>>36170494What an awful example.
>Digimon Adventure 02, a series looked down upon in comparison to what came directly before and after>Known for its controversial ending>The original cast was basically sidelined for the entirety of it in return for a terrible cast>Digimon became irrelevant compared to Pokémon which sells guaranteed millions with every release and has consistently high TV ratingsHere's something you need to learn. Anime primarily exists as promotion for merchandise. If an anime fails to sell merchandise, it is considered a failure as a series. Very little anime airs during the day or at primetime hours with the exception being certain children's anime or family anime like Chibi Maruko-chan, Doraemon, Sazae-san, etc. These are the giants of the industry because they're given precedence due to their ability to sell merch. The vast majority of "popular" anime nowadays (My Hero Academia, Attack on Titan, One Punch Man, Mob Psycho 100, Sword Art Online, Tokyo Ghoul, KILL la KILL, DARLING in the FRANXX, etc.) airs or aired late at night, usually after midnight. Most people aren't staying up late to watch them and record them to watch later. When anime airs, nearly all the commercials that air relate to merchandise for that anime. Watch a Japanese episode of Pokémon live and you'll see what I mean.
By growing up Ash, you make him unrelatable to current children, which demands that you introduce a new child protagonist. But if you turn this into a cycle, you lose a brand icon and sense of consistency. Ash is meant to be a stand-in for the game protagonists (his designs tend to be based on each Generation's male protagonist) and kids are meant to self-insert as him and want to buy the games, toys, home video, and become attached to the Pokémon brand. Do not worry about what is and always has been a giant commercial. The various manga as they're serialized in magazines are the same thing, but have a somewhat higher entry level.
