Anime director Yoshikazu Miyao posted he's working in a new Pokémon Project with OLM

[Hidden Mew]

I believe that the established formula isn't gone, just that they would have to either hard reboot Ash or have a new protagonist.

I don't think that they'd have to go in either direction. A hard reboot wouldn't be necessary when they can just give Ash a fresh team like they always do. Plus, I can't really see them eliminating the entire continuity. That would be removing more than just Ash's experience. That would be getting rid of a lot of characters and twenty five years of nostalgia for them to milk whenever they see fit. While I suppose it wouldn't be impossible for them to go that route, it just seems really unlikely to me, especially when it feels so unnecessary to boot. They don't need to go that hard to justify Ash battling Gyms again. They aren't going to have a new protagonist. Ash and Pikachu are way too iconic, they are the faces of the anime and it's way too late for that to be a viable option.

 

[nickdt]

I don't think that they'd have to go in either direction. A hard reboot wouldn't be necessary when they can just give Ash a fresh team like they always do. Plus, I can't really see them eliminating the entire continuity. That would be removing more than just Ash's experience. That would be getting rid of a lot of characters and twenty five years of nostalgia for them to milk whenever they see fit. While I suppose it wouldn't be impossible for them to go that route, it just seems really unlikely to me, especially when it feels so unnecessary to boot. They don't need to go that hard to justify Ash battling Gyms again. They aren't going to have a new protagonist. Ash and Pikachu are way too iconic, they are the faces of the anime and it's way too late for that to be a viable option.

Not only that, a lot of people who want Ash to leave are forgetting that its not only Ash and Pikachu that are getting replaced, but also Jessie, James, Meowth and Wobbuffet. But all Six are way to iconic at this point to leave.

We also shouldn't forget something that was said by Team Rocket after Ash's win...

It feels like we are forgetting something (Which is chasing Ash and Pikachu, which for me semi-confirms Ash and the TRio are going to the next region).

 

[Emelie]

Tbh I wouldn't be disappointed if we got a shorter anime based on the game plots of PLA and SV. Although I would prefer something that is just a little bit longer like Origins not a 5 minute clip that feels like a cutscene that should have been in the actual game (will we ever get voice acting?).

I hope it's not like Hisuian Snow though. I want to see characters like Arven not a random guy who is not even in the games.

 

[Lucifer Angel]

Why not just give us something new that we all can enjoy.

 

[Kurolegacy]

Why not just give us something new that we all can enjoy.

Because that in and of itself is subjective. What one group of people want isn’t always what another does. And even then, there’s the possibility of getting what you want but not the way that you wanted it a la the monkey’s paw.

 

[PkmnTrainerV]

He's simply evolved so much as a character for that to make sense. They've thrown the established formula right out the window with Journeys. I believe that if the writers wanted to continue with the old formula Journeys would never have been made and instead they would have made a Galar-centric saga instead.

Ash can turn into whatever the writers want him to be to continue a saga. They can always choose to emphasise different character traits like SM.

 

[Shadao]

Despite Ash's accomplishments in Journeys, I wouldn't say that he's evolved so much as a character. He's able to defeat Champion level trainers, which is impressive, but I wouldn't really say he went through significant character development during the series. It also doesn't mean that every Pokemon he catches in the future will be instantly strong enough to take down Champions. Resetting Ash wouldn't necessarily mean they'd have to pull another Pikachu vs. Snivy. He can just use inexperienced Pokemon against trainers with stronger Pokemon.

It's also hard to say that they've permanently gotten rid of the established formula based on this series when it's clearly more of an exception. Even SM still focused on Alola and adapted the Island Challenge, even if it was poorly done, so Journeys is the only series thus far where they didn't adapt the Gym quest or the stand in for Gyms in the case for SM. It is still possible for them to do something different in the next series instead, but I don't think that the existence of Journeys means that they'll never do another Gym quest or focus on a specific region again.

I think we're forgetting a very important factor that hasn't crossed the fandom's mind until a particular pattern of hiatus in the last year of Journeys displayed itself.

In theory, the Pokémon anime can go on forever as long as there are games to promote. In practice, it only goes as long as there's enough animators to keep up with the workload. Animation is not easy and with low-pay, there's a lot of incentive for animators to look for less stressful projects.

I don't think Ash, Pikachu or TR would suddenly retire. But it has become clear that the anime is suffering animator shortage, which necessitate hiatus on a more frequent basis. What this means is that the new Pokémon series may be scaled back considerably. And this would mean that the established formula would yet again be revised to accommodate for new changes.

 

[SammyW27]

In theory, the Pokémon anime can go on forever as long as there are games to promote.

Exactly. THAT is what's kept them alive all these years. Doesn't matter how bad the ratings are or hoe few people see the Movies, they're still being funded by the games.

What this means is that the new Pokémon series may be scaled back considerably. And this would mean that the established formula would yet again be revised to accommodate for new changes.

Personally, I think they should do what most anime do these days and have a certain number of episodes per year.

 

[Jaye]

They're not funded by the games. They're funded by a committee of multiple stakeholders plus whatever OLM earns to funnel back into the project. The games could stop tomorrow and the anime could still air so long as the Pokemon Company sees value in still having one, TV Tokyo want it on their channel, and OLM are still able to make it.

A key part of that is reception. Contrary to popular belief, the anime isn't impervious to poor ratings/low viewership. There's literally no point in an animated project which nobody is watching, especially if said project is supposed to be part of a larger advertising plan.

 

[JinksChow]

They're not funded by the games. They're funded by a committee of multiple stakeholders plus whatever OLM earns to funnel back into the project. The games could stop tomorrow and the anime could still air so long as the Pokemon Company sees value in still having one, TV Tokyo want it on their channel, and OLM are still able to make it.

A key part of that is reception. Contrary to popular belief, the anime isn't impervious to poor ratings/low viewership. There's literally no point in an animated project which nobody is watching, especially if said project is supposed to be part of a larger advertising plan.

Perhaps, but the last time that TVTokyo expressed their opinion on the viewership ratings of Pokemon (in 2018, when Pokemon SM absolutely crashed in viewership ratings after the timeslot change), they have insisted that they do not care about low ratings:

https://news.livedoor.com/lite/article_detail/15737790/

While I personally don't really agree with TVTokyo's assessment, that was their stance on the matter back then.

 

[Shadao]

Exactly. THAT is what's kept them alive all these years. Doesn't matter how bad the ratings are or hoe few people see the Movies, they're still being funded by the games.


Personally, I think they should do what most anime do these days and have a certain number of episodes per year.

It sure killed the annual Pokémon movie since 2020. We haven't gotten a Pokémon Movie since Secrets of the Jungle.

This why I said "in theory."

All it takes to for the anime to suddenly stop is if the animation studio either ran out of animators or money to pay said-animators. Really, contrary to RileyXY1's claim, Ash and Pikachu are the real bedrock of the main series, being applicable to new stories and adventures whenever possible. It's the established formula that is prone to radical changes and we have already seen the effects in BW, XY, SM, and JN. And since we're seeing JN suffering hiatus and a lot of outsourcing to other animation companies, I'm feeling that the hypothetical SV anime is being delayed to either move the anime to a new studio or to scale back the anime production.

 

[Galar Adventurer]

TV Tokyo stated in a press conference that Ash is staying and that we'll hear about what's next for him in
an announcement during episode 134's broadcast.

https://twitter.com/DogasusBackpack/status/1598215408649007104

https://twitter.com/DogasusBackpack/status/1598215415301214209

 

[LuxrayOfTheWild]

Whatever this is, we'll know on Friday. All we know for certain is Yoshikazu Miyao is working on a new anime related project, it is highly likely SV related, and Ash's adventures aren't over. Hoping this is the announcement we've all waited for.

 

[JinksChow]

Well, they must have been crying a lot over the past three years then

 

[Hidden Mew]

I'm glad that we'll finally get some news for what's next for the anime this week. It seems weird that they didn't announce that detail sooner, if only to create more hype, but we'll still get something and after months of nothing, any kind of news to speculate on is great. It was obvious that Ash was going to stick around, but I can see why they'd emphasize that after he won the PWC.

 

[kantoskies]

I would absolutely not be surprised if this next "series" of the anime is a series of shorts exclusive to Amazon Prime, or seasonal specials, or shorter 8-10 episode arcs released every few months. With the obvious production issues behind the scenes it would make sense they'd want to try and ease the workload a bit. Of course a new "traditional" series is still the most likely, but I wouldn't rule out the release structure changing.

One way or another I'd love another set of Side Stories / Chronicles -esque episodes. There are so, so, so many more potential stories and characters to explore now than there were in 2002. And honestly if the anime were to ever "end", this could be a great way to close out characters instead of cramming it all into one episode (various specials released over time, each focusing on a different character as their sort of "finale").

The only prediction I have that I'm confident enough in to put out there is that I don't see this series going back to the "classic" formula from OS-XY. The formula of Satoshi traveling to the current region, getting 2-3 new traveling companions, participating in the gym quest, then the regional league, with a villainous plot thrown in there somewhere. Oh sure, a lot of these elements would still return, but I see the overall structure being more experimental in the same way Sun & Moon and Pocket Monsters '19 have been. What that exactly looks like- a new series with the "Journeys" formula, a continuation of the current series but with a distinct new arc a la Kanto > Orange > Johto from the original series, some brand-new thing- I have no idea, but I don't think we'll be seeing another classic series any time soon.

 

[SamurottMan]

The way the announcement has been teased makes me think they're doing something very different for the next series.

 

[MarshiyanMisutaa]

So, was he talking about the 11 episode series or the new series?