This summer, like every summer, a new Pokémon movie is hitting theaters. This man-dressed as a woman — famed actor, author and singer Akihiro Miwa — is voicing Alpha Pokémon, Arceus.
Dubbed Pocket Monsters Diamond & Pearl the Movie: Arceus: To the Conquering of Space-Time (say that twice fast!), the movie is the third entry in the Diamond & Pearl trilogy.
At a recent press event, the 74-year-old Miwa joked, "I am the reincarnation of Pikachu. That's why my hair is yellow, you see." (This of course would mean that Pikachu is DEAD.) Talent and nerd hero Shoko Nakagawa will also be lending her voice to the movie as Notched-ear Pichu.
This is hardly the first voice acting role for Miwa, previously doing voice work for Princess Mononoke and Howl's Moving Castle. Miwa is a show business mainstay, first making a splash as a singer in the 1950s and later appearing in the terrific 1968 crime film Black Lizard, which was directed by Kinji Fukasaku (Battle Royale).
Arceus: To the Conquering of Space-Time opens in Japanese theaters this July.
Shoko Nakagawa and Ryuji Akiyama animated at voice recording for Pokemon movie [Japan Today] [Pic]