These anime tunes deliver aural addictions

Whether you love or hate anime, you’d have to be insane not to appreciate the music. If you have nothing good to say about anime, maybe I can change your view with a few … notable … songs.

“Tank” from Cowboy Bebop

This song doesn’t even need lyrics to convey how cool this anime is. Whenever that bass drops and every time those jazzy horns sound, I can’t help but dance (don’t ever dance to this song without sunglasses). To me, it shows how much of a badass Spike is, and it sets the tone of the show. It’s much different than most anime themes, but it’s definitely one of the most iconic. As soon as you’ve heard a millisecond of it, you know what it is.

Again (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, season one)

This song is so full of emotion. The buildup is fantastic. It starts out slow and sweet sounding, and then it gets quieter, and then it surprises us with an  incredibly fast-paced, passionate rap and wicked sweet guitar shreds. I look forward to hearing this series’s first theme every time I rewatch Brotherhood. It demonstrates the tone of the story well too, how it starts out happy and cute, and then tragedy strikes, and Ed and Al have to fight for their lives as things get even more epic, while still maintaining a bright and upbeat tone. Then the whole show ends on a high note, unlike the first series (which does not follow the manga). The title, I believe, is called “Again” because Brotherhood is a do-over of the original series, and it has a perfect ending to the series, as opposed to the downright depressing one of the original.

 Motteke Sailor Fuku (Lucky Star) Aya Hirano

This song I can not get out of my head. It’s an upbeat, downright adorable rap, and dangit, it’s so catchy. After watching this opening, most people want to learn the dance and become friends with these adorable characters. I sure did. Some people might not like these types of cutesy anime, but the dance is so much fun.

Resonance (Soul Eater, season one)

This song is so epic. With shredding guitars and fast-paced, agitated lyricism, every word is like a punch. It fits well with the animation sequence, which shows us all of the main characters we’re going to meet. The theme captures the dark, yet colourful and exciting tone of the show and gives a little preview of what we’re in for. I love this show and all of its openings, and I’m glad to say that it’s a common fan favorite as well.

Soramimi Keeki (Azumanga Daioh)

This one brings back so many memories. When I got into anime, I watched the mainstream kodomo shows like Yu-Gi-Oh, Sailor Moon, Naruto and Pokemon (which have some of the most widely known themes in all anime history) like a lot of kids, but this anime was one of the first ones that really got me hooked. This show opened up a whole new side of anime for me. It was with this song and show that I became totally obsessed and started watching or reading any anime or manga that piqued my interest (with caution, of course). I feel a wave of nostalgia just thinking of it. This song is so cute, and it makes me smile the second I hear it, although it never really leaves my head afterwards, which can get annoying. I often find myself humming this tune in the supermarket.

Guren No Yumiya (Shingeki No Kyojin, first opening)

This. Song. I cannot describe the glory in mere words; one has to listen to this song in order to understand the experience Linked Horizon gives us. Backed up by a full choir, band and orchestra, I feel a mix of pure joy, terror and the urge to dance all at the same time. The line, “Seid ihr das Essen? Nein, wir sind der Jäger,” is German, which (I don’t speak German very well, so correct me if I am wrong, German teachers) translates to “Are you the food? No, we are the Hunters!” and I think that sums up the show, if you don’t count how many characters were actually … eaten. Despite that, it’s actually saying that they still fight back, even though they pretty much live in Hell. A lot of people will agree that it’s one of the more difficult ones to learn, but everyone chimes in at “blah blah blah blahblah, JAEGAR!” I took it upon myself to learn all the lyrics, but it’s still fun too.

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