I'm usually drawn to the anime themes that work the best as stand alone pieces, but From the New World (Shinsekai Yori)'s "Wareta Ringo" was one I enjoyed specifically based on context. When I listen to it on its own, it's a good song, but nothing too spectacular when you consider that most anime themes released recently have been A) By female singers/seiyuu and B) J-Pop. But when placed next to an episode of From the New World with its almost soul crushing world and dark atmosphere, the sounds reminiscent of a broken video game cartridge at the beginning of "Wareta Ringo" just make sense. The whole series carries what Diana Wynne Jones refers to as the "reek of wrongness," and I love that little bit of offbeat-ness to Rise Taneda's vocal. But without From the New World giving me the right mindset and atmosphere, the song doesn't always do it for me on its own. That's why anime and music often make the perfect pair in how they help each other out when necessary!
The cast looks moe, but they'll stamp on your heart and kick it to the depths of despair. Just sayin :)
Forget any other revolution that has ever happened in history, because Japan has the best: T.M. Revolution! Takanori Nishikawa is a heavenly being whose voice and entire being has been blessed by the angels and sent down to earth so us mere mortal can appreciate the presence of a performing legend among us. Well, I may be more than a little bit biased, but I think Nishikawa-sama is a great man and an excellent synthpop singer, so I found his Soul Eater theme "Resonance" to be perfectly epic and a worthy single to have span a huge chunk of the show. T.M. Revolution has an excellent style for anime, which is part of the reason he's been involved in so many, but I think this track has thus far been the best overall fit for him. If you love him as much as I do, check out Valvrave this season: he and seiyuu Nana Mizuki have another duet as the theme, and they sound killer!
I was a bit ambivalent about the original Fate/stay night anime adaptation, finding the Fate/zero follow up quite a bit more interesting both visually and plot-wise, but the series didn't fail to impress me when it came to opening theme "disillusion" performed by Tainaka Sachi, who also performed the "Kirameku Namida wa Hoshi ni" and "Kimi to no Ashita" themes for the show. She has a delightfully rich vocal, and the atmosphere she creates is very well suited to female character Saber, who is among the most interesting and surprising characters of the series. Overall, the show's OST comes across as almost stronger than the content itself (particularly in the action sequences, which have an intense score to crank up the tension), so if you love anime music, be sure to check the soundtrack out!
I usually rely on anime themes to get me into new music, but when it came to Ergo Proxy, I was already very much in love with its closing theme "Paranoid Android" by music legend Radiohead. The track shares a specific trait that most of my favorite songs have: breath taking musical diversity. This song is like several in one, but still manages to stay cohesive enough to where you don't feel you're being too jerked around by it- much like the plot of Ergo Proxy itself. Of course, there's only so much of it you can squeeze into a TV size track, but for those of you who like the bit sampled in the anime, give the whole thing a try if you haven't heard it already. It's not for no reason that Radiohead is one of the most beloved bands of our generation!
Like many of my fellow fujoshi, I was pretty ticked off when the Togainu no Chi anime failed to follow any of the game's original paths and ended up forcing them into a hodge-podge orgy that somehow managed to avoid all yaoi whatsoever, but there's no denying that the anime version of the visual novel did a pretty great job with its music. GRANRODEO is one of my favorite rock bands, and I was thrilled to see them included TnC, which had the perfect atmosphere for their sound. The multiple closing themes were also a nice touch- I particularly enjoyed the tracks from OLDCODEX, Sadie, and CurriculuMachine.
Still, one wonders why they took the yaoi out of an anime based off a yaoi visual novel. This fangirl thinks that taking the Keisuke or Shiki route would have been the best.
Is there anything Supercell doesn't do perfectly when it comes to anime music? The only correct answer here? NO. From Magi to Guilty Crown and Bakemonogatari to Black Rock Shooter, every one of their anime singles have been stunning works of art. Ryo is a brilliant music producer, and with the vocal talents of Nagi Yanagi, Koeda, and Chelly on his side, the lyrics soar to angelic heights. Bakemonogatari had a number of lovely themes since each heroine opened with her own character track, but nothing beat out the closer "Kimi no Shiranai Monogatari" and Nagi Yanagi's divine delivery. Let's see how the new season of the Monogatari series compares!
As far as Bakemonogatari epicness goes, Araragi's cowlick is in a close second
One of the things I love most about Yoko Kanno as a music composer is how dynamic she is. She completely nailed the jazz tie-ins to both Cowboy Bebop and Sakamichi no Apollon, and blew fans out of the water with her more fantasy/classical based soundtrack for The Vision of Escaflowne. With Wolf's Rain, she adapted to the setting filled with desperation, urban decay, and a single-minded journey to a more beautiful future with a grittier indie sensibility, summed up perfectly by opening theme "Stray" performed by Steve Conte. She was right to go with a Western vocalist for this one- Conte has just the right amount of gruffness to his voice, and the words and the way he sings them gets at the heart of main characters Kiba, Tsume, Toboe, and Hige.
Our four strays take an unusual path in life towards and unparalleled destination
When it comes to fantasy titles, my favorite opening themes are those that opt out of the modern pop genre and go for a more sweeping, otherworldy sound. Tales of Symphonia's OVA did a fantastic job in selecting Eri Kawai's "Almateria" for its opening number given how well her tone suits the fantasy world of Sylvarant, the setting for this anime adapted from a beloved console title. Kawai-san has since passed away from cancer, but her career was filled with a number of beautiful classical pop songs, as well as pieces with a more traditional, world music flair such as she shows in "Almateria." Her soft and gripping voice couldn't be more ideal for a story with such an epic sweep!
As one of the titles that cemented by love of anime, this series and song are very special to me
I may be a huge Sosuke Sagara fangirl (and a vehement SosukexChidori shipper), but one of my additional favorite parts of the Full Metal Panic Fummofu side stories is the opening theme "Sore ga Ai Deshou" by Shimokawa Mifuni. Though Sosuke and Chidori have an impossible time getting their feelings across, this song sums up the emotions they're dealing with simply and straightforwardly. If only we could all be so honest!
Time for a throwback! As a modern anime fan, it's a bit hard sometimes to get into super old series where the graphics are as simplistic as can be, but for some of these titles, the content is well-worth putting up with the drop in animation quality. 1980s comedy Patalliro is one of my favorite older pieces, and still manages to crack me up regularly. The theme is also a tongue-twisting gem, and taps into all the enjoyable moeness of Hatsune Miku's "Po pi po" a few decades ahead of its time. Even so, it's only my second favorite song from the series: nothing can beat the oft repeated "Who Killed Cock Robin?" in my book!
Valvrave the Liberator Early First Impressions: First of all- that theme song "Preserved Roses"? Mmmm, yes! I love T.M. Revolution and I love Nana Mizuki, so I was absolutely thrilled to hear them teaming up. Otherwise, this series has done a fairly good job of attracting my interest thus far. It may stray close to becoming another Code Geass rip-off, but I'm willing to give it the benefit of the doubt for now. The interesting difference to this series is that Haruto chose to sacrifice his humanity in order to pilot Valvrave, and we're just beginning to see what the implications of that might be. Is he turning into a vampire/body snatcher? And will he ever be able to have a relationship with Shouko as a consequence? And what kind of a name is L-elf? So far, I'm definitely willing to find out more!
Suisei no Gargantia Early First Impressions: Solid opening theme by Minori Chihara. It's about on par with your average opening theme, but still pleasant to listen to every week. The show, however, is thus far my favorite of the season. I like action series that are balanced fairly with plot and character, and this one is doing a fantastic job of generating feels towards characters like Amy and Ledo while still providing a powerful conflict and battlegrounds. The landscape and art is beautiful, and I LOVE how they worked out the language difference so it doesn't come across that everyone magically speaks Japanese, even though they make it the language of the focus character for convenience. Can't wait to find out more and learn if Ledo will ever rejoin the fight against the Hideauze.
Mushibugyou Early First Impressions: Opening theme "Tomo yo" is good for an action/comedy series, but my favorite themes are generally the more serious ones. Not bad, though! The show itself is not something I'd usually watch, but I can't resist things set in Japan's historical era, and picked it up anyways. Luckily, the characters are pretty fun, and I love all the nut-job hair designs like crazy. Plotwise, it's fairly simple and not particularly cutting edge, but it gives me my Edo fix this season, so it's a nice break considering all the other titles I'm watching right now are fairly serious.
Attack on Titan Early First Impressions: "Guren no Yumiya" is by far my favorite theme of the season. Fantastic job by Linked Horizon. I was a little nervous when I started the show because of the violence. I can't tolerate excessive blood even in anime, and when I saw the Titan take a bite out of the townspeople, I thought I was going to be a little bit sick. Luckily, the plot has far outstripped my squeamishness, and I'm thoroughly enjoying this dark tale of survival and revenge. As a main character, Eren is a bit of a sourpuss, but his determination in living and trying to give others the chance to live is quite refreshing, even if he does enter jerkass mode from time to time (or the majority of the time). The cast of characters is probably my favorite of the season (although I really, really like Amy and Ledo from Gargantia) and I am convinced Potato Girl will become a legend.
Karneval Early First Impressions: "Henai no Rondo" already brought a smile to my face simply because it's a good male vocal, which we didn't get that much of last season. Great performance by GRANRODEO, and those instruments at the beginning are yummy. The plot at first was a bit confusing for me to unravel, but now that I'm starting to figure things out, I'm beginning to become quite the Karneval fan. As a josei series, it's aiming right at the heart of my bishounen, ho-yay laden tastes. There seems to be a lot of unresolved secrets introduced, and I'm itching to learn more (since I haven't read the manga), and hoping to see some character development with Nai, our shy main character. I'm already in love with Gareki though, so I'll be sure to watch the next episodes quite attentively!
Arata Kangatari
Early First Impressions: "Genesis Aria" by Sphere is not bad as an opening, but is easily beat out this season by better tracks
This series probably isn't high on most people's too watch list this season, but it hits at quite a bit of things I love, namely the historical fantasy genre with a dash of sword fighting, time travel, and character developing journeys. It follows a standard trading lives with a stranger trope, but I'm a sucker for the fantasy setting and political intrigue of Arata Hinohara's new life, and I'm eager to watch him become a better man for it. However, I can't be the only one wondering what's happening with the other Arata in Japan. Isn't Bully-kun going to notice the change in personality? And what's the deal with Bully-kun and Hinohara anyways? I'm fine waiting for now, but if the series doesn't answer these questions soon, I'm going to start breathing fire!
As happy as I am that the church has moved away from Latin so the common people actually know what the heck is going on, there's really something to be said for the haunting quality of a Latin prayer. Elfen Lied's opener and insert theme "Lilium" comes from a fairly basic Latin prayer which translates roughly as: The mouth of the Just shall meditate wisdom, And His tongue shall declare judgment. For once he hath been tested, he shall receive the crown of life. Oh Lord, Fire Divine, have mercy. How generous, how pleasant this Virgin who believeth. Oh how holy, how serene, How generous, how pleasant, Oh Pure Lily.
Blessed is he who endureth temptation, Oh Lord, Fountain of Holiness, Oh how holy, how serene. Pretty straightforward, huh? But when translated to Kumiko Noma's vocal and set at a somber pace, this song comes across as tragic, and verges on painful. Anime music is at its best when the music and lyrics suit the sentiment and atmosphere of the show, and "Lilium" fits Elfen Lied like a beautiful glove.
This track has inspired plenty of tears, but please refrain from the unslightly blood
Mmm, I love me some male vocals, and Pigstar's performance on Junjou Romantica's opening track "Kimi=Hana" is particularly delicious. Tomonori's rich voice is a smooth as butter and downright sexy on this romantic song about never wanting to let go of the hand of the person you love. I'm not sure why, but his voice always reminds me of JJR's Usagi-san, probably because they're both in a way very smooth and very manly. Love that emotion on the final note of the song!
This past anime season was a little bit disappointing when it came to male vocals on themes, most likely because the high number of moe comedies limited the number of shows where it would be reasonable for an opening with a more masculine sounding performance. Luckily, Zettai Karen Children: The Unlimited managed to dodge this bullet in spite of its original series starring three adorable young troublemaking ladies. Since The Unlimited shifted focus to the male antagonist of the series, it opened the way for an amazing rock performance by Emblem of the UNLIMITED, featuring one of the best and most untamed vocals of the series. Can't wait to hear what new music Spring 2013 will bring!
They may be rough around the edges, but the tougher music they bring is a nice change of pace
It's not often I get a good workout while watching anime, so I love opening tracks that come with an accompanying dance, such as Lucky Star's iconic opener or, my personal favorite, Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita's "Real World." The dance is quite simple-- thrust hands forward, stick out that butt, and kick in time with the cute lil fairies and the Mediator-- but its quite a lot of fun to do along with this entertaining theme by nano.Ripe. I'm all for female fronted pop rock, and this song hits a right note for me every time-- just like the amazing Jinrui itself!
If I have one complaint about the J-pop industry at the moment it's the influx of overtly feminine voices that are sweet to listen to, but don't have much in the way power. To take a break from moe, I love the vocals of Atsuko from j-pop duo Angela, which pack a heavy wallop with their strength and range. I particularly love Angela's theme from 2012's K, "Kings," which got me all excited last season since an amazing, non-sugary female vocal isn't always easy to find. K ended up being rushed last year, but as a huge Daisuke Naimkawa fan, I'm looking forward to a new season!
Dat FACE! Could anyone but Daisuke Namikawa voice him? :D
As much as I like my sweeping anime theme numbers, sometimes a chill, relaxing track works just as nicely. Music themed Nodame Cantabile was a blast to watch thanks to the amazing classical pieces played by main characters Chiaki and Nodame, but I was also a huge fan of the theme tracks, particularly season one's "Allegro Cantabile," a laid back tune that will make you go "Gyabooo!" and "Mukyaaaa!" right along with Nodame-chan! Suemitsu & the Suemith, the solo project of Suemitsu Atsushi, has a fantastic flair for piano rock, and the vocal muffling used at the beginning keeps the atmosphere light and delicate like classical music itself-- we'll leave the insane antics to Nodame for the rest of the series!
No matter how many times I listen to Guilty Crown's stellar opening theme by Supercell, I simply cannot get over the fact that singer Koeda was only fifteen when she performed the vocals. At twenty-one years old, my voice is nowhere near this mature and rich, but it just goes to show that true talent knows no age. Guilty Crown may have ended up a bit rushed in places despite a promising storyline, but the OST, featuring the stunning work of Supercell vocalist Chelly performing as fictional character Inori's idol group EGOIST, is one of the best in recent years. Also, if you enjoy this track, check out Koeda's recent vocal performance on Magi theme "The Bravery"!
Guilty Crown may bear a striking resemblance to the unbeatable Code Geass, but there's no denying that Inori's stunning art and the legacy of EGOIST give it some bonus points.
Ef: A Tale of Memories is one of the most emotionally and psychologically heavy shows out there, and their use of the vocals of talented J-pop female vocalist Elisa gave the show the blend of solemn and yet uplifting energy it relies on to deliver its analysis on love and human nature. Elisa performs a great English-language vocal, and although some the grammar and sentences are fragmented, the lyrical choppiness of the song actually benefits its atmosphere and draws to mind the scattered identities of the characters as they seek the answers to who they are and what they want.
Don't let all the beauties fool you: this show is first and foremost about finding personal identity before being able to welcome love.
Not only is Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood one of the most popular and beloved anime out there, but it has two of the greatest opening themes (in my opinion) of all time: "Again" by J-pop singer YUI and "Hologram" by J-rock group NICO Touches the Walls. YUI started the show off strong with her distinctive style that makes her one of the most unique and recognizable singers in the biz, leaving a tough act to follow. But NICO followed up beyond expectations with "Hologram," a song accompanied by one of my favorite anime opening sequences of all time. The track also left a huge emotional impact when it reappeared as the closing theme of the final episode when the viewer was shown pictures of the Elric Brothers and friends' beautiful futures following the main conflict of the series. Thank you, FMA, for just being so wonderful all around!
Fullmetal and co. make for one of the most likable casts in anime history
