>>53479423Yeah, but it's a seemingly unending series of battles in space over a timeline that spans decades. And it's not like the protagonist is ever killed off at the end of their show. They're just not the focus of whatever happens next.
The protagonists are switched out because the show is meant to show a complete character arc. Take Amuro Ray for example. He starts out as a nerdy teenage introvert, is thrust into battle because of unexpected circumstances, grows into a soldier through adversity, and then helps end the war.
It's really a classic coming of age story, which just happens to be set in space with giant robots. And the Gundam franchise has kept coming back to teen pilots who are thrust into war and are forced to grow up, because it really is a classic story structure.
So compare that to Ash Ketchum. He starts out as a 10-year-old boy in Pallet Town who wants to be a Pokemon Master. So he journeys through Kanto, wins eight badges, completes in the league tournament, but ultimately loses. So what does he do next? He takes a trip to the Orange Islands, regroups, then repeats the exact same paint by numbers story in Johto, Hoenn, etc.
Obviously the show eventually stopped following the formulaic plots of the games, but I can still why Shudo thought it needed to end sooner rather than later. How many times can you iterate the exact same types of stories with the exact same kid?
It's not that it's a bad forumula - if done right I think it can actually be quite compelling. But at the same time, having Ash stuck in a time vortex while repeating the same plot like it's Groundhog Day undercut possibilities for character growth and development.
