‘Pokémon Concierge’ Interview with NON at Anime Expo

On Pokémon Day, which was February 27th, Netflix and The Pokémon Company announced their first collaborative series called, Pokémon Concierge. At Anime Expo 2023, we spoke with NON, the voice of Haru, the main character, during a roundtable interview.

The answers were given in Japanese and translated through an interpreter. 

Netflix’ Pokémon Concierge

This new story expands on the Pokémon world. Pokémon Concierge follows Haru, a concierge at the “Pokémon Resort,” and her interactions with Pokémon and their owners who visit as guests. Pokémon Concierge is animated with breath-taking and ground-breaking stop-motion animation. We spoke with NON about her role in this fun, new series.

We asked NON how she hopes audiences react to this series. She said:

“So I’m sure you all know that we are bombarded and under pressure. And I know we get up and keep doing what we’ve been doing. We just want to give up everything. But when you see this Pokémon Concierge, it’s really fulfilling and gives you energy and makes you want to do it again and try again. Do the best you can be. So, I wish, you know, you will see this Pokémon Concierge as…energetic and makes you keep going and, you know, do the best that you can be.”

NON was asked: How would you say Haru evolved over the course of the series? NON said:

“So, Haru used to work for the company. Then, when she was working for the company, she told herself that she kind of had to be a puppet that had to organize everything and make everything meet. So she kind of put herself [under] too much pressure that she had to she had to meet the expectation and make everybody happy. And she decided to take this new role working at the Pokémon Resort as a concierge. And she started to find that, you know, this is her job, still she can find it very rewarding and fun.”

Pokémon has been a well-loved series since 1996. Fans of all ages are sure to enjoy this new story and the expansion on the world a lot of us already love so much.

About NON

NON is an actress and artist. She portrayed Suzu in the acclaimed animated film In This Corner of the World. This film was the winner of Best Animation at the 40th Japan Academy Awards. In 2017, she founded her music label, “KAIWA (RE)CORD.” Also, she showcases her ribbon artistry at exhibitions like “Non Ribbon Exhibition – Creepy, Cute Things” in 2022 and “ikuno artstay2023.” In 2022, she wrote, directed, and starred in Ribbon, followed by roles in Sakananoko and The Three Sisters of Amama-so in 2022. Her new song “Kono Hibiyo Uta ni Nare” debuted in April 2023, serving as the theme for the Japanese dubbed version of Lion Boy/Lion Boy.