Which is your favourite Ash in terms of personality?

[GuyWhoTellsTruth]

I like Ash in every saga, but I liked OS Ash the best, that includes the rest of Kanto, OI, and yes, even Johto. I like AG and SM Ash a lot, too, well balanced personality traits.

DP and XY Ash don't gel quite as well with me, contrary to the Avatar for the latter, and BW Ash is even more stupid than early Kanto Ash at times, but I can stomach them as well.

(Ignoring the English dub, because I don't like him in that post-Veronica Taylor much)

 

[Cresselia92]

I never really understood why people want Ash to be more serious and mature - he's at his most enjoyable when he's acting like a goofy excitable kid, in my opinion.

I don’t know about others, but what I liked the most about Ash during the OS/AG/DP transition was that he gave the impression of actually growing up, which was helped by the fact that his age was left vague during those years. AG Ash has a personality that would fit well a 12-years old kid, while DP Ash seemed the classical kid who grew up too fast due to being closer to the more unruly teenager years. XY Ash, instead, behaves more like a teenager, which somewhat mirrors the characters from the XY games, who are actual teenagers.

Alas, BW came and deteriorated this theory by claiming that Ash was 10-years old at the very beginning of the saga — which was somewhat shown by his overly childish behavior — before the director of SM20 shattered the theory completely by outright saying that Ash was an eternal 10.

I admit that SM Ash behaves a lot like a 10-years old kid and that his current personality is fitting, but it still doesn’t bode too well to me. I would have preferred the more snarky attitude from OS, if he really was “forced” to be a kid.

 

[MarshiyanMisutaa]

What is so good about that people like about Satoshi acting like a ten year old? I'm curious.

 

[ii kanji]

What is so good about that people like about Satoshi acting like a ten year old? I'm curious.

Well... He is 10 years old. If I wanted to watch a story about an older character I'd have plenty to choose from. If he's 10, I'd prefer him to be written in a way which makes me believe that.

 

[Anime Psyclone]

No.
None of them have a good personality. All have the same few drives plus one or two more.
The main ones are Ash wants to be a Pokemon Master. That’s outclassed by he’s kind to all Pokemon and puts their needs above his own. This means normally catching Pokemon that want to be caught only. Some have “Silly” or “Mature” added to this broadly, but he’s basically always the same.

 

[MarshiyanMisutaa]

Well... He is 10 years old. If I wanted to watch a story about an older character I'd have plenty to choose from. If he's 10, I'd prefer him to be written in a way which makes me believe that.

He's 10 year old in an alternate reality where 10 year olds aren't expected to act like 10 year olds though. In this world they're always treated as adults, which is confirmed by Takeshi Shudo's novelizations. It's especially obvious compared to how they usually treat Masato and Eureka.

 

[ii kanji]

He's 10 year old in an alternate reality where 10 year olds aren't expected to act like 10 year olds though.

I didn't know that though back when I was 10 and younger... a time of my life I am living vicariously (again and again) though Satoshi...

 

[Fan of Jarrus]

He did act ten in early XY.

 

[Hidden Mew]

He's 10 year old in an alternate reality where 10 year olds aren't expected to act like 10 year olds though. In this world they're always treated as adults, which is confirmed by Takeshi Shudo's novelizations. It's especially obvious compared to how they usually treat Masato and Eureka.

As interesting as the novelizations are, I don't think that they can be canon with the anime series, or at least it's pretty debatable as to where or not they are. While ten year old kids in the Pokemon universe can do things that children couldn't really do, I don't think that necessarily means that they aren't expected to act like ten year olds or that they're treated like adults. Nothing about any of the various anime series gave me the impression that Ash and his friends would be considered legally adults in their world or that they are treated as adults. They're largely seen as a group of kids. Even their treatment towards Max or Bonnie was usually more like how older siblings act towards younger siblings as opposed to how adults treat kids.

As for the topic itself, I'm going to go with AG Ash. He still had a bit of his OS personality, while still feeling like he was making progress as a trainer. He could be used for some comedy bits without going overboard and he could even become really noticeably angry/eager to get his next badge, which would come back to bit him in the next. It just felt feel a sense of progression for Ash and I spent a lot of time during AG and DP wondering how much time had passed. I can see why they wanted to make Ash an eternal ten year old, but a part of me still misses those speculations. It was just fun to guess how much time had passed between each series.

I do like SM Ash quite a bit too. I like serious/competent trainer Ash like he was in DP and XY as much as the next person, but I just really like how upbeat and positive Ash is during SM. He does come off more like a ten year old, but not to the extent where it affects his skills as a trainer. He just feels really refreshing in SM and he can be used for some genuinely funny moments.

 

[MarshiyanMisutaa]

While ten year old kids in the Pokemon universe can do things that children couldn't really do, I don't think that necessarily means that they aren't expected to act like ten year olds or that they're treated like adults.

What's the difference?

Nothing about any of the various anime series gave me the impression that Ash and his friends would be considered legally adults in their world or that they are treated as adults.

They're arrested and helped police and others to arrest other people multiple times.

Even their treatment towards Max or Bonnie was usually more like how older siblings act towards younger siblings as opposed to how adults treat kids.

I can't see how. Neither have same freedom and responsibilities their olders had. Haruka is responsible for her brother (her mother herself said so), Citron is responsible for his sister.

 

[Hidden Mew]

What's the difference?

Because it isn't uncommon for ten year olds in cartoons or anime to do things that actual ten year olds couldn't do. This is a pretty much fantasy setting where it's accepted that ten year old kids can go out on a dangerous journey controlling monsters that could easily cause some serious damage. It's treated more like a childhood rite of passage more than a sign of adulthood, especially if we take into account how a Pokemon journey is presented in the games as well.

They're arrested and helped police and others to arrest other people multiple times.

That doesn't really make me think that they're treated as adults in the series. I'm pretty sure Pokemon isn't the only show with kid characters being arrested and helping the police to arrest other people isn't something that only adults could do. Not to mention it's usually more of a sign of how much they want to help them or bring down a criminal than anything else.

I can't see how. Neither have same freedom and responsibilities their olders had. Haruka is responsible for her brother (her mother herself said so), Citron is responsible for his sister.

Are you talking about how the younger siblings didn't have the same freedom and responsibilities that came from being a Pokemon trainer? While May and Clemont were responsible for their younger siblings, I don't think that made them more like adults. Max and Bonnie not having their own Pokemon would put them in more potential danger, so of course their older siblings would have to look out for them. The dynamic between both sets of characters still seem more like how siblings act rather than how adults treat children.

 

[Kirby4ever]

Max and Bonnie not having their own Pokemon would put them in more potential danger, so of course their older siblings would have to look out for them. The dynamic between both sets of characters still seem more like how siblings act rather than how adults treat children.

Bannie could have gotten seriously hurt a few times if it wasn't for her Denene or a Pokemon she's looking after went to keep her safe. Max could have been seriously hurt by a Kirlia and a Gardevoir if it wasn't for the Ralts he's looking after protected him despite being sick. It's a good thing that those Pokemon were there for them.

 

[MarshiyanMisutaa]

Because it isn't uncommon for ten year olds in cartoons or anime to do things that actual ten year olds couldn't do.

Yes, but they usually do it secretly, without their parents' notice, just like Digimon and other similar shows. But pokemon world is work on a premise that adults not only aware of what these kids are doing, they encourage them to do things that actual ten year olds couldn't do.

This is a pretty much fantasy setting where it's accepted that ten year old kids can go out on a dangerous journey controlling monsters that could easily cause some serious damage.

Exactly. That's why you can't treat them as actual 10 year olds. You can't expect Satoshi to experience 20 years of journey and heroism and then degrade to being a normal 10 year old.

 

[ii kanji]

The bottom line is this: if Satoshi behaved like a man of 20 years experience, he would be totally unrelatable to the target audience.

 

[HiroHunter]

The bottom line is this: if Satoshi behaved like a man of 20 years experience, he would be totally unrelatable to the target audience.

I would think that it would be boring if he acted as someone that never grows from all the regions he went though and I feel that both DP and XY show this the best.

 

[MarshiyanMisutaa]

The bottom line is this: if Satoshi behaved like a man of 20 years experience, he would be totally unrelatable to the target audience.

I thought OS Satoshi was your favourite.

 

[ii kanji]

I would think that it would be boring if he acted as someone that never grows from all the regions he went though and I feel that both DP and XY show this the best.

I agree. Growth is good, acting like a grown man would however be absurd.

I thought OS Satoshi was your favourite.

He is. Dude, what are you getting at here?...

 

[MarshiyanMisutaa]

He is. Dude, what are you getting at here?...

I wouldn't call OS Satoshi a normal 10 year old. Based on things he did.

 

[HiroHunter]

I agree. Growth is good, acting like a grown man would however be absurd

I'm not saying he should act like a grown man i'm saying he should act like someone that's grows from the things he goes though.

 

[ii kanji]

I'm not saying he should act like a grown man i'm saying he should act like someone that's grows from the things he goes though.

... which he does.