No more delays. Let's get this thing going! I've been compiling a list of all the opening and ending themes for anime starting in the 1950s, and have made it all the way to the late 80s. Still a lot more to go, but I think it's about time I start reviewing music starting from the very beginning.
I'm interested in a few things, like how the music changes over time, singer/band debuts, animation changes, and so much more. I will be doing ranking lists for the following:
Season
Year
Decade
Artist
Series
These aren't necessarily the only lists that I'll do, but it's a beginning. For each, I'll have rankings for openings and endings separately. They have very different feelings, as openings tend to be more energetic, while endings are calmer.
Other things I need to do include improving how the page looks and some organisation. The image in the background is one I took several years ago in the Ueno area of Tokyo. I need something that doesn't look so busy.
Anyway, I'll be doing a lot of work on this, with an opening and ending every couple days or so. I'm looking forward to seeing how it turns out!
You know, I loved watching "Ao no Hako" so much that I watched half the first season in less than a week. And now a new romance is airing in Japan that has a girl that is the most absolute precious girl I've ever seen in anime. She NEEDS to be protected. "Kaoru Hana wa Rin to Saku" may be the romance of the year. A tough guy at a boys' public school meets a very sweet girl from the neighbouring girls' private school, and a romance is blossoming. They are complete opposites and from schools that hate each other. I am in love with this series already. It's only 13 episodes, but since it's still early in its release on Netflix (in Japan only, as it will be released all at once in September elsewhere), it'll take a few weeks to watch it. I'll be there every week to watch every new episode!
It's so refreshing to find a series currently airing that catches my attention so strongly. "Ao no Hako" did that last year. Now I have my guilty pleasure romance fix for the summer. This show is so wholesome!
Series: #Compass 2.0: Sentou Setsuri Kaiseki System (Spring 2025)
Title: "Heartache"
Artist: Uchida Yuuma
After watching the opening, I wasn't sure what this was about. Looking at the visuals of the ending, there are scenes in Tokyo, the train, performance on stage, and then a computer with a character going into an online game. I'm assuming, without looking at the anime's description, that this is about some kind of game. Anyway, the visuals are very bright and colourful, and we see a variety of hero-like characters.
As for the music, Uchida Yuuma has a very good voice. He sounds very good in this song. It's very upbeat, fairly quick, and has a very good pop sound to it. You often don't get very energetic ending themes in anime, but this one is. There's enough going on with the music that makes it sound unique and recognisable, which is an added bonus. This was a surprise. Watch and listen in the video here:
The verdict? Good song, good singer, very upbeat and listenable. Would I listen to it more? Absolutely! I could easily listen to this several times.
Overall: 4.5
Do I want to see this based on what I saw? It actually made more sense than the opening, so it does look interesting. I could possibly see this as a maybe watch if I have time.
I've been busy going through every anime title season by season on MyAnimeList, and I'm nowhere near finished. I've done the 60s, 70s, and am now up to 1987. The 80s is where I'm getting to titles I've watched, includings ones I'd completely forgotten about. Keep in mind I haven't watched any of the openings or endings yet, I'm just listing them. But I've noticed a pattern.
There are a lot of children's choirs that sang theme songs from the 60s to the mid to late 70s. Catchier pop/rock music didn't really start coming until the 80s. Horie Mitsuko has been doing theme songs from the 60s up until today. She's still doing it! As I'm going through the 80s, I'm noticing artists I recognise and have even listened to while I lived in Japan. THE ALFEE's first theme songs were in 1987. I remember watching them on TV 10 to 20 years ago.
As I go into the 90s, I'll be happy to see a lot of music and artists I know well. Rock and pop are more common, and there are some great songs in the 90s, as well as the mid to late 80s. I feel that anime music peaked from the mid 90s to early 2010s. Ones I've heard lately are either rather bland or stand out. A lot today sound the same as others, and there are certain artists that are guilty of this. They're so generic. The music up to the early 2010s was unique and stood out from others. Maybe it's just that there are certain artists I don't care for recently? These are usually groups that have an alternative rock sound or singers with incredibly nasal voices. However, I think that recent music has some of the weirdest sounding theme songs.
It's going to be interesting going through all the music season by season, year by year. I'll be rating them and reviewing them, then ranking them at the end of each season and each year. Probably each decade, too. I'd like to do an average for each year, as well. I'm very curious to see how my opinion of each year's music changes. I'll be doing two different groups of reviews. First, I'll be reviewing the current season's music. At the same time, I'll be going all the way back to the 60s and move forward season by season. This way, we'll get both the old and the new at the same time, giving a larger variety.
Series: #Compass 2.0: Sentou Setsuri Kaiseki System (Spring 2025)
Title: "Hakudou"
Artist: Mizuki Nana
Bright colours, interesting designs, and absolutely no idea what's going on. That's how I would describe the visuals of "Hakudou" by Mizuki Nana. It's not clear what this anime is about, but we're here for the music, right?
Being Mizuki Nana, I would expect her usual great vocals. It doesn't disappoint. She sounds great, as she is a veteran of anime music (and a seiyuu, as well). She has a strong voice throughout. The song itself is somewhat unusual sounding. It's not your standard pop song. There's even a bit of rapping. Instrumentally, you can hear some strong bass. It's very prominent. There's some electronic music, but it sounds like a band. I really enjoy the music in this one. Check out the video:
So, what is my verdict? I like Mizuki Nana. She has catchy music, and this is no exception. This song has an unusual sound to it, so it's unique. I'd listen to it a few times, I think.
Overall: 4.0
Now, the question is, does it make me want to see the series? Not really. While the music is good, what I see in the video doesn't interest me much.
It's been a while since I've posted anything. I realised that I don't really want to do anime reviews. I did it 20-25 years ago and always had trouble keeping on doing it. I'm actually doing episode by episode reviews on MyAnimeList as I watch, so I don't think there's any point to posting in two places. However, I have a plan. And it's a crazy one.
One of the most memorable parts of anime is the music. In particular, the opening and ending themes. What I'm going to be doing is going through every opening and ending for the current season, reviewing and rating them. Each one will have a review on here, and I will be compiling lists that will be in a few categories: year (with season subsections), anime, and artist. The yearly one will be ordered by rating. The anime and artist lists will be ordered by year. So, I will start with the openings for spring 2025, while also starting with the very earliest years of anime (the 60s) and try to eventually catch up. The early years will be quick, as there aren't nearly as many titles back then as there are every season these days.
I will be reviewing everything, even if I haven't watched the anime. In fact, some of these may make me add the titles to my list of anime to watch. It's more than 500 titles at the moment, but will keep growing. Again, I review what I watch episode by episode on MyAnimeList. Add me as a friend if you want to keep up with what I'm watching.
At the end of each season, I'm going to compile a list of my top 50 openings and endings of the season, and post them in order from my favourite to least favourite. At the end of each year, I'll also be doing the same, but for a yearly ranking. But should I do rankings for each decade? I'm not sure.
The ratings will be as follows:
5 - I can listen to this multiple times without getting tired of it. I love it.
4 - I can listen to this a few times, and enjoy it quite a bit.
3 - I can listen to this once or twice, then I don't really need to listen to it, but I still like it.
2 - I can listen to it once, but I'm not fond of it.
1 - I really don't want to listen to it. It's not very good at all. I'd prefer to skip it.
I will also be doing half ratings if it doesn't completely fit one of these ratings.
So, I will be starting as soon as possible. I'll be going through the titles in alphabetic order, and will be including TV series, movies, OVA, ONA, and specials. So, let's get on it!
It's become clear to me that I just can't seem to write reviews. I remember why I stopped running an anime review site all those years ago. I simply didn't enjoy writing the reviews. I'm trying to think of what I can do, and this is what I've come up with.
I will write reviews (brief) on MyAnimeList. As I watch an episode, I'll enter my thoughts about each episode, and once done, I'll write fairly brief reviews.
On this blog, I want to focus on the music of anime. Why? Because I can't really review the openings and endings on MyAnimeList. I'd like to create full lists of the songs for all series I watch, including those listed by anime title, artist, and year. For the year, I want to include a rating out of 5, so I can compile lists of my favourite songs of each year. Why? Just because I like rankings.
Let's see what I can do. I'll just watch anime when I want without worrying about having to write reviews. I think that's better. I found that I was delaying watching because I wasn't in the mood to write a review. Now, I'll just watch as much as I want without worrying about the reviews. I'll get more done, I think.
I just had a very busy two weeks and managed to watch only two episodes of anime. I'm behind on Ao no Hako and Ranma 1/2, but I plan to work on getting caught up over the rest of the month. But there are some other things I have in mind going forward.
I've mentioned this before, but episode by episode reviews will only happen with current series and select series that are within a couple years old (and possibly some very select older series). I do have two new series I plan on starting in January while they're airing.
Second, I'm going to be adding pages for music sorted in a few different ways: year, series, and artist. I will also be adding ratings to them so that in the year listing, I can sort them by rating. I will go back to the openings and endings I have already reviewed and add ratings to the posts.
Next, I really need to get the reviews of completed series up. In the progress page, you'll see what I've finished and what's coming up. I will be finishing another two series very shortly (Tenchi Muyou Ryo-ohki 1 and Planetes).
So, I'm going to be busy for the next while getting everything up to speed here. Expect a new background for the blog, too. Something simple.
The opening theme of Uchuu no Stellvia (Stellvia of the Universe) is one of my favourites. "Asu e no Brilliant Road (Brilliant Road to Tomorrow)" by angela has one of those epic feelings. Angela, which is a band featuring Atsuko and Katsu, has performed a number of anime theme songs.
The song itself features Atsuko's very distinct voice and singing style. When you hear her, you know it's her. I find this song to be very enjoyable to listen to, and I've been listening to it for the last 20 years. This is from a time when anime theme songs had a lot of character, and this one does.
The animation during the opening features the main characters in various scenes from the first episode. There is also CGI animation of the Stellvia and the ships that they fly. It's colourful, clear, and looks good. But since they use a lot of animation from the episode, that may be a cost cutting measure. However, it does look nice.
Overall, I really like this opening, and I could listen to it over and over. I'm only on episode 5, so I'll be hearing it a lot. And you can watch it, too! Check out the video on YouTube. King Record doesn't allow embedding of videos, unfortunately.
I'm currently watching 12 series, and it takes a lot of time to write episode reviews. For now, I'm only going to write episode reviews for series starting at episode 1. There are a lot of series I have been watching a while now, and it doesn't make sense to write episode reviews part way through a series. So, for now, I'll only be doing reviews for Ao no Hako and Ranma 1/2 (2024). There are a couple series I'm finishing right away, but I will only do episode reviews for relatively new series (that is within the last 2 years). As for the completed series, I need to write the full reviews. In addition, I will continue to do music reviews for openings and endings, and embed the videos on the blog for those. I think this will help me get caught up, as I actually haven't watched anything in a couple weeks. I've been busy. I'm thinking of doing the next Ranma 1/2 episode tonight!
Long ago, in what feels like another galaxy far, far away, I ran an anime review website that I discontinued because I moved to Japan and couldn't keep up with anime on TV. I didn't have my collection, either. That website doesn't exist anymore, but I found it on the Wayback Machine!
I found out something. I watched far more anime than I can even remember. There are titles that I don't remember, and others that I knew I wanted to see, but I didn't actually remember having seen any of them. What's wrong with my memory? Well, it's been around 20+ years since I've seen them all.
I checked out the list of DVDs I had, too. I had a lot more than I can remember, and I hadn't even watched them all. But you know what? I still have them. They're in a box somewhere under the stairs of the house I'm living in, as they were packed away when I moved to Japan. If I can get to them, I may actually be able to watch them on my PC's blu-ray drive. This is intriguing. However, most of them are incomplete series. I also have a lot of fansubs from back when that was a thing that was done on VHS. Yes, I have all 200 episodes of Sailor Moon on VHS.
I'm not sure when I'll have the chance to look for them. I need to do some major work in my office/studio to create some space for them, as well as the many books I have. This may take a while. But, even though they are physical digital media, I can still watch most them on streaming services. Also, we're able to watch them as they are released on TV in Japan, as many are streaming in North America, too. It's incredible how things have changed in the last couple decades.
More reviews are coming soon! I need to catch up on Ao no Hako and Ranma 1/2 first, then I'll get back to work on the series I'm working my way through.
I am loving this show! Episode 3 of Ao no Hako has a lot of suspense (for Taiki), but it's such a ridiculously wholesome series. There are spoilers in this review.
Taiki and Hina saw Chinatsu with Haryu in the previous episode, thinking they're a couple. Throughout this episode, there are hints about a relationship, or at least what Taiki thinks is evidence, but there's little solid evidence. Haryu calls her Chii, which is a rather familiar sounding way of calling her. Now Haryu is Taiki's rival. Haryu has been undefeated in his matches against others, as has Taiki. But Taiki's been playing against other first year students. And then it happened, a match between Taiki and Haryu. Haryu won, but Taiki made it difficult in the second half. Later on, it turns out Taiki is paired with Haryu for pairs. Taiki talks with Kyou and let's it slip that he likes Chinatsu. Kyou already knows this, but Haryu overhears it. He makes a remark to him about it, so now he knows. But Haryu really works Taiki hard over the next week. Chinatsu asks Taiki to come with her, and takes him to a park. She borrowed some badminton rackets and a shuttle, and wanted to play with Taiki, as he had asked her one time. He helps her with her serve, while she says that he actually outplayed Haryu in the second half of the match. He's doing well. This scene just made me smile a lot, as she really does support Taiki. He noticed on her bag a keychain that says "Chii" on it. She says that in her class, everyone calls her Chii. It was a misunderstanding on Taiki's part. The next day, after practice, Taiki and Kyou are leaving and run into the second years, including Haryu and Chinatsu. They're all chatting about Taiki, apparently. Haryu playfully insults Taiki's ability to play badminton, but believes he will be good. Chinatsu mouths to Taiki that he's doing well. However, here's where things get interesting. Haryu received a text from who? His girlfriend. She's in show business. Which means that he's not pursuing Chinatsu!
So, this is going to be very interesting. What's going to happen? Will Haryu help Taiki with Chinatsu? Is Taiki going to be accepted in Haryu and Chinatsu's group? I can't wait to see what happens. I am really enjoying this. I should also mention that the animation in this episode, especially with the badminton matches, has been top notch. It looks so good!
An ending theme that doesn't sound like a Ranma 1/2 ending them? Yes, but it's good.
The song, "Antanante." (meaning "You." in Japanese), is a slower sounding song than the opening theme, but is a fairly calming one. The singer, Riria, has done a small number of songs for anime. She has a really good voice. This song gives me a good feeling, but it doesn't sound like the typical Ranma 1/2 ending theme that we got with the original series. But that's not a bad thing. One thing I noticed about halfway through is an instrument that may be traditional Chinese. It's a string instrument, but I have no idea what it is. I know little about music, I just know what I like. And I like this.
The animation is fairly simple, showing Akane and Ranma in manga form, though animated, having one of their usual altercations. It's simple, but effective. But I'll let you take a look at it here:
The opening theme of Ranma 1/2 (2024 version) is called "Iinazukkyun" by ano. Translated, it means "Fiancee". I was wondering what kind of song we would be getting, and I wasn't disappointed.
The song immediately brings me back to the original series with the Chinese sound of the first opening theme. But we are quickly brought into a very upbeat song with the singer, ano, using a cute voice, but singing quite quickly. It's a fun theme song to listen to. I looked into ano, and found that she has sung a few anime theme songs, but is mostly a soloist, model, actress, and lyricist who was part of the idol group You'll Melt More! a few years ago.
Visually, the opening is colourful, clean, and animated well. You get to see all of the main characters, as well as some supporting characters. They're all well represented in the opening, so you know who's going to show up in the series. It is quite visually pleasing.
I really enjoyed the opening them. Check it out here:
Here we go with Ranma 1/2 episode 2! How does this stand up to the original? How does it compare to the manga? How do I really feel about it? Well, there are spoilers ahead.
In this episode, Ranma starts school, and he joins Akane on the way to school. Ranma gets turned into a girl by accident, and they run into Dr. Tofu (Morikawa Toshiyuki), who is Akane's crush. Ranma definitely notices this. They arrive at school and Akane is mobbed by a large group of boys, Akane defeating them all. And then comes along Kuno Tatewaki (Sugita Tomokazu), the captain of the kendo club. He takes an immediate disliking to Ranma and they fight. During the fight, it starts raining, and Genma comes with some hot water to turn him back into a boy. In school, Nabiki, being the manipulative sister who loves to gossip, spills the beans and everyone finds out Ranma and Akane are engaged. Kuno challenges Ranma, and they jump out the window into the swimming pool. Girl Ranma needs to get away, and hides under Kuno, who then wakes up and grabs his chest. Ranma gets away, and Kuno is somewhat confused. Akane comes to the rescue with some hot water, challenges Kuno, and tries to give Ranma time to change back. However, before he can, Kuno interrupts him. Later on, a letter arrives for Ranma, or pig-tailed girl as Kuno calls him/her. It's a challenge? Ranma (girl) meets Kuno at the school, and instead of a challenge, Kuno gives girl Ranma some roses. Ranma is mortified.
Now, this seems exactly like episode 2 of the 1989 series. There are some differences, and from what I've heard, this version is more faithful to the manga than the original was. That's a positive. There's a lot of manga-style animation, which I'm not too fond of, though. The other thing I don't particularly like is the younger-looking girls' character designs. I don't know, they don't exactly look right. But that could be my bias. I'm continuing to enjoy the original cast, even though their voices have changed with age. The animation is a lot better, and is brightly coloured.
This episode was full of action, which we would definitely expect. Lots of fun to watch. And of course, Kuno. He's such a strange guy, and kind of absurd. He is incredibly dense, but this is part of what makes him a fun character. Overall, I am enjoying this series so far. It's just difficult to distance myself from the original. I need to do better with that. Next up is episode 3, and we'll see what happens!
Episode 2 of Ao no Hako has come, and I couldn't stop smiling! This episode review contains spoilers.
So, we've jumped ahead to March, and Chinatsu has moved in with Taiki's family. Taiki acts like a complete idiot, of course, as he doesn't seem to be able to control his awkwardness around Chinatsu. And for once, he realised he was acting that way. For much of this episode, Taiki is worried about others learning that they live in the same house, and gave Chinatsu the wrong impression. She gave him a bracelet for good luck, which they both have on their ankles. She discovers that he also wants to go to Nationals. At school, Chinatsu's misunderstanding begins, and acts like they don't know each other much after Taiki suddenly has an outburst to prevent her from letting Hina know they live together. As the episode goes on, Chinatsu believes that Taiki likes Hina, even though Hina is really one of his best friends. His other best friend is Kyou, who is on the badminton team with him. They later talk, and Chinatsu understands that she misunderstood, and all is well, or should be. Hina even presses Chinatsu to find out if she has a boyfriend, but she said no, she's only concentrating on basketball. At school, Taiki discovers his biggest rival will be Hanyu. He also notices the large number of admirers that Chinatsu has. And then he sees that Hina has a growing number of admirers. Hina is a nationally ranked rhythmic gymnast? Wow! Towards the end of the episode, Hina is walking with Taiki to see a famous chiropractor, and who should they see behind them? Hina and Hanyu. Uh-oh.
This episode had a lot of misunderstandings, which is common in romantic comedies, but nothing was really serious. It had a feeling of innocence. I was constantly smiling as I watched, as it felt so comfortable to watch. I didn't have second-hand embarassment, which is something I often have with Maison Ikkoku (but that's another story). It's fun watching the developing relationship between Taiki and Chinatsu, as she's the outsider to this group, and knows little about Taiki and Hina, and pretty much nothing about Kyou. The emergence of Hanyu as a rival for Taiki in more than one way is interesting.
I am thoroughly enjoying this now. If episode 1 hadn't hooked me, this episode absolutely did. The characters are so likeable. I can't help but smile. I can't wait to see episode 3!
"Teenage Blue" by eve is the ending theme of Blue Box (Ao no Hako). Along with the opening, we see a theme here! They all contain the word "blue." I'm still wondering what this means.
The opening theme is an easy listening pop song with good vocals and an interesting instrumental sound. It's hard for me to describe it in text, as I'm not good at talking about music. I just know what I like. And I like this song, as it fits the kind of show this is. It's just a feel-good song.
The animation in the ending credits is fairly simple. It's mainly the characters, including stills and action scenes. The three main sports are featured here. A neat aspect of this is when we see Chinatsu, Hina, and Taiki in consecutive stills, the words "Ao," "no," and "Hako" appear along side them. But a lot of character shots are shown. The animation fits the music well.
Now that Blue Box (Ao no Hako) has aired its first episode, we have a great look at the beautifully done opening credits.
The song, "Same Blue" by Official HIGE DANdism, is a very pleasing song to the ears, and it fits the genre of anime. Great voice, very nice music, and it just has a feel good feeling to it. I'm sure it'll grow on me as the series progresses.
The artwork is excellent. It's very detailed, especially the backgrounds. The characters look great, the animation is very good, and it all looks very crisp. We get to see the main characters with a lot of sports action and some that give hints to possible romance. Very well done.
On episode 17 of Sousou no Frieren, the opening theme changed. The new one is called "Haru" or "Sunny" by Yorushika. This song has a very different feel from the first opening, and definitely not like YOASOBI's style.
Musically, this song is a happy sounding one. It's a feel good song that gets you in the mood for the episode, and it really suits the series. This series is a fairly happy and positive story, and the song reflects it well. Yorushika has a great voice. "Yuusha" tends to stand out a lot more, though. While "Haru" is a good song and works well as an opening, I feel like it's in the shadow of "Yuusha".
The animation is done quite well, and we get to see a good number of characters that have not been introduced yet, and are definitely from the second half of the season (at the time of writing this, a second season has been announced). There are some action scenes, but it mostly focused on characters. It's as colourful as the first opening, so I guess it is sunny.
Here, you can watch the opening credits:
What do you think of the second opening of Sousou no Frieren?
Ranma 1/2, the 2024 remake is here! Released on Netflix, I got to watch episode 1, and there will be spoilers!
To start off, I want to say that the story of episode 1 is nearly identical to episode 1 of the original 1989 series. The dialogue, the action, the situations, all the same. What's different? The character designs have been updated, and the girls are cuter. Kasumi looks too young, to be honest. The animation is nice and clean, having the advantage of more modern technology. The colour is brighter. It's more colourful than before.
So, Saotome Ranma (voiced by Yamaguchi Kappei/Hayashibara Megumi) and his father Genma (voiced by Cho) have returned from China, and Ranma is going to be the fiance of one of the Tendou girls. Akane (voiced by Hidaka Noriko) is 16, Nabiki (Takayama Minami) is 17, and Kasumi (Inoue Kikuko) is 19. Their father, Soun (Ootsuka Akio) has arranged with Genma for one of the girls to marry Ranma. Of course, when they arrive, Ranma is a girl and Genma is a panda. Very odd situation! Akane tries to be friends with Ranma until it's discovered after a bath that Genma is not a panda and Ranma is in fact a boy. Of course, Akane discovers this by walking in on Ranma, and they see each other naked. This is a big issue for Akane, but not so much for Ranma, as he's seen himself naked. Akane does not like this one bit. As Akane doesn't like boys, her sisters agree that she should be Ranma's fiancee. And so the story begins.
What's interesting about this episode is what has been changed. While most of the cast are the same, Soun and Genma's voice actors are different. The others sound a bit different than before, as they have aged 35 years since the original. However, Inoue Kikuko sounds exactly the same and Hayashibara Megumi has managed to sound nearly the same. I feel that Takayama Minami and Hidaka Noriko are a bit different. Yamaguchi Kappei sounds just the same as before. Another change is the addition of manga style text throughout the episode.
The opening theme is fun. It has a nostalgic Ranma feel to it, and "Iinazukkyun" by ano recaptures the Chinese-style theme song of the original. The ending theme, "Anta Nante." by riria is a more modern song that doesn't really match with the anime, I think. The song itself is fine, though. I will cover the theme songs in separate posts. Enjoy the opening theme here, though.
Going forward, I will be focusing more on the episodes themselves, rather than a comparison with the original. I want this to stand on its own, and I will judge it for itself.
With all that said, what do I think of it? Ranma 1/2 is a classic. I was so happy to see it get a remake, and I did enjoy watching episode 1. We don't yet know how long season 1 will be, nor do we know how long the entire series will be. That remains to be seen. Overall, recommended and fun.
