the clothes, I guess that's fine. Cut less of the hair and maybe style it into...the style Serena has as the XY rival, that might work. As it stands, I don't think it'll work out.

 

[Perpetual_Phoenix]

I'm afraid I can't bring myself to like it. Short hair certainly works for some girls, but I don't think Serena's one of them. At least, not with the art I've seen from NovaNoah. Change or get rid of the hat and maybe change the clothes, I guess that's fine. Cut less of the hair and maybe style it into...the style Serena has as the XY rival, that might work. As it stands, I don't think it'll work out.

Looks like the majority disagree with you. Including me.

 

[Satsjoe]

I really don't see why this design change is needed. I like her current design much better than this new design. I really hope that this new design (if it's really going to happen) will be temporary and not for the rest of the series.

 

[Bloodstained]

Looks like the majority disagree with you. Including me.

Not everyone disagrees, and I don't care if you do. That's what I think and it's very hard to change my mind.

 

[Shinneth]

I really don't see why this design change is needed. I like her current design much better than this new design. I really hope that this new design (if it's really going to happen) will be temporary and not for the rest of the series.

Like everything else in this anime, it's to promote the games. A major milestone of the X & Y games was the ability to customize your player character, so it could look more like you or who/whatever you wanted it to look like. It's all part of the process. Promote the new Pokemon, promote new characters, and promote whatever else they threw in the game. Character customization was a big deal for a lot of us in the games, so it only makes sense that the anime would eventually play along with that.

 

[Bloodstained]

Like everything else in this anime, it's to promote the games. A major milestone of the X & Y games was the ability to customize your player character, so it could look more like you or who/whatever you wanted it to look like. It's all part of the process. Promote the new Pokemon, promote new characters, and promote whatever else they threw in the game. Character customization was a big deal for a lot of us in the games, so it only makes sense that the anime would eventually play along with that.

It's still a poor excuse for a design change. It's only for money, never for anything more, and that's just sad.

 

[Likeitornot.]

It doesn't bother me. I can understand why it's being shown around now in advance, since she'll probably have the haircut done in Lumiose City, where the salon is located in the game. As well as being for the promotion of this particular feature unique to XY, it does suit her character, as she does regard her appearance with some importance. Also, the fact that Pokemon Performing does place an emphasis on appearance would help- perhaps this haircut is a sign of focus on this aspect of performing as it is a dramatic change in terms of hairstyle; this is not to suggest it would be the only thing that Serena would focus on in regards to the profession, of course.
I do wonder- will she dye it? The silhouette shown neither approves nor disapproves of that. I wouldn't mind if that was or wasn't the case though, it would just be fascinating.
If it is a sign of change, perhaps it is one in terms of conviction than personality, that is what I would hope, considering the change would have to take place after her debut as a performer.

 

[Shinneth]

It's only for money, never for anything more,

Welcome to Merchandise-Driven Anime. Or almost everything ever broadcast on television, if not... well, everything.

They've made far worse changes in Pokemon for this exact reason, so even if Serena's new design doesn't look that good, I'mma just takin' it in stride. (odds are if this is a thing it'll change again before XY ends anyway)

 

[Bloodstained]

Welcome to Merchandise-Driven Anime. Or almost everything ever broadcast on television, if not... well, everything.

They've made far worse changes in Pokemon for this exact reason, so even if Serena's new design doesn't look that good, I'mma just takin' it in stride. (odds are if this is a thing it'll change again before XY ends anyway)

I don't think Breaking Bad was ever merchandise driven. Nothing I make will ever be, either, only for the story. Even if it is a story driven change, it doesn't matter, because it still doesn't look good.

 

[Shinneth]

That's all well and fine. If you don't think it looks good, more power to you. I mean I think sticking so firmly to that opinion when we've seen nothing more than a silhouette is akin to judging a book by its cover, but if you're that certain it'll be terrible, then okay. You're free to think this is the worst thing ever.

But it DOES have a basis. Even if you think adapting an element from the games is a bad reason, it's still a reason. I lost count of things I thought were terrible last series that rarely had reasons at all, so far be it from me to look down on something that has a logical basis. As [mention]Likeitornot[/mention] said, it's not at if this is something that is completely out-of-character for Serena; quite the contrary. If this was Iris getting a makeover, I'd be tilting my head because that goes against what her character is all about. But Serena's established as one who's interested in fashion; she makes outfits by herself frequently, and her dream involves a whole lot of fashion and other aesthetics that would get boring if they were always the same. I had feelings along those lines with Dawn because she almost always wore the same dress to her Contests (even if there were some variations; they were very small ones). Keeping an act fresh when you're all about aesthetics doesn't have to be limited to just clothes. Now, she could just wear her hair in different styles, but I don't see the crime in a haircut, either. It might inspire new ideas for Serena for all we know. And honestly, I think this is a rather progressive move for a fashionista-type character of Pokemon since other characters like her rarely change their style. They're no different from anyone else in the cast that suffers from Limited Wardrobe Syndrome (I forget the proper name of the trope). Having a character properly embrace the nature of changing their look once in a while is refreshing to me. But when it all comes down to it...

I'm not gonna knock it before I try it, at least.

 

[Dr. Buni]

I'm afraid I can't bring myself to like it. Short hair certainly works for some girls, but I don't think Serena's one of them. At least, not with the art I've seen from NovaNoah. Change or get rid of the hat and maybe change the clothes, I guess that's fine. Cut less of the hair and maybe style it into...the style Serena has as the XY rival, that might work. As it stands, I don't think it'll work out.

If her hair is anything like the fanmade picture, then she looks a lot better with short hair than with longer hair.

Not everyone disagrees, and I don't care if you do. That's what I think and it's very hard to change my mind.

Majority =/= everyone. Lol. Serena+Ash never said the word everyone. Stop being so salty about a simple (positive) design change.

 

[Bloodstained]

Keeping an act fresh when you're all about aesthetics doesn't have to be limited to just clothes. Now, she could just wear her hair in different styles, but I don't see the crime in a haircut, either.

The anime has not been fresh in years. This move is out of character for the show itself. It isn't deep like other shows, so it's just not necessary. Sorry of that's a bit off-topic, but it's one more reason this isn't a good idea. Also, from the one fan image based on the silhouette, I already know I dislike it. By the way, the trope's just called Limited Wardrobe, so yeah, you were right for the most part there.

 

[Pokeplayer150]

Hmm, two theories for why I think this is: One, I concur with the majority that this is to help promote character customization or this could potentially be Serena's default design for Pokemon Z, though the former sounds a little more plausible.

 

[Shinneth]

The anime has not been fresh in years. This move is out of character for the show itself. It isn't deep like other shows, so it's just not necessary.

Um. Forgive me if I'm misinterpreting this, but... are you condemning a show for doing something "fresh" because it hasn't been that way for years? That once a show gets bland it should stay bland? Never strive to get better? Never try new things? Even a minor thing like an alternate design for a character? It should just stay Plain Jane because that's what's "in-character" for it?

I'm... I'm not following here. Sorry.

 

[CrashBash]

I'm kinda lost here. All I seem to be hearing is "Serena's got a new hairstyle, so now the whole anime sucks for giving her that hairstyle". I know it's not exactly that, but that's all it seems like to me. I mean, come on, what happened to legitimate reasons for disliking something as a whole? OK, we get it, you don't like Serena's design....think back to BW, how many people disliked Ash's general stupidity? Or Iris' general immaturity? Or Cilan's general annoyingness (....or is that last one seriously just me?)? Compared to them, surely a hairstyle change isn't that big of a deal to get this flustered on? Surely?

 

[Cresselia92]

I may as well put my two cents.

At first, I was very disappointed by the news. I love Serena's actual design, and if she had to change hairstyle I would have preferred to see her with a ponytail (which is my favorite style and the one I use in-game).

However, after a bit of reflections, I thought about the whole customization feature of the games and this haircut could give her the possibility to showcase all the different lengths and hairstyles throughout the series. That's something interesting and quite new for this show.

Now I wonder if she will dye her hair and put contact lenses. That would make her even more unique.

As long as there isn't any deep meaning or epiphany behind her change of style, I'll give it a chance.

 

[Almonds]

Now I wonder if she will dye her hair and put contact lenses. That would make her even more unique.

I would love to see Serena with different hair colors Performers (actresses, singers, etc) in real life frequently change hairstyles and hair colors depending on their performance, so it's possible Serena could also do likewise depending on her performance.

 

[FlyingKitty]

While I haven't watched the Anime in longer than I'd like to admit, I think the idea of any character (especially a main one such as Serena) getting a fresh look from time to time. Maybe it's just me, but one thing I can't stand about animated shows is when the characters rarely age or change clothes.

I also agree with it probably being due to the character customizations in X/Y, and I personally like that. It's always cool to see in-game functions being shown in the Anime, in my opinion.

So in short, I think the idea is brilliant and keeps things looking interesting and fresh.

 

[Moe]

Also, the fact that Pokemon Performing does place an emphasis on appearance would help- perhaps this haircut is a sign of focus on this aspect of performing as it is a dramatic change in terms of hairstyle; this is not to suggest it would be the only thing that Serena would focus on in regards to the profession, of course.

Though the current ending shows she would have a huge amount of flexibility with longer hair. Obviously she can still do things with the shorter hair, but you'd think for the sake of performances it'd be better to have longer hair. Rhyhorn racing on the other hand...