Ash's voice actress: Veronica Taylor vs Sarah Natochenny.

I know the nostalgia freaks are gonna bash me for this, but I actually liked Sarah Natochenny's Ash voice. Her accent made him sound mature (even if BW Ash was the most immature Ash since OS) and it really showed in DP and XY, where he was stepped up a lot as a character.

I personally don't like either of them. I started to watch Pokémon with Czech dub, who had real young boy to voice Ash. And he did very good job with him. Unfortunately, they stopped airing Pokémon here after season 4 and I had to switch to watch English dub and I was horrified about Veronica Taylor's portraying of Ash. Ash with her voice sounded like raspy girl and her acting wasn't that good either. This got even worse in Hoenn, where she also got the role of May (BTW the second worst cast decision 4Kids did in Pokémon, only surpassed by Eric Stuart's James) and she tried to differentiate them by voicing Ash to be older, but she failed and had Ash as even raspier girl now and May as squeaky version of Ash. None of this worked for me. Unfortunately, Sarah Natochenny took over the same voice, but added really bad (or more precisely, practically non-existing) acting until mid-Sinnoh saga, when she finally got a grasp of the role and now, actually, she is a little better than Veronica Taylor used to be, but not exactly where I want Ash to be. I may surprise many of you, but Kayzie Rogers in first Mastermind dub was my ideal voice for Ash. She was the only one from Ash's English VAs who did not sound like raspy girl and I am sure if she got chance to improve, she would be on par with both Rika Matsumoto and Czech Ash in OS, which neither Veronica nor Sarah are for me.

I only began to like Sarah late DP onward. Actually I was shocked she was doing Ash during BW and XY since she sounds so different. Funny thing is in one of the DP eps for a few seconds she sounds so much like Veronica it is weird :)

I'll take Rica Matsumoto any day.

Never mind. I saw the word dub. Therefore I shall refrain from further commenting.

I always thought Ash sounded cute with Veronica voicing him, it was one of his most endearing qualities IMO so I'm going to choose Veronica.

I prefer the first german and the first polish VA

I actually like Sarah's voicing of Ash more than Veronica's. After she settled down and got comfortable with voicing him, anyways. Veronica was a good VA for Ash, yeah, but I dunno I guess it's a lot like what Hikari said. Personally she's also better at bringing out certain emotions too iirc.

TL;DR, I like both, Sarah's better at battling (BW onwards). I don't know why people are STILL complaining about Sarah, it's time to just let it go.
SN: Why can't the internet be more like this thread? A reasonable discussion about the differences in VA's of an anime with no name-calling or anything immature.

To be perfectly honest, I like them both equally. Yes, Battle Frontier wasn't great but Best Wishes was when Sarah really got it (could've been during Sinnoh, but I haven't got that far yet). With her current Ash voice, I think Sarah is better in high-octane, fast-paced battles, case-in-point, the Kalos League Semis and Finals. My experience of the change was on Netflix, I'd finished the OS and about half of the Orange Islands and started watching Best Wishes, so to me, it was't as jarring as it could've been and I liked Sarah's Ash since I first heard the Best Wishes voice. And Sarah's been the voice longer than Veronica now, so if you (general sense) hate her so much, you have two options: 1. Stop watching. 2. Watch the subs

I think they're both great, and I don't know how people can still compare them, Sarah has been doing it for so long I've forgotten what Veronica sounds like. That being said, I do think that Sarah's version is slightly better, Ash just sounds a bit older which I like. However, who voiced Ash in season 9 when the 4kids team had to go and all that, it wasn't Sarah was it??? Whoever voiced season 8 or 9 (I cant remember) was horrible, it sounded like Ash had throat cancer. If that was actually Sarah, then she stepped up her game big time since her debut season because she's great now.

For me it's Veronica's. Her voice perfectly fit the character IMO. I didn't like how Ash's voice sounded in the first few episodes but after she changed the voice it was totally fitting. She had the emotion the voice needed and the sound of an enthusiastic youth who believes he can do anything. Sarah's Ash is fine and the more mature sound does work because Ash has matured, but even after I got more used to it the voice still sounded off. She doesn't convey the emotion Veronica did and there's times in the episodes I've watched that it sounds a little too husky. Veronica made the voice sound different depending on whether Ash was happy, sad, or angry moreso than Sarah. It sounds like she adjusted it to fit the new character design and personality in the two dub Sun and Moons, but I do think Veronica's version would be a better fit.

I've grown accustomed to Sarah Natochenny as Ash (considering she's been voicing him for 10+ years now), but there's a special place in my heart for Veronica Taylor's Ash. I was fortunate enough to meet Veronica last year and chat with her for a little bit, and hearing her speak to me using Ash's voice took me right back to my childhood, so she easily gets my vote, even if Sarah's done a great job in the past few years.

I was never a fan of Veronica if I'm honest. It was great for the period, though listening back it feels kinda cringe. Sarah i believe has done a great job, from Hoenn to XY, I can barely tell its the same person sometimes which proves to me she does a great job conveying the arcs.

Taylor all day every day.

I don't watch Pokemon very often anymore so I haven't grown accustomed to the voice change - I probably never will since I only catch an episode here or there after work once in a blue moon.

For me, Sarah just sounds wrong. I think she's voicing him well, but I think there is always that "this sounds off" feeling when you're used to one voice and then hear a different one.
In fact ALL the voices of the current Pokemon feel off for me hah :P

The only good VA is Rica Matsumudo but if I had to choose, probably Natochenny. Taylor is cringe.

Veronica all the way.

kitarei said:

For me, Sarah just sounds wrong. I think she's voicing him well, but I think there is always that "this sounds off" feeling when you're used to one voice and then hear a different one.

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The one time I feel Sarah Natochenny's Ash voice sounds wrong is the new Sun & Moon series' dub. Ash's new design looks much younger than any of his previous incarnations, and since Sarah tends to perform a very mature voice for Ash, it feels very unfitting now.

Veronica Taylor got recognised and had her meal customised for her.

Link to tweet

Your move Natochenny.

I preferred Taylor btw

Veronica has a public presence that I haven't seen Sarah have so she is more recognizable. She's identified as being the voice of Ash even though Sarah's been the VA for over a decade.

jjc927 said:

Veronica has a public presence that I haven't seen Sarah have so she is more recognizable. She's identified as being the voice of Ash even though Sarah's been the VA for over a decade.

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It's definitely weird how Sarah had been voicing Ash longer than Veronica yet somehow Veronica gets all the credit for being the more well-known VA.