Hey everybody: welcome to my final list for this blog. It's been a fun journey over these last few years; so I thought I would wrap this up with a list I've been wanting to do for ages. Let's open up "The Next Top 13 Anime Endings!"
As with before, I will be including both dubbed and JP endings on this list; and some of my choices might surprise you, so let's get started.
13. "Pikachu Ketchup," Pokémon XYZ
For what started off as a brick joke in just one episode, this turned into one of my favorite ending songs of the entire series. We all have our favorite ships in anime, especially this one; but this is definitely my OTP after all these years. This song also manages to help me feel better no matter how bad I feel otherwise that day.
12. "Boogie Back," Dragon Ball Super
Of all the outros of DBS I've heard, this one is the one I've enjoyed the most. With visuals and a lyrical structure that homage the original Dragon Ball ending, this J-pop sound is the ideal blend of nostalgia and a catchy sound. Some might say it's as free as you can be with childlike love and fantasy, but I'm getting ahead of myself.
11. One Piece Ending 8
I have spoken quite extensively about my love of One Piece even though I was never able to recap it like I wanted; so it's only fitting another ending theme helps end my time on this blog. One of the best ending themes to come out of the series, hearing this was one of the moments that I knew the series had made its mark on me as a viewer and emerged from the shadow of a certain infamous dub that I shall not mention here.
10. My Hero Academia "Fantasy Ending"
First appearing in the second season of the anime, this outro combines an upbeat song with an AU visual style that replaces the superhero theme with a medieval fantasy one. Though I don't know if the series itself will do an arc revolving around this idea, merchandise and fan material took this concept and ran with it. Every character fits their role (Izuku as a vagabond, Ochaco as a sorceress, Ilda as a knight, Bakugo as a barbarian, and Todoroki as a prince, to name a few); and it's definitely more entertaining in less than 2 minutes than anything I've seen from Black Clover.
9. Mob Psycho 100 Outro
As I continue to wait for the second season of this anime, I will take comfort in the fact that the ending theme has a great sound and a fantastic watercolor visual style to compliment the story of a young man trying to master his psychic powers and his con artist mentor. If anything, I found this series more interesting than One Punch Man because Mob and Reigen's dynamic is the polar opposite of Saitama and Genos; among other reasons. Though I will be retiring from full recaps at the end of this year, I will keep this blog up and maybe do other things with it to let you know that I'm not totally gone yet.
8. "Just Love," Gundam Wing Outro
Though not an ideal choice for a dark series on paper, this song manages to succeed in providing levity to its story where much of the music in Code Geass R2 failed for me. The music itself, as well as Relena playing around with costumes and her dog was a nice way to unwind from how dark the stories could get in this anime. While not everyone is into this version, I guess one person's "yaoi farm" is another's war zone.
7. Devilman Crybaby Outro
Speaking of dark series having some great ending songs, this re-imagining of Go Nagai's landmark series had a fantastic synthpop outro song. In many ways, both the series and song remind me of "Drive," a film that I find criminally underrated, but I digress. It even incorporates elements of the original anime themes, which I have even more desire to check out; as well as the creator's other work.
6. Cowboy Bebop Outro
I initially wanted to recap the final four episodes of Cowboy Bebop to help wind down this blog, but things kept getting in the way (I have completed my final recap, and I have a few more to get out before the clock strikes midnight tomorrow). So, this ending music is a perfect contrast to the opening, "Tank!", being more slow and melancholy as opposed to fast and energetic. It's an ideal compliment to how the show itself is, which leads me to my next entry.
5. "Six Same Faces," Mr. Osomatsu
If you had gone back just five years and told me that one of my favorite comedic anime in recent years would be a reworking of a series from the 1960s that depicted the cute kids it starred growing into very dysfunctional adults and stereotypical NEETs, I would have said you're crazy. That's fine, because the show itself is too, and this outro is a good example of that. The oden that makes up the visuals is also now a favored treat of the sextuplets after long nights of drinking, playing pachinko and having torrid love affairs. I'm not kidding: the best way I can describe this version is if the Japanese wanted to make their own twisted family sitcom, and some skits are so controversial they've been banned even in Japan (I'm curious to how the planned dub will approach this, but I am pleased with the casting choices so far). Bottom line: it's a funny ending to a hilarious show.
4. Naruto JP Outro 3
Another improvement over the previous outro, this one started airing after the anime entered its first major story arc. Even as a casual fan, I can definitely appreciate another great piece of Japanese hard rock. Though I'm not the biggest Naruto fan (was more of a One Piece/FMA guy in those days, and I still am), this definitely was a good song from Orange Range. "Viva Rock" indeed.
3. Kill la Kill Outro 1 JP
When I first heard this song from Trigger's debut anime, I knew this show was really a standout when it debuted. It was the perfect way for a bunch of former GAINAX employees to lead off their new studio, and it's a perfect song to match their dark subversion of the magical girl genre.
2. "Ride on Shooting Star," FLCL
With the second and third seasons of FLCL debuting earlier this year, it was a great way to get back into one of my favorite works from GAINAX, and I'm also glad the Pillows recorded new music for the series. Still, my favorite outro from the series had to be the original one, "Ride on Shooting Star," which I still listen to on a regular basis. It was a very tough call between this and my top choice, but here goes.
1. "Everybody's Peace," Gurren Lagann
Though I have often heard less praise for the time skip arc than the initial one of Gurren Lagann, I still feel it's also a fantastic story that remains a key part of my favorite anime ever. Even with its emotionally-powerful final moments, it's a song that still resonates with me even seven years since I first saw the series. The show had no shortage of great ending music, but they arguably saved the best for last, as have I for this blog.
I want to thank everyone for all they've given in support over the years, and with my final recap complete, I will be posting it tomorrow as the last of my remaining articles here. Bang.
No comments:
Post a Comment