Was Misty poorly handled or developed in the anime compared to later female companions?

[precita]

I've been rewatching the original seasons and notice how Misty gets sidelined most of the time. Any time she tries to battle or do something epic, Psyduck would come out interrupting her for the usual gag.

Outside of that most eps focus on Ash and the random filler characters they meet in every ep, so Misty and Brock are largely just treated as exposition characters commenting on whatever is happening. Most of her pokemon are underused too, and it feels like if you don't care about shipping half the appeal to her character is lost. You'd think 275 episodes would be enough to develop her but eh

Misty wasn't a beginning trainer like most of the other female companions, when she's introduced she already co-owns a Gym with her sisters and had 3 pokemon (Staryu, Starmie and Goldeen). But you wouldn't know that from the way she was portrayed.

Early rookie Kanto Ash nearly beats her as early as the 7th episode (he was on the verge of winning had TR not bust through the wall), and he only used Butterfree/Pidgeotto and didn't even have the Kanto starters yet. If he had Bulbasaur or Pikachu wanted to battle, he probably would have won easier. And then after that, Misty loses in the Giselle episode to a Graveler, and doesn't really battle much for rest of the season without Psyduck popping out of its ball to get a headache. In Orange Islands I think her only major trainer battle is the Golduck episode against Marina. Then after that there's not much in Johto till she gets Poliwhirl/Corsola.

Anyone find it weird Misty was treated as inexperienced? Half her team couldn't even battle properly unless under special conditions (Togepi, Psyduck, Goldeen, Horsea), or were underused (Starmie), etc. I know the writers didn't want her to upstage Ash, but they gave her one of the worst battle track records imagineable till the tail-end of her run.

I think the writers just didn't care. When you stop to think of it, there are only very few episodes that actually focus on Misty herself in each season she was in. For the rest of the eps she was basically sidelined with Brock.

 

[Astinus]

This was something that I always felt was true when I was younger, and really noticed it on my current series rewatch.

It took a little digging, but I found out some stuff. The head writer, Takeshi Shudo, admitted that he didn't like Misty and had no idea what to do with her. She was added as a main character because they wanted to have a girl to appeal to girl audiences.

Half her team couldn't even battle properly unless under special conditions (Togepi, Psyduck, Goldeen, Horsea), or were underused (Starmie)

And she loses Horsea and Starmie before the end of the Kanto saga.

I think also, back then, they wanted to keep Ash as the main character. The show was really about him and his adventures, and Brock and Misty were there to give him some companions to talk to. The writers didn't want to give Misty or Brock a goal to strive for because that would take screen time away from Ash. Things changed (for the better) with the Hoenn saga, when May could step up and have her goals, separate from Ash's, of being in the Contests.

 

[precita]

This was something that I always felt was true when I was younger, and really noticed it on my current series rewatch.

Yes, it's very true. I remember on this very forum when it was more active a decade ago, Misty fans here would try to deny it furiously and act like Misty was some "perfectly" written character. Some of them would even flat out lie and make up battles that never actually happened in the anime itself, like saying Misty battled Prima/Lorelei in Orange Islands (she didn't, Ash did), or that Misty won the Whirl Cup in Johto...she didn't, after she beat Ash she loses to a random woman named Trinity. Even funnier is how they acted like Misty had such a strong team back then, when as I mentioned above...until Misty got Poliwhirl in Johto her only decent battler was Staryu and the rest of her team could barely battle properly. If you actually go back and pay attention to Misty's battles, she flat out loses 80% of the time she battles another trainer (if you exclude Psyduck headache stuff) and only wins a handful of times. And even then...there are only a small handful of battles Misty had in each season she was in. Can you believe the Golduck ep in Orange Islands is the ONLY time Misty battles a trainer in that entire season?

It took a little digging, but I found out some stuff. The head writer, Takeshi Shudo, admitted that he didn't like Misty and had no idea what to do with her. She was added as a main character because they wanted to have a girl to appeal to girl audiences.


I think also, back then, they wanted to keep Ash as the main character. The show was really about him and his adventures, and Brock and Misty were there to give him some companions to talk to. The writers didn't want to give Misty or Brock a goal to strive for because that would take screen time away from Ash. Things changed (for the better) with the Hoenn saga, when May could step up and have her goals, separate from Ash's, of being in the Contests.

Yeah, this is all true as well. They obviously expanded the roles for female characters when May and then Dawn were introduced. And even some of the later ones even if they got less focus, still had at least some form of character arc that went on their seasons.

Obviously the thing is when the anime first started it was all about Ash as you said, Misty/Brock were just the usual sidekick characters most children's shows have. So the writers probably felt they didn't need much focus, and while it was fine in Kanto....by the time you got into Johto with all those fillers it became obvious how little focus they were getting. I actually feel Misty got better development in her cameos and specials after she left the cast than when she was a main character. Her Hoenn and SM appearances were nice, as well as MPM.