Who is May's Father?

[Eeveelution]

Well, lately I've been wondering about May. In the games she is Norman's daughter if you play as her or Prof. Birch's daughter if you play as a boy. In the Anime she's Norman's daughter, while in the Manga she is Professor Birch's daughter.

Of course there is no right or wrong answer, but in your opinion which is she? I personally have no opinion, but it is worth a bit of discussion. Just consider her personality and interests, or where you see her more if you feel like it.

 

[Lili]

To me she seems more as Norman's daughter than Birch's. It would makes sense considering Misty, also. Misty is related to a gym being a /former/ gym leader, and I'm guessing that, like the incidents with the bikes and how they have a new female companion every couple of season, they would keep the tradition with having a gym-related girl.
However, it makes me wonder, since Dawn isn't related to a gym(I think, I haven't watched the newest season very much). But then again, May came came before Dawn did, so a change could've occured for her.
Now, I want to sit back and see if my anyone agrees with my opinions or if I've made any mistakes(I'm always concious about that xD).

 

[Aura Cobalt]

Or if anyone else says anything.

I personally don't think it makes much of a difference...

 

[KlutzyKaytix33]

Huh. I haven't read the manga, so I didn't even know about the Birch thing. Considering 2 out of 3 sources say it's Norman, that's what I would lean towards. (:

Also, Naboo (Is that what you prefer to be called?) has a good point. :3 It can't be a coincidence, what happened with the bikes and the Gym relations. They might have just abandoned that concept during the later seasons, as some people might have thought it was getting old.

Just my two cents. :D

 

[Lili]

Call me Mrs. Naboo >:D.

I think the reason why May's Birch's daughter in the game is because, well, think of Gary. He's Oak's grandson. They made your rival related to a professor because the professor would probably prefer your rival to you since they're family. That's why both you and your rival compete to fiercly, possibly to see who, in the childish sense, the professor likes best. Thus the reason why May is Birch's daughter in R/S/E.
I feel smarter today :D.

 

[Phyro Phantom]

Personally, I don't think May in the games and May in the Anime are necessarily the same person. =P Sure, they look identical, but the games kinda have a different canon from the Anime. The Anime really just takes inspiration from the games, and I'm not sure they really make an effort to keep continuity between them. Especially since stuff like this changes depending on your gender, etc.

For instance, in the games, the player (Ash) disbands Team Rocket, whereas in the Anime, Team Rocket is ongoing. In the Johto games, Team Rocket comes back (without Giovanni because he "disappeared") and the player disbands them once and for all. In the Anime, J&J&M just keep following Ash randomly. Yellow version is the only game that really "ties in" with the Anime at all. The Team Aqua/Magma thing is also different, depending on whether you play Sapphire, Ruby, Emerald, or watch the Anime. There really doesn't seem to be any continuity between them, and I think it's meant to be left up to the viewer/player to choose his/her preffered version.

But that's just me...

 

[KlutzyKaytix33]

Mrs. Naboo, It's actually the manga that Birch is May's father in. :3 I don't mean to burst your bubble or anything. XD

 

[Lili]

0_0; Oh....
*bubble bursts and drops from an enormous over-dramatic hight xD*
That's all right.

 

[KlutzyKaytix33]

Sorry. D:
I always make silly mistakes, so don't worry. -w-

 

[Lili]

xD I was messing around, it's alright. It's in my nature to be over-dramatic in some cases.
Though, your apology is still accepted.

Alright, back on track. May. Spawn of Birch or Norman? Most likely Norman. Yes.

 

[P0KEMEL0DY]

Anime -- NORMAN
Games -- PROF. BIRCH

In anime, he's Caroline and Norman's daughter. He's also Max's sis.

In games, he's Prof. Birch's daughter if you're playing as a boy.

^___^

 

[Erika]

I'm May's father.

Dun-dun-dun-duuuuuuuuun.




I'm going to go with Norman. Birch just looks like that someone who will never find love in his life, and thus, will forever be lonely. I blame his shorts with white lab coat combo.

 

[Valerunner]

In this case, I would go for Birch, with the hair color and everything, ignoring the Anime. This also makes more sense since Brendan would have to be Norman's son, which is evident in the hair color (again).

 

[Eeveelution]

So far most of the theories make perfect sense on both sides. Since I used to watch the Anime, and because I'm a girl in the games, Norman = May's father. BUT if you play as May in the games, you probably won't use her name, so she isn't May. So, May is still May!! So far, it's all summarized by this:

Norman's Side: May is most widely accepted as his daughter due to the Anime. But I believe the main reason is because they only use girls from the games, so the Anime producers decided that whoever had Norman as a dad would be more important than the child of Professor Birch.

Professor Birch's Side: In the games, May is a lot more calm than Brendan when she's his kid. Brendan is very, for lack of a better word, "energetic" and more suited to be Norman's son in my opinion. In the manga, she dedicates herself to field research like her father, maybe even more (she actually lives in the wild and wears clothes made from grass). That is much more than Brendan does in the games.

It seems that opinions may be biased due to the Anime and no one really reads the Manga. I don't read it either, but instead check the Manga section on Serebii; otherwise I'd have no idea about May being Birch's daughter in the Manga. But aside from that, perhaps we should decide from the physical features and personality May has. The gym relation does help explain the Anime, though. The brown hair is also a good point, Grimdour, but how does the hair color make it evident that Brendan is Norman's son??