March 26, 2006
Animation Director
To Whom It May Concern:
Recasting Pokemon Voice Actors
Hello. My name is Victoria and I’m a visually impaired Pokemon fan. I’ve recently heard that Pokemon USA is considering changing the voice actors, script writers, and music for Pokemon from the next season onward. I sincerely implore you not to implement these initiatives.

I began watching Pokemon from the very first episode eight years ago. I loved the concept of creatures with elemental powers and the values of love for animals and doing the right thing despite the cost to oneself. Changing voice actors isn’t simply changing a voice. It’s changing entire characters that the current actors portray. Much of the fandom has gotten used to and grown attached to the voices we know and love from the very first episode, and to change them now would not mean the same character with a new voice but a new character with the old character’s name, i.e., a character in name only. A new actor means a new interpretation of a character – different characterization. Brock and James are my two favorite characters, and when I think of them, I hear the voices Eric Stuart has given them. The thought of these beloved characters being butchered by new voices is both infuriating and heartbreaking. Every fan’s pet characters are extremely important and valued, and we care what happens to them. I’m fairly certain that if Pokemon USA doesn’t sign on Eric, Veronica, Rachel, and the script writers to give the show the feel it’s always had, many people, including myself, will cease watching the show in protest.

Please reconsider your plans and avert imminent disaster. The vast majority of the fandom agrees that changing the voice actors, script writers, and music would change the entire show, and we like it the way it is now. Changing the voice actors would mean taking the characters the fandom loves away from them, and I, for one, watch Pokemon for Brock and James as they are characterized and interpreted in Advanced Battle and prior seasons. 

I appreciate the time you took to read this and hope that one fan’s thoughts will at least give you pause. I realize there isn’t much I can do to persuade Pokemon USA but I cannot sit idly by without at least making my voice heard and my thoughts known, so that I can at least say I tried.
Thank you,
Victoria