Fans hail OG Pokémon theme as 'greatest opening song in anime history’

The Pokémon anime has been running for over 25 years now, but fans are adamant that the original theme song is not only the best in the series, but all of anime history.

If you never watched the first season of the Pokémon anime, you missed out. I mean, you managed to dodge the heartbreak of ‘Bye Bye Butterfree’, but still. Even if you’ve never watched a single episode though, I’d be shocked if you’d never heard that glorious opening theme. For me personally, if I was ever put in a situation where I needed to recall a song perfectly, it’d genuinely be that. It’s an absolute banger, and fans are in agreement that after all this time, it’s still the very best.

Ash and Pikachu are soon stepping down as the protagonists of the Pokémon anime - take a look at the trailer for their sendoff episodes below.

“It’s crazy how Pokémon is responsible for the greatest opening song in anime history,” tweeted @pokemonszn, along with the iconic video. “Literally I cry of happiness every time I hear it,” replied @andrjnlle. “The ‘in a world we must defend’ goes so hard [not gonna lie],” commented @NotDryGravitas. “I don’t think anyone could think of a more memorable and quotable anime opening,” agreed @Gorky_Wings.

If you were feeling that nice warm glow of nostalgia, allow me to rip that away from you with the reminder that Ash’s time as the main character of the Pokémon anime is coming to an end. The “final chapter in Ash and Pikachu’s story” consists of 11 special episodes, which will begin to air in Japan starting on 13 January. After that, two new protagonists will be taking the spotlight, which is strange to think is actually happening after all these years.

The real question is, if Pikachu isn’t going to be playing a prominent role in the anime anymore, does that mean we’re going to be getting a new series mascot? Because if so, I for one think it’d be very funny if they chose something obscure like Basculin or Maractus to be propelled into stardom.