I have been watching Pokémon since day 1 and they have NEVER talked about Ash’s dad. I am so stoked for them to finally mention him! Pokémon has been around for 23 years, so this has been a long time coming. The director Tetsuo Yajima did an interview with Oricon News and explained to them Ash’s dad will be mentioned because this newest film explores the bond between parent and child.
Plot: The newest Pokémon movie will focus on a character named Koko (Who reminds me a lot of tarzan), who is raised by the legendary Pokémon Zarude.
Here is the trailer for “Pokémon The Movie: Secrets of the Jungle”. In Japan it is known as “Pocket Monsters the Movie: Koko”
Tetsuo Yajima said when Ash and Pikachu run into Koko and Zarude, through their actions and relationship, Ash will be reminded of his own father. Yajima also said there is a line in the movie where ash says “reminds me of times with my dad”. Yajima also said in the interview that he decided to mention Ash’s dad because being a father himself influenced him greatly.
I am hoping we get what Ash’s dad will look like in flashbacks. If they just stick to Ash talking about his dad I will be good with that too. I would be better if they show his dad since we have NEVER seen him, but I will still enjoy the movie.
Release date: It is already out in Japan, but it is scheduled to come to the states sometime this year
Here is the interview with director Tetsuo Yajima. This can be found on Oricon News website. (I had Google translate the interview)
■ “What is a true parent and child?” The aim of expressing the question of “definition of parent and child” with Pokémon-The
theme of this movie is “What is a real parent and child? What is raising ??”. It’s a story of strange parents and children of Pokémon and human beings, but what is the reason for focusing on “parent-child love” by stepping from the “family love” that I had drawn in movies in the past?
[Director Yajima] I now have a 5-year-old son and a 2-year-old daughter. Due to the influence of the two, my outlook on life changed, and the theme of the story was changed to “parent and child.” I thought it would be better if the messages received from children could be expressed by the relationship between humans and Pokemon, rather than the messages I wanted to convey to them. In the movie, I convey what I felt from the perspective of Zard.
I’ve always wanted to make anime works, so my personal idea is that I don’t want to die and I want to live forever (laughs). Until now, there has been something like an obsession with “living” because once you die you can’t make it. One day, when I saw my son sleeping next to me, I thought that if I had a distress with this child on an uninhabited island, I would “take my life to protect it” and “it is more important than my own life.” .. I think it’s natural for parents, but at that time I felt, “Oh? I’m not obsessed with living.” Only when I became obsessed with “life” did I feel that my life was gone. It was a moment when my life changed drastically due to the influence of my two children, thinking, “I have to be myself for the life of this child.”
In the movie, the figure of Zarud who decided to grow Coco against the law of the forest is depicted, but the “rule” that Zarud had cherished until now was cherished for me “to life”. Zarud, who is “obsessed” and changes his mind when he meets Coco, is myself who changed his mind when he met children. I think it takes courage to change the rules and thoughts that I have cherished until now, but I felt strange and interesting that it happened naturally without worrying about it.
――In drawing parent-child love, I was wondering why you had a different parent-child relationship of different races called “Pokemon and people”.
[Director Yajima] First of all, I noticed that each person has a different definition of parent and child, and it was very difficult to draw a story of parent and child. Everyone’s family environment is different, and I think there is a complicated parent-child relationship, but it was a problem as a creator to come up with the definition of “ordinary family”. However, I thought that the “core” part that would always exist in a different home environment would not come from its roots. Even if there is no blood connection between the parent and child, if there is a core “unwavering bond”, it may be a parent and child. At that time, I thought that it would be meaningful to draw the parent-child relationship of “humans and Pokemon”, which has no blood connection and has a different appearance. So far, “Pokemon” works have drawn a world where humans and Pokemon coexist, but I think that it is a work that has taken a step forward in that relationship.
Everyone has a different home environment, so I think everyone has once experienced that “○○ -chan’s house bought this toy, but we didn’t.” At that time, I think some people may have felt that “I’m not cherished. I’m not a real child”, but I myself had such an experience and said “I’m leaving home!” I’m crouching in the corner (laughs). Having such experience, I felt that it was not uncommon for people to question the parent-child relationship.
■ Satoshi’s “activity” is the origin of his father, a boy who is only 10 years old …
――In the story, it is impressive that Coco is worried about her existence and parent-child relationship, asking “Are you a Pokemon or a human being?” For the first time, Satoshi, the main character, talks about the influence and memories of his father. My mother has appeared in TV anime and movies so far, but I was most surprised as a fan to touch her father at this time. [Director Yajima] The movie tells the story of Zard after raising a baby Coco for 10 years. In the jungle where I live, I met Satoshi and Pikachu, and I didn’t doubt that I was a Pokemon. Little by little, questions began to grow in my heart, and I was asked, “Dad, am I a human?” A figure worried about the parent-child relationship is drawn.
Among them, Satoshi mentions his father for the first time in the “Pokemon” series, saying, “When I saw Coco, I remembered my dad.” However, Coco’s troubled parent-child relationship with her father, Zarud. When I saw him, I thought it was unnatural for Satoshi not to talk about his father. Satoshi has never touched on his father until now, but there is a reason to touch on this “parent-child story”, so what does Satoshi think about his father when he sees his father, Zarud, and his son, Coco? It was necessary to have been there. As can be said here, there must be a reason for your existence and action because you have parents who raised you. Also, Satoshi is a boy who can make friends with the same eyes to everyone without looking down, so by talking about his father instead of his mother, he snuggled up to his friend Coco.
As you all know, Satoshi is an energetic boy with positive thinking who never gives up. If the appearance of Satoshi and the origin of his actions are from his father, I think he is convinced of the reason for his actions, and I think that he is in line with this theme, “The Story of Parents and Children.” Satoshi aims to become a Pokemon Master, but I feel that the existence of a family should be the driving force behind his activities. That’s because Satoshi is still a 10-year-old boy who needs parent-child love. By talking about your memories with your father for the first time this time, you can see that Satoshi’s personality and behavior originated from his father.
――I think it’s a work that asks the people who watch the movie about the ambiguous way of “parent and child”, such as Coco who is worried about the bond between parent and child, and Satoshi whose father’s words are at the core of his actions.
[Director Yajima] This time Satoshi is acting from a perspective close to us and the audience as a third party who sees the relationship between Zarud and Coco. So, at first, I made it a little fight with my mother, and at the end, I called my mother myself saying “I want to talk …”, showing one side of “Amaenbo”. I hope people who watch this movie will think that the “parent-child” relationship that is commonplace is actually a special existence and irreplaceable.
Also, I think that there are many adult fans in the movie theater who can come to see it alone, not just parents and children. This year, it may be difficult to return home due to the corona sickness, so I would like you to call like Satoshi and talk about “parents and children” in various ways even if you are away. I’m 35 years old, but at this age it’s embarrassing to express my gratitude to my parents, and I often can’t (laughs).
I don’t think parents and children have anything to do with the roots, appearance, or shape of blood connections. I have talked to my wife, but even if my son is mistaken at the hospital, I will continue to love my child for the rest of my life. In that story, “Then, what is the parent-child relationship in the first place?” If it’s not a form, it’s something that’s difficult to put into words, and I hope you’ll share that “something” in this movie. I would be most happy as a creator if you could think about the depth of the words “parent and child” and hold hands after watching the movie. It became a movie that I could convey because it is a Pokemon with different people and races.
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