Controversial opinions

[TheGoldenToon]

Okay, this is my own bias talking cause I used to watch WWE back in the day, but I think the Masked Royal/Battle Royal episodes are the best of SM by far. They play up the pro-wrestling tropes so well it makes me laugh every time at how legit it is. Kukui as the Masked Royal and the Revengers are so hammy it's perfect! They got those tough guy voices, they're loud, they stand atop of the ring with the microphone boasting their strength, they are straight up pro-wrestlers. And Viren in his role in SM081 was so reminiscent of the rich jerk boss/chairman of the wrestling federation who is hated by the audience, knows he's hated, and loves being hated, I just have to give these episodes in particular the credit I think they deserve. Also I love it when Torracat gets to do something in them.

 

[Daenerys]

I wish could have seen just WHY Snivy left her previous Trainer, or a least seen him at some point. We're led to believe that, unlike Ash, he was selfish and lacked compassion. But something HAD to have happened, she didn't just ditch him day one. With how talented she was and how crafty she acted, she must have stayed with him for a while. Granted, this is the same series where Trip's Snivy, right out the gate, knew how to use Leaf Tornado - a move a Snivy wouldn't learn until its close to evolving. But still, could have easily had an episode focused on Snivy where they run into the guy/girl, some confrontation happens and Ash tries to make the Trainer see the error of their ways for Snivy's sake. The episode even could have led you to believe that maybe Snivy would go back to said Trainer by the end of it, but ultimately the Trainer thinks she should stay with Ash, the better/more experienced trainer.

Well everyone who watched BW wanted more Snivy development to be honest, so I don't think this counts as a controversial opinion. :x

 

[FluffleFi]

Today on Mother's Day, i have to wonder about Ash's mom, Delia. If they're not going to expand on his Dad, they could at least do it to his Mom. There's the tired old question of just who the man is, but there's also just HOW she met him? What does she do for a living and how does she afford there house? How'd she raised Ash to be such a polite, courageous and well-meaning young man? Did she always live in Pallet Town or did she move there cause it'd be easier to raise Ash? Does she have any friends aside from Professor Oak? A bunch of silly question that don't really matter in the grand scheme of the naime, but I like Delia, she's nice and very obviously cares a great deal about Ash and his goal.

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

One thing that I'd like to see explored is Pikachu's life before he met Ash. How did Professor Oak get him? Did Oak offer him to some other Trainers before Ash? So many unanswered questions.

 

[TheGoldenToon]

Honestly there are a lot of character backstories I wish we could see. I think we know more about Jessie, James, and Meowth than we do most other characters.

 

[FluffleFi]

One thing that I'd like to see explored is Pikachu's life before he met Ash. How did Professor Oak get him? Did Oak offer him to some other Trainers before Ash? So many unanswered questions.

Something had to have happened to make him hate humans so much, after all someone doesn't just wake up and start to detest others out of the blue. Could even have something to do with how he evolved from a Pichu. Doesn't have to be the generic jerky and abusive trainers, could've been someone Pikachu cared for deeply and didn't think any other trainer could compare until he met Ash, I dunno.

 

[Daenerys]

I don't think there's anything worth showing about Pikachu's past; anything that we could get would probably end up being generically cute and Pikachu short-esque, and I've never liked stuff like that. As for Delia, she just doesn't seem worth delving into since she's as vapid as a supporting character can be. I'm not saying that the writers can't change it up by giving her an interesting past by force, but after 20 years of her having the personality of cardboard, I don't really think that would flow well.

 

[CaptainBuggles]

Idk, focusing on Pikachu's fears and initial flaws (Why he was so difficult at first, why he's so adamant about not being Raichu) could pretty easily provide enough drama for just one or two episodes. The Pokemon anime is pretty cheerful, but it's not literally always that way.

And honestly, as for the stuff about bad pacing that's been mentioned before... I think every region so far has had at least one part where the pacing was bad... I think it might be because they don't actually know just how long they have for each region, combined with being obligated to find chances to showcase each Pokemon, but I'm not completely sure.

 

[FluffleFi]

I don't think Pikachu's hate for evolving comes from ebfore he met Ash, just from that encounter with Lt.Surge. He just wants to prove that he can be strong without evolving and beat Surge's Raichu to prove that. Although if Surge were a smart man who actually knew things about the Chu line, keep in mind a Raichu is his main partner, he would've known about that whole speed thing and wouldn't go around telling people to evolve their Pokemon the moment they get them. You do that to most stone-evolution Pokemon in-game and the only way to teach them any new moves is through TMs and tutors.

 

[Daenerys]

Idk, focusing on Pikachu's fears and initial flaws (Why he was so difficult at first, why he's so adamant about not being Raichu) could pretty easily provide enough drama for just one or two episodes. The Pokemon anime is pretty cheerful, but it's not literally always that way.

I would question what this would accomplish 20+ years after his debut; the Raichu part in general should have been explored back when he first refused to evolve in the Lt. Surge episode imo, but at this point it's not something that I think the current demographic as a whole even cares about.

 

[Almonds]

Gen6 anime: fandom complains that the teen idol references are too girly
Gen7 anime: fandom praises all the magical girl references to be super cute and girly

...someone please explain

 

[HiroHunter]

Gen6 anime: fandom complains that the teen idol references are too girly
Gen7 anime: fandom praises all the magical girl references to be super cute and girly

...someone please explain

I was fine with the teen idol thing in gen 6 I only wish it had more going for it. But I also don't why people hate on those for being too girly and then love the magical girl things in gen 7 for being as if not more girly.

 

[Daenerys]

Gen6 anime: fandom complains that the teen idol references are too girly
Gen7 anime: fandom praises all the magical girl references to be super cute and girly

...someone please explain

Someone's going to have to refreshen my memory; what teen idol references did we get during XY and SuMo?

 

[HiroHunter]

Someone's going to have to refreshen my memory; what teen idol references did we get during XY and SuMo?

Pokemon Showcases and thats was only in XY

 

[ii kanji]

Gen6 anime: fandom complains that the teen idol references are too girly
Gen7 anime: fandom praises all the magical girl references to be super cute and girly

...someone please explain

Perhaps the difference is to do with SM's references being... just throwaway references. (Yes that magical girl henshin scene in that TV serial episode was a bit much, but that's the only one I can think of that even got more than one scene!) I also haven't seen anyone (except the usual kawaii club suspects on platforms like Twitter) gush over the cuteness of these.

On the other hand, the XY teen idol 'references' were the main female character's main goal and the main focus of 8 entire episodes!

More importantly, were the complaints about showcases due to them being too 'girly'? I don't think so. After all contests could be quite girly and no one was bothered about that. As I recall, people complained more about the fact that boys weren't allowed to compete because the writers had deemed it too girly.

 

[SinnohBoi]

Sun and Moon was a mistake. I can only hope that it hasn't killed the show's popularity too much in Japan, however, considering its ratings, I think it's fair to say that it has.

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

Sun and Moon was a mistake. I can only hope that it hasn't killed the show's popularity too much in Japan, however, considering its ratings, I think it's fair to say that it has.

Sun & Moon has just divided people's opinions more than any other series before. I wouldn't say it's hated, it's just that the amounts likers and haters seem to be closer to each other than with any previous series. Some of the hate may come from the fact that it followed such a successful series as XY and made a sudden drastic change in tone, going from seriousness and action to slice of life and comedy.

I personally like Sun & Moon. It's in my Top 3 favorite series of the six series we have so far.

 

[SinnohBoi]

Sun & Moon has just divided people's opinions more than any other series before. I wouldn't say it's hated, it's just that the amounts likers and haters seem to be closer to each other than with any previous series. Some of the hate may come from the fact that it followed such a successful series as XY and made a sudden drastic change in tone, going from action to slice of life and comedy.

I personally like Sun & Moon. It's in my Top 3 favorite series of the six series we have so far.

The problem with Sun and Moon is that it shows us how disorganized the anime's direction has become. Even if I ignore that for a moment, the show essentially tried to copy Yokai Watch. However, the problem is that it was 2 years too late. By the time Sun and Moon came onto the scene, Yokai Watch had already declined in huge numbers and so there wasn't an overlap of audiences. Likewise, The whole premise undermines Ash's entire journey, while at the same time trivializing it. For all the hate that Best Wishes received, at least it followed the Pokemon formula. You could watch Diamond and pearl, then Best Wishes, then XY and see some sort of progression. Whereas, you can't do that here. You can't just finish XY, then watch Sun and Moon and feel like you're following Ash's journey, because you're not anymore. You're watching him in a freaking school. I also think the show-runners should be blamed for this, because they're acknowledging the show's formula doesn't work anymore. Which is an idea covered in fallacy considering every sustaining show in Japan has stayed true to its roots (detective conan, Dragon Ball, etc).

The only good thing that can come from this is that nobody ended up liking Sun and Moon. Japan has rejected it, the west has rejected it and while the show-runners are becoming borderline incompetent, even they cannot ignore this substantial rejection. Anyway, on-ward to Galar!

 

[PkmnTrainerV]

The only good thing that can come from this is that nobody ended up liking Sun and Moon. Japan has rejected it, the west has rejected it and while the show-runners are becoming borderline incompetent, even they cannot ignore this substantial rejection. Anyway, on-ward to Galar!

You’re making huge assumptions there.

 

[SinnohBoi]

You’re making huge assumptions there.

You do realize Pokemon (for the first time) wasn't in the top 100 anime poll last year? Likewise, look at it's ratings. The anime's popularity has never been lower than it has right now.