>>52680150>it's a giant nothingburger rooted in knee jerk nostalgia.The nostalgia part is absolutely correct, but it's kind of a big deal aside from that as well. Regardless of what waifufags think, Ash and Pikachu are the most recognizable faces in the entire IP. While I don't think Pikachu is getting shunted from the merch anytime soon, it's still a pretty big shakeup. It's been 25 fucking years with the same 2 characters, why now? Why not earlier? It'd be like hearing the Simpsons is ending. Sure, it's been decades since it's been good, but people just got used to it always being there in the background. So when it finally gets retired it comes across as a shock.
On the point of Nostalgia, I think the news is hitting people harder than you might think because for many people, they simply aged out of the games/anime. They left on their own volition with the knowledge that this character would continue on without them in some ethereal sense. But now that Ash is finally retiring "for realzies" this time, those people have to confront the fact that something they were familiar with now unmistakably gone. Like growing apart from a childhood friend you were on good terms with, then learning years later that they died or became a drug addict or what have you. Sure you hadn't seen them in years, but it's still painful to hear.
It was fun while it lasted, though.
