How well would the anime have done if Ash was swapped out early on (after Kanto/Orange Islands)?

[Greninjaman]

Over 1,000 episodes
over 20 years since 1997 (when the first episode on the anime aired in Japan)

That is how long Ash has been around. From what I have looked into, it seems that there are three sets of fans when it comes to Ash and the anime:
Those that love him and want him to keep going
Those that hate him and want him to be retired
Those who are on the fence about him

I have two questions to pose:
One: Would the anime be as popular as it is now if Ash was replaced after Kanto (and by extension, the Orange Islands)?
Two: Would the anime do well if they swapped Ash out after Orange Islands (each region having its own protagonist)?

Begin discussion.

 

[Mew2]

It's hard to say. Ash really didn't get stale to me until the end of DP and into BW, where it was looking more and more obvious that he would never win a game league. And even them, I'm holding a sliver of hope that he may win the Alola League, assuming it is a smaller league than the others. While in hindsight, it probably would have been better to have Ash leave after the Orange Islands and allow Gold/Ethan to take over, then Brendan or May, etcetera, I think that it really wasn't until the later generations where Ash began to get old, despite supposedly not having aged a single year. And even then, I think that Ash would lose a lot of his staleness if he actually won a game league.

 

[Hidden Mew]

I think it's hard to say as far as popularity goes. The Pokemon craze was starting to cool down once Johto started, but that had more to do with how fad popularity works more so than Ash being the main character. It's possible that starting with a different lead character could have given the anime a bit more attention around that time. I don't think that fans were really eager to replace Ash until AG, but I also remember seeing speculation that he would be replaced as early as the first season through Johto. People thought that he'd end up on Mount Silver like Red, which was well before they revealed the Johto League would take place there. I don't know how well fans would have received a new character back then, but it probably wouldn't have affected the popularity of the anime drastically.

I think that the anime would still be financially successful if they had gone the Adventures route with changing the leads around every series. The anime would still be able to promote the games and any other merchandise with a different lead, so I don't think that would change with different leads. I don't know how different they could be since they'd be going after Gyms and have their own Pikachu most likely, but I don't think that changing leads every few years would have been a problem. I can see why they didn't go that route. Ash was already an established and iconic lead character by the time AG started, so they probably didn't want to risk it by replacing him, especially when replacing Misty was already a risk in itself.

 

[ii kanji]

The big issue would be Pikachu - Satoshi's Pikachu is the iconic Pikachu of the franchise, and even if every following act had an Ikue Ohtani Pikachu it simply wouldn't have been the same.

I also think one of the joys of the anime is that by keeping Satoshi and the TRio around, it means fans can easily touch back in after leaving at any time. Given how much energy is spent on nostalgia pandering in this franchise (I suspect older fans are a small but significant (in terms of financial power) pocket of the demographic) I'd say that's important.

 

[Nitro Indigo]

Legend has it that the anime staff considered replacing Ash in Gen 5. How true is that?

I would have liked to see the anime go all the way with the "only new Pokémon" concept, at least.

 

[EscLucy]

I'm not sure on how popular it would be either because it is about hypotheticals. However, I would say that people would prefer to see a change and different characters and different viewpoints which would make the anime more exciting and unpredictable.

 

[Greninjaman]

I'm not sure on how popular it would be either because it is about hypotheticals. However, I would say that people would prefer to see a change and different characters and different viewpoints which would make the anime more exciting and unpredictable.

How would it be more exciting and unpredictable?

 

[PkmnTrainerV]

Seeing 5 trainers in a row with Pikachu on their shoulder would also get stale, plus it would not have the icon status of Ash and Pikachu.

Keeping Ash along with Pikachu has benefitted TPCI a lot, giving them a human mascot in the form of Ash to go with Pikachu. I don’t think they’d get such a benefit with different protagonists.
It would also feel weird for each one of them to get a Pikachu, and use it more than their rightful regional starter.

It could work, but as a business decision Ash has benefitted more than different protagonists would.

 

[EscLucy]

How would it be more exciting and unpredictable?

Because Ash will always get gym badges/Z Crystals and then lose at the league. At least with other characters you can see different character development and different approaches to their journeys.

 

[Greninjaman]

Because Ash will always get gym badges/Z Crystals and then lose at the league. At least with other characters you can see different character development and different approaches to their journeys.

What about them winning the league? It’s the same with always losing.

 

[EscLucy]

What about them winning the league? It’s the same with always losing.

But if they change the character every series then they could win. There will be variance with some losing and some not, at least that won't be predictable.

 

[Greninjaman]

But if they change the character every series then they could win. There will be variance with some losing and some not, at least that won't be predictable.

But, you could do that with having Ash go through all of the regions: Having him win some and lose some.

 

[EscLucy]

But, you could do that with having Ash go through all of the regions: Having him win some and lose some.

That's just my opinion, I don't particularly like Ash and I would like to see other protagonists. Also, I assume a winner gets responsibilities for the region when you win and you might have to challenge the E4 and whatnot.

 

[Greninjaman]

That's just my opinion, I don't particularly like Ash and I would like to see other protagonists. Also, I assume a winner gets responsibilities for the region when you win and you might have to challenge the E4 and whatnot.

Well, that would depend on if Ash would be able to take on the league. If they keep the tournaments and have the winner go challenge the elite 4 (one who lives in that region anyway).

 

[EscLucy]

Well, that would depend on if Ash would be able to take on the league. If they keep the tournaments and have the winner go challenge the elite 4 (one who lives in that region anyway).

It's Ash...I'm sure he would.

 

[Hidden Mew]

Legend has it that the anime staff considered replacing Ash in Gen 5. How true is that?

I would have liked to see the anime go all the way with the "only new Pokémon" concept, at least.

I've never heard anything about the anime staff considering replacing Ash in BW. It sounds more like a fan theory rather than something that they would have done. Ash was the main character for over ten years by the time BW started. While starting over with a new lead character would have helped to make BW more distinct from other series and tie in with how Unova was more isolated compared to the other regions, the time had long since passed that Ash could be replaced by the time that series started. The only times where I think Ash could have been replaced without much of a problem were for Johto and AG considering that was the start of a second series. He's just too iconic and recognizable for them to replace after a decade of being the main character.

 

[Gengarzilla]

Considering that Ash had yet to get closure on his rivalry with Gary by the end of Kanto and Orange Islands, I don't believe those moments would have been right for retiring him. The first feasible time to bring in a new main character was once that loose end had been tied up at the end of Johto.
Then again, the onset of Pikachu falling dangerously unwell wouldn't be a very wise time to write Ash off. Imagine the implications.

 

[Matleo]

if that would happen in the past then it would work, but now we need to see what will be with Ash and taking that pokemon master means a master of all regions I start to think that after lets say 12 regions there should be a World Master League for him to make him shine.
Till that he has plenty of goal , to bemoce a regions master, then maintain the tittle in a other region? or atleast be in top 3 maybe 2 or 3 times to be allowed to take part in the Master League.

 

[HiroHunter]

I don't see any reason Ash should be swapped that early on.

 

[Hidden Mew]

Considering that Ash had yet to get closure on his rivalry with Gary by the end of Kanto and Orange Islands, I don't believe those moments would have been right for retiring him. The first feasible time to bring in a new main character was once that loose end had been tied up at the end of Johto.
Then again, the onset of Pikachu falling dangerously unwell wouldn't be a very wise time to write Ash off. Imagine the implications.

If they were going to replace Ash in Johto, they probably would have resolved his rivalry with Gary during the Orange Islands. They definitely would have changed things around if they planned to replace Ash for AG. They wouldn't end the original series with Ash worried about Pikachu being so sick since that would be kind of depressing note to end on without resolving it at the start of AG.