(Originally posted on 2019-12-14)
So, this is the umpteenth “best anime themes” post you’ll (hopefully) read this year, but it’s becoming a ‘tradition’ (3 times is a tradition, right?) for me to post my own favorites, so I wanted to kick off my 12 Days of AniTAY once again with it, just to get an easy one down and under our belts…
So, my ‘rules’: To simplify this, I break it down to favorite OP and ED for each season, plus a year-wide Honorable Mention for each. This is strictly based on personal preference out of the themes for series I watched, with maybe a little bit of what I liked about them. Note: This isn’t necessarily my favorite animes for each season (although there’s definitely some overlap), just what I regard as my favorite theme. (Typically defined as “what do I want to listen to over and over” and/or “which one do I almost never skip when it comes up on my iPod in the car”.)
WINTER
Man, Winter was a hard one for me in picking one ‘favorite’ OP, as there were quite a few I liked. EDs, on the other hand… not that they were bad, just, if you see my definition of “favorite” up above, well, almost none of them really fit that.
OP: Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari – MADKID, “RISE”
There were a LOT of high energy songs that I liked in this season. Very tough to narrow it down, but I’m gonna give it to the Shield Hero’s first OP, here.
ED: Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: Tensai-tachi no Renai Zunousen – Kohara Konomi, “Chikatto Chika Chika♥”
Really, it boiled down to one choice here.
SPRING
In contrast to Winter, Spring was my season of EDs. So hard to narrow to just one…
OP: Fruits Basket – Beverly, “Again”
I just love the haunting melody here, so appropriate for the tone of the series, IMO.
ED: Isekai Quartet – Hara Yumi, Amamiya Sora, Yuuki Aoi, Takahashi Rie, “Isekai Girls♥ Talk”
Really, a lot of fun stuff here. Fruits Basket’s ED was also a strong contender, for being a great song, but I wanted something with a little more energy.
SUMMER
I had a somewhat reduced set of shows for Summer, so it was a little easier picking favorites this time. My OP was a no-brainer for me, and there were only about 2 EDs to seriously pick between…
OP: Joshikousei no Mudazukai – Akasaki Chinatsu, Tomatsu Haruka, Toyosaki Aki, “Wa! Moon! dass! cry!”
Again, this one’s all about the energy.
ED: Lord El-Melloi II Sei no Jikenbo: Rail Zeppelin Grace Note – ASCA, “Hibari”
By contrast, the ED from Lord El-Melloi II is about that slow, lower energy thing.
FALL
This one actually might be my hardest to pick from as, a) it’s still ongoing, and b) I’m only watching a handful of shows this time around.
OP: Shinchou Yuusha: Kono Yuusha ga Ore Tueee Kuse ni Shinchou Sugiru – MYTH & ROID, “TIT FOR TAT”
The energy here from MYTH & ROID, what’s not to love?
ED: Sword Art Online: Alicization – War of Underworld – LiSA, “unlasting”
Continuing on the alternating energy with haunting thing here, really. But the power in this song, I just love. I didn’t include it here cuz this is like from her official channel (and less likely to go dead), but also the visuals for the credits really help the whole thing for me.
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
Man, there’s so many I could put. In fact, what I think I’ll do is save most of them for a couple other anime themes articles here in my 12 Days of AniTAY (probably a “Best Themes From Trash Shows I’ve Watched”, I suspect, lol.)
OP: Mahou Shoujo Tokushusen Asuka – nonoc, “KODO”
Speaking of themes I liked from animes that really weren’t great, is “KODO”.
ED: Hitoribocchi no Marumaru Seikatsu – Morishita Chisaki, Tanaka Minami, Kito Akari, Kurose Yuuko, “Bakushou Bocchi-juku Kouka”
Admittedly, it’s another one-off, but who didn’t love “Wa ha ha!”?
What were your favorites this year?
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