It was about half a decade ago that I made a post considering how the Pokémon anime could be "renewed" and what elements could go into that "renewal", which in fact what was seemingly happening at that time with what would then be known as the "Journeys" sub-series, else considered as the "world saga". Several years later, the anime was indeed "renewed"... only in a direction that many fans may not or could not have expected, with "Horizons" as its series moniker and completely different characters. With these in mind and a few tidbits that have come to light, I want to consider this topic again while extrapolating the points of the tidbits into the discussion.
While some dedicated fans (like me) might have never gotten tired of Ash as the old protagonist, what might have gotten them tired are the "unfavorable outcomes" that have occurred in past sagas, not to mention him changing out nearly his entire roster in going to each region - except, of course, for Pikachu as his loyal partner. Insights into this have shown that there were indeed downturns in those who watched the anime at certain points where these events occurred, perhaps becoming fed up that he can't seemingly get his act together, until certainly the "ultimate end". In hindsight, it might have been better for Ash to have been able to "renew" to have more great moments and less of those "unfavorable outcomes", though with certain dynamics - a balance has to be struck, after all.
Meanwhile, Ash himself may seem to have been "tugged in different directions" over the course of the anime. Besides the above matters as "stumbling blocks", there has also been the matter of introducing a certain kind of "intimacy" - loyal fans will know where this is going - which becomes another kind of "stumbling block" instead, as it provoked different reactions among fans, forcing Ash (and thus the anime) to be tugged into another direction. This also then causes the difficulty of "renewal" itself for maintaining or attracting viewers.
Had all things gone better for Ash, the possibilities of "renewal" - whether of the current discussion or of the previous discussion - might not have been considered too deeply, and he could still have been the protagonist. Still, in any case, there would have been one "renewal" to worry about: Rica Matsumoto as the (Japanese) voice of Ash is getting on in years, never mind other matters in life, and would have needed to consider finding and naming a successor for voicing Ash, much like a certain voice actor for a certain main protagonist of a certain long-running anime that is almost as old as Pokémon. This would be the case for Sarah Natochenny on "the other side of the pond", although her case could be deferred slightly as she herself was also on the receiving end of a "voice talent renewal". This is one case of an inevitable "renewal" no matter how things go.
Now that a "renewal" has occurred, however, it does bear the thinking that it could have happened in the first place - as in, not having gone with Ash as a protagonist that would be long-running, even though a quarter century of him on the screen pleases many fans like me. It could have taken the different direction of, say, adapting the manga based on the game characters one-to-one, leading to many separate sub-series much like one for a neighboring monster universe. Of course, it's never too late for this to occur (more extensively), not to mention that the possibility of seeing Ash again somehow may still be on the table.
Any process of "renewal" is a hard one to go through, but for the Pokémon anime, which has a history almost as long as the franchise, the process seems harder because of all the things that have gone on and around it. Nevertheless, it has happened once and might just need to happen again in order to entice and maintain viewers from then and now to continue seeing the great big world of Pokémon in animated form - new and old as the case may be.
One year ago: Cosplay: Road to CHoCoDays 10th
Two years ago: Pokémon Go Community Day, 10/15/2022
Three years ago: Chiki Balls Pokémon Coins: Expanding the Collection
Four years ago: Strange Eggs, and Getting Estranged with Eggs
Five years ago: Rekindling Old Games
Six years ago: Ultra Ball Hanging Ornament
Seven years ago: Cosplay: MAXcited
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