That's not even remotely true. Dismissing people's opinion of the Kanto team being memorable as simply "nostalgia goggles" is really disingenuous to other factors, such as being attracted to their personalities, roles in episodes, and dynamics with each other. Honestly, in my opinion, the Kanto team is five hundred times better than whatever the hell the Journeys team is.
Nostalgia goggles? Are you serious? Kanto may not have been the best when it came to battles but the characterization was on point. We had moments like the Pikachu’s conversation with Caterpie on their first night together already expressing its desire to grow without even a word of English, episodes like The Island of the Giant Pokémon which showed off the Pokémon’s personalities away from the humans (and one of the earliest points that showed Bulbasaur and Squirtle’s dynamic), really any moment that the Squirtle squad glasses came out with Squirtle expressing its pride, Bulbasaur not bowing down to the peer pressure to evolve when it wasn’t ready, Butterfree finding love and the tearful goodbye from it, Ash and Pikachu almost dying to a flock of Spearow and Pikachu coming to return Ash’s friendship when he gave his all to keep it safe, Ash freezing in an ice cave and his Pokémon coming out on their own to keep each other warm in spite of the danger, Ash staying up all night to unfreeze Charizard even as it was harming his own body to do so and in turn reigniting his bond with it. That’s not nostalgia goggles, that’s genuine heart and soul that’s put into the writing and character work, something the Journeys sorely lacks.
You just read my mind, lol. And this honestly isn't even mentioning half of it. Pikachu and Charizard had actual development in regards to their friendship, while Bulbasaur and Squirtle helped show different sides to each other each time they interacted. Butterfree had a friendship with Pikachu and Pidgeot, despite not interacting with any of them, still managed to have a strong character trait in that it was extremely loyal to Ash. I'd like to emphasis this specifically as its release episode was specifically about its loyalty trait, a trait which stands out among the Kanto squad since at the time, Ash didn't fully have all his pokemon's respect. He earned Pikachu's trust, yes, but didn't fully earn Pikachu's respect until time passed. Ash literally had an entire arc dedicated to earning the respect of Charizard. Bulbasaur and Squirtle were shown to still not have respect for Ash in Island of the Giant Pokemon, and you can clearly see as time goes on that their feelings were starting to change. Butterfree was a pokemon who just wanted to be loved, and Ash understood that. Pidgeot was the pokemon who, above all the others, was not only loyal, but was fiercely loyal.
If you can call his current team, which I like, as "rental pokémon" and it's not a problem, then I can connect Kanto team's alleged memorability to nostalgia, which, I believe, truly the case. There is barely any interaction between them, much less character dynamic, especially if we take the first 80 episodes.
Gengar
Dragonite?
Dracovish?
Lucario?
Sirfetch'd?
Pikachu
I agree
1. When did I call Ash's Journeys team "rental pokemon"?
Mixed up you with Kuro because you answered my answer to them. Sorry.
Journey has no 80 episodes yet.
I'm not seeing it. Like what made Pidgeotto so loyal? Why is Gengar's story is criticized for being "overdone" as if being done it first made Charmander better than it?
All previous series had at least tried to develop dynamics between Satoshi's Pokemon in less episodes than the point where Journeys is now.
...it has seventy eight. If you want to talk about actual numbers, then yes, the Kanto team still has more interaction with one another than the Journeys team within the first 78 episodes. List their interactions so far and I can guarantee the Kanto squad has more.
Even if you don't see it, it's still not fair to cross off the opinion of liking the Kanto squad as "nostalgia goggles", which is what I am trying to get you to understand. Just because you don't see something, doesn't mean others don't and if you like the Journeys team, then great, I'm glad you do and I'm sure others do as well. But just as you might get defensive at the Journeys team being called "rental pokemon", others will get defensive at you assuming the Kanto team is ONLY liked because of "nostalgia goggles"-whatever that even MEANS.
Yeah, for Journeys. But if you see something in them I don't then I'll stop here, as long as you don't assume "liking Kanto team=only liking it for nostalgia". There is plenty more interaction between the Kanto team than the Journeys team-and that's less debatable than character dynamics because that's literally just numbers.
Saying something is "nostalgia goggles" is saying people only like something more than newer things because they were younger when they experienced it. It's often used to refer to living conditions/culture but also internet arguments over movies and video games.
I mean, I actually think quite a few people felt that way about Alain, I know I did at certain points in XYZ. Now, I love Charizard and always will, but even I thought Alain's Charizard was just a bit too powerful sometimes. Because for all my love of Charizard, it's not unbeatable. There's a reason some people called Alain's Mega Charizard X Hypezard X instead. It just felt like it was unbeatable sometimes. I know Alain was a very strong trainer and all, but he kind of felt like a writer's pet sometimes.
I read once--but I'm not sure if this was confirmed or just a theory--that Alain was supposed to represent the older fanbase who'd stuck with the franchise since day 1. Hence the Charizard, being a bit older, etc. In an amusing coincidence GameFreak would do that in the games with Leon just a few years later...meaning the anime had two of those characters not far apart, both with a super strong Charizard, both as major rivals Ash didn't/likely won't overcome.
This actually reminds me of another controversial opinion I have, but I really hate when people who have OS as their favorite series or Misty as their favorite Poke Girl are typically dismissed as being "blinded by nostalgia" or being a "genwunner". I mean, think about it for a moment. There's a lot more to OS than nostalgia that makes people like it more than other series, especially considering how unique it was as well. Sure, it has its fair share of problems regarding...a lot of things, actually, but there's positives to it too and it's rather sad that some people don't see it.
I also believe that that was the case, that's why I felt vibes of a triumph during XYZ.
Honestly, I wouldn't blame anyone for preferring Journeys over past series either. In all essence, it actually is a pretty good show for its target audience and is better than some other ones that have recently popped up on my radar. Not to mention its dub is arguably the best out of all the series. Seriously, the actors actually sound like they're putting effort into their work. I remember in my re-watch of XY I switched to subs at some point because trying to guess whether or not Clemont was being sarcastic over certain statements was beginning to get a little grating...at least Journeys makes the characters sound excited when excited and sad when they're sad and don't contradict their statements with the way they execute it.
Agreed, compared to other recent kodomo animes.
