Mainly the domain of the TV series, barring two inclusions, the opening and ending credit sequence have developed their own importance in anime to the point they are celebrated by themselves. With good reason as they can show invention or be memorable too, examples of artistic creativity or in a few I've chosen, appropriate for the tone even if they are not the most flamboyant possible.
As well, musical themes are important, particularly in terms of how they are a way to promote songs but also important for establishing the tone, something of importance as I am not particularly fond of the more traditional type of songs chosen but like the more unconventional choices.
Due to the nature of YouTube links easily disappearing, it's best for you the reader to research these yourselves.
Best Song/Theme
Honorable Mention does have to go to Ergo Proxy (2006), a messy but interesting dystopian anime series, using Radiohead's Paranoid Android as the end credits theme, apt considering the show is a lot about robots and cyborgs among its many themes. Even better, and showing how cool the band were, they gave permission for the song to be used entirely, something of note as historical pre-existing licensed songs have had to be excised for cost reasons, when Eden of the East (2009) could only use Oasis' Falling Down once for the first episode, and Speed Grapher (2005) had to have its use of Duran Duran's Girls on Film replaced with a new instrumental piece. I can only give this an honorable mention, though, as in all honestly it doesn't completely suit the tone despite being thematically apt. Neither is this a case, like my guilty delight for Mr. Big's Shine thanks to the TV version of Hellsing, where the song somehow just adds to the personality.
14. Gomen ne Iiko ja Irarenai - Miku Sawai (Kill La Kill (2013-14))
I had to mention, even this low down, at least one song from Kill La Kill, which is only down here due to fault of memory. The one track I have always remembered however, just for the opening seconds, is this, which does turn into J-Pop. Controversially, despite my love of anime, I hate a lot of J-pop, finding it incredibly bland and sadly used a lot in anime productions; thankfully, bursting out of the gates, Studio Trigger wisely invested in a good song in the genre, with the appropriate bombastic energy needed for this type of show..
13. Red Fraction - mell (Black Lagoon [Season One and The Second Barrage] (2006))
I am surprised I wasn't as big a fan of Black Lagoon, considering its reputation; originally I had it due to the final arch being a let down, but honestly I think the word of mouth and the weight of expectation was arguably the barrier to fully appreciating the series. This is the only time sadly I am going to mention what, in hindsight, was an admirable production from a man, Sunao Katabuchi, who has surprisingly went on to make the acclaimed In this Corner of the World (2016), a work just to be admired (before even seeing it) for a level of historical accuracy even live action productions would look amateur next to, something which would make revisiting Black Lagoon of interest as that level of accuracy and production design is likely found in this gory, American action film influenced double series.
The one place I mention Black Lagoon, though, is here for Red Fraction, a song many will know as its an absolutely banger. Even the "Engrish" lyrics actually add to the experience.
12. Mutual Universe/A Parallel Universe - JYOCHO (Junji Ito Collection (2018))
The Junji Ito Collection was a divisive series which had a lot of expectations - finally a full series devoted to adapting the stories of Junji Ito, but one which did not go down well with many. One reason was unfair, that none of his comedy manga with a character named Souichi Tsujii, a teenage who likes to curse his class mates who has the most episode apperances including through the entirety of the pilot. The other however, less than high budget and stellar production and animation, was admittedly a major flaw. I did like the series, as someone who can never hate a horror anthology (show or film) unless its atrocious. The other little virtue is that, in the ending credits, the production chose (of all things) a math rock song, the type of music I'd never conceived being used in an anime. The full song is beautiful, as it was even against Ito's brand of freakish horror, so I have full admiration for whoever chose it for street cred and good taste.
11. Set Them Free - Akira Jumbo (Tonari no Seki-kun, The Master of Killing Time (2014))
I am a growing fan of jazz over the years, so I was immediately won over by this little ditty. The version in The Master of Killing Time is actually merely a little fragment, humorously (and perfectly) played over one of the lead characters managing to improvise a drum kit from his school stationary; researching the actual song for this list, the full version is a beauty itself too.
10. Hashire Jitensha" ("Run, Bicycle Run") - Mishio Ogawa (Roujin Z (1991))
Again, not a huge J-pop fan, but the ending theme of Roujin Z is a great example, a fun song that perfectly matches the tone of a deeply underrated anime feature - legendary Akira director/writer Katsuhiro Otomo penning a satire in tandem to actual director Hiroyuki Kitakubo about the Japan ageing crisis even back in 1991, with absolutely emotional sympathy for the elderly but imagining a nuclear powered sentient bed for an elderly man going on a rampage to the seaside. Considering how jaunted and ridiculous the film is, how apt the song is this appropriately energetic and heartwarming.
9. Sexy, Sexy - CASCADE (Ghost Stories (2000-1))
Any mention of Ghost Stories has to bring up the end credits theme, one of the most infamous details even before the English dub, a song clearly about sex even in the title so deeply inappropriate for a children's horror show. Here's the thing though, its still a great pop rock song, as catchy as hell and arguably bringing some much needed energy to this infamous series of yesteryear. It's just, yeah, weird considering the translated lyrics, this was used for a children's show.
8. Evening Shower - Shikao Suga (Boogiepop Phantom (2000))
Not the last time this list will include a horror series with a sultry, lounge ballad, which is a bizarre thing to say, but in terms of getting the right mood for this experimental, grungy and odd adaptation of the acclaimed light novel series, strangely this kind of melancholic romance song is actually fully appropriate for this downbeat and melancholic series.
7. Hateshinai Tabi - Hajimari no Toki by Ryoko Tachikawa (Bubblegum Crash! (1991)
Bubblegum Crash!, the belated sequel to the 1987-91 hit Bubblegum Crisis, was not a good OVA in the slightest, but it did have this killer opening theme which has salvaged some positive thoughts on the anime. Its, despite being released in 1991, the most eighties entry on the list from the guitar riffs, the synthesizer sounds and just the tone, the type of rock/ballad that you'd find in eighties anime productions if not pop. The kind that if you listen to long enough either spouts a mullet or causes one to want to fight out-of-control robots in super-powered sci-fi armour.
6. Watashi no ai wa Chiisaikeredo ("Although My Love is Small") - Ritsuko Okazaki (Princess Tutu (2002-3))
Not surprisingly a show devoted to ballet and classical music would have good music, least this be an absorlute artistic tragedy. Yet its not the opening theme, a masala of an original song with famous classical pieces, that sticks the most but this quiet little ballad. Again I don't really like a lot of pop in anime, but usually because it feels incongruous and so bland it feels inappropriate; this, for what was a passion project, feels far more sincere as a quiet little ballad that just causes one to feel warm and fuzzy inside.
5. Watashi no Tamagoyaki by Ludwig van Beethoven and Kotono Mitsuishi (Dragon Half (1993))
You don't get stiff enough competition as from Beethoven, the legendary German composer contributing to this OVA series from the dead a century or so later, so adding lyrics about what one wants for dinner, alongside probably a bridge from another famous classic song, is just going to make the work even more epic. It's better alongside the ending images to be perfectly honest, but as a song I have to admire something this ridiculous, actually well done and a bloody catchy ear worm too.
4. Lilium by Kumiko Noma (Elfen Lied (2004))
Speaking of themes that take a risk, and give one the chills on the back of the neck, this classical piece from the controversial series Elfen Lied whether your opinion on the show emphasizes the importance of taking a different tact with production to stand, opera singer Kumiko Noma adding a layer of gravity to the material that is stunning before you get the orchestral accompaniment. I'll get into the opening credits as a whole later, but certainly in lieu of the notorious levels of gore and transgressive content the show is initially known for, the attempt at emphasizing how serious the show is meant to be, rather than lurid trash, is immediately sign posted with this.
3. The Flame - Keiko Lee (Requiem From The Darkness (2003))
More sultry lounge ballads for horror series, but arguably out of a lot of these songs Keiko Lee's work here is great example of something suiting its material so perfectly. Completely from a different era of time to the anime itself, but in mood and ominous (yet sensual) atmosphere perfect to the material. Considering its source is a dark yet aesthetically rich work, its befitting, and usually these more riskier (and less commercial) works tend to really choose some utterly brilliant choices just in terms of their themes.
And the biggest surprise for me? All these years presuming the two songs from Requiem from the the Darkness as from a male singer, researching it for this trifle of a list, something just to please me, revealed that Keiko Lee is actually a veteran female jazz singer with an incredibly husky and deep voice. If anything a new layer discovered to anime I love makes it much more rewarding, in a case like this, then merely enjoying the cartoons.
2. Magia - Kalafina (Puella Magi Madoka Magica (2011))
Nearly forgetting Madoka Magica for these self-indulgent rankings was such a bizarre moment of amnesia, particularly as nothing is going to immediately bring chills than this theme. There is a fascinating and uniquely Japanese trend to take heavy metal riffs, pop vocals usually from female singers, electronic synths and a level of gravitas that leaves the term "epic" to be an understatement. Actually the second ending theme, let's just say that after matching this dark and emotionally reanching show musically and lyrically, God only knows what happens if I cover The Garden of Sinners franchise, and keep to this aforementioned self-indulgent rankings, where the female group Kalafina are all over the end credits.
1. "Yume no Shima Shinen Kouen" and "The Girl in Byakkoya - White Tiger Field" by Susumu Hirasawa (Paranoid Agent (2004) and Paprika (2006))
Imagine Peter Gabriel, experimental synth pop and what appears to be even some yodeling, and is it not a suprise that, whilst tragically none of his commercial albums are available in the West (or even most his soundtrack work), Susumu Hirasawa has at least had the whole soundtrack for Paprika available in the West to this day, something that even most of the talented musicians and composers here may have sadly not?
I was sincerely considering leaving him off as an honorable mention just to be fair, but that'd be ridiculous....
Best Opening (Opening)
Honorable mention has to go to both Samurai Flamenco (2013-14), which is a great way to match the tone of the series and reel viewers in (as well as being a lot more funnier and meaningful after seeing the entire show) and Tonari no Seki-kun, The Master of Killing Time (2014), which only got knocked off to let an underdog in, but deserves mention as, following its titular character Seki managing to sneak animation equipment into a class room and work much to his fellow student Rumi's bafflement, its a fun way to start a fun micro-series.
5. Vampire Princess Miyu (1997-8) [REVIEW]
Vampire Princess Miyu, the second time director Toshiki Hirano (with his wife Narumi Kakinouchi) visited this character of theirs in a 1988-9 OVA, their own creation in a manga, is an odd duck. I gave it a negative review, but it has lingered on me, even its misguided moments like the villain being a character you only see once in an early episode, like a slasher film twist, or an entire episode about the souls of cats being forced into a bed of flowers strangely memorable. The ending, where a plot takes place and a character relationship becomes incredibly dark, as characters you've known are killed off and one has a bitter sweet ending with the protagonist, has also lingered on me as an utter godsend to what is an erratic anthology horror series wrapped around the titular monster slayer.
The series also has a great opening. The song is good, but what really adds is how, including a strategic cut from the song to a mouthed word of dialogue, the opening plays on Miyu's utter loneliness as a vampire as well as turn the opening into a character building aspect. It's something to admire and, notably, I've not necessarily included this opening as a great piece of animation but more for its use of minimal resources to build something that gets the right mood.
4. Princess Tutu (2002-3) [REVIEW]
Possibly the weakest on this list, mainly on here because the song is beautiful, but I have to admit if you're going to try to sell a show about ballet, which also subverts fairy tales and is also meant to be appealing to a very young audience, Princess Tutu does it well. Showing the dancing, having the combination of the song with a recognizable classical motif, alongside little details in the background also showing clues to what at points becomes a very unconventional show.
2. Elfen Lied (2004) [REVIEW]
Elfen Lied, whilst I love it, is a divisive show, much due to its uncomfortable mix of gore with cuteness, some questionable decisions in luridness, and (my own real flaw with the series) a lack of an actual ending even if it completes the main character arch emotionally. Yet the show still gets re-released, has a surprisingly large audience still and, despite all the nudity and gore, its fan base includes a lot of women who have attached onto the show, something you can learn just by searching cosplay and Deviant Art on the show online.
Elfen Lied, flaws and all, was also a show I'd defend to the death because moments showed it was made with some nuisance and intelligence, evident immediately as the opening credits, subverting the art of legendary painter Gustav Klint with characters from the show taking the original positions. The song sends chills up the spine, but the entire aesthetic choice has become one of the series' most iconic visual motifs despite never appearing in the episodes themselves, an accomplishment entirely in admiration of just the opening credits by themselves.
1. Paranoia Agent (2004)/Paprika (2006)
A double barrel entry, including one film, as its hard not to think of both of these Satoshi Kon without thinking of either Paprika's incredible opening credits sequence, a bold and stylish as you can get following its protagonisr's titular alter-ego frolicking around a metropolis, whilst Paranoia Agent's is incredible both in how it matches the theme song in its oddness, juxtaposing characters laughing in incongruous environments, as well as how the images are secretly hinting at what is to come through the series. Masterful.
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Best Ending (Closing)
Honorable Mentions include: the Junji Ito Collection (2018), which decided to have fun with characters from each episode's two stories interacting in spite of very limited animation; Requiem From The Darkness (2003), which does go for cheap cheesecake by having main female character Ogin nude in strategic ways but, in contrasting her figure with giant centipedes, feels appropriately a mix of the erotic and grotesque for such a dark show; and Yurikama Arashi (2015), which has a tiny bear dancing to the end song in the corner but, to be honest, is still merely a pan out of a still illustration.
5. Samurai Flamenco (2013-14) [REVIEW]
Out of two, the second with the idol characters Mari, Mizuki and Moe surrounded by floating plastic balls is the best as not only does it cover the most entertaining characters of the entire series, which is saying something when you're invested with a diverse and lovable group of individuals, but it emphasizes that whilst this underrated series does get dark at points, Samurai Flamenco is a playful show subverting and enjoying the superhero/sentai tropes by showing this particular trio's day job, referenced in an early scene filming a music video, against them dressing up as weaponised magical girls with cattle prod wands and a taste for kicks to the male groin. These ending credits also emphasis that, come 2010s, there's something about modern anime productions of how, even if its difficult to describe, their aesthetic in terms of colour and style is entirely its own in this post-digital animation era. I love the old era hand drawn animation, where it would have to be painstaking just to animate the floating plastic balls shown here, but the vibrate plastic style of this show, in spite of its initial notoriety of animation slips in its original broadcast, is still a craft to admire.
4. Paranoia Agent (2004)
Remember a few spaces back my critique of another show for being merely a pan from a still illustration? I may be a hypocrite but in the case of Paranoia Agent, contrasting eerily calm music from Susumu Hirasawa, with the images of every character laid around the central cute dog character who plays a huge philosophical part of the series, and Satoshi Kon's show can get away with being here for how it adds to the story building of the show.
3. Tonari no Seki-kun, The Master of Killing Time (2014) [REVIEW]
The Master of Killing Time was a lovely gem, mainly because for a one-joke premise (your fellow student dabbling in every bizarre hobby in class he can try instead of studying) it went to the best quality for everything from the voice acting to even the end credits. The song is wonderful, but the end credits in their simplicity, playing along to the music as well as adding a nice flourish of characterization, is perfect especially as the episodes are so short and these credits have little time to do much in...
2. Princess Tutu (2002-3)
...and if a lot of these choices are less spectacular animation and more about appropriate mood, even if they are minimal in what is on screen, then its a case that less is sometimes more for me in terms of appropriate content. The simple animation of the titular character of this bold children's fantasy, in her real duck form, starting to fall asleep on a pond in what looks like its drawn in crayon is such a more effecting and suitable tone for a show. For all its moments of darkness, moments of strangeness, and moments of zaniness, Princess Tutu is a quiet and self reflecting show originally meant for children and meant to ponder fairy tales and dance thoughtfully. So it fits...
1. Dragon Half (1993) [REVIEW]
Befitting one OVA, whilst tragically only getting two thirty minute episodes before getting canned, managed to have the end credits match a fantasy piss take in a way that's spectacular. Considering the second episode even has a character watch the tape of the first episode only to realise his scenes were deleted from it, said credits throws everything in but an actual kitchen sink. Beethoven, lyrics to a song debating what the characters are going to have for dinner, everyone getting a cameo on screen and, simplistically put together, still utterly funny by itself, more so as they feel long for credits which, considering each episode is less than thirty minutes, is amusing in itself.
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