I agree, the first season was awesome, even if Ash lost the Pokemon League which did upset me as a kid, I was really cheering for him at the time. But you've managed to stay with the show for 422 episodes? After the Johto season started, I just said, "No more." The show just got so repetitive, the characters never actually developed besides some clothes changes every now and then.
I can basically sum up 48 out of every 50 episodes like this:
-Ash and friends are walking along,
-They meet some random character and a Pokemon,
-Team Rocket plans capturing Ash's Pikachu again,
-Ash and friends begin to learn their lesson of the day,
-Team Rocket shows up and does their dumb motto (took me years to get it out of my head, please don't refresh me),
-Ash and friends battle Team Rocket,
-TEAM ROCKETZ BLAZTINGS OFF AGAINZZZ!!!,
-Ash and friends learn their lesson of the day and walk along as if nothing happened.
Besides the occasional episode that actually tried to do something different, this is basically what practically every episode I can name was like. It's fine to do maybe every once in a while, but don't make it for every single episode. That's like watching The Simpsons for 500 episodes and all they did was basically follow the same plot for 480 or more of them but with a few minor deatil changes here and there.
And the movies, don't get me started, the movies are basically 90 minute commercials that totally contradict a great deal of everything that makes Pokemon what it is. That's what I can say about them overall, and you can't feel for the characters unless you've been bored enough to follow every episode from the TV show.
This is basically why I think Nintendo games shouldn't be turned into movies or anime, it generally turns out bad. What's worse is that if it's successful, it'll be keep being done until people can't take it anymore. I'm guessing kids still watch it, but it doesn't work for people like me anymore. If the show is going to expand for over 500 episodes, there better be a crap load of good character development. If the writers did that instead of keeping Ash as some character who never grows up, maybe we'd have something interesting. Maybe Ash could be giving advice TO trainers and sharing his wisdom with the experiences that he had for a change, maybe actually make a step to becoming a Pokemon Master, or here's one really crazy idea, HOW ABOUT HAVING THE EVENTS FROM THE MOVIES ACTUALLY AFFECT THE SHOW?!?!?!
If this formula had been done for the 500 episodes that progressed, Ash would probably be one of the deepest characters in TV history by now. But no, he's still a rookie from what I've seen! That's basically the problem with the show, the events that take place never actually develop the characters, and as a result the show never goes anywhere, and the show just keeps getting as redundant as redundant gets! This just shows what the show was intended to be from the beginning, advertising. Kunihiko Yuyama never cared about anyone who was interested in seeing Ash grow up along with the audience or actually try to become a Pokemon Master, instead the show was created as a mere cash-in for the series. But hey, if we've noticed by now, the folks who made this show basically have this to say, "We don't care if you've developed a critical mind by now, we've already got your money! Harharhar!"
Well this turned out to be somewhat of a rant, I hope I didn't make myself sound stupid or anything. But hey, the games are still cool.
Member #50 of the Sonic Support Squad! :P
