Favorite series so far?

[Hellomello]

Now that XY is over, what has been your favorite series so far?

 

[Kisu]

The Johto journeys...Indigo league is close but when Johto started it was so exciting and any time I see it I get that same feeling again.

I wouldn't say Johto is better than the other series, indigo's about as perfect as you can get,Johto is just special to me personally.

 

[marshiyanmisuta]

Sinnoh or Kalos.

 

[The Wordsmith]

I love XY because of the kiss at the end.

 

[GeminiAngel87]

Advance Generation is my favorite series; I wouldn't say it's plot was great because DP takes that spot in my opinion but with the region and the wonderful characters it's my favorite. plus the Sun and Moon anime is speeding to second place for me from what I have seen so far

 

[LuxrayOfTheWild]

The Advanced Generation was a really good one to me, and maybe Kalos.

 

[ii kanji]

Overall, today and always, DP.
(OS is still my heart though...)

 

[Silktree]

I'll be honest and say that I am not a big fan of any series in terms of story. But I have a soft spot for the cast of the original series as a whole, and there were some emotional episodes, too.

 

[Gengarzilla]

Still Sinnoh. Kalos was nice but XY&Z sorta spoiled it.

 

[Johtohfiller]

DP or XYZ. I'd probably give the edge to DP since it handled Team Rocket better and had recurring characters appear more frequently.

 

[Gligarman]

Now that I'm finally all caught up I can honestly say that Kanto and Kalos are my favorites. I'll always be bias toward Kanto since like many, it was my introduction to the entire franchise. Also Takeshi Shudo's take on the world was quite fascinating. Kalos however directly addressed nearly every issue I've ever had with the series to date. It had character development, Team Rocket actually had personality and dimension instead of just feeling like filler material, and my least favorite character at the start winded up becoming one of my favorites! That character is of course Serena. Also the animation was unbelievably good!

 

[Almonds]

Kalos is my favorite.

 

[Hellomello]

After giving it some thought, I can say with absolute confidence that DP was, and still is, my favorite series of the anime.

Personality-wise, Dawn is, to this day, my personal favorite companion out of all the ones Ash has had so far. I loved how she was headstrong and confident (bordering on over-confident in the beginning) -- a perfect mirror of Ash's personality. Yet at the same time, she was also the most feminine out of the bunch (bar Serena). On one side, she was a stereotypical girly-girl; she was into fashion, she cared more about her hair than anyone else, she loved shopping, etc. Then on the other side, you have a girl who resembles your typical Shonen hero; over-confident, action-oriented, sometimes impulsive, etc. For some reason, the combination of these traits in a character really appeals to me; they mesh like chocolate and bananas -- contrasting yet heavenly. To me, at least, she was a girly-girl done right; very unique compared to the way most other girly-girls are portrayed in modern media (most of the ones I've stumbled across are mostly defined by their feminine traits solely, but then again, I don't follow many shows/anime outside of Pokemon, so I may be missing out, haha). Now, I'm not gonna lie and say she had the best development personality-wise (that title goes to May, imho), but I still think she was written extremely well, especially in regards to the development of her skill as a coordinator; she started over-confident and lost in the appeal rounds twice, which really highlights the naivety that came with her overly-simple, over-confident mindset as a beginner. We then see her humbled out and work hard towards her goal, which eventually earned her her success in the Wallace Cup. And, while not especially entertaining, I thought her rivalry with Zoey was a solid one, and Zoey herself was a nice breath of fresh air from the flamboyant Harley and Drew (both were very entertaining rivals, btw).

Moving away from Dawn, you then have the Ash/Paul rivalry. I'm gonna admit it first; I personally didn't think Paul was that unique of a character. Yes, I can see why he would be a nice breath of fresh air in the Pokemon anime, but when you take into account all the other shows that had similar characters.....I can't say he stands out much. I don't think his character development was anything to write home about either, though I do give the writers props for making it subtle and realistic, as opposed to a complete 180 through some over-the-top breakdown attached to some angsty, emo backstory (ugh). So yeah, while I don't think he was anything special character-wise, his rivalry with Ash, on the other hand, was a whole other story. Their rivalry was unique; I loved how the writers didn't take the easy way out when it came to their clash of ideologies (which was to immediately put Paul in the wrong, and Ash in the right). Instead, they left both sides in the gray -- both Ash and Paul had deficiencies when it came to their mindsets, as well as their own merits -- the writers were unbiased when they wrote this rivalry, and that made it much more deep than I would've expected it to be. Thinking about it now, I actually liked how they didn't focus too much on Paul's personal development, and instead chose to focus more on the rivalry between him and Ash. If they had focused on Ash changing Paul's ways, they would unintentionally be limiting the viewers to a sole, single mindset -- which would be Paul = wrong, and Ash = right. However, by focusing solely on their clash of ideologies instead, they have allowed the viewers to explore the morality and viewpoints of both sides thoroughly and equally, as opposed to limiting them to just one. While a part of the fan base relished in the clash of ideologies that emerged from this rivalry, you also have the other side that disagrees with the message of this rivalry (usually those who completely disagree with Paul's way of training; ie. labeling it as 'abuse'). However, I actually see this overwhelming controversy as a part of the beauty of this rivalry, as it perfectly reflects how we all have different mindsets/viewpoints when it comes to accessing situations based on our own internal value system. This was a rivalry that allowed you to listen to your own moral compass, and that's where the magic of this rivalry lies.

Putting that aside, you also have what I thought were entertaining side characters -- gym leaders with bigger roles and more personality than ever before, Conway, Barry, Lyra...and that's just to name a few. The build-up to the Team Galactic finale was also amazing, and while the finale itself wasn't quite as epic as Team Flare's was, I'd say their arc was handled well overall; definitely one of the better evil teams adapted into the anime. Then there was also Hunter J, who served as a threatening presence throughout the series alongside Team Galactic. She was threatening, intense, and yet the driving force behind her unforgivable actions was simple and easy to grasp -- she's simply in it for the money. And it sure helps that all the episodes she appeared in were memorable and served as a gripping watch.

In regards to the trio chemistry, I personally wasn't bothered by their lack of sarcasm/conflict, as most people here seem to be. In fact, this was the trio that gave me a completely different vibe altogether -- they felt like a family. Their dynamic is very hard for me to describe, as it's more of a vibe they gave me; a very warm, fuzzy feeling I get from watching them engage in simple, everyday activities (such as eating together at the table). This particular feeling I get from watching them simply can't be explained via concrete elements in their dynamic (such as jokes, sarcasm etc.); It was just a general vibe they gave off, and I guess that's what made their dynamic all the more unique to me. In the same way that others consider the OS trio to have a charm to their dynamic that cannot be replicated, I personally consider the DP trio to have a 'family' vibe to them that, in a similar manner, cannot be replicated.

The length of this post alone shows how passionate I am about the DP series, and honestly, I applaud anyone who managed to read through all of that, haha.

 

[Team Rocket]

Sinnoh region. There were plenty of stupid filler episodes, but the long-running story arcs, to me, were the most exciting in the Pokémon anime. For instance, I liked the Team Galactic arc better than I have liked other arcs featuring the villainous organizations (TRio arcs aside). And even Brock had plenty of good moments where he shined and didn't feel so much like a pointless addition to the team (unlike back in Hoenn). Team Rocket also had memorable stories, including the ones I loved about James giving away his Cacnea and the one with Jessie leaving her Dustox.

 

[GuyWhoTellsTruth]

Kanto and Orange Islands for me. There was a sense of progression and character development that hasn't been replicated since (Ash also won the Orange League, too), and a lot of characters were more fleshed out back then and less flanderized than they are now. By Johto, Misty became more of a background character but this was somewhat amended by her cameo in Hoenn where she did help out her Togepi in evolving, Brock gets 100% useless after AG ends, and throughout the entirety of DP he is a one-note flirt and then cook --> narrate --> repeat running gag to me, Team Rocket start taking a level in dumbass by Hoenn, that gets worse in the Battle Frontier, and annoying by Sinnoh, better in Unova with the Serious attitude change, and then entirely intolerable in Kalos-Alola so far.

 

[pokemon fan 132]

In general i always liked the most Kanto, Orange and Johto. Not just because i grew up with it, but because of depth and lot of emotion this series had going for. Ash, Misty and Brock as main cast worked perfect imo having highly close, meaningful and natural communication between them through lot of moral support and solidarity, moments of clash, arguing and witty jokes like friends in real life would. Being helping hand to each other and produced lot of drama and comedy with their various escapades and spats.

Feeling like their friendship fermented and reached new level of depth becoming even more closer to each other (to this day "Gotta Catch Ya Later!" remains one of/if not the most touching goodbye imo with tears, sadness and disappointment reflecting truly how Misty, Brock and Ash felt about splitting up).

Writers put lot of effort and originality in making this series unique, permeated with various fresh ideas and lot of their own imagination. Probably one of reasons why it seemed like older seasons followed games to lower extent. Enjoying in various anime only mini side stories and arcs such as island of Giant pokemon, St, Anne, Whirl islands ending crowned with so far most detailed and important water tournament we ever had, side story with gym leaders, episodes dealing with abnormal pokemon (Tentacruel, or Gengar and Alakazam wanting to wreck whole world), mischief pokemon which supplied anime with various unique running gags which embellished series appeal making it more memorable and fun to follow. Especially Jigglypuff but Delibird too really liking his crazy presents never knowing what to expect next who got introduced there.

Reflect of creativity was apparent the most during Orange Islands though imo. Whole region and setting taking place in tropical like environment, interesting subplots with gym leaders and concept of love where Misty played notable role, crisis with bulky pokemon like Snorlax which after lot of struggle Ash caught with gym leaders, league, champion , even challenges Ash had to pass in gyms being very innovative and enjoyable to follow.
Especially because writers had to create everything out oi their imagination not having games to rely on.

I don't think i disliked any series to be honest. Like i brought up many times before all new generations like AG, DP, BW, XY, SM(currently) offered something new and entertaining to follow, but looking back original series had more emotion, maturity and depth imo with anime feeling more like its own story which builds on itself and strong continuity it followed. Not to mention group dynamic was absolutely golden and most natural as far as im concerned(Johto included).

 

[Kisu]

Man I just watched pokemon generations on Hulu,it's only 4 episodes but it's what the anime should've been.

Had red instead of ash.

Just alot better and more serious,I wish they'd do more of generations....

 

[Keshav]

XY obviously. Best Villain arc, more serious tone, a mature Ash, exciting traveling companions and we'll animated battles. Moreover, the finale is another treat.