The anime saga of Pokemon is about to reach a crucial moment with the final closure of the arc of Ash Ketchum and his inseparable Pikachu. A moment that we never thought we would see arrive and that is finally approaching to usher in a new era in the history of this animated series.
However, those who witnessed the original start of this companion production to the video game, back in 1997, will remember that there was serious controversy among the initial fans of the franchise. And it is that at the beginning nobody understood why the protagonist, Ash Ketchumwould have a simple Pikachu as an adventure companion.
The above line may be a trigger for some who are already fond of the yellow doormat, but at the time this little guy was a pocket monster relatively irrelevant to the original plot of the first Game Boy video game.
Even in the moments before the premiere of the anime of Pokemon there were plenty of people who speculated about the role of greater weight that some other monsters like Bulbasaur, Charmander or Squirtle could have.
This triad makes up the group of Kanto Starters, granted in the game by Professor Oak when you visit his laboratory at the start.
But in the end someone else was chosen as Ash’s adventure companion and now we finally know why.
Kunihiko Yuyama finally reveals why Pikachu was chosen as the protagonist of Pokémon in the anime
In the framework of the preparations for the last episode of Ash Ketchum in the anime after 25 years, one of the executives behind the production of the animated series, Kunihiko Yuyama, in an interview with animedayhas explained why Ash started his journey with a Pikachu and not any of the other three monsters mentioned above.
According to Yuyama, who was director and producer of the anime at its inception, the choice of Pikachu was based on two main reasons: the popularity of the character among younger children and the ease of animating it. But there are more reasons behind:
“I think of Pikachu as a combination of cuteness, strength, and the ability to make people laugh. By the way, I decided early on that the Pokémon that would become Ash’s partner would not be one of the three you would choose at the beginning of the game, as I thought that might make some of the viewers sad.
That’s why he ended up with a Pikachu, a decision I’m really glad I made.”
Yuyama also revealed in the talk that Pikachu was the first Pokémon to be designed for anime, and that it was adapted to give it a more mischievous and adorable personality in order to appeal to younger viewers.
Also, being an electric Pokémon, it was obviously easier to create visual effects for its attacks than with other classes.