Iris and Cilan being chose as main characters for the anime

[precita]

Best Wishes is now officially 1 year old in Japan, so Iris and Cilan have been around for nearly 60 episodes already. Why do you think they were chosen to be Ash's travel companions this time around, and how do you feel about them?

Originally they seemed to be clones of Misty and Brock, given they were both Gym leaders and had similar roles and personalities as each other. However now Iris and Cilan are being developed and feel very distinct. They're both being handled much better in terms of screentime an development than Misty/Brock, and they even have their own rivals and are more engaged in the storyline.

I feel as if Iris and Cilan were brought into the anime to give this series a unique fresh start. The DP trio didn't really work as a group and Dawn and Brock had absolutely zero chemistry, so to avoid that mistake again they brought in two new characters that work well together.

There is no doubt in my mind Iris and Cilan will leave once the 5th gen ends, like every character before them, but I feel as if for the first time in a while, Ash's travel companions actually have chemistry and character interaction. They're also "better handled" versions of Misty and Brock, given the writers have learned not to make the same mistakes a second time around.

 

[Linkachu]

Re: Iris and Cilan being chose as main characters for the an

Originally they seemed to be clones of Misty and Brock, given they were both Gym leaders and had similar roles and personalities as each other.

I do and don't agree with this. Iris and Cilan as Ash's companions were nods to the original series, and because Ash sucks at taking care of himself they've stepped up to fill the doctor and chef roles, but as far as personalities go I don't think they've ever been overly similar to Misty or Brock.

There are only so many character types in Anime, and we've now had an aggressive female, a girly one, and a goofy/clumsy one. Iris is certainly more tough than May or Dawn were but her childhood probably played a role (she's got the whole "wild child" thing going on). Most of her teasing towards Ash is just her venting her own immaturity onto someone else, which is completely different from Misty's personality. Misty was just plain violent sometimes. ;p

As for Cilan... that guy's just crazy. As pompous as he can seem (and I can't speak on his dubbed version because I mostly watch the subs), he probably has more personality than Ash and Brock put together. I love how Cilan's basically an otaku of everything and how cruel his "tastings" can be once he gets going. He's definitely a jack-of-a-trades and has lots of knowledge regarding Pokemon care (like Brock), but it always seems justified due to his obsessive nature. The writers have done a good job with him.

Overall I'm loving them both, and I definitely agree with your statement regarding the chemistry between Iris and Cilan. They interact with each other like friends, tease each other, compete with each other, etc. Ash isn't always their focal point. Maybe it's because, unlike May or Dawn, both Iris and Cilan have extensive histories surrounding Pokemon training and their own unique skills. They're both stubborn, which leads to some amusing arguments, and neither feels like dead weight.

Love 'em or hate 'em, but Ash, Cilan, and Iris work better as a trio than any other group has since Ash, Brock, and Misty first season. Iris/Cilan may not have their own quests like May/Dawn did, but their personalities alone shake things up and keep things feeling fresh. It's a great balance and keeps things entertaining.

 

[Demelza]

Re: Iris and Cilan being chose as main characters for the an

All sidekick characters who get brought into the anime each season/arc can be linked back to Misty and Brock if the viewer really thinks about it. Here it's only because Cilan is/was a gym leader and Iris is bossy, but imo more girls that go about with Ash are bossy. xD

As characters I don't like Iris and haven't since the very first episode, she's annoying. For Cilan, I am quite fond of him and his "it's x time" which I always find funny, and although you could look at him as a Brock I see him differently.

 

[Linkachu]

Re: Iris and Cilan being chose as main characters for the an

and his "it's x time" which I always find funny

It's turning into the best Pokemon catchphrase since "getto daze"! ;D

 

[Satoren]

Re: Iris and Cilan being chose as main characters for the an

When was Brock ever a flamboyant waiter/gym leader whose main goal is to 'taste' Pokemon and their trainers? :T

Kidding aside, Cilan is obviously not a Brock clone, he just happens to fill the role of Chef that Brock once had. The reason apparently being that Ash is a terrible chef. (DP enforced that) He doesn't seem so much like a big brother figure to Ash, either. He does provide invaluable exposition, but he doesn't seem as supportive of Ash as Brock was. Cilan is his own man (for now) who will go out of his (and his travel buddies') way to indulge in whatever ridiculous hobby he happens to be a 'connoisseur' at. He admires and follows Ash, yes; but he doesn't devote his entire time looking after him or Iris.

Iris on the other hand, was very similar to Misty at the start. She did have a couple of quirks (like being a ninja D:<) and seemed to travel with Ash for the sake of nagging him; but gradually, she became her own person thanks to some character developping flashbacks. I also rather like that she got the medic role, having grown up in a simple town and learning traditional herbal medicine. It certainly makes her useful on Ash's journey.

All in all, I'd say Ash's current travel companions are developping quite nicely and at a good pace. Compare their characters now to Ash, who remains a complete n00b in Unova and the difference is staggering. On the other hand, Ash has had 5 regions worth of character development, while Iris and Cilan are new to the series. It's only fair that they rush and that several episodes give focus to them.

And seriously, whoever locates Ash's brain; please return it to him post-haste. I will be vastly disappointed if he doesn't step up by the time he gets to battle Clay.

 

[precita]

Re: Iris and Cilan being chose as main characters for the an

Overall I'm loving them both, and I definitely agree with your statement regarding the chemistry between Iris and Cilan. They interact with each other like friends, tease each other, compete with each other, etc. Ash isn't always their focal point. Maybe it's because, unlike May or Dawn, both Iris and Cilan have extensive histories surrounding Pokemon training and their own unique skills. They're both stubborn, which leads to some amusing arguments, and neither feels like dead weight.

Love 'em or hate 'em, but Ash, Cilan, and Iris work better as a trio than any other group has since Ash, Brock, and Misty first season. Iris/Cilan may not have their own quests like May/Dawn did, but their personalities alone shake things up and keep things feeling fresh. It's a great balance and keeps things entertaining.

I bolded your dead weight comment, which is sadly what Misty and Brock became from about mid-Johto onward and never recovered. Hopefully Iris and Cilan don't suffer a similar fate, and get handled better.

I agree the BW trio has great chemistry however. The only reason the DP trio didn't work is Brock was literally, "just there," and he and Dawn had absolutely no sense of friendship or chemistry. I honestly think the writers regretted keeping Brock for the DP series, which is why they practically ignored him the entire arc and didn't even try to give him and Dawn any type of memorable interaction. There was just nobody to replace him with at the time, as back in DP, Roark is ANOTHER rock-type Gym leader with Geodude/Onix, and that would have been ridiculous to see him replace Brock.

Plus I always felt like Dawn would have been better off in her own series rather than traveling with Ash/Brock in the first place. Her first episode showed her perfectly capable of traveling by herself and her inclusion in the group always felt forced, as if there just HAD to be another coordinator. The Hoenn group on the other hand worked much better as a group, and didn't start to get stale until the Battle Frontier saga.

I just like to think of Iris and Cilan as the writers way of saying, "This is what we should have done with Misty and Brock 10 years ago," and are kinda making up for past mistakes. Its also the main reason the Johto saga was so boring, Misty and Brock had become dead weight and the writers had no clue what to do with either of them.

My only problem with Iris is she doesn't battle too much, but then again neither did Misty, so I don't know what to think.