The Energon Pub

[UltraPrimal]

I was just watching this show Black Lagoon and it had a really cool opening theme. Most of the other anime shows like it, I find, have really cool themes as well. Gundam Wing and .hack//sign were pretty cool. I can't remember what any of the others were called. So, any anime themes you really like?

[Evil_the_Nub]

I like Full Metal Alchemist's opening theme.

[Tekka]

Oh there are so many to choose from.

Two obvious choices for me would be the REASON, and Eien No Kodoku openings from Tekkaman Blade.

Others I like are:
Shion No Ou opening "Lady Love"
Full Metal Panic Fumoffu "Sore Ga Ai Deshou"
Various Bleach openings, there are so many of them now.
The first Darker than Black opening "Howling"
Record of Lodoss War OAV opening "Adesso e Fortuna" (BEAUTIFUL in English)
Ergo Proxy's Opening "Kiri"
Both Death Note themes "The World" and "What's up people?!"
I'm partial to the first Tenchi OAV opening as well.
Spice And Wolf "Tabi no Tochuu"
Angel Heart, "Battlefield of love" & "Lion"
City Hunter, "Ai Yo Kienaide" & "Angel Night"
Suzuka "Start Line"
Gilgamesh "Crazy 4 U"
Bubblegum Crisis "Mad Machine" (Not Technically an opening, but still like it.)
Claymore, "Danzai No Hana"
King of Bandits Jing "Shout it Loud"
Air, "Tori No Uta" & "Farewell Song"
Code Geass, "Colours"
Evangelion "Cruel Angel's Thesis"
Full Metal Alchemist "Melissa" & "ReWrite" & "Ready Steady Go" & "Undo"
Bamboo Blade, "Bamboo Beat"
Galaxy Angel "Galaxy Bang Bang!" & "Angel Ukki"
I''s Pure "I Will Follow"
Kateikyoushi Hitman Reborn "Drawings Days" & "Boys & Girls"
Kyatto Ninden Teyandee, I forget what's it's called =x
Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro "DIRTY"
Oh My Goddess "Congratulations" & "Open Your Mind"


There are so many more I could go on listing them all day.

[Shadowman]

The two openings for Gundam 00, "Daybreak's Bell" by L'Arc-en-Ciel, and "Ash Like Snow" by the brilliant green, are both really good. A lot more punk-ish than previous Gundam series.

Both Death Note themes are really good. (Though the second one takes some getting used to)

Pretty much any opening for Naruto is good. (Ironic, considering the actual series)

The opening for Evangelion was also really good. (Again, opposed to the series itself)

Both openings for Gundam ZZ, "Anime Ja Nai," and "Silent Voice" were both really catchy.

That's about all I can think of for now.

[God Magnus]

It's because those "themes" aren't written for the shows. They take a song from whatever band they're trying to promote at that moment and stick it in there. It's just one of the ways Japanese bands are marketed.

[Grahf]

Last Exile and Evangelion are probably my two favorites with Trinity Blood, Burst Angel, Chrono Crusade, and both Death Note themes following right behind.

[Liege Evilmus]

Sorry but in my oppinion most of these songs suck.

Most have a technoish beat, and thats always catchy, but click the subtitles and read what they're saying and you'll see that most of them are some of the gayest things ever!

And when they translate them to english, it's even worse.

Japan may know alot about making some kick ass robots, ninjas, singing toilets, and stuff...

but realy I'm pretty convinced that outside of some specialty fields, they don't have much of a clue. I grew up with and am still friends with alot of Asian people, I have alot to base this theory on.

[Tekka]

What do you base it on? The number of Asian people you know directly corresponds to the validity of your opinion?

[Dead Metal]

I wouldn't say that they have the best, some are really good, especially the stuff for Hellsing Ultimate.

I'm just a sucker for awesome instrumentals.

And yes just as Liege says, translate most of them and you get the most gayest, crappiest and most horridly out of place themes ever!

but that doesn't mean I hate all of them, I think the song to GANTZ! Super shooter is quite awesome, just have to figure out what the lyrics are, most probably they will make it crap

Anyway I still think shows are better off with opening themes that don't have song in it, like Beast Wars, Batman TAS and Hellsing.

[Marty Rocket]

I wouldn't say that they have the best, some are really good, especially the stuff for Hellsing Ultimate.

I'm just a sucker for awesome instrumentals.

And yes just as Liege says, translate most of them and you get the most gayest, crappiest and most horridly out of place themes ever!

but that doesn't mean I hate all of them, I think the song to GANTZ! Super shooter is quite awesome, just have to figure out what the lyrics are, most probably they will make it crap

Anyway I still think shows are better off with opening themes that don't have song in it, like Beast Wars, Batman TAS and Hellsing.

The best thing to do is not translate them. I like quite a few anime songs, and I agree with the translated lyrics are real weird, so I ignore what the lyrics are in English. I'd say Tenchi Universe theme is the best anime theme song I've heard and I own. It makes for good music in the gym. (Although many of the customers tell me to take it off the stereo system since it isn't in the charts).

[Whisper]

I've not seen much anime, but I do like:

Ignite (T.M. Revolution) from Gundam Seed Destiny
Believe (Tamaki Nami) from Gundam Seed
Fields of Hope (Rie Tanaka) from Gundam Seed Destiny
Inner Universe (Origa) from Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
Rise (Origa) from Ghost in the Shell SAC: 2nd Gig
The Winner (Miki Matsubara) Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory

There are others but my memory escapes me right now.

To be honest the lyrics mean jack to me, but the music sounds great...

[Tekka]

The translations you see (fansubs are very guilty of this) are rarely 100% accurate, especially when a show is brand new. Even when they eventually get a lyric sheet the translation can never be completely faithful due to the nature of the language.

A Japanese song will never flow in English like it was designed to in Japanese. But generalizing them under the banner of "gay, crap, and out of place" is a little harsh, they usually fit the mood of an opening video quite well and even if the lyrics aren't awe inspiring it doesn't detract from the musical value of any piece.

[Dead Metal]

The translations you see (fansubs are very guilty of this) are rarely 100% accurate, especially when a show is brand new. Even when they eventually get a lyric sheet the translation can never be completely faithful due to the nature of the language.

A Japanese song will never flow in English like it was designed to in Japanese. But generalizing them under the banner of "gay, crap, and out of place" is a little harsh, they usually fit the mood of an opening video quite well and even if the lyrics aren't awe inspiring it doesn't detract from the musical value of any piece.

I understand the thing with translations, I'm ashamed of that myself, after all that is part of my current training- Damn!

I want to apologize and see that my statement was a "little" harsh, it's just that they sound awesome till you get a translation and kinda downgrades it's coolness.

But that is no excuse to such crap the German Broadcaster RTL II gives Animes.

That's part of me favoring text less openings.

[Liege Evilmus]

What do you base it on? The number of Asian people you know directly corresponds to the validity of your opinion?

Nope, it's just more fule for the fire.

I've seen and done alot of stupid things, but some of the stuff from these guys...

...hysterical badness of legend!!!

And they're always proud of it till 5 years later. Don't ask me why, but it's always 5 years befor comon sense kicks in?

Good people though

[Defcon!]

Some are really cool. But it is true when you listen to them and then see what they're actually saying is pretty damn funny, and makes no sense at all with the show. Some do though. American cartoons had some really cool theme songs too with cool lyrics. Remember the smurfs! La la lalalalaaa la lalala laaaaa!

[Tekka]

Some are really cool. But it is true when you listen to them and then see what they're actually saying is pretty damn funny, and makes no sense at all with the show. Some do though. American cartoons had some really cool theme songs too with cool lyrics. Remember the smurfs! La la lalalalaaa la lalala laaaaa!

...The smurfs? ...

...

You're insane.

[Shadowman]

Some are really cool. But it is true when you listen to them and then see what they're actually saying is pretty damn funny, and makes no sense at all with the show. Some do though. American cartoons had some really cool theme songs too with cool lyrics. Remember the smurfs! La la lalalalaaa la lalala laaaaa!

...The smurfs? ...

...

You're insane.

Or smoking SuperCrack, a type of crack so rare I just made it up.

Rise (Origa) from Ghost in the Shell SAC: 2nd Gig

Crap! I forgot that one! That was a really good opening.

It never matters to me what they actually say, it's just that the music is really catchy.

[Venomous Prime]

Never saw the anime itself.

but i love "Zetsubou Billy" by Maximum The Hormone.

Its the ending credit theme I believe from death note

[Shadowman]

Never saw the anime itself.

but i love "Zetsubou Billy" by Maximum The Hormone.

Its the ending credit theme I believe from death note

Second one, yeah. I didn't like that one as much as the first one. "Alumina" from Nightmare.

"the WORLD" from Nightmare and "What's up people?!" from Maximum the Hormone were both really good though.

Although I don't think they can get away with using "What's up people?!" in the dub on Adult Swim. It drops the F-Bomb quiet a bit. In English.

[Defcon!]

I always liked Evangelions opening song. Vampire Hunter D Bloodlust had a really cool song for the theatrical release preview. It still gives me chills when i listen to it. The original Vampire hunter D is what got me started on japanese cartoons. I saw it on USA up all night about 15 yrs ago! Insane? Yes! Super Crack? Hells no!

[Dr Buffalo]

You can actually make a dubbed song sound good, but only if Vic Mignogna sings it.

[Drop Bear]

i think most of anime's opening and closing themes are lame.

except for cowboy bebop. that's cool.

[First-Aid]

It's a very interesting quandary. The Japanese are excellent musicians (granted most of the music being discussed here barely qualifies as music and can be easily duplicated with little talent). They have always been so...it is one of the things they excel in. However, they are great from a technical standpoint. As an example, while I was majoring in music in college (the first time in college...you can't make a living with a music degree..LOL), I studied many types of music...but most especially Jazz. Jazz is unique in that there may be some technical aspect to it, but so much of it is improvisation that some songs barely resemble what they started as. One thing I noticed in my studies is a distinct lack of Oriental jazz musicians. This probably is related to studies that show the vast majority of those in the Asian populace- but especially the Japanese- favor the left brain, or logical/technical aspect. As a result, they are fantastic at replicating techniques but if approached with a situation relying heavily on the right brain- such as musical improvisation- they have enormous difficulty.

On that note, very few Japanese TV shows seem to have orignal music. Yes, the market for Japanese music is linked strongly to TV but not many shows have truly original theme music relating directly to- or solely identified with- the show they are attached to, such as the theme from "Cheers", "Hill Street Blues", and "Linus and Lucy". We KNOW when we hear these songs that they are linked with a television show almost exclusively. This just isn't the case in Japan...a pop band may come out and decide to sell their song to a TV show even though it has little if anything to do with it. It's a very left-brained approach to music and TV.

[Shadowman]

You can actually make a dubbed song sound good, but only if Vic Mignogna sings it.

That is because Vic Mignogna is awesome.

[Jazz Reborn]

when i used to watch naruto i likedthe jap 3rd opening"kanashimawa yasashi sani"
also veiwtifuljoe"brighter side"