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Why does the Original Pokemon Series (Season 1-5) feel so Nostalgia?

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ThePalletTownKid

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For us older fans who used to got up at 6:30 in the morning and got up early on Saturday, why does the old episodes feel so Nostalgia to you?

And does anyone else remember watching Pokemon on Kid's WB? I miss those old promos and theme weeks.
 
The older episodes had a more cohesive plot, along with much more that newer series are missing.

Like good dialogue and humor that didn't depend on overused gags.

Or annoying catchphrases.
The jokes came from the natural personalities of the characters, not just the same joke over and over, like you said (coughnoneedtoworryanddracometeorfailcough).
 
I think that the Pokemon and George Lucas made the same mistake regrading their franchises.

Lucas thought that people love Star Wars for the special effects, when it was actually the story and the characters. The people who are running anime have pretty shifted focus on battles (So I been told anyway, I haven't been following the show for a while). While the old series was about Ash's Hero Journey, his relationship with his pokemon and his friends. That's we used to love the show so much, we cared about the characters.
 
The nostalgia comes purely from the fact that I watched it when I was 4, maybe even 3. I can't remember, that's how long I've been watching Pokemon. But in terms of writing and characters, I believe some of the newer series are by far superior. In fact, if Kanto were the current series, I'd think it's only slightly better than BW.
 
I think that the Pokemon and George Lucas made the same mistake regrading their franchises.

You're absolutely right. The producers seem to think that if they just slap *Pokemon* on anything, people will love it. Well, they're making a profit off of it...

That was pretty much what they told the old VA's at 4kids, that the fans won't care if they change the old voice actors.

Man I miss the old voices too
 
For us older fans who used to got up at 6:30 in the morning and got up early on Saturday, why does the old episodes feel so Nostalgia to you?

And does anyone else remember watching Pokemon on Kid's WB? I miss those old promos and theme weeks.

I wasn't a fan of the theme weeks. They should have just shown the episodes in order IMO.
 
That was pretty much what they told the old VA's at 4kids, that the fans won't care if they change the old voice actors.

Man I miss the old voices too

Which makes no sense, why go through so much trouble, if they think there's not much difference?

Seasons 1-5 also had more merchandise coming out for it. Books, toys, CDs, bed materials, those Beckett magazines, school supplies, Pokemon EVERYTHING. New Pokemon has some of that stuff, but not all.
 
For us older fans who used to got up at 6:30 in the morning and got up early on Saturday, why does the old episodes feel so Nostalgia to you?

And does anyone else remember watching Pokemon on Kid's WB? I miss those old promos and theme weeks.

I wasn't a fan of the theme weeks. They should have just shown the episodes in order IMO.

If I remember right they show the new episodes on saturday morning, and during the week would be reruns.
 
I liked theme weeks, they made you look forward to even reruns, although some episodes were shown more than others...

EDIT: Finally found the Kids WB: Battle for the Badge Promo (but it's in bad quality)-

[video=youtube;pzWRXgo3iV0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzWRXgo3iV0[/video]
 
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For us older fans who used to got up at 6:30 in the morning and got up early on Saturday, why does the old episodes feel so Nostalgia to you?

And does anyone else remember watching Pokemon on Kid's WB? I miss those old promos and theme weeks.

I wasn't a fan of the theme weeks. They should have just shown the episodes in order IMO.

If I remember right they show the new episodes on saturday morning, and during the week would be reruns.
For a good while they played new ones during the week days. it would make me get excited for school to be over and sit around from 3 to 5 watching tv. good times good times
 
Is Pokemon nostalgic to me? Ill go ahead and answer that one with a loud YES! The reason being because it has its own unique strengths to it than other shows. Now I like everything Pokemon but I'm primarily an anime fan so my entire post is going to be about that. There's a spirit of adventure, friendship, personal accomplishment, and the thrill of it all that got me hooked. Pokemon is one of those shows that has more than what I guess you'd call "cartoon fluff". That is to say, it has the potential to impact you more than just getting your cup of saturday "coffee".

I know that I face criticism when I say it but, I'm with people who feel that maybe Pokemon is missing something these days. Its not an easy thing to describe in one way without upsetting someone so to put it bluntly, I don't feel as connected with the characters like I did then and I'm mature enough to understand that its more than just my aging for that reason. A lot of Pokemon's primary excitement seems to come from wanting to see Ash or his friends win battles or overcome rivalries which is only the tip of the iceberg. Its like, that's to be expected isn't it? The more exciting and perhaps more uncommon draw comes from character relationships exemplifying deeper values. Nothing too complex, but enough that you can appreciate them traveling together. Its the times when the adventure feels adventurous or dangerous and the friendships feel like its what brought them there or gets them through the hard times. Even the things like those songs the dubbers would play on a regular basis via the "Pikachus jukebox" segment helped to better convey to the viewers the "Pokemon spirit" the show sought to uphold. Is that spirit still there? This is where many will differ and sometimes argue but in short I will say that yes, only I feel it has much more unused potential. In fact I would go so far as to say it has limitless potential, that even in times when the show is exerting the best it has to offer there will always be room for improvement and I want to see an attitude of improving and not simply continuing from its creators. To do this here's a few things I think could help;

one is to put aside the goal of making it the best for kids and go a step higher to aim for being the best for the whole family. Let the media and people who know little about Pokemon call it what they want, but when people who really know what the show is are using the term "kids show", it really feels like the term is generally being used to exclude other audiences IMO, something that the show does not and should not do.

two is to not underestimate the intelligence of your audience. if they still want kids to like it and more importantly, remain loyal to it, then don't feed them juvenile and watered-down dialogue or mannerisms. This is kind of something every kid-friendly show has trouble with, even some instances with Pokemon from day one. It would be better if they kept only as much of that which is necessary to make it believable and don't be afraid to make battling logistics less obvious, or make more complex jokes, or have more emotional struggles for both people and Pokemon. Bottom line, we live in a world where we have much more diverse, high-tech communication and education platforms than before. kids today are figuratively speaking, geniuses compared to the generation of our parents. Don't underestimate their cognative and learning abilities.

Tying in to the above, I'd say three would be to rework how marketing decisions are made; sometimes when a company is up top its far too easy to sort of "play it safe" and go for what sells. you hear it all the time; that Pokemon is an advertisement for the games, an I don't deny it does, only that its more than that and there are long term values for those who look for them which indirectly affects sales. Sometimes its all too easy to forget the big things and even lots of little things that make a show great if you think too much about your latest game or dvd sales charts. Real success cannot be measured with mere numbers and predictions. Pokemon has a lot of loyalty through its fandom,so build off of it! I'm not suggesting they are blind to that or anything, I just think that sometimes its too much business as usual and doesn't feel like whatever their latest innovation is, its being done in faith of their community to take off with it so much as in faith it will sell anyway.

Whatever the case may be, I have confidence that Pokemon is, whether its bad or good nowadays, it will always have potential for improvement that will one day be fulfilled as the business turns and changes.
 
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I grew up with Pokemon dubbed in my country. I remember that pokemon used to air during dinner time - yup, it was in one of the best time slots, and kids used to love it so much. This was before pokemon went on cable. If I were to describe it for Americans, just imagine Pokemon airing on ABC or NBC, at dinner. Of course, there were other anime airing in the same time slot, different channel (Sailor Moon was one of them), so I used to have a hard time deciding which I wanted to watch - Pokemon or Sailor Moon? Srs, I remember getting upset because I had to attend evening classes, and I had to miss episodes once in a while. The nostalgia ~

I guess OS is nostalgic because we were part of the first popularity, the first kids who watched pokemon on TV.
 
Why does this thread feel less like it's about nostalgia than it is an excuse for complaining about everything in the more recent incarnations of Pokemon that you don't like?

(Seriously, we don't want a thread of this nature any more here than does General Discussion. There are plenty of other threads in which you can compare the different eras of the show already.)
 
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