>>53032170It's just a cartoon and Ash was more familiar and thus more accessible to the intended audience. Kids aren't(weren't?) weeaboo purists, they don't care about sacred Japanese culture, they just want a fun happy world that they can see themselves in. Magical enough to be an escapist fantasy but catering to their cultural humor and references enough that it doesn't feel too alien. So why make it more overtly foreign to them?
Please understand that this whole multiculti obsession with not localizing names or references or jokes wasn't as prevalent in the 80s and 90s because it was seen as not mattering. His name was Ash because it was easier for American kids to remember and didn't sound bizarre to them.
It's sad some shows/movies were mangled(Warriors of the Wind lol..) but for the most part it wasn't so bad. I wouldn't trade it for some jank shit with puns attached to translators notes and inside jokes intended for people that grew up in a wildly different pop culture environment.
