anime op – Anime QandA

If you missed it, I previously counted down the 10 Best Anime OP’s of the Spring 2018 season, now that the good is over with we can focus on the bad, or rather the less good. As per all my lists regarding anime songs this is strictly focused on the quality of the song and has nothing to do with the visuals of the opening or how well it fits the show. Now let’s get on with counting down my 10 Worst Anime OP’s of Spring 2018!

Number 10: “ODD FUTURE” by UVERworld from My Hero Academia 3^rd Season.

It’s not a bad song, per se and at the risk of breaking one of my own rules I can’t help but compare this to the much better My Hero Academia openings that are 100% more catchy. Namely all the other ones. It’s not all bad though, the opening minute of the song is kind of dull but the last 20 seconds or so actually sound good! Too little too late, unfortunately.

Number 9: “Crosswalk” by Minori Suzuki from Amanchu! Advance.

A perfect example of a song that fits the mood of the show perfectly but that separated from the show doesn’t make for a particularly interesting listening experience. Again, not a bad song just kind of boring.

Number 8: “Daiji na Koto” by Quruli from 3D Kanajo: Real Girl.

Musically the song’s pretty good, but seriously, could they have found a less interesting vocalist to sing this? I doubt it, this sounds like a first take recorded by someone who’s just woken up and is in a hurry to do something anything other than sing this song.

Number 7: “Teppen e Dash!” by pugcat’s from Inazuma Eleven: Ares No Tenbin.

Argh! Stop shouting please! Oh you’ve stopped shouting? Please return to shouting, you evidently can’t sing. Next!

Number 6: “Koete ike” by Kyuso Nekomaki from Major 2nd.

This song left like no impact on me whatsoever. It’s just white noise, but not in the relaxing way.

Number 5: “Arigato⇄Daijoubu” by Aine, Mio from BEST FRIENDS! from Aikatsu Friends.

Ordinarily this is the kind of song I love, but the first vocalist sounds like it’s her first time singing. Which wouldn’t be too much of a problem if the song was interesting or fun in any way instead it’s just like ‘generic cute anime song number 426’.

Number 4: “Zettai Saikou *Happy Kiss*” by Chikyuu Bouei-bu HK from Cute Earth High Defense Club: Happy Kiss!

It’s like the anime equivalent of gin, I get that people like it, but for me it just leaves a bad taste in the mouth.

Number 3: “Eclipse” by Shouta Aoi from Devil’s Line.

I hate to use the phrase ‘try hard’ but sometimes things just come off as “oh look at me! I’m so dark and edgy and moody” while coming off as the exact opposite. I don’t know maybe there’s people who like this song and more power to you but to me it was just embarassing to listen to.

Number 2: “Soujo wa Ano Sora wa Wataru” by Riko Fukumoto from Hisone to Maso-tan.

I’m sure it seemed like a good idea at the time. This is just awkward and sounds bad.

Dishonourable Mention: “Haikei, Jigoku yori” by Jigoku no Sata All Stars from Hozuki’s Coolheadedness 2^nd Season Part 2.

This is a difficult one, because while I appreciate how adorable this song is, especially for fans of this show. It’s not a good song if you just strictly judge it ‘as a song’. It’s gimmicky and fun, which is why it doesn’t need to be judged along side the other songs hence the ‘dishonourable mention’.

Number 1: “Souten no Hate ni” by AK-69 from Fist of the Blue Sky: Re:Genesis.

I love The Lonely Island, they’re such a great parody rap group. Why do I bring this up? Well probably because this band, AK-69 (hur hur) sounds almost exactly like them, except without that one key ingredient, namely this isn’t the least bit funny! You know what it is? Just. Plain. Bad. Maybe just maybe this would have worked for some self aware comedy series, but we all know they’re just trying to be cool and failing miserably in the process. Someone needs to enact some gun control so we can ban the use of AK-69’s.

And that’s my 10 Worst Anime OP’s of the Spring 2018 season! Let me know what songs you didn’t like in the comments and stay tuned for the Best and Worst ED (Ending) songs coming soon!

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For a minute I thought about making a new blog just for this subject but I realised, that just because a lot of my content is reviews in the 20 Question Format and my blog is called Anime Q and A, didn’t mean I couldn’t shake things up a little. So begins the blog posts under the ‘Listing Compulsive’ banner, they will be countdown style lists where I count down from 10 to 1 my best (or sometimes worst) things related to anime and manga. Also it should go without saying but like all lists these picks are subjective, we all have different tastes so if you don’t agree with me feel free to state why in the comments, it’s always interesting to read other people’s opinions!

The subject of this list, as you can no doubt tell is The 10 Best Anime OP’s of Winter 2018, and to make this list as comprehensive as possible I decided to listen to every anime opening credit song from this seasons crop of shows. Obviously I’ll try and divorce my opinions of the show from the ranking of these songs because it is solely about the music, not the visuals of the opening and certainly not the quality of the show attached to it. I’m also only listening to the version of the song as it plays over the credits, not the full-length song! Music is important, especially to anime, a single great song can inspire you to watch it, whether because of how much it pumps you up, or because how cute it sounds, or maybe it’s just an amazing song fullstop. All were the case with the songs that made it into this list and so with those parameters laid out let’s count down the 10 Best Anime OP’s of Winter 2018!

*Note: I tried to be as thorough as possible, however I may have missed some! Excluded from eligibility are shows that have a different opening every episode, or shows that have an opening 30 seconds or under.*

Number 10: “OVER” by Little Glee Monster from Boruto: Naruto Next Generations

I gotta be honest with you, I’ve never seen a single episode of Naruto, or Naruto: Shippuden or whatever the hell Boruto is. But this song is a straight up toe-tapper! It’s captures the kind of wonder and spirit of adventure that a lot of great Shonen theme songs have.

Number 9: “Colors Power ni Omakasero!” by Colors☆Slash from Mitsuboshi Colors

As much as I tried and I mean tried to make this list impartial and not influenced by the show itself, I admit this pick and the number two pick I couldn’t separate from the show. But it’s hard when you have the voice actresses singing the song and so you remember all the good times from the show and you can even begin to pick out their personalities in the lyrics.

Number 8: “FEELING AROUND” by Minori Suzuki from Ms Koizumi Loves Ramen Noodles

The beat in this song is so damn infectious, and then when the chorus hits, just magic!

Number 7: “KISS OF DEATH” by Mika Nakashima x Hyde from Darling in the FranXX

Shame they couldn’t put such a good song in a better show.

Proof of the power of a great song, I dislike the show immensely but absolutely LOVE this song; it’s like a James Bond opening from the future! It’s sexy and stylish and just plain cool.

Number 6: “SHINY DAYS” by Asaka from Yuru Camp.

Partially English chorus? Don’t mind if I do!

Even if the opening few seconds are a bit too close to sounding like a Jackson 5 song the rest of it is pure joy and happiness, it just makes me smile!

Number 5: “OH MY Sugar Feeling!!” by Ayana Taketatsu from Dagashi Kashi 2

This song is a sugar high in music form.

It’s not as much as an earworm as some shows on the list; you won’t be humming it in the shower like SHINY DAYS, but while you’re listening to it is quite literally a high. It’s high speed, high intensity and high fun!

Number 4: “The Girls Are Alright” by saya from A Place Further Than The Universe

Nothing cold about this heartwarming tune!

I love the progression in this song, the fact that manages to fit such a quiet, almost contemplative opening, then build, then build then finally explode into that addictive chorus is pure art.

Number 3: “Flashback” by MIYAVI vs. KenKen from Kokkoku.

Such is the power of this particular song that it made me buy an Amazon Video subscription just so I can watch the show that this cool, head bopping song came from. Maybe the show will actually be good too? Either way the song still rocks. Also, the fact that it doesn’t sound like any other opening this year is also a massive point in its favour.

Number 2: “ne! ne! ne!” by STARTails☆ from Slow Start

Kamuri too precious. Must protect at all costs.

Yup! I’m a sucker for songs sung by the show’s voice cast, whether it’s cute girls like in Yuru Yuri or the whole damn class like in Assassination Classroom, I just think they’re so fun, and this is among the most fun this season! Also, hearing Kamuri sing her parts is just too precious for words!

Before the winner is announced here’s a couple of Honourable Mentions:

Honourable Mention: “Azalea” by Nano.ripe from Citrus

Catchy as hell song, plus I really like the vocalists more rough sound, nice change from all the higher pitched cute girl songs.

Honourable Mention: “Psychomachia” by Yousei Teikoku from The Seven Heavenly Virtues

I don’t watch this show, but I will (pervert, etc), though I admit I didn’t expect death metal for an opening to an ecchi show. I have a soft spot for death metal because of my youth. Also it technically is ineligible because it’s only 30 seconds long, hence why it’s in the honourable mentions.

Honourable Mention: “WiSH VOYAGE” by IDOLiSH7

I’m not sure what boy band this song reminded me of, but I had a good time listening to it all the same, which is strange because I don’t like boy band music, must be because I don’t know what they’re saying that I enjoyed it more. This and “Azalea” just missed out of the top 10 but were worth highlighting all the same.

And now, my favourite favourite Anime OP of Winter 2018 is:

Number 1: “urar” by Chima from Hakumei and Mikochi

When I decided to do this list, even though I said to myself I would be open to songs from shows I wasn’t watching, I didn’t ever think that one would make it to the number one spot. That should go a long way to selling you on the strength of this particular track. I’ve never watched the show and yet it’s OP is Number 1! It’s whimsical but it has a mysterious dark edge to it that I find irresistible. There were parts of the song that reminded me of my favourite band Radiohead, at other times my favourite live action US TV-show Twin Peaks (composed by Angelo Badalamenti) but even without those musical parallels it’s just such a beautiful song, that honestly made me feel something, even though I had no idea what the song or the show it is attached to is about. But that’s the power of music, to be able to forge connections by sound alone.

And that’s the list, but stay tuned because while it is indeed a great season filled with great songs, there’s also 10 more songs to talk about, the worst OP’s of Winter 2018 coming soon!