Pokemon hero Ash Ketchum gets 'feminine' makeover in upcoming anime

The Pokemon anime has been running since 1997, featuring two of the most recognisable characters on TV, the eternally-10-years-old Ash Ketchum and his best buddy, Pikachu. When one thinks of Ash, one would usually associate this name with an energetic and cheerful boy who aims to be a Pokemon master. Or, some might remember this fierce-looking Ash with his masculine Pikachu.

But in a new movie scheduled to release next summer, it seems Ash isn’t quite the person we are familiar with.

Regarding the 30-second teaser trailer, instead of commenting on how another adventure will begin, Japanese fans are focusing more on Ash’s face. A fan joked, “Where did Ash go? Is this just somebody else who has the same name?” Another wondered, “Ash has really girly cheeks. What happened?”

Fans have also tapped into their creative juices to “improve” how Ash looks, such as by giving him some hair extension and eyelash extension, and even changing his face to a fairer skin tone.

Others felt that Pikachu, as Ash’s best companion, should match his looks, too. Yes, the pink creature with a long hairdo and red lipstick is (a feminised version of) the beloved electric mouse Pokemon. Ash also received more make-up to accentuate his cheeks and lips.

Trolls aside, the new character design is actually created by animator Shizue Kaneko, who has an impressive record of designing for popular animated films like “Doraemon: Nobita in the Wan-Nyan Spacetime Odyssey” and “Monster Strike The Movie”.

Some Pokemon fans have also expressed how much they like Kaneko’s works, “I love the illustrations Kaneko did. I’ll be waiting for its completion.” “I have watched Pokemon anime and movies from the very beginning. I love the new Pokemon movie and its new character design for Ash,” another fan encouragingly commented.

But for someone who remains at 10 years old after all these years, we can only imagine that it must have been difficult to redesign the character and to break all previously held impressions.

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