Hall of Fame: The Greatest Anime Songs of All Time

[janfive]

I'm starting a thread on the Greatest (the Top or the Best) anime songs of all time. Every week I'm inducting ten songs into the canon of the greatest anime songs of all time by posting its details, video and lyrics. The result would be what you call the Anime Songs Hall of Fame, basically the cream of the crop in anime songs. Of course, not any anime song will do, that's why I'm looking at anime sites polls and awards for basis and not merely my own personal taste. Also, your suggestions would be much appreciated.

CRITERIA:

Spoiler:

As suggested by Varaxis, I'm listing the standards of what songs may be considered in the Hall of Fame.

- songs should be from a television anime, anime film, original video anime (OVA), or web anime. (Songs from 18+ anime are not eligible.)
- at the latest, songs should be on an anime shown during the previous year, but feel free to suggest recent songs.
- Image/character songs are not included, songs should be incorporated in the anime. Likewise, songs from video games or live-action series/movies (even if tied-up with an anime) are not included. So basically only opening, ending and insert songs are allowed.
- A huge factor is the inclusion of a song in a Anime Song Countdown based on critical and popular consensus. A partial list of such countdowns are listed in this post.
- A song's placing in the Oricon Music Chart is also valuable. My main source of such information is at jpopstop.com & wikipedia.
- I visit the other threads in AnimeSuki Forum for songs to consider, particularly the "Favourite Opening/Ending" thread.
- I usually visit Gendou.com to find out the song's rating, especially if it is relatively new. Though not a dealbreaker, a rating of 8.500 or higher will impress.
- multiple recommendations of the same song by different posters is highly regarded.
- the end goal is to have at least 2000 songs inducted (so one has to keep in mind if the song would be considered one of the best 2000 anime songs released). From there, I will post a Top 1000 Anime Songs of All Time list. I'm compiling and ranking the songs offline as the list grows.

list of Anime Song Countdowns used as reference:

Spoiler:

Animax Anison Top 500 (2007)

2ch Top 300 Anime Songs (2007)
Pt. 1
Pt. 2
Pt. 3
Pt. 4
Pt. 5
Pt. 6

2ch Top 300 Anime Songs (2008)
Pt. 1
Pt. 2
Pt. 3
Pt. 4
Pt. 5
Pt. 6

Animage's Anime Grand Prix (yearly since 1979)
note: 2 versions here with some differences in the entries, I don't know which one is right
Ver. 1
Ver. 2

Animation Kobe Theme Song Award (yearly since 1996)

Gendou's highest rated Anime Songs in it's database

CDTV's 100 Anime OP/ED Singles Sales of 2007
Pt. 1
Pt. 2

CDTV's 100 Anime OP/ED Singles Sales of 2008
Pt. 1
Pt. 2

HeroTV's 100 Anime Singles Sales of 2009
Pt. 1
Pt. 2

HeroTV's 100 Anime Singles Sales of the 1st Half of 2010
Pt. 1
Pt. 2


1,000 Best Selling Anime/Sentai/Game Singles of the Decade (2000-2010) [It excludes tie-up artists for an anime, I don't know what that means but it in effect excludes hits from FMA, Naruto, Detective Conan, Bleach and others]:

1000-951
950-901
900-851
850-801
800-751
750-701
700-651
650-601
600-551
550-501
500-451
450-401
400-351
350-301
300-251
250-201
200-151
150-101
100-51
51-1

For Anisons which includes tie-up artists you can view CDTV's Top 20 Anime Songs Sales (from 2000-2007), which can be viewed as the Top 20 for the decade save for Ponyo's ED's 346,217 copies sold (in 2008) which would make it the 7th Anison Sales of the decade.

- please feel free to post in the thread any anime song countdown (or a link thereto) that would be helpful in this endeavor.

THE ANIME SONG HALL OF FAME
The First 1,000 Songs Inducted [A-D]
The First 1,000 Songs Inducted [E-K]
The First 1,000 Songs Inducted [L-Z]
The Second Wave

Here are my inductions into the Hall of Fame for Week 1:

"CHA-LA HEAD-CHA-LA" by Hironobu Kageyama
Dragon Ball Z (TV) Opening Theme #1 (episodes 1-199) [1989]

Spoiler:

Hikaru kumo o tsukinuke fly away (fly away) Karadajuu ni hirogaru panorama
Kao o kerareta chikyuu ga okotte (okotte) Kazan o bakuhatsu saseru
Toketa koori no naka ni Kyouryuu ga itara tamanori shikomitai ne

Cha-la Head-cha-la Nani ga okite mo kibun wa heno-heno kappa
Cha-la Head-cha-la Mune ga pachi-pachi suru hodo Sawagu Genki-da
Cha-la Head-cha-la Atama karappo no hou ga yume tsumekomeru
Cha-la Head-cha-la Egao urutora zetto de Kyou mo ai-yai-yai-yai-yai Sparking!

"Sekai ga Owaru Made wa" by WANDS
Slam Dunk (TV) Ending Theme #2 (episodes 28-49) [1994]

Spoiler:

Daitokai ni boku wa mou hitori de Nagesuterareta akikan no you da
Tagai no subete wo shiritsukusu made ga Ai naraba isso towa ni nemurou ka

Sekai ga owaru made wa hanareru koto mo nai Sou negatte-ita ikusen no yoru to
Modoranai toki dake ga naze kagayaite wa Yatsurekitta kokoro made mo kowasu
Hakanaki omoi kono tragedy night

"Tank!" by Seatbelts
Cowboy Bebop (TV) Opening Theme (episodes 1-25) [1998]

Spoiler:

I think it's time to blow this scene Get everybody and the stuff together Okay 3-2-1 let's jam

"Mazinger Z" by Ichiro Mizuki
Mazinger Z (TV) Opening Theme [1972]

Spoiler:

Sora ni sobieru kurogane no shiro Supaa Robotto Majinga Zetto!
Muteki no chikara wa bokura no tame ni Seigi no kokoro wo Bairudaa On

Tobase tekken! Roketto Panchi! Ima da dasun da Buresto Faiyaa!
Majingoo! Majingoo! Majinga Z!

"Zankoku na Tenshi no Te-ze" by Yoko Takahashi
Shin Seiki Evangelion (TV) Opening Theme [1995]

Spoiler:

Zankoku na tenshi no you ni Shounen yo shinwa ni nare
Aoi kaze ga ima mune no Doa wo tataite mo Watashi dake wo tada mitsumete hohoenderu anata
Sotto fureru mono motomeru koto ni muchuu de Unmei sae mada shiranai itaike na hitomi
Dakedo itsuka kidzuku deshou sono senaka ni wa Haruka mirai mezasu tame no hane ga aru koto

Zankoku na tenshi no Te-ze Madobe kara yagate tobitatsu
Hotobashiru atsui Patosu de Omoide wo uragiru nara
Kono sora wo daite kagayaku Shounen yo shinwa ni nare

"Sobakasu" by Judy & Mary
Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan (TV) Opening Theme #1 (episodes 1-38) [1996]

Spoiler:

Daikirai datta sobakasu wo chotto Hito nadeshite tame iki wo hitotsu
Hebi ikkyuu no koi wa migoto ni Kakuzatou to issho ni toketa
Mae yori mo motto yaseta mune ni chotto Chiku-tto sasaru toge ga itai
Hoshiuranai mo ate ni naranai wa
Motto touku made issho ni yuketara nee Ureshikute sore dake de

Omoi de wa itsumo kirei dakedo Sore dake ja onaka ga suku no
Hontou wa setsunai yoru na noni Doushite kashira? Ano hito no namida mo omoi dasenai no
Omoi dasenai no ooohhhh

"Hare Hare Yukai" by Aya Hirano, Minori Chihara and Yuko Goto
Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu (TV) Ending Theme #1 (episodes 1-13) [2006]

Spoiler:

Nazonazo mitai ni chikyuugi wo tokiakashitara Minna de doko made mo ikeru ne Jikan no hate made Boooon!
Waapu de ruupu na kono omoi wa Nani mo kamo wo makikonda souzou de asobou

Aru hareta hi no koto Mahou ijou no yukai ga Kagirinaku furisosogu fukanou ja nai wa
Ashita mata au toki warainagara hamingu Ureshisa wo atsumeyou Kantan nanda yo konna no
Oikakete ne (oikakete ne) tsukamaete mite Ooki na yume yume suki deshou?

"Candy Candy" by Mitsuko Horie
Candy Candy (TV) Opening Theme [1976]

Spoiler:

Sobakasu nante ki ni shinai wa Hana-Pecha datte datte datte oki ni iri
Otenba itazura daisuki kakekko Sukippu daisuki watashi wa watashi wa watashi wa Candy

Hitoribocchi de iru to choppiri samishii Sonna toki kou iu no kagami wo mitsumete
Waratte waratte waratte Candy Nakibesou nante Sayonara ne Candy Candy

"Ai Senshi" by Daisuke Inoue
Kidou Senshi Gundam II: Ai Senshi (Movie) Ending Theme [1981]

Spoiler:

Ai furueruai sore wa wakareuta Hirouhonemo moetsukute nureru hada mo tsuchi ni kaeru
Kooya wo hashiru shinigami no retsu Kuroi yagande makka ni moeru
Ai inochi no ai chi no shika wa daichi ni suteru Arata naru toki wo hiraku ka iki no koru ai senshitachi
Kooya wo hashiru shinigami no retsu Kuroi yagande makka ni moeru

Shinu wuku otokotachi wa mamoru heki onnatachi ni Shinu wuku onnatachi wa aisuru otokotachi he
Nani wo kakeru no ka Nani wo nokosu no ka I pray pray to bring near the New Day

"Pegasus Fantasy" by MAKE.UP
Saint Seiya (TV) Ending Theme #1 [1986]

Spoiler:

(Saint Seiya!) Dakishimeta kokoro no Kosumo Atsuku moyase kiseki wo okose
Kizu-tsuita mama ja inai to Chikai atta haruka na ginga
Pegasasu Fantaji- sou sa yume dake wa Daremo mo ubaenai kokoro no tsubasa dakara

Saint Seiya shounen wa minna Saint Seiya ashita no yuusha oh yeah
Saint Seiya Pegasasu no you ni Saint Seiya ima koso habatake

[Jan-Poo]

Nice idea. You certainly listed ten of the most popular opening/ending songs, personal opinions apart none can argue about that.

You asked for suggestions, and i do have some, however these are so popular that i think you would have put in the thread anyway, however just to be sure:

Lum no love Song - Uruseiyatsura
Ai wo Torimodose - Hokuto no Ken
Doraemon no Uta - Doraemon
Blue Water - Fushigi no Umi no Nadia
Mad Machine - Bubblegum Crisis (this is probably the only case i know where the song is more famous than the series itself)


I haven't seen any movie in your list, so i'm not sure if they are allowed however there are a few songs that are very very popular

Ai wa Boomerang - Uruseiyatsura Beautiful Dreamer
Ai Oboete Imasu ka - Macross Ai Oboete Imasu ka
Tonari no Totoro - Tonari no Totoro

[DJLowrider]

A few recommendations for the list:

We Were Lovers - OP theme from Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo
The Sore Feet Song - OP theme from Mushishi
It's Gonna Rain - Second season ED theme from Rurouni Kenshin
Yakusoku wa Iranai - OP theme from The Vision of Escaflowne
Dango Daikazoku - First season ED theme from Clannad

I'll try to offer some others another time, but these are a few OPs and EDs that really stick out in my mind as being fantastic.

[christinemarie]

Here's are 10 of my recommendations and also among of my top 50 anime theme favorites of all time
*link below the anime music theme songs are the one's who song the theme*

0) Borutesu V Faibu no uta by Horie Mmitsuko - opening theme of Voltes V 1977

Spoiler for Open to view:

Live version

1) Daydream Generation by Matsuko Mawatari - ending 5 of Yuyu Hakusho 1992

Spoiler for Open to view:

Live version

2) My Friend by Zard - ending 4 of Slam Dunk 1993

Spoiler for Open to view:

PV version

3) Ai ha Kurayami no Naka de by Zard - opening 22 of Detective Conan 1996

Spoiler for Open to view:

Live version

4) Purachina by Maaya Sakamoto - opening 3 of Card Captor Sakura 1998

Spoiler for Open to view:

Live version

5) Sore Ga Ai Deshou by Shimokawa Mikuni - opening theme of FMP:Fumoffu 2003

Spoiler for Open to view:

Live version

6) Sakura Kiss by Chieko Kawabe - opening theme of Ouran H.S. Host Club 2006

Spoiler for Open to view:

PV version

7) Colors by FLOW - opening 1 of Code Geass 2006

Spoiler for Open to view:

PV version

8) Sorairo Days by Shoko Nakagawa - opening theme of Gurren Lagann 2007

Spoiler for Open to view:

PV version

9) Triangular by Maaya Sakamoto - opening 1 of Macross Frontier 2008

Spoiler for Open to view:

PV version

[janfive]

Thanks a lot guys! actually I have a list of songs beforehand that I will post on Saturday or Sunday and the amazing thing is that I have at least one song from your recommendations (Lum no Love, Ai wo Torimodose, Sori Ga Ai Deshou, Yakusoku wa Iranai and Tonari no Totoro) included for week 2. It goes to show how classic and timeless these songs are. Even Triangular is considered an instant classic, debuting just last year. Your other recommendations are very familiar and I'm sure I'll induct them in the coming weeks. A you might guess this is more of a vanity project for me since I'm fairly new in anime music appreciation sparked by the recent anime songs boom in Japan thanks to the Haruhi, Gundam and Macross anime singles. I'm doing this for those who share my new passion for great songs accompanying Japanese animation, a forum to watch, listen and probably sing along to the songs we love. Hopefully, when I'm done posting a thousand songs (probably a couple of years from now), I'll post a ranked list of the greatest anime songs based on your recommendations and other lists and polls. Again, thank you for your time and contributions.

[C.A.]

Mazinger Z is definitely one of the greatest songs ever, when I heard Aniki sing it live, I could feel the mecha spirit in his powerful voice. Also Minmay's Ai Oboeteimasuka, the song that made me cry watching an anime for the first time, its one of the most beautiful songs ever.

For us mecha fans, there's one song we all love:

Yuusha Oh Gaogaigar OP
Masaaki Endoh - Yuusha Oh Tanjou!

[Irkalla]

Spoiler for my rec ^^:

Dmc- Satsugai

L'Arc~en~Ciel - DAYBREAK'S BELL first gundam 00 op

buck-tick- Gessekai Nightwalker op

Duran Duran- Girls on film Speed Grapher op

Bury - Pay money to my pain(so emo but really catchy) One outs op

Nigtmare - Dirty Majin tantei nougami neuro op

Abingdon Boys School - howling Darker than black first op

Monorel- Kiri Ergo proxy op

bana - Shell Witch hunter Robin op

High and Mighty Color - Ichirin no hana Bleach 3rd op

Buck-tick - Dress Trinity blood op

[-Kh-]

I'm going to add a few songs to the list, although many that crossed my mind when I read the title have already been posted.

• Ano Hi Ni by Maki Kimura - Video Girl AI ending.
• Blurry Eyes by L'Arc en Ciel - DNA² opening.
• Yuzurenai Negai by Naomi Tamura - Magic Knight Rayearth opening.
• Get Along by Megumi Hayashibara - Slayers opening.
• Don't Make Me Wild Like You by Etsuko Nishio - Ranma 1/2 opening.
• Tatchi by Iwasaki Yoshimi - Touch opening.
• Aura by Emily Bindiger/Yuji Kajiura - .hack//SIGN insert song.
• euphoric field by Elisa - ef - A Tale of Memories opening.
• Natsu no Mirage by Wada Kanako - Kimagure Orange Road ending.
• Rose by Anna Tsuchiya - Nana opening.
• God Knows by Aya Hirano - Suzumiya Haruhi insert song.
• Lady Love by Rize - Shion no Ou opening.
• Zetsubou Billy by Maximum the Hormone - Death Note second ending.
• Rolling Star by Yui - Bleach fifth opening.
• [I]World End[/I] by Flow - Code Geass R2 second opening.
• Fly Away by Thyme - Mahou Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto ~Natsu no Sora~ opening.
• Don't you see! by Zard - Dragon Ball GT second ending.

That's all I can think at the moment without going through all my albums looking for specific songs which I don't really remember the names but know they are there.

Edit: Added Youtube links to make it easier for anyone interested on hearing the songs.

[-KarumA-]

strange for some reason when I enter this topic youtube plays the vids with no sound and from that point on as well if I go to youtube.com to watch something. But then after rebooting firefox it works again right until I enter this topic again o.o;

[-Kh-]

Originally Posted by -KarumA-

strange for some reason when I enter this topic youtube plays the vids with no sound and from that point on as well if I go to youtube.com to watch something. But then after rebooting firefox it works again right until I enter this topic again o.o;

Must be some bug in the forums with janfive's embedded players.

I don't have any problem like that (I'm on Opera), but it does annoys very much every time I enter a thread and there are tons of youtube screens up with no spoiler tag or anything.

[ddwkc]

All listed are great songs indeed. I would add:

RahXephon OP - Hemisphere (Maaya Sakamoto)

MADLAX IN - Nowhere (FictionJunction YUUKA)

Digimon JP OP - Butter-Fly (Koji Wada)

Laputa Theme Song - Carrying You

Kino no Tabi OP - All the Way (Mikuni Shimokawa)

Bokurano OP - Uninstall (Chiaki Ishikawa)

Busou Renkin OP - Makka na Chikai (Yoshiki Fukuyama)

[KimmyChan]

Pretear opening - White Destiny by Yoko Ishida - I <3 THIS ONE!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zz_Nq12SAeU

[janfive]

I'm also using Firefox (version 3.0.7) and the videos play with sound. But if -KarumA- can't play the videos without sound then probably others can't too. If anyone can help me remedy the situation, like do I need spoiler tags for the sound to work along with the video? (since this is my first time embedding youtube videos using the BB Code tags) then I will make the necessary corrections the next time I post. I hope I won't have to drastically change my current format since in my opinion it's more convenient for those who view this thread to watch the videos in the same tab.
Also after reading Zaseka's recommendations, I am also at a quandary whether to include songs which were already famous when the anime aired. Duran Duran's "Girls on Film" was a hit in 1983 and used in the Speed Grapher in 2005. I'm inclined to believe that people familiar with the song would recognize it as an 80's gem infamously banned by MTV due to the band's risque music video rather than as an anime song.

Thank you guys for your recommendations! Here are my inductions into the Hall of Fame for Week 2:

"Ai, Oboete Imasuka" by Mari Iijima
Chou Jikyuu Yousai Macross: Ai, Oboete Imasuka (movie) Insert Song [1984]
suggested by C.A.

Spoiler:

Ima anata no koe ga kikoeru koko ni oide to Samishisa ni makesouna watashi ni
Ima anata no sugata ga mieru aruite kuru Me wo tojite matte iru watashi ni
Kinou made namida de kumotteta kokora wa ima

Oboete imasu ka me to me ga atta toki wo Oboete imasu ka te to te ga fureatta toki
Sore wa hajimete no ai no tabidachi deshita I love you so

Ima anata no shisen kanjiru hanaretetemo Karada-juu ga atatakaku naru no
Ima anata no ai shinjimasu douzo watashi wo Tooku kara mimamotte kudasai
Kinou made namida de kumotteta sekai wa ima

Oboete imasu ka me to me ga atta toki wo Oboete imasu ka te to te ga fureatta toki
Sore wa hajimete no ai no tabidachi deshita I love you so
Mou hitoribotchi ja nai anata ga iru kara
Oboete imasu ka me to me ga atta toki wo Oboete imasu ka te to te ga fureatta toki
Sore wa hajimete no ai no tabidachi deshita I love you so
Mou hitoribotchi ja nai anata ga iru kara (3x) aaa...(3x)

"Lum no Love Song" by Hiroko Matsuya
Urusei Yatsura (TV) Opening Theme #1 (episodes 1 to 77) [1981]
suggested by Jan-Poo

Spoiler:

Ammari sowasowa shinaide Anata wa itsudemo kyorokyoro
Yosomi wo suru no wa yamete yo Watashi ga dare yori ichiban Suki yo suki yo suki yo (4x)

Hoshi-tachi ga kagayaku yofuke Yume miru no anata no subete
Ai shite mo anata wa shiranpuri de Imagoro wa dare ka ni muchuu

Aa otoko no hitotte Ikutsu mo ai wo motte iru no ne
Aa achikochi ni baramaite Watashi wo nayamaseru wa

Anmari sowasowa shinaide Anata wa itsu demo kyorokyoro
Yosomi wo suru no wa yamete yo Watashi ga dare yori ichiban Ichiban suki yo

"Yuzurenai Negai" by Naomi Tamura
Magic Knight Rayearth (TV) Opening Theme [1994]
suggested by -Kh-

Spoiler:

Tomaranai mirai wo mezashite Yuzurenai negai wo dakishimete
Umi no iro ga akaku somatte-yuku Mujuuryoku joutai Kono mama kaze ni sarawaretai
Itsumo tobenai ha-doru wo Makenai kimochi de Kuriashite-kita kedo
Dashikirenai jitsuryoku wa dare no sei?

Tomaranai mirai wo mezashite Yuzurenai negai wo dakishimete
Iroasenai kokoro no chizu Hikari ni kazasou

"Ai wo Torimodose" by Crystal King
Hokuto no Ken (TV) Opening Theme #1 (episodes 1-82) [1984]
suggested by Jan-Poo

Spoiler:

You wa Shock! Ai de sora ga ochite kuru You wa Shock! Ore no mune ni ochite kuru
Atsui kokoro kusari de tsunai demo Ima wa muda da yo
Jama suru yatsu wa yubisaki hitotsu de Down sa
You wa Shock! Ai de kodou hayaku naru You wa Shock! Ore no kodou hayaku naru
Omae motome samayou kokoro ima Atsuku moete iru
Subete tokashi muzan ni tobichiru hazu sa

Ore to no ai wo mamoru tame Omae wa tabidachi Ashita wo miushinatta
Hohoemi wasureta kao nado mitaku wa nai sa Ai wo torimodose

"Yuusha-oh Tanjou!" by Masaaki Endo
Yuusha Ou GaoGaiGar (TV) Opening Theme [1997]
suggested by C.A.

Spoiler:

Ga-ga-ga Ga-ga-ga Gaogaigaa! Ga-ga-ga Ga-ga-ga-ga Gaogaigaa!
Hashire Gankyou robo gundan Akai manazashi Gin no mune
Shishi no kizuna wa G-stone Uchuu no mirai sukuu tame Ima koso hasshin da
Hito no tamashii kuiyaburu Zonder metaru wo uchikudake
Ga-ga-ga Ga-ga-ga Gaogaigaa!Ga-ga-ga Ga-ga-ga-ga Gaogaigaa!
Final Fusion shounin da Ima da Choujin gattai da Koutetsu funsai Goldion Hammer!
Maryoku Kiryoku Chouryoku Gattsu Tanjou Hiiroo Kurogane no kyoshin
boku-ra no yuushaou Ga-ga-ga-ga Gaogaigaa!

"Sore Ga Ai Deshou" by Shimokawa Mikuni
Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu (TV) Opening Theme [2003]
suggested by christinemarie

Spoiler:

Yasashisa ha tokidoki zankoku dakara Motomeru hodo kotae wo miushinau
Ameagari no machi niji ga mieru nara Ima arukidasou nani ka ga hajimaru

Kimi ga iru kara asu ga aru kara Hitorikiri ja ikite yukenai kara
Konna ni chikaku ni kanjiru sore ga ai deshou
Namida no kazu no itami wo kimi ha shitteru kara
Sukitooru sono me no naka ni tashika na imi wo sagashite Egao mitsuketai

"Tonari no Totoro" by Azumi Inoue
Tonari no Totoro (movie) Ending Theme [1988]
suggested by Jan-Poo

Spoiler:

To to ro Totoro To to ro Totoro
Dareka ga kossori Komichi ni ko no mi uzumete
Chiisana me haetara himitsu no ango Mori e no pasupooto Sutekina bouken hajimaru

Tonari no To to ro Totoro To to ro Totoro Mori no naka ni mukashi kara sunderu
Tonari no To to ro Totoro To to ro Totoro Kodomo no toki ni dake anata ni otozureru Fushigina deai

Ame furi Basu tei Zubunure Obake ga itara
Anata no amagasa sashite agemasho Mori e no pasupooto Mahou no tobira akimasu

Tonari no To to ro Totoro To to ro Totoro Tsukiyo no ban ni Okarina fuiteru
Tonari no To to ro Totoro To to ro Totoro Moshimo aeta nara sutekina shiawase ga Anata ni kuru wa

"Yakusoku wa Iranai" by Maaya Sakamoto
Tenku no Escaflowne (TV) Opening Theme [1996]
suggested by DJLowrider

Spoiler:

Nee aishitara daremo ga konna kodoku ni naru no? Nee kurayami yori mo fukai kurushimi dakishimeteru no?
Nani mo kamo ga futari kagayaku tame kitto
Kimi wo kimi wo ai shiteru Kokoro de mitsumete iru Kimi wo kimi wo shinjiteru samui yoru mo
Namida de ima yobi kakeru Yakusoku nado iranai Kimi ga kureta taisetsu na tsuyosa dakara

"Butter-fly" by Kouji Wada
Digimon Adventure (TV) Opening Theme [1999]
suggested by ddwkc

Spoiler:

Gokigen na chou ni natte kirameku kaze ni notte Ima sugu kimi ni ai ni yukou
Yokei na koto nante wasureta hou ga mashi sa Kore ijou shareteru jikan wa nai
Nani ga wow wow wow wow wow kono sora ni todoku no darou
Dakedo wow wow wow wow wow ashita no yotei mo wakaranai
Mugendai na yume no ato no nanimo nai yo no naka ja Sou sa itoshii omoi mo makesou ni naru kedo
Stay shigachi na imeeji darake no tayorinai tsubasa demo Kitto toberu sa on my love

"HOWLING" by abingdon boys school
Darker Than BLACK - Kuro no Keiyakusha (TV) Opening Theme #1 (episodes 1-14) [2007]
suggested by Zaseka

Spoiler:

(I've lost it, I know I can kill the truth is just beyond the Gate)
Fusagareta mabuta kara nagaredashita namida Kurikaeshi mushibamareru risei to chi no kakera
I don't want anything anymore (Abakidasu kanjou ga around Turn round) I don't feel the way as before (Gang Bang Son of a Gun)
Karameta futatsu no mune no sukima de Hoshigaru dake no kawaita kono karada ga
Kegareta yubisaki de yoru wo sosogikonde Chigireru made kimi wo kojiakete
Asai nemuri no naka hagareta omoi ga kishimu Nani mo ka mo ima wa subete keshisaretara
Sun will rise Close your eyes Downfallen (Fallen) Falling Hold inside Just Howling in the shadows

[KimmyChan]

This Ugly Yet Beautiful World Opening - "Metamorphose" (Another fantastic song) -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vFQnlkuY_g

[signorRossi]

JFYI - Opera and Flash in Linux don't digest well that many embedded videos too. CPU is 100% and screen redraws very slowly.

[DJLowrider]

A few more recommendations from me:

Battlecry - OP song from Samurai Champloo
Adesso e Fortuna (Flame & Ete) - OP song from Record of Lodoss War OVA
Konya wa HURRICANE - first episode OP song from Bubblegum Crisis OVA
Tell Me Why - OP song from Berserk
Ultra Relax - second season OP song from Kodomo no Omocha (a.k.a. Kodocha)
Libera Me from Hell - insert song/BGM piece from Gurren Lagann

[wOoOzZy]

It's a tough one to call. *I hate Cha-La Head-Cha-La*

There have been a few series that step it up as far as the OPs and EDs go. FMA and Bleach come to mind with a bunch of theirs. I also really liked the OP to S.E. Lain (which has an awesome slide guitar riff in the full version) and the ED of Chrono Crusade.

I know there are a bunch of others I'm leaving out. Some stuff for Inuyasha was very good and I personally liked the ED to Midori no Hibi. The production makes the girls voice sound so soft and pleasing to listen to.

But the top marks have to go to the inevitable. Cowboy Bebop wins it for OP and especially for ED. What makes it so good is that the music isn't just good by OP/ED standards. It stands up to any music you can throw at it. There's no OP like Tank!, it has a solid and catchy bass line, and a great sax solo. And maybe I'm biased because I'm a bassist but The Real Folk Blues has one of the best bass performances I've ever heard. And it's played on a bass instead of a quantized keyboard bass-synth like so many OPs and EDs have.

[zzeroparticle]

Well, this thread certainly seems to have garnered quite a bit of interest. I'm wondering if people are interested in running a sort of "Song of the Week" event as a way to get people hooked on anime music. At this point, I'd be more than willing to help run it if there is sufficient interest in such a project.

So if this sounds enticing, let me know and maybe we can work some sort of system to run this event. I've already got a few thoughts in mind, but I'd like to make sure that the interest level is sufficiently high before I commit my time into getting this to work.

[Full Metal Coast]

good idea zzeroparticle thats a joy idea.
ill be keen

[DJLowrider]

Originally Posted by zzeroparticle

Well, this thread certainly seems to have garnered quite a bit of interest. I'm wondering if people are interested in running a sort of "Song of the Week" event as a way to get people hooked on anime music. At this point, I'd be more than willing to help run it if there is sufficient interest in such a project.

So if this sounds enticing, let me know and maybe we can work some sort of system to run this event. I've already got a few thoughts in mind, but I'd like to make sure that the interest level is sufficiently high before I commit my time into getting this to work.

I'm down for this. Maybe we can have a few tiers to it as well, such as Song of the Month picked from that month's Songs of the Week and eventually maybe a Song of the Year too. Just a thought I had.