>>38300405Ok.
Ash is a shell of his OS self. A corporate cardboard cutout. SM tried to make Ash as a character/kid more believable and down-to-earth, but past all of the bouts of sass and emotion, he's still this stereotypical happy-go-lucky do-gooder devoid of any true or defining personality.
Gary Stu with special snowflake powers in a world/narrative that did not call for special snowflake powers. He could've just had a special one-of-a-kind friendship Mega Evolution, but it just HAD to be some cringe-ass fusion bullshit. Forced his way into game canon to promote his shillmon.
Designed as a parallel to Red, when we should have just gotten Red. Because we're stuck with Ash, we'll never get closure so long as it means the series can keep going. He'll never become a Pokemon Master, ie. "win an actual league". If they changed protags to the associated male and female every new region, we could have an actual, satisfying endgame for the story and its individual characters. He and everyone involved are extremely half-baked and will continue to be. Ash's continued existence means we will never get a good anime.
Nothing interesting to note about his design. Pokemon's artstyle was never good, and that doesn't help his cause.
XY Ash spawned a humongous wave of autism, moreso than any other season. Especially the 'tards that are concerned with the relationship status of a 10 year old boy.
Actively ruins any kind of media he is in.