ED Archives | 100 Word Anime

Continuing with the spooky October theme this week I’m counting down my favourite creepy anime OP’s and ED’s. These may or may not belong to creepy anime but the music certainly fits a horror story. As always I’d love to know your choices so if you have a favourite creepy OP or ED be sure to share it in the comments below.

Number 5 – From the Edge (ED from Demon Slayer)

There’s not a lot to say with this one and I’m sure most of you have been listening to it for the past six months. While the visuals are relatively optimistic from the opening notes to the undertones of the song, I found this one relatively creepy and when closing my eyes I could imagine a much darker horror story playing out around this music.

Number 4 – Ghost Hunt Main Theme

Visually this one is probably the least spectacular on the list but in terms of atmosphere it has definitely hit the right mark. Despite it being relatively dull to look at I don’t think I’ve ever skipped the OP when watching Ghost Hunt as it really just sets the mood absolutely perfectly. It’s one of those times where I feel if they ever rebooted the series or made a continuation they would have to get this music again.

Number 3 – Still Doll (ED From Vampire Knight)

From an anime that definitely isn’t creepy despite the presence of vampires, unless you find the main character’s relationships shiver worthy, Vampire Knight gives us an ED that is both compelling and unnerving. This is another one of those songs I never skipped and is one of the few anime songs I learned the lyrics to in Japanese because I just find it really great to listen to (not that I can actually hit all the notes). Still, it is one of my favourite creepy anime songs.

Number 2 – Magia (ED from Madoka Magica)

Considering some of the themes and decisions characters had to make in Madoka Magica, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that some of the music in it was quite dark. Where both Ghost Hunt and Vampire Knight go for a more quiet and contemplative take to build unease, Madoka manages to bring the fully creepy while still seeming upbeat and driving. It is one of those songs that just perfectly catches a mood and a tone and fits its anime absolutely perfectly.

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Attack on Titan – Levi (Re-run)

Number 1 – Naraku no Hana (OP from Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni Kai)

I absolutely loved this OP the first time I saw it. I remember I saw this as part of a You Tube compilation video and tracked down the anime from there. Which also explains how I managed to watch Kai before the first season because I didn’t actually realise it was a sequel. That said, this opening gives us the full package of creepy music and visuals. Sure there’s moments of brightness and happiness but there’s a lot of fairly dark imagery underpinning this opening as well and it has definitely earned its place at the top of my list.

Over to you: Which anime OP’s and ED’s do you think are the creepiest whether the anime they are attached to are scary or not?

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Karandi James

Continuing on with our Top 5 lists for the year that is 2018, this week I am turning my attention to the ending themes. Now, this list was a little harder to make because there are plenty of ED’s I don’t listen to after the first episode, which is why in previous years I haven’t even tried to do this list. Then again, if the ED is interesting it will make me hang around and so I’m going to roll out my list.

(If you missed the previous list you can check out my top 5 favourite openings here.)

Now what makes a good ending? I have no idea. I like endings that are fun to listen to or capture a theme in the story, but I also like character focused ED’s or ones that just play with their cast and characters. Really it could be one of a dozen things that grabs my interest, though I can guarantee still images and panning aren’t high on my list of priorities to watch each week.

Please feel free to share your favourites in the comments below.

Please Note – There probably won’t be any spoilers in this list.

Honourable mentions this week go to: How To Keep a Mummy and Darling in the Franxx.

Number 5: Steins;Gate 0 – The Last Game by Zwei

There’s something incredibly plaintive about this ending, which is probably what it was going for and even as it becomes more energised later in the song that underlying sorrow never really fades. As much as I wasn’t the biggest fan of Steins;Gate 0, didn’t dislike it but just couldn’t help but compare it to the original, I really did love this song each week and I will admit I didn’t skip listening even once. Great song, solid visuals, and a really good effort at capturing the core emotion of the story.

Number 4: Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi Episode 3 – Negai Hana by Katsuyuki Konishi

This is an odd one because it isn’t the ending the whole way through. Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi had some great music and I liked that at intervals various characters would get an ending focused on them, and in this case the Ogre Master’s voice actor performed the song, and in the process very nearly knocked Daisuke Ono off from being my favourite voice actor. The visuals aren’t much with this one, but I really loved this song.

Number 3: Dakaichi – Chuntaka! by Junta Azumaya (Yuuki Ono), Takato Saijou (Hiroki Takahashi)

There’s genuinely no excuse. The song is generic as, the slow pan over the characters and the heavy use of the stereo is pretty lazy. The dance sequence is simple and incredibly twee. And yet, I genuinely love this ending. It make me smile and I genuinely feel like getting up and dancing with the characters by the end of it. So while I will accept this song is very much not a sensible choice, and if I were to rewrite this list in six months it probably wouldn’t be here, right now this song is so getting this spot.

Number 2: March Comes in Like a Lion Season 2 – I am Standing by Ruann

You want an ending that captures a character journey over an entire series, sounds great, and is visually interesting, than March Comes in Like a Lion delivers. I love the song and the mood it sets. I love how it shows Rei over his life and the heavy link to the water and colour symbolism used throughout the whole series. Favourite moment though is when he runs toward the colours and the sisters appear, Hina the last of them at the very centre, Rei’s sun. Truly beautiful and perfect for the anime.

Number 1: Banana Fish – Prayer X by King Gnu

Visually, this is perhaps the least impressive ED on the list, but the music is so incredibly distinctive and haunting and so perfectly suited to the character (as are the visuals) that I can’t help but get totally drawn into this. Just hearing the first few notes of the ED can suck me right in at this point and after listening to it the song will be stuck in my head for hours. I really love it and I feel it is the perfect song for the show so here it is at number 1.