Explore the various discourses with in the Pokemon series (and there is enough information in the Indigo League seasons for this) on issues regarding animals in captivity. If Pokemon creatures are seen as pets, trained animals in captivity, or beasts of burden, what are some examples of the ways that the series treated different philosophies and consequences of humans keeping control of highly "evolved" creatures?
I haven't seen the black & white seasons but in the game team Plasma focused on liberating pokemon, yet they were still the bad guys. It would be good to take a look at their actions/mission and how it interacts with how pokemon are seen/treated. – LaRose9 years ago
I just re-watched the first few episodes and it is mentioned that "wild pokemon are jealous of captured pokemon" and therefor act aggressively towards them. I found this an odd explanation but it kind of answers why pokemon also resist capture, they want to play hard to get and be with the best possible trainer; it's not because they don't want to be captured. However I find this dangerously supportive of a "no means yes" mentality... – Slaidey9 years ago
One thing we need to be careful of when looking at Pokemon is reading them as animals too eagerly. From an exclusively Western perspective, this is certainly the case, as many look like animals, and humans cannot understand their speech. In the anime, they are shown to have a language (not spoken by humans) but in the games, they seem only capable of the roars, cries and sounds we associate with the concept of "animal." But a reading of Pokemon in its original, Japanese context reveals a more complicated relationship. One thing to understand is the concept (not unique to Japan) of "discipleship." Basically, a common trope of Japanese and other Asian fiction is of a martial arts master who encounters an attacker while in the wilderness. The two fight, but the master bests his assailant. After being beaten, the would-be-attacker asks to join and learn from the master. Anyone who has caught a pokemon in-game can attest to this narrative being built into the game mechanics. The wild pokemon always initiates the encounter, often in the wilderness. The player has the option to flee, but only in rare exceptions will the wild, aggressor pokemon do so. Catching a pokemon, in most cases, requires a demonstration of the trainer's superiority via lowering its HP. Now, without knowing this context, the situation does look pretty bad, and it's understandable why people react with discomfort at witnessing what they see as forced animal combat. But not only does pokemon draw its ideas from cultural tropes which have nothing to do with animals, many pokemon have no animal characteristics. Some look like plants or snowflakes, and even garbage bags and ice cream cones. In Pokemon's in-game discourse, pokemon are never framed as animals. Instead, they are seen as partners, working alongside their human counterparts, reflecting an image of positivity. Children and adults alike playing pokemon are encouraged to forge bonds and strife for their goals alongside partners who may not look like them, but share their outlook and ambitions nonetheless. – magicmark9 years ago
I would like to clarify that the topic specifically mentions the tv series (not the games) and the indigo league to narrow it down. – Christen Mandracchia9 years ago
Ok, I can see the pokemon-as-animals argument more in the Indigo League arc for sure. But don't you feel the focus of that is a bit narrow? It's like saying (only example i could think of off the top of my head) that Star Trek Next Generation has Natasha Yar as its protagonist, and only using Season 1 as an example. I think narrowing focus is a good idea for the sake of keeping an article manageable, but I don't think the rest of the series outside of Indigo bears the argument out. – magicmark9 years ago
The Indigo League has 82 episodes which counts as several seasons in a normally syndicated tv series. Since the Indigo League was the first installment and covers a complete arc from beginning to end, it is quite sufficient especially since subsequent seasons follow the same format. If following seasons refute the animals in captivity argument that Indigo makes, and the author would like to comment on this phenomenon, I would suggest that the bulk of the article focus on Indigo with a brief paragraph or two summarizing how future seasons have remained consistent or have strayed from the ethics of the first installment. – Christen Mandracchia9 years ago
That's a really good idea - comparing the seasons to see how the discourse changes. I like it! – magicmark9 years ago
What is the political situation in the Naruto anime/manga world? The relationship between the villages in particular. Is the leaf village the leader? If it isn't, why not, since the leaf village seems so much more powerful than the others? If it is, why do they act independent from each other (equal)? In the fourth great ninja war most of the battles were won or led by ninja from the hidden leaf village (I admit not all but most). Is the political system in the Naruto world believable or not? And why?
Naruto-verse is divided into, first, Lands: Earth, Iron, Fire, Lightening, Water, etc. Each Land then has their own hidden ninja village; the Land of Fire is where Konohagakure is- Konoha being the first ninja village to be formed. The politcal system in Naruto I believe is that each Land is independent, politically, which is why the Fourth Shinobi War is supposed to be significant, since all the Lands don't often all work together. In addition to Kages, each Land has a daimyo. I agree that the Land of Fire is often depicted as strongest- the Hokage, after all, is always said to be the strongest of the five Kages. – ees8 years ago
Analyze how the adaptation of anime by American developers has maybe changed the meaning or message of the original content. Such as how does the English translations of anime series change what the character may have meant. You could also look at how do the adaptations of anime into American film change the content, or if they do at all.
Great topic. I think you could also add how an American audience might view content found in the original source material. For example, Evangelion features Christian imagery and so Americans may find this content offensive or enjoy Evangelion more because it incorporates something from American culture. – Jiraiyan9 years ago
Chronicle and explain how the Pokemon franchise exploded from its birth until the present day, including any speedbumps and mistakes along the way.
Some things to consider: innovative gameplay, use of new technology to reward interactivity, cross-media integration. – Austin10 years ago
This article could also have an opinionated end drive: "so... when should pokemon STOP?" As a child who grew up on pokemon and still loves the games as an adult, I find the tv show just silly. There are only so many adventures to be had, until they just redo them with new characters and different pokemon. And the pokemon they are coming up with now are getting watered down... the trash pokemon, the diaper pokemon, the fetus pokemon... When will it all become too much? Are they milking the franchise? – Slaidey10 years ago
Pokemon has a very special place in our hearts, and analyzing the reasons in a well written article would be an interesting read. Besides that, I wholly agree with Slaidey's comment and have nothing more to add. Just read that comment twice for me. SO TRUE. "Are they milking the franchise" could be well explored, and this topic in all is a perfect topic. – Abhimanyu Shekhar10 years ago
I think it would also be cool to talk about how the players have evolved alongside the new technology/gameplay involved in the franchise e.g. how once upon a time, we're all having some light fun training a Pikachu by defeating anything and everything that comes along, and the next minute we're dedicating whole forums to EV Values and Shiny Egg Farming. – Isaac Bernamont9 years ago
Pokemon was the first anime/gaming property that was released after my birth. I've enjoyed both the anime series and video games since. The questions I think are important is what draws fans to the series? What keeps us playing? As they add more and more Pokemon will there be a point when it becomes too much? – Jiraiyan9 years ago
Man, I can't even imagine a world WITHOUT Pokemon. I was born the same year the first Pokemon game came out in Japan, so I have zero perspective on that. You might also want to compare it to other cultural phenomena if you can; the West sure has it's phases. – Helmet9 years ago
While I'm also an avid fan of Pokemon--I lived my childhood in Pokemon Ruby--this topic seems far too broad to be sanctioned into just one article. You could write an entire book entailing the rise of Pokemon from the late nineties to its status in the present-day world. And what do you mean by "speedbumps and mistakes"? Financial miscalculations? Creative errors? Repetitive repetitiveness? Anyone of these could be turned into an article of its own. Personally, I see this as a possible series of articles exploring the various trials and tribulations of the franchise as a whole. It seems that, much like the beloved series itself, you could milk this thing for quite some time, so I wouldn't go condensing pages worth of content into a single article. – JKKN9 years ago
I agree with JKKN that this topic is very broad. The idea of a series of pieces on the franchise is good, but I think you could possibly narrow your idea down to be a paper on the latest games vs. the earliest, and how the franchise has changed to fit into an evolving marketplace of gamers. – Kathleen Lassiter9 years ago
I spent a fortune on these cards for my older son and nicknamed it "Expensimon." Thankfully, the craze died out by the time my younger son was born. All other franchises are milking their "great" 20 even 30 year old ideas, so why shouldn't Pokémon cash in? Maybe all those cards I bought will be worth something one day. I live in hope : ) – Munjeera9 years ago
I also agree with JKKN, especially since the Pokémon franchise has so many aspects: the television series, the trading card game, the video games, etc. A series of articles would definitely cover this topic better, as there are too many nuances to address in a single article. – handerson9 years ago
In anime, which the two that come to mind being Code Geass and Death Note, the villain is not always clear. The main characters in those two shows come off as a villain. Sometimes the villain their motives are good, it is just they are seen as a villain due to what they are doing. So is the bad guy the one causing the problems believing it is the right choice and someone is trying to stop them? Or is the bad guy the one trying to stop the problem causer despite the fact the problem causer believes they are making the right choice?
Explore how war has been depicted in anime. Series like Gundam, Attack on Titan, Evangelion, Naruto, Bleach, and One Piece have all depicted wars. Explain how these series explore war. Are the wars realistic, do they take the wars seriously. How does animation take away from or add to the depiction of war? Can anime like One Piece accurately depict war, due to its humorous nature? Does the humor make the depiction of war easier to watch? Compare how more serious series like Attack on Titan tackle this topic. Are they more successful? Overall, focus on how the most popular anime portray war. What are common themes and reasons for war in these series?
It may be helpful to explore the concept of what a "successful" portrayal of war would even constitute. Morever, what kind of wars--international? civil? How do these series explore the socioeconomic and psychological causes or ramifications of war? (Magi would be a good series for the latter question, it's basically Economics 101 as of late!) – Tiffany9 years ago
A retrospective of anime that has been revived with new iterations (examples: Hunter x Hunter, the Young Black Jack, Jojo's Bizarre Adventure) and if they were effective or necessary. Are there some that have failed trying to bring back an anime? What determines if an anime should be revived?
What determines any revival or reboot is it's former popularity, the recognizably of it's name and franchise, the engaging and timeless qualities of its characters and setting, perhaps whether or not the concept can be updated and altered (like with "Dirty Pair FLASH), or if it can survive looking and sounding as it always did, just with a slick new digital paint job (like the "Evangelion" Re-Build movies). "Lupin the 3rd" just got it's Part IV TV series, and it seems to be doing as well as it ever did. The Lupin franchise has lasted in countless iterations and interpretations since 1971. Same thing with "Cutey Honey." "Fooly Cooly" may even get a reboot from it's new owners, Mad House I think. – Jonathan Leiter9 years ago
Branching off of Jonathan's note, you need to review aspects such as sales statistics and manga content. Did the older anime have budget restrictions? Perhaps it didn't show everything possible from the manga (ex. JoJo's initial release was a summarized version of Stardust Crusaders if I remember correctly). I'm not sure about Hunter x Hunter since I never followed it, but Young Black Jack is a manga so it wasn't an anime solely made to branch off of Black Jack's success. Most anime are remade I think more to follow more closely to the original content and others are more to give the animation style a face-lift. One example you don't mention is the Berserk movies, you could look into those along with Evangelion. My only issue with the Rebuilds are that there is a popular fan theory of the movies being based after the events in the End of Evangelion and may need the fourth release to verify or deny this. – Connor9 years ago
A plus for revival is an opportunity for improvement. In HunterXHunter for example I felt the newest iteration handled pacing a lot better – MattyMayham9 years ago
Anime is mostly known for filler, but sometimes, even books or movies, TV shows or anything else, can have filler too. This article would examine such instances and how they were received.
Did no one catch the obvious problem with this topic before they approved it? How is Anime "mostly" known for filler? A prominent trait of Anime is filler. But Anime is "mostly known" for filler," it's mostly known for crazy hair, loud screaming, school girl sailor outfits, and magic. I get the intention of the description, I just find the opening line misleading and poorly phrased. – Jonathan Leiter9 years ago
With Anime, filler episodes are more or less obvious because there's likely source material (manga or light novel) that it's being based on. For, say, Western, live-action TV shows, what would be a "filler" then? I think it would be important to first define what a filler episode is! As for the second part, I'd imagine most audiences don't like fillers. But in the case of a show like Gintama that's both innovative and meta, fillers can actually be a highlight! – txl9 years ago
I think better wording for this would be that most Anime is notorious for having fillers, most of which is uninteresting and bleak, rather than it is known for fillers. Then again, as mentioned previously, some do fillers right. So open up the discussion to which Anime had good filler arcs and why that was, and what needs to be done in order to make fillers more interesting and engaging. – andreacr9 years ago
