ed – Anime QandA

10 Best Anime ED’s Spring 2019

10 Best Anime ED’s of Spring 2019

First came the OP’s now come the ED’s! For consideration in this list of ED’s is both the quality of the visuals and the music and ~every~ anime of the season is being assessed and is eligible regardless of whether I’m watching the show or not. This list might be biased towards certain factors but I’ll explain the “why” of my choices underneath each pick. Let’s take a look at my 10 Best Anime ED’s of Spring 2019!

~Number 10~
“Ne, Issho ni Kaero.” by Hitori Bocchi (Chisaki Morishita) from ‘Hitori Bocchi no Marumaru Seikatsu’

It’s cute and quirky and perfectly bridges the gap between the manga and anime. Plus musically it’s got an interesting, almost Irish sounding vibe to it which makes it stand-out all the more.

~Number 9~
“PEARLY×PARTY” by Party☆Fairy [Nuckelavee (Himika Akaneya), Titania (Rie Takahashi), Coopy (Nao Touyama), Brigitte (Yuu Serizawa), Bodach (Suzuko Mimori), Bethor (Rina Hidaka)] from ‘Han-Gyakyu-Sei Million Arthur 2’

Sorry, no video exists of this online (as far as I can tell) so enjoy this still image from the ED instead!

All the female cast in bunny girl outfits? What more could you want?! Oh and the song is pretty damn catchy too…

~Number 8~
“Shinri no Kagami, Tsurugi no You ni” by Konomi Suzuki from ‘YU-NO: A Girl Who Chants Love At The Bound Of This World’

With enigmatic and thought-provoking visuals and an excellent song that evokes the likes of Steins;Gate its hard not to be drawn into this captivating ED.

~Number 7~
“Name of Love” by Cinema Staff from ‘Attack on Titan Season 3 Part 2’

I’m way behind on Attack on Titan but even I felt myself getting nostalgic and even a bit misty-eyed by this ED. It’s simple, but wholly effective and sometimes that’s all you need.

~Number 6~
“Moffumoffu DE Yoi no Ja yo” by Senko (Azumi Waki) from ‘Helpful Fox Senko-san’

It’s expectantly adorable both musically and visually. This is definetly an ED that benefits from being a fan of the series though!

~Number 5~
“Attouteki Vivid Days” by Nanami Yoshi from ‘Wiseman’s Grand Child’

Unlike the chill and humorous OP (which also featured highly on my previous list) this ED is pure head-banging rock and it aptly rocks.

~Number 4~
“Lily” by Luck Life from ‘Bungou Stray Dogs 3rd Season’

I’m fairly sure I haven’t come across the band ‘Lily’ before (nor watched any of ‘Bungou Stray Dogs’ for what its worth) but I really enjoyed the song both musically and vocally and while I couldn’t find a proper video of the ED, the glimpses of the visuals I did catch in the background of this live performance seemed very evocative and fitting to the song.

~Number 3~
“Lucky Ending” by Vickeblanka from ‘Fruits Basket (2019)’

This song; its delicate arrangement and the emotive vocals are all fantastic–something I’m sure I’d be saying if I wasn’t heavily invested in this show emotionally…

~Number 2~
“Stand by me” by the peggies from ‘Sarazanmai’

I probably won’t ever watch this show (for reasons) but holy heck did this ED make a massive impression on me. The striking blend between live-action nighttime backgrounds and the animated characters is something that’s kind of unforgettably cool and the music… well it’s ‘the peggies’ (a.k.a. one of the best things to happen to anime music in the last 6 months) so what else is there to say other than “wow”.

~Honourable Mention~
“Modern Crusaders” by Enigma from ‘Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind’

You gotta hand it to whoever’s picking these Jojo ED’s, when they’re not using perfectly suited popular Western songs they’re introducing me to bands I’ve never heard of but totally would have been a fan of if I’d discovered them in my earlier years. It’s not the best Jojo ED (that place will forever be taken by ‘I Want You’ by Savage Garden’) but a Jojo ED is always at the very least worth an honourable mention!

~Number 1~
“Never Give It Up!!” by Study from ‘We Never Learn!’

Something I’ve never (at least I don’t think) disclosed about my decision making process regarding these OP and ED lists is that I award each song/video combo a score out of 100 and sort accordingly. Usually there’s only 1 or 2 points between number 2 and number 1–this time there was five points between them. Not to oversell this ED, but I love everything about it–it not only manages to perfectly capture everything about the show (and the girls) but the song is just magnificent from beginning to end.

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And that’s my Top 10 ED’s for Spring! Let me know what ED’s were your favourites this season in the comments and thanks all for reading!

Previous Seasonal OP & ED Lists (2018):

10 Best OP’s Winter 2018
10 Worst OP’s Winter 2018
10 Best ED’s Winter 2018
5 Worst ED’s Winter 2018
10 Best OP’s Spring 2018
10 Worst OP’s Spring 2018
10 Best ED’s Spring 2018
5 Worst ED’s Spring 2018
15 Best OP’s Summer 2018
5 Worst OP’s Summer 2018
10 Best ED’s Summer 2018
10 Worst ED’s Summer 2018
10 Best OP’s Fall 2018
10 Worst OP’s Fall 2018
10 Best ED’s Fall 2018
5 Worst ED’s Fall 2018
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The Best Anime OP’s of 2018
The Best Anime ED’s of 2018

Previous Seasonal OP & ED Lists (2019):

10 Best OP’s Winter 2019
10 Best ED’s Winter 2019
10 Best OP’s Spring 2019

If you liked my post and want to support my content, please consider supporting my Patreon page, or donating by buying me a coffee on Ko-fi!

10 Best Anime ED’s Winter 2019

10 Best Anime ED’s of Winter 2019

Here we are–back again counting down the 10 Best Anime ED’s of Winter 2019! In case you missed it, click here for my 10 Best OP’s of Winter 2019.

~Number 10~
“Happy Happy Friends” by Wataten☆Five from ‘WATATEN!’

This is just pure catchy good fun, plus the visuals remind me of the ‘Muppet Show’ for some reason.

~Number 9~
“Wagamama” Arisa Takigawa from ‘Domestic Girlfriend’

It’s just a great damn song that fits the mood of the show (and the ED visuals) perfectly.

~Number 8~
“Little Soldier” by Azusa Tadokoro from ‘That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime’

There’s a lot of feeling wrapped up in this ED plus it’s also a straight up banger that could have easily served as an OP in place of the mediocre one we got!

~Number 7~
“Zettai Zetsumei” by Cö shu Nie from ‘The Promised Neverland’

Unabashedly a Cö shu Nie song and I mean that with all the compliments I could ever afford them.

~Number 6~
“Hagan” by Fujifabric from ‘3D Kanojo: Real Girl 2nd Season’

I don’t watch this show but this ED is so damn good it almost makes me want to! It’s a powerful song that resonates despite having me personally having no real attachment to the imagery on screen.

~Number 5~
“Colorful☆Wing” by Gripen (Yuuka Morishima), Eagle (Hitomi Ohwada), Phantom (Shiori Izawa) from ‘Girly Air Force’

Cue “I love anime songs sung by the voice actors comment” here. It’s especially true when the voice actors all have such distinctive voices–especially hearing best girl Gripen singing is all kinds of amazing and adorable.

~Number 4~
“Whiteout” by Riko Azuna from ‘Boogiepop and Others’

‘Cool and mysterious’ is how I describe this song, it’s also a straight up banger that as soon as I hear it I can’t get it out of my head!

~Number 3~
“Sign” by Aya Uchida from ‘The Quintessential Quintuplets’

The driving beat along with the rapid but sensual vocals all instantly hit all the right buttons with me. This ED is a bonefide masterpiece and I love every second of it, and in any other season it would have been enough for the number 1 spot and yet there’s still two ED’s that are better!

~Number 2~
“Sentimental Crisis” by halca from ‘Kaguya Sama: Love Is War’

The term ‘art’ gets bandied around pretty frequently these days but damn if this ED isn’t a beautiful work of art that only gets all the more endearing and gorgeous every time I watch it. I do love an ED that tells its own little story with its own visual style and this is a prime example of it.

~Honourable Mention~
“Chikatto Chika Chika” by Konomi Kohara from ‘Kaguya Sama: Love Is War’

So um, here’s the thing, this is the best ED ever. That’s not a joke or hyperbole this is fact. But the reason this has only gained an ‘honourable mention’ in my list is for one stupid rule that I have that one off ED’s are not eligible to be numbered in my OP/ED lists. This ED is perfection but it’s mostly due to the flawless animation in Chika’s dance that makes that the case. I love this so much, this pure unadulterated joy that everyone on Earth should experience just once in their life.

~Number 1~
“Sparkle☆Power” by Iketeru Hearts from ‘Pastel Memories’

https://streamable.com/s/nowmv/zllbfm

This is a 100% biased, fan-service inspired pick for number 1. Just putting it out there, but no other anime ED this season has brought such a smile to my face every time it plays. There’s nothing academic or intellectual I can say about this pick other than ‘dem girls thicc, me likey’.

(P.S. There were no good versions of the song on Youtube, hence why I couldn’t embed and had to use a ‘Streamable.com’ version of the ED.)

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And there’s my list! Agree? Disagree? Leave a comment below and let me know what ED was your favourite this season!

Previous Seasonal OP & ED Lists (2018):

If you liked my post and want to support my content, please consider supporting my Patreon page, or donating by buying me a coffee on Ko-fi!

Best Anime ED’s 2018

Taking a look back at the Best Anime ED’s of the whole year of 2018

So as you might be aware I’ve been listing my best and worse OP’s and ED’s of each season this year. But rather than just pick my 10 favourites from all the previous ‘top’ lists, I’ve decided to do something a little different for the final best of OP list of the year. I’ve decided to break it down into categories, almost like an awards show (albeit a bit less rigid than most). Also unlike the previous seasonal lists I’m taking into account the visuals as well as the music and whatever bias I have towards the show will be fully on display–where applicable. So with that out of the way let’s take a look at what I consider the Best Anime ED’s of 2018!

Coolest Anime ED

It’s not enough to just have a cool sounding song when we’re awarding something for being the ~coolest~ the visuals need to be cool. And I don’t know what it is about “HALF” by Ziyoou-vachi from ‘Tokyo Ghoul:re’ but it just screams effortlessly cool to me. I mean sure some people might think its ‘trying too hard’ or is dorky, but sometimes that’s cool too, right?

Anime ED That Best Represents The Tone Of The Show

It’s just a bunch of half naked (and eventually fully naked) men doing a drunken karaoke rendition of an idol song. If “Konpeki no al Fine” by Izu no Kaze from ‘Grand Blue Dreaming’ doesn’t sum up that show perfectly I don’t know what does!

The ‘I’m nostalgic for it, before its even nostalgic’ Award

What does this award mean? Well for me it’s a song that even from the first listen felt “nostalgic” not that it reminds me of anything specifically (at least not that I’m aware or can pinpoint) but it just strikes that sweet spot of nostalgia in both the music and the visuals. And while there were a couple of ED’s that could have been eligible for this, none was more ~nostalgic~ then “Kedarmono Damono” by Kitsunetsuki from ‘Killing Bites’.

Sexiest Anime ED

This was always going to be a tough category for me, especially as seeing how generally speaking ED’s are a lot sexier than OP’s (for some reason–I guess show’s aren’t afraid of alienating potential viewers by upping the service for something that appears at the end). So while there were plenty of potential candidates, the one that sticks in my mind the most is “Motenai Kuse ni (`;ω;´)” by Tapimiru from ‘High School DxD Hero’, its full of sexy, summer time energy and the girls all look absolutely amazing.

High School DxD Hero ED#haremking pic.twitter.com/pgkrH7adTi
— moetron | pKjd (@pkjd818) April 17, 2018

Yep, the only way I could find this video online was a tweet.

The “I can’t speak Japanese but I’ll try and sing along anyway” Award

“Sonna no Boku Ja Nai” by Shino Shimoji from ‘Miss Caretaker of Sunohara Sou’. There’s something about the fractured, minimalist start of this ED song that just instantly wins me over and yes, I do sing along every time (or try to)!

Anime Is Art, ED Edition

This ED was actually in a different category (which I eventually nixed entirely) but it goes to show the quality of it if it was eligible for more than one of these awards! “Prayer X” by King Gnu from ‘BANANA FISH’ is generally speaking not the kind of song I’d listen to, but the start of the song contrasts yet perfectly compliments the rest of it that it is art, as are the haunting accompanying visuals.

Best ‘Work Out or Twerk Out’ Anime ED

Are you embarrassed? I just wrote the word ‘twerk’, I know I’m embarrassed, but I think its appropriate for this because this is exactly the kind of song you could work out to at the gym or just dance along to in your living room like a dork. It’s “Tokimeki☆Climax” by Misha Takanashi (Haruka Shiraishi) & Tsubame Kamoi (Manami Numakura) from ‘UzaMaid!’ and its a flawlessly infectious, high energy masterpiece of an ED!

The ‘It’s Got 20+ Naked Girls In The ED so of course I’m going to give it an Award’ award. A.k.a The Cactus Matt Special.

I think the title sums that up pretty well, yeah? What’s there more to say?
“Junsei Erotic” by Mia REGINA from ‘Senran Kagura: Shinovi Master’. Also, unsurprisingly I can’t find the video online. But that’s probably for the best.

*headbanging intensifies* ED that rocks the most!

This ED could have easily been awarded ‘most surprising’ too, but I thought that almost mitigated just how legitimately excellent of a song this is. As a fan of heavy metal “Inkyainparusu” by Hina Kino, Rika Nagae, & Konomi Kohara from ‘Asobi Asobase’ is legit, like there’s no joke here, this isn’t some tongue-in-cheek ~pretending~ to be metal this is hardcore, authentic, head-banging awesomeness!

The “I didn’t watch this anime but the ED makes me want to” Award

This one was hard to think of because OP’s are the things that are suppose to ‘sell a show’ not ED’s. That said “Hiizuru Basho” by Omedetai Atama de Naniyori from ‘Hinomaru Sumo’ has pretty much sold me on watching this show someday, and no-mean feat either since I don’t even like boy-related sports anime, that’s how good of an ED this is!

The JoJo Award for Outstanding Picking of An Existing English Language Song for an ED

Jojo knows how to pick an ED and “Freek’n You” by Jodeci from ‘JoJo’s Bizarre Adventures Part 5: Golden Wind’ is one for the ages. I don’t watch the show, I didn’t know this song previous to it being made the ED but I’m so glad it exists in harmony together.

~Honourable Mentions~

Like with the OP list I’ve limited my Honourable Mentions to 3 because otherwise we’d be here all day!

“Buntline Special” by VickeBlanka from ‘Double Decker! Doug & Kirill’
“Saiaku no Hi demo Anata ga Suki.” by Serizawa from ‘How Not To Summon A Demon Lord’
“LAST GAME” by Zwei from ‘Steins;Gate 0’

The Best Anime ED of 2018

From the first time I heard this ED I knew it’d be number 1 at the end of the year and it’ll likely be one of my favourite of all time for the rest of time. I’ve always thought this was a ~controversial pick~ but a lot of other people seem to have gravitated towards it too so maybe it is as amazing as I’ve always thought. The Best Anime ED of 2018 is “Wiseman no Theme” by Wiseman from Last Period – the journey to the end of the despair’. This ED is energy and joy incarnate, it is too good for us mortals, we do not deserve its brilliance and yet here it is.

And there we have it, my weird, award style list of the Best Anime ED’s of 2018! What did you think of my picks? Leave a comment below and let me know! Thanks for reading!

Previous Seasonal OP & ED Lists:

If you liked my post and want to support my content, please consider supporting my Patreon page, or donating by buying me a coffee on Ko-fi!

5 Worst Anime ED’s of Fall 2018

My 5 Worst Anime ED’s (Ending Songs) of the Fall 2018 season!

First we ranked the OP’s now comes the time for ED’s (Endings). And as usual, yes I listened to every eligible ED for the 2018 Fall season! These are my opinions and not empirical, a song you love I might hate and vice versa. Secondly only the song itself is being judged, not the accompanying visuals or the series itself–even a terrible anime can have awesome OP’s and ED’s! You may notice there’s only five worst selected, well that’s because there was just ~too~ many quality ED’s for me to feel comfortable listing ten. So here’s my 5 Worst Anime ED’s of Fall 2018!

~Number 5~
“Endless Harmony” by Beverly from ‘Fairy Tail Final Season’

I’m sure this is very melancholic and beautiful for fans of the show, but I’m judging the song alone… I didn’t even watch the visuals because I didn’t want my opinion tainted. And as a song, it’s incredibly bland. Also I feel like the singer is hitting those notes way too hard for the kind of song this is but maybe that’s me.

~Number 4~
“Kakumei Zenya” by Yuka Iguchi from ‘A Certain Magical Index III’

It’s not bad, it’s just boring… and generic… and annoying. Okay it’s pretty bad.

~Number 3~
“Kowarekake no Radio” by Ami Wajima from ‘The Girl In Twilight’

Musically this about as bland as the music you’d find accompanying someone’s travel Vlog’s on Youtube or even a travel commercial for some east-Asian country. It just fails to make an impact without visuals, in-fact, this is so bland I listened to this three times in a row and couldn’t even remember how the song went afterwards.

~Number 2~
“Kono Sora wo Subete Kimi ni” by Hiroya Ozaki from ‘Fist of the Blue Sky: Regenesis 2nd Season’

Oof~ well at least you tried. I mean slow paced songs are fine, minimalist compositions are fine–but when you have a singer who can barely reach the notes he’s trying to sing–and makes it a chore to listen to I think that means you need a new singer for your ED.

~Dishonourable Mention(s)~
“BEAUTIFUL BEAST” by DEVIL NO ID from ‘Baki’

I don’t hate this… even though every part of my being is telling me I should I can’t bring myself to dislike it. It’s just so weird and not in an obviously good way, but neither in a bad way… oh god I’m confused. Hence why it’s here and not on the good or bad list it just needed a mention!

~Number 1~
“Cocotama Sagaso! Mi~tsukketa♪” by Kaoru Masaki from ‘Kirakira Happy★Hirake! Cocotama’

Usually I’d feel at least a little bad for picking a song from a young kids anime as the worst anime ED of any given season… I mean, I’m not the target audience what right do I have to judge it?! Except ~plenty~ of young kids anime have had decent, even good OP’s and ED’s in the past so why should I judge this differently? This is absolutely wretched, there’s nothing good about this song, it’s absolute garbage of the highest order and the fact I listened to the song 3 times for the sake of this list makes me want to throw it and myself into the garbage!

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And there’s my list of the Worst Fall 2018 ED’s! Agree? Disagree? Please leave your thoughts in the comments section below and thank you all for reading! Also, that’s ~technically~ the last Seasonal music list for 2018 however stay tuned for my Top 10 OP’s and ED’s for the whole year!

Previous Seasonal OP & ED Lists:

If you liked my post and want to support my content, please consider supporting my Patreon page, or donating by buying me a coffee on Ko-fi!

10 Best Anime ED’s of Fall 2018

My 10 BestAnime ED’s (Ending Songs) of the Fall 2018 season!

First we ranked the OP’s now comes the time for ED’s (Endings). And as usual, yes I listened to every eligible ED for the 2018 Fall season! These are my opinions and not empirical, a song you love I might hate and vice versa. Secondly only the song itself is being judged, not the accompanying visuals or the series itself–even a terrible anime can have awesome OP’s and ED’s! Now with that said and done let’s count down my 10 Best Anime ED’s of Fall 2018!

~Number 10~
“Rakuen no Kimi” by osterreich from ‘Tokyo Ghoul:re 2nd Season’

I love the sound and mood of this ending it reminds me a bit of early ‘Minus The Bear’ albums–albeit less math-rock. Now there’s a pretentious music reference for you!

~Number 9~
“Ao no Kanata” by Konomi Suzuki from ‘Between The Sky And The Sea’

It’s got an infectious beat, it’s high-spirited and energetic, it’s just a lot of fun to listen to!

~Number 8~
“Be Affected” by Takanori Nishikawa x Fear, and Loathing in Las Vegas from ‘Gakuen Basara’

I’m not a fan of auto-tune, so thankfully it’s only the opening few lines that get this treatment as it quickly explodes into full blown metal growls accompanying a power lead singer and backing beat.

~Number 7~
“Junsei Erotic” by Mia REGINA from ‘Senran Kagura: Shinovi Master’

So, erm, you know that thing about not picking songs based on the opening visuals–well I must have watched this ED (with visuals) so many times that I can’t help but get the image of 20+ naked anime girls out of my head when I hear this song. So, I’m a little biased, so what?! The song’s still pretty good! Ahem…

~Number 6~
“Tokei-dai no Kane” by eastern youth from ‘Golden Kamuy 2nd Season’

The vocals are a bit rough around the edges but they work really well with the raw rock sound this song delivers.

~Number 5~
“Freek’n You” by Jodeci from ‘JoJo’s Bizarre Adventures Part 5: Golden Wind’

Oh, JoJo, you scamp of an anime you! It seems like with each JoJo ending things get more… self-aware? I don’t know, I don’t even watch the show I’d never heard of this slow and sexy RnB song before I did this list but all I know is this song will forever be linked to this silly anime in my mind.

~Number 4~
“RED” by Survive Said The Prophet from ‘BANANA FISH’

‘Survive Said The Prophet’ delivered my favourite OP of the previous (Summer) season and while this song isn’t quite as impactful as that particular banger, it’s still an emotionally charged and dramatic track that makes me want to download and listen to all of their songs–it’s that good!

~Number 3~
“Hiizuru Basho” by Omedetai Atama de Naniyori from ‘Hinomaru Sumo’

It starts off sounding like a song by ‘Rammstein’ and then morphs into its own unique beast, and one to be reckoned with. Pure, undiluted energy and it just plain rocks!

~Number 2~
“Tokimeki☆Climax” by Misha Takanashi (Haruka Shiraishi) & Tsubame Kamoi (Manami Numakura) from ‘UzaMaid!’

It starts off at such a high level of energy and somehow just keeps building and building and building before exploding in a joyous celebration of all things fun! If I exercised (like even at all) this would be my Number 1 work out song… speaking of Number 1 it just narrowly missed out on being my Number 1 ED song. But before we get to that, some honourable mentions…

~Honourable Mention(s)~
“Book-end, Happy-end” by TECHNOBOYS PULCRAFT GREEN-FUND feat. Hiroshi Takano from ‘Skull Face Bookseller Honda-San’

Both of the honourable mentions are here because they failed to meet one of the strict criteria I have for these lists, that being only 1 minute 30 second OP’s and ED’s are eligible. I love this adorable ED, it’s so quirky and sweet sounding but being just a minute long means it doesn’t qualify, but it deserves at least a mention! Also…

“Fukashigi no Carte” by Mai Sakurajima (Asami Seto) from ‘Rascal Does Not Dream Of Bunny Girl Senpai’

If I was sad about not including the previous song, I’m absolutely devastated that this beautiful work of art is ineligible for the same reasons. That said, the one minute ED version–while lovely, is nothing on the full-length version which includes vocals from all of the female cast not just the titular Bunny Girl senpai, here just listen for yourself:

~Number 1~
“Buntline Special” by VickeBlanka from ‘Double Decker! Doug & Kirill’

So here’s the thing, I’ve always been fond of ‘punk’ music, while never ~actually~ listening to any of it beyond what became “popular” ‘The Clash’, ‘Green Day’, etc. So hearing something vaguely punk (or pop-punk, if you will) in this assortment of anime ED’s was an unexpected delight! Maybe it won’t hold up to repeated listens, maybe there’s better ending songs out there, but right now, this is the shit!

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And there’s my list of the Best Fall 2018 ED’s! Agree? Disagree? Please leave your thoughts in the comments section below and thank you all for reading!

Previous Seasonal OP & ED Lists:

If you liked my post and want to support my content, please consider supporting my Patreon page, or donating by buying me a coffee on Ko-fi!

10 Worst Anime ED’s of Summer 2018

My 10 Worst Anime ED’s (Ending Songs) of the Summer 2018 season!

With the good, comes the bad and while there was plenty of good there was also a fair share of mediocre ED’s (Ending Songs) this season. Here are the 10 Worst Anime ED’s of Summer 2018!

~Number 10~
“Starlight” by Erii Yamazaki from Seven Senses of the Re’Union

This song isn’t actually bad, it’s just kind of generic–which can sometimes be more of a problem, especially in the overcrowded land of anime ED’s.

~Number 9~
“Hōkago Distraction” (Afterschool Distraction) by Etsuko Yakushimaru from Hi Score Girl

This sounds like the band that pretentious friend of yours is really into and you just sit their with a bemused look on your face as he plays his favourite track from the album for the fifth time as if wearing you down by sheer brute force is going to make you like the thing. (Spoiler alert, I’m not gonna like the thing). I don’t dislike this song FYI it’s just not for me.

~Number 8~
“Home Sweet Home!” by Yutaro Miura from Dropkick On My Devil!

Here’s another song that’s high-energy that I should probably like but you know what, I can’t stand the vocalist here, he sounds like an unenthused child entertainer phoning it and singing through a fake smile. Which is a shame because almost everything else about the song is pretty nice!

~Number 7~
“World Line” by Asami Imai from Steins;Gate 0

There’s a lot of bias in this choice–I mean the first ED for Steins;Gate 0 was just ~so~ good that invariably anything else except an absolute banger would be a disappointment and this is indeed a disappointment. It’s high energy but it feels misplaced, it’s also kinda lame and uninteresting.

~Number 6~
“Fly Me to the Star” by Starlight Kuku-gumi from Revue Starlight

I like cover songs, I like songs that are influenced by other more popular music, what I don’t like songs that do neither and both simultaneously and meander about without a purpose. Is this a cover of ‘Fly Me To The Moon’, is this inspired by lounge music, or is it just boring?

~Number 5~
“Happen ~Kogarashi ni Fukarete~” by Eri Suzuki, Miyuri Shimabukuro, & Rie Takahashi from Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs

I almost feel bad about how much I dunk on the music from this series considering how much I love the series itself, but this isn’t about the show its attached to (or how sexy the ending visuals are). This song is just dull, sorry girls!

~Number 4~
“Long Hope Philia <TV Limited.>” by Masaki Suda from My Hero Academia 3rd Season

Wake me up when a good song starts…

~Number 3~
“Silent Solitude” by OxT from Overlord III

I don’t know… I probably should like this song, right? But there’s something about it that just annoys me it just doesn’t do anything for me as a song. (Also, I was going to make a joke about it musically sounding like Linkin Park and that being a negative but I guess we can’t since, well, you know…)

~Number 2~
“Akaku, Zetsubō no Hana” by JUNNA from Lord of Vermilion: Crimson King

*wildly discordant noises and out of tune vocals ensue*

~Number 1~
“GOLD EVOLUTION” by STYLE FIVE – Nobunaga Shimazaki, Tatsuhisa Suzuki, Mamoru Miyano, Tsubasa Yonaga, Daisuke Hirakawa from Free! Dive To The Future

I’m sure for fans of this show this is just the most precious and joyous thing… but for me there is nothing remotely enjoyable about this song. I kind of wish the worst pick of this list was more egregious (or at the least more interesting) but it’s just absolutely not for me.

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And there we have it! With that we’ve covered every (except the songs I managed to miss through sheer incompetence) anime song of the Summer 2018 season! If you agree, disagree or just want to scream into the void leave a comment below! Thanks for reading!

Previous Seasonal OP & ED Lists:

If you liked my post and want to support my content, please consider supporting my Patreon page, or donating by buying me a coffee on Ko-fi!

10 Best Anime ED’s of Summer 2018

My 10 Best Anime ED’s (Ending Songs) of the Summer 2018 season!

As with previous seasons the choices for ED (Ending) songs are always an embarrassment of riches, there’s just so much good anime music out there! Here is a list counting down the 10 Best Anime ED’s of Summer 2018 season!

~Number 10~
“Eternal Star” by Asaka from Island

Musically this song is pretty cliche, it could be any anime song from almost any other show but the vocals are just gorgeous and darn if I’m not a sucker for that random bit of ‘engrish’ thrown in throughout. “I’ll promise you eternity” indeed…

~Number 9~
“Sasameyuki” (Light Snowfall) by Wagakki Band from Holmes of Kyoto

Normally I don’t go in for that traditional Japanese sounding style of music but when it’s kicked up a notch with some rock stylings (much like Kakuriyo OP) I can’t help but love the contrast!

~Number 8~
“Prayer X” by King Gnu from Banana Fish

This song is just cool sounding and unique but also strangely reminiscent of a place and time I’ve never quite been in… Musically, this would not normally be my thing (make of that what you will), otherwise it’d probably place higher but there’s no denying it’s an extremely interesting track and one that probably benefits from listening to the full length version.

~Number 7~
“Sekaijū ga Koi wo Suru Yoru” by petit milady from The Master of Ragnarok & Blesser of Einherjar

It’s freakin’ cute. Just too freakin’ cute! What else do you want me to say?!

~Number 6~
“Pray” by Haruka Chisuga from Angels of Death

The hardest thing about dropping Angels of Death this anime was season was missing out on this gorgeous song at the end of every episode. It’s simply beautiful while also retaining a mysterious mood about it that’s very hard to replicate.

~Number 5~
“Hoshie” (Star Drawing) by Sajou no Hana from Sirius the Jaeger

I always feel weird when I give an anime song this particular compliment, but… it sounds like an actual song I’d hear on the radio. And compared to some of the trash that passes for modern pop-music it’d be refreshing to hear something as good and interesting as this on the airwaves.

~Number 4~
“Sonna no Boku Ja Nai” by Shino Shimoji from Miss Caretaker of Sunohara Sou

It’s intimate and sensual but comforting and warm all the same. Plus the opening 30 seconds to this song are just so damn cool and pulsating and interesting I can’t help but love this song!

~Number 3~
“CheerS” by ClariS from Cells At Work!

I mean holy heck it’s ClariS, of course this song is amazing! And that’s not some kind of artist related bias, they just consistently perform top-notch music, and this is definitely no exception!

~Number 2~
“Saiaku no Hi demo Anata ga Suki.” by Serizawa from How Not To Summon A Demon Lord

Confession time. I don’t normally look up the lyrics for an anime song… sometimes we’re lucky and the person subtitling an anime bothers to translate the lyrics–which is always a bonus! But most of the time I’m judging these songs solely on the ~sound~ and what Japanese phrases I recognise (as well as the random ‘engrish’), not this one though. It’s a totally great song in of itself, but I just adore the lyrics for this song–so much so that were it not for them this song would have probably been number 7 or 8 on the list. Maybe they mean nothing to you but to me these lyrics are pretty special.

~Honourable Mention~
“Konpeki no al Fine” by Izu no Kaze from Grand Blue Dreaming

Like most of this show this ED is a joke, pure and simple. It’s a bunch of buff, drunk dudes singing (poorly) karaoke a song from a popular idol. It’s not a good song to listen by itself, hence why it can’t score a place on the ~actual~ list, but it’s just so much silly fun I couldn’t not mention it. Hence the ‘honourable mention’!

~Number 1~
“Inkyainparusu” by Hina Kino, Rika Nagae, & Konomi Kohara from Asobi Asobase

In my list of the Best OP’s of the season I lamented that it seemed like a lot of the ~really~ good metal songs seemed confined to anime for women (I hate using that phrase but you know what I mean), but here we are with Asobi Asobase to the rescue! And what’s even better is that isn’t some kind of joke metal song, perhaps in the context of the show the tongue is firmly planted in cheek but listening to the song removed from the show this is legitimate quality heavy metal that evokes the best of the likes of Cradle of Filth but with the vocals of the three female leads to accompany. I could legitimately listen to this song all day.

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And there we have it, my favourite of Summer 2018’s ED songs! What did you think? Agree, disagree? Leave a comment below and stay tuned for my list of the worst ED’s of this season coming soon!

Previous Seasonal OP & ED Lists:

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10 Top Western Songs Used as ED’s in Anime – Listing Compulsive

Here’s my Listing Compulsive list of the 10 Favourite Western Songs used as ED’s in Anime

Last time we counted down the 10 Best OP’s that came from the West, namely popular Western songs that had found themselves attached to an anime. This time it’s the same except we’re looking at ED’s (Ending Songs) and boy are there some interesting songs on this list! Just a reminder, as with most of my music related lists, OP songs shorter than 1 minute are ineligible, also suffice to say Japanese artists who sing in English are not included—that’s a list for another day! However unlike previous music lists I’ve taken into consideration how well the visuals match the song, because otherwise I’d just be reviewing Western music… and that doesn’t really make much sense now does it? With all that out of the way here is My 10 Top Western Songs Used as ED’s in Anime!

~Number 10~
“Shine” by Mr. Big from Hellsing

Remember Mr. Big? Well if you do it’s probably not because of this song (unless you’re fan of this anime—I’m not), this song’s pretty good but it’s also kind of generic you know? Like lyrically it was taken from the ‘Idiot’s Guide To Song Writing’. That’s probably pretty harsh, but we have to start somewhere! Trust me it’s much better from here on out!

~Number 9~
“Lithium Flower” by Scott Matthew from Ghost in the Shell: SAC

It’s a bit funky, a bit cool with some gorgeously drawn still images, nothing remarkable but still a good combination.

~Number 8~
“Fly Me To The Moon” by Claire Littley from Neon Genesis Evangelion

A cute cover, something very laid back and loungey about it. I like it!

~Number 7~
“You Won’t See Me Coming” Jean-Jacques Burnel from Gankutsuou

Talk about an unexpected banger! Especially unexpected since its from the same artist as this show’s OP and it doesn’t really sound all that similar!

~Number 6~
“Drowning” by Backstreet Boys from Hanada Shounen-shi

I hadn’t heard this Backstreet Boys song before (not that surprising) but it’s kind of adorable! Though it’s still weird hearing music like this attached to an anime that ‘looks’ like this… Oh well, still doesn’t change the fact it’s pretty damn great!

~Number 5~
“Walk Like An Egyptian” by Bangles from Jojo’s Bizzare Adventure

Probably the coolest visuals of any of these endings, and they tie well into the song which while inherently goofy totally fits with the show (from what little I’ve seen of it). Jojo has a habit of having top-teir classic hits for their ED’s so expect to see a few more in this list…

~Number 4~
“My World Down” by Meister from Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad

Very cool, kinda grungy with low-key but nonetheless on theme visuals. What’s not to like?!

~Number 3~
“Roundabout” by Yes from Jojo’s Bizzare Adventure

Well that was quick… Here we are with another Jojo ending song, they’re just so damn fitting while simultaneously being completely anachronistic, like they shouldn’t work so well but they just do!

~Number 2~
“Paranoid Android” by Radiohead from Ergo Proxy

Radiohead are one of my top 3 favourite bands, so much like in the OP list I did this choice is very biased, because I absolutely adore this song. The visuals kinda suck though, which is a shame but if anything it makes you pay more attention to the song which is a smart choice in my opinion. A little bit of trivia, lead singer Thom Yorke was hesitant to let the show use his song as he (used to be) protective about what shows and movies used his media, that was until he watched the first episode and deemed it worthy.

~Honourable Mention~
“Do You Want To” by Franz Ferdinand from Paradise Kiss

I really like this song—always have, Franz Ferdinand are a great band, and even though this is an anime movie (and kind of breaking rules) I’m totally including It as an honourable mention because that dancing in the visuals is just adorable!

~Number 1~
“I Want You” by Savage Garden from Jojo’s Bizzare Adventure

Even though I’m Australian (and so is Savage Garden—this band) I never truly appreciated how great of a band they were ‘til I saw this ED come up on Youtube one day. Maybe my tastes had changed since Savage Garden were in the Aussie charts but I love everything about this ending, the way the visuals float forward so perfectly with the music the hypnotic vocals the music. *sigh* I wish this ending would last the entire length of the song because it’s a sublime experience and it’s over way too quickly!

And there they are! The 10 Best Western Anime ED’s! I hope you enjoyed reading (and listening) to this list, stay tuned for more music-related anime lists soon!

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5 Worst Anime ED’s of Spring 2018 – Listing Compulsive

My 5 Worst Anime ED’s of the Spring 2018 season.

If you missed my previous lists for the 10 Best and 10 Worst Anime OP’s of Spring 2018 you can click the links to view them. Also the 10 Best ED’s of Spring 2018.

The Ending (ED) songs for Spring 2018 were exceptional this season, as they were with the Winter ED’s and as such I didn’t feel right picking 10 songs because there just weren’t that many bad songs! So this will be a list of 5 instead. As with the previous lists, song’s shorter than a minute and thirty seconds are ineligible, as are anime that have more than 3 different endings songs. Also a reminder that only the song itself is being judged, not the visuals/animation of the ending nor how well it fits to the tone or theme of the show. So begins my 5 Worst Anime ED’s of Spring 2018!

Number 5: “I” by Cyua from Lostorage Conflated WIXOSS.

I don’t know if it’s just me, but this singer sounds incredibly bored. It’s like she’s reading the lyrics of a sheet for the first time. Also, zero energy but then again the song is so dull I can’t really blame her too much.

Number 4: “WISH” by ELISA from The Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Die Neue These.

It sounds like a bad Disney song, like a really bad Disney song. Also, for being only 90 seconds long it feels like I’m listening to it for about 4 minutes, and I don’t mean that as a compliment.

Number 3: “Love Song” by Teresa Wagner (CV: Manaka Iwami) from Tada Never Falls In Love.

I usually like cute vocalists, but this one’s like fingernails on a chalkboard to me. Please make it stop!

Number 2: “Believe it” by Karen, Mirai from BEST FRIENDS! from Aikatsu Friends.

There’s some things about this song I like, it’s very pop, which can be a good thing. But at the same time it’s kind of like painfully amateurish, like whoever came up with this song just decided to copy what sounds were popular on the radio and slapped them together into an uninspiring package. There’s potential, but almost all of it’s wasted.

Number 1: “Koi suru Otome wa Amemoyou” by alom from Inazuma Eleven: Ares No Tenbin.

When used sparingly, auto-tune can have its place in music. But this… this is just bad. It’s like a cacophony of bad decisions in every aspect of its production. Musically—bad, structurally—bad, vocally—bad, and not even in an enjoyable to make fun of kind of way, it’s just BAD.

And that’s it for my 10 Worst Anime ED’s of Spring 2018! Let me know what songs you thought were the worst and don’t worry, even though this is all the anime music for this season covered, there will be more anime-related lists every week!

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