Yuki The Snowman

I’ve been looking forward to Days 5 and 6  of this list. I love music.  I love anime.  This will be a challenge indeed. There are far too many opening songs I love that I can not possibly just choose one as my favorite.  I’m going to do ten songs, five opening and five ending themes for each day and let you in on why I love them so much.

Keep in mind that there’s order to this list (although number one is based off personal bias)

5. Dan Dan Korko Hikareteku (lit. Bit bv Bit My Heart is Charmed)
   Dragon Ball GT OP
   By Field of View

There are only three good things about Dragon Ball GT –  the animation, the new ideas presented (that were poorly executed sadly), and the music.  When I’m talking about GT’s music, I am not speaking of the horrible American original soundtrack (OST).  And I’m especially not talking about horrible attempt at hip-hop that is “STEP INTO THE GRAND TOUR”  trash (still to this day I cringe every time I hear that shit).

I’m talking about the superior Japanese OST, mainly GT’s opening theme song “Dan Dan Kokoro Hikareteku” or “Bit by Bit My Heart is  Charmed”.
There’s a certain, nostalgic charm with this song,  setting it apart from other Dragon Ball opening themes.  To start, Dan Dan Kokoro Hikareteku is actually a love ballad. The character iit reminiscing on the first time he first met the one he fell in love with . On the surface, it seems out of place to have a long song in the Dragon Ball series, but if you dig a little bit, it make sense (plus, original Dragon Ball had a few romantic ending themes and as of recently with the Tournament of Power Arc , “Boogie Back” [the second ending theme of that arc] also carries that romantic feeling of longing).

Dragon Ball as a whole, is a charming series of adventure with unique and lovable diverse characters.  Plus, I can promise you that we Dragon Ball fans can remember the first time when we first watched Dragon Ball and fell in love – our hearts charmed by the show bit-by-by.  It works.

Finally, the best thing about the song is how it was used in the final episode of  Dragon Ball as we relive main character Son Goku’s life, trails, and victories from Dragon Ball, Z, and GT.

‘You see, when I met you
I remembered the view which I had treasured when I was a child’

4. Smile Bomb

Yuu Yuu Hakusho OP 1
Sung By Sara White

Another intro that gives me a sense of nostalgia.  Maybe it’s how the English version still kept that 90s Shonen  anime vibe with the lyrics, instrumental arrangement, and  singing. Maybe it’s the lyrics and it reflection on friends supporting you on your journey. That’s probably it.

3. The Hero!!
   One Punch Man OP 1
   Performed by JAM Project

Have you ever listen to an anime song that you just knew it fit just right with the series?  The lyrics fit perfectly with the series’s tone, or the song was just full of so much energy that it felt just right using it as a theme song?  That’s “The Hero!!” to me. I don’t think words can even describe the emotion in it, so I’ll just provide the full version below.

‘I wanna be the strongest HERO’

Seriously any version of the iconic Lupin the 3^rd Theme
Lupin the III
Composed by Yuji Ohno

Do I really have to explain why I love this song? Seriously I kinda don’t wanna because I have to go to a friend’s house soon.  Fine, I’ll explain why.  Ready?  70s acid jazz in an anime with a charming thief, the OG Femme Fatale, the stoic wandering samurai, and a smooth gunman.   This song makes me want to go out and do some high level criminal things with my crew.

Theme of Lupin the 3rd

1. Tank!
Cowboy Bebop
Performed by The Seat Belts

The moment when I first heard the horns section blaring in the first bar of Tank, I knew Cowboy Bebop would be dissimilar to any anime series I’ve watched prior.   Cowboy Bebop’s opening combined two of my loves: jazz music and anime.  Never would I imagine that somebody in the world would put those two things together and make it work.   Let me tell you something, It was at that moment in the year 2001 at the age of 12 that I knew Cowboy Bebop would be a game changer in the American anime fanbase.

With that, those were my favorite anime opening theme.  Stay tuned in the future when I’ll drop my top 5 anime ending themes!  In the comments, please tell me some of your favorite anime theme songs of all time!