Anime Music: Openings and Endings Soundtracks

[Raffaele the Amigan]

Here I want to talk with you of Music of Animes, wtih a special eye for Openings and Endings.

What is the best Opening/Ending music sountrack in your opinion?

Do you like the conversion of soundtracks made in some countries?

Are they better/lesser than original japanese one?

What is the best national conversion of an Anime Soundtrack for your taste?

[Myrdin]

Funny you should mention this now. My media player just started into the Last Exile OST.

The Gunslinger Girl soundtrack is quite good. I love symphonic pieces. However, my favorite opening song would have to be Sakura Saku. I don't know why. I haven't even seen a single episode of the anime it goes to and it's very different from my normal taste in music. Soriamimi Cake is well composed and I liked it enough to acquire it, but it's still not as good as Sakura Saku.

So far there are not any ending songs I'm particularly fond of.

[Raffaele the Amigan]

Funny you should mention this now. My media player just started into the Last Exile OST.

WOW! Last Exile it is also one of my preferred anime too...
;010

And the soundtrack of Cowboy Bebop it is my preferred original one in absolute along with Lupin III first serial.

"Lupin is a nice man" it is my preferred interlude of whole tv serial of '77.


Regarding my local country adaptations with new songs I like very much:


1) Conan ("Mirai Shonen Conan")

2) Lupin III first '77 serial italian opening "Planet O" and "Lupin III fisarmonica" (accordion) opening from second serial.

3) Goldrake (Ufo Robot Grendizer) first italian opening and its very first ending named  "Shooting Star"

4) Gaiking - opening named "It takes me higher"

5) Daitarn III

6) Lamù ("Lum", "Urusei Yatsura") first italian opening named "Come è difficile stare al mondo" (transl: "it is very difficult to stay upon the world").

7) Mademoiselle Anne ("Haikarasan ga toru")

8] Galaxy Express 999

9) Jeeg Robot + Great Mazinger [Ex-aequo, both draw at 8th place]

10) Gundam

Mention of honour: "Candy Candy", "Dr. Slump & Arale", "Pollon", Gordian and "Jet Robot" (Jetter Robot) openings

[Exa]

Here is my list of favorite OPs/EDs:

Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya OP+ED
Cowboy Bebop OP
Neon Genesis Evangelion OP
Slayers (+Next+Try) OP
Gundam Wing OP
Trigun OP
Kiddy Grade OP
Rozen Maiden (+Traumend+Overture) OP
Elfen Lied OP
Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha (+A') OP
Read or Die TV 2nd ED
Sky Girls (OVA) OP
...
maybe there are others, but these are the ones come to my mind.

[Xyanide]

fave opening/ending themes:

Kawada Mami - hishoku no sora, Shakugan no Shana OP (havn't seen it yet)
Hound Dog - Rocks, Naruto 1st OP
Kotoko - Shooting Star, Onegai Sensei OP
Two Mix - Just Communication, Gundam Wing OP
Noma Kumiko - Lilium, Elfen Lied OP
Shimokawa Mikuni - Tomorrow, Full Metal Panic 1st season OP
Yoko Kanno - Inner Universe, Ghost In The Shell - Stand Alone Complex OP
The Pillows - Ride On Shooting Star, FLCL ED
L'Arc~en~Ciel - Driver's High, Great Teacher Onizuka 1st OP
Under17 - Love Slave, DearS OP (gotta love that song lol)


for all you anime music needs go to:
http://www.animenfo.com/radio

[SleepyD]

hay guyz

I have a thread on OSTs over here: http://ostan-collections.net/viewtopic.php?t=237
I particularly wanted to talk about composers there and the actual background music, but eh.
(Myrdin, you did mention the Gunslinger OST, and I love that dude's music)


As for the OP/ED, I loved the Fate/stay ED, Anata ga Ita Mori by Jyukai.

Openings by I've Sound is great, including, but not limited to:
Shakugan no Shana OP1 and OP2, Hishoku no Sora by Kawada Mami and being by KOTOKO
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni OP - Higurashi no Naku Koro ni by EIKO


And I am quite the Yuki Kajiura fan, and as far as OP/ED goes these are my favorites:
Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto OP (long title, huh?) - Koya Ruten by FictionJunction YUUKA
.hack//Liminality ED - Tasogare no Umi by See-Saw
Gundam SEED ED1 - Anna ni Issho Datta no ni by See-Saw
MADLAX OP - Hitomi no Kakera by FictionJunction YUUKA


But I really must include her insert songs. Not OP/ED but I love them:
.hack//SIGN - Key of the Twilight by Emily Bindiger
Gundam SEED - Akatsuki no Kuruma by FictionJunction YUUKA
Noir - Canta per me by Kaida Yuriko
MADLAX - nowhere by FictionJunction YUUKA

I really could go on and on.  Woke from Dreaming is a Gunslinger insert song I liked too ^^



I really don't like it when the soundtracks are replaced.  Although, at the moment the only company that I know is currently doing that is the evil group known as 4Kids.

[Raffaele the Amigan]

Forgive me, but I forgot to give you the links on how to find italian openings themes.

Here it is:

http://regnodelleanime.gamesurf.it/images/principale.htm

(movies are reduced in dimensions and signed to let surfers to understand they are collected only for historical purposes)

And obviously htere is also Youtube to search for (but only for some recent anime series):

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=anime+italia+openings&search=Search

[Spysweeper]

Mines are

Samurai Champloo
Bleach opening 3
Fate Stay night
Gantz opening and ending
Naruto second opening
Tokyo Tribe
Trinity blood
Soul Taker ending
Witchblade opening
Hakuto no ken opening
Wolfs rain opening and ending
Outlaw star endings
Trigun ending
Ghost in the shell 1s and 2nd gig openings
Grappler Baki season and two openings

[Raffaele the Amigan]

AHA! Spysweeper, you recall me of Wolf's Rain. A beautiful music theme!

(Even despite the fact I found the plot a beautiful idea for a story, beautiful design, but it lacks of something to catch my attention. - Don't mind you all. It is just a personal opinion -).



What do you all think of Mononoke Hime movie Soundtrack Symphonic Suite and Legend of Ashitaka Sekki?



Also forgive me, because I am becoming old and mindless. I forgot to mention I like also Openings of:

"Maison Ikkoku" (all 10 Openings and endings)

"Her and his situations" (Karekano)

"Vision of Escaflowne"

"The Count of Montecristo" (Gankutsuou) anime by Gonzo

"Abenobashi Maho Shotengai" opening is pretty and the ending it is very beautiful with a recall of memories and sad atmospheres.

"Please Save my Earth" opening by Yoko Kanno

"Dragonball" first TV serial ending named "Romantic ageruyo"


And a mention of honour to Ranma 1/2 "Enchanté" opening, Lum (Urusei Yatsura) Pijamas theme and Tenchi Muyo Ondo ending that make me always smile.

And in the end I must signal "Excel Saga" opening and ending "Menchi no Aishuu no Bolero" (the "Bolero of the pain of Menchi") that make me always laughing and rolling on the floor...  ;012  ;010

[CaptBrenden]

I just remembered a really good closing. The closing theam to the Xeno Saga animation.  Very nice peice... tho.. oddly enough its in english.. even in the japanese version... well actually thats the only version because it was never licenced.. which i dont know why..Its quite awsome.. exept for the one ep where they did sort of a.. video game tribute and called out their video game moves like they were sailor moon.. but other then that it took an RPG and put it into a well thought out and told story with good animation. Shame its not going to come out over here.

On that note.. same with macross zero.. awsome show that many years after its original release still isnt licenced..

Anyhow.. there are alot of good opening and closings.. to many to list.. but I have to note i agree with spysweeper on one of those.. the bleach 3rd opening (at least if its the one im thinking of) was awsome.. one of my all time favorites, animation and song wise.  that season I never zipped throught the opening.

[SleepyD]

ah yes, Xenosaga. The RPG with really long cinematics. XD  Almost like watching an anime at times.  Could annoy people who really want to play. (I'm talking about the first one... can't say much about the other 2, I'll get to those when I play)

I'm a bit of a Xenosaga fan.  And to go a tiny bit off topic, I find 'communication breakdown' in the Xenosaga II soundtrack a great battle-type piece. (Composed by Yuki Kajiura, no less. hahahaha *is bricked*)

[Raffaele the Amigan]

I want to tanks you all for you evidenced very good music I was not aware of.

;010

I am listening all soundtracks you mentioned thru internet radio stations.

[CaptBrenden]

Did you find that Xeno saga one?  Its very good.  And its sung by a no shit english speaker so its compleatly understandable XD  Moving peice.. I loved at the end of the series when they played it in the background of the final ep while they were making their escape while someone stayed behind to save the world.

[Xyanide]

massive spoil is fine too??

Rafaelle i really liked the DB ending too i watched the entire series not too long ago actually heh

[CaptBrenden]

oh jebus.. the game is out of print and the anime is several years old.. on top of that, i mentioned no names and just that things were poloding and such.  No spicific details were given.  Its like I told you that the titanic sunk at the end of titanic, or that there are zombies in resident evil