If you were in charge of the show what would you change?

[SerenaToAlola]

Ash would be 17 by your logic and the target audience is 10 (unless you want to change the target audience) and it would be very difficult for them to relate to Ash, to say the least. And I highly doubt any parents would like their children to watch romance (unless again, you decide to change the target audience).

I actually do imagine Ash (and Serena/Clemont) to be around 17 and Bonnie to be around 10...

Anyway I don't think kids only relate to kids, many kids like older heroes like Batman/Ironman/Spiderman as well

 

[Rajas20]

Ash would be 17 by your logic and the target audience is 10 (unless you want to change the target audience) and it would be very difficult for them to relate to Ash, to say the least. And I highly doubt any parents would like their children to watch romance (unless again, you decide to change the target audience).

I don't think age of character really has to determine the target audience as most animes in general have teens as their main protagonists or they draw them in that regard and never really mention age. With respect to aging Ash, it'll more likely be that each two regions or so would equal a year to me unless a series (seven regions so he's be like 13-14). The romance isn't going to be on any high level as well but more like a subtle approach of coming to terms with having more than just one type of feeling (flesh out characters etc). It's easier said than done ofc but with all the stories presented so far in each region, I believe it would be more than possible.

 

[SinnohEevee]

I sometimes wish there was a good manga adaptation of the anime. There are stuff you can do in a manga that you can't do on a screen.

Ash would age by one year each generation and DP would have been his final series. PearlShipping would happen but there won't be much romance between Ash and Dawn ( OS did manage to hint towards PokéShipping).

 

[MarshiyanMisutaa]

PearlShipping would happen but there won't be much romance between Ash and Dawn

How does that work?

 

[SinnohEevee]

How does that work?

During the series, there would be hints like for Pokéshipping, but the last episode would have a fast forward to a future Ash who achieved his goal and got with Dawn.

 

[ii kanji]

My only request for the seiyuu: Miyu Irino voices Satoshi.

You can't just sack Rica!

 

[Bloodstained]

You can't just sack Rica!

It's not like she'd be fired. She'd still voice Sakaki's Persian, which would be named after her, but it's about time Satoshi is voiced by a male (especially since he'd start at age 14: by the way, English voice: Antony Del Rio).

 

[Hidden Mew]

It's not like she'd be fired. She'd still voice Sakaki's Persian, which would be named after her, but it's about time Satoshi is voiced by a male (especially since he'd start at age 14: by the way, English voice: Antony Del Rio).

Why would the gender of the voice actor matter? Why is it about time for Ash to be voiced by a male voice actor in the either version of the show? Losing one of her most iconic voice roles would still be a pretty big blow to Rica after voicing him for twenty years, especially if it's just a matter of not being a man rather than not being able to physically handle the role anymore. The main reason why we have more female voice actresses voicing Ash is because it is generally easier for women to make a voice pitch for a young boy character than it would be for men. Men can voice young boy characters too of course, but that's what I thought was the general reason behind voice cast decisions for both dubs and Japanese versions of anime titles. Even with Ash aging, you probably wouldn't need to change his voice actors just because of that, especially when teenage male characters being voiced by women in Japan isn't that uncommon either.

I know that this is just part of your fantasy of what you'd do if you had control of the show, but saying that it's about time that Ash is voiced by a male voice actor for seemingly no reason other than you just want a male voice actor to do it bothers me a lot.

 

[Peppermint Phoenix]

I would speed up the current region's game adaptation quest so that between generations I could set up a massive arc to put an end to team rocket.

The TRio would steal Pikachu and bring it back to team rocket head quarters. This would prompt Ash to team up with Looker to gather a team of old rivals and other characters like Leaf and Lance in order to storm Team Rocket HQ. There would be around ten team members on the rescue team including Ash and Looker. All known team Rockets members in the games and the anime would be fought. The positions of the rescue team and how many battle ready Pokemon they have on them would be important to the arc's narrative at any time. It would end with Jessie, James and Meowth escaping and Giovanni being arrested.

 

[ii kanji]

Losing one of her most iconic voice roles would still be a pretty big blow to Rica after voicing him for twenty years

Forget that, losing Rica would be an enormous blow to everyone who watches Pokeani in Japanese!

 

[Bloodstained]

Why would the gender of the voice actor matter? Why is it about time for Ash to be voiced by a male voice actor in the either version of the show? Losing one of her most iconic voice roles would still be a pretty big blow to Rica after voicing him for twenty years, especially if it's just a matter of not being a man rather than not being able to physically handle the role anymore. The main reason why we have more female voice actresses voicing Ash is because it is generally easier for women to make a voice pitch for a young boy character than it would be for men. Men can voice young boy characters too of course, but that's what I thought was the general reason behind voice cast decisions for both dubs and Japanese versions of anime titles. Even with Ash aging, you probably wouldn't need to change his voice actors just because of that, especially when teenage male characters being voiced by women in Japan isn't that uncommon either.

I know that this is just part of your fantasy of what you'd do if you had control of the show, but saying that it's about time that Ash is voiced by a male voice actor for seemingly no reason other than you just want a male voice actor to do it bothers me a lot.

It's my choice and my style of voice acting. Additionally, letting Rica and Sarah Natochenny continue in this role symbolizes much of what I feel is wrong with the anime: stagnation of the story and general lack of concern for the characters.

I'm trying to change things and this is only part of it. The anime has much bigger problems anyway.

 

[Hidden Mew]

It's my choice and my style of voice acting. Additionally, letting Rica and Sarah Natochenny continue in this role symbolizes much of what I feel is wrong with the anime: stagnation of the story and general lack of concern for the characters.

I'm trying to change things and this is only part of it. The anime has much bigger problems anyway.

That still doesn't really make much sense to me. I understand that it's your choice, but that still doesn't explain anything about why it's time for a man to voice Ash. If you do think that his current voice actresses symbolizes what you don't like about the anime, then why not just get different voice actresses instead? Why focus specifically on male voice actors and emphasize the actors' genders in general? That doesn't really come off as a style of voice acting exactly. The wording and especially the whole "it's time for a man to voice Ash" bit gives off some really terrible implications, regardless of whether or not it's intentional. That's why it bothers me so much since it seems to disregard voice actresses in favor of voice actors simply because they're men and it's apparently important for Ash to be voiced by a man for some reason despite how common it is for women to voice male characters. Maybe this wouldn't have bothered me so much if there was a focus on their talent, but there seemingly was no reason behind these choices other than they're male voice actors and that does bother me.

Besides all that, replacing the voice actresses simply because of what you think they symbolize still seems kind of harsh. It's not like they couldn't adapt to a new kind of story with Ash aging and adjust to the role accordingly, especially for Rica. Not to mention you'd be punishing them for your issues with the show, which they definitely wouldn't have any control over in the first place. Again, I know it's your fantasy and your choice for what you'd do if you had control of the anime, but the reasoning behind it all is still kind of upsetting.

 

[Neo Blaze]

It's my choice and my style of voice acting. Additionally, letting Rica and Sarah Natochenny continue in this role symbolizes much of what I feel is wrong with the anime: stagnation of the story and general lack of concern for the characters.

Do you perhaps mean that it's time for Ash to get older and get a heavier voice, one a female voice actor probably couldn't provide? Because in that case I can certainly see where you're coming from, but I can't say I agree. A heavy, more adult voice would probably be offputting to a lot of fans. And it's not like women can't provide adult male voices either. Japanese Goku has been voiced by a female voice actor for decades, although admittedly it's more of a childlike voice.

I also respect your opinion unless you genuinely think Ash should have male voice actors just because. In that case I don't know what to say. Some clearance on what you exactly mean would be nice.

 

[Bloodstained]

I admit I'm not clear on my opinions and I understand I may be coming off as sexist among other things. As far as Rica goes, I really don't have anything against her or other actresses. I just genuinely believe that for the purposes of an older Satoshi, a male voice would work better because it sounds more believable. Not to mention I generally think of actors I enjoy that would be perfect to fit a character. In this case, I believe Antony and Miyu are great for a teenage boy's voice. Also, almost every human actor would be changed, but for the most part, it isn't a punishment. I won't lie, though: my anger for the anime hasn't fully subsided and I just don't agree with keeping Rica for the role.

 

[Hidden Mew]

I admit I'm not clear on my opinions and I understand I may be coming off as sexist among other things. As far as Rica goes, I really don't have anything against her or other actresses. I just genuinely believe that for the purposes of an older Satoshi, a male voice would work better because it sounds more believable. Not to mention I generally think of actors I enjoy that would be perfect to fit a character. In this case, I believe Antony and Miyu are great for a teenage boy's voice. Also, almost every human actor would be changed, but for the most part, it isn't a punishment. I won't lie, though: my anger for the anime hasn't fully subsided and I just don't agree with keeping Rica for the role.

Rica has voiced teenage boys before, such as Bakura from Yu-Gi-Oh!, so I don't think she couldn't pull off a believable older voice for Ash. It's not that uncommon for voice actresses to voice teenage boys either. I'm also still not quite sure why there is a voice on male voice actors. I know that you like those two voice actors you mentioned, which is fine, but I'm still confused and bothered by the notion that it's about time for a man to voice Ash bit. If it was a matter of finding talent that you thought would fit for an older Ash, there really shouldn't have been any need to focus on/emphasize the actors' genders more so than their talent in the first place.

Even if you keep the original actors on staff for voicing Pokemon, losing their human character roles would still be seen as a punishment, or at least a pretty huge downgrade considering how long Ash and Team Rocket's voice actors have been involved with the show. I understand that you still have anger towards the show, but I don't like the notion of punishing the voice actors for what was beyond their control like that, even for a fantasy idea like this one. They would lose some of their more iconic roles after twenty years simply because of how you feel towards the anime. That definitely sounds like a punishment to me.

 

[Cresselia92]

It’s one thing to wish for that voice actor to have voiced Ash from the very beginning of the anime, but to wish to have an actor replaced just because she isn’t a man doesn’t make much sense to me.

I bet Rica would be able to pull off an adult masculine voice just fine, so there would be no need for Ash to be “finally” voiced by a man.

What matters the most is the talent and the voice tone given by the actor, not the gender.

 

[Bloodstained]

It's not like I haven't taken talent into account, but my mindset isn't the same as you guys. I'll cast whomever I choose and it's not as if Satoshi would be the only character with whom I have this issue. Talented as Maile Flanagan and Junko Takeuchi are, I don't think I'm the only person who isn't convinced they should still voice Naruto as an adult. Also, as far as Goku goes, it's probably because I'm so used to Sean Schemmel, but I prefer him over Masako Nozawa. It's just preference.

For the women as boys tropes, that varies for me, too, because I can still enjoy Stephanie Nadolny or Colleen Clinkenbeard as Gohan or Tara Strong as Ben Tennyson. Maybe a change like this is some form of punishment, since I've heard Rica say things about Satoshi with which I don't agree or respect. At least a change of voice would be more in line with my own ideals.

 

[Hidden Mew]

It's not like I haven't taken talent into account, but my mindset isn't the same as you guys. I'll cast whomever I choose and it's not as if Satoshi would be the only character with whom I have this issue. Talented as Maile Flanagan and Junko Takeuchi are, I don't think I'm the only person who isn't convinced they should still voice Naruto as an adult. Also, as far as Goku goes, it's probably because I'm so used to Sean Schemmel, but I prefer him over Masako Nozawa. It's just preference.

I don't think having this kind of issue with other voice actresses makes the notion of replacing them for male voice actors any less problematic. It's fine if you prefer male voice actors, like preferring Goku's dub voice over his Japanese one, but that's different than saying men should voice these characters just because they're male. It also didn't really sound like you took talent into account, or at least didn't make that more of a central focus when you first mentioned male voice actors should voice Ash. Even now, it sounds more like personal preferences for male voice actors instead of factoring in talent. If there was a bigger focus on talent, I don't think you would have focused on the voice actors' genders.

For the women as boys tropes, that varies for me, too, because I can still enjoy Stephanie Nadolny or Colleen Clinkenbeard as Gohan or Tara Strong as Ben Tennyson. Maybe a change like this is some form of punishment, since I've heard Rica say things about Satoshi with which I don't agree or respect. At least a change of voice would be more in line with my own ideals.

Firing someone just because of what they've said about a character really doesn't sound good. Unless they said something hateful, I don't think that's a good reason to replace them after voicing the character for twenty years. Even for a fantasy setup, that really doesn't sit well with me.

 

[Bloodstained]

I don't wish to fire Rica outright. Besides, I've heard no complaints about the fact that I'd be abandoning almost every current English voice actor. I stated at the beginning that most of them would work from Los Angeles, and the current actors work in New York. It's also rather personal against them for creating a dub I now believe is subpar.

I'm going to stop posting about this topic, especially because I know that my opinions aren't exactly correct or well articulated. My bias against the anime is still influencing my decisions and any talk about gender, while still necessary to make me think, has gone too far in this thread.

 

[Hidden Mew]

I don't wish to fire Rica outright. Besides, I've heard no complaints about the fact that I'd be abandoning almost every current English voice actor. I stated at the beginning that most of them would work from Los Angeles, and the current actors work in New York. It's also rather personal against them for creating a dub I now believe is subpar.

I must have missed that part because of what I was focused on the male voice actors point. If it was because of preferring voice actors from LA, that would be one thing, but unless they're involved in the script process, the TPCI dub actors aren't responsible for the dub quality. Even not liking their performances might be more due to the voice directions rather than their own skills and talent as voice actors. I'd disagree with that notion too, but at least that could be presented as just preferring voice actors in the LA area rather than punishing voice actors for what's beyond their control or choosing male voice actors just because they're men.

I'm going to stop posting about this topic, especially because I know that my opinions aren't exactly correct or well articulated. My bias against the anime is still influencing my decisions and any talk about gender, while still necessary to make me think, has gone too far in this thread.

I wouldn't say that you're opinions are wrong exactly and I wasn't trying to make you think that. This is a fantasy question over what people would do with the anime and you're entitled to your opinions. It's just that I was confused/bothered by your claims and I wanted to get more clarification on them.