This post isn’t actually about Engrish songs though. With Engrish as such a common element in so many anime themes and inserts (and indeed, Japanese music on the whole), it’s always a real surprise when you hear a song that’s in English. English! No mispronunciations. No sketchy grammar. Minimal or no accent. They’re a rare breed, but not all that difficult to find considering a number of very popular series include them. Sometimes they’re sung by native speakers and sometimes they’re still Japanese artists, but they’re always a real treat when you come across them:

8. “living inside the shell” – Steve Conte, Shanti Snyder, and Yoko Kanno (Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd GIG ED)

It’s a huge given that there’s going to be Yoko Kanno somewhere on this list. In fact, exactly half of the songs on this list are composed by Yoko Kanno, two of which are performed by Steve Conte. Few people would argue against Kanno’s astounding skills across all styles and genres of music. Blues, jazz, hip-hop, classical, orchestral, pop, folk, rock, electronic, whatever, you name it, she’s done it. Language? Japanese, Latin, Italian, French, Russian, some made up gibberish that sounds Latin-based, and of course, English. It’s hard narrowing down her extensive portfolio of works to a handful of songs, but “living inside the shell” is surely one of my favorites. SAC’s first season ending, “Lithium Flower” was also a contender, but I prefer Conte’s vocals to Scott Matthew’s and the lyrics I find better suited to the thoughtfulness of SAC’s themes. The spoken portion by Shanti Snyder also adds an eerie dimension to the mood of the piece.

7. “Duvet” – Bôa (Serial Experiments Lain OP)

You know, Lain is one of those series I’ve meant to watch for years and years and years and still haven’t gotten around to. I have a freakin’ poster of Lain and I haven’t actually watched a single episode. One of these days, eh? Regardless, I’ve seen and heard the opening of the series and though it kind of classes with my impression of it, it’s a nice song and pleasant to listen to. Bôa is a British indie-alternative band that was pretty much unknown prior to their involvement with Lain and pretty much unknown afterwards as well. That can probably be said for a lot of artists that only contribute one song to a series though. The vocalist has an odd desperation to her voice that I also find kind of apathetic, which clashes for a strange effect. Maybe that strangeness is what relates it to the series itself then?

6. “key of the twilight” – Emily Bindiger and Yuki Kajiura (.hack//SIGN OST1)

Maybe this one’s kind of cheating since it’s neither an opening, an ending, nor an insert as far as I know. It just shows up on the soundtrack though if I’m wrong, you can blame it on the fact that I found no real merits in .hack//SIGN beyond its music and therefore never actually finished the series. “key of the twilight,” like most of the other music for the series and much of Yuki Kajiura’s compositions in general, has a strong celtic sound and influence to it that helps tie it to the slightly mystical qualities .hack. It also features a lot of echoy canons and sustained notes, which I’m a huge sucker for. Indeed, the same qualities make “In the land of twilight, under the moon” my favorite song of the series. I would have included it on this list instead, but while the lyrics are all in perfect English, the vocalists occasionally have accents. (It’s more obvious here than in the studio recording assuming they’re the same people because I can’t seem to find any information on the vocalists of the song.)

5. “gravity” – Maaya Sakamoto and Yoko Kanno (Wolf’s Rain ED)

The second of four by Yoko Kanno. Maaya Sakamoto has some of the most impressive English for someone who doesn’t seem to have been raised at some point in an English-speaking country. “gravity” was my first exposure to her music and an instant hit. The clear quality of her vocals helped emphasize the crispness of her pronunciation as well as the gentle melody. It suits the series well enough, but I think it’s an especially great foil to Wolf’s Rain’s opening theme, “Stray,” which is performed by Steve Conte. The two songs’ contrast reflects the series better than either of the songs could do alone.

4. “The Sore Feet Song” – Ally Kerr (Mushishi OP)

This fact that this opening was in English really surprised me when I first saw Mushishi since the series seemed so steeped in traditional Japanese visuals and influences, what with the dozens of self-sustained villages scattered around the mountains. Ally Kerr is a Scott of little renown, but the calming nature of the song and the whimsical, far-off lyrics he sings really define the series, and it soon became clear that no other song could fit Mushishi as well as “The Sore Feet Song” does. Even the name of the song invokes appropriate imagery for the show and the accompanying animation for the theme drives that in. It’s awesome.

3. “kiri” – MONORAL (Ergo Proxy OP)

I haven’t seen Ergo Proxy either, but I’m planning to in the near future. Hell, the theme song’s name is “kiri”! It’s like it’s calling me. :P Seriously though, the song does have a beckoning voice to it and the style feels very Western. If Wikipedia didn’t tell me that both members of MONORAL were at least partially Japanese and signed by Sony Music Japan, I would have just guessed that they were American or British (or Australian or Canadian). Still, while the bassist/guitarist was raised in Tokyo, the vocalist/guitarist was born in London and raised in France — he’s also apparently fluent in Japanese, English, French, and Arabic. Wow. Ergo Proxy’s theme has a very desolate mood about it and the accompanying visuals suit it wonderfully; it’s definitely enough to make me want to watch the series. Curiously enough, Ergo Proxy’s end theme is by Radiohead (“PARANOID ANDROID”), but that’s really nothing alongside “kiri.”

2. “Call Me, Call Me” – Steve Conte and Yoko Kanno (Cowboy Bebop insert/OST3 “Blue”)

This and the next song are probably exceedingly predictable, but certainly they’re predictable for a reason. I don’t actually remember if  “Call Me, Call Me” was ever actually used as an insert song or whether it only appeared on the soundtrack (that’s an excuse for another rewatch, amirite?), but regardless, it’s a wonderfully appropriate song for the near-end of the series and the character of Spike in general. Conte’s voice is sincere but not rough, and he turns rather simple lyrics into something very powerful, especially in those sustained notes. Most of Cowboy Bebop’s music is very memorable, but this one’s still up there.

1. “Blue” – The Seatbelts (Mai Yamane) and Yoko Kanno (Cowboy Bebop insert)

Whatever you think about the end of the series, this song suited it. ♥

~

Annnd, here are a few others I thought about but took off for one reason or another.

Disqualified:

“Life is like a boat” – Rie fu (Bleach ED1) — I love this song and I love Rie fu, but only half of it is in English. :P Also, it’s gotta have the most boring PV ever.

“Wind” – Akeboshi (Naruto ED1) — I love Akeboshi and this was my first exposure to him; unfortunately, though he’s spent a bit of time in Britain, he still has quite the accent and is sometimes difficult to understand.

“Sakura Kiss” – Chieko Kawabe (Ouran High School Host Club OP, FUNimation dub) — This is one of the best examples of a dubbed over theme song I’ve ever encountered. The lyrics aren’t far from the original and the vocal quality is amazing. I have no idea who they got to record it, but the voice is both close to Kawabe to be reminiscent of the Japanese version and different enough to give it a life of its own. True, it does sound a little odd to hear the words in English because it’s so much more obvious how corny it is, but as far as capturing the energy and mood of the original goes, it’s perfect.

I found myself listening to the song pretty often and counting the days until the single’s release. That’s the wonderful marketing ploy of it all. Anime themes are always singles, and they always debut on air a month or two before the single’s due to release. That’s a month or two that you have to sit around with a minute to minute and a half teaser of a beautiful song. It drove me nuts. I actually really love the TV cut version of “trust you” though; it’s easy to tell where things are abbreviated, but I thought it was pieced together very well. It’s obvious that the intro is probably longer and it feels like the first verse extends directly into final chorus.

Well, the single’s still not due out until March 4th, but the PV released a day or two ago, so I got ahold of a PV rip. Finally! A full length version of the song! …Why doesn’t it sound as nearly good as the TV Cut?

The piano intro is pretty, but I felt like it was too long now. The vocals start around :30, but they really could have started around :20. The first verse and chorus are pretty much the same right down to the “hanasanaide.” It then eases into the same piano melody and begins the second verse, which just doesn’t sound as polished as the first. There are more phrases were it seems like she’s trying to fit too many syllables into a short space. It’s particular noticable right before the second chorus: “tsunagatteru to, Im always by your side” just doesn’t sound as elegant to me as “mata aeru to, I’m waiting for your love.”

The bridge comes after that, and I really don’t like the bridge. The melody of the vocals don’t really seem to fit at all for one reason or another. Following the bridge, chorus is repeated again, but as we get to the fourth “I love you, I trust you,” she changes the pitch of the “you” in both lines and it sounds very awkward, like it’s incomplete, like there should be something else that comes with that note. The final lines of the chorus are then sung, and it’s really not so bad, but in contrast to the intro, I almost felt like there should have been more piano at the end. It’s still a decent song, but the full length version really disappointed me.

This isn’t the first time this has happened. I had similar feelings towards the full version of T.M. Revolution’s “resonance,” the first opening of SOUL EATER, where, again, the second verse just didn’t feel nearly as cohesive as the first and the bridge felt kind of awkward, though I don’t think it was as disappoint as “trust you.”

Sometimes the opposite happens: I’ll love the full version and the TV cut seems like an unskillfully chopped up version of a wonderful song. This was the case for me regarding “Life is like a boat,” by Rie fu, Bleach‘s first ending, as well as “READY STEADY GO” by L’Arc~en~Ciel, Fullmetal Alchemist‘s second opening. For both those cases though, I heard the full version before I heard the TV cut because I got into the series later. So is it just because I like the version I heard first better?

But for the vast majority of songs, both the TV cut and the full version sound fine to me regardless of which I heard first. I don’t have a problem with any of the TV cuts of Death Note‘s themes, and I love the full versions just as much. Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei‘s themes are all brilliant, TV cut, full version, or otherwise. I didn’t have a problem with the TV cuts of “Daybreak’s bell” or “Ash Like Snow” by L’Arc~en~Ciel and the brilliant green respectively, the first and second openings of Gundam 00′s first season, even though I heard (and loved) both full versions before I started the series.

So what is it with these few songs? Just random chance that for a few songs, I’ll just stick to the version I heard first? It makes more sense for the full versions that sound better because I realize that the people responsible for mixing the TV cuts can’t be expected to create a perfect representation of the original song each and every time, but what’s up with the full versions that just aren’t as awesome? I guess in those cases, the TV cut creators should get a pat on the back for making an okay song better. Or does animation play a bigger factor than I realize? I love the accompanying animation for both “trust you” and “resonance” so maybe that’s a reason? But even listening to the song without the animation, I feel like the TV cuts are better than the full versions. And besides, I love the animations that accompany a lot of other themes too.

What do you guys think? Are you usually more drawn to TV cuts or full versions? Which happens more often? Why do you think that is?

I still look forward to the “trust you” single’s official release on the 4th because it’ll gain me a new karaoke track, but this isn’t the first time I’ve wished for a karaoke track for the TV cut version as well. (Well, okay, the first time I’ve wished this wasn’t because I liked the TV cut better; it was because the full version of Aya Hirano’s “Hare Hare Yukai” is just too damn long to sing and dance to simultaneously.)

I was bumming around some forums recently and found a topic about opening themes that people actually watched through every single time (or something close). I thought it was a darn good question and consequently sat down to think about which applied to me. I’m usually pretty impatient to get to the content of each episode; after all, I really only watch series one of two ways: either I binge it and swallow the whole thing in the span of two or three days, or I follow it as it releases, which means agonizing over each episode for a week and then downloading it the second it surfaces on its release day. Both situations call for the skipping of opening themes because I’m so damn eager to get to the content.

Still, for one reason or another, there are indeed a handful of opening sequences that I was just so fond of that I watched every single time. And here they are for your viewing pleasure! (They are also, of course, accompanied by my usual verboseness if you want to read. ;3)

(5) “Super Drive” – Gravitation (OP, Yousuke Sakanoue)

To start off with, I know this isn’t the greatest opening in the world, and a lot of my attachment lingers from when I was obsessed with the series. Still, looking back, there are a lot of things about it that are unique and rather endearing. The very beginning of the theme, with its sunlight and leaves, remains one of the most memorable aspects of any opening I’ve ever seen — why exactly, I’m not sure, but to this day, every time I find myself looking upward at sunlight filtered through leaves, I’m reminded of this opening and this series. Maybe it’s just the fangirl in me. The animation snaps back and forth from rather simple/generic character pans to strange, semi-realistic environment and background shots. That aspect of the animation is one of the quirkiest things about Gravitation, and I really think it helped to add to the reality of the musical environment, even when other elements remained farfetched and ridiculous.

The song itself is wonderfully upbeat and just goshdarn happy, which really fits the attitude of the series’ protagonist. I’m somewhat sad that Sakanoue didn’t get to do more music for Gravitation because “Super Drive” is a really fun song, and I’d love to know what his other stuff sounds like (as a side note, the official music video for “Super Drive” is absolutely hilarious and I’d also recommend people check that out if they like the song). So yes, I did sit and watch through this opening for every single episode, but what’s interesting is that even though this is only a thirteen episode series, it took me nearly a year to finish it because the episodes were so hard to find. This was back in the days before torrents and before Gravitation itself became ridiculously popular as a gateway shounen-ai series. Each episode came to me from a friend who painstakingly hunted them down for me on KaZaA (yeah, remember that?) because the damn program didn’t work for me. So you would think that I’d breeze right through the opening and on to the episode when I finally got each one, right? Nope. Had to watch the opening. It was just part of the experience, and it filled me with happy. :3

(4) “Hit in the USA” – BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad (OP, BEAT CRUSADERS)

Know me and know I love Engrish. Thus, this opening (hell, this entire series) was a sure winner. BEAT CRUSADERS is one of those in the growing ranks of Japanese bands playing very Western-influenced music. They employ Western riffs and rhythms and will sing in the best English they can, which is often incredibly haphazard, but hey, they’re trying. It’s worth noting that BECK itself is a series about British-influenced Japanese artists, so this was definitely a fitting opener. “Hit in the USA” is catchy from the very beginning — it really makes you want to tap your feet, snap your fingers, or clap your hands. It’s upbeat and exciting without the airy poppiness that was present in Gravitation’s “Super Drive.” The animation is incredibly well adapted to the music as well; not only do the characters actually sing the song, but the movements of everything and the changing of scenes — everything is synced to the music, and perfectly so.

One of my favorite parts is the first “You are no lonely” line where the woman is spinning on her mop. It’s such an ordinary scene and not a very exciting action, but it just fits SO DAMN WELL. It floors me. The chorus of our band members singing “I was made to hit in America” is just great to look at; the lip syncing is top notch and the characters’ faces are all wonderfully expressive and realistic. Back to the animation, it’s really great to see such detailed scenes in an opening sequence. There’s no reused stock, no cheap fading in and out of characters; everything here is unique animation with fleshed out backgrounds crammed full of details. It’s a bonus to be able to recognize actual locations too. In all, BECK’s opening captures the essence of the series incredibly well; it’s definitely a great attention getter for anyone who hasn’t seen it, and even on the last episode of the series, you still feel compelled to sit through it. :D

(3) “Haruka Kanata” – Naruto (2nd OP, ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION)

Maybe it’s surprising to see this here, but come on, most of us were totally into Naruto back in the day (and many of us still are, you Narutards). And this was a great opening. As my gateway to ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION, “Haruka Kanata” is pretty much everything that’s awesome about the band compacted into a single song. Even after I’ve plowed through the rest of AKFG’s discography, this remains my favorite. It’s just so damn catchy! It’s energetic in yet another different way; it gets your blood pumping for action and fills you with fist-pumping cheers. …Really. And the animation, while nothing mind-shattering, syncs very well with the music. The heavy beats accompanying the part beginning with “kokoro wo sotto” is probably my favorite part of the song, and the animation that goes with it is great not only because it fits the music, but because it also serves as the perfect platform to showcase the huge assemblage of characters that are (semi-)relevant at this point in the series.

When chorus explodes into “iki isoide~” in the final third of the opening, the animation does too. The music is on final slope of rising action, and the animation is just exploding with excitement with fights, angry-looking people, mysterious-looking people, Kyuubi!Naruto! It’s this amazing accumulation of all the crazy shounen action that drew people to the series in the first place, the manifestation of the core of the series. It’s been a long time since I stopped watching the Naruto anime, but watching this particular opening really makes me nostalgic, y’know? And you gotta love when singers go crazy in the end, right? “DakaraAAAAAAHHHHHH!!! …Haruka kanata…” This song plays for 27 episodes of Naruto, but it’s a fun ride every single time.

(2) “What’s up people?” – Death Note (2nd OP, Maximum the Hormone)

This opening has had a ridiculous amount of publicity, I know, but there’s definitely a reason for it. This theme breaks tradition in my books. Considering the general gravity of the series, it seems kind of strange that they should have an opening that seems so self-mocking, what with the terrifying Light heads screaming in the flames, among other things. And yet, there’s something strangely appropriate about it all. All of the psychedelic colors and wacky animation sequences, the roaring, the apprehensive way the vocalist sings after that, the repetitiveness of the “hey, hey, ningen sucker” — the mood it sets in the music’s rising action is wonderfully representative of the second half of this series, even if the anime rushed through it. There’s a tension in the song; it’s like running towards the finish line and not knowing if you’re going to get shot before you get there.

The animation quality is pretty darn impressive too, even though the aforementioned field of Light heads was a pretty cheap copypasta. The rest of the sequences — the dancing Ryuk, the spinning L, the fanservice Misa — are all well done and lively, doing well to contribute to the mood of the theme. My favorite part of the entire opening in both animation and music is the “hey, hey, ningen sucker” part though. The repetitiveness is great at building trepidation, and the accompanying animation that follows Light walking calming across the city is equally suspenseful. The heavy shadows cast over the other characters can be considered heavily symbolic (Kira is the only “light”), so there’s definitely been some thought put into the overall sequence despite the chaos in some places. And finally, with the “what’s up people?” conclusion of the song, all hell breaks loose. Perfectly fitting, I think, considering the conclusion of the series.

(1) “Resonance” – SOUL EATER (1st OP, T.M. Revolution)

I was in love with this opening from the first time I saw it. It was pretty funny too that I didn’t even realize it was T.M. Revolution singing until halfway through because I was just so damn entranced by everything. After I realized it though, I could only love it even more. You see I have a lot of respect for Takanori Nishikawa (TMR’s vocalist) and the work he puts into his music, especially for anime themes. As a fan himself, he generally researches and/or watches/reads some portion of every series he makes music for in order to write songs that are specifically tailored to the themes of the show. For SOUL EATER, this is very easy to see from just the title of the song, but a closer look at the lyrics reveal even more thought and depth.

“Resonance” contains all of Mr. Nishikawa’s usual explosive energy, and the heavy techno beat pounding through the song keeps your blood pumping throughout. Right from the start, your attention is claimed by the perfect syncing of animation and music — the closeups of Soul and Maka are dramatic and draw you in immediately. The quick tour of Death City that comes afterwards is done at extreme and impressive angles; it does well to introduce the viewer to the series and is definitely worthy of praise. The character introductions that follow are all jam packed with action, and the slight slow-down in tempo near the middle of the song is enticing and mysterious, never abandoning its attention-getting goals. The theme ends with an ever spectacular and actiony shot of Maka nearly lip-syncing the final lyrics, and everything comes together neatly in the end. Perfect. So perfect. I’m not really sure how many more episodes this theme will play for, but I’m almost certain that the second opening for SOUL EATER won’t be able to live up to it.

Runners Up:

“Ai (Chuuseishin)” – Excel Saga (OP, Excel Girls)
“Cruel Angel’s Thesis” – Neon Genesis Evangelion (OP, Yoko Takahashi)
“Hito toshite Jiku ga Bureteiru” – Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei (OP, Kenji Ohtsuki)*
“Bokutachi no Yukue” – Gundam SEED Destiny (3rd OP, Hitomi Takahashi)
“Rise” – Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd GIG (OP, Origa)

* Kinda NSFW, nothing explicit though