English language theme songs are rare in anime, but it recently occurred to me that some of them rank among the best I’ve heard used in the medium. If there’s a tendency in the use of songs sung by native English speakers, especially those that appear on this list, it’s that they’re more somber and subdued, and appear in more serious anime. Whether this is a coincidence, or there’s a train of logic underlying this, I’m not sure, but there’s an admirable quality to the songs in this list, a level of sophistication well above the average anime tune. All of them are, in my opinion, underloved, and the type of which I’d have no complaint about hearing in anime more often. (Image found on oreno.imouto.org. Link mildly NSFW.)

English by birth, but French by ethnicity, Jean-Jacques Burnel wrote “We Were Lovers” as a song that tells a story, a song made specifically for the anime it opens, Gankutsuou. It pours the feelings of love, revenge and regret that make up the anime’s story into the open, leaving nothing concealed. Each time it threatens to build to something intense, it quickly dissipates into a trickle of tender romantic sentiments and a deluded sense of optimism with the lyrics “nothing can go wrong”.

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It’s a pity Scottish indie group The Delgados broke up, and after hearing Gunslinger Girl‘s OP song “The Light Before We Land”, you’ll probably agree. The song undergoes two very eclectic transitions right at the beginning, starting as an angelic hymn then exploding into a melody carried by violins and a heavily distorted bass before finally settling on an acoustic guitar riff with an off-kilter beat. Lead vocalist Emma Pollock’s singing is dreamlike and relaxing, but the lyrics are troubled at times, but also emphasize a sense of purpose.

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Ally Kerr, also Scottish, is known in anime circles for the determined song that blessed the brilliant Mushishi, “The Sore Feet Song”. Mushishi is an anime about a journey, so it’s fitting that this is also true of its OP. Ally Kerr’s wondering love-struck pariah who “stole ten thousand pounds, ten thousand pounds to see you” and “robbed convenient stores ‘cos I thought they’d make it easier” is a far cry from Mushishi‘s noble, but analytical Ginko, but the subdued tone of the song is the perfect opener for the sentimental and tender drama that appears in all of Mushishi‘s stories.

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English artist David Sylvian’s “For The Love Of Life” is an incredibly haunting song, which evolves into something disturbing and ironic when it complements Monster’s ED sequence and its images of a terrible creature who devours a kingdom. In many ways “For The Love Of Life” is a song about acceptance of one’s place in life, but it’s simultaneously anti-complacent, challenging its listeners with lines like “we could lose it all but we’ll go down fighting… And what of the children? Surely they can’t be blamed for our mistakes.” It’s a slow song, but it never meanders… every note and every lyric has a staid intensity.

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London is home of some of the best music makers in the world, and that’s true even when it comes to anime, with its residents, Boa, responsible for what I consider one of anime’s all-time best theme songs, Serial Experiments Lain’s OP song, “Duvet”. A much more sprightly song than the others on this list, Boa’s lead vocalist Jasmine Rodgers sings with an almost Celtic inflection. The song’s verses vindictively point outwards, but the choruses become noticeably introverted with lines like “I am hurting, I have lost it all, I am losing, help me to breathe”. At every moment, Rodger’s emotions permeate the right mood. Everything is carried by a delightfully melodic baseline, especially the uplifting guitar instrumental through the middle of the song.

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I don’t want to write too much about The Seatbelts’ triumphant song, “Blue” because I feel like every word I write could unwittingly demean it. What’s the right word to describe it? Sublime? Iconic? It is instantly evocative of and just as heavy as the unforgettable scene in Cowboy Bebop that it connects to. It’s a masterpiece song fitting of the masterpiece anime that it closes. The Seatbelts are a vastly different band from the others mentioned in this list. Lead by one of anime’s most accomplished musicians, Kanno Yoko, The Seatbelts was a vast composition of Japanese, New Yorker and Parisian jazz and blues musicians, including Yamane Mai, who, with her strong singing voice, provides the vocals for “Blue”.

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These songs are all amazing in their own way, and often accompany anime that tend to be more serious, more mature. The commonality between them kinda suggests that something underlies this trend. What that “something” is, I’ve got no idea, but I’m interested in hearing theories. There are plenty of other impressive English lyric songs that are most notable for their appearance in anime, and if you have some favourites I haven’t listed here, I’d like to know about them. If there’s one trait these songs share, it’s that they don’t get the love they deserve.

This really should have been written up sooner, especially since Shinmaru over at Unmei Kaihen has put up a good post outlining the purpose behind those OPs and EDs and I’ll just expand on it a bit further. I think that for most of us, the idea behind those sequences are fairly obvious, but it never hurts to put it in writing so that any misconceptions (mine or the readers’) can be dispelled.

So yes, Shinmaru covers the business side by noting that these sequences are a way for music companies to bring new artists to light and expose their music to different audiences. If you want to divide the domains between OPs and EDs, then OPs generally give us an idea of what the series is about and since it’s generally the first thing the viewer will see, it’ll most likely use good art/animation to draw the audience in.

That’s not to say that there are times when the studios will try to be misleading. If you want a good example, look no further than Renkin 3-kyu Magical? Pokaan, which creates expectations that the series would involve some great magical, cosmic struggle with some yuri thrown in for good measure. Of course, audiences hoping to get that kind of action are bound to be disappointed by the story, which is mostly about us watching the characters in the OP go through hilarious hi-jinks as they try to adapt to modern-day society. But hey, if the goal was to make the audience curious about the show, it worked!

Anyways, my favorite OPs tend to be relevant to the story, so the ARIA OPs are always going to get a thumbs up from me. But when it comes to a strong mesh between the opening and the actual story, I think Gankutsuou’s “We Were Lovers” stands out the most. That the lyrics are in English gives us a grasp of what’s going on in the way it captures Edmond Dantes’s sentiments and the feelings of vengeance that stir deep within him. So taken in sum, the music is really poignant in the way it captures the pain, the lyrics give the audience a feel for how the story unfolds, and the art/animation gives us a glimpse of Gonzo’s effort in the series. That it was composed specifically for the anime rather than sell CDs probably helps too unless I’m gravely mistaken and this got a lot of people to buy Jean-Jacques Burnel CDs.

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But EDs. Yes, it’s true that there’s no real discernible pattern that one can put one’s finger upon, and the closest that I’ve come is to suggest that it’s there to ingrain themselves in the viewer’s mind by providing the lingering effect that will allow people to contemplate on whatever has just taken place in the show or to make us look forward to the next episode. That most of them don’t really deliver this kind of effect means that it’s probably wrong and that there actually is no pattern, so I’ll just save myself the hassle and say that the ones that I enjoy the most do achieve this effect, and I love them all the more for it.

So which shows manage to nail this down pat? Well, Wolf’s Rain’s “Gravity” definitely comes to mind. The lyrics within the song give us an idea of how long the wolf pack has been searching for their paradise, and though the conditions are right, there’s still a struggle that they must overcome if they’re to reach it. These feelings tie in with the show rather well and definitely leaves that lingering effect as we too come to empathize with their need to seek out that sanctuary and their determination to make it.

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Or how about Welcome to the NHK’s “Odoru Akachan Ningen.” That sequence sure ties in well with in the series. Kenji Ootsuki’s harsh vocals are pretty good at capturing the insanity possessed by those who are looking to regress by turning into that “kidult” rather than live up to the demands of society and nails Tatsuhiro Sato’s state where he withdraws from society rather than confront it directly. The lyrics and animation do a good job of capturing his delusional tendencies borne from his crazed mindset that it’s a mad mad world and this song nails it. I might not have a great deal of affinity for it, but I’ll be damned if it doesn’t leave that strong impression behind. I certainly remember it a lot more vividly than I do the show’s second ED at any rate.

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OPs are definitely more clear-cut than EDs and in general, they hit their purpose better. EDs are not as memorable because though we might want them to leave behind that strong association with the series, they generally do not. That’s why the two examples I cited will stay with me: they enrich the viewing experience by matching the content of the music and animation to the show’s primary plotline, ending each episode on a note so as to render the entire entity unforgettable.