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Column — Music

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The List - 10 Best Spring 2021 Anime Openings

Our top 10 picks are in for the best spring 2021 anime opening songs. Put up your dukes, 'cause there's gonna be a fight. ― 10. Tokyo Revengers “Cry baby” by Official HIGE DANdism Let's kick it off with something jazzy. This is a unique pick for a story about time-traveling delinquents but it's got the right level of emotional intensity for Takemichi's journey. If I'm honest, I liked the beginning a...
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The List - Top 10 Anime Opening Songs of Winter 2021

Typically for The List we've limited the choices to just seven or eight entries but this season is ripe with toe-tapping bops. Also, rules are fake. ― Hey everyone, Jacki Jing here to countdown the best opening songs from the Winter 2021 anime season! Typically for The List we've limited the choices to just seven or eight entries but this season is ripe with toe-tapping bops. Also, rules are fake. Le...
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This Week in Games - Poorly Kept Secrets

It's a big week in games as Heidi runs down the technical deets on the next-gen XBox console, all those Mario 35th anniversary announcements, and the head-scratching Shenmue anime! ― Well, I might be in the midst of the apocalypse right now, but before I try contracting any demons to serve me in the war for the new world, I should probably get at least one This Week in Games out! It's a crazy week fi...
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The List - Our 5 Favorite OPs from Summer 2020

It's time to update your playlists because the summer season is dropping hottest beats yet. ― Anime opening songs can truly be an iconic part of each season. Think of songs like Dean Fujioka's "History Maker" or Linked Horizon's "Guren no Yamiya" - you only need to hear a few bars and you're transported to the ice skating rink of Yuri on Ice or an epic battle with titans. With the summer anime seaso...
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The List - 5 Best Anime Opening Songs of Spring 2020

The List is back this week for a brand-new music edition. If you're looking for excellent tracks to add to your “OMG BEST SONGS EVAR” anime playlist, you've come to the right place. What, that's not the name of your highly-curated Spotify list? ― The List is back this week for a brand-new music edition. If you're looking for excellent tracks to add to your “OMG BEST SONGS EVAR” anime playlist, you'v...
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The List - 5 Top Anime Opening Songs of Winter 2020

It's time to update your playlist! Jacki listens to all the opening songs from the winter 2020 anime season to find which ones truly rock! Wanna weigh in on which songs you think are the best? Be sure to vote in Anime News Network's poll ― There are tons of good opening songs coming out this season that it was really difficult to narrow it down. There's a handful of idol shows focused squarely on pr...
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The List - 5 Best Opening Songs of Fall 2019

Jacki Jing counts down the best new openers of the season. See if your favs made The List! ― It's that time again folks! We're smack dab in the middle of the season and what better time to start a YouTube debate about our completely subjective music preferences!? ::powerful face/fist look:: Okay, to be fair, we listened to every single new OP and it was really hard to choose! Here's our top 5! 5. “R...
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The List - 5 Best Anime Opening Songs of Summer 2019

Summer season is drawing to a close but Jacki Jing will still be grooving to these anime opening themes. ― Summer season is drawing to a close but Jacki Jing will still be grooving to these anime opening themes. Which songs did you add to your playlist? Let us know in the comments! 5. Dr. Stone: "Good Morning World!" by BURNOUT SYNDROMES Burnout Syndromes are pack with a snappy opening after working...
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Answerman - Will The US Ever Get Stand-Alone Otaku Music Events?

Across Japan and in other countries, standalone concert/autograph events for famous idol groups happen outside a convention environment. So why are there never any of these in the US? ― Matthew asked: With the recent announcement that Aqours will be back on in Los Angeles for Anime Expo, once again an idol appearance on American soil is tied to an anime convention. Meanwhile in places like Taiwan an...
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Answerman - Are Cover Versions of Anime Songs Legal?

Youtube is chock-a-block with singers performing covers of anime theme songs - is that legal? Justin has the answer. ― Trace asks: There's a lot of youtube artist who do English covers of anime songs. A few of them even end up on itunes (though with new instrumentation). This brings a lot of questions to mind. Is this illegal? How does copyright work for covering songs in countries that aren't licen...
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The Top 10 Ending Themes of 2015

You've heard the top 10 opening themes of 2015, but now the ending themes need their time in the sun. Here are our top 10 closing themes of 2015! ― Whew! I thought the openings list was tough to narrow down, but 2015 had a ton of great anison at the tail-end of shows this year too. You can check out my top ten picks for great anime ending themes in the video below, but don't forget to vote for your ...
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Answerman - How Can I Get Anime Soundtracks on Vinyl?

Vinyl is everywhere, taking over the remaining music stores and warming the hearts of audiophiles across the country. But where are all the anime soundtracks? ― Kyuubei the 3rd asks: I recently got back into vinyl. I was wondering who do I ask to get an anime soundtrack on vinyl? I know Wicked City's BGM is getting a release soon, but who do I talk to about getting a recent soundtrack on vinyl (such...
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Answerman - Why Can't Idol Singers Have Lives Of Their Own?

Idol singers in Japan are held to some pretty strict and unrealistic standards of conduct by their fans. Is the Idol economy unfair? Justin takes a look. ― Chris asks: Singer Minami Kuribayashi — known for a number of anime OP and ED songs and as a voice actress for the Rumbling Hearts and Muv-Luv visual novels — recently admitted in a blog entry that she had a son, and that she expected that “becau...
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The Top 10 Final Fantasy VII Themes

The FFVII remake can't come soon enough, but you can still enjoy that epic soundtrack while you wait! Hope Chapman counts down some of the best pieces from this legendary JRPG. ― At long last, Final Fantasy fanatics can look forward to a next-gen remake of the series' most popular entry: FFVII! There could be a long wait ahead of us before a shiny new version of this JRPG classic graces our PS4's, b...
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The Set List - Top 10 EDs of 2009

Hope rounds out the year of 2009 with the best ending themes! Did your favorite song make the cut? Plus: vote for your number one pick in the poll! ― This week on the Set List, we continue our journey through the final year of the 00's with the top ten ending theme songs of 2009! As always, only shows that debuted in 2009 qualified for the list, and the same is true of this week's poll, so keep that...
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The Set List - Top 10 OPs of 2009

Hope travels back in time and unearths the best anime openings of 2009! Spice and Wolf, Haruhi Suzumiya, Eden of the East and much more! ― Hooray, the ANN time machine has taken us back to 2009! America is in a recession! The swine flu is causing everyone to freak out! Transformers 2 is in theaters! Is it too late to go back to 2015? Not to worry, there was plenty of great anime music to discover in...
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The Set List - Top 10 Fullmetal Alchemist Theme Songs

Hope counts down the best theme songs from across everyone's favorite action-fantasy franchise, Fullmetal Alchemist. Did your favorite make the list? ― With over 100 episodes, two movies, and two separate continuities, Fullmetal Alchemist is a mighty franchise, formative for anime fans both old and new and packed with memorable music. Today, I'm counting down the top ten best theme songs from the Fu...
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The Set List - Top 10 EDs of 2004

Hope flips the script and travels back in time to count down the 10 best ending themes of 2004. ― Following on the heels of last week's OPs of 2004 list, it's time to look at the opposite end: the best ED themes from 2004! The OP list was mostly filled with old favorites, but this week's list is a little more eclectic and weird, so keep your ears peeled for some surprising ED picks from anime titles...
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The Set List - Top 10 OPs of 2004

It's time to fly back an entire decade to the anime theme songs of yesteryear! What were the coolest openings of 2004? ― George Bush Jr. was re-elected, World of Warcraft was launched, but most importantly, a little show called Beet the Vandel Buster stole the hearts of otaku everywhere. The year was 2004, and I'm sure I remember it perfectly. Wait, maybe Beet wasn't the big anime hit of that year. ...
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The Set List - Top 10 Bleach Theme Songs

With 366 episodes under its belt, Bleach has had a lot of great intros and outtros in its storied run. Which OPs and EDs stand above all the rest in the Soul Society? ― Some anime are long, some anime are longer, and a few anime are just the longest. When an anime gains enough steam to run for over a decade, it only seems fair to put in a class by itself for a musical countdown. With its beloved and...
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The Set List - Top 10 Musical Moments of Cowboy Bebop

Hope counts down the best moments where Yoko Kanno brought her A-game to Cowboy Bebop. Plus: your poll results, and vote for your favorite Bebop episodes! ― 3 2 1, Let's Jam! It's time for a Cowboy Bebop themed episode of The Set List. This week, I've ranked my Top 10 Musical Moments from the legendary jazz-and-blues inspired anime, and you can check them out in the video below! (Please note that we...
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The Set List - Top 10 EDs of 2014

You asked for it, you got it: Hope counts down her top 10 ending themes from 2014, and your poll results from the top 10 opening themes are in! ― Two weeks ago, The Set List premiered with my personal countdown of the 10 best OPs of 2014. Thanks to the overwhelming response to our user poll, we have a viewer-selected Top 10 OPs list for this column, so thank you to everyone who voted! But first, it'...
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Vote on your favorite anime theme song of 2014

In the very first edition of "The Set List," our new music video-column, we asked readers to chime in on their favorite anime theme songs of 2014. Vote now! ― Welcome to the very first edition of The Set List! Ah, there's nothing quite like that new column smell, now with the sweet aroma of video. As a sister series to The List, this column will be counting down music-themed superlatives in anime, v...
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The Set List - Top 10 OPs of 2014

Hope counts down the top 10 anime opening themes of 2014 in the first edition of our new column. Vote for your favorite OPs of 2014 and check out the list! ― Welcome to the very first edition of The Set List! Ah, there's nothing quite like that new column smell, now with the sweet aroma of video. As a sister series to The List, this column will be counting down music-themed superlatives in anime, vi...

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