PREVIEW: Pocket Monsters the series (2019)

[Pulsaro23]

Fanservice could be pretty varied (and not inherently sexualized).

Even a cute girl wearing a pretty fancy dress while there is sparkle around her could be fanservice.

In itself, fanservice could be just a cute girl being cute.

I'm well aware that there's more than one type of fanservice, but, form my experience, there's only two I've heard of. The first one is when you pander to your fanbase by having something happen in a show that fans would probably love, while the second one is the more PG-18, "eyecandy" type of fanservice. The former doesn't happen that often, nor is it exclusive to the girls (and the ones that are related to the girls usually happen after the series they were in ended, in episodes where they reunite with Ash and reminisce about their past adventures and showing off some of the popular strategies that they used). And the second one, according to all of the definitions I've seen, be they from Wiktionary ("the inclusion in a work of fiction of material, especially of a racy or sexual nature, which has no relevance to the storyline and is designed merely to excite the viewer") or TV Tropes ("the use of sex or sexualized situations to reward or entice viewers") or some other sites, is strictly about having a... ahem mature scene involving a character/group of characters that's supposed to "excite" the viewers, which is definitely something that rarely, if ever, happens in the Pokémon anime. The only two moments that I can even think of regarding the latter would be the Serena/Ash kiss (and even that's a stretch) and Lillie and Altaria's mud rubbing scene from the hot spring episode (which was pretty minor anyways and quite forgettable). Other than those two, I don't remember seeing this kind of fanservice in the anime.

Sure, Dawn and Lillie are two of the best-written characters of the anime, but they are both still mostly there for fanservice. People like cute girls after all and cute things in general.

By your logic, flowers and rainbows and everything nice (and maybe even little things, like a smile or an expensive-looking costume) would be considered fanservice.

 

[Beatsy Ray]

I don't know about that. I think that might be reading too much into the Pocket Monsters title. It's also pretty ridiculous think that they'll do a reboot with a new protagonist at this point, especially when Ash has outstayed his welcome for a lot of fans at least a decade ago. Ash has been the main lead for over two decades. He's not going to be replaced and I don't understand why people still treat it as a possibility.

The point of my post was to point out that there will be no reason for this series to end UNTIL a potential reboot. Meaning this will be the final series for the time being. I definitely don't see a reboot happening any time soon, but it's presumptuous to assume that in 10-20 years things won't be a little different. Naruto was the protagonist of his series for 15 years before getting replaced by his son. Maybe there won't be a Pokemon anime in 10-20 years (nothing lasts forever) or maybe the series will actually change enough to warrant a new protagonist some day.

As for the title, I don't think people are actually reading enough into it. How can you call series 8 "Pocket Monsters" and then go back to the status quo for series 9? First of all that really would be giving Galar the shaft, and it just wouldn't make sense because this series is easily capable of showing off new regions and Pokemon as they come out without the need for obligatory soft-resets.

 

[Konja7]

If it's a "fresh start" like the previous series, then it's not exactly fresh in concept. The only thing new about this series is revisiting the history of the anime (not in a literal sense). That is not proof that past characters won't return at all.

The limitation argument applies to your reasoning for "past characters may not return". We had Brock and Alola return during SM despite not having anything to do with Alola at all, so there's a far higher chances of characters returning with respect to the regions they may be in. And I'm pretty sure Gou is the character by which they'll attract a new audience, not Ash. Ash is there for all the old term fans, along with all his connections.

As for your last line, what would their reasoning be for not bringing back any past characters when they're clearly revisiting everything so far? Go on, tell me, maybe then I can give you the slightest amount of credibility.

Yeah. It isn't proof they won't return characters at all. I guess it is good to mention that neither party in this discussion has proof of anything.

That said, they really want a "fresh start" for this new season. That's why this time the title is just Pocket Monsters.


There aren't higher chances of old characters returning only because the characters visit old regions. Bringing back old characters will totally depend if the writers want or no (not if Ash and Go are visiting old regions).

As you mentioned, they brought Brook and Misty, although they are not related to Alola at all. That shows how little they care about the region to which a former protagonist belongs.


I'm pretty sure the division isn't Ash for old audience and Go for new audience. They just want the story in general to attract new audience.


PS: I don't know why, but I feel hostility from you.

 

[KenzeyEevee]

I wonder how much screentime each region is gonna get

 

[Tomboyish Mermaid]

By your logic, flowers and rainbows and everything nice (and maybe even little things, like a smile or an expensive-looking costume) would be considered fanservice.

Would explain why the cartoon My Little Pony: Friendship is magic so popular is. People are into stuff like this. Even more than before.

 

[Vengeful Ghost]

So it outright says that the scene from EP001 plays from Pikachu’s POV....can we finally accept it’s not a reboot?

Ha! This fandom accepting something is not a reboot? Don't make me laugh.

The moment Misty and Brock showed up, people tried to rationalize it as Ash going straight to Alola right after Johto.

Some don't care about continuity. They just want their perfect fanfic to be unstained.

 

[Hidden Mew]

Well, one of the former head-writers of the anime actually told, that the girls are mostly there for fanservice, which would explain why all of them have a similar character design.

I do remember that comment from the article, but it was from over ten years ago and made from a former director. This is the same interview that stated that Ash winning a League would mean that the series is over, or something along those lines, which we obviously know now isn't true. My point is that I don't think that comment is necessarily accurate to how the female characters are treated/viewed by the current staff. It's also beyond ridiculous to claim that they all have similar character designs. None of them look alike with each other. They all have different outfits, hair styles, eye colors, etc.

Sure, Dawn and Lillie are two of the best-written characters of the anime, but they are both still mostly there for fanservice. People like cute girls after all and cute things in general.

What? So cute girls doing cute things is fanservice now? And saying that the girls are mostly there for fanservice is such a massive disservice to their characterizations and storylines. I also honestly don't see how Lillie is one of the best written characters in the anime. I don't think she's written horribly, but outside of a few episodes, I don't think that she stands out that much to me either. I'm still more shocked over the notion that cute girls doing cute things in general is now fanservice. Not to mention I still find this notion of brushing off all the previous female leads as just being the cute girls completely inaccurate with sexist implications to boot.

The point of my post was to point out that there will be no reason for this series to end UNTIL a potential reboot. Meaning this will be the final series for the time being. I definitely don't see a reboot happening any time soon, but it's presumptuous to assume that in 10-20 years things won't be a little different. Naruto was the protagonist of his series for 15 years before getting replaced by his son. Maybe there won't be a Pokemon anime in 10-20 years (nothing lasts forever) or maybe the series will actually change enough to warrant a new protagonist some day.

As for the title, I don't think people are actually reading enough into it. How can you call series 8 "Pocket Monsters" and then go back to the status quo for series 9? First of all that really would be giving Galar the shaft, and it just wouldn't make sense because this series is easily capable of showing off new regions and Pokemon as they come out without the need for obligatory soft-resets.

That's really looking way too much into the title. Even the original Pocket Monsters series lasted for about five years, so I can't imagine them keeping this series going until a potential reboot. I don't really see why they'd reboot the series anyway. The anime's continuity has never been much of an issue to attract new fans considering that each series is pretty much a stand alone series. Kids don't need to watch over a thousand episodes or even the most recent completed series before jumping into the newest one. That's a big reason why the notion of this series to keep going until a potential reboot doesn't make sense to me. This reminds me of another theory about Go being a potential replacement for Ash, which also just felt like reading into too much of the whole setup for this series.

The Naruto comparison doesn't really work when Naruto isn't a toyetic franchise like Pokemon is. Not to mention Naruto actually ages and Ash is an eternally ten year old boy. I sincerely doubt that there will be a big enough change to warrant a new protagonist some day, especially when Ash and Pikachu are practically co mascots for the anime. I don't think that going back to the status quo, in that giving the next series a different title, would necessarily give Galar the shaft. We don't know how much attention Galar will have here and giving the next series a different title is an easy way to make it marketable. Going back to the Pocket Monsters title, as well as the gimmick of traveling around the world for some reason, is a way to make this series stand out, but I don't know if they'll keep it indefinitely. It just seems like assuming way too much and already speculating about future series/generations when we haven't even started this one.

I'm also disappointed by Rica's comment about only two main characters. On one hand, at least it is actual confirmation instead of fan speculation. I hate it when people present their theories or speculations as facts. But on the other hand, possibly not having a female lead while Ash and Go are traveling through different regions is disappointing. Yeah, the screentime isn't shared equally even within a trio, but I don't think that the solution was to make the next group a duo. Maybe Koharu will eventually join them on their travels. Again, I don't see why she'd get a Yamper and a connection to Go if she was just going to be the schoolgirl friend they'd see at their home base, especially when I don't know how frequently they'll be there when the main gimmick seems to require them to travel around at least somewhat frequently.

 

[DynamicFusion]

The Director for this Anime is the First Female Director for the Pokemon Anime and yet there is no Female Lead, how ironic.

I fail to see why you believe that she (and the other past companions) won't return given that it's a continuity. Maybe not as a main character (that honor goes to Ash, Gou, Pikachu and Scorbunny, and the rest of their main team Pokemon only), but as a recurring side or supporting character... even a temporary travelling companion. At this point, I feel like you hate everything that is not labelled SM.

Personally, I feel like Alola's Characters have the best chance of returning, considering how the end of SM was set up. But II don't think they'll toss out previous companions appearing one by one. I feel like SM's Characters are pretty much a guarantee and so is Clemont since Lumiose is basically the Head of Kalos.

 

[Beatsy Ray]

This reminds me of another theory about Go being a potential replacement for Ash, which also just felt like reading into too much of the whole setup for this series.

Lol that was my theory too, but I was mostly screwing around.

That's really looking way too much into the title. Even the original Pocket Monsters series lasted for about five years, so I can't imagine them keeping this series going until a potential reboot. I don't really see why they'd reboot the series anyway. The anime's continuity has never been much of an issue to attract new fans considering that each series is pretty much a stand alone series. Kids don't need to watch over a thousand episodes or even the most recent completed series before jumping into the newest one. That's a big reason why the notion of this series to keep going until a potential reboot doesn't make sense to me.

Going back to the Pocket Monsters title, as well as the gimmick of traveling around the world for some reason, is a way to make this series stand out, but I don't know if they'll keep it indefinitely. It just seems like assuming way too much and already speculating about future series/generations when we haven't even started this one.

Think about OS where within a single series, Ash traveled to two (three including Orange Islands) regions in three different arcs, all under the name "Pocket Monsters" with light but consistent continuity. As a kid I had no trouble jumping into the series in the middle of these arcs because of the simple premise and constant recaps from the narrator. I think we're looking at something similar now. The series will be called "Pocket Monsters" from this point on, but there can be different arcs that still have the fresh start feel (gen 9 release) and characters can be swapped as the series goes on. There just isn't a point of labeling individual series from this point on if they aren't exclusively focused on the current games. In any case that's just how it looks in my head, but we can agree to disagree.

I still say cutting the main cast down to two characters is an obvious way to let them swap old companions in every region. There's too many subtle references in the promotional material to ignore. We see Piplup and Croagunk together in BOTH promotional posters, as well as many other fan favorite side Pokemon. It's harsh to say that female companions were just fan service, but that is a part of it and it's highly doubtful that they would just cut them out entirely. When I play it out in my head, I can't envision a way in which Ash returns to previous regions and magically avoids everyone he's ever met there. And even if he somehow does, he won't return to a region without at least reminiscing about his previous adventures there. Not counting series starts/ends, Ash has never returned to Kanto without meeting up with Brock and Misty. I think the series racap we're getting on the 10th is going to leave the door wide open for many cameos.

 

[BigDocFan]

I hope Galar gets more focus than the other regions with Alola getting the least focus

Don't mind about the others but Kanto, Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh would be great as they haven't had much focus of late

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

I'm looking forward to this series hopefully exploring locations or elements that were explored either very little or not at all in the previous series.

 

[Pulsaro23]

Would explain why the cartoon My Little Pony: Friendship is magic so popular is. People are into stuff like this. Even more than before.

I... you... what the... I... I really can't understand you. You are a very baffling individual and I can't understand how one could believe this kind of nonsense.

As someone who actually watched MLP (as well as someone who follows a YouTuber who was a fan of MLP), I can tell you that the reason people enjoy that show is beyond shallow reasons like "cute girls". The characters have a lot of personality and character, the adventures they go throughout the show are very interesting and entertaining, the stories are well-done, the lessons they teach and the way they teach them are very compelling, the writing and storytelling and character development, while not perfect, is surprisingly great. To say that people love it just because of cute pony girls is a straight-up insult to its quality and to all of the work put into it by its crew.

And the same goes for Ash's female companions: to downright ignore everything about them and just reduce them to nothing more than fanservice and eye candy (terms that in no way do they even apply to them, unless you're just using your own made-up definitions of the words) is an insult to the characters and to the people who worked so hard to write them and develop them in a meaningful way.

Also, side note, but that the way you say "people are into stuff like this" when talking about both MLP and fanservice in the same line really comes off as perverted.

 

[Panky..]

Kanto

haven't had much focus of late

 

[BigDocFan]

Sorry to keep talking about it but I can only imagine Ash's reaction if and when he finds out Burnet is pregnant

It would be a great shame if Ash visits all the regions but doesn't meet up with any past characters

 

[LazySpy]

As someone who actually watched MLP (as well as someone who follows a YouTuber who was a fan of MLP)

Lily Olchard?

 

[Hidden Mew]

Lol that was my theory too, but I was mostly screwing around.

Ah, I wasn't sure if that was from someone else, but that makes a bit more sense.

Think about OS where within a single series, Ash traveled to two (three including Orange Islands) regions in three different arcs, all under the name "Pocket Monsters" with light but consistent continuity. As a kid I had no trouble jumping into the series in the middle of these arcs because of the simple premise and constant recaps from the narrator. I think we're looking at something similar now. The series will be called "Pocket Monsters" from this point on, but there can be different arcs that still have the fresh start feel (gen 9 release) and characters can be swapped as the series goes on. There just isn't a point of labeling individual series from this point on if they aren't exclusively focused on the current games. In any case that's just how it looks in my head, but we can agree to disagree.

I can understand thinking that future generations will be arcs as opposed to separate series based on this title. I just think it might be too early to assume that they are going to do that. I think a big reason why the original series covered multiple regions was because there were delays with G/S and not having a lot of new characters that they could have put within the main cast probably didn't help either. When even the original Pocket Monsters series lasted only about five years before they changed it up with a different series title, I just have a hard time believing that they'll keep every future generation as an arc under this same title indefinitely as opposed to making a new series title every few years like they have been doing for ages. It isn't impossible for that to happen, but it just seems to be a big assumption with what little information we do have.

I still say cutting the main cast down to two characters is an obvious way to let them swap old companions in every region. There's too many subtle references in the promotional material to ignore. We see Piplup and Croagunk together in BOTH promotional posters, as well as many other fan favorite side Pokemon. It's harsh to say that female companions were just fan service, but that is a part of it and it's highly doubtful that they would just cut them out entirely. When I play it out in my head, I can't envision a way in which Ash returns to previous regions and magically avoids everyone he's ever met there. And even if he somehow does, he won't return to a region without at least reminiscing about his previous adventures there. Not counting series starts/ends, Ash has never returned to Kanto without meeting up with Brock and Misty. I think the series racap we're getting on the 10th is going to leave the door wide open for many cameos.

That would be a neat way to still have some female representation in the series and appeal to long time fans at the same time. I'm not sure how they'll be able to handle showcasing that many older characters if they are going in that direction and I still kind of hope that Koharu joins Ash and Go in their travels eventually, but it might work depending on how they balance out going to different regions. I wouldn't be against the idea of having a rotating female lead for each region.

 

[Pulsaro23]

Lily Olchard?

God, no. I was talking about MangaKamen.

 

[Deadman]

(Layered post since I'm going through 20 pages here)
First, does an athlete stop with his sport just because he or she won Olympic gold? NO! They love what the do and the will make sure or at least try they can get gold next time as well.
Second, Ash may get Sobble but Sobble turns out to be not much of a fighter unlike Gou's Scorbunny and they trade.

To be fair, Team Skull and Team Yell are not your typical 'teams'. One is a close knit group of outcasts and the loser types who strive for attention by trying to be nuisances. The other is a toxic (and possibly self-appointed) fanclub.

To be fair, toxic fans can be worse than any world domination plotting villains, just in a terrifyingly stupid way.

With the main focus on Ash and Gou I hope for some Bud Spencer and Terrence Hill interactions between those two. It certainly would be funny.
Also, it might very well be possible that every time Koharu has school holidays she spends all or most of them accompanying Ash and Gou on their travels.

P.S. I'll be missing Rottom-Dex, though you are often annoying, especially while fangasm your favorite detective show but you grew to me. R.I.P.

 

[KenzeyEevee]

I wonder which development Ash will get from this.
Idk how to feel about Gou tbh.

 

[Timaeus]

I wonder how much screentime each region is gonna get

I feel like it's going to depend on how much the writers can think to do with locations that they haven't already tried or can at least expand upon. But then again Koharu and Sakuragi's existence as anime-onlys could mean that they're willing to really go beyond the constraints of the games. Anime is such a different medium after all and hopefully they play to its strengths and deliver an interesting narrative nonetheless - I'd much rather have an interesting story even if it means we only see little bits of each Region at a time.