TPCi making better openings/intros

[Yash]

Problem with the 30-second songs is they don’t really have enough time to build up. Most of the Japanese songs do this really well, by the time they hit the chorus you’re in full hype mode. The 4Kids songs are shorter than those (45 seconds to a minute) but even that lets them structure them a bit more, the songs can breathe a bit at the beginning.

TPCI’s theme songs on the other hand have to hit that chorus almost immediately so you’re going from 0 to 11. The full versions (when they do them) honestly aren’t that much better since they’re just extensions of songs that were written with those constraints in mind. The first XY theme is still their best in my opinion and all it is is a cover of the season 1 theme song. The other ones occasionally have a good hook but you need more than that for a compelling song.

Not gonna pin this all on TPCI because like it’s been mentioned, a lot of this comes down to US broadcasting standards which favor more and more commercials. Even Kids’ WB! started chopping down the seasons 1-2-3 theme songs in reruns, and older shows on Nickelodeon, Disney etc. get sped up every so slightly to accommodate longer ad breaks. It’ll probably only get worse as streaming continues to grow and ad revenue becomes more precious to the networks.

Moving over to Netflix or wherever could allow this to change, Goldfarb’s produced some bangers when he isn’t forced to adhere to the 30-second rule (the ending themes for the movies, mostly), though I honestly doubt they’d change gears as TV would probably always be an option.

 

[LuxrayOfTheWild]

The biggest problem is the 30 second limit they have and how they use it at times. Some openings can pull it off....Somewhat. Other's can't. They really need like 45 seconds though to properly build up the song's first verse to a real hype chorus. Two openings that do this perfectly are I Wanna Be A Hero and This Dream from the 4kids era. Looking at two different openings though from the TPCi era, one can do this...somewhat well and one doesn't use the time to properly build up to a chorus. The two openings I wanna look at are Rival Destinies and Stand Tall. I'm no expert in song analysis or dissecting the structure of a song, but I'm gonna make an attempt to show that some songs can make an attempt to use up the 30 seconds for a verse and a chorus while some can't provide a build up to a catchy chorus.

Rival Destinies- Verse

A new adventure, another day
One more challenge that comes our way
It's up to me and you
We know what we've got to do

This is the first verse and only verse of the dub opening. The lyrics start up immediately and the verse lasts for about 14 seconds, but it does an okay job of building up to its chorus. The line "We know what we've gotta do." does feel somewhat like a good ending to the verse also.

Rival Destnies- Chorus

We are together now, friends forever now
Whatever comes our way, we won't run away
Standing tall
One for all
It's our destiny
Pokémon!

They use the rest of the 16 seconds for the chorus. While its not very catchy compared to past openings, they did use the time properly to have a verse build up to a chorus. In the end, the song makes a decent attempt to fully utilize the time it has to make a descent song with a verse that builds up to a chorus. The lyrics about being friends for ever and tackling things together feels a little cheesy, but its okay. This was pretty much their go to for all the Best Wishes openings. It's an okay song in the end that does use its time wisely.

Stand Tall- Verse

I stand tall 'cause I know I'm a winner
Knock me down, I'll just get up again
You've met your match, yeah, I'm no beginner
Pokémon,
Pokémon,
Gotta catch 'em all!

About 5 seconds of it is used for an opening instrumental while another 15 seconds are used for what feels like a rather incomplete verse with no build up to a chorus. That "Pokemon, Pokemon, Gotta catch em all!" just feels like an ending to the song rather than a transition to a chorus.

Stand Tall- ??????

I stand tall 'cause I know I'm a winner
Pokémon,
Pokémon,
Gotta catch 'em all!

There is no catchy chorus or anything. They never use the time they had to build up to a catchy chorus. They only had 10 seconds at this point and just repeat the first line of the incomplete verse, then repeat "Pokemon, Pokemon, Gotta catch 'em all!" The song in the end comes off as very rushed and has no build up to any chorus, opting to just repeat parts of the verse. The lyrics reflect Ash as a trainer. One who doesn't quit and keeps on going. It doesn't save this song from the fact that it feels very rushed and just leaves you wanting more.

 

[Kurolegacy]

The biggest problem is the 30 second limit they have and how they use it at times. Some openings can pull it off....Somewhat. Other's can't. They really need like 45 seconds though to properly build up the song's first verse to a real hype chorus. Two openings that do this perfectly are I Wanna Be A Hero and This Dream from the 4kids era. Looking at two different openings though from the TPCi era, one can do this...somewhat well and one doesn't use the time to properly build up to a chorus. The two openings I wanna look at are Rival Destinies and Stand Tall. I'm no expert in song analysis or dissecting the structure of a song, but I'm gonna make an attempt to show that some songs can make an attempt to use up the 30 seconds for a verse and a chorus while some can't provide a build up to a catchy chorus.

Rival Destinies- Verse

This is the first verse and only verse of the dub opening. The lyrics start up immediately and the verse lasts for about 14 seconds, but it does an okay job of building up to its chorus. The line "We know what we've gotta do." does feel somewhat like a good ending to the verse also.

Rival Destnies- Chorus

They use the rest of the 16 seconds for the chorus. While its not very catchy compared to past openings, they did use the time properly to have a verse build up to a chorus. In the end, the song makes a decent attempt to fully utilize the time it has to make a descent song with a verse that builds up to a chorus. The lyrics about being friends for ever and tackling things together feels a little cheesy, but its okay. This was pretty much their go to for all the Best Wishes openings. It's an okay song in the end that does use its time wisely.

Stand Tall- Verse

About 5 seconds of it is used for an opening instrumental while another 15 seconds are used for what feels like a rather incomplete verse with no build up to a chorus. That "Pokemon, Pokemon, Gotta catch em all!" just feels like an ending to the song rather than a transition to a chorus.

Stand Tall- ??????

There is no catchy chorus or anything. They never use the time they had to build up to a catchy chorus. They only had 10 seconds at this point and just repeat the first line of the incomplete verse, then repeat "Pokemon, Pokemon, Gotta catch 'em all!" The song in the end comes off as very rushed and has no build up to any chorus, opting to just repeat parts of the verse. The lyrics reflect Ash as a trainer. One who doesn't quit and keeps on going. It doesn't save this song from the fact that it feels very rushed and just leaves you wanting more.

Definitely agree with Stand Tall. When I first heard the song, it felt like they were trying to build towards something but then it just ends abruptly just as it was getting anywhere. As a result, it feels incomplete as opposed to the first verse of a longer song. They rectified it more or less with the full version but it doesn’t really help that this is supposed to be the sample of the song that gets you into the mood to watch the show.

 

[Almonds]

There's so much you can do with good theme songs, though :/ A memorable song is just as marketable as a memorable show.

 

[Insanish Danish]

I haven't watched the dub in ages so I don't know any of the openings past the second BW one, but I've never really liked any of TPCi's openings. 30 seconds may not be a lot to work with, but I feel like they could put in at least a little more effort. I genuinely love all of 4Kids' openings, though.

(Funnily enough, I've gone from outright loathing the first DP dub opening to being strangely fond of it. It's not a great song by any means, but it's kind of catchy.)

 

[Nicolas721]

Song-wise, Loeffer had a decent start in DP, which kinda made up for the 30-second rule, but in BW his songs became slower and more predictable. Goldfarb on the other hand is a real rollercoaster, he can give us masterpieces like Be a hero and Under the Alolan Sun and follow them with songs that try so hard to be cool and end up being forgettable like Stand Tall and Under the Alolan Moon, The Challenge of Life is his only average song. I don't know what to expect for PM.

Edition-wise, they're very unreliable too, sometimes it's decent sometimes it's bad. At least they keep using the Japanese openings' footage.

 

[P_S_B]

I think we need a CD of the Loeffler songs from DP through BW. In a similar vein to the Goldfarb CD from 2017 it would have the extended versions of all the opening, the movie credits songs and the Pikachu short songs. There were some really good songs from that era that I would like professionally-made versions of and not just audio rips from the DVDs or Youtube in the case of the Pikachu shorts.