Roughly 15% of e4 members watch the Pokemon anime. I find this shockingly low for a group that has such an immense connection to and passion for the franchise. Below are several reasons why I enjoy watching the anime, and why I think you might too.
Watching the anime…
Allows you to connect with Pokemon cards in unique ways (i.e., seeing a specific Pokemon card will elicit a memory from the anime)
Encourages you to understand the many narratives behind specific Pokemon (e.g., Gengar’s SW/SH storyline revolves around abandonment, Stoutland’s Sun/Moon storyline revolves around aging, sickness, and caring for loved ones)
Helps you to understand the current “meta”
Introduces you to Pokemon who you would dislike by appearances alone (e.g., Cinderace acts like a compassionate but powerful ‘soccer mom’ in the SW/SH anime, but looks a bit rough from a design perspective)
Shows you the personalities and temperament of Pokemon (e.g., Bewear - or as I like to call her ‘Momma B’ - is absolutely hilarious and will protect Jessie, James, Meowth, and Wobbuffet at any cost in the Sun/Moon anime)
Provides context to the characters and gym leaders (e.g., Leon looks like a degenerate, but he is incredibly wholesome and supportive of Ash and his friends in the SW/SH anime)
Showcases Pokemon moves and unique states (e.g., Mega Evolution, Z-Moves, Gigantamax, Dynamax)
Provides understanding of the cultures and geographies of different Pokemon regions
Please give it a chance, even if it is running in the background while you eat a meal or do chores around the home. You may find something in the interweaving stories that speaks to you and influences your collecting journey.
The same can be said about the games. Both allow you to appreciate pokemon and trainers beyond the tcg. I’ve been watching gen 3 seasons on pokeflix while I do mindless tasks and now I love pokemon like treecko and corphish lol.
I’m learning about Scarlet & Violet era through the Pokémon Horizons anime. It had a late start in April but the journey so far has been a very pleasant gradual growth in both characters and their Pokémon. The bonds they forged are just wholesome, occasionally mature and gently woven into an aura of family warmth. That’s something I would set aside 23 minutes a week for over breakfast, and eventually explore cards of new Pokémon I grow fond of
if anything, i’d argue that it’s healthy for a group that has such an immense connection and passion for the franchise to not be fully vested in everything. too much social media/ tv/ video games can’t be healthy.
I absolutely love the anime. Especially early seasons. Two things I know to be true. The three cast mates were hilarious and so was team rocket. Early Pikachu is an absolute masterpiece of a character
I’ve seen probably most of Indigo League, and then pieces here and there all the way into Gen 4. It’s cool, I’ve slowly watched pretty much all the movies with my friends as what started as a joke, but I feel like the anime in general just isn’t for me. Nothing against the show, I love all the stuff from the first 4 gens worth of episodes. Just that when I watch it now, I think of some other cool shows or games I could watch/play instead.
The show gives Pokemon personalities that I wish could be portrayed in the games. Something about being in control in a game makes it more enticing to me than watching a show that’s gone on for so long you can kinda tell how the episode will play out. If they did another game with anime tie ins, even as loosely tied in like Yellow was I’d love it. Nurse Joys in the centers. Jessie/James messing up while being persistent. Running into officer Jenny’s. Finding trainers who abandon their Pokemon that you end up taking in. Or having a scripted battle where you lose/black out. Now that I think about it, I’ll take anything that has any bit of story depth or actually a decent story at all compared to what Pokemon puts out now, would have me playing the games as much as I used to. There’d still be a chance to give Pokemon personalities and quirks that people can fall for, NPCs that are memorable other than “this trainer is hard and you’ll randomly run into them in a house”.
Anyway rant over. Basically, I get distracted/bored when I try to watch the anime now since it follows a pretty simple formula (nothing against that. It’s worked for almost 30 years). I think they should do another Pokemon Yellow style of game with tie in’s to the show, which should work out great with today’s tech.
Now, back to binging the whole Gundam series because I get bored at work.
I loved watching as a kid and sadly anytime I have gone back to watch, I just can’t get into it. One episode will give me that hit of nostalgia and then it just feels so so repetitive. I guess it was made for children, but the format is so tiresome bar a few episodes. This is mostly about the gen 1 episodes and some of the gen 2 stuff.
I love the movies though, the movies are my go to if I want to watch some because they have much more effort out into them.
I’m curious as it seems you know it quite well, does it get better? I mean does it grow beyond the:
Discover new Pokémon/city/person of interest
Team rocket want pikachu
Really, the whole fucking team rocket song again?
Team rocket blasting off again
Catch or fail to catch the pokemon and learn moral lesson / Battle new person and win or lose but learn moral lesson
Walk into the sunset with the narrator talking about something
To be continued
I do still love the anime though because it was my first road into Pokémon and the memories I have are great. Watching before school, learning the songs, knowing about the Pokémon, then getting the cards of those Pokémon. It’s just watching now does nothing for enjoyment but just makes me feel happily nostalgic.
I can only cope with an singular episode every month or so though.
If someone could create an episode guide that traces through and cuts the filler I would actually watch.
I agree with you about giving the anime a try, but I wouldn’t try and force it since I can see how it might not be for everyone (especially middle generation seasons). Pokemon Horizons has been really good so far though, so I would recommend trying that 100%.
The only seasons I don’t care for in particular are Sun and moon (the animations style is just not for me) and the earlier seasons of black and white (though they are somewhat becoming oddly nostalgic to me).
The best seasons to me are the earlier seasons and XY series (diamond & Pearl as well for nostalgic reasons and best rivalry imo). For spinoffs, I would recommend Pokemon Generations or origins.
I think all that you have said is completely true.
2 weeks ago I started watching the anime from the beginning with my, almost 4 years old, son. I’m not only enjoying it because the reasons you said and because it brings me so much nostalgia… but also because watching it with my son takes it to another level.
He is getting involved and enjoying it probably more than me! I’m loving those moments together.
We will go all the way until Ash becomes Champion!
Also true!
I have also made the commitment with a friend of mine, to go through ALL the Pokémon games and complete everyone of them, with full Pokédex.
We have started with HG&SS… Amazing games! We are aware that is a goal that will take us, literally, years. But we are not rushing through it and enjoying the process.
Two things that I have decided to add to my live to continue connecting with this great franchise! And that, for sure, gets me enjoying more collecting the cards.
I feel 5% of the anime is “legit” as they didn’t know what to expect from the audience, this includes the first seasons, and the 95% that came later is just fan service so I can’t put myselft into something that is made to please me and also put Ash in a situation that was obvious that he was going to win the world championship. It’s like watching Avengers endgame and really expect Tanos to win ( I also think Endgame was crap)
I totally agreed until this part, I think I’m too out of target for the anime, doesn’t matter how much you cut it, I can’t stand the dialogues.
Maybe if some youtuber tried to retell the story highlighting the best parts I’d watch that.
But I would not listen to any official material from the actual episodes
Haha I watched a really good one on YouTube for yugioh. I watched a really good one for the Pokémon anime too. Then they never made a part 2, but this is as good as it gets:
Newer seasons of the anime don’t rely on this trope as much as they used to. The storytelling and animation have gotten pretty incredible. There is also more linearity between episodes and seasons than there was in the beginning.
If you’re looking to start from nothing (since Gen 1 in childhood), I would recommend Sword & Shield. The main premise of SW/SH Season 1 is that Ash is traveling to all of the regions that he had previously been to as a research fellow. It’s a pretty neat idea. The callbacks to main characters, his previous Pokemon, and specific events are incredible if you have watched previous seasons of the anime and/or the movies.
If you’re looking for a wholesome anime that doesn’t take itself too seriously, I would recommend starting with Sun & Moon. Ash’s friends in Sun & Moon are top notch and their backstories and character development are told well. Alola is also a unique region (based on Hawaii) and offers a different take than almost all of the previous regions in the anime.
