Is Unova the New Kanto?

[Septimus]

Iris is the new Misty, but better
Cilan is the new Brock, but better
TR is TR, but a lot better
Ash is Ash, but worse

yes, Unova is the new Kanto. So, I'm also guessing we're gonna get the new Johto anytime soon??

Agreed.Nintendo keeps dumbing Ash down for the new generation of stupid kids.Oh, and i too cant wait for the new Johto (obviously).Then, in 3 years we will get a new Sinnoh.Yay!!

 

[proserpina]

I don't believe that Unova is the new Kanto purely because they have brought back a formula that worked before. The mechanics may be similar but that doesn't necessarily mean that things have gone full circle.

 

[Jukain]

I'll say they played off certain elements of the original saga, but yeah, it plainly is not Kanto entirely. The goofiness of Kanto was off the scale, and done on purpose. Here, it's more derogatory and just there for the sake of it. There are elements of Brock and Misty in Cilan and Iris, but they are sometimes blended and switched. They even learned from their previous mistakes and made Cilan at least fun to watch. (his VA may have had something to do with it) Iris is plainly a much more mellow Misty. The initial fast pace also seems to be an allusion, but recently, they are back to a somewhat more normal pace. (although they seem to have wavered off from the high quality writing of DP) I said before that I didn't like this idea, and I still don't. The anime progressed too far to have them purposely take a nosedive like this. Kids might enjoy it, but those of us who hold the previous seasons so dear, it is almost an insult to see them do this. I won't be mad, though, just disappointed.

 

[pokemon fan 132]

Iris is the new Misty, but better
Cilan is the new Brock, but better
TR is TR, but a lot better
Ash is Ash, but worse

yes, Unova is the new Kanto. So, I'm also guessing we're gonna get the new Johto anytime soon??

I beg to differ.Misty and Brock may share some similarities with Iris and Cilan but there is hardly enough of them to warrant being called cones.Dawn shared similarities with May too,but you dont see people calling her "new May".

Speaking of connections between Kanto and Unova as characters aside from liking to tease and pick on Ash,females are anything but similar.Misty personality was more straightforward being know to be temperament,deep romantic,sometimes shy along with having her girly and tender side.
Iris is much more quiet in that aspect being often hyper and intrusive portraying her as somewhat careless,tending to act hypocritical at times.

Her goal of dragon master aside from name similarity happens to be much more simple to accomplish only involving evolution of Axew(as for now),while with Misty and water master thing this was portrayed as something complex requiring active battling,intensive training,entering tournaments and becoming best one type trainer in world(direct parallel with E4 position).

Same goes for Brock and Cilan.Their biggest and only similarity is that both are serving role of older caretaker in group cooking,providing advices along with being wiser and more mature part of cast.
Compared to Brock goal of breeding,Cilan dream is more proactive involving battling,learning about new training strategies(main reason he joined Ash in first place)along with there existing special tests(events)where pokemon connoisseurs can display their knowledge and depending on what thy showed get promoted eventually to higher rank.

Also while Clan and Iris may receive more focus in first 50 episodes in BW with their goals being better defined and gaining rivals they are hardly "better"than original companions were.Misty had more dimensional personality feeling genuine,funny and full of various traits which added to appeal.She had unique goal,touching past and several issues which affected character behavior(like older sisters,lack of confidence trying to cover up flaws by acting tough etc) having better development character wise showing us insight in personal struggles gradually becoming more mature and independent.She as it stands has more potential than i can say for Iris currently.

When it comes to Cilan and Brock,they are equally good characters to me.Cilan flamboyant personality and several hobbies which are reflecting his various traits are providing good comedy,but same can be said for Brock whose obsession over girls,signs of irrationality being showed when having to deal with finer things in life being very inexperienced in that aspect while at same time being capable,collected and mature when it comes to pokemon and bringing order when conflict arises between group gave us character which had that level of mystery and stability balancing out impulsiveness and tension between cast.

Likewise group dynamic in Unova is operating on completely different level original trio had.Back in Kanto we had Ash who was just starting out with Misty and Brock fulfilling role as his mentors and guidelines with Unova not being focused so much on humor,conflict and goofiness Kanto had with writers often going of the board with several things passing under radar.Granted Ash was still immature and dumb,Misty used to often criticize him etc but back than this was actually justifiable being excused to fact that he was complete beginner with his naivety and overconfidence causing back and forth conflict and arguing for a reason.
In Unova there is no tension between characters,and Ash still making questionable moves in BW being toned down in maturity feels like regression of character compared to Kanto where he advanced forward along with current group not having that close bond,realism and individuality first trio had.

Even in battling and storyline Unova and Kanto can hardly be compared.In BW writers are actually applying improvement they made over the years with battles being more detailed and better with gym badges being obtained through battles.Group pokemon are having their personalities expanded more and villains are serving purpose to give that serious ton to show,while in Kanto TR point of existence was in bringing lighthearted humor and goofiness indirectly influencing Ash story(most notable example from Kanto is when because of them his pokemon got exhausted contributing to Ash defeat vs Ritchie).

Unova draws like others said some parallels with original characters and storyline from Kanto going back to format of one main star and rest being supporting cast,but there is more difference than similarity to be honest with new series on one hand showing improvement in some fields while at same time feeling different(in worse way arguably) on several grounds compared to first season having different tone,dynamic and treatment of plots.

 

[Masurao]

Well, if I had to make comparisons between Iris, and Misty..they were both pretty unplesant to be around. (Misty grew out of it, but Iris is still relatively bitchy.) Misty was physically abusive, and would usually hit Ash or Brock with a log, her fist, or a fan. Iris isn't physically abusive, but it's obvious they are trying to throwback to Misty with her deadpan nature/facial expressions and her general attitude of being annoyed with their fellow companions. Then there's the obvious fear of bug/ice types

 

[Caseydia]

Since this is beginning to go off topic again, I'll just say no. Unova seems more like a Johto to me than a Kanto. Mainly because of the gym leaders and the starters that I like. Unova has a lot of similarities to Kanto but it's a little better.

 

[Peppermint Phoenix]

The filler count, the animation, the way the arcs are structured, the tone and themes are miles closer to AG than Kanto just because Cilan cooks and Iris is mean does not make it the new kanto.

 

[Cybersai]

Of course its more similar to Kanto. There are no Contests, no female "co-star," and Iris and Cilan have almost the exact same roles Misty and Brock did.

The fact that Ash got all the starters again which hasn't happened in a long time also contributes to this.

 

[Peppermint Phoenix]

Of course its more similar to Kanto. There are no Contests, no female "co-star," and Iris and Cilan have almost the exact same roles Misty and Brock did.

The fact that Ash got all the starters again which hasn't happened in a long time also contributes to this.

Those are just a few minor details in a way all female protagonists had similar role and brock was there the whole time. I think they are trying to make the new Kanto but a BW episode is closer to a AG episode then a OS episode. It still written like a modern episode.

 

[Bouffalant Herdier]

No. They can make as many allusions to Kanto as they want, but it will never be the same, and regressing Ash certainly won't change that. It should create its own identity and stop relying so much on past glories.

 

[Lillie]

No it isn't. BW is nothing like Kanto.

 

[marshiyanmisuta]

It's look like the new Johto.

 

[pokemon fan 132]

No. They can make as many allusions to Kanto as they want, but it will never be the same, and regressing Ash certainly won't change that. It should create its own identity and stop relying so much on past glories.

Seconded.
Trying to mimic same humor and chemistry Kanto and Johto(in its better parts being early part and Master Quest with departure being culmination of their close bond)had was complete mistake because you cant recreate same dynamic Ash,Misty and Brock had with different characters.Not only they have different personalities,but they served different purpose too with story and characters being designed to work with Ash in different matter.

If writers intention was to mimic Kanto with Unova,i must say they are doing terrible job at it with new series being nothing like first series were.Not only that group dynamic operates on completely different level,Unova lacks that wacky plots and humor which we never had outside of first season,Jessie James and Meowth roles were completely changed becoming serious villains, but they also added insult to injury to Ash character by degrading him in terms of skill and maturity he used to had in Sinnoh.

In Kanto this was justified because Ash was just starting out and his stubborn and immature approach made him likable,but trying to replicate that with Unova was complete miss being slap to face to development he experienced nowdays being weird mixture of immature idiot,yet little more experienced trainer than he used to be in original series.
I fail to see any connection between Kanto and Unova aside from two gym leaders traveling with him again.Better battles and more consistent plot(in some parts) compared to Kanto just makes whole thing feel even more forced and unrealistic.
Writers should focus more on making Unova different from any past series with Dento and Iris playing of with Ash on different,more suitable level for which their characters are designed,because quite frankly trying to replicate past regions with different cast and place in which storyline is put isnt working.

I dont care if i get bad ratings for this but if going back with Unova to original series formula was truly writers aim,they should had rather reunite original trio instead.It would have made far more sense,better displaying intention of "anime going back to its roots".

 

[Trainer Lisa]

I'm gonna say no. And I mean no!
B/W is absolutely nothing like Kanto! =/

If anything, it's more similar to Sinnoh, if you ask me.

Yup, Ash really is stupid in Unova. Ash isn't really anything like how he was in Kanto.... Or anywhere else for that matter.

That's exactly how I feel. I completely agree with you.
And when I think about what they've done to Ash, it makes me really sad. I miss the Ash I know and love. :-(

 

[Midnight Blue]

I'm also going to say no. It may have the feel of Kanto here and there and have those throwbacks but it is not. I hate it when people say Unova is Kanto done right. There was nothing wrong with it. The only reason why people say this is because many think the series is a so called "reboot". Which I do not think it is. I think the reason Best Wishes "started over" is because Pokémon is now 16 years old. They just wanted the kids that have just started playing or have been playing for the past few years to experience what the kids had back the series was just starting. I think someone at Game Freak even said something to that extent about Black and White. This is just my opinion though. If it even made sense.

 

[Sweenix]

I'm gonna say no. And I mean no!
B/W is absolutely nothing like Kanto! =/

If anything, it's more similar to Sinnoh, if you ask me.

Yup, Ash really is stupid in Unova. Ash isn't really anything like how he was in Kanto.... Or anywhere else for that matter.

That's exactly how I feel. I completely agree with you.
And when I think about what they've done to Ash, it makes me really sad. I miss the Ash I know and love. :-(

bw is like sinnoh?
AHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA AHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA AHAHAHAHAHAHAH

ohh please, for someone who has been here so long, that was a pretty nieve comment.

bw isn't kanto, but it's like kanto.

btw! i wasn't trying to be mean, but sinnoh and unova are nothing alike.

 

[Cybersai]

It's look like the new Johto.

LOL, I wasn't going to say it, but Unova does feel similar to Johto. Although so far Unova is being handled much better in terms of the main cast and their pokemon...but sometimes it feels like nothing is happening again.

And BW Ash is probably the closest to Johto Ash in terms of personality

 

[El_]

And BW Ash is probably the closest to Johto Ash in terms of personality

Yeah, pretty much. Hes definitely far below AG & DP Ash, but hes not completely at Kanto/OI Ash. Johto Ash is definitely the most accurate.

Best Wishes as a series is basically what Johto would have been had it followed the same formula as Kanto.

If anything, it's more similar to Sinnoh, if you ask me.

Ahahaha Don't I wish it were like Sinnoh.

 

[Trainer Lisa]

ohh please, for someone who has been here so long, that was a pretty nieve comment.

bw isn't kanto, but it's like kanto.

btw! i wasn't trying to be mean, but sinnoh and unova are nothing alike.

Well, I was going by dub standards. =P

If I were to compare B/W to any other series, it would be the D/P series for obvious reasons (new region, new Pokemon, has 3 people in the group, etc). Honestly, I see each series as its own unique series. But if I was going to compare B/W to a previous series, it would have to D/P. That's just my opinion though.

And BW Ash is probably the closest to Johto Ash in terms of personality

I disagree with this.

Personality wise, during Johto, Ash was very energetic.

But in B/W, Ash seems to lack that energy... He's completely different. To me, B/W Ash can be described as "Unova Ash". He's brand new and I really don't know what to make of that.

 

[Winterdaze]

Is X the new Y? Chances are the answer is no.
Kanto and Unova aren't exceptions.