>>55949019>As far as Serena is concerned, I always kind of roll my eyes when people say everything she did was for Ash.While Ash was always ONE of her main driving forces (and the spark that convinced her to leave home on a journey when she did), people who pretend her mom, Shauna, Miette, Aria, and her mons had nothing to do with her actions and progression in XY never watched the show. Clearly, they saw comments about the show and filled in the gaps with their own assumptions. Ash's role in Serena becoming a performer was simply reminding her that it was okay to take her time, and then being 100% supportive in anything she did: pursuing showcases, changing her look, prioritizing her final showcases and the Master Class over his 8th badge even when it meant falling behind Sawyer, matter of factly saying he'd cheer for Serena over Miette, and finally encouraging her to go to Hoenn. If anything, the person she "did everything for" was her mom, not Ash. To say she did all that for Ash is completely misreading all of it lol.
>Are there people on boards in Japan that complain about Serena as much as some do on /vp/ or is her more demure mannerisms more in line with their taste?Japanese boards, like American boards, will complain about the same exact sorts of shit, however it's well-known that Serena's popularity hasn't faltered in Japan. She's much more popular there than in the West, and she's pretty popular in the West. Every time I see shit being stirred, it's always some fucking Western Twitter user pretending to be relevant or to have the pulse of the franchise, the same sort of person you know for a fact Japs mock relentlessly.
>Surprised to see the kiss so popular given it's been...8 years(?) too.Japanese shippers in any series are more loyal than shippers anywhere else. Ash and Serena's kiss is probably on that list to stay for the foreseeable future.