Top 20 Anime Theme Songs
If this post seems vaguely familiar, it’s because it’s a resurrection of something I wrote more than a year ago that got eaten when I migrated from Blogger to Wordpress… and it somehow took me six months to fix the problem. I ended up rewriting parts of it (original was TL;DR & like the work of a fifth-grader – possibly still true) and replaced the Blogger video links with Youtube wherever possible. I guess this post seems rather out of place now that I don’t write about anime music anymore…
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So I spent a few weeks cycling through my ginormous hoard of anime themes, picked the 500 or so best ones, plonked them on my iPod & put the playlist on repeat. I had originally intended the list to be limited to 10, but stopping at that number made me feel empty inside… A couple of guidelines I used to help narrow down the list:
1. NOT a cover version
2. The song must be written/released specifically for the anime [songs following on from the game are acceptable i.e. Tori no Uta from AIR]
3. Only opening or ending themes [No insert songs]
4. No Naruto or Bleach songs allowed [Just joking]
Things worth keeping in mind
-I am admittedly somewhat stuck in the 90s/early 00s which was when I actually watched a lot of anime
-I like cheesy Jpop
-I hate ALI PROJECT
-The quality of the song is the main criteria, but I also (try to) consider how well it goes with the animation and the series. Unfortunately, just because I love an anime doesn’t mean I like the music (i.e. I think Cowboy Bebop’s Tank! is morbidly dull). In fact, there’s quite a few songs on this list where the anime it comes from is best described as a pile of steaming cow dung.
The list
20. PURE SNOW. Sasaki Yuko (Himiko Den OP)
I tried but failed to watch Himiko-den. It was YAWN boring, but the powerful opening song by Sasaki Yuko has remained one of my favourites throughout the years. Nevermind that the depressing lyrics about falling in love with a best friend’s boyfriend that made no sense with regards to Himiko-den. Oh, and the animation here is actually better than what you’ll see in the series itself so don’t be fooled into watching it.
19. FRIENDS. Yonekura Chihiro (Senkaiden Houshin Engi ED)
Another anime suffering from a case of ‘The Theme Songs Are Better Than The Anime Itself’. I like both the opening and ending songs by Yonekura but FRIENDS marginally shades WILL due to its nostalgic feel – it also happens to be my favourite Chihiro song ever. Crap ending animation though.
18. Ice Cream. Chiba Saeko (Narue no Sekai ED)
I remember Narue no Sekai for two reasons – the scene where the Noto Mamiko-voiced Narue attempts to talk to a computer mouse and the wonderful ending song written by Kajiura Yuki. It’s a combination of Saeko’s voice, the strings and the lovely chorus that make this song unforgettable for me. And it’s a nice tribute to one of my favourite foods – now if only someone would write a song about apple crumble or Bovril….
17. Kimi ni Fureru Dake de. Curio (Rurouni Kenshin OP3)
It’s my favourite amongst the many great songs from Kenshin, and unfortunately also comes along with the worst animation. If that even qualifies as animation. Why Curio over T.M.Revolution or JUDY & MARY? It’s just the energy in the song I guess – it makes me want to get up and dance whenever I hear it. And there’s trumpets.
16. Hidamari. Murashita Kozo (Maison Ikkoku OP5)
I’ve only watched bits and pieces of Maison Ikkoku (the beginning, the middle and the last few episodes to be precise) but I love all the theme songs, and particularly Hidamari. It’s the song that saw Godai and kanrinrin-san Kyoko over the finishing line after 90+ episodes of ‘Will they, won’t they?’ Probably too 80s-styled for most people to stomach though.
15. Hey you!!~Ushinatte wa Naranai Mono~. [iksi:d] (Tokyo Underground OP2)
There was always something rather sexy about the way [iksi:d] vocalist Kodama Kyo mangled her words. I prefer Hey You!! to the first opening Jounetsu because of bits from the opening animation I like – the characters’ shadows at the beginning, the part where Ginnosuke takes off his glasses & when Rumina pulls out his sword with the wind blowing in his hair. Oh er, yes I did watch Tokyo Underground – it aired at a point in time (2002) where I’d watch anything, even something as hopeless as TU.
14. Kimi ga iru kara…. Nishiwaki Yui (Kindaichi Shonen no Jikenbo OP3)
I doubt this would be anybody else’s favourite, especially as it’s from a series that never got licensed in North America (the first series of manga is though). The animation also goes along well with the song though perhaps it doesn’t actually tell you much about the show – it’s a detective story in case you were wondering. [Note: A bunch of TV specials based on the Opera House and Vampire cases were aired after I originally wrote this]
13. Condition Green~Kinkyo Hasshin~. Kasahara Hiroko (Patlabor TV OP2)
Like many ’80s themes, Condition Green has got typically cheesy, nonsensical Engrish lyrics but it’s full of energy & cheeriness and gets you pumped up for the next 23 minutes of animation to follow. What else could you want?
12. Sousei no Aquarion. AKINO (Sousei no Aquarion OP1)
There are songs that take a while to warm up to, and there are songs that are instant classics from the second the first note hits. Sousei no Aquarion is one of the latter, and as a testament to just how good it is – it’s still in the friggin’ Oricon charts at this very moment I write this [Note: This was in October 2007]. The opening animation is however, blindingly colourful. And blindingly boring (I don’t like mecha, sorry).
11. tomorrow. Shimokawa Mikuni (Full Metal Panic! OP)
All the songs by Mikuni in the FMP series are fantastic – in fact, she has so many great anime themes that it seems hard to decide on the best one. Went for this one for sentimentality reasons, also the drumroll at the beginning of the song and Chidori’s perfectly aimed lunchbox(?) at Sagara’s head in the video.
10. Scarlet. Iwao Junko (Ayashi no Ceres OP)
I watched Ayashi no Ceres on local TV(!) some 6 years ago and it really was the opening theme by Iwao that sucked me in (too bad the anime kinda sucked). A beautiful, haunting melody accompanied by a lovely piano line… ah. I actually learnt to play the piano bits by ear, that was how much I loved Scarlet. Or maybe I’m just a sad sod.
09. Tasogare no Umi. See-Saw (.hack//liminality ED)
This may seem a curious choice compared to the other alternatives like .hack/sign’s Yasashii Yoake or Gundam Seed’s Anna Issho datta no ni, but Tasogare no Umi just has that special something that makes me love See-Saw so much. Especially the way the song starts with the crashing chorus, builds on during the verses and leads to that heavenly chorus again. And Ishikawa Chiaki’s voice always blows me away.
08. Yuzurenai Negai. Tamura Naomi (Rayearth OP)
It’s funny how I used to dislike this as I wasn’t too fond of Tamura Naomi’s screech. But somewhere down the line, I got used to her voice and started to fall in love with the song. Like most of my other choices it’s as catchy as a cold virus plus it’s full of CLAMP goodness.
07. Omoide ga Ippai. H2O (Miyuki ED1)
Omoide ga Ippai isn’t just a classic anime theme, it’s a classic Jpop song (sold something like 400k+ copies). Of course, H2O will always be deemed one-hit wonders, but with the song still being covered some 25 years after its initial release, they sure won’t be complaining about the royalty money rolling in.
06. Shooting Star. KOTOKO (Onegai Teacher OP)
It’s the song that made KOTOKO a huge fan fave and for a good reason. It’s her best song by a long way, and it fits the Onegai Teacher series perfectly. I prefer the TV size better to the full version of Shooting Star just for that little piano bit at the beginning. And Mizuho-sensei *drool* oh wait, I’m supposed to drool over Kei-kun :/
05. Rondo -Revolution-. Okui Masami (Utena OP)
Utena’s the most hopelessly bizarre anime I’ve ever attempted to watch, and oh I’ve made many, many attempts…. but every time I heard the odd battle tune Zettai Unmei Mokushiroku I gave up. That, and I couldn’t understand what the hell was going on anyway… It was actually hearing Rondo (yes it’s pronounced Rondo, not Rinbu) that made me want to watch Utena anyway – it’s just a freaking awesome tune that still sounds as good now as it did in 1997.
04. For Fruits Basket. Okazaki Ritsuko (Fruits Basket OP)
It’s a simple tune to go with a simple opening sequence, but is still one of the most poignant anime songs. Sob, sob, sob. You know what else makes me sob? When I put on my R1 DVDs and am greeted by a massacring of For Fruits Basket having forgotten to change the language track to Japanese. And the day that Okazaki’s death was announced I went back to my room and listened to this song on repeat, which made me even more depressed.
03. Purachina. Sakamoto Maaya (Cardcaptor Sakura OP3)
My favourite theme song from my all-time favourite anime. I’ll keep repeating it til I’m blue in the face but You haven’t lived til you’ve watched all 70 episodes, 2 movies and 2 spin-offs of CCS (but please avoid the dub). I have to say though, that Bokura no Rekishi and Cloud 9 are actually my fave Kanno/Maaya songs but my silly Guideline No.3 ruled them out. Nevermind, Purachina is pure pop perfection and deserves its spot anyhow.
02. Mizu no Hoshi e Ai o Komete. Moriguchi Hiroko (Zeta Gundam OP2)
I don’t give a monkey’s about Gundam and can’t tell the difference between Char Aznable and Kira Yamato, but there’s no doubt that the series has produced some of the best anime songs ever – and this is my personal favourite. Mizu no Hoshi e Ai o Komete didn’t make it to North American DVD versions of Z Gundam (I think) and it’s a crying shame. It’s a versatile song with a strong melody, and it’s composed by………Neil Sedaka. Woooooooh.
01. Gekitei (Geki! Teikoku Kagekidan). Teikoku Kagekidan (Sakura Taisen OP)
Long before the Harehare dance came the Gekitei dance. Probably not half as hard, but it sure looked cool(at the time) and classy. Also helped to see the numerous performances by Yokoyama Chisa and co in full get-up. Gekitei is a very traditional Japanese pop song with a bit of an enka flavour, and with a chorus tailor-made for drunken sing-a-longs…. all together now, Hashire!! Kosok— I think that’s enough. You get my point.
Watch: Geki! Teikoku Kagekidan live
Learn the Gekitei dance
Pointless Statistics
Time frame of songs
2005-2000: 8
1990-1999: 8
before 1990: 4
Gender ratio (Female:Male vocalists)=17:3
Opening-Ending Song ratio=16:4
No. of songs from mecha-related anime=4
No. of artists still actively doing anime music=12 (I counted anyone who’d done an anime-related song in the last 3 years as a yes)
No. of artists no longer on planet Earth=2
No. of songs in my top 20 also featuring in 2ch’s top 20 list=4
No. of songs covered by Shimokawa Mikuni on her two anisong albums=6
No. of songs featuring an acoustic guitar=6
No. of songs featuring an acoustic guitar that were recorded before 1998=0
Feel free to agree or disagree, and let the rotten tomato pelting commence. Rest of my top 100 here. Feel free to compare with 2ch’s own top 101 list and laugh. Too much mecha in that one for me.
Yes! Another person that sticks it to Tank!
I came across Pure Snow via a random AMV, probably looking for Maaya Sakamoto stuff. I don’t remember anymore, but definitely before YouTube’s existence.
Chihiro Yonekura does excel at those nostalgic ballads. I think that 80’s reverb-rock feel is best conveyed in ballads precisely because of the nostalgia factor. Mirai no futari ni is also a good example of this.
Ice Cream and tomorrow share some similar material in the chorus.
I’m more partial to Maaya Sakamoto’s moderate to slow paced work. On that metric, Yubiwa is one of the greatest anime movie endings of all time, with Gravity and Tune the Rainbow as solid ED’s.
Yea, it’s suppose to be Rondo but I hear no one says it that way. At least as far as I can remember.
Time to flip on those old makkun dvds and refresh my memory.
Wahaaat, no Lilium (Elfin Lied OP)?
OMG, and here I was sitting here hoping that Gekitei would simply make this list at all
Thanks for sharing.
I was surprised to see something from Maison Ikkoku, not that I would pick “Hidamari”. I was more partial to “Suki da”, b/c I’m simple like that.
Also I first heard “Purachina” via a cover, then I watched the opening on one of the GameBoy Advance games (which I think the posted video is from?). Maaya version sounds pretty good.
My fav theme songs: the above “Suki sa” by Anzen Chitai (Maison Ikkoku), “White Destiny” by Yoko Ishida (Shin Yuki-hime densetsu Pretear), Michishirube by Yuu Mao (Kasimasi), Ashita e no Namida by Mami Kawada (Onegai Teacher), Hoshizora no Waltz by Minami Kuribayashi (Kimi ga nozomu eien)… I get the feeling I won’t stop listing! sorry
Thumbs up on Yonekura Chihiro, Shimokawa Mikuni, KOTOKO, Iwao Junko. Looks like I’m going to look up the rest.
Hah. Lots of stuff I have never heard before and lots of anime I never got to/bothered to watch before but most of it top drawer.
I see a lot of maaya in your top 100 and less mizuki. tomorrow’s probably the top FMP choice since the other 2 OPs sound very similar. But no Kaeremichi from Mahoro. Boohoo. Ayako Kawasumi’s crowning achievement, maybe.
Tell you what I am loving now though; the Moyashimon OP. Song is okay but them micro-organisms are too damn funny!
PS: After many years, you acknowledge the power of Gekitei!!
Aw but you liked The Real Folk Blues right?
Seriously. Pure Snow really does transcend the series that it opens for. I was obsessed with that song for a good few months when I first heard it. It was quite a sore disappointment when the OP ended and the actual episodes began. xP
Whoa Kenshin!
I can’t even remember which OPs and EDs I liked… there were SO MANY. I think 1/2 does remain one of my favorites and also that one fast, disco-ish ending…
HAHA Tokyo Underground. So generic it hurts. I did love the first OP and ED a lot although the 2nd OP does look/sound pretty cool too.
Yep, Tomorrow is definitely one of the great anime songs and OPs in the past years. Or rather, anything Shimokawa Mikuni sings is usually quite good. I loved the ED, Karenai Hana a lot as well. I do like Sore ga ai deshou the best just because the animation sequence for that is simply beautiful. :]
You’re awesome for putting up MKR!
I seriously watched that VHS subbed tape by VHS subbed tape during my years in middle school haha. The first OP is wonderful, but the 3rd OP is personally my favorite. But the first ED was always way too adorable to fast-forward through. xD
Oh, For Fruits Basket just kills me so much. I don’t believe I was ever able to skip it before the episode started.
YES CCS FTW. YES. xD That was my first love. I was obsessed with CCS during 6th grade when Cardcaptors was shown on the WB and I decided to go on AOL (LOL) and search for information on it. THEN I realized that Sakura’s last name was in fact, NOT Avalon, and that she originally did not sound 20 years old. xD Wahh… so much love for Card Captor Sakura. I think my favorite OP is probably the second one, Tobira wo Akete, but Platinum is definitely a close second. Catch You Catch Me is also wonderful hehe.
My favorite ending would be Fruits Candy although Honey is just as adorable! Oh man, I could go on forever about CCS haha. On another note, Sakamoto Maaya is amazing and I think my fav OP by her is probably her very first, Yakusoku wa Iranai. <3 And Tsubasa really doesn't cut it for me. D: I really miss Motoko Kumai as Syaoran. She was perfect.
And just to make this comment longer than it already is, some of my favs: Andante Cantabile by Suemitsu & the Suemith (Nodame Cantabile), Brightdown by Tamaki Nami (D.Gray-man), Tenshi ni Yubikiri by Fukuda Mai (Karekano), COLORS by FLOW (Code Geass), Jajauma ni Sasenaide by Nishio Etsuko (Ranma 1/2), Etc…!
i kinda agree with ur rank 1 song.. but… have you ever listened to Ai Yori Aoshi OP song.. Towa no Hana its so good.. i think it can beat ur rank 1… in my opinion xD
Sometimes I get into new anime after listening to some music from the shows. That’s kind of how I started watching Berserk.
I haven’t listened to song #1 in forever. It’s such a good song! I’m not surprised that it made it to the top of your list.
FUCK YEAH GEKITEI!
…oh wait, I already wrote that last year.
(Also, ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Bovril)
I like gekitei but I’m a bigger fan of mihata no moto ni…
lmao Gekitei.
No song cover, eh? Momoi’s Yuzurenai Negai is way better than the original I think, but maybe it’s a vocal preference. ^^;
Mikuni’s tomorrow over bird? But you’re right, it’s hard to select just ONE Mikuni song..
and despite hating mecha too, have to admit they have good songs.
no Mizuki Nana?
(….oh I understand, no IN songs allowed)
“No. of songs covered by Shimokawa Mikuni on her two anisong albums=6″
That made me laugh.
Gekitei is a good song that pumps me up. Need to listen to it again I guess. Reminds me that one of my friends tried to re-work the lyrics to make it sound more gar than it is.
It’s kinda sad that I knew of 9 out of the 20 tracks beforehand, and that I only would regularly listen to four of those.
I haven’t watched a single show here (and therefore haven’t heard a single song here) save some of Cardcaptor Sakura and Rurouni Kenshin.
Ah…Sakura Taisen OP…yes that song is just awesome. It really makes you want to run when you hear that HASHIRE!!! But say, it is just me or is the character Sumire missing in the live performance of Sakura Taisen OP? Wait..was she even singing in the OP? She should be right? Lol..I don’t remember but the song itself is awesome. And even the live performance..the seiyu got the pitch all correct..it’s just the clothes that’s kinda disturbing. Do they really have to cosplay their own character? Lol…
And even the ending theme for Sakura Taisen is very nice. It’s a slow song but I don’t remember the name haha…
I haven’t listened to many of these songs before. However Bokura no Rekishi is also one of my favorite Maaya songs =)
Nice list, I enjoyed Ice Cream the most. And I haven’t seen like any of these except for FBasket and FMP. And lol, Gekitei does sound like a drunk sing-along song. I really like it’s enka-ish melody but with the GAR brass.
What!? No Haruhi Suzumiya!?
I prefer the Mikuni version of all of the songs in this list, she should release another cover album or something new as it’s been a while since she’s released anything. And is there a album version of Mikuni singing Ice Cream, I’ve only seen the live version?
@JP
Bovril goes well with porridge and Maggi noodles, yum.
@omo
Mihata reminds me too much of a certain Malaysian army song
@danie~
innocent starter ranks in the top 30 though!
@TheBigN/lelangir
I never thought of Gekitei sounding gar… lol.
@IcyStorm
Time to hit NetFlix (or any other DVD rental store)?
@townberry
Yume mite iyou? Great song that. And Sumire’s seiyuu (Tomizawa Michie) has been in semi-retirement since getting married in 2002 so she didn’t turn up for that particular show.
@shirokiryuu
Bokura no Rekishi is made of win =)
@Kairu Ishimaru
Nope, no Haruhi songs. Not in a million years no. Damn good anime though.
@Kai
Of all Mikuni’s covers, maybe only Omoide ga Ippai was slightly better than the original IMHO. Even then, Yonekura Chihiro’s version of the song is best :3 As for the performance of Ice Cream with Saeko, it was only because Mikuni was co-hosting AniPara at the time so there is no other version of it.
Nice post, I only recently started really delving into Anime, idols and seiyuu so I don’t know a lot of the older themes. I did go and download some of these especially the Sousei no Aquarion OP. I already knew most of Shimokawa Mikuni’s stuff and could not agree more. I don’t remember where I first heard For Fruits Basket but when I read on your site that Okazaki Ritsuko had passed away I was pretty saddened that I wouldn’t get to hear a lot more of her stuff. The top 100 list had a few more songs I knew and a lot more I didn’t. I’d be interested in seeing a list rating of the shows airing or that have aired this year.
P.S. The video linked for #13 the Patlabor theme, Condition Green, is the same as the video linked for #14.
Ah yes….yume mite iyou. That song is beautiful. Actually most of those old anime songs are really awesome and can really lift your spirit up. One of my few top favorites are songs from Slam Dunk such as “Kimi ga suki datto sakebitai”, “Sekai ga owaru made wa” and definitely “My Friend”…sung by the late Izumi Sakai. I also like “Special Dream” from Initial D though I don’t bother with the anime at all hehehe and Boys Be’s “Minna ga ii ne” and “Daijoubu”, Digimon’s “Butterfly” and last but not least El Hazard “13 gatsu ….something something lol” I don’t remember the title XD.
@taka
Whoops. Cheers for pointing that one out, will fix it asap.
@townberry
The problem with anisongs these days is that they mostly serve as an advertisement for the band’s new single and the genre sometimes doesn’t even fit the anime ;(
Rinbu or Rondo (Gah, I’ve been using Rinbu all this time), best frickin OP of all time – for me at least =P It says something about the song itself if I actually enjoy the original version over stage performances by Maa-kun, Nana-chan and Minorin… Wait, that’s just me being deluded XD
@j1m0ne: Yes very true. It feels like they are just putting there for the sake of promoting the song…And ah talk about old anime songs..there is another anime with lots of awesome song which is “You’re Under Arrest” (though I hate the second season where that Miyuki went all emo and had a crush on that stupid Honda-san..urgh)…I mean with songs like Boku de aru tame ni, Starting up,Thank you friend…that stupid second season is forgivable XD.
A great top 20. I realize I’ve only actually seen 2 shows (well 3 but Dub CCS doesn’t count) from your list, makes me realize how pitiful my anime viewing is. Although I’ve heard a few of the others before.
I need to get watching all these classic shows. ;_;
dun worry u’re not alone!!! i love kimi ga iru kara from kindaichi too!!! i fell in love wif the song immediately when i first heard it!!! =D i like maaya sakamoto’s purachina too.. ^^
j1mone, I love Condition Green from Patlabor too, really happy to see somone still remember this song.
a friend from Thailand.
Hmm, most of your choices are fine (honestly, I only watched 4 of those shows in full, the rest sparingly… ^_^), but I personally thought the best Kenshin song would be L’Arc~en~Ciel’s Fourth Avenue Cafe…
I know this is an old post but what the hell:
I agree with (in no particular order of preference) 20, 12 (the anime SUCKS big time though), 11, 09, 08, 07, 05, 03 and 02.
I would add, to name just a few, bokurano’s uninstall, Cruel angel Thesis, daybreak’s bell (I can’t assure that it was written for the anime, but the lyrics do match the theme of the series really well); minami kaze, sore ga ai deshou, innocent starter, so long dear friends (shin captain tsubasa), toki wo koete (zeta gundam), thanatos “if i can’t be yours” (from the end of evangelion) and probably a lot more since I’ve heard too much anime songs in my life and I’m sure I’m forgetting some important ones.