Pokémon Inc. announced today that actor Riko Fukumoto will voice the protagonist, Hana, in the upcoming Pokémon Day 2025 memorial anime episode, Kairyu to Yubinya-san (“Dragonite and the Postman”). The memorial anime was first announced on February 5.Fukumoto won the grand prize at the 8th “Toho Cinderella” audition held in 2016 and began her performing career the following year. She starred in the live-action film adaptation of Io Sakisaka’s romance shojo manga Love Me, Love Me Not in 2020. Fukumoto also voiced Towa, a guest character in the 2022 anime feature film That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime the Movie: Scarlet Bond.
When asked how she felt when she was cast as Hana, Fukumoto replied, “I felt like, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me!’ I was very happy. I used to watch the Pokémon anime when I was little, and I also played the video games, so I am very happy to be involved in such a special work as the protagonist.””What excited me when I read the script was seeing the scenes of Pokémon working in the post office, each with their own unique characteristics. I enjoyed watching the scenes of the Pokémon that could be encountered in each of the regions,” and she added, “It is an exciting story to watch, and you will be encouraged by Hana’s struggle and pursuit of her dreams, and even if you have never seen Pokémon before, you will definitely enjoy this work. Please watch it!”
The original Pokémon Red and Green video games released in Japan on February 27, 1996. To express gratitude to all those who support Pokémon, February 27 was certified by the Japan Anniversary Association as “Pokémon Day” in 2020.As a memorial episode to celebrate the anniversary day this year, Kairyu to Yubinya-san will stream on the Pokémon franchise’s official YouTube channel on February 27. CoMix Wave Films, best known for producing Makoto Shinkai’s Your Name., Weathering With You and Suzume, is producing the animation. Taku Kimura (DEAD DEAD DEMONS DEDEDEDE DESTRUCTION) is in charge of direction and storyboards and Tasuku Watanabe serves as art director, while Kentaro Nana provides the script, Evan Call (Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End) provides the music and Maho Aoki (Astro Note) adapts Asuka Dokai’s character designs for animation.The story of Kamiryu to Yubinya-san follows Hana, a young girl who admires a Dragonite postman. One day, she is given a letter without an addressee and sets out to find the sender with her partner Pokémon, Fuecoco. Upon finding that the sender is a young boy named Rio, she learns that he wrote the letter for his father’s birthday, since he’s currently away in the Kanto region for work. Problem is, it’s already his father’s birthday…
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Source: Pokémon Inc. press release©2025 Pokémon. ©1995-2025 Nintendo/Creatures Inc. /GAME FREAK inc.
