April 2015






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Dogasu's Backpack | Old Updates Archive | April 2015


Hoopa's Great "Appear~!" Operation, Episode Two
April 30th, 2015

Dogasu @ 07:36 JST -- The second episode of the six-episode Hoopa shorts just aired on Oha Suta!  Here's a summary.



I was waiting for Hoopa's plan to escalate - like, maybe after seeing that Pikachu's still awake it summons a legendary pokemon to finish the job - but no such luck.  Oh well!

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Information about the pre-order pokemon has finally been added!
April 26th, 2015

Dogasu @ 12:48 JST -- The legendary pokemon you can get for pre-ordering a ticket to see Pokémon the movie XY "The Archdjinn of the Rings, Hoopa" and "Pikachu and the Pokemon Band" were revealed the other week.

Legendary Pokemon

Information about each pokemon has been added to the Pre-Order Bonuses page.

Pokémon the movie XY "The Archdjinn of the Rings, Hoopa" and "Pikachu and the Pokemon Band"
hits Japanese theaters on July 18th, 2015.  It is the second Pocket Monsters XY movie and the 18th film in the franchise overall.


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Hoopa's Great "Appear~!" Operation, Episode One
April 23rd, 2015

Dogasu @ 07:51 JST -- The first of six animated shorts featuring Hoopa aired on this morning's episode of Oha Suta and so I've typed up a summary of what happens.  The first minute-long short of Hoopa's Great "Appear~!" Operation is called "Fly."

"Fly"

Fingers crossed that these shorts get uploaded to the official YouTube channel before too long.

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Pokémon the movie XY "The Archdjinn of the Rings, Hoopa" Manga Adaptation, Chapter One
April 21st, 2015

Dogasu @ 23:36 JST -- The May 2015 issue of CoroCoro Comics featured the first chapter of the three (?) part manga adaptation of this year's movie, Pokémon the movie XY "The Archdjinn of the Rings, Hoopa."  I've written up a detailed summary of the 80-page first chapter and have added it to the Manga Guide.

The Archdjinn of the Rings, Hoopa

My wish for the movie?  I would love to see Damos or Sheena from the Diamond & Pearl movie Arceus - To the Conquering of Time and Space make a cameo, say, during the end credits where we see them making the Arceus pendants that Mary and Balza end up wearing in this movie.

The second chapter will run in the June issue of CoroCoro Comics, on-sale May 15th, 2015.

Special Guest Voice Actors Confirmed!
April 21st, 2015

Dogasu @ 23:36 JST -- This year's guest stars for Pokémon the movie XY "The Archdjinn of the Rings, Hoopa" were announced last week.  They are Fujiwara Tatsuya (藤原竜也) as Balza, Yamadera Kou'ichi (山寺宏一) as Hoopa Unbound, Nakagawa Shouko (中川翔子) as Mary, and judo athlete Shinohara Shin'ichi (篠原信一) as a random Hippopotas Satoshi and his friends run into in the desert.

Special Guests

Here are the comments the cast made for the official website:

Fujiwara Tatsuya
Fujiwara Tatsuya (Balza)
"I was both excited and honored to be offered a voiceover part in such a popular and time-honored series but, on the other hand, I was so worried if I was really the right man for the job that I asked the producers again just to make sure.  I really did my best with Balza to avoid disappointing all the Pokemon fans out there and to respect the world this movie will create."

伝統ある大人気作品の声優オファーをいただきとても嬉しく光栄な反面、自分がやらせていただいて本当にいいものか不安だったので一度制作サイドに聞き返し たくらいでした。ポケモンファンの期待を裏切らないように、そして作品の世界観を壊さないようにバルザ役を務めたいと思います。

Fujiwara Tatsuya is a very well-known actor even in the West with roles like Nanahara Shuya in Battle Royale, Yagami Light in the live action
Death Note movies, and Shishio Makoto in the live action Rurouni Kenshin movies.  I really wish Dent was still in the series because having Miyano Mamoru (animated Yagami Light) and Fujiwara Tatsuya (live-action Yagami Light) together in the same film would have been freaking amazing.

Based on this blurb I also kind of get the sense that Mr. Fujiwara isn't really that huge a fan of Pokemon and that this is really just another gig to him.  Not that it matters one way or the other, of course. 

I often joke with my friends that Fujiwara Tatsuya's main schtick is having his characters just straight up scream like crazy people and I wonder if Balza will give him a chance to let loose like that.

Yamadera Kou'ichi
Yamadera Kou'ichi (Hoopa Unbound)
"I've been allowed to do a lot of roles over the years, both humans and Pokemon, but this year I'm playing the lead pokemon who has an unbelievable power!  It's a hugely important role so I tried to give the role the fresh energy a beginner would give it even though I've been doing these movies every year.  I'm also looking forward to collaborating with Ms. Kugimiya, who plays Hoopa Confined!"

これまで人間役やポケモン役、色々やらせていただきましたが、今回はとんでもない力を持つ主役ポケモン!とても重要な役どころなので、毎年出させていただ いておりますが初心に戻って新鮮な気持ちで頑張りたいと思います!いましめられしすがたのフーパを演じる釘宮さんとのコラボレーションも楽しみにしていま す!

Confirmation that Kugimiya Rie's voicing Hoopa in the movie?  Check!

Nakagawa Shouko
Nakagawa Shouko (Mary)
"Mary is a strong person who grew up with Hoopa and continues to look after it.  She has a lot of sides to her - she has both a bright and innocent laugh but also has some heart-breaking tragedy in her past - and out of all the characters I've been fortunate enough to play over the last nine films Mary was particularly challenging to portray from a technical point of view.  I've spent a lot of time with Pokemon over the years and have laughed, been surprised, been excited, been moved, cried, and screamed, and I want to charge forward with all these emotions!"

メアリは、共に育ったフーパを優しく見守るしっかり者。明るく無邪気に笑ったり、心引き裂かれる悲しみに苦しんだり、色々な面があって過去出演させていた だいた9作の中で技術的な難易度が特に高い役。これまで私がポケモンと共に過ごして笑ったり驚いたり興奮したり感動したり泣いたり叫んだりした、その全て の感情をぶつけていきたいです!

Nakagawa Shouko made a very similar comment last year ("This character is one with a lot of different sides to her so I think she'll help me show you all an all-new Nakagawa Shouko") so it seems like she really likes her multi-faceted characters!  I don't feel like Millis Steel was all that deep a character so I wonder how Mary will compare to that.

Shinohara Shin'ichi
Shinohara Shin'ichi (Hippopotas)
""Why me?"  That was my first reaction (laughs)  I can't believe I get to be in a Pokemon movie!  I'm honored.  I'll be able to brag about this to kids.  I'm a man who only knows about judo but I want to put as much energy into my performance as I would if I was doing a judo throw in order to make the children all over Japan smile   Please look forward to my appearance on the big screen.  I did it~!"

「なんでオレ?」それが第一印象です(笑)まさかポケモン映画に出演できるなんて!光栄です。子供に自慢できるし。柔道しか知らない男ですが、全国の子供 たちを笑顔にするため、大外刈りをかけるぐらいの気合いで声優にも挑戦したいと思います。スクリーンでの大活躍にご期待下さい。やったるでー!

Mr. Shinohara actually mentions a specific judo technique, kosoto gari, but I decided to simply translate it as "judo throw" for simplicity's sake.

...And that's it!  Last month it was also announced that Yamamoto Mizuki (山本美月) will be providing the narration for the Pikachu short Pikachu and the Pokemon Band, which brings the number of special guests up to five.  Last year's movie, by comparison, had eight.  Budget cuts I guess?

I think it's safe to say that the rest of the legendary pokemon will be performed by regular voice actors and not the special voice actors who portrayed them in the previous movies.  I mean if Miwa Akihiro was going to return as Arceus, for example, then she'd be listed here along with everyone else, right?  Yamadera Kou'ichi might reprise his role as Lugia and Hayashibara Megumi might come back Latias since they'll both be in the recording booth anyway but that's about it.

Pokémon the movie XY "The Archdjinn of the Rings, Hoopa" and "Pikachu and the Pokemon Band" hits Japanese theaters on July 18th, 2015.  It is the second Pocket Monsters XY movie and the 18th film in the franchise overall.

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New Hoopa Shorts to air on Oha Suta starting April 23rd
April 21st, 2015

Dogasu @ 23:36 JST -- The official website for Pokémon the movie XY "The Archdjinn of the Rings, Hoopa" and "Pikachu and the Pokemon Band" has announced that there will be a series of "Laugh-Out-Loud Short Cartoons" (爆笑ショートアニメ) airing on the morning kids' show Oha Suta every Thursday starting April 23rd.  The shorts will be called Hoopa's Great "Appear~!" Operation!! (フーパのおでまし大作戦!!).

Hoopa

Nothing else is really known about the shorts right now.  What's the runtime look like?  How many will there be?  Will they be airing every week until the movie's July 18th premiere?  At this moment we have more questions than answers.

Screenshots

Oha Suta (おはスタ) is a variety show aimed at kids that airs every weekday morning from 6:45 to 7:30 on TV-Tokyo.  While Pokemon Get☆TV and its predecessors (Pokemon Smash!, Pokemon Sunday, etc.) are centered entirely on Pocket Monsters, Oha Suta has a much wider focus and looks at a lot more of the popular kids' shows in Japan.  In a lot of ways it's kind of like the television show equivalent of the CoroCoro Comics magazine.  The main host of the show is Yamadera Kou'ichi (山寺宏一) with the comedy trio Robert (ロバート) also making regular appearances.  You've probably also heard the name Oha Suta whenever a new Pocket Monsters movie trailer comes out since they're usually the ones to air them first.  You can see the program's official website here.

Pokémon the movie XY "The Archdjinn of the Rings, Hoopa" and "Pikachu and the Pokemon Band"
hits Japanese theaters on July 18th, 2015.  It is the second Pocket Monsters XY movie and the 18th film in the franchise overall.


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New Plot Details Revealed
April 21st, 2015

Dogasu @ 23:36 JST -- The official website for Pokémon the movie XY "The Archdjinn of the Rings, Hoopa" and "Pikachu and the Pokemon Band" has updated its synopsis of the movie.  The beginning part is identical to what it had up before but new information, which I've bolded below, has been tacked onto the end:

One hundred years ago, the desert city of Dessert City suffered extensive damage due to a battle between pokemon.  The battle broke out because of the existence of a certain pokemon...  However, that pokemon was sealed away by an unknown person and the city returned to its previous state.

While on their journey, Satoshi, Pikachu, and their friends meet Hoopa, a phantom pokemon who has "Rings that can call forth anything you want" as well as Mary, the young woman who's been taking care of it.  Everyone is surprised and happy when this rascally Hoopa uses its mysterious Rings to call forth donuts and other things it likes.  This harmless pokemon likes to tease Satoshi and Pikachu by calling them "Saton" (サトーン) and "Pikan" (ピカーン).  It becomes good friends with our heroes and eventually joins them on their journey.

Satoshi and his friends arrive in Dessert City and meet Mary's older brother, Balza.  However, something seems to be wrong with Balza.  Upon closer inspection they see that he's holding the "Confinement Urn" that was used to seal the pokemon who destroyed Dessert City so long ago!  A dark presence seeps out from the urn and turns into a dark shadow before long.  This shadow gradually takes the shape of Hoopa's true form, "Unbound Form."  Or, in other words, "Super Hoopa!" 

It turns out that the pokemon who let loose 100 years ago was Super Hoopa!  Hoopa's true power was sealed in the urn where its long confinement transformed it into pure rage and now it's been revived as the black shadow Super Hoopa!  The unbound Super Hoopa starts to go on a rampage and calls forth legendary pokemon from each of its six Rings: Primal Groudon, Primal Kyogre, Dialga, Palkia, Giratina, and Kyurem!  If this keeps up the city will be in real trouble! 
In order to protect the city Hoopa uses its Rings to call forth new legendary pokemon and make them "Appear~!"

Legendary vs. Legendary!  This battle will cut through the earth, divide the seas, and warp the skies!  
Can Satoshi and his friends protect Dessert City together with the legendary pokemon that Hoopa made "Appear~"?  And how will the battle between Hoopa and Super Hoopa go?  The biggest battle in Pokemon movie history is about to begin!

Pokémon the movie XY "The Archdjinn of the Rings, Hoopa" and "Pikachu and the Pokemon Band" hits Japanese theaters on July 18th, 2015.  It is the second Pocket Monsters XY movie and the 18th film in the franchise overall.

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Theme Song for "The Archdjinn of the Rings, Hoopa" announced
April 21st, 2015

Dogasu @ 23:36 JST -- Last Saturday information about the theme song to this year's movie Pokémon the movie XY "The Archdjinn of the Rings, Hoopa" was announced on the movie's official website.

Yasuda Rei

The song is called Tweedia (written out in English letters) and it will be performed by somebody named Yasuda Rei (安田レイ).  The official website is hyping her up as a breakout artist whose first nationwide solo tour has sold out in most of its venues but nobody I've talked to in the last week or so have ever even heard of her.  "Tweedia" is the name of a type of flower which means
"love filled with happiness" and "mutual trust" in the language of flowers.  Ms. Yasuda gave this comment on the official site:
:
Ever since I was little, I would enjoy watching the Pokemon TV show each week with my little brother.  We had a lot of the cards and toys in our house.  I was so happy when I was chosen to perform the theme song for the big screen version of something I had been watching since I was a child!

Pokemon has reminded me of the importance of friendship and bonds many times.  I'm happy to use the song Tweedia, which means "love filled with happiness" and "mutual trust" in the language of flowers, to get everyone pumped up
for this story that's filled with those kinds of friendship and bonds.

I hope you'll listen to the song while thinking about the friends and other important people in your life who are always there for you.


小さい頃、毎週弟とTV放送を楽しみにしていたポケモン。
家に、カードや、おもちゃもたくさんありました。そんな小さい頃から見てきたポケモンの映画の主題歌に選んでいただいて、ほんとうに幸せです!

ポケモンを通して、仲間や、キズナの大切さに、何度も気付かせられました。そんな、仲間やキズナを描いたストーリーをさらに、「幸福の愛」「信じあう心」 という花言葉の意味を持つこの『Tweedia(トゥイーディア)』で、盛り上げられたら嬉しいです!

是非、大切な仲間や、いつも支えてくれている人のことを思い浮かべながら聴いていただきたいです。

Yasuda Rei's official website can be found here.

Pokémon the movie XY "The Archdjinn of the Rings, Hoopa" and "Pikachu and the Pokemon Band" hits Japanese theaters on July 18th, 2015.  It is the second Pocket Monsters XY movie and the 18th film in the franchise overall.

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Pokémon the Movie: Hoopa and the Clash of Ages

April 21st, 2015

Dogasu @ 23:36 JST -- A trailer for the English version of Pokémon the movie XY "The Archdjinn of the Rings, Hoopa" and "Pikachu and the Pokemon Band" was just made available on YouTube.  The English title is Pokémon the Movie: Hoopa and the Clash of Ages.

"Pokemon the Movie: Hoopa and the Clash of Ages"

Much like the English language Diancie and the Cocoon of Destruction trailer from last year, the trailer for Hoopa and the Clash of Ages is simply an English dub of the current Japanese trailer.  I'm kind of surprised they didn't find some weird way to mispronounce Hoopa's name but I suppose there's still time for them to change it to "Hoopay" or something else equally ridiculous before the film's release.

Predictably, there's no mention of the Pikachu short being dubbed.

A lot of people online really seem to hate the voice acting which is something I've been trying to tell people for like fifteen years or so but better late than never, right?  Recent alleged nastiness involving a certain voice director means that there's actually a pretty decent chance that the voice will change when the movie comes out so people might get their wish for a voice actor change after all.  Only time will tell!

The other interesting tidbit from this announcement is the accompanying press release which reveals a 70 minute runtime for the film:

Pikachu, Ash, and friends are having red-carpet adventures in Cannes this week, where a brand-new teaser trailer for the latest Pokémon feature film has been revealed.

The 70-minute animated movie takes Ash, Pikachu, and their friends to a desert city by the sea. Here they meet the Mythical Pokémon Hoopa, which has the ability to summon all sorts of things—including people and Pokémon—through its magic rings.

After a strange and scary incident, they learn a story of long ago, when the rampage of a terrifying Pokémon was stopped by a brave hero. Now, the threat that has been bottled up for years is in danger of breaking loose again! Can Ash help his new friend overcome the darkness within…or will a dangerous secret erupt into a clash of legends? 

A release date for
Pokémon the Movie: Hoopa and the Clash of Ages hasn't been announced yet but I imagine it'll show up on Cartoon Network before the end of the year.  The Japanese version of the movie hits theaters July 18th, 2015.

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Nikkan Sports article on Getta Banban
April 7th, 2015

Dogasu @ 08:04 JST -- Yesterday's issue of the Japanese newspaper Nikkan Sports ("Daily Sports") has an article about Sakou Tomohisa and the upcoming music video for Getta Banban because why the hell not?

Nikkan Sports

Here's a translation of the article:

It was revealed on the 5th of this month that the music video for singer / songwriter Sakou Tomohisa (23 years old)'s new song "Getta Banban" (on-sale April 29th) will feature the extremely popular character Pikachu.  The song has been used as the opening theme to the TV-Tokyo animated series "Pocket Monsters XY" (Thursdays at 7:00pm) since January of this year.  The music video is being made for the release of the song's single.

The highlight of the video is the hook at the end of the song.  A huge number of Pikachu come out and have fun doing the "Getta Banban Dance" with Mr. Sakou and the whole thing has an extremely happy vibe to it.  This is the first time the animated Pikachu has appeared in a music video alongside an artist and is also the first time it's danced so much.

Mr. Sakou has always been a fan of Pokemon.  He actually got the job performing the opening theme by writing a passionate two-page letter and sending it to the people involved in "Pokemon."  He knows about it all - the TV series, the movies, the video games, etc.  He can even tell you what movie a certain musical cue is used in just from hearing a tiny sample of it.  He's sometimes introduced as a "Pokemon Music Sommelier" when he appears on TV.  This unprecedented animated music video is therefore the fruit of his love for Pokemon.  With a huge smile on his face Mr. Sakou says "Pokemon is, without a doubt, the treasure of my life.  Please look out for Pikachu's extremely cute dance.  It'll be sure to put a smile on your face."

A preview version of the new music video is scheduled to be uploaded to Mr. Sakou's official YouTube page on April 9th at 8:00am (JST).

Sakou Tomohisa was born on December 26th, 1991 in Sapporo City.  He started performing music on the Internet in 2010 under the name "Shounen T" and had about 70 videos online after about a year and a half.  He's been called "the God of Soothing Voices" and is something of a prince online.  His videos have been viewed online over 13.5 million times.  In 2012 he made his CD debut with "Ai Kotoba."  He made his stage debut in 2013 at "Tumbling Vol. 4"

シンガー・ソングライター佐香(さこう) 智久(23)の新曲「ゲッタバンバン」(29日発売)のミュージックビデオ(MV)に、大人気キャラクター のピカチュウが出演することが5日、分かった。同曲は、1月からテレビ東京系アニメ「ポケットモンスター XY」(木曜午後7時)のオープニングテーマと して流れている。シングル化にあたって、MVに出演することになった。

見どころはラストのサビの部分だ。大量発生し たピカチュウが、佐香と「ゲッタバンバンダンス」を楽しく踊っており、見た目にもハッピーな内容に仕上がっている。ピカチュウが、歌手のMVに描き下ろし アニメとして登場するのは初めて。ダンスを披露するのも初めてという。

佐香は以前からポケモンの熱烈なファンだっ た。オープニングテーマを担当することになったのも、自ら熱意をしたためた2枚の手紙を「ポケモン」関 係者に送ったことがきっかけだ。アニメ、映画、ゲームなど全ジャンルのポケモンに精通しており、映画のある一部分に使われた楽曲でも言い当ててみせる。テ レビ番組で「ポケモンの音楽ソムリエ」と紹介されたこともある。前例のない描き下ろしアニメのMV出演は、そんなポケモン愛が実った形だ。佐香は「間違い なく僕の一生の宝物です。ピカチュウのとってもキュートなダンス、ぜひ見てください。にやけてしまうこと間違いなしです」と大喜びしている。

9日午前8時から佐香の公式YouTube (ユーチューブ)で、MVのショートバージョンをアップする予定。

◆佐香智久(さこう・ともひさ)1991年 (平3)12月26日、札幌市生まれ。10年「少年T」としてウェブ上で音楽活動を行い、約1年半で 70本以上の動画をアップ。「癒やし声の神」と称され、ウェブ界のプリンス的存在に。動画総再生回数は1350万回を超える。12年シングル「愛言葉」で CDデビュー。13年「タンブリングvol.4」で舞台初出演。


Mr. Sakou's YouTube Channel can be found here.  The video may or may not be IP blocked when it's eventually uploaded to the channel.

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Kugimiya Rie is pretty much confirmed to voice Hoopa
April 5th, 2015

Dogasu @ 22:31 JST -- Thursday's night episode of Pocket Monsters XY had a surprise guest during the Orchid-Hakase Holocaster segment: Hoopa!  The star of this year's movie Pokémon the movie XY "The Archdjinn of the Rings, Hoopa" and "Pikachu and the Pokemon Band" showed up and laughed a bit in the background while Orchid-Hakase told us about Hitokage.




Looking back through the ending credits of the episode reveal that Kugimiya Rie (釘宮理恵) provided the voice of Hoopa in the segment.  You can click on the image for a larger version.

End Credits

Now it isn't 100% confirmed that Ms. Kugimiya will also be voicing Hoopa in this summer's movie - the movie's official website hasn't announced this or anything - but it's also highly unlikely that they'd recast the role for the movie. Ms. Kugimiya is also known for voicing Alphonse Elric in Fullmetal Alchemist, Happy in Fairy Tail, and Kagura in Gintama.  She's done a number of voices for Pokemon over the years as well; she's known mainly as the voice of Celebi in the Diamond & Pearl movie The Master of Illusions, Zoroark but she was Koyuki in "
Dig Here Urimoo!  Search for the Hot Springs!!", Lily in "A Big Transformation by Pokemon Magic!?", Teruhiko in the Diamond & Pearl episode "Poketch Acquisition Difficulty!?", Hina in the XY episode "The Lapras Defense Force, Mobilize!  Hang In There, Eureka!!", and the Pikachu in the Pokemon Mysterious Dungeon ~ The Magnagate and the Endless Labyrinth promotional video.

Pokémon the movie XY "The Archdjinn of the Rings, Hoopa" and "Pikachu and the Pokemon Band" hits Japanese theaters on July 18th, 2015.  It is the second Pocket Monsters XY movie and the 18th film in the franchise overall.

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Viz Media to release an eight-year old movie in July, just because
April 5th, 2015

Dogasu @ 21:35 JST -- No, this isn't a late April Fool's joke:  Pokémon Giratina and the Sky Warrior is coming out on DVD in the U.S. on July 7th, 2015.  It features a brand new cover (which is actually quite nice) and a ridiculous tagline on the back cover ("Learn to fly all over again with Pokémon: Giratina and the Sky Warrior"...um, what?).

Giratina and the Sky Warrior

The original 2009 Region 1 release of Giratina and the Sky Warrior was distributed by Universal Studios but this re-release is being released by Viz Media instead.  This probably means Universal's rights to distribute the film have expired.  Warner Bros. still has the rights to the first three movies and Miramax / Lionsgate has movies 4 - 5 but maybe someday Viz will be able to swoop in and snatch those up too?  *fingers crossed*

In other DVD news, it seems that the earlier report about the DVD for Diancie and the Cocoon of Destruction only containing the Cartoon Network edit of the movie was false.  The Region 1 DVD apparently contains the uncut version of the movie as well as the short "Diancie, Princess of the Diamond Domain."

The DVD Guide has been updated accordingly.

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I personally think CD Japan's translation "Get a Bang! Bang!" is pretty amazing
April 5th, 2015

Dogasu @ 00:58 JST -- April 29th will see the CD releases of Getta Banban, the current opening theme to Pocket Monsters XY.

Getta Banban (Pokemon)
Getta Banban DVD
Getta Banban Regular

There will be three releases - the Limited Edition Animation Version (left), the First Print Limited Edition that comes with a DVD (center), and the Regular Version (right).  As always, the special Pokemon version is the one you're going to want to get; it contains both the full version and the TV size version of the opening song and creditless versions of both opening animations.

The CD Guide has been updated accordingly.

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Voice Actress Ise Mariya announces marriage, pregnancy
April 4th, 2015

Dogasu @ 23:49 JST -- Voice actress Ise Mariya (伊瀬茉莉也), known by Pocket Monsters fans for providing the voices of both Eureka and the Kalos Pokemon Zukan, has recently made two announcements: she's married and she's expecting a child.

Ise Mariya

The 26-year old voice actress, who is also known for providing the voice of Killua in Hunter X Hunter, has been married since at least January of this year.  The name of the husband has not been released to the public.  Additionally, it was also announced that she is also expecting a child.  Late last year Ms. Ise had to step down from her role as Satonaka Chie in a stage show based on Persona 4 Ultimate In Mayonaka Arena due to health reasons and the role was played by Koichi Makoto instead.  It's likely that these "health reasons" were due to her pregnancy but of course that hasn't been confirmed.

Ms. Ise says that she still plans to continue working but she'll probably end up going on maternity leave at some point regardless.  Back in 2004 Musashi's voice actress Hayashibara Megumi took two months for maternity leave and Hiramatsu Akiko had to fill in for her for seven episodes.  And Pikachu's voice actress, Ohtani Ikue, took about five months off in 2006 for health reasons (I thought it was due to pregnancy but after looking into it there seems to be some doubts?) and older recordings of her voice ended up being used for Pikachu while Hanba Tomoe filled in for Manene. 

I wouldn't be surprised if we have to put up with a replacement Eureka for a few months later this year.  Here's hoping that whoever they choose does a good job!

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New TV series / Pikachu short ending theme
April 4th, 2015

Dogasu @ 22:56 JST -- The friends have been sent off and things have finally calmed down enough for me to start updating the site again!

The official website for
Pokémon the movie XY "The Archdjinn of the Rings, Hoopa" and "Pikachu and the Pokemon Band" revealed that the ending theme to the Pikachu short while I was gone.  The song will be called "Gao Gao All-Stars" (ガオガオ・オールスター) and will be performed by an all-girl group called Little Glee Monster.  The song is also going to be used as the ending theme to the TV series starting with the episode that airs on April 16th.

Little Glee Monster

A message from the group was posted on the official website:

We really are honored to be able to sing the ending theme to Pokemon!  On top of that we've been watching Pokemon ever since we were little and believe that being granted the chance to do this song shows that good things happen to you if you continue to live your life!

"Gao Gao All-Stars" is a song that we want a lot of people to listen to and get excited about because it's a song that makes us, our friends, and our family all want to sing and dance along to whenever we hear it!!


ポケモンのエンディングを歌えることができて本当に光栄です!しかも幼い頃からずっと見ていたポケモンに携われることが出来て生きていれば良いことがある んだと思いました!

ガオガオ・オールスターは私達やお友達、家族みんなで一緒に踊って歌ったり流れてくるだけで踊りだしたくなるような曲なので沢山の人に聞いてもらって元気 になってほしいです!!

A bio for Little Glee Monster was also posted on the official website:

"Well-honed singing voices that leave a mark in people's hearts."
These amazing singers are a vocal unit made up of junior high and high school students, all around 15 years old or so, gathered from all over the country.


They've performed in large music festivals and have appeared together with many well-known artists even before they made their debut in March 2014.  Their name recognition has also gone up thanks to their countless appearances on network TV where they wielded a clear harmony that makes use of their strong vocals and high-grade a cappella skills.  Their second single was released on March 4th and they have a fanbase so devoted that tickets to their "Tokyo-Nagoya-Osaka Tour" completely sold out the same day they went on sale.  They'll also be going on a nationwide tour in autumn 2015.

“研ぎ澄ました歌声で人々の心に爪痕を残す…”
最強の歌少女たちが全国から集まって結成された、平均年齢15歳の女子中高生ボーカルユニット。

2014年10月のデビュー前より大型夏フェスでの歌唱や、多数の著名アーティストとの共演を果たす。
力強い歌声と高度なアカペラをも歌いこなす透き通ったハーモニーを武器に地上波テレビ番組にも幾度となく出演するなど知名度をあげた。3月4日にセカンド シングルをリリースし、東名阪ワンマンツアーのチケットは即日ソールドアウトとなるなどライブで着実にファンを獲得。2015年秋には日本全国13か所の ワンマンツアーを開催する。

Pokémon the movie XY "The Archdjinn of the Rings, Hoopa" and "Pikachu and the Pokemon Band"
hits Japanese theaters on July 18th, 2015.  It is the second Pocket Monsters XY movie and the 18th film in the franchise overall.


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