A Group of Children´s Opinion about the Anime

Congratulations, Mr. Snack, for your initiative and research. While the pool is, for now, small, the information is quite interesting. However, I wasn't as shocked by the responses, except the rejection of Pokémon Sun and Moon and the the misogynistic issue, but, in fact, did not expect some of the results.

Least favourite series:

• 11 said Sun and Moon;
• 5 said Journeys;
• 3 said Original.

I confess that I believed that Sun and Moon were reasonably successful with the younger audience, since a series more devoted to them, as well as devoted to school circle and interactions with friends and teachers. In addition, I've always seen this season's diverse and broad cast as a positive standout over the others.

Favourite character:

• 6 said Ash;
• 5 said Pikachu;
• 4 said Meowth;
• 2 said James;
• 2 said Clemont.

Not surprise here, right? Pikachu and Ash are the main characters. James and Meowth are charismatic characters who've been in every season, and Clement is apparently quite beloved among younger audiences. The lack of a female character is, however, an unfortunate point.

Favourite companion:

• 13 said Clemont;
• 4 said Brock;
• 1 said Kiawe;
• 1 said Dawn.

I always liked Clemont, and I consider him the character that finally, at least for me, managed to replace or fill the gap left by Brock. Ash and Clemont had great dynamics and synergy, plus the geek side of the young scientist was a lot of fun and his interactions with his little sister were priceless. Add to that his Pokemon, Bunnelby and Chespin, are just as fun as he is.

Although I understand why little ones might like him, I don't expect that from children who are between 6 and 10 years old today, because XY is a somewhat "old series".

This brings me to my main question regarding this topic, how are the little ones watching the old seasons? The Origins Series (at least part of it), Sun & Moon and Journeys are on Netflix, but the rest, including XY (that was removed from Netflix years ago), are not.

Least favourite companion:

• 11 said Go;
• 5 said Lillie;
• 2 said Sophocles;
• 1 said Iris.

I'm not a big fan of Goh, but my main issues with him are his initial overprotagonism over Ash and his goal and the way he executes it, which, despite being the very premise of the games and and the entire franchise, seems somewhat unethical and ill-adjusted within the series. That, in addition to the fact that Goh seems, at least initially, super gifted and that everything looks easier for him.

However, I don't think that such questions are much relevant for those who started to follow the anime in Journeys, so I thought that the opinion of the younger ones was not at all unfavorable about the character.

Least favourite series:

• 11 said Sun and Moon;
• 5 said Journeys;
• 3 said Original.

Favourite rival:

• 7 said Gladion;
• 6 said Alain;
• 5 said Leon;
• 1 said Gary.

This information seems a little ironic to me. The younglings don't like Sun and Moon or Ash's Pokémon from that season, but do they love his rival?

I expected Alain here, but is it possible that, like the people on this forum, the little ones feel a deep bitterness towards Alain due to the result and the hype of the Pokémon league of that generation??

Before I start, I want to make some things clear:

- Of the 29 kids, 23 are boys and 6 are girls. They all have between 6 and 10 years old. From those 29, only 22 are into Pokemon. None of the girls like Pokemon and, as such, don´t watch the anime. Of the 22 that are into Pokemon, 1 doesn´t watch the anime, so the survey was conducted on the remaining 21;

Opinions on Riko and Roy:

• 19 said things along the lines of «Why is Ash getting substituted by a girl?», «Girls can´t battle», «Pokemon is for boys»;
• 1 (of the 19) said «I hope the protagonist is the guy on the back (Roy)»;
• 2 said that Riko and Roy «Look okay, I guess».

Favourite series:

• 14 said XY;
• 3 said Diamond and Pearl;
• 1 said Journeys;
• 1 said Sun and Moon.

Favourite companion:

• 13 said Clemont;
• 4 said Brock;
• 1 said Kiawe;
• 1 said Dawn.

These information are disturbing. Well, I always knew Pokémon was a more male-oriented show, but I didn't think it was so foreclosed to girls. I know the sampling is small, but the fact that none of the girls enjoy the show, while almost all of the boys do, is sad.

It is even sadder to see that these young boys are so little open and interested in female representation. See that despite XY being so loved, Serena didn't get any votes or mentions, the same can be said for Jessie. And Dawn came last with just one vote.

I have two younger cousins, a 14 year old female cousin and a 12 year male old cousin. When they were little (6-9 years old), they liked Pokémon (today they find it ridiculous). At the time, the person most invested in the franchise was my female cousin, who loved Serena and Fennekin.

I wonder what changed, was it Jornadas, with two male protagonists, so detrimental to the female audience? I am happy that the next season comes to try to fix this mistake. And, even happier, that, despite everything, female participation in this forum is quite significant.

Least favourite series:

• 11 said Sun and Moon;
• 5 said Journeys;
• 3 said Original.

I already suspected that the OS would not be well received among younger people. My cousins aforementioned, when they were invested in XY, tried to watch OS on Netflix too, but quickly gave up on the series and classified it as boring and bad.

OS is still my favorite series, much of it may be nostalgia, but I still find the original series' snarky humor and its absurdity one of the most appealing aspects of the entire franchise. Well, we are all products of our time.

I still find it surprising that younglings don't like Sun and Moon, the series that I consider to be the most inclusive and comprehensive. I understand older audiences like me hate it because of the abrupt and profound changes, but why would those who started anime there reject it? Even I, objectively, consider Sun and Moon to be an above average series.

Favourite series:

• 14 said XY;
• 3 said Diamond and Pearl;
• 1 said Journeys;
• 1 said Sun and Moon.

Finally, it seems to me that Pokémon Advanced is, as already suspected, a forgotten series among younger people. All series, even BW and the OS, received, even if it was negative, some mention in your questionnaire, except for Pokémon Advanced.

Did respondents ever see this series? And if they did, did they find it so irrelevant that it didn't even deserve a mention?

You have to commit, on your cousin's next birthday, to take that generation's Pokémon DVDs and Movies to those uneducated kids to watch. You can't let them miss out on the best of the franchise. Lol