I dropped off the Pokemon anime after the Johto League and the Mewtwo TV special – It just stopped being as interesting and the story wasn’t really advancing in any meaningful way. It would be several years later I would find out why it stopped holding my attention: The man behind the very first few seasons and three movies basically quit. That might be the nostalgia talking, but I thought Takeshi Shudo brought a certain level of maturity to the series with important themes and messages that could resonate with children and adults alike and helped make my own childhood amazing. I still like to go back to those first ten minutes of the original Mewtwo film now and then for how beautifully done it was, and the third Pokemon film, while far from being among my favorite anime films, would still get a silver medal from me.
It’s a shame he got screwed over by corporate politics (as with what often happens with ambitious writers) and his sudden death nearly ten years ago was tragic.
If you’ve never heard him before and want to know his contributions to this franchise, the below videos give an excellent summary: