Favorite Opening/Ending Songs of 2015

I’m going to avoid doing a top X list because I’ve always been bad at ranking things. For the most part, rankings seem arbitrary except for like the top 3. Anyway, here are, in my opinion, the best songs of 2015. These are in no particular order.

BRADIO – Flyers (Death Parade)

This song is pretty easily my favorite song of the year. I’m really glad to have discovered BRADIO as a band because all of their music is so upbeat and just sounds fun. Granted, this song makes very little sense in the context of the show, I tend to judge more on the song itself. The song starts strong with a charismatic trumpet entry and just stays hyped up all the way. If you’re going to watch a show like Death Parade, this song is a fun way to start.

SawanoHiroyuki[nzk] – &Z (Aldnoah Zero)

Because of the way Youtube copyright works, this was the only version I could really find (it’s a pitch change in case you haven’t noticed). I’ve been a fan of Hiroyuki Sawano ever since Guilty Crown, but I like his Aldnoah songs especially because of how electronic they sound.

SawanoHiroyuki[nzk] – X.U. (Owari no Seraph)

While we’re on the topic of Hiroyuki Sawano, have another song. This song is more straightforward as it sounds like a song that’s slowly building up to something…then it actually does build up to something.

UNISON SQUARE GARDEN –  Sugar Song to Bitter Step (Kekkai Sensen)

This song came out of nowhere for this series when I was watching. It’s a fun and whimsical song for a pretty random series. Honestly, I think the TV version of the song is perfect the way it is and heavily prefer it to the full version, but I still listen to the full song.

Kalafina – One Light (Arslan Senki)

I probably don’t have many constructive things to say about this one since I’ve been a Kalafina fan for a while now. I really do like the pace of this song, though, if we’re comparing to some of their other songs.

MAN WITH A MISSION – Raise Your Flag (Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans)

I’ve heard some mixed opinions of this song. I’m more on the positive side because when I heard it in the first episode, I thought “hell yeah, it’s Gundam time”.

Other Songs

Sayuri – Mikazuki (Ranpo Kitan): I could not find this song anywhere. It’s a lighter song, but it’s very good.

THE ORAL CIGARETTES – Kyouran Hey Kids!! (Noragami Aragoto): That intro was absolutely excellent.

UVERworld – Boku no Kotoba de wa Nai, Kore wa Bokutachi no Kotoba (Arslan Senki): Another Arslan Senki song that I thought was really good.

Aimer – Brave Shine (Fate/Stay Night UBW): I don’t think I rate this song as highly as many others do, but it’s still a good song.

 

Song of the Week 7: Justice and Freedom

Say what you will about the series…this is a great song. It definitely suits scenes in space really well (it’s Gundam, after all). The beginning seems a bit slow, but I like how the rest of the songs goes. Might slip back into the JRock side of things in the next ones.

Song of the Week 2: Kanzen Kankaku Dreamer

A friend introduced me to ONE OK ROCK a while back. I think they’re a very good rock band, if you like that sort of stuff (I’m good with it). Other than the opening for the Black Rock Shooter game, I don’t really see their songs anywhere, which is kind of a shame. I think that this song is one of their better ones, though.

Song of the Week 1: Silent Ensemble

Is this fair for a first song choice? I usually don’t listen to Touhou music, but it seems to be all the rage in a particular forum I frequent. Maybe even as big as vocaloid music. Touhou music aside, though, I really do like stuff from TAMUSIC. You should check out their youtube channel…the violin/piano stuff sounds really good.

Anyway, I’m not entirely sure how this project will work out…I should probably consider something more permanent than youtube links, which tend to be taken down at random points…updating them is a pain. Either way, I’ll give it a shot.