Do you think the show has improved since Kanto?

[Caseydia]

Here are my thoughts:

Orange: Slightly worse than Kanto but still good overall
Johto: Much worse than Kanto and Orange
Hoenn: Improvement over Johto but not as memorable as Kanto
Battle Frontier: Mostly the same as Hoenn, maybe slightly worse due to the rushed aspect of it and lack of Kanto references.
Sinnoh: Improvement over the entire show in many areas, but a step back in group dynamics, humor and pacing.
Unova: Worse than Sinnoh, possibly worse than AG, about the same as Johto in some regards, could prove better when it ends.

So according to this it seems that none of the sagas really satisfy your taste.

 

[Waitress Tsubame]

Hmmm...
In my opinion...

I think Season 1, or the "Kanto Season", is still the best season around, despite the fact that Ash is somewhat dumber and a bit of buttmonkey most of the times (though in Johto, that trait becomes much lesser).
Besides, most of my fave episodes came from Season 1, like Episode 15 (Battle Aboard the SS Anne, the only show, besides the Johto episodes "Rage of Innocence" & "Talkin' Bout an Evolution", that features Team Rocket Grunts in Intimidating Black uniforms having more air time) and Episode 21 (Bye Bye Butterfree, also one of those tear-jerking episodes).
There's also the Orange Islands season, which is a bit weak, but still not too much change from Season 1.

The next season to feature is the Johto season. I think it is here that I noticed the repetitive "meeting one-time characters and saying goodbye to them" cycle, but still, Johto season is still as good as the Kanto season, if not better. Besides, I like GSC/HGSS better than RBY/FrLg in the games
Also one thing I noticed is that Misty's temper gradually cools down the longer the episodes keep running, and Ash's unlucky/buttmonkey moments are disappearing fast, which are good things IMO (except maybe the first few episodes, because they are closer to the Kanto seasons).
At least Ash still has his original uniform, and Misty is still around.
Some of my fave episodes are those where Sakura and the Kimono Girls are being featured, and those 2 episodes about Team Rocket controlling the radio waves and disturbing the Red Gyarados .

Unfortunately though, this will be the last season I'll watch, because after Johto, everything, including the animation, goes downhill gradually fast.

 

[Stratago]

Once again, people will argue that 'Gen 1' of the anime is the best, and that 'Gen 5' is the worst. I think that most people, due to the excitement of discovery over something new, will always think that whatever season they saw first is the best one.
As a fan of animation in general, I'll say that Best Wishes is certainly nicer to look at than the first season was, but I think it's bizarre that Ash seems to have been level-drained. If they wanted to reboot the series, they should have just done that instead of acknowledging his past League entries, because it would have excused his weird naiivete. I'd like to see a deeper, more mature plot, and for Ash to finally grow up at least to the age Touya/Touko seem to be (mid-teens), for the sake of character development. At least Jesse, James and Meowth have finally ascended from the ranks of comic relief, though I hear they lose their awesome new prowess later (I've still only watched up to Ash's first gym battle in the new series).

 

[Cybersai]

Hmmm...
In my opinion...

I think Season 1, or the "Kanto Season", is still the best season around, despite the fact that Ash is somewhat dumber and a bit of buttmonkey most of the times (though in Johto, that trait becomes much lesser).
Besides, most of my fave episodes came from Season 1, like Episode 15 (Battle Aboard the SS Anne, the only show, besides the Johto episodes "Rage of Innocence" & "Talkin' Bout an Evolution", that features Team Rocket Grunts in Intimidating Black uniforms having more air time) and Episode 21 (Bye Bye Butterfree, also one of those tear-jerking episodes).
There's also the Orange Islands season, which is a bit weak, but still not too much change from Season 1.

The next season to feature is the Johto season. I think it is here that I noticed the repetitive "meeting one-time characters and saying goodbye to them" cycle, but still, Johto season is still as good as the Kanto season, if not better. Besides, I like GSC/HGSS better than RBY/FrLg in the games
Also one thing I noticed is that Misty's temper gradually cools down the longer the episodes keep running, and Ash's unlucky/buttmonkey moments are disappearing fast, which are good things IMO (except maybe the first few episodes, because they are closer to the Kanto seasons).
At least Ash still has his original uniform, and Misty is still around.
Some of my fave episodes are those where Sakura and the Kimono Girls are being featured, and those 2 episodes about Team Rocket controlling the radio waves and disturbing the Red Gyarados .

Unfortunately though, this will be the last season I'll watch, because after Johto, everything, including the animation, goes downhill gradually fast.

How do you think the animation got worse? The show has had some gorgeous animated battles and scenes since the switch to digital. Also I don't see why you care about Ash's original outfit, it was old and stale by the end of Johto along with a ly of other stuff.

But overall Kanto was indeed a great arc, and the show has gone through highs an lows in every saga since.

 

[Catspring]

I don't like the Kanto season that much. I don't like many things about Kanto, actually. It's a rather boring region.

Maybe it's because Pokemon wasn't my childhood, and I've only liked Pokemon since the beginning of the Sinnoh region, Pokemon Pearl being my first game. I like the newer things better, same goes for the anime. *shrug*

 

[Masurao]

Hoenn, and DP definately had the writers at their best writing wise. So in that sense, if you exlude BW...it generally has gotten better.

 

[pokemon fan 132]

Most important question is, what would someone consider to be improvement?
If you are looking for better animation, and better constructed character development DP and to lesser extent AG surpass Kanto and OS in general. We had better fleshed out rivalries with Paul being best example of rival done right. Battles became better(although Johto was pretty good in that aspect), and characters are in general being more fleshed out and better developed with Ash not being so much center of attention anymore(yes even in BW). And i have to say newer seasons have done great job in interaction between pokemon being treated more as individuals with personalities. Not to say OS didn't had this things as well, but in smaller amount.

However if someone prefers sheer amount of wackiness, out of place plots and unique characters Kanto and OS in general are still truly best at this.
Chemistry and dynamic between characters and main group(original trio)worked as close family producing fantastic synergy between themselves and spontaneous character interaction, with all three exploring world and working toward their dreams seeming like real friends.

Earlier seasons also contained more humor, sarcasm and out of place story arcs with anime being unpredictable experimenting with various things at that time(writers trying out what works, and what doesn't, sometimes going too far even for kids show).
Arcs used to be more unique(Sabrina, St.Anne, Orange Islands as season as whole or Whirl Cup are one of most popular mini stories for a reason) and older series i general had more charm in sense of writers really pushing limits and using their own imagination straying away from games to notable degree. Back than formula was simply more focused on relationship between humans and less on pokemon themselves, having that adventurous and fresh feeling to it.
Probably reason why despite all flaws i still consider OS in general my favorite.

 

[WeezerDragon]

I have a lot of nostalgia and love for the Kanto and Johto seasons, yet I also think that Hoenn is a slight improvement.

Months ago, I watched all the VHS tapes I had of the original season. Now I've started rewatching the Hoenn episodes, and have been enjoying them much more than I ever expected. I like the bond between these four characters. I even begun to like Max, who I only thought of annoying before. This time around, Ash is much more annoying. Jumping from Kanto to Hoenn, it's clear he never changed. On the plus side, there's still lots of humor in the interactions between him and his friends, just like in the old episodes.

I feel the situations in the Hoenn episodes have a lot of heart, just as much as the old episodes. May and Max have a lot of heart. I do miss Misty, but at least Brock is here. The Hoenn show has an interesting dynamic, one that retains the humor of the past, largely thanks to Team Rocket, timeless and tireless. Hoenn has much of what I liked about Kanto while still changing things up. I'm rewatching these episodes, but they keep surprising in how much they make me smile.

This is why I think Hoenn is a slight improvement. I haven't watched the Sinnoh or Unova episodes yet, so I can't comment on them.

 

[Bluelatios]

Well, you might not like it but.....

Spoiler

Brock leaves at the end of Sinnoh

I agree with you on Hoenn, despite Misty leaving it still felt like it had many aspects that made Pokemon memorable from the start. IMO, it goes downhill after Hoenn ends though.

 

[Cybersai]

DP was a mixed bag. The show stopped being funny but the battles/rivalries/villains were the best of the show. This is where some of the BW disappointment comes from, it lacks what DP actually did well.

Opinions on Dawn are a bit mixed. Some think she was the best female character ever while others think she was, "meh," and leave it at that. I am mostly neutral on Dawn myself, there were things I both liked and didn't like about her, but she was definitely the most focused on travel companion of the series.

 

[Trainer Gabriel]

DP was a mixed bag. The show stopped being funny...

You seriously didn't find Croagunk, Conway, or Barry funny? I am at a loss for words.

But seriously, you seem to get this impression that because DP seemed to go to this "darker" route that it lost all sense of humor it supposedly had so much of before, yet what I just pointed above, and perhaps other things, says otherwise.

 

[Cybersai]

I did find those things funny. But otherwise both Brock and TR died comedy wise, the DP trio wasn't funny itself in terms of interactions, and the rivalries were also fairly serious. Gary, Harley, Barry are examples of rivals that are funny and can be a threat, and most of the BW rivalries are comedic like Bianca, Burungly and Georgia.

DP only had Barry. Zoey and Kenny never had any humor moments, Nando wasn't, and Paul obviously not.

 

[Trainer Gabriel]

It sounds like using your logic, however, AG lost a lot of its humor too since the only funny rival we had then was Harley (OK, I guess there was also Morrison, but he was short-lived and can't be contributed to the whole series), and you just said "DP only had Barry" yet earlier in your post, you admitted that "you did find those things funny" when one of "those things" I mentioned was Conway, who is also a rival. Did you or did you not find him funny?

Whatever the case, my point still stands as I did just show that DP does have humor when you claimed it had none - and you even retracted your statement about that in your last post. DP may not have had as much humor as Kanto but it made up for that in... almost everything else, really.

Also, do you really have a hard time spelling or typing Burgundy?

 

[Giovanni Sakaki]

This whole thread is making me wonder one thing: what is this 'Kanto feel' anyway?

Freshness, life and unfolding imagination. The writers, over fifteen years, have gotten used to the characters, settings, and formulas, and so naturally the newer seasons are far more 'polished' products. But I think what it really is that people miss about Kanto (early Kanto in particular) is the unpolishedness of it. It is rough around the edges, but the creators were on terra incognita and having fun with something new, and that is where the energy and unusual spark of it comes from.

 

[Cybersai]

It sounds like using your logic, however, AG lost a lot of its humor too since the only funny rival we had then was Harley (OK, I guess there was also Morrison, but he was short-lived and can't be contributed to the whole series), and you just said "DP only had Barry" yet earlier in your post, you admitted that "you did find those things funny" when one of "those things" I mentioned was Conway, who is also a rival. Did you or did you not find him funny?

Whatever the case, my point still stands as I did just show that DP does have humor when you claimed it had none - and you even retracted your statement about that in your last post. DP may not have had as much humor as Kanto but it made up for that in... almost everything else, really.

Also, do you really have a hard time spelling or typing Burgundy?

The DP trio was the dullest group to actually watch, that's why the show lost its humor. The 3 other groups have various antics between the main castmates interacting and that's what can make episodes funny. Even one line of dialogue or a character making a sarcastic remark to another makes it good. Nobody in the DP trio was sarcastic, they just all got along like 3 blank slates. Dawn was better as an individual character or just her and Ash, but that particular trio? I was bored out of my skull.

The funny thing is that's how I felt way back in 2006 when I heard they were bringing Brock back AGAIN and Dawn was just going to interact with him. The DP trio going on for 4 years didn't help matters either...

 

[Aestivate]

@Trainer Gabriel; Please refrain from calling people out/mocking their spelling, mmkay?

 

[Masurao]

Honestly, the only groups I throughly enjoyed were the Kanto group (which became kinda shit in Johto), and the Hoenn group.

 

[pokemon fan 132]

Honestly, the only groups I throughly enjoyed were the Kanto group (which became kinda shit in Johto), and the Hoenn group.

Johto group still had that feeling of close group of friends which understood themselves creating balanced and dynamic interaction. Perhaps its not so apparent because of too many fillers which focused more on cotd rather than cast itself, but generally when they shined they usually came out as memorable and entertaining characters showing great deal of care when someone was in trouble with Misty and Ash still providing tension and comedy.
By end of Johto you can tell how close they grew to each other, having very hard time to split.

That kind of impression and chemistry i never managed to receive from DP cast with Brock always being left out, with friendship seeming at least in my opinion incomplete.

 

[Masurao]

Johto group still had that feeling of close group of friends which understood themselves creating balanced and dynamic interaction. Perhaps its not so apparent because of too many fillers which focused more on cotd rather than cast itself.

The Johto group did have their moments, however if I go and look back at some random episodes form Kanto as compared to Johto...I'd probably find myself laughing alot more with the former. They still could have kept the dynamics amusing regardless of the amount of fillers.

 

[pokemon fan 132]

The Johto group did have their moments, however if I go and look back at some random episodes form Kanto as compared to Johto...I'd probably find myself laughing alot more with the former. They still could have kept the dynamics amusing regardless of the amount of fillers.

Well i remember Ash being still naive idiot(in believable way), Misty matured starting to appreciate friendship more while still liking to tease having that spunky attitude, and Brock was rather quite eccentric with all three showing great deal of care for each other, while providing humor and tension.

I guess reason why this didn't came to expression more was because of good chunk of episodes focusing on character of the day and resolving his problems with Ash and co not having chance to interact much in such episodes. But when they did whi, i have to say they had plenty memorable moments, entertaining me more than DP and even BW cast did.