Did you like Max/Masato's role on the show?

[garrison-san]

Since every other travelling companion of Ash (past and present) now has a discussion thread dedicated solely to debating what they brought to the show, I think it's only fair that we include one for Max/Masato too.^^ May's younger brother was quite a unique companion in that he was too young to himself be a Pokemon trainer, but do you nonetheless feel that he made a lot of valuable contributions during his time on the show? What did he bring to the group dymanics of the Hoenn party, and how well was he developed as character? Would you like to have seen how he would have fared as a trainer (including the battle Ash promised to one day have with him before the two went their separate ways)? Discuss all admirations and/or reservations concerning Max here.

 

[Jaye]

Overall, I didn't mind Max. I thought his interactions with the other group members were good and the idea of a nerdy kid thinking he knew everything about Pokemon getting his first hands-on experience with them was interesting. Unfortunately, he suffered in the same way as Brock: not enough episodes focusing on him and giving him things to do other than navigate for the group. Of course, not having any Pokemon he can use didn't help him in that regard

Would you like to have seen how he would have fared as trainer (including the battle Ash promised to one day have with him before the two went their separate ways)?

Most definitely. It was set-up perfectly for him to return to Hoenn, become a trainer and make use of everything of he's learned and experienced while travelling. I was actually disappointed why they revealed he had just been at home, helping take care of Norman's Pokemon.

I'm aware, of course, of the issue with the timeline in Pokemon and that Max, for all intents and purposes, was still eight years old at the end of AG, but him becoming a trainer is still something I wish to see one day.

 

[MizuTaipu]

I really liked Masato. While some people think he was a waste, I really liked the childish innocence he brought to the show. Plus, his "onee-chan's" that he gave to Haruka were adorable. ^^

 

[Enzap]

I found him to be a bit annoying and unnecessary, honestly. His know-it-all attitude got old pretty quickly. Plus he never seemed to serve much of a purpose. I think it would have been better if he had befriended a Pokemon and then actually kept it around. We've seen trainers about his age with Pokemon before. I don't really get the whole "I'm too young" thing.

 

[Bouffalant Herdier]

I loved Max. The main group of the Advance era is my favourite by far, and he is one of the reasons why; the later groups feel empty without a character like him around.

He wasn't a totally necessary addition, I'm sure the series would've still been great if he wasn't there, but he added much to the group dynamics and had wonderful interactions with everyone, which made the show all the richer. His growing admiration of Ash and his sibling bond with May were cute, but he was also critical yet fair of their mistakes, and his vast knowledge of Pokemon worked well with Brock's exposition. He even helped make Misty a better character during her brief returns; I loved how he began to pull Brock away by his ear instead of his shirt after her first return. He could be a bit of a bratty know-it-all, but he never went overboard with it and suffered from his inexperience many times.

 

[Shinneth]

I actually enjoyed Max's presence on the show. Sure, he could be an obnoxious, stuck-up brat, but that's par for the course for any character in his age range. That was sort of the point. I was able to accept that because Max's presence wasn't overbearing due to the limitations his role could provide, so it all sort of balanced out for me. I think he served as a great foil for May as well, since we never had a group mechanic before that included actual blood-related siblings before then and I ended up enjoying the back-and-forths between May and Max infinitely more enjoyable than Ash and Misty's. Somehow Max being there made the group feel like more of a real family to me, hence why I was apprehensive about the group reverting to a trio once it came time for DP.

Even though Max was too young to have much of a role, I did like the episodes in which he befriended Pokemon, particularly the Ralts episode. These experiences were great in showing how a sheltered booksmart kid who only thinks he knows how the world works finds out that real life's very different from how he perceived it to be before he journeyed off with May and the others. It was also fun to see him bounce off Ash; someone Max initially didn't respect much and questioned his battling skills because Ash never ever did things by the book, but as time went on, through Ash Max became a more well-rounded future trainer because he learned valuable lessons, such as how it isn't a bad thing to deviate from by-the-book standards and make up your own style. All that culminated in Max wanting to battle Ash once he became old enough to be a trainer, which we'll sadly probably never see because the writers don't ever want the characters to age for some dumb reason. And honestly, there's just something very satisfying in watching a kid younger than Ash who's undeniably smarter than him academically berate and insult his intelligence. It was funny with Max because of his and Ash's contrasting roles, with Max only behaving how you'd expect an exceptionally young prodigy kid with very little real-life experience to behave. That's why I like the Ash/Max squabbles much more than Ash's squabbles with certain other characters.

I still love moments like when Max inadvertently embarrassed May in public due to Harley's devious trickery. Even when Max isn't trying to exasperate his peers, things like this happen and it's just great. There are admittedly some parts of Max hogging the spotlight when he shouldn't have, such as the episode when Ash beats Norman where it would've been more appropriate for May to admit to her parents that she's chosen to be a Coordinator instead, but overall I think the good in having Max around outweighs the bad by a long shot. And I do miss that little brat; that's for sure.

 

[Aestivate]

Considering I still believe that the Ralts episode is one of the best episodes ever to come out of the franchise, it's definitely safe to say that I at least tolerated/liked the kid. There were never moments that I thought he was so over-the-top that he didn't deserve a place on the cast, but he played off the cast rather well, I loved the way he interacted with just about everyone, bouncing off everyone's individual personalities and tying them all together to make them relevant. Masato really upped Satoshi's role as mentor/teacher with his (at some point) borderline idol worship, and I think a character like Masato was a good character avatar for the targeted age group of the show.

 

[Peppermint Phoenix]

I didn't like him early on because he was a kid and a bit of a snob but over time he grew on me. I liked how he beat that girl when corphish disobeyed. I like Max best when he is on Ash's side. I didn't care much for his befriending pokemon. What I liked about him was his genuine interest in pokemon league battles. I don't like his role but I don't hate his character at least not anymore.

 

[Cybersai]

I liked him far more in early/mid Hoenn than in Battle Frontier. In BF he really was pointless, the only episodes he got was the Cleffa one with Misty and the Deoxys/Ranger special. He actually got a sizeable amount of fillers during Hoenn, including that Ralts episode that seemingly everyone loves. I feel like he was there to give May an extra side of her character instead of just liking contests.

Also as pointed out, I really liked the Ash/Max dynamic. Max looked up to Ash as his hero, and I loved how in the last AG ep, Ash promised Max a battle when he became a trainer. Not that we'll ever see that, but it was sweet.

Max also did make fun of Ash and May at times, but unlike what Iris is doing now, it was actually done in a funny way.

 

[Caseydia]

Max was cool. If he had Pokemon, people wouldn't be so bitter. However, he still did more than any other younger kid without Pokemon on the show. He was smart and knew alot. Which is why I didn't think Brock was needed at times just to have his ear pulled. I wouldn't mind seeing him again.

 

[Almonds]

I hated Max until I saw the 6th Movie, Jirachi Wish Maker. It was there when I saw how true a child he was, and Ash acting more older than he is now.

 

[Ranger Jack Walker]

Max in Movie 6 was awesome. In the series, he definitely got annoying at times but that was the intention. The 4 member dynamic was interesting but also could have been better.

 

[Sith Droideka]

It was nice to have a deviation from the trio system and I'd really say that Max helped with the fandom's transition from Misty to May. Plus, it was nice to have a more familial relationship on the show, and someone who's not afraid to be an arrogant buffoon always spouting what the book says is someone I can relate to.

 

[Trainer Gabriel]

I liked his character, even if his role in the cast felt redundant to me since he stole part of Brock's job as the navigator. But, he was still most of the time a fun additional side character (in Hoenn, anyway; he had little to nothing going for him in the BF saga, as pointed out) who may have in fact at least partially been created to showcase kids who dream of becoming Pokemon trainers. Too bad we'll never see that happen.

 

[JennaJayfeather]

I dunno how many other people, but I personally loved Max's role. I got a kick out of how he was like 10x smarter than all the people older than him. Also, seeing him get into arguments with his sister, May really made me laugh. Sure he could be "obnoxious" but hey, that was why he was funny. XD

 

[Magnecott]

Max was a total bro. If the anime was taken seriously, i'd have loved to see him come back as a trainer and battle Ash with the Ralts he met. I found his role quite integral to the character development between ash and may. I definitely liked max's role.

 

[Ash Ketchum!]

Max was a total bro. If the anime was taken seriously, i'd have loved to see him come back as a trainer and battle Ash with the Ralts he met. I found his role quite integral to the character development between ash and may. I definitely liked max's role.

Not to mention he gave Brock someone to talk to.

 

[Pokémon Master Ash]

I used to think Max was a total jerk in AG003, but over time he really warmed up to me and I grew to love his character after viewing M06. He was really entertaining in Hoenn (to be fair, he did get annoying at times), and he seemed like a nerdy, yet sweet/genuine, little boy. His character started to wane in the BF, but even there he had that awesome Pokemon Ranger! Deoxys Crisis! episode that showed off other parts of him, and the last parting of Ash and him, where they promised to have a battle again someday (I found it touching).

So, I hated him early Hoenn, loved him mid Hoenn to early BF, hated him most mid BF, and I liked him end of BF.

 

[1rkhachatryan]

I quite liked Max, say what you want but without Max there, May could of been much different.

 

[megaevolvedmushroom]

No, I did not like his role. He was annoying, added nothing to the show, went nowhere, was not funny (he even had to copy Misty's gag!), and the bickering between him and his sister got old fast.