amusedunderclock

[amusedunderclock]

[amusedunderclock]

climb!!

[amusedunderclock]

Talking About Pokemon Openings - "I Wanna Be a Hero" (2003), "This Dream" (2004), and "Unbeatable" (2005)

The continuation of my posts about every Pokemon anime opening song. The link to the previous part is here. There might be some edits to previous parts going forward. Especially when the official links to songs keep getting removed.

From the perspective of Tumblr, it's been a moment. However, I actually talked about these songs back in February over on my Bluesky.

This should be a sign that I plan on continuing this. Part of the reason for the break was that I don't like doing things for a franchise during that franchise's hype cycle. But if we're being honest, their current cycle doesn't seem to be getting that much hype. But also IRL stuff got in the way. It's somehow still getting in the way all these months later. So I opted to do this in spite of that.

Pokémon: Advanced - “I Wanna Be a Hero”

I like it.

It has a more unique techno sound. It introduces the region and the premise of “resetting” while giving it some respect. It has buildup to the end of the song. One may argue about its tone for the first episode, but that’s unavoidable.

Let's address it. It's odd for one of these songs to straight up specify it's Ash Ketchum being talked about, but it makes sense.

The song talks about a fish out of water. He has experience, but there's more to learn. If he starts fresh, he'll rise from the unknown even greater. I love the idea.

The actual anime doesn't care about that interesting premise though and Ash only dropped everything because “new region to sell”.

That meant a bunch of critics who watched Johto or even just Indigo kinda constantly shit on it and the Ruby and Sapphire games as a whole.

Yeah I’m not doing that.

3rd gen became some ultimate scapegoat online, at least in the past. It apparently ruined the childhoods of mfs pushing 40. When 5th gen was (wrongly) shat on, people responded with “3rd gen’s the real travesty”. So many people in the community used to argue that 3rd gen didn’t deserve remakes at all. The shade gets ridiculous. Like at it's worst, these are just normal ass Pokemon games.

I wasn’t cynical enough to believe as a kid that the anime was treating this whole new region thing as an afterthought.

As an adult, it’s still weird to argue at least for Hoenn. Because if that were true, they wouldn’t have even bothered having Pikachu in critical condition as a cliffhanger.

Back to music.

At this point, I'll say that this singer is pretty straight forward. My comment about him peaking at “Born To Be a Winner” might hold some weight imo because his vocal riff for “Hero” is in autotune. Although admittedly, this was before T-Pain so it might’ve been just a cool effect.

This is really the point where the "PO-KE-MON!" at the end of each song started sounding more standard with the whole chorus and everything. Sounds okay here.

The question will always come back to “Would this get viewers hyped?” and I don’t see why this wouldn’t.

Does the theme song match the visuals? Yes, but I’d say not as well as others.

As a song to start the region, there is something kinda comforting about the visuals. Perhaps a more effective use of shading at play. But animations are sped up from the Japanese opening. And the whole “I wanna be a hero” part doesn’t really come into play visually.

That might be an additional criticism. “I wanna be a hero” is what the song builds to. It’s what brings the hype. Yet is that Ash’s goal, or just a byproduct of him being a good person who happens to help people out while on the journey? The lyrics building up to it don’t mention the hero thing.

This was the first Pokemon opening to not get ANY sort of extended version. Also the first theme to not appear in a movie. Not the last tho.

Probably even more of a shame than "Believe in Me" because I think the lyrics and it's structure are better here. It sums up multiple things at once.

I think the song getting more talky only benefits it. I can see someone thinking this walks a line between trying to force lyrics in vs. sliding on a beat. But I think it's the latter. The voices multiplying in "Take a step and I'm on my way" elevate the song.

But with that explanation, you can see why I wanted a second verse. Maybe that verse could've had May/Max's POV. Then it can still lead to "I wanna be a hero" but the definition of hero can be more broad. Meaning more protagonist than anything, without having to say it.

There was more potential left than I would've liked, but it's an overall entertaining song that conveys it's message solidly in 45 seconds. It's a song that epically says "The heroes don't know everything, but the will to learn makes them heroes." At least that's what I think.

Pokémon: Advanced Challenge – “This Dream”

This theme song is pretty high up there. I’ve never seen anyone debate that. The delivery of the first line followed by the guitar makes this stand out by default. Not since “I wanna be the very best like no one ever was” has a first line felt THAT epic.

The song has a more epic buildup than “I wanna be a Hero”. I like that it invokes the idea that there’s difficulties ahead and the heroes are ready to endure. Sometimes viewers just wanna get stuck in, and this song says to unite with each other and they will achieve great things despite the long road.

Can’t really think of a lyric that isn’t good. I doubt these days a Pokemon theme would use the word “die” in any context. So This Dream still stands out.

If there is anything I can say about the Hoenn era, it wanted viewers to have an unyielding willpower in the face of struggle. That makes all the songs hype af.

The visuals are fantastic. Might be controversial to say that since it speeds up a LOT of the footage from the Japanese opening. But I think they edited it better than Advanced did. It’s basically a music video at that point. I don’t think they could've improved.

So...there’s no extended/movie version of This Dream. That sucks. That said, for a while, certain theme compilations used fan lyrics. Seemingly confusing it with the official version despite quality difference. Those lyrics kinda work, but also contrast too much from the original.

Like after describing the original, the fan lyrics mention running and hiding. Which in any context kind of undermines the idea of the first verse. Then he rhymes "On" with "On" which isn't ideal.

But then again, this was probably just some teen in 2010 writing this and at least it has effort. I applaud that.

Back to the official version.

What the hell?

Seriously, if there were ANY Pokemon theme that didn't get a full version but deserved one, This Dream was it.

I can only assume it was because Destiny Deoxys didn't play the theme in the Japanese version. Similar with Jirachi Wish Maker.

Why tho?

They probably thought these movies weren't worth the effort anymore. They went straight to DVD in the West starting with Jirachi. Wouldn't necessarily stop 4Kids but they were on autopilot and just aired these on KidsWB.

Most of those Hoenn movies I never saw in any full capacity. Despite me getting great grades, I had to attend Saturday school.

Just to make a tangent, they also had us do after school bullshit as well, so I could barely relax with the after school KidsWB lineup or anything Toonami. Then I lost cable. I grew up like shit and the only escape I had, school took it away for no reason since I got A+ scores without all the tacked on nonsense.

Fuck them LMAO.

Somehow in the bullshit, I learned Destiny Deoxys was coming on TV and told Saturday school to fuck off. I thought it was....well it was better than being at school that day lol.

I know there was a battle in a futuristic city. This Dream might've been able to fit there, even the short version because I think the battle gets interrupted.

But I guess why try to force it?

If there's anything left to say…well apparently the creators of the music didn't properly label credit for this song and the next theme. But it's the same people. Let's be real. Copy/Pasting the names over and over on songs that weren't doing The Pokemon Theme's numbers woulda felt tedious. Probably not an excuse though if any kind of royalties were attached to these.

I'll end this part by saying this. I don't know if it was their intention or not. But I feel these 3 Hoenn songs played back to back tell a story. I think none of the other regions do that with their anime themes. So I congratulate the writers if that was on purpose. But we'll get to Unbeatable in order to fully explain what I mean.

Pokémon: Advanced Battle - “Unbeatable”

This has been in my head since it aired in 2005.

No that is not a joke. That is just how much I like this theme.

To bring back the idea of “Championship Songs” because that’s what this is, this is the best Championship Song hands down. No doubt in my mind.

From the Ooh chant making yet another memorable melody that’s endured 20 years.

To the specific Hoenn references.

To what’s probably the smoothest insert of the title with the crowd going “ADVANCED BATTLE!” Somehow it feels way more earnest than most later crowds in these songs.

The song even has shit talking. "They can never win, but they sure can try." This song wants you excited to watch some battling.

Tbh, this song signifies a lot of things. An end to the 4Kids era, the end of the Hoenn League, the last time this singer shows up after 5 songs in a row. A bunch of stuff. To me, whether 4Kids intended to or not, they sent this era off with a banger. Their first and last Pokemon themes are peak. This whole era of the catalogue is great.

To say this lines up with the visuals is an understatement. This is straight up a music video. Even more than This Dream. It uses the clips from the Japanese equivalent PLUS uses clips from the Japanese Battle Frontier opening. Speeds up parts too. I'm sure someone is mad about that, but I can't find fault in how this came out.

This led to the grandest opening they ever made lol.

This has Ash battling multiple legendaries like it's nothing. This has virtually every legend/mythic up to that point. It has 4th gen Pokemon throughout it that hadn't even been in the games yet. Apparently this opening literally has the most Pokemon both by species number and individual count. Meanwhile it also shows a little of the sillier characterizations while not being intrusive. It also has throwback characters.

Hell it even has foreshadowing for the series and the movie. This opening has scale on a different level. Meanwhile it still has time to have fun. I don't know how much you could ask for a Saturday Morning cartoon opening.

That said, we're gonna go address some smartasses real quick.

Time to address it. "This song Unbeatable actually sucks because Ash loses." Yeah and Apollo Creed beat Rocky in the first movie, but you don't see people saying the first Rocky theme is ass, now do you? You don't wanna go there because a deep dive will truly reveal how ass the WHOLE anime is.

Now if you want a simpler argument that all 3 Hoenn songs are collectively clickbait, I mean it has some merit. All 3 songs combined imply Ash starts from nothing and grows to finally become a Pokemon Master after so long. I get that.

But shit, at least the three songs HAVE a motif, unlike future songs.

I don't think you can really convince me that's a bad thing that the music creators wanted to give this shit some grace that the actual show doesn't.

I mean, come on, Ash lost to a fuckin Meowth. A Pokemon he regularly battles, isn't even connected to Hoenn or Sinnoh, its just sus all around.

That's my issue criticizing the song. How about you just blame the anime for not meeting that standard of character growth and instead being a toy commercial?

"The anime never promised Ash winning" well it should've promised something after Johto and it didn't for over an additional DECADE. While we're talking about that, I don't think Ash winning in recent years makes "Born To Be A Winner" all of a sudden have a good title after a mountain of losses.

But let's say it did. No one knew Ash was eventually going to win. In fact, most people kept up the argument that Ash should just always lose the big one to teach kids a lesson. Acting like previous seasons didn't already beat that lesson to death. Syndication and streaming services exists to rewatch those. But in that case, which was true for the longest time. "Born To Be A Winner" would just be an innacurate title altogether. But is has NEVER gotten the same criticism as "Unbeatable".

As for the song itself, might as well address the smaller shit. Unbeatable can dip into simplicity. Remember when I referenced someone saying this singer just did the same song over and over? Well this and Master Quest have parallels. I don't deny that.

I just think Unbeatable is better executed.

Unbeatable pays off the dangers and unknown scenarios stated in "I Wanna Be a Hero" and "This Dream". Ash and friends survived all that, and are now thriving here.

Frankly, I woulda just had Ash win here, go back to Kanto, win the Battle Frontier, and make a new protag. But that's another convo.

Lucario and the Mystery of Mew - "Unbeatable"

Been so long without it, you'd think I forgot about the movie version.

The movie version only enhances the song. 3 lyric segments were added to the song. So you know they thought they were cookin when they made this. All of them great. No complaints.

Although I might as well complain because there's no official link.

Tragic.

Substitute:

I mean, I like Lucario starting with the anime. So hearing Unbeatable in a movie starring it, yeah seems cool.

…

Saturday school.

But even then, Idk if 4Kids ever aired it before losing the rights. Plus I lost cable.

Welp.

Still, I looked it up.

Does Unbeatable match the visuals in the movie?

Yes? It's not some epic scene to begin with. I'd say the aerial moments give it some emphasis. But it's a weird mixture of shots getting away from the action and the focus turns to Mew's transformations from the same angle. All of this in a medieval Colosseum that could in theory work for rock, but not when you cut away from the fight that much. Tone's off.

But we're at the last stop at the station. So I'll say it once more.

I will genuinely miss when these songs had attitude. When they were willing to talk shit, at least on a basic level. Focusing at least somewhat on the battling. Make it sound like Ash has SOME confidence in his winning ability.

When it comes to this Hoenn trilogy, I think it's great. The singer sticking around was a working formula and gave it consistency while the songs still sounded appealing. Simple as that. I appreciate it as a possible arc of being willing to learn, having determination, and paying off in the end.

"What about Battle Frontier?"

...

.......

............

Next time I cover the themes Battle Frontier and Diamond and Pearl. Watch as I probably get insults thrown at me. However I did further research.

Anyone remember Pokemon Chronicles?

I thought that simply didn't have a theme song. A reminder that I didn't have cable. At most, I saw most of 1 episode way back when it aired. Turns out, it has 2 themes in the West.

We'll get into both of those, as well as Battle Frontier and Diamond and Pearl. What was going to be a 2 song post will now be a 4 song post.

There's too many good moments from these Hoenn openings to post a GIF of. So instead, here's that Medicham scene from This Dream that Pokemon fans are obsessed over for some reason.

[amusedunderclock]

free2

この間のやつの続き。

空は高く鳥は遠くて…でもそれがうれしい、みたいなそんな感じ

やっと描いたな…色とバランスが一生気に食わなかったものです

私にしてははっきりとしてビビッドな気がするなって思う。

[amusedunderclock]

[amusedunderclock]

Talking About Pokemon Openings - "Pokemon Johto", "Born To Be a Winner", and "Believe In Me"

The continuation of my posts about every Pokemon anime opening song. The link to the previous part is here.

Probably should have some extra text to start this off. Even if these are starting to become significantly longer because I'm now covering 3 songs a post.

While we're not entirely there yet, this is the start of these posts becoming formulaic. More or less every region does a 3 theme structure going forward. Because of that, I think the focus may be more on how these themes bookend each region. Whether the first theme in a subseries makes the new region intriguing, and whether the last theme gives the region a good enough sendoff.

Gonna call the latter "Championship Songs". For specific seasons where Ash tried to beat the League and left the region. Only to start a new subseries where Ash “resets”. To me, the Champion songs should all have a sense of scale or at least finality to them. Because dedicated viewers followed for at least 2 years, they deserve satisfying conclusions. If the actual story isn't gonna do that, at least the theme can be satisfying enough as a consolation prize.

If there's anything I can say as a whole about Johto, it's that I think 4Kids still did their job well with these theme songs. There is some things I say later that make it seem more hit or miss. But in the end, they still good. Some of this is just me addressing other people's criticisms that I've seen over the years. But people my age still remember these themes more than some of the other Saturday Morning Show themes going around at the time. I'm genuinely going to miss talking about the Johto themes when I have to cover some of the later regions.

Pokémon: The Johto Journeys – “Pokemon Johto”

Admittedly, it probably shouldn't work as well as it does. This goes for a completely different style than the previous 2 songs and starts with "do-do-do-do do do" of all things. But all its elements just flow into each other well. It's simply great.

There is a consistent buildup to this one. The lyrics accumulate over time and when you get to the end of a verse, it has payoff. The lyrics themselves reflect the new region and Pokemon. It's inviting viewers to a cool new land.

And since the anime was in Johto for a WHILE, the song does the job well.

Now this song is a little unique since…well the more we distance ourselves from the 90s nostalgia, the more people go out of their way to look into tidbits about 2000s stuff. I don't think a few years ago I would've known much of anything about these singers beyond the original Pokemon theme.

But now there's info on the Pokemon Johto singers. These singers sang both the TV and Movie versions and they actually called the group "Johto". I've have not looked into it 1000% because I don't wanna name people directly in these. But it apparently consisted of multiple people with R&B influences.

If you've seen the last post about Pokemon World, you know I definitely have no problem with that. But apparently taking that R&B experience and applying that to what's basically children's pop songs, was an interesting process. They also praise the production value of the theme. Arguing it sounds like it could been on the radio in the 2000s.

Personally I appreciate when game or show music has that much effort. Phoning it in would've just made the songs less memorable.

There is youtube footage of the Johto group reuniting and singing Pokemon Johto on EveryGameEver's channel if you're curious.

They also had a Pokemon album as I alluded to in the other thread. In hindsight, the group was probably made to be an in-house cheaper alternative to the singers they got previously. Not that the previous singers are giant names nowadays, but at the time 4Kids were clearly reaching out to record labels for talent. So holding auditions themselves was probably less complicated.

I really only point this out because unfortunately, this all came together right as the main 10 year olds who liked Pokemon Red and Blue…grew up. Or thought they were just "too old" to even mention Pokemon, much less look at it. So 4Kids slowed down on the spectacle.

Has nothing to do with me tho. I was 5.

Maybe on a level the "do-do-do-do do do" was too kiddy for that specific growing audience, but the whole idea of these cartoon theme songs is to get kids engaged. That's simply a memorable melody.

Plus the meat of the song, to me anyway, is everything else going on. The other parts of the song, and the visuals.

The music blends almost seamlessly with the visuals. By this point I assume TCPI were considering that aspect for multiple languages.

There's something about this opening that's just…rejuvenating. It's pleasing to look at. Pokemon World wanted you to dance. Pokemon Johto is already dancing.

Probably one criticism, and it's on the Orange Islands opening too.

This might just be an archival error. But the CGI Pokemon logo that 4Kids put in that opening. Surprisingly, I like it. But was antialiasing not invented yet? Why is it jagged?

Maybe they wanted CRT TVs to blend the jaggedness? Why specifically that logo? lol

The short version is simply a good time. The lyrics don't promise EVERYTHING, just the fact that trainers are always improving and Johto's THE place to improve. The previous 2 themes talk from the perspective of Ash. Or at the very least tries to put the viewers in the shoes of a Pokemon trainer. Pokemon Johto actually breaks that mold somewhat. It's a third party telling the viewer what it's all about.

One could argue Pokemon Johto is a nice middle ground between The Pokemon Theme and Pokemon World while still being it's own thing. Hell to me, it even does some things better than later themes in terms of saying "Getting to the top requires incremental steps". The Pokemon Johto theme gives that process some grace.

The Extended version doesn't lose quality imo. The second verse lyrics are even more optimistic. This is a song that doesn't miss.

What DOES miss is the official release.

Thankfully, I have an official link...but they named it "Pomemon Johto". Even on Spotify.

SMH

(Disclaimer: These little Youtube distro channels constantly change links over time, which is annoying. Which means the Pomemon Johto link is now gone after a number of years of being up. It's possible Pomemon Johto was still reuploaded somewhere with the name wrong, but you're more likely to find it corrected in Youtube's search. Since I don't want to look insane in hindsight, here's their Spotify with the title still misspelled. https://open.spotify.com/track/7CMnmQkiqVqS81r2ohcfWJ )

And here's the proper full version:

The main singer is distinct from the others and memorable. While the previous main singers sounded more youthful, his voice is strong and that really adds something to the song. Makes things seem grand.

I'd say the chorus to all of the first 3 themes are great. This one's just smarter about its overall usage.

Spell of the Unown: Entei - "Pokemon Johto"

The same people from the TV version did the Movie version as I said. That basically becomes the mandate going forward. That came with it's own complacency, but in this case, they made a new arrangement.

…

This is the best Pokemon movie theme.

I don't feel like there's a counterargument. I'm not saying that there haven't been/won't be great movie themes. But the Pokemon Johto movie theme is everything it needs to be.

The movie version's instrumental and singing could not be more joyful if they tried. Does the fact that this has an official link when so much else doesn't mean anything? I really don't know.

This movie theme is what the previous movie themes tried to do, just perfected. It's a staple of the third Pokemon movie.

I know those R&B artists in the Johto group enjoyed making this version. The duet idea returns and it's spectacular. The song is fun, the battle it's singing to is fun. Pokemon feels so alive watching that scene.

And yes, the Pikachu headbutt timed with the song was hilarious as a kid.

Whether they had the movie version thought out beforehand or not, is irrelevant. Because both versions stand on their own.

But like I said, there seemed to be a fundamental shift with 4Kids once the anime's numbers weren't as hot. While the Johto group was formed, the album dropped, everyone moved on. The company went on to have 1 singer for years who wasn't even associated with the group seemingly.

Pokémon: Johto League Champions – “Born To Be a Winner”

I have nothing against this singer.

There is no "But".

I just remember a comment I saw years ago saying this guy just made "the same song" over and over to call the upcoming songs crap I guess.

I simply disagree. I like this. Its solid.

But also doesn't the Japanese VA for Satoshi/Ash sing a ton of the anime openings over there? She might've sung all of them, I really don't know. I doubt the critic I mentioned was even aware what the Japanese themes sound like.

Do I think they could've used additional varied singers during this era of seasons? Maybe. Do I think it mattered? No. Because if his job was to make songs that would intrigue kids, I think he succeeded. And if I'm being very honest, some of the theme songs after will make you miss his voice.

All that said, if one were to claim the quality of the songs overall dipped in some areas…yeah possibly.

This theme is the first time the original lyrics came back. As a remix, I think it works. Although I will admit with so many future covers of The Pokemon Theme, it feels over saturated. This singer is solid tho.

By itself, Born To Be a Winner doesn't add much lyrically. But the delivery of "My whole life has led to this, time to test my skills, etc." is kinda epic. Just overall the vibe of the song is grand in a unique way. Going for slightly more techno. It's just a matter of the OG lyrics returning carrying the excitement factor.

Now surprisingly...the opening is made for this song.

To be specific, they got The Pokemon Company to make an almost completely separate intro for the west with the English song in mind. This means by default, the song and visuals line up. Because they're MEANT to.

Coming off the Mewtwo, Lugia & Entei movies, I do wonder what 4Kids specifically requested out of that intro. It is very legend-specific. Hell Celebi ain't even in that despite the upcoming movie at the time. Were they trying to get nostalgia points THAT early on?

Also why don't they make more custom openings? Just in general. Because later on, some of this stuff starts feeling like it doesn't line up at all with the song. Let's be real here. Pokemon has run it's own anime for like 2 decades now. Either do custom openings for each region, or just dub the Japanese songs into English. But that's a later topic.

The singer apparently was all over the place, creating songs for advertisements and whatnot. So I guess it's not shocking the themes from him are appealing. But the band he was in makes completely different music from this. Not really rock or techno. Just overall slower, calmer music. That explains a lot about the delivery to me. Not exactly a lot of vocal runs during his era. More of a focus on harmonies later on in his tenure. They are good harmonies tho.

So I guess time to talk about the longer version…or the TWO longer versions.

Recently people are putting all the themes in a playlist or compilation and using the full TV version. Which is 95% inferior. That sounds pretty harsh, but all it does is repeat what was already in the short version to pad the length of the song. Just the same lyrics repeated with a big gap of nothing in between.

They probably released this on a CD somewhere. That's a waste of CD space. If anything, the huge chunk of nothing in the middle of the song would probably make kids uncomfortable and make them avoid it in the future.

I didn't even see an official link to this version. I don't understand how this song was considered good enough to get it's own original animation, but not good enough to warrant a second verse. Feels like it only got the animation because they told The Pokemon Company "This time our song uses the lyrics from the original Pokemon Theme. People will love it."

Celebi: The Voice of the Forest - "Born To Be a Winner"

The movie version is superior to either TV version I'd say. I think their respective starts and endings work for their individual mediums. But the second verse and it's overall instrumental just add something significant. Although I admit the second verse is even less original since it's basically The Pokemon Theme's second verse with the slightest of edits. The delivery helps it though.

From this point forward assume that there will be no more official links for any extended versions. Crazy ass oversight imo. Especially since this is edited months later, and they just redid a ton of the links on their channel. Imagine taking that time to add on the missing extended and movie versions.

Does it match the movie visuals? I guess a bit. Idk the scene from the movie doesn't do a lot. It's only half of a cool battle. The other half being Ash and Pikachu missing a boat, trying to jump into the boat before it completely leaves, and getting saved last minute by some random person in a somewhat unflattering fashion.

I could argue that the the epic music contrasting with what's actually happening in the film somehow show Ash's character better. Giving off some kind of balance between being great at battling and goofy. Same time, I don't think the song is exactly well timed with what's on screen.

Its significantly better than the original extended version. Obviously. The movie guitar wins by default.

But this was really their last attempt for a while to vary the song up. And even in the movie version, it's not much. They have a female singer in there for a whole one moment of vocalization, that's about it.

She sounds nice. I haven't seen anything that tells me who she is though. No one from that Johto group claimed it was them so...moving on I guess.

Once again, I'm sure kids that heard Born To Be a Winner in theaters really liked it. And I also like it. Its solid. The instrumental especially goes hard. Production wise, it's still quality. It's just that as a comparison to the previous stuff, I can see complexities in the song structure and writing start to become less prominent. This song repurposes lyrics, but sings them faster with a new chorus and 2 additional lines. In which the chorus doesn't even rhyme.

One could probably argue they made it a callback because Kanto is next to Johto. Gold and Silver and all that. I doubt that was intentional on 4Kids' part. But who knows?

But they clearly believed in Born To Be a Winner on some level and I've never seen anyone complain about it much online.

All in all, that's about as much of a critic as I can be towards it. At it's worst, the song is just fine. At best it's unique, it's a much needed rock song with some effects to hook viewers in, the singer sounded cool and youthful, and it's tailor made visuals are great too.

If I had to choose between all the theme songs, this song isn't my first priority, but it has a way better chance than later ones. Born To Be a Winner gets the basics down and is definitely engaging.

If there's a final note before moving on, it's interesting that no one's ever tried to downplay this song because of it's title. Just saying that for a future song we'll get to.

Pokémon: Master Quest - “Believe in Me”

As an original song, it's solid and I think this is one of the more remembered themes. It really kinda makes you feel like there's no more bullshit, Ash is going in guns blazing and he might actually win (he doesn't). The lyrics are just well timed.

The content of the lyrics though…I was willing to be slightly more lenient for the last song because “remix” and it worked out.

But this one, there's a drop in sophistication. I admit that. I also get this is Pokemon we're talking about, but let me explain. I still like the lyrics, they invoke courage. But this kinda started a lyrical trend that's lasted well beyond this season. It started to feel like most themes were just trying very hard to simply complete a single line that rhymed well enough. Meanwhile the previous Pokemon themes were doing entire rhyme SCHEMES.

This song does counter it somewhat with the topic covered, and it doesn't feel forced like it will in the future. The singer returning from Born To Be a Winner is great here. I said the singer has a cool and somewhat youthful voice. I think that’s almost NECESSARY for these Pokemon themes unless you’re gonna make it sound grand like Pokemon Johto.

But his vocal showcase peaks at Born To Be a Winner. The harmonies are really coming into play now, so that also helps balance it out. "All I've got to do is believe in me" sounds great. The callback line with "I'm gonna be the very best" is a nice way to close out this era. Don't see anyone calling that line misleading, but that's a conversation for the next post.

The trend about the lyrics aside, it can't be denied that the lyrics still hit the points they need to. Calling Ash's journey a "Master Quest" gives it importance. The song says he and his friends are brave, unswayed, and they have faith that they will accomplish their goals. So come watch it happen.

The visuals mesh spectacularly with the song. Everything here feels like it has gravitas.

But you know what’s interesting? Because they commissioned Johto Journeys to have it’s own original animation, Master Quest uses scenes from BOTH Season 4 and 5 of the Japanese version.

Something about the "Pokemon" chant combined with the song and the night Politoed clip is ethereal lol.

So yes, everything matches up. But that's easier to do when you mash up 2 openings worth of clips and combine every cool moment together.

Although I guess you can call the following a pet peeve that will come back later:

You ever see a smartass make a comment on social media like "The lyrics say this one thing, but they're doing the opposite in the video. I am very clever for noticing. 🤓 "

Yeah they do that with "You'll never see us run away from a fight" and the Team Rocket clip.

First off, the joke was overdone a decade ago. Second, even if they were right, congrats CinemaSins. God forbid a song says some shit ironically. Third, they're not right at all. Ash and his "friends" are the ones who will never "run away from a fight". His friends are not Team Rocket. The lyrics are directly next to each other. Comprehend them.

But anyway, what about the extended and movie versions?

Heroes: Latios & Latias - "Believe In Me"

Yeah they're the same thing.

And there's no additional lyrics or vocalizations.

All new additions are instrumental and sung by the same guy.

Not gonna lie, kinda boring. Especially when this was the last movie in western theaters for a long time. I think that alone warranted an attempt at making a proper second verse for the song. As opposed to repeating the first verse twice.

I really don't know if it was because of the Pokemon anime's waning popularity. Maybe it was 4Kids bs. Maybe it's just the singer not being able to come up with fitting lyrics because apparently he took over that role with this song. Yeah one of the longtime writers stopped making these for a while after Born To Be a Winner.

If it's the latter that happened, fine I guess. No need for forced lyrics. Still doesn't really help the movie version though as it still lacks some uniqueness the previous songs were given.

To my knowledge, this movie version didn't even get an official release. Meaning all versions online have the movie dialogue overlapped on top of the song. The only official release is the short one.

Repeated second verse or not…yeah that's just lazy to not ever properly release the movie version. But I don't even know if it's possible at this point to get one. Those files were probably deleted in 2005 or some shit.

Does the song match the scene of the movie? I'd say yes, the rock track combined with the water skiing race works. Was water skiing considered an extreme sport in the 2000s? If so, I guess it makes more sense that the song works.

That said, the issue isn't necessarily on the song. It's on the clip itself. The movie clip is...almost nothing. The song doesn't last long enough for the race to finish. The race, while kinda cool with the building backdrop, doesn't exactly have obstacles or varying elevation of any kind. Meaning a lot of the clip feels samey. It almost feels like clips repeat even if they aren't. Combine that with a song that repeats it's first verse, and it starts to feel way more like filler. At least prior movies gave you more of a vibe of all the kinds of Pokemon out there. The water Pokemon they use to race with have no reactions. Neither do the human racers beyond their goofy smiles. And Latios and Latias are (intentionally) barely visible.

Overall tho, I will say for a Championship song, the guitar has a sense of closure to it. The song, while not everything it can be, is confident in what it says. Ash is going to win, his friends are by his side, and he wants everyone to know they will get to the top. What more can you ask for out of an opening?

That said, Ash on global TV lost to an unknown Hoenn Pokemon that had a type disadvantage to his Charizard. Then Ash immediately parted ways with his friends.

Welp.

So this is where Pokemon started to get in a rut. Although for this first instance, I think it came with significantly more earnest than what happened with later regions. Seems like older heads disagree, but they're not the ones writing this so...pfft.

As for Believe In Me, I think there was potential left on the cutting room floor. But it gets more points than most for being original and being a good enough song to close out Johto.

Obviously next time will be the Hoenn themes.

I'll end it with this gif because I really like this visual.

[amusedunderclock]

Water Effects ‘Panzer Dragoon’ SEGA Saturn Support us on Patreon

[amusedunderclock]

[amusedunderclock]

a video on my channel was hit by a spurious DMCA strike

for those who need a refresher, markscan (nor sony) does not own the rights to this specific video

youtube automatically rejected my counter notification. time to pressure TeamYouTubes twitter account

it's ridiculous that youtube just lets scam corporations screw over youtubers like this with no ramifications (im sure anyone familiar with stephanie sterlings work is familiar). the only way forward is kicking up a stink on twitter. ill need ur help.

here is the link to the tweet

[amusedunderclock]

Talking About Pokemon Openings - "The Pokemon Theme" and "Pokemon World"

So here’s something random that I planned to do a long time ago. I just never got around to it. But since the topic keeps coming up, and I’d rather do it now than during a hype cycle, let’s do it.

I am going to talk about every Pokemon opening theme from the anime. Including the movie versions.

If you know me, you know my overall engagement in the Pokemon fandom fizzled out years ago. So this may be unexpected. But the truth is, this isn't entirely about Pokemon. I like the openings to TV shows. I find the artistry in making a catchy show intro interesting. I appreciate them. A good opening song can help a show immensely. Like many songs, a good theme can last decades in pop culture. This experiment may one day expand to beyond this one show.

BUT for now, we're here. Inarguably, the first Pokemon theme has endured. Over 25 years. We'll get to that.

As for the show itself, it stretched itself thin 2 decades ago. While it's not an equivalent of the "Zombie Simpsons" idea (at least not anymore since Ash Ketchum left) the anime exists solely because BRAND and has little to say anymore on it's own merits.

But this ain't an anime review.

Before this starts, yes I'm aware of the Japanese themes. Not my focus right now. Makes any difference, the XYZ theme is great. Duh.

This is also not one of those tier lists. At most it's kinda a Thanos snap situation. I could more or less easily prefer half these songs over the other half lol.

I'm also fully aware certain announcements could line up with this list if I did it one theme a day. Yeah I don't feel like it and I avoid hype cycles. So I'm tackling multiple Pokemon themes at once. Up to 3, although today will be 2. The "1st Gen" ones if you will.

All that said, let's start.

Pokémon: Indigo League - "The Pokemon Theme"

IT'S GARBA- nah imagine?

It just works. The instrumental, lyrics, singers, the structure. Probably the most obvious thing I could say. But compared to later themes, even ones I like, this is simply more polished and…is sophisticated the word? I don't know. A lot of the more recent openings just go for a more basic structure.

4Kids gets criticized for a lot and I've stopped really caring about that discourse since Saturday morning cartoons have been dead for years. Like at this point, people are just angry at ghosts and being pissed online about some shit roughly 25 years ago is not gonna undonut those rice balls. Shit happens. Yet I don't think anyone can say 4Kids didn't have catchy songs which got kids hooked. Idk how they found all that talent all at once. But it really worked.

As an introduction to Pokemon in the west, I don't see how they could've made this song any better. The lyrics not only explain the premise, but makes the premise feel epic and endearing at the same time. While inviting the viewer to the Pokemon journey.

Even that little bit where they had Ash's English voice actor join in on the song is great. The entire thing feels like the culmination of everything people liked from cartoon themes previously. Although I know that wasn't the thought process going into making it. They just wanted to make a good song.

The short version is great, CLEARLY. The extended version could've very well just been weaker, but it really isn't. And 4Kids knew that too because they just played that full version whenever they felt like it. Hell I would've too.

Because it was so great, they made more music for Pokemon in the west and put it on albums. I can tell you right now as someone who used to be a curious enthusiast, I've heard all that stuff at least once. I'm not covering that. At best, 2.B.A. Master has some okay songs. But it only goes downhill. Especially with follow up albums in this era.

This is where it gets weird. Because now is where I would transition to the other version from the movie.

But…the movie got remade. As did the song.

Huh.

I looked into it. What I'm gonna do is just tackle the 2020 version when covering Sun & Moon's 3rd theme. Might as well. Not much to say on that one.

Mewtwo Strikes Back - "The Pokemon Theme"

Yeah I think it's good. Better than the original? It has some appealing aspects, but overall no. Idk, maybe it's just the mixing or perhaps the singing needed slightly stronger delivery, especially in the chorus. But it's definitely still a vibe.

I can't find an official link on youtube lol. I don't entirely know how this happens with a franchise as big as Pokemon. Their little distro youtube channel is lacking. I'm also not linking the movie clip because I don't wanna help them see it and get it taken down. Here's a substitute link:

Just weird in general. I get the movie soundtrack has licensed music, but Pokemon definitely owns the main theme no matter how they rearranged it.

As a movie version, I think it definitely does what it needs to. I appreciate the beginning for really making it feel like the original, and then transitioning to it's own thing. There's probably a decent argument that the original could've worked for the movie. I prefer the remix route for the movie.

It's hard for me to gauge the visuals of either version since they're meant for the Japanese version of the Pokemon anime. I'm sure as it got more popular in the west, TPCI suggested they should make these openings a little more flexible for interpretation. But initially 4Kids were just mashing up whatever tf they wanted. Not that I have complaints of any edits of these openings specifically. I think the visuals line up with the songs spectacularly in the TV version. Even if there's a lot of scenes from the anime to choose from that were probably left on the cutting room floor.

The mix of the movie version and it's visuals I feel...works less. But that's a whole ass battle so that's different context. It's also just a differently paced and animated Pokemon battle form the norm at the time. Going the soul route with the song combined with a more flowy battle makes some sense. I imagine watching and hearing that on the big screen was a great moment.

Anything else I can say about this? Well I didn't really didn't talk about the TV singer. I've opted not to name anyone in these. But it doesn't change the facts. I would really vibe with him if I didn't learn about something on his wikipedia page dated 2012. Yeah this is Tumblr and I'm tired of giving people an inch. The Pokemon Theme was made by a team of people. Composers, lyricists, backup singers. Not just him. Wouldn't be surprised if a deeper dive into that probably explains why TPCI hasn't really ever brought him back for ANYTHING. Despite the fact he's still actively singing well and it would be easy nostalgia points. Hell even 4Kids didn't do anything with him after the 2.B.A. Master album either.

I don't know, shit's a little off to me personally. Might mean nothing tho.

I guess there's one last confusing branch here. They covered The Pokemon Theme for the 2017 Pokemon movie. In the same style of the original. I will cover that 2017 version along with the 1st Sun & Moon anime theme. Again, might as well. Not much to say there anyway.

Technically The Pokemon Theme was initially used for the Orange Islands at the beginning. Although whether that's just to avoid spoilers, the next song "Pokemon World" needing more time to cook, 4Kids doing a marketing strat to keep engagement, or trying to avoid confusion with kids, who knows?

Pokémon: Adventures in the Orange Islands - "Pokemon World"

Well it is Black History Month so imma just say it in the nicest way. Every critic I've ever seen call this song mid was clearly never from the hood because this shit slapped back then LMAO.

Pokemon World is a hype as fuck song.

If the goal is to get kids hyped, I don't see any kid just ignoring this theme unless they've just been conditioned to hate Hip Hop & R&B or some shit like that. In which case, rip bozo but I'm built different.

The first Pokemon theme invited you. Pokemon World tells you to step the fuck up lol.

I was surprised to even hear this come out of my tv screen when I was a kid. There is nothing about this song that I hate. Hell if the Mewtwo movie singer went as hard as the Pokemon World singer, I probably would've called it a masterpiece.

Something about that chorus is special.

This song has a lot of attitude while still giving the Pokemon journey so much gravitas. It's just more battle focused. Which, you know Ash WINS the Orange Islands. So it might as well be battle focused. Imma miss this attitude when we get to later songs.

The visuals with the TV version of Pokemon World are very good. Everything's energetic and bouncy or at the very least interesting. That Pikachu lightning strike that extends above the earth and into space. That goes hard tbh. The music fits it damn near perfectly in my opinion. Seeing this opening as a kid, why would you NOT watch an episode of Orange Islands?

At the end of the day, it's just…fun. Pokemon World is a song that wants to party. It wants viewers energized and engaged. I believe it does it well in the short version. While being serious enough to not come off as overly goofy or dumbing things down.

Throughout most of these, they'll have a chorus chant "Pokemon". The first few openings that do this are solid, maybe even iconic. The later ones are…bleh. That's for later.

The extended version I think 4Kids also played randomly at times. Obviously I didn't mind. Once again, the second verse does not fail. It matches the first verse, possibly surpassing with the "WHO I WANT TO BE" part.

Again, no official link available. Substitute:

One side note. Pokemon World is in Pokemon Puzzle League too and I still like it. It was a game I actually got for Christmas as a kid. The game also includes a lot of the anime's soundtrack from Seasons 1 and 2, including The Pokemon Theme. I can see (and have seen) people claim it's awkward because it's midi. But for an N64 puzzle soundtrack, it's decent enough. Especially when the blocks get too high and the music gets more intense. As Puzzle League games tend to do.

Another side note. I wonder if the initial intention by 4Kids was to redo the original Pokemon Theme with the Pokemon World Instrumental. Like I can kinda fit the original lyrics into the syllables of the Pokemon World melody. A weird little thought process but it kinda works.

Would be interesting info if true. I'd understand. The season 1 lyrics are great.

The Power of One - "Pokemon World"

I also vibe with the movie version but it's not as straight forward with this one. The inclusion of the solo female singer was a good one and frankly the male/female vocal dynamic always helps with these Pokemon songs. Especially for a movie. It's just the tempo that's the issue. I get why it's like this. Lining up with the Japanese theme for the movie is not an easy task. I think they did what they could with what they had. But as a song in itself, it's alright if a bit awkward.

For most of the song, I would say the tempo works, but then you get to the chant "So you want to be a master of Pok-ay-mon". It's stretched to an awkward degree in this version imo. Still, the breakdown with "we're living" is fantastic. I wanna give points for the beginning being kinda smooth with it. Even if it's not in the movie itself.

Once again, no official link. SMH. Substitute:

Tough call with this one, but I'd say the instrumental carries the song more than the vocals in the movie version of Pokemon World.

But it's fine enough. Again in a movie theater it probably slaps more. But overall, the scene in said movie is just a bunch of people and Pokemon surfing and chillin. Just in the water headed towards a place. With that in mind, the rearrangement works.

Plus honestly, I love this movie and I'd rather have the rearrangement than not have it.

Gonna end this one by saying that in the future, I may be considering certain songs by how they fit a new region or generation. What they choose as a sorta "finale" opening for these subseries.

So retroactively, if Pokemon World is the end of "Gen 1", the song is a great way to send that gen off. As for The Pokemon Theme, it's called that for a reason.

"Because at the time they didn't care enough to specifically name a theme song for a untested franchise in the west?"

Probably. But they also had the power to change the name to something different and never did. Because it is THE Pokemon theme and the perfect introduction to the anime.

Next time I talk about the 3 Johto anime themes.

[amusedunderclock]

the bunny is eepy 😴

download psx blahaj on my discord channel!

[amusedunderclock]

kensyouen_Y

[amusedunderclock]

music / animation comp done by me if this video gets uploaded on bilibili, it means it's stolen..

[amusedunderclock]

In Super Mario 3D World, crouching on ice repeatedly accelerates the character every time, with no upper bound to the possible speed due to an oversight in the code.

While such an extremely long flat stretch of ice cannot be found in-game, doing this on a custom level consisting of a single long ice platform shows that the camera is eventually unable to keep up with the character's immense speed.

Main Blog | Twitter | Patreon | Small Findings | Source: firclips

[amusedunderclock]

[amusedunderclock]

pov u stole her witch hat

[amusedunderclock]

dude i miss the full screen splash arts from heartgold/soulsilver. bring them back please.fuck. i miss her