Should Ash age or not ?

[Hurricane Kishore]

It seem everywhere I go about pokemon , People always point out How Ash haven't Age at all in 5 year ? (14 year in our world)
But the question is "Does anyone want Ash to Age ?
So tell me, Do u like the kid Ash or want to see the Teenage Ash
Its your Choice
I believe that Ash should age into a teenager. It would be better that way
Ash age into a handsome teenage version of himself after a special training with Riley or Alder who is always in his high spirit but unlike before he has mature clam side which he reveal at the time of need & able to see through thing much clearly then other
That what I want, Ash becoming more like Red (adventure) Taiki (Digimon xros war),Ritsu (K on) Sho yamoto (idaten jamp) Ginga (Bey blade metal fushion) or Kukai (shugo chara)
A Carefree Boy who solve all the problem by using his quick witteness

 

[Feenie]

Tough question. I WANT to see Ash age, cause it seems ridiculous that after all this time, he's still ten. But I feel like it would be weird if Ash DID age:-|... I was going to say that it would be weird for him to be like twenty and still be a trainer, but there are plenty of people like that in Pokemon, so nevermind:dizzy:. Yeah, I guess I'm a little undecided.... But if I had to choose, I'd guess I'd say for Ash to actually grow older.:nono:

 

[El_]

Yes.

If they raised the ages of the in game protagonist to 16 instead of 10 then I see no reason why they shouldn't do the same for the anime. They wouldn't be "alienating" their original target audience like I've heard because kids would still watch it anyways.

Ash would be made to look competent and experienced, like he should be.

 

[Jukain]

There is only one reason people whine about Ash not aging: they hit Ash with the stupid ray rather hard in BW. If Ash still had his competence from AG and DP, we would not be here. However, as for physical aging, I don't see much point, the show isn't going to magically become darker and edgier simply because the protagonist is older. They did that in the games, and they weren't changed much other than the game being about philosophical issues. That's the other thing this is about. They wanted Ash to truly stand in for the older protagonists of the games so we could see him face N. (Which we don't know whether or not he'll still be in the anime regardless, but it's not looking good) The only other thing I see would be if Ash stopped being a dimwit about love, to which I will give the same answer the writers themselves did: it would distract too much from the plot. So what is my answer, then? I'm kinda on the fence since while I would like Ash to remain competent, trying to make the series darker and edgier or more shippy doesn't seem like too good of an idea. I'm not opposed to it being more serious, as that was what made DP so good. Just don't go too far, ok.

 

[CommanderPigg]

I don't WANT the show to be darker and edgier, I just want that "0" after the "1" in Ash's age to change to another number.

Call me an idiot for wanting this so badly, but in a continuous journey-type show like Pokemon, I have a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that after 4 leagues and 7 regions it hasn't even been a year yet. Unless somehow the pokemon world's orbit around the sun is a LOT larger in radius than ours, there's just no way. (I would rather accept that theory over "it's just a tv show, they don't have to age, y u no get it?") I'm okay with every other show where characters don't age, because...they're structured differently from pokemon. Yes, I have no problem with electric rodents producing hundred thousand volt lightning strikes or the fact that a llama created the universe or anything else. It's just the age.

The ambiguity after Ash's first age reveal in the first episode was SOOOO blissful. Why did BW have to ruin it? Just why??

So yeah. At the end of the day, Ash is still 10 and I am still an angry and irrational fan. No one wins ;_;
Except...you know, if you don't care XP

EDIT: Oh shit, I didn't even read the first post.

Ash age into a handsome teenage version of himself after a special training with Riley or Alder who is always in his high spirit but unlike before he has mature clam side which he reveal at the time of need & able to see through thing much clearly then other

No, ew. I don't want this. I'd like to think that 1) he's a late bloomer and 2) he's not unrecognizable from his former self in terms of personality. A bit more mature is good, but calm and handsome? Save it for some gary stu representation of him.

 

[Cybersai]

This is what it should have been:

Kanto/Orange: Ash is 10-11
Johto: Ash is 12
AG: Ash is 13
DP: Ash is 14

Best Wishes should have had Ash as a 15 year old. Not only would it match the protagonists ages from the games, but it'd also make sense. Likewise I always felt like Ash in AG and DP acted more like a 13-14 year old than a 10 year old.

 

[Almonds]

In real life, Ash should've been more than 17 now, but if we just think that "one episode = one day" (I'm not counting all that time it takes to move from one city to another), then it takes Ash at least one and a half year to complete a region.

1.5 years X 4 regions = 6 years of travelling in total until BW

...that still makes Ash around 17 now.


But a 17 year old appearing as a main protagonist in a kid's show is 0.o so maybe he should be just 14 or so. Mature, but immature in his own lovely ways XDD

And btw, that stupid reset should be gone.

 

[chimera]

Eh, they never should have given Ash an age in the first place.
I'd prefer him not to age. It would just feel... weird if he was 15 or something. :|

 

[CommanderPigg]

Oooh, also, if he never ages, that means that there's nothing stopping the writers from keeping him on the show for all eternity. This poses as a problem to me because the longer he stays on the show...the more of a meaningless marketable shell he becomes. I know that creating a new main character for the franchise may be a bit of a risk, but I would love to see Ash's journey reach a closure of some sort. Right now, his journey almost seems forced, his characterization is getting...ancient. I know that little kids won't care that much for it since they haven't stuck with Ash as long as some of the older fans have, but they probably equally wouldn't care if some shiny new hero replaced him.

Okay, I know I'm going to be prompted for off topicness, but this relates to his age.

tldr: If Ash were too old for the series (and therefore, it would feel too "weird" having an older teen lead), then his story would eventually have to end, and he may actually accomplish his goals.

 

[Madame Pika]

As a kid one of the things that I always enjoyed about the show was that it had a continious story line and I still like that now. I'd like to see Satoshi age since after all this time, it would act to the idea of continuity. I wouldn't mind knowing how the current target age group feels about Satoshi not ageing though. Even if he just became 11 it would just be a nice way to see the passing of time. Him being 10 doesn't destroy the show but it doesn't really add much and the second any thought is put in, seems jarring.

 

[Caseydia]

What they should have done was age him by important region.

Age 10 in Kanto and Orange Islands
Age 11 In Johto
Age 12 in Hoenn
Age 13 in Sinnoh
Age 14 in Unova

 

[Peppermint Phoenix]

Ash should age look at how well aging the character benefited Ben Ten it made the character more sympathetic and the stakes higher. And Yes I'm aloud to bring up western stuff a story is a story. And I think it would make this story better.

Not to mention he was almost 11 when the show started ten years ten months ten days. You're telling me that the main developer who said that doesn't matter to you guys or ALL THIS SHIT HAPPEN IN LESS THAN 52 DAYS! Well that's impossible cause of all those god damn sunsets.

 

[Jukain]

I know it may be unrelated, but I need to know. Do any of the long-running anime that have characters that do not age also have a continuous storyline? I honestly do not know. I ask because that seems to be the only issue having to do with time being stuck in a loop. It works for the Simpsons since it doesn't have a continuity, so I need to know if any anime are like that.

 

[Aestivate]

Not to mention he was almost 11 when the show started ten years ten months ten days. You're telling me that the main developer who said that doesn't matter to you guys or ALL THIS SHIT HAPPEN IN LESS THAN 52 DAYS! Well that's impossible cause of all those god damn sunsets.

Urgh, I'd forgotten about that tidbit of information... though that's really iffy as well. IIRC his birthday in-universe was the day he received Pikachu.
...

What I don't like about Satoshi NOT aging (especially when it was confirmed in BW that he was still 10) is that it just completely fucks over continuity and it gives EXCUSES for character reboot. Instead of a character, Satoshi is just a marketing ploy. Not that we didn't know that already, but it just makes all of his developments seem endless and forced and they will NEVER GO ANWHERE and that is extremely depressing because of how much of our lives we've spent invested in this freaking show.

@Samurott - IIRC many shows that have infinite time loops do not have continuity. Which is PRECISELY why it is HORRIBLE to have such a thing for Pokemon.

 

[Sweet Veil]

I honestly couldn't care less, and don't really understand the fandom's obsession with Satoshi being an ageless character.

Shin-Chan is still around the age of 5-7 after being around so long, so is Chibi Maruko-Chan, and Luffy just now aged into a 19 year-old after so long. So no prob here.

 

[Aestivate]

It's not an obsession so much as it's a frustration. As I said before, people get annoyed simply because the anime acknowledges the holes it creates in its continuity.

 

[PDL]

The main reason why Ash never ages is so that he remains relatable to the show's target audience. That'll probably never change because Pokémon is meant for children, always has, always will.

 

[Blue1225]

Yes, because of what him being eternally 10 means for the future of the show and what it does to his personal continuity.

 

[Hurricane Kishore]

The main reason why Ash never ages is so that he remains relatable to the show's target audience. That'll probably never change because Pokémon is meant for children, always has, always will.

U Know, One day I was watching pokemon & one of my cousin who is arround 8 or 9 year old tell me ''U still watch pokemon'' He also says ''I don't watch pokemon cause I'm too old for it ''
Now think , If A 9 or 8 year old kid says he too old for pokemon then whom does the anime aims at ? BADIES
Writer paying so much attention in making pokemon a Kids anime that a Little Kid doesn't even watch pokemon. Thats writer Weakness
Now there are more interested in ''Inazuma Eleven'' or ''Prince of Tennis'' or ''Bey Blade Metal Fushion''
Rather Then trying to Make Pokemon A Kids anime, Writer should try to Make pokemon A anime that can be enjoyed by people of all Age, not only Kids
So Ash should age

 

[Sweet Veil]

U Know, One day I was watching pokemon & one of my cousin who is arround 8 or 9 year old tell me ''U still watch pokemon'' He also says ''I don't watch pokemon cause I'm too old for it ''
Now think , If A 9 or 8 year old kid says he too old for pokemon then whom does the anime aims at ? BADIES
Writer paying so much attention in making pokemon a Kids anime that a Little Kid doesn't even watch pokemon. Thats writer Weakness
Now there are more interested in ''Inazuma Eleven'' or ''Prince of Tennis'' or ''Bey Blade Metal Fushion''
Rather Then trying to Make Pokemon A Kids anime, Writer should try to Make pokemon A anime that can be enjoyed by people of all Age, not only Kids
So Ash should age

Except, it's targeted at children, and will more then likely continue in the same vain.