Polygon.com / 14.01.25

The original Pokémon anime had unique theme songs in Italy and they're Eurodance bangers

During a recent live concert at Demodé Club in Modugno, Puglia, as a synth-only melody should have given his voice a moment of respite, singer and composer Giorgio Vanni yelled, Su le mani per il capitano (put your hands up for the captain). Whether surrounded by rave-like light beams in a clubby indoor venue, under the sweltering August sky, or even in a standard concert hall, Vanni consistently urges enthusiastic audiences with chants like fuori la voce (sing it out) and vi voglio sentire (I want to hear you), while a relentless four-on-the-floor thumping beat powers on. This might sound like typical Eurodance fare, but Vanni isnt your average Eurodance performer. Vanni, 61, and his artistic and business partner Massimo Max Longhi, 56 known as Il Capitano (the Captain) and LAmmiraglio (the Admiral) respectively have become cult figures for millennial and Gen Z Italian fans. They are the voices and composers behind the localized opening songs for Pokémon, Dragon Ball, and One Piece,...
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