The First Unova Saga Japanese Opening Theme

Let's walk together.
Could we run?
My goal is
always shining.
-- "Best Wishes", Rica Matsumoto (interpreted)

Last Sunday, I performed - or rather, directed Ash to perform - the first opening theme to the Unova saga of the anime. That song is the one which is quoted above. It's actually quite an appropriate song, since the saga itself is titled "Best Wishes" in Japanese; note the B and W that correspond to the games of Black and White. As well, it's a rather profound song, in consideration of its lyrics and some personal connections.

A month ago, I wrote about the topic of "character songs" and briefly discussed about the song. Evidently, because it is sung by Rica Matsumoto, this song is effectively a character song for Ash (Satoshi). The lyrics themselves do support this; it's all about the feelings of a person across lands, paths, and journeys and the things that may happen within those, such as roadblocks, difficulties, and friends.... all the "best wishes" for them, appropriately. They're all addressed from the point of view of a first person, which has to be implied due to the way that the Japanese language is. It's not hard to connect the dots.

The part that I've quoted above is from the second half of the second chorus. The second half of the chorus is aptly called the "Yeah-he-he-hey" part, since the first few lines are prepended with this vocalizing. Each of the lines above are indeed prepended, but for the sake of clarity and emphasis of the quote, I've removed the "Yeah-he-he-hey". These are the same exact lines that nearly two years ago I forged a personal connection to an Indonesian pop song. And it's still true today. If I had the opportunity in singing this song, I'd have broken into the lines of that pop song before rejoining the rest of this song.

As one who cosplays as Ash, I can sense how meaningful his journey is. Through this song, I can do just that with everything that is mentioned (or, as he mentions them) within the song. The meaning seems to expand further with the personal connection that I have made, no matter how coincidental it is and nonsensical it might seem. And yet it all makes sense, including the exact title of this song. It's something that we all can appreciate.

May there be "best wishes" for here, whoever, wherever, and forevermore.

One year ago: Pokémon Go Community Day, 4/15/2018
Two years ago: Dialectics