Ikue Ōtani has voiced Pikachu in the Japanese Pokémon anime since the character was introduced.
Ōtani provides Pikachu's distinctive voice in the Japanese animated series and in many related Pokémon productions. Pikachu generally speaks by repeating its name rather than using ordinary human dialogue, making the character's vocal performance especially recognizable across episodes and films.
A notable feature of the franchise is that Ōtani's Pikachu performance was retained for international versions. Dub casts usually replace the dialogue of human characters, but Pikachu's familiar cries were preserved to keep the character's identity consistent across languages.
Ōtani is sometimes confused with Rica Matsumoto, who voices Ash Ketchum in Japanese, or with English-language performers who have voiced Pikachu in particular productions. Ryan Reynolds, for example, voices the talking Pikachu in Pokémon Detective Pikachu. The long-running anime role itself is associated with Ōtani.