Flugmorph
resident sputbirb with fancy hat
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Last Active 01-10-23 6:34 pm
Joined 10-27-13

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 Lists
04.18.24 Flug's Industrious Ministry Ranking04.04.24 Hololive Music Master List
12.30.23 I enjoyed music in 2023!!! ♦11.28.23 oh yeah ive been on here for 10 years
07.05.23 2023 is halfway over06.30.23 take back what you said to johnny threa
04.29.23 Awful 90s Albums from Thrash Bands Rank01.02.23 Flug's 2022 Favs
03.01.22 What 𝟏𝟓 Years of In Flames Does t02.05.22 Flug's sYnthTastiC Enter Shikari rankin
02.03.22 Flug's slappin' Billy Talent ranking01.31.22 flug made a 2021 list ♦
04.26.20 All About That T0nE (Flug's De-jent Jou06.21.19 So Evangelion is on Netflix now
01.01.19 Flug's Objectively Correct Picks for Be12.31.18 Flug's Favorite Songs of the Year
11.02.18 5 Year Flugversary10.03.18 I dun spooked
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Flug's Fav Animu Sangz

As most of you know by now I'm a massive useless piece of weeb for just over half a year now and this obsession basically ruins my life. But anyway, since sputnikmusic is a music webside I'm gonna list and talk about my favorite anime songs here briefly (lol you wish). Other than the #1 entry however, this wont be a ranking because fuck ranked lists amirite. Mind that this is about opening/ending songs and insert tracks but not about soundtracks itself. Thats reserved for another list, where im most likely going to rank whole OST albums. I also constrained myself to one song per series, otherwise this list would probably be dominated by K-on!/Houkago Tea Time songs :3 Oh and I encourage you to listen to the youtube links while reading!
1Yoko Hikasa
Couleur

- "Utsukushiki Zankoku na Sekai" by Yoko Hikasa (Attack on Titan first ending)

When I recently rewatched the first season in preparation of Season 2 of Attack on Titan I wondered why I couldn't remember this song from when I watched the series for the first time back in 2013, and then it dawned on me.
I always skipped the freaking outro like everyone else, because the series' cliffhangers at the end of episodes always made you immediatly watch the next episode WITHOUT ANY FURTHER WAITING, FUUUUCK!
Of course everybody talked about MU HYPE OPENING and nobody cared for this little gem.
And one other thing dawned on me: somehow it seemed like I had heard that voice before, and lo and behold I had really did and not just anywhere, but in my fav anime, K-on!
(...)
2Yoko Hikasa
Couleur

Indeed this is the same Yoko Hikasa who voiced Mio Akiyama and also sung on half of their bands songs.
The song itself is a perfect calming outro to the series full of high octane action and emotions, even tho compared tp some other entries here it itself can get pretty intense.
The track mirrors the atmosphere from some of the more sombre moments of the show pretty well.
Also got a killer guitar solo m/

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gkCGjuuwP4
3Mami Kawada
Parablepsia

"Borderland" by Mami Kawada (Jormungand first opening)

This is the ultimate hype opening for me. The overbearing synths and autotune might be grating for some on the first few listens but it jams hard so fuck you, ya dickrider :3
The chorus and reoccurring synthlines just hit that sweetspot m/
I also recommend watching Jormungand when you're interested in traveling all over the world with a group of arms dealers.
Especially the second season is really fucking good.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDhEtUl7U-A
4Aya Hirano
Riot Girl

"God knows..." sung by Aya Hirano (voice actress of Haruhi), also Susumu Nishikawa - guitar, Takeshi Taneda - bass guitar, and Yutaka Odawara - drums

The embodyment of nostalgia for me even though it has been just 6 months ago that I watched The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.
As some of you may know both Haruhi herself and the anime are icons of otaku culture and I feel the weight of that influence every time i listen to this.
I could've just aswell put Super Driver on here (Opening of the Second Season) but God knows just edged it out because of that brilliant live performance and that overall rawness that i love so much in japanese rock music.
Also Haruhi's voice actress Aya Hirano is brilliantly wild on here and delivers a thrilling performance.
Also plenty of shredding m/ m/
(...)
5Aya Hirano
Riot Girl

Also that extremely energetic drum beat that is present in like half of all j-rock songs and I can't for the life of me figure out what its called.
Is it a D-beat? idk man, moving on...

Link of an awesome performance version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r50JFfofHes
6Nothing's Carved In Stone
Revolt

"Out of Control" by Nothings Carved in Stone (Psycho-Pass second opening)

This song is the pure embodiment of ecstasy that is Psycho-Pass, squeezed into one compact package. (getting a little hyperbolic there, but still)
The chorus is catchy as all fuck and the instrumentation is energetic as expected from j-rock, with a tinge of electronics thrown in for good measure.
Oh and the english lyrics aren't totally butchered here, which is nice.
Also this song has a floaty spacy vibe to it and again that one fucking drum beat that japan seems to love (as do I!) is present here.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9StfX1p9LuY
7Kanako Ito
Vector

"Hacking to the Gate" by Kanako Ito (Steins;Gate opening)

While I'm not a big fan of the anime and I enjoy myself way to much while pissing off fanboys of this frankly extremely overrated franchise,
Hacking to the Gate is by far the best thing to have come out of the series.
One thing Steins;Gate certainly does well is that ominous uneasy atmosphere, that keeps you engaged over much of this animes runtime.
And nothing represents that atmosphere better than this opening track,
its extremely catchy, has well composed synths and awfully engaging vocals done by Kanako Ito,
who performs songs on all those semicolon shows courtesy of Chiyomaru Shikura.
Yep thats right, this song is better than the whole rest of the show.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBQprWeOx8g
8The Pillows
Little Busters

"Little Busters" by The Pillows (FLCL insert song)

If this would be a soundtrack album list, this would certainly be near the top, as FLCL has one of the most engaging and fitting soundtracks in anime (rip Gainax),
entirely composed by the little known j-rock band called The Pillows.
Anyone who has seen or rather experienced FLCL will agree with me here that music and visuals form a whirlwind of energy, emotions and plain weirdness.
Therefore Little Busters is just one of many brilliant songs out of The Pillows discography, albeit it being my favourite out of the FLCL soundtrack songs.
The Pillows have that signature raw j-rock energy to them, but also an air of youthfullness and frivolity that makes them quite unique.
Its the perfect soundtrack to the struggles of growing up and finding a place in the world.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QeFkpBZ3ZX0
9Penpals
Tell Me Why

"Tell Me Why" by PENPALS (Berserk opening)

The Berserk manga is the most engaging read I had in a long time and the famous anime adaptation from 1997 is not that much behind in quality.
Especially the dark atmosphere gets portrayed brilliantly in Susumu Harasawa's OST.
This opening song is totally different however. While its extremely rough recording quality and sloppy rock instrumentation certainly fit the grittyness of Berserk well,
its also rather upbeat in tone which creates a nice contrast to the rest of the series.
And once more we also get a fine slap of engrish lyrics on this track which furthers its upbeat charm.
Guts 4 best husbandu
10Soundtrack (Anime)
Toradora

"Lost my Pieces" arranged by Yukari Hashimoto (Toradora insert track, yeah technically a soundtrack piece, fuck off)

Oh boi this is a tricky one to write about, mainly because there is so much emotion involved whenever this song comes up in Toradora,
so you're bound to shed a tear when you hear it after finishing the series.
If you're not a heartless pilgarlic that is (yes I blatantly used thesaurus there).
For a while after finishing the anime in fact,
this was my fav song and although it doesnt hold that status any longer,
it still is an exceptional piece of music used to its maximum effect in the show.
There's also a pretty great piano version of this available, which over the holiday weeks in december fueled my desire to finally learn a new song on piano.
Welp i still haven't even remotely mastered it, because I'm a lazy fuck who easily gets discouraged, rip!

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5C9VcLyqY0
11Houkago Tea Time
放課後ティータイムII

"U&I" by Houkago Tea Time (K-on! insert/performance song)

As some of you may know this is my favorite anime, even slighly above Evangelion.
Thats not only thanks to cute animu girls drinking tea all day,
but also thanks to an amazing soundtrack or rather the performances of the band of those highschool girls, Houkago Tea Time.
As far as music coming out of anime goes, the second album by this fictional band called simply Afterschool (Houkago) Tea Time 2 is my most beloved piece.
There is the pure energy of the rock instrumentation,
the emotional value thats compiled over the series runtime condensed into those songs and the adorably cute vocal performances by Yui (voiced by Aki Toyosaki) and the beautiful vocals of Mio (Yoko Hikasa) which just overflow with flair and nuance.
But lets not linger to much on the praise of the brilliance of their overall music, because i still wanna be able to write about something when I'll eventually come around to my soundtrack albums list.
(...)
12Houkago Tea Time
放課後ティータイムII

This particular song in the show is written by Yui for her little sister Ui who is the vastly more responsible and mature one of the two and always cares about her big sister wherever she can.
I just shortly wanna stress the pure brilliance of the instrumentation here again,
because you can follow every instrument and you will have a great time because the drumming is frantic and energetic,
the guitars and keyboard lines are bouncy and lively and the bass is my fav thing ever basically.
And yes, its filled to the brim with emotional value for me haha... moe lifes matter!

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KyMAeNYmYc (thank god there is a proper version of this on yt, because K-on! songs usually get taken down)
13Yui
Holidays in the Sun

"Again" by YUI (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood first opening)

Another one of those pesky emotional laden entries here and boi is this a good one.
Similar to Cowboy Bebop, Brotherhood has that slight air of perfection to it, which sometimes makes it hard for me to love as much as I adore some of my other fav animes.
Another reason surely is the extreme popularity of those two series which makes the grumpy elitist in me flinch a little (fuck off already...)
Anyway, both series are deservedly classics and I'm just gonna leave this rant there,
because this song encapsulated the huge emotional quality of especially the early episodes of the show perfectly.
Yui's singing is just magnificent and there is that jumpy drum beat again, which spawns some slight eargasms every time I hear it.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iD4aTyVTvz8 (I fucking love this live version)
14DragonForce
Ultra Beatdown

"Ishukan Communication" by Choro-gonzu (Kobayashi's Maid Dragon ending)

Can you get more upbeat and playful than this? You may aswell could but in any case, this ending is pure joy. The opening of Dragon Maid also rocks but i slightly prefer this song.
If im not mistaken, its sung by the dragon girls' voice actresses who do a great job here and there's just so much cuteness on this track, dawwww.
Side effects include deadly diabetes. DAISUKI!!!!

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bm2WmWiohw

(also fuck Dragonforce amirite)
15Scum
Gospels For The Sick

"Heikousen" by Sayuri (Kuzu No Honkai ending)

Sayuri's voice really brings something unique to the table here and while her childish and eccentric vocals might not be for everyone, I'm totally into this shit.
ALSO THIS SONG IS TOTALLY BRILLIANT! When that chorus kicks in, I'm frequently having goosebumps and/or watery eyes.
Heikousen works perfectly together with the masterful visuals of the show's ED and cap this dark horse from last season off with a bang after every episode.

Link of the actual ED: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVjAFBoIZEs&t=1s
Full song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LawUC2COTXA
(both are amazing)
16BUCK-TICK
Razzle Dazzle

"Kuchizuke -SERIAL THRILL KISSER-" by Buck-Tick (Shiki first opening)

Yeah we're going there bois, this is the legendary japanese rock band you heard so much about from calc, aaron, evo, jas and all the other enlightened individuals.
And while I'm not yet as deep into their impressive discography as those gentleman, I can appreciate the brilliance of Buck-Ticks songwriting.
On here they're lending their ever evolving sound to the chillingly brilliant psychological/horror anime Shiki and it's a match made in heaven.
Buck-Tick exhibit a positively campy horror rock performance that captures the atmosphere of Shiki perfectly and prepares you for the sick ride that awaits you later down the series.
Every time the drops of blood rain down on the skull in synth with the last notes of the song, I'm getting a major case of goose flesh.
very ~spoopy~

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdVQjqi3aDQ
17Mell
Mellscope

"Red Fraction" by Mell (Black Lagoon opening)

This industrial/electronic track mainly gets a spot on here because Black Lagoon more or less kickstarted my anime addiction back in september 2016 and I've got a major nostalgia boner for it.
Its arguably one of the lesser quality songs on this list, but it nonetheless does its job hyping you up for the thrillride to come.
Again theres some engrish involved here but who cares... I HAVE BIG GUN, I TOOK IT FROM MY LORD m/ m/ m/ m/

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGOzVLx86bs
18Bradio
Power of Life

"Flyers" by BRADIO (Death Parade opening)

Another major case of a musical piece that stands in stark contrast to the themes and dark atmosphere of its anime,because this song makes you FUCKING DANCE YOUR ASS OFF, MANG!
The guitar solo on the extended version also kicks some genuine ass.
Seriously, this opening as a whole is a fucking piece of art even tho i can't quite figure out what musical genre this is. Big band?
Who fucking cares...
WOO WOO WOO
DANCING THROUGH THE SKIES
(some japanese gibberish)
EVERYBOOOOODY, PUT YOUR HAAAANDS UUUP


Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wh8FgsEtNQ (damn just discovered that this music video is faia!)
Proper opening: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjjTMNDZi-A
19Maximum the Hormone
Buiikikaesu

"What's up, people?!" by Maximum the Hormone (Death Note second opening)

The only metal entry on here and oh boi its a frantic one.
For those who enjoy the music of Maximum the Hormone, this is a fairly average song off their discography but thats just because they rule so much.
Its also arguambly their most soad sounding song,
which is fine with me because I love me some armenian guitar music curtesy of Serj and the bois, but it might be a throw-off for some.
Then again the band still incorporates plenty of their unique elements here to keep it fresh and enganging and man do they get heavy and chaotic m/ m/
Also this is apparently the opening track of some popular thriller anime everyone still seems to talk about...

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pN2UmX3Kmrs
20The Seatbelts
Cowboy Bebop

"Tank!" by The Seatbelts (Cowboy Bebop opening)

There we go, probably the most prominent entry on this list and a legitimate classic of an opening track and that without vocals for those with short attention spans.
If anything this is one of the most engaging and fun opening tracks you can find. When it comes to Cowboy Bebops soundtrack this is actually not my fav piece.
That would be Space Lion, which is much more atmospheric and soundtrack-esk, which kinda disqualifies it for this list but i wanna mention it here anyway.
However The Seatbelts really crafted a masterful and iconic piece of Hard Bop with Tank!,
that is fun to listen to even on the hundredth jam.
Its perfectly representative of the jumbled style of influences that forms Cowboy Bebop, which made it such a success in the west.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_25mVjKwcc (an ancient live version because literally everyone knows the studio version already)
21Soundtrack (Anime)
The End Of Evangelion

1. "Komm, Süßer Tod" by Shiro Sagisu (End of Evangelion insert song)

And here it is, my fav chinese cartoon track and also probably my #1 song overall in the last few months.
As I often stated im not one who usually cares for lyrics in his music but this is another case entirely.
Those depressed and nihilistic lyrics represent the state of mind im in lately pretty well, especially when sung over that relatively upbeat music that kinda decents into madness towards the end.
IT ALL COMES
TUMBLING DOWN
TUMBLING DOWN
TUMBLING DOWN
22Soundtrack (Anime)
The End Of Evangelion

Its not hyperbolic to say that i had one of my most intense experiences in the medium when this song started playing,
while literally the entire earth died and got turned into LCL just to get revived shortly after (spoilers).
The song has an amazing sense of buildup and progression which makes it just so much more engaging.
If I would allow more entries from one series, the legendary opening Cruel Angel's Thesis would be pretty high up this list aswell, but fuck that.
Neon Genesis Evangelion overall has a brilliant soundtrack, especially the End of Eva movie (rock hard 5/5).
You're doing yourself a disservice by not watching this legendary series, that rightfully has its reputation as probably the best and most influential anime of all times.
Cheers!

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2p4N7XrpV8 (this is not even the best version of this song, because its missing some crazy screams and vocal bits at the end there, but i could not find that version on yt)
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