The First Sinnoh Saga Japanese Opening Theme

For those who recall, last Sunday at a certain event, I participated in the karaoke competition with something that I've always wanted to sing, which is the first Japanese opening theme to the Sinnoh saga of the Pokémon anime. Its title, strangely enough, consists of a sole English word: "Together". Beyond its strangely simple title, though, there's quite a bit to say about the elements of this particular song.

As I've noted in a post about its end-of-saga counterpart, the song is also sung by Akiyoshi Fumie, which makes for an interesting link, as this one "opens" and the other one effectively "closes". Like the other song, there are references to Pokémon moves and even items, and the lyrics illustrate things that happen in the spirit of togetherness, which explains the title. Perhaps the most memorable part for those who understand little Japanese is the last part of the choruses, with two repetitions of "Good Good Smile"; I noted that those who listened as I sang tended to follow this part. It still fits the spirit, which is a good thing.

The music itself is upbeat and cheery, which helps to reinforce the spirit of the song. Now, I have to say that although this song is a Japanese creation, I find that the instrumentation seems to more evoke a different place: Ireland. The instrumental bridge particularly almost sounds like something out of Ronan Hardiman's The Lord of the Dance, and perhaps some expert choreographer can synchronize an Irish jig to fit that portion. I tried to take advantage of this for the karaoke competition and attempted to incorporate it into my performance, though it did seem come out lame. I still think it was the best that I can do.

This is a song that personally will continue to resonate with me. It makes for a good opening to the Sinnoh saga due to its inspiring qualities. Plus, now I've memorized the lyrics thanks to the demands of the karaoke competition. Whether or not I will sing this again is an open question, but what is not to be questioned is the attractiveness of the song. For many Pokémon fans, this would be the song that brought them together with the Sinnoh saga, and that's quite appreciable enough given what the song offers musically and lyrically.

One year ago: Pokémon and Trains