Pokemon Anime Will Likely Take Hiatus Amidst Coronavirus Pandemic

Many of the productions in the entertainment world have been postponed or outright cancelled as a result of the novel coronavirus pandemic, and although the anime industry seemed to be powering through the last couple of weeks have seen some dramatic changes. Many major series like Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World and Sword Art Online: Alicization – War of Underworld have been postponed for the forseeable future, and now it’s seeming increasingly likely that Pokemon: The Series will be gearing up for a hiatus of its own if the voice behind Ash Ketchum is anything to go by.

According to a tweet from Rica Matsumoto, who provides the voice for Satoshi Tajiri (Ash Ketchum for the English language fans) in the Pokemon anime, she has no voice recordings scheduled for the future and will thus be taking time off as a result. Whether this means that there’s a whole stockpile of recordings already set remains to be seen, however.

As Matsumoto noted on Twitter, “I’ve got no work, so I decided to take a long vacation.” This doesn’t immediately mean Pokemon: The Series is heading into a hiatus, but as Japan prepares to take its own quarantine initiatives this might have an impact on its future. The series has yet to make an official comment on a potential hiatus or delay as of this writing, but this could change as the novel coronavirus situation continues to unfold.

Matsumoto even mentions how her schedule has been impacted by all of the changes as a result too, “I don’t even know what time I should wake up or go to bed. I’m surprised at how bad I am at managing my time. Yesterday I was watching movies, and before I realized it it was 6 in the morning. It’s like I have jetlag…Gotta snap out of this.”

But while Pokemon fans would love to see the anime power through, they are definitely most concerned for the health and well being of everyone involved. ComicBook.com will keep you updated on any major developments on this front. But how would you feel about a delay or hiatus for the Pokemon anime? Let us know your thoughts in the comments or talk to me directly about all things anime and other cool things @Valdezology on Twitter!