The Pokémon anime (referred to as Pocket Monsters in Japan) has graced screens around the world for nearly 30 years, entertaining millions of fans across generations. From the beginning, the main hero of the story, Satoshi (known as Ash Ketchum outside of Japan) and his partner Pikachu were accompanied by the orchestral bliss that is the Background Music composed and arranged by Shinji Miyazaki, who across 6 TV series and 23 movies produced a consistent, joyful and memorable score that many would consider to be the definitive sound of the franchise. Whether it be sweeping, epic orchestrated renditions of tracks from the video games, or iconic original themes found in no other Pokémon media, Miyazaki's music carries an energy and legacy unlike any other.

Despite this notoriety and widespread global distribution, most of the music from the show and theatrical films remains to be released in a format to actually listen and enjoy in isolation. There have been several soundtrack releases over the years, especially for the movies, however these in most cases would often exclude many iconic tracks, and after more than a decade the TV soundtracks for the Best Wishes!/Black & White, XY(&Z) and Sun & Moon series still have not been produced. These particular batches of music contain some of the most exciting and emotionally resonating cues to ever grace the human ear, so the lack of availability for them is a major disappointment, especially after the success of previous TV series soundtracks made for Miyazaki's earlier Pokémon scores. The lack of recognition towards Shinji Miyazaki and the many other musicians who aided in the creation of these works is also a major factor in these scores not receiving more widespread appeal, since the vast majority of the available soundtrack releases have only been done as Japan-only CDs, with next to no digital distribution.

This is where you come in, the fans. For years it has been apparent there is demand to see this music get released, but never in a manner that would get the attention of the right executives of the Pokémon company. Through signing this petition, you are supporting one of several important pillars for AnipokeBGM, a fan-based movement aiming to express demand for more complete soundtrack releases for the Pokémon anime, as well as other related media. It is through this movement we not only hope to express demand for releases, but also celebrate and highlight the many talented people who helped make the music come to life. We at AnipokeBGM encourage the continued support of purchasing existing soundtrack CDs and streaming digitally available releases, with the hope of further encouraging new iterations as well as the creation and distribution of new music from Miyazaki and his colleagues. 

With your support, we can help bring the talented composers, performers and staff of these wonderful soundtracks the recognition they deserve for the hard work they put in many years ago, and the fans can finally be able to listen to the sounds that helped in making the Pokémon series a global phenomenon!

We reach out to the appropriate parties at The Pokémon Company, Shogakukan Music & Digital Entertainment, and ShoPro with optimism that this demand and support will be acknowledged and acted on, with opportunities to grow the brand with more channels of communication with fans and giving much-needed recognition to the creative minds behind the Pokémon brand.