in the second season of pokemon, an unusual decision jeopardized not only the future of the anime, but also the new dynamics of the main characters. At a certain point in the series, the producers discarded the continuity of Brock and replaced him with Tracey, leaving aside one of the most charismatic and beloved names in the public.
Why were Ash Ketchum’s friends switched?
In an interview with PokeBeach, former animation director Masamitsu Hidaka commented on the choice. According to him, the change in the anime’s main staff was determined after a certain fear of racist representations by the international public.
Even before distributing the episodes to the west, the anime’s creators chose to create Tracey with more familiar traits, so to speak, for new viewers. With that, Hidaka ended Brock’s journey with a short, blunt arc.
To refresh your memory, the moment occurred during the adventure in the Orange Islands, when the owner of Onyx found Professor Ivy and, in love, chose to leave the team to live with his beloved. Moments later, when they visited Professor Carvalho’s laboratory, Tracey was introduced as a new “companion” and was at the side of the protagonists throughout the cycle.
(Source: Pokemon / Reproduction)source: pokemon
It is worth remembering that the motivation behind the producers to change, for the first time, the main party members of pokemon, was not the first occurrence. Prior to that, they decided to revamp Jynx’s look to avoid features deemed as racist stereotypes by Americans.
In Brock’s case, after the animators realized that the character was still beloved by fans, he returned to the series in the Gold and Silver arc in Johto.
At the time, what did you think of this confusing change? Leave your opinion in the comments!
