[ComicGuy89]

I've been watching a bit of Black and White after having not watched since the Kanto region (although I did keep up with the movies). It's not terrible like people say, it's just not a very ambitious anime.

Ash isn't a terrifically exciting characters. His trademarks are still his compassion and justice, his competitiveness, his enthusiasm and sad to say, his err, lack of intelligence. He's not a bad character by any means, and he shines in the movies themselves. Overall he makes a great audience surrogate, and I appreciate that about him.

Iris and Cilan are decent companions. Cilan is no Brock, but he fills that spot competently enough. Iris really channels Misty, from how annoying Misty was initially, to even having a baby Pokémon to carry around in the form of Axew.

Team Rocket has surprisingly become competent. They never "blast off" anymore, and almost all their plans succeed unless they directly involve Ash and co. They've become more dignified villains in that respect.

As always, the main stars of the show are the Pokémon themselves. The anime has propelled Oshawott to the top of my favorites list, and Snivy is freaking awesome too. If anything the anime has succeeded in making the individual Pokémon pretty likable, far more than the humans themselves.

Overall the anime makes for a fun watch when you're just looking for something to spend time on. In that respect, it's become like the Simpsons or Spongebob for me, something fun to tune in to when channel surfing, but not something I'd cry over missing.