What is up peeps?! I am back and I am feeling a little better after yesterday’s debacle of a day. Nowhere near as bad as the shitstorm of fury I had that was Monday but not much better. Man, this summer better go uphill from here.
So today I wanted to try something today that I haven’t done yet. I wanted to do this in 2006 but I just never found the time to do it but I have decided that maybe now is a good time to do so. As you all know, I am a huge fan of the anime and a HUGE fan of the J-Pop. Since they kind of go hand in hand now, there are some songs that can make or break a series to the point that it makes a bad series good (Or watchable in the case of Blood+) or a good series very, VERY bad such as Suzaka (Which I liked but MAN that song sucked ass). So, I decided to rank my favorite opening themes ever! So here is…
Chachi’s Top 10 Anime Series Opening Themes of All Time!!!
First off, this is for a SERIES of openings so the first rule of this ranking is there has to be more than two opening themes for the series. This was hard to do because there are so many series with only one or two opening themes that KICK ASS but to stay fair I had to have some rules to this thing. So, here are some Honorable Mentions (Some would actually top this bad boy if it was just for individual themes):
Neon Genesis Evangelion (I may not have creamed over the show like a lot of anime fans but I have always been a fan of the soundtrack and felt it fit the series well. The Para Para version by Yoko Ishida….AWESOME!)
Cowboy Bebop (Yoko Kanno’s FINEST FUCKING WORK!! “Piano Black” redefined would could be considered an opening. I like everyone else had the initial “What the fuck” moment but after listening I knew this was the mad notes.)
Peach Girl (Fuck you, I likes me some Meg Rock. You don’t like this opening there is something wrong with YOU, fucky!)
Darker Than Black (Abingdon Boys School and Antic Café. NUFF FUCKING SAID, BITCHES!)
Love Hina (Yeah, a little peppy tune that got me in the mood for the series. Little known fact: I am not really a big fan of Love Hina. Tenchi Muyo did it and a lot better, too. But I still give the opening its props)
Lucky Star (Yeah, another song with Aya on it. Yes, I love her and she loves me. That and this song is happy action fun time goodness)
Revoltionary Girl Utena (A little guilty pleasure of mine. Toe tapping goodness although I don’t believe I have seen all of the series)
Air Gear (FUCK YES! BACK-ON IN YOUR MOTHER FUCKING FACE! This was the only reason I watched “Air Gear” and I ended up enjoying it. Now I am a huge fan of the band. See, it can all be cosmic)
Great Teacher Onizuka (Okay, I will admit that I am not a big fan of the second opening theme but “Driver’s High” WILL end up getting me a ticket one of these days. AWESOMENESS!)
Samuari Champaloo (A little biased but “Battlecry” may be my favorite opening EVER. There is nothing but good with this song and really made watching the show at TWO IN THE FUCKING MORNING tolerable. Love that jam)
Chobits (FUCK YES. FUCK YES! FUCK YES!!!)
Now there are more that didn’t make the cut and I will get to them another day. Now here are a few mentions for anime with enough openings but JUST didn’t make the cut…
Honorable Mentions!
One Piece (The Japanese version of the music, not that audio rape that was the American rap shit. Yi-yo my fucking fat Black ass. Topped off by D-51’s “Brand New World” which was FUCKING TITS! Best shit ever but even with all the songs they had, still behind some really good stuff)
Gintama (HEARTS GROW, BITCHES! That was later in line, I believe the 4th, but I am all about that opening. Even made me go back and download some original episodes and it was really bad ass from the…three episodes I saw. I kind of suck)
Keroro Gunso (Sgt. Frog is teh awesome when it comes to endings and the openings are great, too. Kind of quirky but what in Japan isn’t?)
Naruto (WHAT?! Okay, let me explain. The openings for Naruto have ranged from AWESOME with Flow and Nobodyknows+ to average with Sambomaster to just ANNOYING with Long Shot Party and that “No Boy, No Cry” song. Which grew on me but you have no idea how much I fucking hated that song so it didn’t move up really far. Besides, shit gets GOOD from this point out.
Urusei Yatsura (KICKING IT OLD SCHOOL! This was one of the first anime I saw when I returned to the states and albeit was about 10 years old I was in LOVE with the opening themes. “Lum’s No Love Song” was fucking bad ass!)
Eureka Seven (Tough name to pronounce, kick ass music to listen to. From Flow to Nirgilis the music was the only reason I got into the show.
There are more that deserve recognition and if you have some that deserve shout out in your opinion let me know. Until then, let’s get this thing started!!
THE TOP TEN!
10. Full Metal Alchemist
Best Opening: “Ready Steady Go!” by L’Arc~en~Ciel
Worst Opening: “Undo” by Cool Joke
What Makes It Great: As one who was getting this ALMOST when it was coming out in Japan and being subbed and distributed via MiRC (OLD SCHOOL) I was all over this anime and “Melissa” by Porno Grafitti is the only reason I know the five words of Japanese I know now. “Rewrite” by AKFG is arguably my favorite song by them and the only real weak like is Cool Joke’s “Undo” because after The Arc…you gotta come hard. Still a great library.
9. Blood+
Best Opening: “Season’s Call” by Hyde (ARGUABLE!!!)
Worst Opening: “Raion” by Jinn
What Makes It Great: The four openings were the ONLY REASON I sat through this fucking show. Eat my ass I thought Blood+ was boring as shit when it was dubbed and the sub was only marginally better because Diva was creepy. “Aozora no Namida” was a great way to begin the series seeing as how it made you forget the SHOW HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THE MOVIE IT FUCKING CAME FROM. “Colors Of The Heart” was your standard UVERworld goodness (they are on here a few times…get used to it) and even though I didn’t like “Raion” it grows on you after a while. Too bad the show sucks too much to care. Just get the CD and skip the show.
8. Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex
Best Opening: Inner Universe (AWESOME!)
Worst Opening: Christmas in the Silent Forest (NOT QUITE AS AWESOME!)
What Makes It Great: I have been about trance since my old school rave days and it was interesting to see how much of the music from the initial movie made it into the few all-nighters in Aurora I went to back in the day. All I have to say is that “Inner Universe” is the model that shows like Gantz and Elfen Lied should have used to build their music rather than the crap they used. RADIOHEAD?! Fuck off! Sadly there are only three opening themes but the in-show music is well worth the listen.
7. Initial D
Best Opening: “Noizy Tride” (I don’t know why….I love this song)
Worst Opening: “Noizy Tride” (This was the ONLY SONG THAT PLAYED in the fucking video game at the mall. Personally pettiness I admit.)
What Makes It Great: Okay, I will admit I didn’t really like Initial D the SHOW but I was a fan of the soundtrack. I used to play the game all the time in college (Where I was instead of meeting ladies but Initial D doesn’t judge me) and the soundtrack LITERALLY rocked the Citadel Mall. Thumping for your ass! Now the music much like the show is an acquired taste and I haven’t seen many episodes (Just five at Zach’s house and maybe three at Ted’s during an Invader Zim marathon break) and I wasn’t impressed by what I saw. But the music is massive! Restecpa!
6. Gundam Series (Gundam Seed, Gundam Seed Destiny, Gundam_00, Gundam Wing)
Best Opening: “IGNITED” BY TM REVOLUTION, BITCHES!! FEEL THE AWESOME!!
Worst Opening: You know I have never been a fan of “Our Whereabouts” by Hitomi Takahashi.
What Makes It Great: Now Gundam the SHOW has always been hit or miss for me. I kind of liked Seed, DESPISED Wing and was indifferent about Destiny (I LOVED Gundam_00, BTW until the decided to license it). What puts it at number six is that it is either really AWESOME or really just bad. I love TM Revolution’s openings (“Invoke” and “Ignited”) as well as L`Arc~en~Ciel’s “DAYBREAK’S BELL” but Nami Tamaki’s older work was not my cup of tea and I felt it didn’t really…fit. She picks herself up later though. Really great catalog of work in the Gundam series.
5. Bleach
Best Opening: (TIE) “Alones” by Aqua Timez and “D-Technolife” by UVERworld
Worst Opening: I guess “Ichirin No Hana” by HIGH AND MIGHTY COLOR. Once again, this is a reach.
What Makes It Great: Well, you knew this was going to end up here. Let’s just break it down:
1. Orange Range’s “Asterisk” – HELL YES!
2. UVERworld’s “D-Technolife” – FUCK YES!
3. HIGH AND MIGHTY COLOR’s “Ichirin No Hana” – YES!
4. BEAT CRUSADERS “TONIGHT, TONIGHT, TONIGHT” – HELL YES!
5. Yui’s “Rolling Star” – OH MY GOD! IT FEELS SO GOOD!!
6. Aqua Timez’s “Alones” – I JUST CAN’T STOP!
7. Asian Kung Fu Generation’s “After Dark” – WHY CAN’T I STOP?!
8. Kelun’s “CHU-BURA” – SHIT! I JUST GOT A TOWEL!
That sums it up….very through ally.
4. Slayers Series (Slayers & Slayers Try)
Best Opening: “Get Along” by Megumi Hayashibara (THAT’S ALL IT NEEDS, FUCKASS!)
Worst Opening: FUCK YOUR FACE! I WILL KILL YOUR CHILDREN, ASSFUCK!
Okay….I had to cheat a little because there is only one opening per series (Someone correct me on this if I am wrong) but I don’t fucking care. IT IS MEGUMI HAYASHIBARA! She is the Japanese Kristen Chenoweth! That in itself put the Slayers library on here and then you have to remember that “Get Along” may be the most awesome song composed by man. If you don’t think so….I will gouge your fucking eyes out.
3. Yakitate!! Japan
Best Opening: “Promise” by TiA (It makes me smile…)
Worst Opening: Um….you know this one is three for three. I wasn’t a fan of “Houkigumo” by Rythem when I got it from Zach but it grew on me and now I love it.
What Makes It Great: Now I am more of a fan of the ending themes for this show but that shows you how much the opening themes rule your face. All three themes are awesome and the opening sequences in my opinion are the best since the openings for Lupin (THOSE ARE KICKING IT…OLDEST SCHOOL. Almost) and that is saying something. My favorite is STILL “Chiisana Uta” by Maria as there is nothing better than that song in the summertime.
2. Ranma ½
Best Opening: Omoide ga Ippai (The third opening….I so love that song)
Worst Opening: Zettai! (DEBATABLE! I had to pick one so this is the one I could live without.)
What Makes It Great: It is classic! The songs were performed (Almost exclusively) by the seiyuu in the show which is something rarely seen anymore (Lucky Star and Melancholy I believe were the last) and to me makes it worthy of this spot alone. From the series openings to even the OVA openings they ALL RULED YOUR FACE! There were a few that I wasn’t a fan of (Mostly the last three but at that point they kind of pulled a Quantum Leap and strayed WAAAAAAAY too far from the plot) but those that I was a fan of were AWESOME. So why is it at number two? Because there were a few misses in this extensive catalog of music. While the show at number one may shock you….the total body of work KICKS ASS…
1.D. Gray Man
Best Opening: “Innocent Sorrow” by “Abingdon Boys School (Well, this thing is over.)
Worst Opening: Um….well….I guess none so far.
What Makes It Great: Yes, go ahead and be shocked. Most of you may have never watched or heard of D. Gray Man and since I lost my original hard drive I have been catching and have been getting caught up on the manga over the interweb. However, the music is SCANDAL PROOF! There isn’t a weak link in the bunch! First off you have “Innocent Sorrow” by Abingdon Boys School which pretty much locks down number one. Then the big shocker in “Brightdown” by Nami Tamaki. THIS SONG ROCKS YOUR FUCKING FACE! After annoying me with her Gundam songs this completely turned me around to her and even made me pick up her album (Fricking YesAsia…). Then came "Doubt & Trust" by Access and I said to myself “HOLY SHIT! This show is meh but these songs KICK ASS!” because that song does indeed kick ass. Then they bring out the new UVERworld (Third time they are on here, btw) single “Geikido” and all I can say is HELL YES. It is new compared to some of these other shows (GITS, Ranma ½, Initial D, Gundam Series) but it holds its own with four of the most kick ass anime opening themes EVER!
Well, I left out a lot of stuff because there is WAY too much awesomeness to remember. If you have any suggestions feel free to let me know and I will see about making some changes. Until then, I needs me some food. Stay up peeps.
Chachi Out.
