Former anime writer hospitalized: Takeshi Shudō to have surgery

[Kero]

...I know this is a tad off-topic, but does anyone find it creepy that we've had the deaths of Satoshi Kon, and now Takeshi Shudou within a month?

They do say death does come in threes....although I'd hate to be a jinx in a thread like this.

I feel a bit bad for never really following the anime now...I'll hopefully remember to leave a candle before bed tonight for Shudō.

 

[JbstormburstADV]

Requiescat in pace Takeshi Shudō. May Arceus, Ho-oh, and Lugia bless thee, and may your legacy stand forevermore. You will surely be missed as a great.

 

[Dogasu]

The anime really needs to dedicate the next Rocket episode to him. Hopefully Pokemon Smash at least airs an old episode in his honor.

A little note at the end of the episode however, they might do a quick "In memory of" probably BW010, possibly.

As nice as that would be, I've never seen a Japanese show dedicate an episode to a staff member who's passed away. I mean, can you think of any Japanese cartoon that's had a "Dedicated to so-and-so 19xx - 20xx" message shown at the end of the episode? I can't.

I don't think that's something they really do in Japan.

 

[FuzWuz]

Man. He was one of the biggest reasons Pokémon was so popular back then. After he left after Johto, the anime has gotten considerably worse for the majority of the people.

Well, he's the reason why I still play the games. He got me hooked onto the franchise.

The anime would have been in a much better place had he had stayed. And Pokémon in general. He wanted the show to be for everyone, not just for kids. There's a reason why it was OK back then for Spearow to be injured after being hit by a rock thrown by Ash. Now it's probably too "violent".

Thanks, Takeshi Shudō, for changing MILLIONS of people's lives.

 

[immewnity]

I feel so bad that we're making it off like we knew him, not necessarily personally, but think about it: we've never seen a photograph.

 

[Cybersai]

Man. He was one of the biggest reasons Pokémon was so popular back then. After he left after Johto, the anime has gotten considerably worse for the majority of the people.

Takeshi Shudo majorly stepped down in early Johto, even though he still wrote some random Johto eps episodes. In fact the original loss of quality from Kanto/Orange into Johto is because he was no longer majorly involved. He deeply cared for the characters he created, especially Team Rocket.

Most Pokemon fans feel the quality of the anime has gotten considerably better since the end of Johto, mostly thanks to Tomioka.

In fact if Takeshi Shudo was in charge of Johto, it probably wouldn't have turned into the filler shitfest it was. Johto probably would have been more like Kanto, I'm assuming.

 

[Umeko]

I feel so bad that we're making it off like we knew him, not necessarily personally, but think about it: we've never seen a photograph.

So? A lot a Japanese writers, I've found, tend to avoid the camera as much as possible. I've seen magazine interviews of manga authors which were accompanied by photographs - with the writers in question blacked out, or conspicuously just out of view.

Doesn't mean we haven't been touched by their work, that we feel a major sort of connection with them (albeit a one-sided one). We've seen his episodes. Some of us have probably read his blogs. I know that I, at least, have read the novels he wrote. We all have some sort of connection, so that feeling of loss is real.

 

[Somari]

this is sad to see one of the possible creators of Dawn/Hikari has passed away

I doubt he had anything to do with her. He was an anime director.

 

[TTEchidna]

I doubt he had anything to do with her. He was an anime director.

And he wasn't involved anywhere near the DP series - if anything, he was the one who created Misty and Brock, and most importantly Ash, and made them the characters they were.

 

[bluesun]

This hasn't been a good week for those behind Pokémon... on the AG side, apparently the Japanese voice actor for the Frontier Brain Spenser, Nachi Nogawa, died on the 30th too.

 

[Cybersai]

And he wasn't involved anywhere near the DP series - if anything, he was the one who created Misty and Brock, and most importantly Ash, and made them the characters they were.

More importantly, Takeshi Shudo made the decision to get rid of Misty from the series. No wonder why she was neglected so much in the Johto saga.

 

[TTEchidna]

But the question remains, was that decision made before or after Johto had gone on a while? Remember, it went on for three years - Shudo last wrote an episode half a year before Johto was over.

As a writer, you do tend to get tired of your own characters sometimes. And while it's basically mandated that Ash is never leaving, Brock already had left for about thirty episodes (leaving an entirely new character to write for, Tracey), so the one who would have to go next would be Misty. Especially since Togepi trapped her on the sidelines, much like Brock's lack of an active goal trapped him there during AG and most especially DP, and eventually resulted in him leaving the series.

 

[Cybersai]

But the question remains, was that decision made before or after Johto had gone on a while? Remember, it went on for three years - Shudo last wrote an episode half a year before Johto was over.

Considering the first AG poster was leaked about 6 months before Johto ended in Japan, I'm sure the decision was made mid-Johto.

By that time it became obvious Misty's role on the series was over, and the writers knew the R/S games had these new Contest things they wanted to promote, hence the decision to revamp the cast.

From the way Takeshi Shudo talked about Misty on his blog, he said she was clearly only there as a token female character and the only reason shipping was involved is so she had some extra purpose on the show.

I wonder if Misty's departure was always intended to be permanent though. Early AG still kept her alive through the hoso's, but I guess once May's Contests really started to kick off in popularity, it convinced the writers Misty was no longer needed.

 

[Somari]

if anything, he was the one who created Misty and Brock

You mean he created their anime personalities and designs.

 

[Pride]

Poor Shudo, I hope that he may rest in peace. A good person like him deserves rest.

R.I.P Takeshi Shudo :bawl: