TV Anime Pocket Monsters OST Best 1997-2010
Long Story: Approximately two months ago I went to Japan on an exchange trip with our school for two weeks. And, it was quite friggin' enjoyable! I stayed with a host family and we went to the school and went to a bunch of different places and then my feet were sore but I didn't care because I was in JAPAN! SO AWESOME! FRIG! So, on our last day I needed to use up my money (I still had 20000 yen left, which works out to about $200AUS) so we stopped off at Nagoya on our way to the airport. Looking around, some clothes shop, fast food joints HOLY CRAP A POKEMON CENTRE! With nothing but Pokemon in it. So I bought a bunch of stuff, including a giant Celebi plushie that's so cute I can't show it here because it'll blow your brains ouOKAY YOU CAN SEE IT.
And then I set my sites on THIS:
Well my mind was set at that point. I forked over the cash and soon it was in my hands! Who cares that I had to rename all the Japanese to English when I put it on my iTunes, or that I could've easily downloaded it or asked a friend for it? It was sweet, and stuff.
Short Story: So I was in Japan a couple of months ago and I went to this Pokemon Centre and saw this CD that looked sweet so I bought because I like buying things.
The CD in questions was a compilation of 'the best' tunes from the anime series from it's inception to the CD's release in mid-2010 (maybe earlier, as the themes from the Sinnoh arc are only half there).
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
First off can I note how friggin' huge this thing is? There are 88 tracks in total (although some are 20-30 seconds long and none are over 3 minutes). Nonetheless, this is...er...(whips out calculator)...add, add, carry the one, er...2.2 hours worth of music! Holy goodness gracious me that sure is a lot!
As you saw of the picture above, it's a very well put-together package. The music comes on two discs, each stylishly having the silhouettes for the starters from each region on them. There's also a nice booklet contained within, although it's all in Japanese so bugger all if I can understand what's on it. It looks like it's got some interviews with the composer, Shinji Miyazaki, as well as (maybe?) some of the original voice actors for the show (not sure why, but just run with it). I also love how retro-90's (I can't believe I'm reminiscing about the 90's; I'm only seventeen!) the cover is! The only fault I can find with the packaging is the shame that will be incurred from having a Pokemon soundtrack on your shelf (especially such a pretty, eye-catching one).
THE MUSIC
But the packaging isn't what we're here for, isn't it boys and girls? Actually, I'm sure no one is here right now, and this is my review, so shut your mouth pl0z.
Here's a track list that no one cares about:
CD 1 Tracklist
01 - Opening
02 - Opening II
03 - Opening III
04 - The Road to Viridian City - From Pallet Town I
05 - The Road to Viridian City - From Pallet Town II
06 - Battle (VS Wild Pokémon)
07 - Fanfare - Got a Pokémon
08 - Guide
09 - Pokémon Center I
10 - Pokémon Center II
11 - The Caves of Mt. Moon
12 - The Road to Pewter City - From Mt. Moon
13 - Jigglypuff's Song
14 - A Trainer Appears (Boy Version)
15 - Battle (VS Trainer) I
16 - Battle (VS Trainer) II
17 - Pokémon Gym I
18 - Pokémon Gym[2]
19 - Battle (VS Gym Leader)
20 - The Road to Lavender Town - From Vermillion City
21 - Cycling
22 - Pokémon Tower I
23 - Pokémon Tower II
24 - PokéFlute
25 - The Sea I
26 - The Sea II
27 - The Final Path
28 - Last Battle (VS Rival)
29 - Ending I
30 - Title I
31 - Route 29
32 - Fight! Wild Pokémon (Johto)
33 - Ecruteak City
34 - Fight! Rival
35 - Bug Catching Contest
36 - Bicycle
37 - Route 38
38 - Fight! Trainer (Johto)
39 - Surfing
40 - Eye Contact! Team Rocket
41 - The Radio Tower Takeover
42 - Route 26
43 - The Magnet Train
44 - Pewter City
45 - Fight! Champion
46 - Ending II
CD2 Tracklist
01 - Title ~Main Theme~
02 - Opening Selection
03 - Oldale Town
04 - Fight! Wild Pokémon
05 - Petalburg City
06 - Gym
07 - Victory over a Gym Leader!
08 - Congratulations on the Evolution
09 - Cross the Sea
10 - Oceanic Museum
11 - Enter Team Aqua!
12 - Contest!
13 - Fortree City
14 - Lilycove City
15 - Recovery
16 - Mt. Pyre
17 - Enter Team Magma!
18 - Hideout
19 - Fight! Team Aqua/Magma
20 - Fight! Ancient Pokémon
21 - Victory Road I
22 - Victory Road II
23 - Fight! Elite Four
24 - Abandoned Ship
25 - Sealed Chamber
26 - Fight! Regirock - Regice - Registeel
27 - Laboratory (Opening) I
28 - Laboratory (Opening) II
29 - Laboratory (Opening) III
30 - Twinleaf Town (Day)
31 - Route 201 (Day)
32 - Fight! Wild Pokémon
33 - Sandgem Town (Day)
34 - Eterna Forest
35 - Eye Contact! Pokémon Collector
36 - Route 206 (Day)
37 - Eye Contact! Karate King
38 - Eye Contact! Artist
39 - Super Contest!
40 - Difficult Dance
41 - Fight! Gym Leader
42 - Route 210 (Day)
At first glance, you might think the package is a bit bloated, with 88 tracks, but let's put this into perspective: since it covers four major arcs of the show (well, three and a half), those 88 tracks are cut down to 22 per season. PER SEASON? You'll also note that the entire collection is composed exclusive of music that was inspired by the games and later translated to the anime. NONE of the tracks (with I think one exception) are exclusive to the anime, which may piss of some people, but it's already got 88 tracks, and hopefully (if this set sells well) a second compilation will come out later with some more anime-exclusive tracks. Kinda sucks, but considering that we've been waiting 13 years for this to come out, it's kind of a half-empty, half-full situation.
Let's start with the Kanto section. Containing many of the more memorable tracks, (this is where Pokemon started! Squee!) the Kanto music takes up quite a bit more room then the others, being composed of 29 tracks. The first track, Opening, is true to it's word, being a rendition of the opening theme from Red/Blue. Then we have To Viridian From Pallet, aka Route 1. It's a perfect track to kick-start the whole album, harking back to that innocence that is the route (haha see what I did there? I'm so smrt...) of what the games were all about. The first truly epic track comes in the form of Battle (Vs Wild Pokemon), that classic tune that we ALL remember (at least, we all SHOULD remember). That a tune from the games brings back memories from the ANIME and not so much the games is a testament to how Miyazaki turned an already classic piece and turned it into something new. From there we have a host of familiar tracks that continue to pop up in the anime (and the games) even to this day (Guide, Pokemon Centre, Caught a Pokemon).
Holy shit, I can't believe I'm only half-way through the first arc; this is just too much fun! I'm just drinking up the nostalgia now. We then come to another anime classic theme, Battle (Vs Trainer). The thoughts I have towards this one is similar to the other battle theme; I'm still amazed at how an 8-bit tune from the games is turned into it's own creation and becomes a major identity for the anime. It's swell. After that, it's a bunch of miscellaneous tunes, like the Bike theme, Pokemon Tower (Lavender Town's theme is probably too scary for this set!) and a route theme (To Lavender From Vermillion).
I then come to a nice surprise; the Surfing theme, renamed here 'The Sea'. It's got a calming presence about it, and I instantly liked it, which surprised me because the surf theme from Red/Blue never really stuck with me that much (I much prefer the Gold/Silver rendition). We then come to 'The Final Path', which I swear I never heard in Red/Blue, let alone any of the others. Maybe you guys could give it a listen to see if I'm wrong?
The second-last song for the Kanto section, 'Last Battle (Vs Rival)', is awesome. It's shear action, and I love it. In the middle parts, when Miyazaki brings in some unusual instrument that sounds like some unholy mix of synth, harp and crashing glass (seriously, wth is it?) hooks me right in.
The other sections of the soundtrack continue in the same track, with a mix of battle music, route themes, trainer themes and various miscellaneous stuff (the sound the Pokemon Centre machine makes when it heals your Poke's is on here!) are here as well. I'll spare you another long-winded review of those sections by just going over some tracks that stood out for me.
ALL the battle themes: Even if there's a particular one you didn't like (I'm still getting used to the Diamond/Pearl one frankly) it's interesting just to listen to how the simple tune sounds with full orchestral force.
The Oceanic Museum: One of the biggest disappointments of this soundtrack is the lack of the classic SS Anne theme (a personal favourite of mine). But surprisingly, 'The Oceanic Museum' brings that classic theme back while working in a little theme of it's own. It's also a nice slow track, fitting perfectly with the setting it is for (a museum duh).
Hideout: Noted for just how cool and snazzy it sounds, setting up a mini-suite of sorts for all the Team Magma/Aqua stuff which keeps this whole 'cool' attitude about it. The 'guilty pleasure' track.
Eterna Woods: It's no Lavender Town, but in some respects I'm glad that it's not. There's a slightly foreboding, but ultimately mysterious awe going on with this track, and is quite unique amongst the whole album.
Route 210 (Day): Testament that while the quality of the Pokemon themselves might be losing quality (up for debate), music remains top-notch. I remember still integrating myself into the whole Diamond/Pearl world, bitching to myself about how crap the world was and the new Pokemon in it. I was also lamenting the lack of a 'classic' tune that herald back to 'the glory days'. This track changed everything. I remember flying back to this route when I had no business there, just to listen to the sweet music (and vs a pair of rich old people that gave a crapton of money, that too).
FINAL THOUGHTS:
I'm so friggin' glad I got this. The very least you guys could do is check it out; most of the tracks are up on Youtube if you don't savour the thought of downloading the whole thing (or don't want to face the shame of having them on your iTunes in the first place).
So if the world's getting you down (looking at you, TA), just pick out a tune you remember from your yesteryears and just sit down for a minute or two. And listen. Listen and remember.
From:
ShadowRaven
P.S: Holy crap massive tl;dr. Anyone who suggests I stole this review from someone else gets shot.
P.P.S: I want to integrate videos, but I can't integrate videos because I don't know how to integrate videos can someone please teach me how to integrate videos?
P.P.P.S: lololol im a noob take pity on me
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Originally Posted by ShadowRaven
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