Pokémon Is Getting A Live Action Drama Series

Pokemon live action drama

Pokémon has really been branching out with its media projects ever since Ash took the final steps of his journey earlier this year. Pokémon Horizons has been an absolute blast – though it really needs an official sub – and at least two short Pokémon animation projects have been announced, with one of those already started to air. What’s been lacking so far though is live-action Pokémon, and that’s about to change.

The Pokémon Company and TV Tokyo have announced a brand-new live action drama series about Pokémon, set to start airing in October. The new series will follow Madoka Akagi, a young woman just starting a new job in Tokyo when she receives a package from her mother with her old Game Boy and the copy of Pokémon Red she played as a child. She’ll reportedly rediscover her love for Pokémon, share it with her new coworkers, and dive into everything the series has to offer.

The series won’t include actual Pokémon, like the Detective Pikachu film, instead focusing on how Pokémon as a media franchise interacts with people in our own world. In that regard it’s not all that dissimilar to Pokémon: Path to the Peak, a recent animated series that focuses on a young girl getting into the Pokémon Trading Card Game after moving schools.

Madoka Akagi will be portrayed by Nanase Nishino, a popular actress, singer, model, and television host who used to be a member of idol girl group Nogizaka46 before leaving the group in 2018. She’s since appeared in a number of TV shows in Japan, and appeared in a host of films, including voice work One Piece Film: Gold. Nishino is reportedly a big fan of Pokémon, having played most of the games since she was a child.

No official English release for the series has been announced, and it’s entirely possible, if not likely, that the series won’t be officially available outside of Japan at all.