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Anime & Manga General Discussion

If you’re asking about most recently; Goh just caught Grookey which means he now has all 3 Galar starters leaving none to go to Ash for the first time ever. A lot of people are upset about this while many (like myself) are ok with it. Some people are also upset about how it was done (I.e. it was originally a Team Rocket mon from their Gatcha Machine that contains random Pokémon), while others actually think that was neat twist.
Ok. Thanks.
 
If you’re asking about most recently; Goh just caught Grookey which means he now has all 3 Galar starters leaving none to go to Ash for the first time ever. A lot of people are upset about this while many (like myself) are ok with it. Some people are also upset about how it was done (I.e. it was originally a Team Rocket mon from their Gatcha Machine that contains random Pokémon), while others actually think that was neat twist.
THAT'S what happened? Hm, not gonna lie I'm not really surprised Goh got Grookey.

Honestly, at this point, I think the main thing people are watching journeys for is Chloe. I don't blame them. (Ash and Team Rocket fans don't count, since there are very few...also because its generally agreed by those two fans that Ash and Team Rocket in this series is just..not the best...?)

This is why I like the thing they're doing with the movies, and in all honesty, I wish the Alternate characters got the anime instead. Especially in The Power of Us movie! I mean, seriously! Team Rocket was still a bit unnecessary and kind of nuisances in that movie, but they fit their roles well by being directly responsible for the conflict...and selling juice. For money. Which seems like a thing they'd do. And Ash and Pikachu's relationship is well done in this movie too...and Ash himself is just so...alive. "Just calm down...this is a festival, after all, so why don't you just go have some fun?! *casually tosses lemon*" One of the best lines in the movie from Ash, hands down. Anyone like the super cheesy and childish part of Ash? Look no further than his "Pokemon Power" speech. Competent Ash? Him teaching Risa how to catch a pokemon. Bad-ass Ash? *Clears throat* MARGO. Literally any time Ash leaps into action in this movie-this applies to him. Affectionate? Yeah, Ash and Pikachu are just...great in this movie. Seriously...you know how much their friendship is shoved down our throats sometimes in the anime? Like, I love them-they're an iconic duo, but sometimes...they need to show and not tell their relationship more often. This movie did that-showed their relationship without blatantly having someone else point out how "close" the two are.

I mean, don't get me wrong, I love the Pokeani cast. But things fell apart after BW, and even though I continued to love every cast member...when we got to Goh, for the first time in history, I actually kind of disliked one of Ash's friends. It's funny, because I used to LIKE Goh. Then it fell apart at a certain point and now I'm praying the anime directors continue with the whole "alternate characters in movie" direction-because I'm loving it(or...maybe just The Power of Us, and Secrets of the Jungle is shaping up to look good too! I Choose You was just...yeah, I liked Verity and Sorrel somewhat...but...they're forgettable.)

...or maybe this is just an over-complicated way of trying to put my avatar picture on a pedestal(lol not really, I just love how cute Ash and Pikachu look in this picture...also they're basically representing me and how I feel as a writer in this pic).
 
Honestly, at this point, I think the main thing people are watching journeys for is Chloe. I don't blame them. (Ash and Team Rocket fans don't count, since there are very few...also because its generally agreed by those two fans that Ash and Team Rocket in this series is just..not the best...?)
I like Chloe but TR and Ash have a ton of fans. I actually like TR in this series. Ash I’m pretty neutral towards but then I’ve been neutral towards him for a while now.
 
I like Chloe but TR and Ash have a ton of fans. I actually like TR in this series. Ash I’m pretty neutral towards but then I’ve been neutral towards him for a while now.
No, that's not what I meant exactly...sorry for not being specific before. I meant that there isn't actually much disagreement or controversy over Chloe's character as there is with Team Rocket(specifically the Gatcha machine) and Ash. Don't get me started on Goh, though.

One thing I do love about the Pokeani fandom though, is that no matter how toxic we can be, deep down, we're really just the excited little kids inside. I was pretty sure that when Iris showed up in that new Journeys opening people wouldn't care less, but you have people discussing it, getting hyped, and wondering if she and Gary are going to team up against Ash in some humorous scene. A lot of people are discussing her dragon mater goal and like...I thought people didn't like her?! This makes me happy, though.
 
No, that's not what I meant exactly...sorry for not being specific before. I meant that there isn't actually much disagreement or controversy over Chloe's character as there is with Team Rocket(specifically the Gatcha machine) and Ash. Don't get me started on Goh, though.

One thing I do love about the Pokeani fandom though, is that no matter how toxic we can be, deep down, we're really just the excited little kids inside. I was pretty sure that when Iris showed up in that new Journeys opening people wouldn't care less, but you have people discussing it, getting hyped, and wondering if she and Gary are going to team up against Ash in some humorous scene. A lot of people are discussing her dragon mater goal and like...I thought people didn't like her?! This makes me happy, though.
Ah, I understand. To be fair, I do like some major aspects of Goh. Overall his character is just decent to me, not great, but his goals are something I relate to personally when it comes to Pokémon.

The passion of the pokeani community is a blessing and a curse. As a whole I think we could all stand to take the show a bit less seriously and learn to appreciate and/or critique it for what it is.
 
The passion of the pokeani community is a blessing and a curse. As a whole I think we could all stand to take the show a bit less seriously and learn to appreciate and/or critique it for what it is.
*sigh* Yup. Pokeani fandom's biggest weakness right there. There's a difference between actual critiquing and just simply being salty because of something you WANT to happen. Like, people were mad about Goodra's release-like really mad-and there were a lot of hate posts...but like...nobody thought to consider WHY Ash released Goodra?! Like, it's kind of freaking sad???!!!
 
*sigh* Yup. Pokeani fandom's biggest weakness right there. There's a difference between actual critiquing and just simply being salty because of something you WANT to happen. Like, people were mad about Goodra's release-like really mad-and there were a lot of hate posts...but like...nobody thought to consider WHY Ash released Goodra?! Like, it's kind of freaking sad???!!!
I would say this is the difference between in-universe analysis and meta analysis. I can't talk about Goodra in particular since I didn't see that discussion, but for every large backlash (small one or two person ones are another matter) even if like all internet things it grows distorted beyond what is needed I feel there's pretty much always a logical core for the complaints more than "not something I wanted".

I'll go way back to one of the first ones; Charizard's release. It was done 100% to nerf Ash for the Johto Gym challenge, and everyone knew it, rather than increasing the strength of the Gym Leaders like happened for Falkner.
 
I'll go way back to one of the first ones; Charizard's release. It was done 100% to nerf Ash for the Johto Gym challenge, and everyone knew it, rather than increasing the strength of the Gym Leaders like happened for Falkner.
So then why do people put the blame on Ash specifically? This seems more like a writing decision if anything.
 
Journeys when Ash's KAMOONs arc ends:
Filler.png
 
I think they just hated to see a beloved Pokémon leave Ash's team and nailed the blame on Ash.
And then that started a trend...still though, I feel as if majority of decisions critiqued in pokemon are on the basis of whether or not it would happen in the games. Like logically, it wouldn't make sense to release Charizard, but Ash did it anyway-so people are pinning the blame on him for...being considerate...? I keep bringing up Goodra's release because that's the strongest moment I remember of this, but people were irritated that it was Ash's first "psuedo legendary"(again, just a fan term based on game statistics) and he released it. Hell, now that I think about it, even if you blame the writers for that, it's a weird thing to blame them for, since THAT'S when it comes down to personal preference: Goodra's arc came to a close and was completed-a goodbye was a nice way to end it off. (Until the Kalos league, but we don't talk about the Kalos league...)
 
Tbh, I don't really watch the anime for Ash and gang (I don't hate them, just not that interested). I usually watch the episodes with characters I like (like watching the episode with Cheryl once during my lunch break, or watching the Wallace Cup arc at least five times during quarantine), which is why I got so excited when characters like Wikstrom and Korrina appeared/reappeared. The only exception is the Kalos arc, which I'm watching start to finish with my mom because I love Kalos. I don't know if this is the best way to watch the anime, but it works for me, and that's all that matters to me.
I'm out of the loop with characters like Goh, but I've sort of caught up on the stuff with him having all the starters, and my general opinion is that I don't really care.
 
So then why do people put the blame on Ash specifically? This seems more like a writing decision if anything.
Honestly I suspect it's because a lot of fans were young at the time and didn't always distinguish in and out of universe reasons behind writing. Nowadays I see blaming Ash for these things seems rarer (not non-existent though) and more pushed on the writing instead.

still though, I feel as if majority of decisions critiqued in pokemon are on the basis of whether or not it would happen in the games. [
Ah, this gets brought up far too much, I agree. I can agree with criticism regarding inconsistency with game rules (the show being inconsistent on if Ground is immune to Electricity for a fairly long time), though. Though the complaining whenever someone wins with a type disadvantage is silly; you can 100% do that in the games. As an RPG it's even entirely baked into the mechanics.
(Oddly enough compared to mechanics faithfulness I don't see much--if any--discussion about how the anime handles the game's general theme as a coming of age story, which I find a much more interesting topic when it comes to an adaptation).

I keep bringing up Goodra's release because that's the strongest moment I remember of this, but people were irritated that it was Ash's first "psuedo legendary"(again, just a fan term based on game statistics) and he released it. Hell, now that I think about it, even if you blame the writers for that, it's a weird thing to blame them for, since THAT'S when it comes down to personal preference: Goodra's arc came to a close and was completed-a goodbye was a nice way to end it off. (Until the Kalos league, but we don't talk about the Kalos league...)
As I mentioned before I wasn't visiting here much when Goodra was released, but seeing comments about it later on gave me the impression many people feel Goodra's arc was poorly handled, as they were rushed through evolution, given one Gym battle, released, then came back for the league to not do much.

I suspect it's also that releases were always unpopular in general and Ash had pretty much stopped doing it after Johto, so I think there'd still be backlash even if Goodra had been a more common Pokémon instead.
 
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