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| Welcome to Dogasu's Backpack, a fansite for the Japanese franchise Pocket Monsters! For 25 years this website has been your guide for the Japanese version of Pokémon and contains content you can't find anywhere else. Stuff like detailed comparisons between the Japanese version and the English version of the animated series, interview translations, information on Japan-only manga, a lyrics database, a home video guide, and much more! So whether you're a seasoned veteran or a newbie just getting into Pocket Monsters this site has something for every fan to enjoy. | ||
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The Memorial Book of Orange Islands
September 23rd, 2025
Dogasu @ 23:33 JST -- I was working on another site update recently when I realized that I never really made a page dedicated to The Memorial Book of Orange Islands, the absolutely fantastic guide book I've been referencing off and on the past five years or so. I've translated bits and pieces and posted them to the site before, sure, but I never actually created a page for the book itself. And so today I'm fixing that!
The new page I have for the book has the usual section-by-section breakdown as well as links to all the material I've already translated, all in once place. As a recap, that includes:
- Making of Pokémon: Short comments from each of the screenwriters about the episodes they wrote. The page has been cleaned up and the translations tweaked a bit.
- Special Interview with Chouji Yoshikawa: An interview with the associate producer of the Pocket Monsters (1997) animated series.
- What it Takes to Make the Pokémon Cartoon: A five-page comic that shows how cel-to-film animation was created in the late 1990s. The scanslation's been cleaned up and a few typesetting corrections have been made.
Manga Guide: Pocket Monsters Special & Let's Protect Nature! Pokémon Ranger
September 6th, 2025
Dogasu @ 23:56 JST -- A new Pocket Monsters Special chapter came out yesterday so that means it's time for the first Manga Guide update of the month.
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Pocket Monsters Special Scarlet & Violet Chapter 24: In this month's chapter, Violet and Peper face off against not one, but two Paradox Pokémon! Can they use their teamwork to overcome their powerful foes? Meanwhile, Scarlet concocts a plan to get back into the academy...
Let's Protect Nature! Pokémon Ranger: It has come to my attention that Hidenori Kusaka and Satoshi Yamamoto, the duo behind Pocket Monsters Special, have also just released a new 16-page one-shot called Let's Protect Nature! Pokémon Ranger. There isn't much about this promotional manga online so information is pretty scarce, but I did try to gather what little there is out there so there's at least some record of this manga having existed. I've been scouring various auction sites to see if anyone is putting these up for sale -- they're currently only available in a select few places in Japan -- but so far no luck. I'll keep trying, though, and will update the page if I ever get my hands on a copy.
September's going to continue being another big month for the Manga Guide -- we've got new issues of both CoroCoro Ichiban! and Pokémon Fan coming out in a few weeks -- so there's no shortage of Pokémon related comics to cover in the near future!
Episode Comparison: "The Underground Round-Up"
August 31st, 2025
Dogasu @ 11:00 JST -- The next Episode Comparison's here! Let's take a look at the episode "The Underground Round-Up" to see just how different 4Kids' version is from the Japanese original.
This episode features a ton of text edits (more than any other of the season so far!), as well as the usual collection of baffling rewrites and story changes, so there's definitely a lot to talk about here! This is also a somewhat momentous Episode Comparison for the site because "The Underground Round-Up" happens to be the last episode to take place in the actual Orange Islands itself! We'll be in Kanto again starting from the episode I'll be writing about next month, and then Johto in the ones later on, making this the last time I'll be comparing an episode set in this filler region. It's a bit bittersweet, actually!
Takaya Hashi, 1952 - 2025
August 29th, 2025
Dogasu @ 22:19 JST -- Earlier today it was announced that voice actor Takaya Hashi (土師孝也), most well known to Pocket Monsters fans as the voice of Takeshi's father Munoh, has passed away. He was 72 years old.
Apte Pro, the voice acting agency for which Mr. Hashi served as the President and CEO, broke the news:
| Our company's President and CEO, Mr. Takaya Kato (aka Takaya Hashi) passed away suddenly at the age of 72 on the morning of August 27th, 2025 due to a myocardial infarction. |
In Pocket Monsters, Mr. Hashi played Takeshi's father Munoh, from his very first appearance in Pocket Monsters (1997) all the way up to his most recent appearance at the end of Pocket Monsters Diamond & Pearl.
Mr. Hashi is a veteran voice actor who has also voiced Toki in Fist of the North Star, Jubei Mitsuyoshi Yagyu in Yaiba (1993), John Bacchus in Future Diary, Shido Yurizaki in Dimension W, Mordin Orjes Gyunei in Dances with the Dragons, Venturi Leroy in Space Battleship Tiramisu, Vearn in Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai (2020), Slava Korovin in Irina: The Vampire Cosmonaut, Phoenix in The Family Circumstances of the Irregular Witch, and many, many more.
Condolences to Mr. Hashi's family and friends. May he rest in peace.
Weekly Shonen Jump x Pokémon
August 22nd, 2025
Dogasu @ 09:58 JST -- At the end of July it was announced that Weekly Shonen Jump, the world famous manga anthology magazine, would be having a special collaboration with Pokémon. And while this isn't really Pokémon manga, per se, it does kind of fall into the realm of "original Pokémon artwork done by manga artists," and so today I've updated the Manga Guide with a break down of the Weekly Shonen Jump x Pokémon Collaboration.
There are a total of 20 pieces of original artwork created for this celebration and so I go through each piece, one by one, and do my best to provide you with everything you need to enjoy them. Who are the artists? What are these manga series about? Who are the human characters featured? Why were they paired up with this particular Pokémon? etc. I haven't seen anyone break down each piece of art in as much detail as I go into here (either in Japanese or English) and so I hope this is a resource you'll all find useful.
Tomo Sakurai, 1971 - 2025
August 16th, 2025
Dogasu @ 23:19 JST -- Earlier today it was announced that voice actor Tomo Sakurai (櫻井 智), most well known to Pocket Monsters fans as the voice of Shirona, the Champion of the Sinnoh Region, has passed away. She was 53 years old.
The actor's official X (Twitter) page posted the news:
| Notice of Tomo Sakurai Passing Ms. Tomo Sakurai has been getting treatment for multi-organ cancer for a long time, but her symptoms suddenly got worse and so on August 4th she was admitted to the hospital. Unfortunately her symptoms did not improve, and we regret to inform you that on August 13th she passed away. We would like to sincerely thank everyone for all their messages of support and sympathy received throughout her lifetime. Tomo Sakurai had always worked with the goal of making a complete recovery from this disease and had always approached her treatment with optimism, and so we are both deeply frustrated and incredibly heartbroken by this outcome. We would like to thank everyone for all their support during this time. A funeral service will be held exclusively for her close friends and family, and so we ask to please refrain from making any inquiries about the arrangements or requests for interviews at this time. We are considering possibly holding a farewell party with fans at a later date, though nothing's been confirmed yet. Tomo Sakurai Agency, Feathered Co., Ltd. |
While most well known for playing Shirona, Ms. Sakurai also provided the voices of Yoshino, Koharu's mother, from Pocket Monsters (2019). She also provided the voice of a minor character Kimi from the Pocket Monsters Advanced Generation episode 151 "The Day Care Worker and the Pokémon's Egg!"
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| Shirona in one of her final appearances in Pocket Monsters (2019) |
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| Yoshino, Koharu's mother, in Pocket Monsters (2019) |
Fellow Pocket Monsters voice actors shared their condolences on social media.
Voice actor Rica Matsumoto (Satoshi):
| 智ちゃんが音響監督に沢山だめ出しされて、シ ロナさんの役で悩んでいた時、 「大丈夫、ちゃんとシロナになってるし、どう転んでも智ちゃんしかやれない役なんだから、これが私！ってけつまくって堂々やっちゃえ」と背中おしたつもり で言ったのが 最後になってしまった。 また会えると信じていたのに… | One time Tomo-chan kept getting asked to do a bunch of retakes by the sound director, and she started worrying if she could still had it in her to do Shirona-san. And so I said to her "Don't worry, you'll become Shirona you know you can be, and no matter how many times you fall remember that this is a role only you can play, Tomo-chan. So get in there, tell the world 'This is me!,' and show them what you've got!" And...that was the last time I saw her. I really did believe we'd meet each other again... |
Voice actor Mayumi Iizuka (Kasumi):
| 櫻井智さん。 声優としてお仕事させていただいて 間もない頃、 ご一緒させていただいた時の 煌びやかな立ち振る舞いや存在感。 いつも背中を見て憧れの存在でした。 久しぶりにスタジオでお逢いした時も 優しい笑顔をありがとうございます。 またご一緒したかったです。 ご冥福をお祈りいたします。 | Ms. Tomo Sakurai It was shortly after I had become a voice actor that I got to experience your dazzling demeanor and presence. You were someone I always looked up to. Thank you for your kind style that time we met in the studio again after a long while. I wish we could have worked together again. May you rest in peace. |
Voice actor Mika Kanai, who'se voiced various Pokémon over the years:
| 智、長いお付き合いでしたね。 中学生の時に出会い、いろいろな話しをしたね。 近々美顔器あげる約束してたのに渡せずだったね。 可愛くて頑張り屋さんだった智。 また会える日まで、ご冥福をお祈りします。 #櫻井智 | Tomo, you and I have known each other a long time. We met when we were in middle school and have talked about all sorts of things over all these years. Guess I won't be able to give you that facial therapy machine I promised you after all, huh? Oh, my cute, hard-working Tomo. Until we meet again, rest in peace. #TomoSakurai |
Outside Pocket Monsters, Ms. Sakurai played Mylene Flare Jenius in Macross 7, Meimi Haneoka in Saint Tail, and Licca-chan in Super Doll Licca-chan, among many others.
Condolences to Ms. Sakurai's family and friends. May she rest in peace.
Manga Guide: Pocket Monsters Special, Pokémon 4-Koma Daihyakka
August 15th, 2025
Dogasu @ 11:18 JST -- I've fallen a bit behind on posting summaries to the Manga Guide of the newest chapters -- a week long business trip will do that to ya -- and so today I'm playing catch up.
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Pocket Monsters Special, aka "Pokémon Adventures" in the West. In this month's chapter Scarlet warps up her match with the Team Tsih base leader while Violet and Peper look for the next Gym Leader.
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Pokémon 4-Koma Daihyakka, that other collection of four panel gag comics that runs in the magazine Pokémon Fan. In this newest collection the Pokémon enjoy a day at the beach.
There are two other comic series running in Pokémon Fan but I'm not really covering them at the moment.
The first one is Pokémon Chou Dajare Club (ポケモン超だじゃれクラブ), or "The Pokémon Super Pun Club," by TAK.BR / Santa Harukaze (TAK.BR/春風邪三太). It's yet another four-panel comic strip series, only this time its punchlines are all centered around untranslatable Japanese puns that make coverage of the series take way, way more time and effort than it's probably worth.
The other series is Pokémon Quiz Puzzle Land Pikachu no Takara Sagashi (ポケモンクイズパズルランド ピカチュウの宝さがし), or "Pokémon Quiz Puzzle Land: Pikachu's Treasure Hunt," with the comic portion being done by Kemon Kawamoto (河本けもん) and the puzzles by Hiroshi Takase (嵩瀬 ひろし). In the current iteration of this series, Pikachu and the Paldea starters help whatever Pokémon needs help that issue, with the twist being that every page has a quiz or puzzle that readers are invited to solve. So the comic will be something like "Let's try looking under this rock...oh look! A Pokémon themed word search!" And then half that page will taken up by a word search, or a maze, or a rebus, etc. And this repeats over and over for like nine pages. Covering a series like this would require me to translate and/or post all the puzzles, something that, again, takes more time and effort than it's probably worth.
The next issue of Pokémon Fan (and therefore, the next chapter of Pokémon 4-Koma Daihyakka) is scheduled to come out September 30th, 2025.
Episode Comparison: "Viva Las Lapras"
July 31st, 2025
Dogasu @ 22:47 JST -- Can you believe I only have four episodes of the Orange Islands left to do Episode Comparisons for before I'm completely done with the region? I can't either, but part of that is because after today's new comparison, "Viva Las Lapras," that number is now down to only three!
The new comparison covers the usual: bizarre rewrites, strange voice acting performances, overly cautious sound effect changes, poor music choices, unnecessary paint edits, and more! The episode itself is not all that great but I think the comparison is pretty good, if I do say so myself, so hopefully you'll enjoy!
Manga Guide: CoroCoro Ichiban! September/October 2025 Issue
July 26th, 2025
Dogasu @ 9:33 JST -- The newest issue of CoroCoro Ichiban! went on sale last week and so I've made the usual round of updates to the Manga Guide.
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Pokémon Card Game Yarouze~!, the "Pokémon tries its hand at a Yu-Gi-Oh! type manga" series. In this month's chapter Retto and Letto play a match using the new "Black Bolt" and "White Flare" expansion packs. Will Retto be able to defeat Letto's Burungel ex and its "Oceanic Curse" Ability?
Pokémon Frienda Oshiete! Friender-Man, the comic based on the current Pokémon arcade game Pokémon Frienda. In this month's chapter Renda learns about the newest update to the arcade game, "Best Tag Version 1," and all the new features that come with it.
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Pokémon 4-Koma Gakuen, the series of Pokémon related comic strips that runs in CoroCoro Ichiban! In this month's collection the Pokémon host an event where they try to scare each other.
The next issue of CoroCoro Ichiban! (the November/December 2025 Issue) isn't scheduled to come out until September 20th, and so it does seem that the magazine has (quietly) shifted from being a monthly publication to one that only comes out once every two months. As of this writing there still isn't any sort of official word from the magazine itself regarding this change, but if things continue the way they are it will effectively cut the amount of Pokémon manga we get each year down to half. You may remember that Pocket Monsters Special left the magazine earlier this year to become a web exclusive, and a part of me wonders if that move was made with the knowledge that the magazine was no longer going to be monthly...?
Manga Guide: Pocket Monsters Special Scarlet & Violet Chapter 22
July 13th, 2025
Dogasu @ 23:37 JST -- This month's chapter of the long-running Pocket Monsters Special comic came out last week and so I've added the usual chapter summary to its respective page in the Manga Guide.
This month the fighting within the Star-Dan continues as Nelke learns just how much division there is within the group. Meanwhile, Scarlet succumbs to Shuumei's ninjutsu and is unable to battle the way she wants! Will she figure out a way to defeat the Team Tsih leader?
I've also added translations of the behind-the-scenes information provided by artist Satoshi Yamamoto's X (Twitter) page so check that out as well!
Manga Guide: Den-Geki! Pikachu Chapter 16
July 3rd, 2025
Dogasu @ 10:56 JST -- Last month I did a deep dive on Chapter 17 of the Den-Geki! Pikachu manga, "Winners Cup." I had wanted to do the same for Chapter 18 this month but I don't have everything I need to get that done (I'm missing CoroCoro Special issue that features this chapter) and so instead I've decided to focus on a chapter I actually do have everything for, Chapter 16! So today I'll be going back one chapter to Chapter 16 "Yuzu Gym."
Like last time, there's the usual chapter summary, a translated author comment, a list of all the release dates of both this manga chapter and the TV episode on which it was based, a comparison between the TV version and the manga adaptation, a comparison between the magazine version and the graphic novel collection, and a comparison between the Japanese version and the English version!
Manga Guide: Kousaku Anakubuo's Pocket Monsters goes on hiatus
June 29th, 2025
Dogasu @ 16:57 JST -- The newest chapter of Kousaku Anakubo's Pocket Monsters, the longest running Pokémon comic in existence, was supposed to be posted today, June 29th. However an announcement that the series is going on hiatus was posted instead.
In the image posted on the CoroCoro website, Pippi can be seen bowing to the readers and saying "We're sorry! Due to personal reasons with the author, this comic will go on hiatus for a short while. Please wait a bit for the series to return."
A more detailed reason for the unexpected delay, the second in six months, has not been provided. The website that hosts new chapters of this series, Weekly CoroCoro Comics, has the next chapter listed as coming out "TBD" (未定) so there's really no way of knowing how long this hiatus will last.
Episode Comparison "Beauty and the Beach"
June 24th, 2025
Dogasu @ 23:58 JST -- Today marks the 25th anniversary of Kids' WB! airing of the infamous Lost Episode "Beauty and the Beach" and so to commemorate this event I went and did a complete overhaul of its Episode Comparison!
I was actually surprised at how bad the older version of this was and so I'm happy to have this new and improved comparison up on the site. The revamped write-up has much better Japanese to English translations, much better quality images, a deep dive into when this episode was actually dubbed, quotes from Eric Stuart confirming why it was banned in the first place, and a whole more! A lot of people know this simply as "the episode where James had those inflatable breasts" but there's actually so, so much more to talk about and so I hope you enjoy!
Episode Comparison: "Enter the Dragonite"
June 19th, 2025
Dogasu @ 8:53 JST -- New month, new Episode Comparison! Today I've got the comparison for the second half of Ash's battle against Drake, "Enter the Dragonite."
This episode is a pretty great showcase of just how little 4Kids knows about the video games on which this TV series is based while also providing yet another example of the whole "the English dub pretty much exists in its own separate continuity" thing by making Drake a Champion...? Music shenanigans and weird cuts round out a real doozy of a comparison. Check it out!
Manga Guide: Den-Geki! Pikachu Chapter 17
June 14th, 2025
Dogasu @ 10:03 JST -- Last month I did an Episode Comparison for Pocket Monsters (1997) Episode 111 "The Winners Cup! A Six-on-Six Full Battle!!," and one of the things about the episode I didn't get a chance to mention is that it's actually one of the ones that got adapted in Toshihiro Ono's Den-Geki! Pikachu manga! So for today's update I've got a detailed breakdown of Den-Geki! Pikachu Chapter 17 "Winners Cup."
I've done for this chapter what I hope to eventually be able to do for every other chapter of this series. There's the usual chapter summary, sure, but I've also got a translated author comment, a list of all the release dates of both this manga chapter and the TV episode on which it was based, a comparison between the TV version and the manga adaptation, a comparison between the magazine version and the graphic novel collection, and a comparison between the Japanese version and the English version! It's honestly the most detailed breakdown of the chapter that exists on the Internet!
Manga Guide: Pocket Monsters Special June 2025 Chapter
June 11th, 2025
Dogasu @ 09:42 JST -- The latest chapter in the Scarlet & Violet arc of the long running manga series Pocket Monsters Special was just released late last week and so I've added a summary of it to the Manga Guide.
In this chapter, the Four Heavenly Kings of the Paldea Region discuss the recent attacks on academy students as well as the so-called "fake student" running around while, elsewhere, Scarlet faces off against the Star-Dan Team Tsih base leader Shuumei. I've also added translations of the behind-the-scenes information provided by artist Satoshi Yamamoto's X (Twitter) page so check that out as well!
Manga Guide: Kousaku Anakubo's Pocket Monsters May 2025 Chapter
June 1st, 2025
Dogasu @ 17:26 JST -- I keep forgetting to check the official CoroCoro website for updates and so I'm a few days late to this, but I've added a summary of the newest chapter of Kousaku Anakubo's Pocket Monsters to the Manga Guide.
This month's chapter has a gag that hinges on you completely ignoring basic continuity, but given how completely unserious this series is that shouldn't come as too much of a shock.
The next chapter is scheduled to come out June 29th.
Found an error or omission? Please help me keep this page current and error-free by e-mailing me with a description of the issue.
