Best Anime Openings!

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Anime is one of the biggest TV and film genres of today. With a distinct animation style, creative plots and loveable characters, anime is easily recognisable by the way it looks and sounds.

Within these shows, the title sequences and accompanying songs are incredibly important, as they set up the tone for the show and provide a sneak peek into the season’s plot. A lot of anime openings have become massively popular beyond the series they are tied to, and for good reason.

Anime is a huge genre that is filled with so many amazing soundtracks to listen to. Here is a curated list of the most well-known anime opening songs from some iconic shows.

Courtesy of Wit Studio

1) “Guren No Yumiya” by Linked Horizon

The very first opening to one of the biggest anime shows to date, “Guren No Yumiya” is a theme that perfectly matches the dark yet exciting vibe of Attack On Titan. The show has gained massive popularity all over the world, and was the first anime to achieve a large following with Western audiences. This is largely thanks to its original plot, interesting characters and of course, its catchy opening themes.

Courtesy of Wit Studio

“Guren No Yumiya,” roughly translated as “crimson bow and arrow” has all the great qualities of an action anime opening. It’s hard, fast and catchy, interestingly mixing both Japanese and German lyrics to create a great song. 

2) “Tank!” by The Seatbelts

Courtesy of Sunrise Animation

Compared to most other anime, Cowboy Bebop’s opening theme is quite different, though it matches the show perfectly. The jazz-influenced instrumental track makes for a great opening to an action-packed story of bounty hunters set in space. “Tank!” combines elements of blues, swing and pop together, creating a unique and contemporary mix. 

Courtesy of Gainax

3) “A Cruel Angel’s Thesis” by Yoko Takahashi

Although Neon Genesis Evangelion is a huge success in itself, it remains a niche interest in Western culture. The anime is set in a future version of Tokyo where teenagers fight in giant mecha robots to protect humanity. While that sounds cool and all, the show actually has some pretty dark themes, and the opening “A Cruel Angel’s Thesis” perfectly captures both aspects of the anime. The music sounds light and upbeat, but the lyrics are quite depressing, making an interesting juxtaposition of the song. 

4) “Sincerely” by TRUE

For fans of Violet Evergarden, its opening “Sincerely” holds a special place in their hearts. The anime follows former soldier Violet on her journey of reintegrating back into society after the war, searching for her life’s purpose. It deals with themes like love and loss, and has many tear jerking moments throughout.

“Sincerely” is able to flawlessly capture all the emotions of the show. Its bittersweet melody and heartfelt vocals will have you crying before the episode has even started.

Courtesy of Kyoto Animation

Courtesy of A-1 Pictures

Another emotional rollercoaster of an anime, Your Lie in April, which “Hikaru Nara” is from, set the bar for drama anime high upon its release. Now, seven years later, the song withholds its influence. It begins with a playful guitar strum that immediately leads into an powerful yet cheerful melody. Its build-up is strong and the chorus explodes with unparalleled intensity.

Those were some of the best and (in my opinion) absolutely unskippable anime openings. Not only are the soundtracks top tier, the anime themselves are also definitely worth a watch.

Lily Scutt

Lily is a student at Algonquin College. She enjoys writing and playing video games, and she loves animals.

Miku Hatsune: The First Sound of the Future

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Hatsune Miku is a synthetic voice program. Amazingly enough, she is also one of Japan’s biggest pop stars, and she has quite a following in other parts of the world too. With a name meaning “first sound from the future,” this virtual singer certainly lives up to it. Originally developed in 2007 by Crypton Future Media, Miku has over 100,000 songs to her name, some notable ones being “The World is Mine” (produced by supercell), “Rolling Girl'' (produced by wowaka), and “Freely Tomorrow” (produced by Mitchie M). 

Miku is a Vocaloid, an avatar of voice synthesizing software. Simply put, it’s a singer put inside a computer. Human voices are recorded in short samples, which are then stored in a database, becoming part of a software that songwriters and producers can use as an alternative to a singing voice. Miku’s voice was sampled from Japanese voice actress Saki Fujita.

Official art by KEI

With her signature long turquoise pigtails and futuristic outfit, Miku has quite a distinctive appearance. She was designed by artist KEI, who took inspiration from Yamaha keyboards and the Vocaloid program’s interface. She is 16 years old and, according to her recording company’s website, she stands at 158m tall and weighs 42kg. She is envisioned by Crypton as being an  “android diva” from a future “where songs are lost.”

Courtesy of the Miku Expo website

While it may seem crazy that a program could become so popular in the music industry, it’s also not very hard to see her appeal. Crypton has created a character that can be pretty much anything you want her to be, and who can sing in literally any genre imaginable: “Senbonzakura” features the electric riffs and energetic vibe of rock, while “House of Songs” combines pop and jazz elements. 

Then there’s the people who get really creative with using Miku’s voice. Kikuo is one such producer who’s songs always tell some sort of — oftentimes dark — story. He is known for his distinct musical style of pairing whimsical, upbeat music with themes pertaining to things like abuse or inner struggles. His song “Love Me, Love Me, Love Me” falls right in line. “Two-Faced Lovers” by wowaka is another song with a deeper meaning. Miku provides fans with a creative outlet and an opportunity to share their songs with the world.

Courtesy of the Miku Expo twitter account

But Miku is more than just a creative outlet to fans. She’s a global phenomenon that has launched the careers of many now-popular artists who got their start writing songs for her. For example, electro-pop group livetune or rock/heavy metal producer Neru. Using technology that projects her 3-D image onto a screen, Miku is able to perform these songs in concerts all around the world. She is a household name in her home country — according to a Crypton employee, “there is almost no one in Japan between the ages of 5 and 25 who doesn’t know who she is.

And now a growing number of North Americans know her too. In addition to Miku Expo — her annual concert event — Miku has had her fair share of stints with other artists like Lady Gaga, who she opened for during Gaga’s ArtRave tour in 2014. More recently, Miku has collaborated with American singer Ashnikko for a remixed version of her song “Daisy.” Last year, before COVID hit, she was even scheduled to perform at Coachella, one of Western music’s biggest stages.

The great thing about Miku is that fans are responsible for both her commercial and creative success. You don’t have to wait for her to release her next single — you can write your own. There are endless possibilities with Vocaloid and so many opportunities for fans to make a name for themselves through recording and sharing songs. Miku is all about bringing people together through music — surely that’s worthy of being called “the first sound of the future.”

Lily Scutt

Lily is a student at Algonquin College. She enjoys writing and playing video games, and she loves animals.

City Pop, Japan’s 80s Nightlife Soundtrack

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Pop music has a tendency to never fully leave us. Whether it's “Africa” by Toto or “Take On Me” by a-ha, these tracks refuse to be forgotten about, eventually finding their way back into the ears of listeners. Thanks to social media, old pop music continues to resurface for a whole new generation to enjoy. Yet there is one style that has completely taken over, and that is Japanese city pop. This sub-genre is characterised by cool synths, catchy melodies and sharp instrumentation. City pop is often described as incredibly nostalgic, even by those who weren’t around during its prime. The imagery and themes used in the songs are reflections of the social ideals of the time: romance and heartbreak, excitement for the future, glamorous lifestyles and a carefree attitude.

As we saw last year, “Mayonaka no Door / Stay With Me” by Miki Matsubara is one of those songs. Originally released in 1979, it saw a resurgence in popularity 41 years later in 2020 when it began to be used on TikTok. The song features a breezy melody and wistful vocals over a syncopated bass line and lively brass. Even if you can’t understand Japanese, it’s hard to miss the melancholy tone in Matsubara’s voice as she sings about a lost love.

“Mayonaka no Door” is just one of many great city pop hits from the 80s. Here’s a few more to add to your city pop playlist.

Courtesy of Warner Music Japan

1) “Plastic Love” by Mariya Takeuchi 

Another recently re-popularised tune, “Plastic Love” tells the story of a woman going through a difficult breakup who tries to forget about it by going out and partying. It has a wistful vibe similar to “Mayonaka no Door”, featuring the same low synth and light percussion layered with Takeuchi’s vocals echoing a tone of dreamlike loneliness.

Courtesy of Madison Mead on Unsplash

City pop doesn’t always have to be sad and pensive. Also sung by Mariya Takeuchi, “Shiawase no Monosashi” is a song that has a positive message and uplifting tune, with Takeuchi reminding us to appreciate what we have and that happiness looks and means different things to everyone. 

3) “Merry Christmas” by Chieri Ito

Even though it’s a Christmas song, Chieri Ito’s “Merry Christmas” is still a great song to listen to any day of the year. The banging synths throughout and its constantly driving beat make it an extremely cheery tune, perfect for dancing along to.

Courtesy of Last.fm

Thanks to the internet, city pop has found a new home online and is once again being shared for its captivating melodies, rhythmical arrangements and vivid imagery. Hopefully you can appreciate the wonderful genre that is city pop and add a few new songs to your library.

Lily Scutt

Lily is a student at Algonquin College. She enjoys writing and playing video games, and she loves animals.

The Importance of Music

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Have you ever been watching something and suddenly hear a song so good that you can’t get it out of your head for the next week? Or maybe you’ve played a video game with a soundtrack that seems to pull you right into the world? 

Arguably, the music is one of the most important parts of any film or television series. The soundtrack can either make or break the entire thing. A lot of thought goes into what and when songs will play. The point of having music in film and TV is to enhance your viewing experience. It also is one of the things that makes particular scenes that much more memorable. Any fan of Brooklyn 99 would be able to recognise the Backstreet Boys’ “I Want it That Way” just from that one scene, just as Grey’s Anatomy fans wouldn’t be able to help tearing up whenever “Chasing Cars” by Snow Patrol comes on.

Could you imagine the iconic baseball scene from Twilight without "Supermassive Black Hole" by Muse? What about Guardians of the Galaxy without its ‘80s soundtrack? Imagine playing a game with no background music—for example, trying to defeat Dark Beast Ganon in the final battle of Breath of the Wild without the epic soundtrack playing—the experience would be significantly less exciting. Trying to envision your favourite shows without their accompanying music highlights the commonly overlooked fact that music makes TV. 

Now to a look at some of my favourite film, TV, and game soundtracks across different genres to prove just how important the right music is at the right moments (Warning: Contains spoilers for The End of Evangelion and Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc).

image courtesy of Shunji Suzuki

image courtesy of Shunji Suzuki

1) “Komm, Susser Tod” by Arianne - The End of Evangelion

“Komm, Susser Tod” (“Come, Sweet Death”) plays during a pivotal moment in The End of Evangelion, wherein the main character Shinji has just initiated the end of the world. The seven-minute-long scene shows many deaths of characters as “Human Instrumentality” happens, meaning everybody becomes merged into one, all existing within a shared reality. The use of “Komm, Susser Tod” is, in my opinion, an excellent way to convey the thoughts and feelings of Shinji as he sees this new reality unfolding. The song itself is a lyrical, word-for-word explanation of Shinji's feelings towards everything, and why he chose Instrumentality. Another thing that makes the use of “Komm, Susser Tod” so impactful is the irony of it. What sounds like a happy song with an upbeat melody is actually quite sad, being that it plays during one of the most infamously depressing parts of the Evangelion series. The misleading tone makes for an interesting contrast and makes an already amazing scene even better.

Image courtesy of Spike Chunsoft

Image courtesy of Spike Chunsoft

The Danganronpa franchise has no shortage of gruesome moments, and the scene where “Thousand Knocks” plays is one of them. For those unfamiliar, Danganronpa is a game about a group of students who think they’ve been invited to attend an elite school, but have actually become unwitting participants in a deadly killing game. The students are forced to kill each other in order to escape, but the catch is that they’re only allowed to leave if they successfully murder another classmate and are unexposed in a trial, otherwise the murderer will be brutally executed. The first to be executed is Leon Kuwata, with “Thousand Knocks” playing hauntingly throughout the scene. This is the song that truly sets the tone for the series and it leaves a lasting impact. Overall, a good way to open a horror/mystery game. 

3) “Immigrant Song” by Led Zeppelin - Thor: Ragnarok

The use of music in all Marvel movies is exceptional, but the one scene that stood out to me was in Thor: Ragnarok during the coolest battle sequences of the film. It was simply an awesome choice of song which made the entire scene.

Image courtesy of Marvel Entertainment

Image courtesy of Marvel Entertainment

So, those are my picks for best soundtrack. All of these scenes wouldn’t be the same without the music that accompanies them, making them proof of the importance of music.

Lily Scutt

Lily is a student at Algonquin College. She enjoys writing and playing video games, and she loves animals.