Thoughts on CoTDs in general

[matt0044]

Pros:

1.They offer us some insight on the Pokemon World in an interesting way at times.

2. Now and then, they have nice personalities along with their Pokemon like Katharine and her Gothita.

Cons:

1. They often waste time that COULD have been used to develop our main characters and maybe an overarching storyline.

2. Their episode follow a formula that I think doesn't bear repeating since everyone here practically knows it by heart. Even with slight variations, it become predictable like in Johto's dreaded filler hell or DP with a year without badges.

I think I've made my point. How about you guys?

[Latiken]

COTDs can be good if they're fleshed out, but most of them aren't.

[An00bis]

There should be more of them around and fewer Recurring Characters.

I felt that way in Sinnoh. It seems like they've actually managed to make it worse in Unova. It'd be nice if they just focused on developing one or two Recurring Characters alongside Ash and co. With the current formula there's so many people that someone's going to get the short end of the stick, which makes me feel sorry for that character's fans.

[matt0044]

There should be more of them around and fewer Recurring Characters.

I felt that way in Sinnoh. It seems like they've actually managed to make it worse in Unova. It'd be nice if they just focused on developing one or two Recurring Characters alongside Ash and co. With the current formula there's so many people that someone's going to get the short end of the stick, which makes me feel sorry for that character's fans.

Probably with Characters of the Day is that they're just what the title implies. After that episode, BOOM they vanish until the plot (rarely) requires them.

[CyberCubed]

Most COTD's after Kanto were bland, with few exceptions.

This is nothing new. In fact several Kanto COTD's actually got a second appearance during Johto such as Duplica, etc.

[An00bis]

There are recurring characters who are just as bland.

Probably with Characters of the Day is that they're just what the title implies. After that episode, BOOM they vanish until the plot (rarely) requires them.

Exactly. That works better for the structure of the show, I think.

I just like the idea of Ash meeting a variety of characters with different personalities, backgrounds, and Pokemon more then him meeting the same 3-4 people everywhere he goes.

[CyberCubed]

The difference is the writers only choose a select few characters to be recurring characters of the region, the rivals and sometimes some secondary characters.

Like Angie from the summer school arc got another filler later on. Luke in BW came back again after the first Don Battle tournament.

Sometimes I honestly wonder why the writers choose to bring certain characters back, but yet more interesting ones are forgotten. What the hell happened to Tepig's original trainer? Its odd that they didn't have him show up again, oh well.

[Street Comedy]

They are pointless, just like filler episodes.

[HatersGonnaHate]

What the hell happened to Tepig's original trainer? Its odd that they didn't have him show up again, oh well.

Probably because he was a little too much like Paul. I mean just look at him.

[Pokemaniac24]

Some are good and some are bad. That's all I could really say. I think some of the earlier ones like AJ and Samurai really stood out as good characters. But yeah, COTD could be boring at times but other times, they could be really fun to watch.

[matt0044]

I just like the idea of Ash meeting a variety of characters with different personalities, backgrounds, and Pokemon more then him meeting the same 3-4 people everywhere he goes.

Yet they rarely help with his character development.

[An00bis]

Neither do most of his Rivals.

True Character Development is so rare in this show that I'm surprised people still expect it after ten years.

[Angel~]

To be honest, some COTD's are really exciting with fun personalities. While others are very boring with dull persoinalities. Duplica, Lara Laramie, Marina (OI), Poncho, etc are just one of my favorites.

[Honeyichigo]

I just like the idea of Ash meeting a variety of characters with different personalities, backgrounds, and Pokemon more then him meeting the same 3-4 people everywhere he goes.

As do I. The show is all about exploring this big world of Pokemon, and having Ash cross paths with a lot of different characters who get to be important for an episode suits this better than having only a few people be important overall.

Also... character development? The Pokemon anime has never been about that on anything more than a rather small scale. If you're watching the show for that, you're doing it wrong.

[matt0044]

Also... character development? The Pokemon anime has never been about that on anything more than a rather small scale. If you're watching the show for that, you're doing it wrong.

I'm just upset how they could do things far better than they could if they tried. To me, the Anime is a prime example of wasted opportunities. It's not all bad but something it bugs me how they could do better than this.

But I'm just some guy with a passion for storytelling so what do I know?

[Dwail8023]

To be honest, some COTD's are really exciting with fun personalities. While others are very boring with dull persoinalities. Duplica, Lara Laramie, Marina (OI), Poncho, etc are just one of my favorites.

Completely agreed on this.

[jh941]

To be fair, if you treat the anime as real life, the fact that Ash travels the world and meets different people all the time, its not surprising that he often meets people once and doesn't again. He doesn't usually go back to the same place twice, where he met said character, and only a few times has he happened to run into someone he actually knew from somewhere. I guess its pretty realistic.

[YourPermanentRecord631]

Like the others said, some COTDs were fun like Duplica and Gligarman (to me) where others having a boring treatments.

[Brownie]

Its really a shame that more COTDs arent given a second chance, like AJ, for example.

[pacman000]

To be fair, if you treat the anime as real life, the fact that Ash travels the world and meets different people all the time, its not surprising that he often meets people once and doesn't again. He doesn't usually go back to the same place twice, where he met said character, and only a few times has he happened to run into someone he actually knew from somewhere. I guess its pretty realistic.

I can agree with this, though it would be nice to see some characters again.

Pokemon isn't the only show to use the CoTD format. Early Edition, Touched by an Angel, Lost in Space, The Time Tunnel, Gilligan's island, Dragnet, and others have used similar formats. If it's worked for so many other shows, why shouldn't Pokemon use it?

[matt0044]

I just wish the main characters (you know, the ones we're suppose to follow) didn't take backseat to CoTDs at times.

[Spin Attaxx]

Y'know, when I care more about a CoTD (which is pretty rare) more than Ash (the guy we're meant to follow and identify with), that's not a sign of good writing.

[Ash&Pikachu-Fan]

I like them, well some most of the time and others not so much but they ain't very memorable anyway. A few of the COTD (character of the day) are the reason I really enjoy watching some of the filler episodes with fun personalities as such but most are boring.

A few of my favourites; Mr. Parker (Gligarman), Oscar and Andi, Jeffrey and Doctor Ferrara (Cryogonal Man).

[Jdrawer]

Some (like AJ) help provide specific themes and values w/o Brock having to be Mr. Teacher all the time. It can also save the dubbing companies money. Why hire 2 actors when you can give AJ and Bill slightly different country accents? And having James play Gastly? Genius! And it does flesh out the show VERY well. When you think back on the anime, you don't think of 1 still of all the main characters; your mind races through your memories of specific events (and in an anime based off a video game, most of these are 'filler') and the COTDs. I mean, we're not here to watch Ash play Pokemon; we know how that story goes already. We're here to experience a NEW story with NEW experiences and NEW characters. To put it shortly: AJ was the reason I knew that Ash wasn't going to win EVERY battle.

[sSerenity]

I loved that some of COTD in Don Battle Tournament / Cubplosion / Junior Cup were used in the Unova League.
And some of them are still good rivals : Who guessed that Stephan, Langley, Cabernet -> Rivals ?