Anime & Manga General Discussion

[JollyYoshi]

I may be a little biased (as I heard Dokimeki first) though I prefer Dokimeki over the English one. The English one definitely sounds a bit more generic. I prefer the more upbeatness of Dokimeki.

The lyrics in the English one feel a little awkward though maybe Dokimeki has awkward lyrics, and I just don’t know it because I don’t understand Japanese.

 

[Hidden Mew]

The full version of the song is a bit of an improvement, although I think that's mostly due to the instrumental music more so than anything else. But I still think it reminds me way too much of a Disney Channel song. That isn't necessarily a bad thing. I like generic fluff pop song and Disney Channel has some catchy songs. I just shouldn't be thinking of Camp Rock whenever I hear any Pokemon opening. The lyrics are also pretty generic, but to be fair, I think that this has been an issue with the dub openings since at least BW.

 

[ehh123]

So I mentioned the Pokeballs having two sizes in the anime before but now that I think about it, when was the last time we saw them in the smaller size?

 

[SlyGecko]

So I mentioned the Pokeballs having two sizes in the anime before but now that I think about it, when was the last time we saw them in the smaller size?

The last time I remembered seeing a pokeball in it's small size was when James caught Inkay.

 

[Sheep]

I just rediscovered my love for Hoenn dub openings and I've been listening to them non-stop.



They're so good and I'm getting hit right in the feels right now. T_T Nothing beats the Japanese OPs but I can't lie about how attached I am to gens 1-3 dub openings.

 

[Eclipsical]

Surprise! It finally didn't take me several months of on-and-off watching to finish a Pokemon series! I watched most of it within the last two or three weeks nearly nonstop! It took me less than two months to watch all of XY(Z)!

People give XY(Z) a lot of high praise and I have found that a majority of it is well-deserved.
Just like when I covered what I thought about Black & White, I have separated everything into categories for ease of reading.

Spoiler: THE MAIN CHARACTERS.

ASH - While BW Ash kind of threw off his trail of progression, we are definitely back on track! By this point, Ash feels experienced and confident in himself and how he trains his Pokemon. He comes up with a lot of creative strategies and he's able to bring out the best in his Pokemon. It is easy to see why so many people look up to him in this series, he is genuinely admirable.

SERENA - I honestly came into this with a somewhat negative feeling towards Serena. While I never had anything against her character, I have always found a certain subsection of her fans to be rather obnoxious. Luckily, I actually think Serena is pretty great. In fact, she might just be my favorite girl companion that Ash has had (maybe a close tie with Dawn). I could relate to her not knowing what her dream or goal was. I still don't know what I really want to do. But I've always kind of had the dream of doing something performance-wise. I really admire her goal of making people smile and that being her primary motivation. She grows to become earnest and passionate, and learn to understand how people feel. Even when she stumbles or fails, she gets back up. I enjoyed her creative performances and how she developed over the course of the series.

CLEMONT - I also really like Clemont. I can relate to him being easily embarrassed. He is responsible and sincere. I love his passion for inventing and his philosophy that inventions should be make for the betterment and mankind. I thought that his arc around Clembot was great. Having him be kicked out of his own gym was a really unique idea for why he would be traveling to begin with. I like how Ash inspires him to keep pushing himself to be the best Gym Leader he can be and what principles he believes a Gym Leader should have. While his inventions almost always blow up, he means well and is always thinking of how he can help others.

BONNIE - The writers definitely learned from their mistakes from Max when making Bonnie. She is a very likable and cute character. I like how Bonnie typically doesn't get scared by the things that scare the rest of the group. She has such a child-like wonder (because she is just a little kid, after all) that everything is fun to her. They were definitely right to give Bonnie a Pokemon of her own when they were so against letting Max have one. It made her a lot more engaging and gave her something specific to do, and she became even more integral to the plot when Squishy is introduced. The relationship between her and Squishy is really endearing, the innocence of a child while winning over a Pokemon with godlike power. The moment when Squishy is being controlled and she sings her little song to him made me emotional. Also, she cheered on Squishy when he literally obliterated Lysandre and that's pretty funny.

If I had to complain about something, her constantly asking women to marry Clemont was annoying.

Spoiler: TEAM ROCKET.

Team Rocket are back to their good-old-fashioned selves after the travesty that was their BW-interpretations.

JESSIE - We finally get to see Jessie back in the theatrical spotlight as Pokemon Performances are introduced. Jessie is often at her best when she is involved in Pokemon Contests and is able to fully utilized her unique sense of creativity. She also has the great episode with her and Wobbuffett where they both consider leaving Team Rocket, she really showed emotional maturity when she intended to let Wobbuffett stay behind in order to be with the little Wobbufett family.

JAMES - While James (and Meowth for that matter) doesn't specifically have anything special to do in this series, he is back to being great in general. His greatest moment is absolutely waking Inkay up using the croissant and reaffirming their bond through his tears.

MEOWTH - Again, while Meowth himself doesn't undergo any significant character moments or development, he has a lot of funny moments throughout the series that showcase why he is such a good character. The episodes where he is tied to Bonnie and when he tries to catch Pikachu in the Poke Ball factory are good examples.

WOBBUFETT - Wobbufett was given a pretty significant power boost for this series. He pretty regularly is able to utilize Counter/Mirror Coat to reflect enemies' attacks back at them. I like to think this was their way of apologizing for booting him from the team in BW and saying that his time at Team Rocket HQ wasn't for nothing and he got stronger because of it. Wobbufett proves it bond with Jessie by sticking with her even after she had decided to leave it.

GOURGEIST - I don't really feel strongly about Gourgeist. It's cool that it evolves but I don't really think it got much focus outside of its evolution. It did make for a cool performance partner, though.

INKAY - I like Inkay more than I like Gourgeist, but it still isn't really making the top of my TR Pokemon list. However, I love how committed it is to James and how far it is willing to go to defend him.

Spoiler: ASH'S POKEMON.

GRENINJA - The star of the show, so to speak. There is a lot to say about Greninja. Many people consider him among the best that Ash has ever had and consider him their personal favorite amongst the entire series. Even though my enjoyment of Greninja does not reach those heights, I still consider him to be a pretty good ace Pokemon. Greninja is defined by his heroic nature. His motivation to get stronger is and always has been from the beginning the pursuit of helping others. I like how Ash's personality begins to rub off on him and he becomes more open and expressive.

I have some mixed feelings regarding Ash-Greninja. I can't deny the fact that he is really cool, because he is. Engulfed in water, a giant Water Shuriken on his back, Cut turning into Kunai and mimicking how Ash behaves physically. It is a really cool and interesting concept. However, the backstory and justification for why Ash-Greninja even exists at all leaves much to be desired. We don't really even know what it is beyond what they tell us of the Bond Phenomenon. But why does the Bond Phenomenon exist? Why is it seemingly only observed in Grenina, and why does Ash's Greninja have it specifically? The real answer is, well, Ash is the main character!

Does the rule of cool trump all of this? Maybe. That's for you to decide.

Now to address the most controversial part: Greninja staying behind in Kalos to deal with the recurring vine problem. I actually don't mind this at all. Greninja has always been defined by his heroic nature. It is in his character to protect people - and lets face it, he isn't going to be doing much of that at Prof. Oak's lab. I'd rather Greninja be doing something meaningful with his mysterious power, which was basically made for something like this, than not use it.

If I had to rank them, I would definitely put Charizard, most likely Infernape, and probably Sceptile above Greninja. But he is still a cool guy.

TALONFLAME - While I still consider Swellow to be the peak of the early-route birds that Ash has owned over the years, Talonflame easily coasts into a safe second place. He has more going for him in terms of personality than a majority of the birds, which typically only exist to pop balloons and conduct aerial searches. His Fire-typing helps to set him apart from the rest of the typically Normal/Flying-type birds. Flame Charge & Steel Wing are cool to watch and provides him some more variety in his moveset.

HAWLUCHA - Now this guy is a chad. He is a performer first and foremost and he won't change his battle style, even if it puts him at a disadvantage. He will just tank your attacks and attack right back at you. He just wants a good and honest back-and-forth battle.

GOODRA - I quite like Goodra and the whole character arc it goes through... and then its over. Establishing Goomy as the weakest dragon sets up a great story about how it grows and becomes incredibly strong. It goes from fleeing in fear to bravely defending it's home. It is really a powerhouse and its usage of Bide is pretty cool. But then, it gets benched for the rest of the series, severely stunting my opinion of it. And when its finally brought back for the League, it really doesn't perform that well. I wish it had stuck around the entire time and we got to see a lot more battles from it.

NOIVERN - Noivern is introduced fairly late into the series and definitely suffers from it. And because he is born from an egg, he isn't ready to really battle until nearly right before it evolves. Because of this lack of screentime and just the fact that he is very young, he pretty much loses or ties most of his battles. I think he is a pretty notorious jobber. And while his sort of parental relationship with Hawlucha is promising, it is really underdeveloped due to their general lack of interaction. I do give him points for taking an attack from Lysandre's Mega Gyarados to protect Pikachu, though.

Spoiler: SERENA'S POKEMON.

BRAIXEN - I think Braixen is a great partner for Serena. I like how they grow together, overcoming their struggles (like not getting muddy) and how much Braixen cherishes the pursuit of their shared dream.

PANCHAM - This guy has a serious case of cool guy syndrome. Even though Pokemon Performances are shown to be a largely girl-focused event, it's cool how he is still has this cool bad-boy persona that he likes to play. I also think its neat how he has special performance glasses.

SYLVEON - I initially thought that Sylveon was annoying as an Eevee. Her overall anxiety and nervousness around basically any social situation caused a lot of problems (which is totally hypocritical of me given my own social anxiety). Sylveon saving Serena when she hurt her wrist during her performance in a way that seemed rehearsed to the audience was smooth and earned points in my book. Her crush on Bunnelby is pretty sweet, too.

Spoiler: CLEMONT'S POKEMON.

BUNNELBY - A great example of a Pokemon that I probably wouldn't care about in the games being made into one I actually like because of it's character in the anime. He is reliable, steadfast partner who can get the job done and his backstory with Clemont was great.

CHESPIN - What should I say about this little goofball? He can be annoying at times - constantly stealing food and getting into fights with Pancham. But I also found him funny at times, so I guess overall I would say I like him. Also, his Pin Missile animation is really cool imo.

LUXRAY - I really don't have much to say about Luxray. It is the strongest Pokemon that Clemont has but it doesn't have much going in the way of personality. For such a popular Pokemon, it doesn't really do a whole lot or make much of an impression.

Spoiler: BONNIE'S POKEMON.

DEDENNE - While Dedenne doesn't exactly do a lot due to being rather small and weak, the relationship between him and Bonnie is strong and he is willing to fight much stronger Pokemon for her sake and that is admirable. I really felt for him when he couldn't handle saying goodbye to everyone. The airport is a pretty weird place, emotionally. The way it communicates with Pikachu using electricity is a nice touch.

SQUISHY - Why is he British? Anyways. Squishy is an interesting character and his character development is integral to the XYZ portion of the series. Initially distrusting humans and slowly learning to see them for what they truly are; flawed, but mostly well-meaning and worth protecting.

Spoiler: ASH'S RIVALS.

TIERNO - I think they did a good job of translating Tierno from the games into the anime. By taking his affinity for dancing and turning it into an entire battle style made him completely unique. He's a good early-series rival for Ash before we get to the main rivals.

SAWYER - Sawyer is a really unique rival for Ash. Normally, Ash is well behind most of his rivals. But for Sawyer, it's the opposite. Sawyer is the one looking up to Ash. Sawyer is the one trying to play catch-up. His dynamic with Ash is interesting because Ash has never really experienced this kind of idolization before. Which is why it affects Ash so much when Sawyer finally does surpass and defeat him for the first time. Sawyer grew so much faster than Ash was expecting. He went from like 5 badges to 8 badges before Ash could get his last one. Sawyer was really grinding away, learning as much as he could from each and every battle he had, and deep down, that scared Ash, which further spurs Ash into developing. Their final battle has emotional catharsis and seeing Sawyer breakdown in private had me feeling weepy.

ALAIN - Alain is a unique rival like no other in the fact that he is the only rival to have gotten an entire side-series about him. Because we get to know Alain personally through his own story, we get to understand him more in-depth than any other rival. While Paul is still the gold standard, I would consider Alain to be in the upper echelons of Ash rivals. He has an interesting storyline: Reluctantly coming to cherish Mairin and having that relationship exploited by Lysandre to gather Mega Evolution Energy for his master plan under the guise of helping him bring peace to the world. Chespie falling into a coma only exasperates his mental problems, pushing everyone away out of fear of hurting them. Then, he meets Ash, and is finally able to have fun battling for the sake of battling and not for some grand goal. Then, after Lysandre is defeated, taking a cue from Ash and starting from zero.

Spoiler: SERENA'S RIVALS.

MIETTE - I thought Miette was a fun rival to watch. Her cheeky nature allowed her to poke fun at Serena in a way that was playful and not malicious. Her teasing Serena over her crush on Ash by trying to steal him from her while Ash remained completely oblivious was a good running gag.

NINI - I was pleasantly surprised by Nini as a character and I really liked how they went somewhere unique were her design. I don't think you see characters with her body-type generally and they didn't make any jokes at her expense. She also had some Pokemon you don't often see used in the anime, which added some more uniqueness to her performances.

ARIA - While Serena and Aria don't have many interactions, the advice that Aria gave her is extremely important for her character development. Defeating Aria is the goal of any Pokemon Performer and it isn't any different for Aria. Even though Serena lost to Aria, she still learned from it. Although I preferred her original VA. Hearing Iris' voice come out of her mouth was always a little jarring.

Spoiler: MEGA EVOLUTION SPECIALS.

This is really the first time we get a short series set in the same universe as the main anime that introduces entirely new characters, unlike Pokemon Chronicles before it. Not only that, but it has a pretty big impact on the main series once they finally cross over.

We are introduced to many important characters and concepts that will come into play near the end of XY(Z). These include Alain, Mairin, Lysandre, and reintroduced to Steven, who is the champion now and not just some random guy like in AG. We also learn about Mega Evolution Energy and the Giant Rock.

As the name suggests, we see many Mega Pokemon throughout this series, including Rayquaza and even Primal Groudon and Kyogre.

I thought them going to Hoenn and incorporating these Gen 3 Pokemon and characters was a good way to tie in the ORAS promotion.

The story itself is interesting and important to know for later on.

Spoiler: THE MASTER CLASS SHOWCASE.

The Master Class Showcase honestly left a lot to be desired. While I believe it is a good showcase (pun intended) of Serena as a character and a nice conclusion to her current goal, it is quite rushed for what is meant to be the equivalent of a Pokemon League and where every performer we've met up until this point is supposed to go head-to-head and show of their abilities. Trying to do all of this in just two episodes was simply not enough time. (We just really needed the Binacle episode right before it instead.) They race through almost every round of the competition to reach the semi-final and final rounds.

Serena losing to Aria when her performance generally seemed to better (ignoring the fact that they don't show us most of Aria's performance and we are just told how beautiful and amazing and incredible it is) is a little lame. She also had a an uphill battle from the beginning considering that the victor was decided by popular vote and Aria was the insanely popular reigning Kalos Queen.

Spoiler: THE KALOS LEAGUE - PART 1.

I like how big of an event that Kalos League is. It feels really high-stakes. They stadium itself is massive and there are more people in the audience than ever. The different battle fields that could be swapped were more advanced, interesting, and had more impact on the battle itself than past leagues that featured changing fields.

My main criticism of the Kalos League as a whole is that it is a bit rushed. We really only get two full battles from Ash and snippets of two others. Yes, Ash vs. Sawyer and Alain is what they had been building up to but it feels like that is all they really cared about on the Ash side of things. Other than that, we get to see two other main battles, Alain vs. Trevor (a lot of which is off-screen) and Tierno vs. Sawyer.

While it is cool to see returning characters like Astrid and Remo appear again, they are just cannon fodder to be beaten and to fluff out the amount of battles they were really showing.

Spoiler: THE KALOS LEAGUE - PART SAWYER.

Now to talk about Ash vs. Sawyer! The semi-final round of the league and the farthest he has ever come before (before he was stone-walled by Tobias in the Sinnoh League). This battle really shows just how far Sawyer has come in such a short time. His analytical nature has been really paying off and he has prepared himself to fight Ash. He exhibits his full intellectual might as he fights against Ash's unpredictable battle style. Slaking is able to take out Hawlucha in one-hit using Counter & Clawitzer is able to throw Talonflame off it's rhythm by freezing it's wing with Ice Beam. Not to mention cutting down all of the trees with Aegislash's Sacred Sword.

They both put their emotions and motivations into this battle. For Sawyer, his will to fully surpass the trainer he idolizes in order to become an even greater trainer. For Ash, the determination to show Sawyer a battle he can proud of, acknowledging the fact that he was frightened by how fast Sawyer had grown and surpassed him.

The final battle is Mega Sceptile vs. Ash-Greninja. Both are amongst the most agile starter Pokemon and both have similar vibes as swift hard-hitters, which makes their rivalry more interesting. Of course, Ash is able to overcome Sawyer and win the match, bringing him to the final round and the last obstacle standing between him and total victory.

If I had to complain about something, having two double knockouts back-to-back is kind of wacky.

Spoiler: THE KALOS LEAGUE - PART ALAIN.

Finally, Ash makes it to the finals of a Pokemon League. Ash vs. Alain was the battle everyone had been waiting for. Both Ash and Alain go head-to-head and prove why they are the finalists with their impressive strategic back-and-forth. The action is fast-paced, impressively animated, and keeps you on the edge of your seat. The pressure and suspense of who is going to win is palpable.

Alain has a team of all-star powerhouses (...and Unfezant, lol) and Ash puts up a great fight against Pokemon he would've absolutely struggled with earlier on his journey. Tyranitar and Metagross being prime examples. It really shows just how strong he has grown over his journey and highlights how strong his current team is.

Ash-Greninja vs. Mega Charizard X is a thrilling and awesome final battle that has been building up since they first met. They both push passed their limits to bring out the most in their power. Ash-Greninja creates an epic giant orange Water Shuriken. However, it just isn't enough to topple the monstrous Mega Charizard...

Now to address the elephant in the room regarding the final match: Ash lost to Alain.

Here is how I see it: Ash losing to Alain is completely different to any other trainer he has lost to in any other league. Alain isn't some nobody we were introduced to right before the league or an insurmountable wall introduced purely to halt his progress. Alain is the protagonist of his own story that we have seen firsthand independent of Ash.

We know Alain inside-and-out by this point. He has trained to be the strongest relentlessly with unwaivering determination and tenacity. Getting stronger, stronger, and stronger, fighting tirelessly like a machine. We have seen his Charizard fight Legendaries and Mega Evolved Pokemon before; his Charizard is a monster in battle. But battling has become a means to an end to them instead of a fun competition and it isn't until Alain meets Ash that he can reconnect with that simple pleasure that all trainers should feel.

Basically: Alain is a fully-realized character who has a character arc unlike any other trainer Ash has lost to in the past. Him winning is simply where his character, his disciplined and repetitive training, as well as his desire to battle Ash more than anything, has led him to. This loss isn't just a way to keep Ash from winning to keep the show going.

I do wonder what would have happened had this battle been a tie and what the response would have been.

Spoiler: THE VILLAIN ARC.

Team Flare is definitely the best villain arc that the show has ever seen. There are a lot of moving parts that they are able to juggle without it feeling totally disjointed. While this isn't the highest stakes villain arc (Team Galactic were literally going to replace the entire universe), the stakes feel very real and urgent. I think this is because Team Flare & Lysandre's motivations specifically feel so genuinely revolting to me. Everything that Lysandre says is disgusting and yet he seems to believe that he is somehow in the right to commit literal global genocide (outside of his "chosen ones" of course). All this because he felt that people in need were asking too much of him, and yet he has the arrogance to act like he is somehow the victim of an unjust world? I honestly think it feels so gross because I could see certain people honestly believing in this sort of philosophy.

I think that putting Clemont up against Xerosic was a really good storytelling decision. Both of them are inventors, but one invents things for the good of mankind and the other does so for evil purposes. Inventions are supposed to help people and Clemont is willing to fight to prove it. Their later confrontation near the end of the series is also good. The memory erasure of Clembot is a tragic moment and probably the closest they could get to actually having a character "die" in the conflict. I might as well mention here that Clemont and Bonnie finally learn that their father is Blaziken Mask.

I really like that the Gym Leaders got involved. I have always thought that the Gym Leaders and such should be something like the first-responders in existential situations like this. But it does beg the question... Where were the Elite 4 during this? If the Gym Leaders could manage to show up, why didn't the Elite 4? I know the out-of-universe answer is that we haven't really interacted with them like we have with all of the Gym Leaders, so we wouldn't really have any emotional reaction to them showing up to save the day, but still. Kind of being nitpicky, though lol.

This whole arc has a lot of strong emotional themes. No one has the right to take away your future. No one has the right to decide your future for you. You may not be able to change the world on your own, but it could be possible if people join together and work for that future. I particularly liked the ideological debate between Squishy and Z2. It is made all the more powerful by the bond between Squishy & Bonnie. Yes, there are plenty of terrible and evil people, you can't deny it. But there are so many genuinely good people out there, too. People who are willing to fight for what's right and do the right thing.

Spoiler: THE MOVIES.

DIANCIE AND THE COCOON OF DESTRUCTION: I actually thought this one was pretty enjoyable. I thought Diancie being naive but pure-hearted was made her a nice character that was easy to root for. Diancie creating her own Mega Stone was pretty cool. I also liked how the few villains we had got some silly endings.

HOOPA AND THE CLASH OF AGES: This movie operated purely on the rule of cool. Was it cool to see so many Legendary Pokemon battle? Yeah. Did it make that much sense? Not particularly. Was it cool getting to see Rayquaza, Latias, and Latios Mega Evolving without any explaination? I guess. There were also the people who could use the power of Arceus. I also went back and forth on whether or not I thought Hoopa was endearing or annoying.

VOLCANION AND THE MECHANICAL MARVEL: I think this was the best film of the bunch. I liked the character arc that Volcanion went through. I especially liked how his line about how Pokemon don't lie came back when he himself lied to Ash about escaping with them. I didn't like him at the beginning of the film and thought it would be hard for him to come around, but he did. I also liked the theme of true Mega Evolution vs. the fake Mega Waves forcing Pokemon to Mega Evolve. Team Rocket having a bigger role in this movie was nice, especially with Meowth being able to hear Magearna when her Soul-Heart was removed. Seeing Ash-Greninja in the film was cool (although his transformation was not as cool as usual) and seeing Squishy go 100% Zygarde for the first time was surprising.

Overall, I thought that XY(Z) was great. It had a fantastic main group of characters, good battles, and interesting rivals. I would have to put in near the top alongside DP.

At long last, I reach Sun & Moon. I have already seen all of Journeys as it aired, so I most likely won't be doing one of these for it. Excited to have come this far but a little sad that it will be over soon.

 

[Alola]

So, in the spirit of my Generations Nuzlocke that I'm doing, I figured it would be cool to rewatch the entire series simultaneously (to better appreciate the region I'm in); or, at least try to watch everything. Which means, I'm starting with Kanto. I have to say, I really miss the slapstick elements the show used to have that everyone got subjected to - it's super amusing. For example, you would never see Ash do something like this in this day and age:

It almost feels surreal, as if I'm watching a different continuity. And yes yes, I know this is largely attributed to how the anime was run before Gold & Silver released.

 

[Rockapheller]

So, in the spirit of my Generations Nuzlocke that I'm doing, I figured it would be cool to rewatch the entire series simultaneously (to better appreciate the region I'm in); or, at least try to watch everything. Which means, I'm starting with Kanto. I have to say, I really miss the slapstick elements the show used to have that everyone got subjected to - it's super amusing. For example, you would never see Ash do something like this in this day and age:

View attachment 185072

It almost feels surreal, as if I'm watching a different continuity. And yes yes, I know this is largely attributed to how the anime was run before Gold & Silver released.

Ash saying "Now I know why they like saying that dumb stuff so much, it's fun" after reciting Team Rocket motto is one of my favorite moments in the original series. The snarky Ash unfortunately faded gradually.

 

[Daren]

Kanto had so much 90s sass, I loved it.

 

[RetroPokeFan]

A year ago today in Japan, the world said goodbye to Ash and Pikachu. I still miss them a lot.

 

[Die-Hard Dragon Devotee]

A year ago today in Japan, the world said goodbye to Ash and Pikachu. I still miss them a lot.

Me too my friend, me too. Here's hoping we see them again, especially considering what an atrocious final season and sendoff they had.

 

[Yung Dramps]

Random thought: Now that Ash's tenure is over I wonder if they'll ever one day do a massive multi-hundred dollar collector's blu-ray box set of the entire show from OS to Journeys. Could be an opportunity for some cool bonus features, namely finally releasing the Rocket VS Plasma episodes

 

[Poke Trey]

A year ago today in Japan, the world said goodbye to Ash and Pikachu. I still miss them a lot.

You had to remind me of this......

 

[Hidden Mew]

A year ago today in Japan, the world said goodbye to Ash and Pikachu. I still miss them a lot.

Same here. There was just a nice comfort at watching Ash and Pikachu travel around with new friends and Pokemon every few years that I still miss.

Random thought: Now that Ash's tenure is over I wonder if they'll ever one day do a massive multi-hundred dollar collector's blu-ray box set of the entire show from OS to Journeys. Could be an opportunity for some cool bonus features, namely finally releasing the Rocket VS Plasma episodes

I don't know if I could see them releasing the Team Plasma episodes. They'd probably wouldn't want to include any of the banned episodes. A huge blu-ray set of the various series would be cool, but it would also be so extremely expensive that I don't know if it would be enough to justify putting it together.

 

[Daren]

So I did a bit of research; Discotek's recent Digimon Adventure release runs 69.99 for 52 episodes and doing some research Funimation released the Dragon Box DBZ sets at a somewhat higher price range (69.98 for 42 episodes) At that range a full Pokémon release would be a very pricey collector's item without a massive discount for bulk, so I think per Hidden Mew there would probably be uncertainty about it selling enough to make the release worthwhile.

 

[Articfoxgamez]

So I did a bit of research; Discotek's recent Digimon Adventure release runs 69.99 for 52 episodes and doing some research Funimation released the Dragon Box DBZ sets at a somewhat higher price range (69.98 for 42 episodes) At that range a full Pokémon release would be a very pricey collector's item without a massive discount for bulk, so I think per Hidden Mew there would probably be uncertainty about it selling enough to make the release worthwhile.

Love me an almost 2000 dollar anime box set.

 

[Yung Dramps]

So I did a bit of research; Discotek's recent Digimon Adventure release runs 69.99 for 52 episodes and doing some research Funimation released the Dragon Box DBZ sets at a somewhat higher price range (69.98 for 42 episodes) At that range a full Pokémon release would be a very pricey collector's item without a massive discount for bulk, so I think per Hidden Mew there would probably be uncertainty about it selling enough to make the release worthwhile.

Alrighty then, let's check out that bulk pricing. Per Amazon a DBZ complete series box set is $138.50. At 291 episodes, that's about 50 cents per episode. Let's be generous and cut that in half to 25 cents for Pokemon due to even bigger bulk pricing + it being less "prestigious" of a series than DBZ. At 1236 episodes, you are left with... $309.

Ok so even considering I already pitched this as a high-end collector's item I severely underestimated just how much they'd likely be asking for lol. Like you and others have said it's rather questionable if there are enough people who care this much about Ashnime to pay such a sum. Maybe it'd be better to divide it up into parts, something like this:

• Volume 1: The Early Years (OS, Johto Journeys, AG)
• Volume 2: Legend Rising (DP, BW, XYZ)
• Volume 3: Until We Meet Again (SM, Journeys)

 

[Galar Adventurer]

Yeah, I still miss Ash and Pikachu and honestly have conflicted feelings towards Horizons since it's been on the air.
I enjoy it more or less, but I think writing Ash out of the series was completely unnecessary.
Swap him in for Roy and very little would change.

I'm also still very bitter with TV Tokyo's vagueness on the press conference regarding Ash's future and saying he'd stay without mentioning that it wouldn't be for much longer. I just would've kept quiet until Journeys came to a close.
I still kinda hope that if the spinoff route doesn't work for Pokémon, that the powers that be in Japan consider bringing Ash and Pikachu back. There are a few anime where protagonists who have come back even as a full-time protagonist after leaving even though their story was supposedly "over" so it wouldn't be impossible imo

As far as I'm aware, there hasn't been any concrete reception on how the Japanese fandom's been handling this change

 

[BigDocFan]

This is sad, yet sweet to read

 

[Sheep]

This is sad, yet sweet to read

So sweet. Sarah seems like such a lovely person, I haven't watched much of the dub since she took over as Ash's new voice but it's been quite obvious that she loves the series and its fans a lot. I only realized recently that she's been doing her role since she was 18/19! Not sure what age I thought she was lol but I had no idea she kickstarted that role so young. Thank you Sarah.