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AV MOD MATERIAL: Ash Ketchum - - Character Spotlight
HalberdierV2 and Takashichea explore notable anime and manga characters from the 90's & 2000's.
Takashichea
Ash Ketchum is a well known character in Pokémon. A lot of folks stopped watching the show at the end of the Silver Conference in Johto where Misty, Brock, and Ash depart.
As you all know, Ash "resets" his character every region after that point. The purpose for Ash's reset is to hook in viewers (mostly children and teenagers), and to have a fresh adventure to show that he is still growing and learning despite him still looking like a 10 year-old. It is a little hard for the older generations to take Ash seriously when he takes out his Pokédex for a Pokémon he has already seen before (or the time he messes up in battle with type match-up and abilities he has seen before).
The show's theme is friendship, of course, and to suit that, Ash is constantly making new friends. His role after Hoenn is to journey with new people who are inexperienced and show them the beauty in the Pokémon world. In their adventures, they learn from each other. For example, May finds out her passion is to be a Pokémon Coordinator, instead of a trainer; Dawn learns new ways to show off her Pokemon in contests, and so on.
For me, Ash is unforgettable I don't hate POKEMON. I recommend it to people, young and old. I still watch it since I have a little brother who bugs me every Saturday morning about POKEMON BLACK & WHITE. Of course, whenever my old friends come across the show on Cartoon Network, they are shocked to see Ash and Pikachu doing the exact same thing like they did back in the old days...
HalberdierV2
Some of the younger ones are probably wondering why us older dudes give Ash so much flak. A lot of this stems from where arguably his best character development occurred - - the first three seasons of the show (Kanto, Orange Islands, and Johto). Those arcs all ran when POKEMON was at its highest popularity in the 90's and early 2000's.
Now, if you'll allow me to get business-y for a moment: Nintendo's higher-ups hadn't fully decided to make POKEMON a cash-in at that point. They were actually planning to make the show end after Johto, right when Ash parts ways with his partner (and crush?) Misty. However, they instead decided to carry the show onward, perpetually locking Ash in as a 10-year-old (even though, in the earlier seasons, it's implied that he's already been doing this Pokémon shindig for at least a year in Kanto).
Just like Taka, I also don't hate the series; even though the best moments ended for me after the epic Gary vs. Ash fight. Well, there was also the brand new Blaziken vs Charizard battle in Mt. Silver, and also some touching moments like Ash releasing his Butterfree and saying goodbye to Misty... but still, * SNIFF *, it was never as consistently good.
To be fair, the show probably wasn't designed to grow with its original watchers like other have. It still manages to make me look at it once in a while, though: usually when Ash enters a new region. Actually, with the group going to Unova's version of the Orange Isles soon, I think I might give this stalwart of my adolescence another watch.
That wraps up on Ash. Feel free to share your experiences with the dude in the red cap below! Also, we're doing another character spotlight from the 1990's next month. Could you recommend any notable characters from that period?
Follow us on Twitter: @HalberdierV2 and @Takashichea.
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