It seems that Ash has gone back to being a know-nothing ten year old, even to the extent that he is more mystified than usual about who exactly Team Rocket are. And there's all this business about "pokemon we've never even seen before" - no, look, I've never seen a hippo before, but I know what one looks like and I know that...they're a...water type pokemon? Well, you know what I mean.
So, this episode opens with Ash putting on his hat, calling Pickachu along with him and going off...oh...on holiday, his Mother informs us. In fact her exact words are "Professor Oak is waiting for us downstairs". What's this Mrs. Ketchum, are you and Professor Oak going steady or something? Why are you going on holiday as family? I mean I know that you're the only two people living in Pallet Town but he's a little old isn't he? Or maybe he's not; Professor Oak always did have a sort of George Clooney agelessness about him.
And off we trot to the Unova region. This causes Ash some amnesia as he suddenly forgets everything that we have seen him learn since 1999. COME ON ASH, YOU KNOW THIS, GRASS BEATS FIRE - oh wait.
Also the voice actors are different. Also. I don't know; there's just something in Ash's eyes that says things have changed somewhat:
But of course, the audience has changed as well. The Pokemon Company are obviously gearing up an entirely new generation fans, who have no idea that they are going to see Team Rocket in every episode, or that Ash only learns from failure and must learn about the heart of a pokemon to truly something something. The new generation of soon-to-be fans were actually erm...born...when that first copy of Red & Blue rocked onto shelves...God that's depressing.
Here's what my friend Jack Slattery said on the matter. He is much more eloquent than me and his words are apt at this moment:
"The disincentive to create a deep, character-driven narrative in the pokemon anime is this weird phenomen that's occured in pokemon where little kids, for whatever reason, get into it, even though its not nearly as culturally pervasive as it was ten years ago when it came out. They write-off their older fanbase as people who are no longer interested in pokemon and thus no longer interested in the character arc of Ash, so they constantly rework him as some fresh-faced youngster instead of the accomplished trainer we first-generation fans want and expect him to be. its a serious quandry that makes me question my investment in pokemon, as clearly pokemon has no investment in me or others like me".
What they [that is, current consumers] miss out on is how huge Pokemon was to a generation. Probably in the same way Star Wars was to some people. Pokemon probably doesn't seem so bright and fascinating in a world dominated by Ben 10, Beyblade, Facebook, Youtube, Harry Potter, Twilight, Hannah Montanna, Glee...well, in a world dominated by horrifically invasive, noisy brands. Pokemon laid the road for all these modern brands. And if I took Star Wars now and remade it for this generation, past generations would be furious. Oh, they did that. Haha.
In the same way, every one of us 90s kids feels like Ash is a part of us. In fact, we are Ash. As such, when we find that he has suddenly degenerated back to his original settings, or even worse, into a warped, assumption of his old self, coupled with a companies distant idea of what youth culture is and needs today, it is only natural to feel a little betrayed and a little rejected by our beloved Pokemon. In an ideal world, we would have a twenty-something year old Ash, with a level 100 Pickachu - just like all of us. That's what we invested in all that time ago.
But I can't complain - all I ask is that the new crop of pokemon trainers, who might one day study this blog in a history class about old technology & culture, look after Pokemon carefully. And I warn them now that I take no prisoners and should they cross my path, I shan't hesitate in administering a harsh "!" towards them, before unleashing the fury of St. Hubbins the Slaking upon their newly acquired pocket monsters.
No comments:
Post a Comment