Pacifidlog Jam, Eric Stuart Giving Up

A very Pokemon animé-ey update! Tomorrow we will have more POP scans up. I have them right now, but I want to focus on the animé today.

Eric Stuart has Given Up – Confirmation of Change – Incase you still thought I was lying about what I posted about PUSA taking over the dub, here is your final proof. Eric Stuart, voice of Brock and James, has basically confirmed that he will not be dubbing under PUSA and that the change is for sure.

I want to thank the fans for all of the support. You have really made me feel the work I have done has actually meant something. I have enjoyed making the voices for Brock, James (even Butch!) come to life. It has been a fun ride.

I do want to clarify a few things based on what I have read around the internet. It’s amazing what power some of you think we voice actors have. Yes I have directed a bunch of cartoons but I have no say to what the content is. We do adaptations. All the director does is try to piece together individual performances and match lip flap. What changes in the story is due to a lot of different factors including the broadcast standards of America compared to Japan.

Next I would like to address my personal situation. I love doing these voices. I feel very attached to the characters I have helped to create. As for the financial gain, yes it’s a job, but if you only knew the small part of the pie we voice actors get for dubbing you wouldn’t be so quick to judge. When I said PUSA is driven by greed they think they can do it all without the original voice actors and 4kids. We didn’t want more money they wanted to spend less overall and that cut into the talent budget. It’s much more complicated. And yes, PUSA is being greedy. They will learn though, trust me, just try to tune in to Pokemon next season. You may have a hard time finding it on any network.

Lastly, for those of you who over the last 10 years have corresponded with me you know where I stand with the fans. For those of you who want to speculate on what my motivations are, so be it, you don’t know me or don’t care to find out the truth behind my rant. I am less angry than I am disappointed. It would have been nice to have had a chance to finish the Pokemon legacy. Now it ends on a sour note.

All I ask is one thing: When you watch the original cast episodes remember that those actors worked hard and loved ‘being’ the characters you grew to know so well. It was much more than a job to all of us.

Thanks,

Eric.

You may want to disregard the parts where he says PUSA is being greedy. I would like to remind the fandom that the reason why this change is happening is because 4Kids was the one being greedy by asking for more and more money from PUSA. He works for 4Kids not just as a voice actor, but as an actual employee, so one would be able to understand why he would want to go down bashing PUSA (he wants to get the last word in). Not very good sportsmanship on his part. Anyways, we all appreciate the hard work you have done on James and Brock, Eric, and you will be missed (this is not sarcasm). Too bad it had to end on such a sour note (this entire situation reminds me so much of the end of WOTC that it’s not even funny). All of the original voice actors will be missed, and we will remember you as the people who made the characters as what they are today.

Now that there is undeniable proof that this is the end of 4Kids and its VAs (well, most of them *coughcoughbigforeshadowingcoughgagcough*), we need to stop sending out PUSA letters, and just wait for “The Mastermind of Mirage Pokemon” to air. Even if this does turn out to be not such a great thing, NOTHING can be worst than a dub under 4Kids. PUSA actually consists of the people who work with Pokemon in America – they will know their Pokemon knowledge! They won’t be a third party company like 4Kids who thinks Arbok evolves into Seviper or that Brock is from “Flint City.” This will be a good thing for the Pokemon anime, and hopefully “The Mastermind of Mirage Pokemon” will show fans that PUSA will do a good job on the dub in general.