Amin Abbas

DUBAI: Rica Matsumoto, the iconic Japanese voice actress of Pokémon’s Ash Ketchum (Satoshi in Japanese) held a meet & greet in Dubai, as part of her first visit to the United Arab Emirates, at the end of July.

The meet & greet took place at Dubai Mall’s Hamleys Toys store, from July 28 to July 30, and was powered by HAYAH insurance in partnership with Speedy Comics Middle East and Popcon Middle East.

Considered the world’s oldest toy shop, Hamleys Toys is a British toy store that has over 90 franchises worldwide, including three branches in Dubai. 

A representative of Hamleys UAE told Arab News Japan “It was an absolute pleasure having the legendary Rica Matsumoto, the voice actress of Ash Ketchum in Pokémon”.

“The energy was wonderful, and everyone had the chance to witness a core part of their childhood come to life over these three days” he added. 

“We are thrilled to announce that we have achieved another milestone by bringing the legendary Japanese voice actress, Rica Matsumoto to Dubai,” said Rashed Al Farooq, Group CEO of Speedy Comics, which is the biggest toy and vintage shop in the GCC region, about the event. 

“We are committed to building on this success and will continue to strive to please our fans. Our dedication is to the fans, from the fans”, he added.