Rika Matsumoto/Whiteberry -- Mezase Pokémon Master (めざせポケモンマスター)

Alright, I got 10 Antidotes which should be enough to cure any of my Pokémon's poisoned status. Koga has two Koffings at level 37 - they have a high defense stat so... Venusaur can take care of them with Razor Leaf. Then there's his level 39 Muk with high special defense... Growlithe can come in with Dig, hopefully not missing since Muk will most likely use the annoying Minimize move. Finally Koga's strongest team member Weezing. Urgh, it has Selfdestruct and it's at such a high level (43) with such a high defense stat... Well, Snorlax has Psychic now, hopefully it'll be able to take out the Weezing before it has a chance to blow up. In the event that it does explode, hopefully Snorlax's huge health stat can tank the attack. - Noelle's thought process while going to face the 5th Gym Leader in Pokémon Red, Koga, who uses poison-type Pokemon. Technical information courtesy of Bulbapedia.

Wow, I sound like a huge PokeNerd but to progress through the game with lesser difficulty, having to do some research is necessary. Though it seemed like I had a tough time against Koga, who's in no way similar to the showa era composer, Masao Koga, I actually breezed through the battle without much problem - Venusaur, being part poison-type itself, couldn't get poisoned by his team; puppy Growlithe had a close-call with the irritating Muk that indeed used Minimize; and the large, rotund Snorlax managed to sweep through the feared Weezing before it could use Selfdestruct. I guess I lucked out on this one.

Okay, you must be wondering why I'm chattering away about my escapades in the Kanto region. This year marks the 20th anniversary for one of Nintendo's most well-known franchises, Pokémon, where people catch the titular creatures to battle each other. So to commemorate the event, Nintendo re-released its first few games - Red and Blue (Green, if it's the Japanese one) versions from 1996, and Yellow from 1998 - in the 3DS e-shop on 27th February. I got myself the Red edition and have been spending a lot of time traversing though the 2D, black and white, 8-bit world with features that are actually very ahead of its time despite being primitive when compared to the new games.

Besides churning out console games, Pokémon also has an anime series that began in the late 90's and is still going strong in this day and age with its 5th series, "XY". Unlike the games, I can't say that I'm a big fan of the anime now as main character Ash Ketchum drives the current-me up the wall by not evolving his Pokemon and wasting their potential. But when me a decade ago couldn't be bothered with such trivial stuff as long as I got to see my favourite Pocket Monsters (what Pokémon stands for) on TV. As usual, each season has its own theme songs and today I shall be talking about the one from the "Original series" from 1997 (huh, it's as old as I am), "Mezase Pokémon Master" (Aim to Be a Pokémon Master)  since I am currently in the midst of the first game created.

This thing, my friends, is a Sandshrew. 

Personally, I didn't watch much of the first series of Pokémon but I am familiar with the English dubbed version's theme song simply called "Pokémon theme", a rock-inspired opening with the revving of the electric guitar and it sounds a little like an 80's number. It does get the young ones all geared up and raring to go on adventures with Ash and his electric Pikachu. As for "Mezase Pokémon Master" in the Japanese version, I've never heard it together with the montage of Pokémon running across or toward the screen but I have heard a few seconds on it whenever I listen to J-Pop hit medleys from the 90's. From that sample I could understand why it did well on the Oricon charts as it was quite a jaunty tune that is more pop than rock. Hearing the full song, I was somewhat surprised that it began sounding quite R&B-like with voice-actress Rika Matsumoto (松本梨香) rapping about the places one can try to find Pokémon, like in the grass and in the clouds. While not as high-octane as "Pokémon theme", "Mezase Pokémon Master" is still quite a cool theme song for the show. By the way, Matsumoto is the voice of Ash, or Satoshi as he is known in the Japanese version, as well as the Persian owned by the big, bad Giovanni, leader of the evil Team Rocket.

Whiteberry version

"Mezase Pokémon Master" was written and composed by Akihito Toda (戸田昭吾) and Hirokazu Tanaka (たなかひろかず) respectively. As mentioned earlier the song did well on the charts, peaking at 7th on the Oricon weeklies and eventually becoming the 51st best-selling song by the end of 1997, selling almost 2 million copies. In 1998, it jumped up a few places to become 44th. Whiteberry did a cover of "Mezase Pokémon Master", which was used as the fourth opening theme to the "Original series" in 1999. It's quite similar to Matsumoto's version, but I prefer the original.

I always choose Bulbasaur for Gen I.
(Left most)

aminoapps.com/page/pokemon/8982616/which-gen-1-starter-would-did-you-pick

Well, time to go back to what the Charmander and Squirtle are doing - playing Pokémon on the DS.

Jitterin' Jinn/Whiteberry -- Natsu Matsuri (夏祭り）

One of the signs that Japanese music was going through a major sea change was this band. Jitterin' Jinn is a group that originated in Nara in 1986 and had a brief 1-week tenure as a champion on the famed music audition program "Miyake Yuuji no Ikasu Band Tengoku"(三宅裕司のいかすバンド天国....Yuuji Miyake's Cool Band Paradise). Like Dreams Come True, Jitterin' Jinn just had this unique, very non-kayo kyoku (very much in the "Plus"part of my blog) and yet somewhat retro sound. Plus the overall look of the band just gave that Indies vibe about them. Finally, the lead singer Reiko Harukawa（春川玲子）seemed to strike me as a mix between an anime character and Audrey Hepburn in terms of looks and fashion.

"Natsu Matsuri"(Summer Festival) was their 4th single released in August 1990. It knocked me out with its staccato percussion and guitar, and the mood it evoked fit perfectly with the raucous atmosphere of a Japanese summer festival: goldfish scooping, young folk walking along in yukata, dancing and mikoshi battles. And it didn't sound anything like an enka song. In fact, it didn't sound anything like any sort of Japanese song that had come before. The song peaked at No. 3 on the Oricon weeklies and finished the year as the 80th-ranked tune. It was also a track on their 3rd album, "Punchout" released a few weeks after the single had come out.

A decade later, the Hokkaido teen rock group Whiteberry did a growlier version of "Natsu Matsuri" with guitars a-blazing and a more frenetic drum solo. Their version was the biggest hit for the group which lasted from 1994-2004, though their major debut hadn't happened until 1999. As with Jitterin' Jinn, the song peaked at No. 3 but it ended the year at a much higher position at No. 34. The band also made it onto the 2000 Kohaku Utagassen.

Whiteberry's video for the song was not only a more joyful celebration of summer in Japan with all of the customary fireworks, but reflecting the members' ages I guess, it also showed a lot of the countryside where the kids probably enjoyed running and chasing butterflies. The only thing that was missing was chirping cicadas.

Actually a Fall Festival in Shinjuku
but hey it's still festive.