Tomboyish Mermaid
追放されたバカ
- Joined
- Jun 4, 2019
- Messages
- 249
- Reaction score
- 295
I have gone through the Original Series again for nostalgia reasons and I still enjoy it, but I have to say this anime series had one element that really bothered me and that was the characterization os Misty. Am I the only one who thinks she was the weakest part of the whole series? I would even go so far that she is the weakest written character of the whole franchise.
Backstory
She does technically have a backstory. She left her home because she couldn't stand living much longer with her sisters, who really looked down on her. That is actually not a bad attempt for a backstory for a character like her. The downside is, that they never addressed this issue much more. It is like they dropped this part of Misty's backstory, to the point where it seems she didn't even have one. The writers should have brought this up much more. Maybe they should have made her sisters even meaner or make more episodes about Misty dealing with this issue in her life.
Goal, motivation, and role
Her goal was to be a very talented water type trainer. Okay, good. Problem is, we almost never see her doing anything related to this goal. We never see her train and we never see her try to learn more about Water Pokémon. She lacks motivation, she also infected her role in the anime. Without a goal, she has no motivation in doing anything, and without a motivation she also has not a real purpose for the anime, which is sadly very clearly reflected in her role during the Johto arc. She didn't have one and technically never had a role from beginning with. You could write her out of the anime and nothing will change. Compare her to the other characters: Ash wants to be a master, Brock a doctor, TR wants Pikachu, May and Dawn want to be coordinators, Serena wants to be with Ash, even Iris, who had a similar goal, worked more for it compare to Misty.
Personality
To be honest, there isn't much. There is her fear of bugs, her mother-goose-like side when Togepi hatches, she has a bit of a temper, but that's about it. Her character is sadly a bit too superficial written for my taste. Now, the other characters are not deeply written either, but you can tell that they have grown as characters a bit until the end of their story. Each of them grew as characters. Brock wanted to be a doctor, TR soften up a little, Dawn had more confidence by the end of DP, and Lillie lost her fear of Pokémon. Misty, on the other hand, started out as one character and by the end, she still was the same character. Maybe they could have made her lose her fear for bugs or maybe they could address more the trouble she had with her sisters.
Character interactions
She was funny sometimes, I have to admit that. But after a while, it became pretty passive. Since she didn't develop as a character, didn't had a rival, a clear goal in mind, or a better-written backstory, she as a character didn't have much to say by the end. And you can tell because she was later reduced to an extra in the background during the whole Johto saga.
Conclusion
I have to say, she is actually a perfect example of how to not write a character. Her personality is reduced the most superficial girl cliches, she had no real backstory and no goal, and by the end, she also didn't do much. You could replace her with a stuffed doll that looks like her and it wouldn't really change the formula of the anime. I really enjoy all the cute fanfics about her and Ash, but as a character, she really fails in every regard. I can see why she was the first of the original characters that got kicked out of the show.
Backstory
She does technically have a backstory. She left her home because she couldn't stand living much longer with her sisters, who really looked down on her. That is actually not a bad attempt for a backstory for a character like her. The downside is, that they never addressed this issue much more. It is like they dropped this part of Misty's backstory, to the point where it seems she didn't even have one. The writers should have brought this up much more. Maybe they should have made her sisters even meaner or make more episodes about Misty dealing with this issue in her life.
Goal, motivation, and role
Her goal was to be a very talented water type trainer. Okay, good. Problem is, we almost never see her doing anything related to this goal. We never see her train and we never see her try to learn more about Water Pokémon. She lacks motivation, she also infected her role in the anime. Without a goal, she has no motivation in doing anything, and without a motivation she also has not a real purpose for the anime, which is sadly very clearly reflected in her role during the Johto arc. She didn't have one and technically never had a role from beginning with. You could write her out of the anime and nothing will change. Compare her to the other characters: Ash wants to be a master, Brock a doctor, TR wants Pikachu, May and Dawn want to be coordinators, Serena wants to be with Ash, even Iris, who had a similar goal, worked more for it compare to Misty.
Personality
To be honest, there isn't much. There is her fear of bugs, her mother-goose-like side when Togepi hatches, she has a bit of a temper, but that's about it. Her character is sadly a bit too superficial written for my taste. Now, the other characters are not deeply written either, but you can tell that they have grown as characters a bit until the end of their story. Each of them grew as characters. Brock wanted to be a doctor, TR soften up a little, Dawn had more confidence by the end of DP, and Lillie lost her fear of Pokémon. Misty, on the other hand, started out as one character and by the end, she still was the same character. Maybe they could have made her lose her fear for bugs or maybe they could address more the trouble she had with her sisters.
Character interactions
She was funny sometimes, I have to admit that. But after a while, it became pretty passive. Since she didn't develop as a character, didn't had a rival, a clear goal in mind, or a better-written backstory, she as a character didn't have much to say by the end. And you can tell because she was later reduced to an extra in the background during the whole Johto saga.
Conclusion
I have to say, she is actually a perfect example of how to not write a character. Her personality is reduced the most superficial girl cliches, she had no real backstory and no goal, and by the end, she also didn't do much. You could replace her with a stuffed doll that looks like her and it wouldn't really change the formula of the anime. I really enjoy all the cute fanfics about her and Ash, but as a character, she really fails in every regard. I can see why she was the first of the original characters that got kicked out of the show.