Why do some anime characters never grow old?


**Ash Ketchum from Pokemon**

![ash ketchum](https://i.stack.imgur.com/McN4N.png)

By never growing old, I mean the anime has been airing for a long time, but
the character never grows old. I think the most popular example for this kind
of character is Ash Ketchum from Pokemon and Nobita and his friends from
Doraemon. (Yes, I do realize that both anime are for kids - I don't remember
any other example that the character never grows up for a long time). However,
most characters from long-running anime that I know of always grow up, like
those from Dragonball, One Piece, Naruto, Fairy Tail, and Shin-chan. (The last
one I mentioned has similar traits to Pokemon and Doraemon, although I'm not
sure Shin-chan is for kids). Any reason behind this?




The creator of Pokemon wanted children watching the show to be able to relate
to the main protagonist, Ash/Satoshi (personally I believe the protagonist is
Pikachu). Keeping the character around the age of ten is a good way to get
kids that will be this age (ten) soon to watch the show.




The creator of Pokemon wanted children watching the show to be able to relate
to the main protagonist, Ash/Satoshi (personally I believe the protagonist is
Pikachu). Keeping the character around the age of ten is a good way to get
kids that will be this age (ten) soon to watch the show.

