The Best Anime Music: - My Personal Fifteen Favorite Songs
Sep 27 '04 (Updated Mar 23 '06)
The Bottom Line This is my list of the best anime music in the form of my personal favorites. Enjoy.
Top ten lists can be difficult sometimes. I find that they're really fun to write, and if you've looked through my archive of reviews you'll see that I've done a couple when it comes to games and movies, but never music, at least until now. I decided to take the road less travelled and write a top ten list that I actually have to put a lot of effort with deciding into. This is when I came up with this "brilliant" prospect (actually I copied the idea from epinions user Ulfson but that's beside the point). Basically I decided to write about my favorite songs from anime, which really is no easy task. Could you easily assemble your ten favorite songs from movie soundtracks as easily as you could your ten favorite movies? I decided to kick it up a notch by actually making this a top fifteen list, I love a good challenge. Please forgive me because I'm not used to writing about music, but Here goes nothing.
#15. - Hohoemi no Bakudan
This song is the opening theme for the series Yu Yu Hakusho. It's an incredibly catchy song, and one that I really never get tired of. Although the lyrics don't make much sense at all, but the singer has a nice enough voice that it really doesn't matter. The trumpets are especially catchy, along with the drum work going on in the background. I found myself able to relate to this song much my first semester at college when I was homesick, and so there's some memories that go along with it for myself.
#14. - Pokemon Opening Theme
As you may have already guessed from the title, this song is the opening from the first season of Pokemon. With this entry I'm sure that I've surprised and got a few groans, but keep in mind that I hate this anime series as much as anyone else. Pokemon did however have one heck of a catchy theme song, and this was what actually drew me to watch it in the first place. The lyrics fit this series pretty well, with some guitar riffs in between vocals to keep the high energy vibe going, and the yelling of "Pokemon" at regular intervals adds a charming sense of repetition. I may be in the minority, but I really like this song.
#13. - Heart of Sword
This doozy of a song is the ending song for Rurouni Kenshin, which by the way is an excellent series. This song is a combination pop/techno beat which features some excellent sounding vocals, and a terrific chorus line. This song is actually one of the first impressions I got of this series, and was actually what really got me interested in Kenshin. There have been few better reasons to sit through any show's credits, but this song (paired with the visuals of Kenshin fighting off enemies) definitely had me sitting through to the very end.
#12. - Fukai Mori
This is a very beautiful song from the soundtrack of Inuyasha. This is the second ending song for the series, and I would have to say that it's the best in the series. This song is performed by one of my favorite Japanese artists, Do as Infinity, but it's really what got me interested in this group. This song's strongest aspect is the guitar work, paired with the singer's beautiful voice and a very strong chorus line. If only I could understand what she was singing about.
#11. - Ride on Shooting Star
As if FLCL wasn't already quirky enough, the production team decided to include The Pillows' song Ride on Shooting Star to the soundtrack as the ending song. This wouldn't be so strange, but the imagery it's paired with makes zero sense. Anyway, this rock song took a while to grow on me, but I'm glad it did. The beginning sounds a bit strange, with just guitar and drumwork, but I'd say the best aspect of this song is it's vocals which are really mellow in nature, and make a good ending to the crazy experience that is FLCL.
#10. - Wind
Wind is the first ending song for my favorite anime and manga series, Naruto. It's not very common that you find a song that perfectly sums up the main character of a series, but the production company accomplished this when they applied this song to the series. What starts with a short but haunting piano solo, quickly gives way to some beautiful Ocarina work paired with more piano, drums, and guitar. This song is sung in English even though this anime series hasn't left Japan. The lyrics are also beautiful, in a haunting sort of way even though the English isn't perfect.
#9. - I'll Be The One
I'll be the one is the second opening song to the series, Hikaru No Go. This series hasn't been released in the US in anime form yet, but no matter. I liked the first opening song for this series, and felt that it fit pretty well. I was blown away by the second opening though, which had a much more epic feeling to it, even though the vocalist has a higher pitched voice than the one in the previous opening song. This is a fairly catchy tune, and fits this series pretty well.
#8. - Sailor Stars Opening Theme
This song is used as the opening theme for the best season of Sailor Moon, Sailor Stars. This is the final season of the show, and it marks the first and only time that the original dull theme song is completely replaced. What this song brings to the Sailor Moon series is a much more powerful song vocally and instrumentally. This is a very high energy song when compared to the previous opening theme which I'm not really a fan of. Keep in mind, this song is way more "pop" than the last time, and the vocalist has a voice which could easily fit under the cute category so it's not for everyone.
#7. - Bara No Soldier
This song is from the Bubblegum Crisis series. This theme sounds like it's taken straight out of the eighties, but that's half of this song's charm. The strong vocals and guitar work are it's strongest points, but the synthesizor instruments and drum work are also worth mentioning. If you're a fan of eighties music and enjoy guitar solos along with strong female vocals than you'll probably find a lot to like about this particular song.
#6. - Outer Senshi Transformation Theme
Musically, Sailor Moon definitely delivers. The number six spot on this list belongs to the wonderfully composed outer senshi transformation theme notably used by Sailor Uranus and Neptune in the Sailor Moon series. This song is one of my favorites from the sailor moon series. I'm not a huge fan of violins, but the violin work by Vanessa Mae definitely shines in this song, and really adds an air of mystery to the series and to the characters this song pertains to. Even though it doesn't have any words, this song works pretty well at defining the outer senshi.
#5. - Sailor Moon Japanese 1st Season Transformation Theme
You're probably getting tired of hearing about Sailor Moon by now, but I'm not done talking about it yet. One of the reasons I stuck with the first season of Sailor Moon is because of the terrific transformation song (it wasn't only the transformation song, but it was primarily used for it). This song starts off very strong with trumpets, and then cuts to drums and some of the most catchy guitar riffs I've heard in a long time. At times this song actually gives me goosebumps. It falls a little on the cheesy side, but the cheesiness is easily overlooked.
#4. - Wakiagaru Toushi
This is another song from the Naruto series, and the title translates to something like "The Rising Fighting Spirit" or so I've read. This song is a heavily emotional song, relying on harsh guitar riffs and flute solos, which both combined work very well for this song. Wakiagaru toushi usually plays during a turn over in a fight in the series, and fits the series' mood perfectly. I'd be hard pressed to find another rock song as emotionally engaging as this one.
#3. - Sailor Team No Theme
I promise this is the last time you'll be hearing about Sailor Moon on this list, but I had to mention this last song. Sailor Team No Theme is a vocal song that plays during one of the major fights in Sailor Moon Super S, and is easily one of the best songs I've heard when it comes to anime. The song is really engaging, and the only thing I dislike about is the chorus which involves the singer singing in Japanese, and then suddenly following it up with the words "Make Up!" There was no way I could possibly leave this terrific piece of music off of this list, as it was one of the few redeeming factors of the Sailor Moon Super S season.
#2. - Hikari No Suashi
This song is from the wonderful Record of Lodoss War series, can't remember which section of it though. This is one of the most haunting songs I have ever heard in my life, no lie. The vocalist is really talented and adds a certain eerie atmosphere to her voice, which, paired with the soft beeps and pings and "ahh"s in the background make this song a really intense piece of work. It almost sounds as if she's whispering in the second part of this song, which is a very nice touch. The audio ambience also adds to this experience.
#1. - ROCKS
This is yet another Naruto entry on the list, but is the most deserving of the bunch. This is my favorite song taken from any anime soundtrack that I've heard. If any song has ever been able to indirectly sum up an anime series than this is it. The lyrics (what I've seen them translated to) are a perfect fit for Naruto, and I literally get goosebumps everytime I watch the series' first opening sequence with this song playing in the background. The background singers add a perfect touch, and the main singer's over the top voice adds a certain charm to this song, along with the guitar work and synthesized music behind everything. I've got all the lyrics to this song memorized even though they're in Japanese, that's how much I like it. This is one of my favorite songs of all time.
Well I hope this list has been helpful to you (in any way, really I do). At the very least I hope you enjoyed reading it.
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