Why Ash Didn‘t Blush When Serena Kissed Him

As a longtime Pokémon gaming fan myself, this climactic scene between Ash and Serena gets cited a lot by fans as evidence that "Amourshipping is real." However, some people bring up the counterpoint – if Ash really felt the same way, why didn‘t he blush or react more shyly when Serena kissed him?

According to XY&Z director Tetsuo Yajima, Ash‘s reaction was specifically one of "surprised awe." No blushing mentioned.

In this article, I‘ll analyze 3 key reasons why Ash might not have blushed in that scene:

1. Ash Was Genuinely Surprised

Firstly, Ash simply didn‘t expect Serena‘s sudden kiss in the moment it happened. Known for being dense, he likely didn‘t pick up on the depth of her feelings.

In an interview with Animage magazine, Yajima said:

"Originally I thought that just having Serena be lost searching for a present would be sad, so we inserted the scene where she kisses [Ash] as well."

This reveals the kiss wasn‘t hinted at earlier – it came out of nowhere for Ash!

As a gaming expert myself, I think Ash having a jaw-dropping, wide-eyed reaction rather than a blush actually rings truer to his established persona up till then. He‘s never been embarrassed by female affection before, only confused.

Personality evidence:

• Multiple girl characters like Melody have kissed Ash suddenly in the past, and he‘s never blushed then either. Just takes it in stride!
• Brock often gushes over girls in Ash‘s earshot – again, he takes it as par for the course with Brock.

My take: Ash blushing would feel out-of-character based on his exposure so far. The surprise better matches his personality.

2. External Pressure Around Content Guidelines

The Pokémon anime airs on public broadcast TV in Japan with game/anime viewership comprised of:

Showing definitive romantic closure between characters like a kissing scene is controversial enough. Having Ash blush afterwards would take it a step further into implying reciprocation, which creators may have wanted to avoid due to audience expectations and content guidelines.

In localizing the scene abroad, the American dub edited Serena‘s kiss down to only her making a kissing face at Ash while leaning towards him, without actual kiss contact:

My perspective: I think they wished to leave some ambiguity so younger children wouldn‘t assume Ash and Serena were now "a romantic item" at the end. A blush could cause further misinterpretations.

3. Oblivious Ash Isn‘t So Easy!

While later scenes dropped small hints about Serena‘s crush, prior to the kiss Ash hadn‘t shown outward awareness that Serena likes him as anything more than a friend.

Known for being focused on Pokémon battles above all else, romance tends to go over his head!

A blushing reaction would require Ash to rapidly process Serena‘s affection and feel flattered/embarrassed despite no buildup. I argue his denseness prevails here – he was still clueless about her true feelings when she kissed him.

Supporting oblivious moments:

• When Bonnie asks Serena to take care of her dense "keeper" Ash, he doesn‘t pick up Bonnie‘s reference to his future marriage
• Multiple times when others bring up Serena liking Ash in earshot, he changes the subject without embarrassment

My take – a blush would feel unearned without more romantic escalation beforehand. I think they wanted his reaction to demonstrate he‘s as dense as ever when Serena made her move!

For these reasons – surprise, content expectations, and personality consistency – I don‘t think the lack of a blush contradicts potential reciprocal feelings from Ash down the road. Director Yajima actually said the lack of buildup to the kiss scene was a flaw they didn‘t catch until too late.

I believe Ash cares for Serena deeply. Only time will tell whether Pokémon decides to develop that into a romantic arc years later! But his sheer surprise, not lack of feelings, explains the missing blush when she kissed him goodbye that day.

What do you think – am I onto something here? Or totally off-base? Let me know in the comments!