Aim to Be a Pokémon Master/Pokémon Theme

With the success of the games and cards, the next step for Pokémon was television.  Originally planned to be only 80 episodes and a movie, the show became just as popular as the rest of the franchise and remains on air to this day.  Americans received the show on the same day as the games and used it as a helpful tutorial as they played along side the story.

But before I get into each episode, I would like to look at the very first thing viewers saw: the opening songs.  I'll compare both the Japanese and American versions of the opening, since each used different visuals and theme music.

You can watch both of them here:

Aim to Be a Pokémon Master - Video  Bulbapedia Article

Pokémon Theme - Video Bulbapedia Article

Visuals

Aim to Be a Pokémon Master uses mostly original material not seen during the regular course of the show, save for a couple bits of stock animation of Satoshi/Ash in battle mode.  Pokémon Theme uses a mix of AtBPM footage and clips from episodes rearranged.  This gives the animation editing a choppy haphazard effect due to the constantly changing visuals.  For example, in the original, the legendary birds fly in towards the end of the song, followed by Mewtwo and Mew in space.  In the American version, Mewtwo and Mew are at the very beginning and when the legendary birds come in much later, Moltres is dropped completely (because that was where the transition to space occurs).  This leaves that segment feeling incomplete.

The transitional Moltres

AtBPM runs much smoother and helps establish the world and the grandness of the adventure better.  PT was just confusing since half of the shots were recognizable clips from episodes, which it made it seem like the other clips were from episodes the audience never got to see.  As I child, I always wondered why it took so long for certain Pokémon to be featured in the show, like Fearow, the Poliwag family, and the legendary birds, and now I see that it was because originally they were featured in the opening.

Aim to Be a Pokémon Master Specific Clips:

- The 7 TCG type symbols floating around the title in Japanese

- A multi-screen flashing up a dozen random Pokémon with their names

- Ash standing on a hill over looking the wilderness around Pallet Town as the camera pans around him then showing Pikachu at his feet

- Ash walking with Pikachu across a field

- Ash sending out his Pidgeot to fight the Fearow (foreshadowing the last episode of the season)

- Ash, Brock, and Misty running alongside a river in the rain as some Poliwag, Poliwhirl and a Poliwrath watch from the water

- The trio camping at night, sitting around a campfire

- The bit with Ash and the Arcanine leads into Mewtwo in space with Moltres flying by bridging the two scenes

- Ash raising his Poke Ball leading to him standing with Brock, Misty, and Pikachu on the final title screen

Pokémon Theme Specific Clips:

- Shots of Squirtle, Cubone, and Pidgeotto in battles

- Bulbasaur being captured from EP010

- Ash celebrating his assumed capture of Pidgey from EP001

- Charmander being licked by Haunter from EP023

- Shots of Sandshrew, Kadabra, and Charmander in battles

- Lt. Surge’s Raichu fighting Pikachu from EP014

- Team Rocket’s Ekans and Koffing threatening Ash’s Caterpie from EP003

- Ash hugging Pikachu from EP026

- The giant Tentacruel destroying a building from EP019

- Shot of Onix in battle

- The giant Charizard attacking the trio from EP017

- Squirtle joining Ash’s team from EP012

- Pikachu, Squirtle, Bulbasaur, Butterfree, Zubat, and Pidgeotto flying from EP019

- The Pokémon title screen with spinning Poke Ball

Clips in Both Versions:

- Pikachu running by a Charizard, Blastoise, Venusaur, and Ash (and under the skirt of that girl, who is either a Lass or the anime version of Leaf, the unused girl trainer from the games)

- Ash and Pikachu riding a Lapras, watching a Gyarados and a Dragonair

- The character line up of Ash, Misty, Brock, then Team Rocket, then Gary

- Prof. Oak, Nurse Joy, Officer Jenny, and Ash’s mother Delia nodding in unison

- Ash running with the Arcanine, Rapidash, Zapdos and Articuno

- Mewtwo and Mew in space

- Ash alone in the darkened stadium

Music

Having grown up with the Pokémon Theme as my reference point, I do prefer that song to Aim to Be a Pokémon Master.  Everyone from my generation instantly recognizes it, and more importantly, it is fun to sing along to.  It really amps up the epic nature of being a Pokémon Trainer.  The original is a little too talky, as the singer explains the conceit of the whole show.

Both are sung from Ash’s point of view, but AtBPM contains more direct references to Ash’s life in Pallet Town while PT is more universal and can apply to any wannabe Trainer.  The motivational lyrics in PT are cheesy but that makes the song more fun.  AtBPM is more tedious and not as fun to listen to (especially with the random outbursts from Pikachu and Prof. Oak).

Overall

I have to give the edge to the Japanese version in this case.  The visuals run a lot smoother than the American version and it has that sense of being original and not cobbled together and repackaged to be more appealing to our American eyes.  And eventually, you get used to the song.  Mostly, I like it because it answered a few questions I had while watching the series in its original run.  If there were a way to combine the English song with the Japanese visuals, that would be best.

Aim to Be a Pokémon Master – A-

Pokémon Theme – B+

A more in-depth comparison from Dogasu's Backpack