DISCUSSION: Swapping protagonists each series/saga VS keeping one protagonist for every series/saga

[Greninjaman]

I feel like this has discussion value. Of course, this does not need to apply to just Pokemon, but any long-runner series (whether it be a TV show or a book series). There are some shows/book series that don't swap protagonists around and some that do. There are of course benefits to both as well as downsides.

One upside to swapping protagonists is starting fresh with a new character and a new, more unique story in comparison to the previous saga.
A downside would of course be having to create a whole new character each time (though it's not necessarily a bad thing).

An upside to not swapping protagonists is consistency and better continuity.
A downside would be repetitiveness (of course, if one is careful, they can avoid this).

Each one can be done well if done right, though some shows/books might really benefit from one over the other.

 

[Nicolas721]

An Ash-like journey is possible to do, but you have to avoid all the mistakes the anime has done:

1. Have the protagonist's ending in your mind while writing the story and how he/she will reach his/her goal.
2. Four or five journeys are more than enough. You could get an extra one or two by focusing on plot rather than on badges, bur some readers will feel it as filler anyway.
3. Don't. reset. the. protagonist. You have to create realistic challenges for him/her even if the Pokémon he/she uses changes.

I think it's only useful if you want to explore the world through the same perspective over and over again. A new cast will confuse a few readers, but it's better on the long run as you can customize them to your own stories and be less limited in the way they explore the world.

 

[Greninjaman]

An Ash-like journey is possible to do, but you have to avoid all the mistakes the anime has done:

1. Have the protagonist's ending in your mind while writing the story and how he/she will reach his/her goal.
2. Four or five journeys are more than enough. You could get an extra one or two by focusing on plot rather than on badges, bur some readers will feel it as filler anyway.
3. Don't. reset. the. protagonist. You have to create realistic challenges for him/her even if the Pokémon he/she uses changes.

I think it's only useful if you want to explore the world through the same perspective over and over again. A new cast will confuse a few readers, but it's better on the long run as you can customize them to your own stories and be less limited in the way they explore the world.

I certainly agree with all three of your points. Most of the hate would not be there if the anime:
1. Had Ash's ending in mind while creating the show and how he will reach the goal.
2. Didn't reset Ash after each saga.

Of course, both problems would also not exist if each region had it's own Protagonist.