I just want to say how simultaneously thrilled and disappointed I am that you have bought the licensing rights of the Pokemon TV franchise from 4Kids Entertainment. Thrilled because you know how handle Pokemon better than 4Kids, which butchered the series into pieces with its needless editing and some incomprehensible English dialogue. Pokemon was not the only victim of this travesty. Look at Shaman King. One Piece. Yu-Gi-Oh. Sonic X. Four massively popular international animes that were castrated via atrocious English dubbing and inexplicit edits. That is why I have great faith that you will not follow a similar route with Pokemon and why I am pleased with your acquisition.
 
But while I'm pleased with the news, I am extremely upset and disappointed about your decision of possibly replacing the veteran cast of voice actors, like Rachel Lillis, Eric Stuart and Veronica Taylor, with newer unknowns in the future. I understand that a change is needed and indeed, the acquisition most aspects of Pokemon is the first step to a right direction. But discharging the original voice actors is not one of those changes, nor should it ever be. In fact, most of the show's contributing success was due in large part to the English voice acting. Because with voice actors like Veronica Taylor and Eric Stuart, they were able to get the audience and viewers to connect to everyone's favorite Pokemon characters for an amazing eight years. I do not know why such a decision is merit but I just want you to know that it was not the voice actors' fault that the dialogue was sometimes ridiculous throughout the series. All they did was read the insipid English script from 4Kids and make it entertaining to fans. That is a very difficult task to accomplish.
 
Even if the new voice actors are just as good as the original counterparts, it was the original cast, the same cast that voiced everyone's favorite Pokemon characters for the past 8 years that were the hearts of the show. Nobody is ever going to react positively to a Pokemon character voiced by someone differently from a member of the original cast. There comes a time when a voice or acting defines a character, live action or animation. We have all seen that in anime as diverse as Lupin III, Inuyasha, Cowboy Bebop, Full Metal Alchemist, Trigun, Digimon and most obviously, Pokemon, shows that were vocally successful in American and Japanese, a scenario that rarely happens. That is what happened when I watched the first Pokemon movie back in 1999, to the dismay of my father who, let's face it, is not into animes or cartoons that much. I still loved Pokemon to the point that I convinced him to see it. When I saw Ash Ketchum turn to stone by Mewtwo and Mew's attacks against each other, I was in tears when Pikachu futilely tried to save him. It might seem embarrassing since I was 13 years old back then but because of Veronica Taylor's excellent voice acting of Ash Ketchum, I was attached to the character and that is why I felt emotional when I thought Ash was gone for good. It is reasons like that why the show was such a huge phenomenon and continued to run in its original formula, as opposed to a similar shows like Digimon, which repeatedly changed plots and formulas to survive. The voice acting, not the animation, made the characters. With Pokemon, it just so happened that both the US and Japanese vocals made the characters.
 
But that formula might not be as successful as it used to be if you decide to replace the original voice actors with the new ones. Millions of fans are rightfully upset and angry about your decision of replacing voice actors like Veronica Taylor, Eric Stuart and Rachel Lillis, with new ones for an upcoming Pokemon special and possibly the next season. The voice actors themselves, especially Veronica Taylor, are upset about your decisions but no way do they want to burn bridges with you. They have inhabited the role of these Pokemon characters for so long that having them discharged would be a punch in the gut to the show, the voice actors and devotees of the franchise. The actors want to resume their roles. I want them to resume their roles. But most importantly, the fans want them to resume the roles. The fans, specifically, want to watch a Pokemon episode and hear Ash Ketchum sound the same as he always have been for the past eight years. The fans are most vital to the franchise because without them, Pokemon would never become as successful as DragonBall Z or Sailor Moon. If you go through with this process of removing voice actors like Veronica Taylor and Rachel Lillis, you will not just hurt the fans, you will lose them as well.
 
So on behalf of the millions of Pokemon fans out there, I am asking you, pleading you and begging you Pokemon USA to reconsider the notion and let the original US cast stay. Let them continue to voice their favorite characters. You can change several minor or major aspects but please, please, please let Veronica Taylor continue to be Ash and May, let Eric Stuart continue to be James and Brock, let Rachel Lillis continue to be Misty and Jessie, let everyone else who has voiced other main and supporting characters remain where they are. Pokemon USA, please do not try to be ignorant to the fans like 4Kids. Listen to the fans, listen to their love for Pokemon, listen to what they like or dislike, listen to what they want because there is nothing worse in the world than turning off fans because they are constantly watching or hearing something they do not like yet it continues on despite their voice of disapproval. And what fans really, really want is for the original Pokemon cast to stay and continue to voice their favorite characters. It is not just a request; it is also a plea, a beg, maybe even a demand. They have grown so attached to these characters that hearing Ash or Brock sound different in the new season as opposed to what they used to be would take a devastating effect on the show's huge fanbase. Do it for the fans. Listen to them. And you will make everyone at work and in front of the TV happy.
 
Please, Pokemon USA, do the right thing. Make the voice actors and the fans happy.