Unsho Ishizuka, the original narrator of the TV series, was revived in a posthumous narration role in a recent Pokemon anime special. The anime adaptation of the enormously famous monster-catching franchise recently made headlines when it revealed that longtime protagonist Ash Ketchum would be leaving the series. Ash and his Pikachu have been the faces of the multimedia behemoth since its conception, with Ash appearing in every major anime series to date. An ancient voice will now assist The Pokemon Company in bidding farewell to one of its mascots.
Ash’s departure from the Pokemon anime was announced earlier this month when The Pokemon Company debuted their new animation series. The Pokemon Company introduced a pair of new characters, Liko and Roy, for the anime, which will cover the territory of the newly released Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. While speculations regarding Ash’s possible relationship with Liko have persisted, the studio has confirmed that Ash would not be the primary character in the new series. Ash’s original narrator has returned posthumously for his final tour.
The voice of the late Unsho Ishizuka appeared in the most recent Pokemon special, which centred on an alternative world Ash and Pikachu. The anime franchise’s original narrator has been with the series for almost 20 years, beginning in 1997 and ending in 2018. His voice was discovered to have been re-created for the programme utilising samples from previous performances by The Pokemon Company. During his tenure in the anime, Ishizuka also played the famed Kanto Pokemon professor, Professor Oak.
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One aspect of the epic farewell tour the TV show has in store for its star trainer is Ishizuka’s voice return to the Pokemon anime. Several of Ash’s previous travelling companions, including his initial party with Brock and Misty, have been confirmed to appear in the final episodes. The Pokemon Company has also hinted at Ash reuniting with numerous of his previous Pokemon, with the long-awaited reunion with his Butterfree being confirmed. The new Ash-less Pokemon anime is expected to premiere early next year, with Ash getting 11 additional episodes as the main character.
The Pokemon anime’s goodbye to its long-running main character comes as the franchise’s newest entrants have garnered great popularity. Following their release, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet broke sales records, becoming the fastest-selling Nintendo games of all time. Scarlet and Violet were revealed to have sold 10 million copies in the first three days of their release. Pokemon seems to be entering a new age with the Paldea area, with Scarlet and Violet shifting the games towards an open-world concept and the anime moving away from Ash.
