The First Hoenn Saga Japanese Opening Theme

Last week, I (or Ash) performed in the J-Song (singing) competition what I consider to be a really great Pokémon song. The performance didn't go over as well as it should, but I still regard the song as a great one. As noted in that post, the song is titled "Advanced Adventure" by an artist called Garden. It also constitutes the first opening theme of the anime adventures in Hoenn, which is why I've titled this post the same way as other similar posts. The song is a great one because of its qualities and my personal relationship to it.

This song has male vocals, which tend to be a rarity for the Japanese side of the anime as many songs have female vocals (or at the least those which emulate that of the male main character). Its structure is nothing too special: it follows that of standard modern pop songs (ABABCB), though its "B" chorus part does have a "pre-chorus" part. The most distinct part of the song is the melody of the first two lines of the "A" verse parts; this part of the first verse is in fact repeated to close off the song and is included in a related medley. It becomes a marker for the song.

Something that may have contributed to the attractive quality of the song is the upbeat sound of the song. But that may be just a "me" thing - which I'll explain shortly below - as the lyrics mean quite a bit as well. Like many Pokémon anime openings, it contains aspirations for the expected journeys. The song even mentions a few things that were first introduced in the Hoenn region, Double Battle and Mach Bike being two of them. The driving force of the song can be likened as upgrading one's adventure, which makes the title highly appropriate.

Personally, this was one of the songs I first really enjoyed from the Japanese side of Pokémon, though it took me some time to acknowledge it. That's because I enjoyed the instrumental or karaoke version first, and it took somewhat of a long time before I got into the original Japanese vocal version. The instrumental adaptation used as BGM in the episodes is also quite enthralling. Regardless of whichever one I liked, I often played this song on a Friday (which incidentally is today) to herald the weekend, which is often filled with Pokémon. It seems remarkable that I have gotten to enjoy this song for a long time.

The song itself is also remarkable overall. It's spirited and masculine, which is a nice change of pace considering most of the other openings. The spirit of the song is also present with all its forms, whether with vocals or plainly instrumental. While it's hard to say for other fans, I'm sure that this is why I enjoy the song so much to the point of performing it. Still, I may have come quite short on the performance from last week, but there's still room to improve, as it was only the first time it was performed. If anything, the spirit of this song should be the driving force to advance, exactly as suggested by the title of this song.

One year ago: The Poké Ball Classics Merchandise Line
Two years ago: Yes, Even More Pokémon Stickers
Three years ago: Every Day We're Shufflin'