The Best Anime Songs of 2025

What was your anime bop of the year? Our editorial team dived into their playlists for the opening, ending, and insert songs they kept on repeat through 2025. The picks run the gamut from cheerful and bright to heavy-metal made to wake the dead. Below you'll find the tracks that defined the year, all thoughtfully embedded so you can rock out while you read.

This section of the Best Anime of 2025 is dedicated to Nicholas Dupree, whose music taste remains impeccable.

Although SPY x FAMILY is a comedy, it has never shied away from its darker elements. While those have been evident from season one – Anya's origins are pretty heavy – season three is where they really come into focus. Loid's past, Damian's family situation, the reason why Billy hijacked two buses full of children…all of these plot points force viewers to reckon with the aftermath of war and what it does to people. That's why SPITZ's “Hi wo Mamoru” is so striking – not just in its lyrics, which speak of finding hope in the darkest days, but also in the visuals.

Most of the opening video is comprised of children frolicking against a sunny backdrop, and all of them are children we know. Look closely, and you'll see the kids in Anya's class, a happier Damian than we've ever seen in the show, a little Biddy petting a cat as her grieving father says she liked to do. Anya pulls child Loid by the hand, symbolic of the way she's given him direction emotionally, a young Yor and puppy Bond running beside them. Child versions of other characters whose younger selves we haven't yet met in the anime also take center stage, marching in a parade of their favorite things, proudly holding them up. The danger is acknowledged in the visuals with a clear shot of a toy gun and radio, but sheer joy is the light the lyrics speak of protecting.

It's a perfect distillation of the series. It acknowledges the bad while hoping for the good, showing where the adults came from and where the better ones hope the kids are going. Between the visuals, the lyrics, and the heartfelt way SPITZ sings them, this is a song that I not only can't get out of my head – I don't want to.

—Rebecca Silverman

To many, Lazarus was a bit disappointing, but I've managed to find a lot of enjoyment in its action, fun quips, and colorful cast of characters. Even when a series from Shinichirō Watanabe isn't redefining genres like previous works, you know you are at the very least, in for a good time because he and his team clearly put a lot of passion into various different aspects of their shows' production. Of all those elements, the music, in particular, always stands out as a defining pillar of the show's identity. Lazarus is no different, and I would argue “Dark Will Fall” is one of the main defining themes of the show.

It is one of the first insert songs that I actually hear in the first episode, and the way that it gets brought up is actually so on the nose it's almost charming. Doug literally asks the radio AI to play him a song that evokes the image of someone selling their soul to the devil. As soon as the song starts, there are panning shots of the high-security prison that hosts our main character, right before he is officially introduced. The song isn't very long, and there aren't many lyrics, but the ones that are there definitely tell a story that foreshadows the rest of the show.

The lyrics tell the tale of a man who sells his soul to the devil, and the way they paint that picture is very interesting. The song portrays the idea that devils drape a person in elaborate objects, but they are unruly and uncontrollable, like a wildfire. No matter what the devil does for you, he can never grant you true freedom because you are in his hands, and no matter what the devil does give you, he is never going to be interested in giving you what your true heart desires. I think this is a good song to introduce our main character, Axel, because that's all he wants: freedom. He wants the freedom to move around, just as he effortlessly does throughout most of the show, but he also wants freedom from things that try to tie him down.

Lazarus is ironically his devil because they let him out of prison, but they don't give him the true freedom he wants. Even if he escapes, the drug that runs through everyone's system can kill him and cut off any true freedom that he really wants. Is it on the nose? Absolutely. The drowning guitar strings that accompany the lyrics almost feel like encroaching on your very soul, snaring you in the very type of darkness that is described in the song itself. It's chilling, it's haunting, and I would argue one of the strongest artistic pieces of the show that I cannot stop listening to.

—Bolts

New Panty & Stocking got a lot of points for playing with itself in coming back after 15 years. The new season would just as soon swerve and shift from the expectations of its crude characters—informed just as much by their development as that of the staff behind the show—as it would indulge its baser instincts. Still, given the original Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt never actually did a proper musical episode in its run (apart from a brief rock music video indulgence), I suppose it only makes sense to not subvert things too hard. Like I told you, there's a Panty & Stocking musical number. How do you think it goes? You consider it for one second, and yeah, it's exactly what you expect. The entire thing even comes about because Panty gets locked out of swearing and discovers she can sing her way around the profane prohibitions. It's indulgences straight out of the South Park movie, and the result is an earworm I could have stuck in my head for days at a time, but absolutely was not safe to let slip out while I was at work.

Even as "The Cursing Song" is the most magnificent musical monument to potty-mouth since Carole & Tuesday's "Galactic Mermaid," it also sings with the astonishing commitment to shitpost production that powered all of New Panty & Stocking. Arisa Ogasawara's performance, singing so much English, is beautiful, with lyrics largely drawn from George Carlin's classic "Seven Dirty Words" bit. And say what you will about the choice to recast the English dub for this series, but it speaks to how natural Courtney Lin's performance is that it's not immediately clear the song wasn't dubbed for that version and just reused the Japanese version—it's that seamless. The whole segment stylistically segues into a spectacular stage show that's a shockingly sincere love letter to the delights of musical theater… just with tunes seemingly composed by a suite of salty sailors, in this case.

That sincerity was the edge that made New Panty & Stocking stand out and, arguably, stand above its predecessor. The gravamen of "The Cursing Song" isn't just Panty finding a reacharound for her inappropriate indulgences—it's her discovering something new that she hadn't considered before but winds up genuinely enjoying! It's growth coming out of Panty & Stocking initially performing the basic way its audience might have expected of them. And it proves here, as it does all throughout the new season, that its potential should never have been doubted. This show is the fucking bitch.

—Christopher Farris

It is easy to finger Ave Mujica as my defining anime-based band of 2025. Their gothic heavy metal theatrics were a perfect sublimation of their members' various psychological hangups, as well as a key component of the show's edgy appeal. However, I have more difficulty singling out one song of theirs that stands above the rest. Metal is, admittedly, not my genre of choice. While I enjoy plenty of metal groups and albums, I don't find myself returning to them as often as other favorites. However, Ave Mujica's connection to this show and these characters has helped their music stand out more in my brain.

Given that caveat, I suppose it's not a surprise that my song of choice is “Imprisoned XII.” While it may have the decency to ease you in with some funereal symphonics first, the typical Ave Mujica experience smacks you in the face with some chunky riffs. “Imprisoned XII,” on the other hand, starts softly with a dialogue between acoustic guitar and piano, layering an angelic chorus on top before letting Uika's voice take the reins. There's almost a folksy twang to the arrangement as it prioritizes her impassioned lyrics, painting a tableau of isolation and avarice.

It's only when the chorus kicks in, and the other instruments join the fray, that “Imprisoned XII” reveals its true form: a power ballad. Uika matches the crescendo by stripping the poetic pretense from her pleas in favor of wailing, “I want…I want…I want…I want you so!” Equal parts cheesy and confessional, it lays bare the lesbian longing at the heart of her lyricism. Uika is a desperate mess consumed with love, lust, and shame. She is a prisoner of her own feelings, so she yearns to imprison Sakiko alongside her bound self. Sure enough, her unrequited pining towards Sakiko becomes the focal point of the arc that follows this performance.

In the anime, the tenth episode stages this performance well. Both Uika and Sakiko exchange furtive glances, yet they never do so at the same time. Meanwhile, the rest of the band reflect on the various melodramas that pushed them apart and pulled them back together. For better or worse, having just reunited, they are all now trapped by Ave Mujica. However, perhaps it is better to be locked up together than free and alone. The official music video, rendered in lovely pencils by Mimei Aoume, reiterates these themes with coffins, birdcages, masks, and wings. We all choose our prisons, and Uika, tortured though she may be, seems content with hers.

—Sylvia Jones

The name of this song might have “2025 Version” tacked on at the end, but let's get one thing straight right out of the gate: I'm absolutely cheating with this one. “BEYOND THE TIME” is an anison classic for extremely good reason—roaring guitar riffs, blaring synths, and a sax solo that'll never be topped. From its initial appearance in Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack, the tune has become a favorite among anime fans, serial memers, and stressed-out salarymen looking to blow off some steam at karaoke.

“But Coop, isn't Char's Counterattack almost forty years old? Why is this song on a ‘Best of 2025’ list?” Well, you'd have to ask Kazuya Tsurumaki and the crew behind Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX that question. This new version of the TM NETWORK hit appears in the series' penultimate episode, acting as a needle drop that reveals the true (Mobile Suit Gundam: The) origin of the mysterious Shuji. And oh boy, this controversial moment birthed a whole new genre of Gundam memes. But more importantly, the inclusion of “BEYOND THE TIME” in GQuuuuuuX introduced an entire generation to an all-time banger.

—Coop Bicknell

In the final episode of Rock is a Lady's Modesty, the stakes are as high as they've ever been for our rebellious quartet of rock-and-rollers. Lillisa, Otoha, Tina, and Tamaki have overcome their differences and committed to performing at a climactic Battle of the Bands. Still, the crowd is filled with the loyal and superficial fans of the mediocre boy band, BACCHUS. To win over the audience and prove their bona fides as an instrumental rock group, the newly christened Rock Lady will have to jam harder than they've ever jammed before. The glorious result of their efforts is "Yoruwa Hikariwo Enpeishi Ikutano Himitsuwokumi Sakashimana Musouwo Hagukumu.”

As a millennial who grew up obsessed with avant-garde prog rock featuring obscenely long song titles, I was honor-bound to adore this song from the moment I heard it. Beyond that, though, is the plain and simple fact that this track just, well, rocks. “Yoruwa Hikariwo…” tells the complete story of Rock Lady's triumph over mediocre influencer muzak, set to eight-and-a-half minutes of supremely sweaty shredding, slamming, licking, fretting, and fingering. I am talking about the instruments, of course, you freaks (though the show's shameless use of lesbian BDSM imagery to visualize Lillisa's fiery musical chemistry is still very much at the forefront).

As Lillisa's berserker-mode guitar work leads the song through its wordless verses, Tamaki finds the latent power of a cool and confident bass line, and Tina finally finds her shine with a simple but effective showcase of her growing keyboard skills. The music descends into a dark fadeout as Otoha contemplates whether she even belongs in a band that gives a damn about what anyone else thinks, only for Lillisa to rev her engines back up to maximum level of barely contained lust so we can roar back to life with a killer drum solo. After a whole season of false starts and fractured hearts, it delivers everything that could be asked for by fans of rock and ladies alike.

—James Beckett

In a way, all metal shows are exorcisms—exorcisms for all the problems that haunt your life, even if they only last for a few headbanging, mosh-pitting, row-boating hours. So, using metal for an actual exorcism? I can see the logic DAN DA DAN season 2 was operating on. Well, I can hear it, too, because we actually get to hear the song—and holy diver is this one a treat.

In-universe, the band performing this song is called HAYASii—likely a reference to Yoshiki Hayashi, aka YOSHIKI of X Japan, to whom this song pays a lot of obvious homage. Obvious enough, in fact, that you might recall it caused a brief stir on social media a few months ago, but to put a long story short (although we covered the long version here), it was a non-issue, nothing came of it, and the whole thing blew over.

In reality, the song was composed by kensuke ushio, who has been involved in the soundtracks for DEVILMAN crybaby, Liz and the Blue Bird, and Chainsaw Man, among many other anime. That absolutely sick guitar you're hearing was performed by the show-stopping, absolutely legendary Marty Friedman, formerly of Megadeth throughout the '90s (the decade they made “Holy Wars...The Punishment Due” and “Symphony of Destruction,” among plenty of other iconic hits)—who, relevant to the current discussion, has been living in Japan for the past 20ish years and has dabbled in anime music. Still, that doesn't make his involvement any less of a massive deal.

On vocals in Japanese is GRANRODEO's Kishō Taniyama, who's done music for anime such as Bungo Stray Dogs and Kuroko's Basketball, among others. Still, GRANRODEO's a good band, and Taniyama does a great job here, but they're not a metal band. He's missing a certain oomph that can only come from hearts on fire singing about stuff like, say, rusty nails, emerald swords, and black diamonds, and such. And that's where the English dub comes in.

The dub of this song elevates it from cool to downright unprecedented in the realm of anime. Jarring and disappointing as it would've been, I'm sure no one would've thought too much about it if they didn't bother dubbing this song—after all, diegetic songs going undubbed happens all the time in other anime. But in the world of metal, there's no such thing as too much. Perhaps that's why they got Marc Hudson—the lead singer of DragonForce (remember playing “Through The Fire and the Flames” on Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock? The band's got a new singer in the years since (Hudson joined in 2011), but it's that band for the vocals in the dub version of this song.

While the specific details of how he got involved haven't emerged (and I'd LOVE to know the full story), it's not hard to guess why Hudson got to do this. Given that this is a song for an anime dub, he'd be right up there with Beast in Black's Yannis Papadopoulos (Beast in Black's name and multiple songs are themed around Berserk—and he's also, fun fact, a fan of Yu Gi Oh!) as an obvious choice. Right off the bat, DragonForce is nothing if not quintessential power metal. But also, DragonForce has quite the nerdy streak. They have entire songs—plural—about video games. Plus, this wouldn't be Hudson's first time collaborating on a Japanese song either—if you haven't already heard it, I implore you to listen to “Aisatsu Metal,” a hilarious song which I'm obsessed with.

In case you haven't noticed, let me say it plainly: Getting Marty Friedman and Marc Hudson is nothing short of total overkill for an insert song in a cartoon about a guy who's looking for his lost balls. And I think that's beautiful. That, my friends, is metal—figuratively and literally.

Also, the song is catchy and exactly the type that people would be joyously moshing to if it were performed live. I've said all this about the creation of the song, and barely a word about the song itself—but it's a great song! It's a certified banger—headbanger, that is.

—Kennedy

2025 didn't have as many must-watch anime openings for me as other years, but Anne Shirley's was the one that most easily overcame any temptations to click the “skip intro” button. Much of that is due to the opening sequence's exceptional visuals.

Anne Shirley is a nice-looking show in general, but the OP, directed and storyboarded by Naoko Yamada (K-ON!, The Colors Within), goes above and beyond with its character animation, becoming one of the most dramatic cases in recent memory of an OP's sakuga surpassing the rest of its series. The spring in Anne's steps matches perfectly with the beat of the music; flowers bloom as if by magic when she picks up a plate. Like the show itself, the opening animation follows Anne from childhood to adulthood. The scene, contrasting younger and older Anne taking a family photo, takes on a bittersweet resonance later on, knowing one of those family members won't be there to take it. While the animation stands out most, the song “Yokan” by Tota is delightful in its own right, with a catchy, upbeat tune that captures our main character's perspective, offering hopeful lyrics about a world full of wonder and welcoming the future with excitement. The music and animation coalesce into 90 seconds of pure joy.

—Reuben Baron

From the charming, slightly broken English of the first line, “Hello, dear my friends,” “Hello,” the opening song for CITY The Animation feels like a greeting accompanied by a warm hug. CITY is the first non-sequel from Kyoto Animation since the horrifying arson of 2019, and singer Furui Riho put a lot of thought into what song would open the anime, representing the studio's comeback. Her lyrics speak of growing up, memories, and reunions, as three of the show's central characters, Wako Izumi, Midori Nagumo, and Niikura, cavort about as children. It's sweet, a little intimate, and deeply relatable to those of us who have grown up and moved away, but still treasure our friends back home.

The song's structure begins with a simple vocal melodic line backed by piano and light percussion over images of the three girls playing in the river as children, then expands to horns and a heavier beat as the camera moves toward the sky and the title splays across the screen. It returns to simplicity, with colorful raindrops, before gradually swelling again over the shadows of the three girls, running and skipping as they are silhouetted by the evening sun. The vocals become layered as idyllic images flash by, then still shots of the CITY residents, culminating in one last horn sting as Wako, Nagumo, and Niikura dance in unison toward a crowd of their neighbors congregated under a sign.

The alternating of vocals and horns, each growing in exuberance as the song continues, creates a feeling of both intimacy and welcome. More than anything else, it feels like an invitation to hang out with them. “Come play with us,” it says. You don't need to get to know the people of CITY, because you're already friends, and they're happy to see you. I'm happy to see them too.

—Caitlin Moore

There's a little treat waiting for you at the end of every episode of My Dress-Up Darling Season 2. It's a perfectly encapsulated gyaru aesthetic music video, like a snowglobe that swirls with pink glitter. It's "Kawaii Kaiwai" by idol group PiKi: a cutesy J-Pop song with a disco infusion that feels nothing but “new, new, new, new.” Like PiKi itself, a duo that performs in matching sweet lolita dresses that look for all the world like frilly, pastel pink cakes, this song is a sugary, girly-girl overload of all things cute wrapped up in a bop you can dance to.

This song is a bit softer than your average anime banger. “Kawaii Kaiwai” combines the word for cute with the word for neighborhood or community. With lyrics about a girl feeling like a “brand new me” when she dresses up in a brand new outfit, it's a perfect image song for this cosplay anime. Really, PiKi couldn't have asked for a better outcome for their debut song than for it to become the ending track of a hit anime, earning a built-in audience right from the start. Breathy female vocals and a beat that doesn't quit pulse to sweet, trendy, and profoundly pink illustrations of the summer anime season's It girl. The cosplaying ingénue poses prettily in gyaru fashion, chibified versions of her many costumes, and a lacy little number that evokes a wedding dress. It features chubby, wide-eyed Marin bag charms that seemed uncannily current right around the time Labubus were sinking their tiny claws into the English-speaking world. The art then takes a vaporwave turn, featuring a retro computer window titled secret.exe that endlessly loops a GIF of Marin making a heart shape with her hands. VIVINOS and Qmeng, two artists known for their creepy-cute color-saturated web series Alien Stage, are the duo behind the animation. Luckily for Marin, they left the more guro aspects of their art at home for this one.

Indeed, the song is just half of it. “Kawaii Kaiwai” wouldn't have taken off in the same way without its memorable visuals, which are simplified and stylized enough to have become an animation meme. So many talented fan animators have riffed on this sparkly-pink ED to feature their favorite characters. I've seen this meme executed beautifully, starring every character from Chopper from One Piece to (squints) the works of Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoyevsky. The visuals are emulatable enough and the tune catchy enough for versions of “Kawaii Kaiwai” to spread like wildfire across social media. Perhaps the “cute community” referenced in the title turned out to be the fandom all along.

—Lauren Orsini

For fifteen years, Trigger fans had been eagerly waiting for Hiroyuki Imaishi's beloved nod to American cartoons to make waves once more, and the wait was worth it. Everything in this second season was uncut and pure PANTY & STOCKING: Vulgar humor! Slapstick escapades! Parodies of Hollywood movies! And... each episode ending with such an uplifting pop-banger of an ED? Everybody knew that Taku Takahashi would bring in the musical heat once more to PANTY & STOCKING, but nobody expected him to outdo himself quite like this.

Beyond it being just a great ED, this was the anime funk jam of the summer, a catchy pop hit that never lost its edge no matter how many times it spun on your playlist. Takahashi's instrumentals are focused and sharp here, with layer upon layer of synthesizers that give the song a very otherworldly feel. The song's single release has him and his m-flo cohorts floating in outer space, no doubt a means to visually replicate Takahashi's galactic musical vibes. However, in a podcast Takahashi did with Scrmbl, he described the inspiration for “Reckless” as being akin to “the excitement a kid feels when they see their first typhoon.”

The lyrics are a surprising, surefire win for me, too. I don't focus much on the lyrics of many songs, let alone anime EDs, and yet I.ADORE how this song balances its bubblegum pop quickness with a sense of emotional sincerity. Adee A.'s singing is boisterous here, his lyrics focusing on regret and anguish (“Pathetic, I wear it like a crown”). The way that Verbal answers back with his signature style of rap is a perfectly confident counter to Adee A.'s self-deprecation. The lines “They think they know me, but that's the old me / Usеd to control me, but now they moldy” are pretty goofy, yet the way Verbal delivers them with absolute chuuni, combined with some acoustic guitar strums to add to the emotional intensity, makes the m-flo rapper sound like a man on his own mission of rebirth and self-discovery, and it's a blast. Who'd-a-thunk that an anime that delights itself in dick jokes and profanity would come out with the most inspiring song I've heard in a long time? Seriously, this is a song that motivates me going forward into the year 2026—it already spells out like my New Year's Resolution. Cheers, folks.

—Jeremy Tauber

So, if I'm being honest, despite this being a pretty good year for anime overall, it hasn't really translated into great OPs. There have been some solid ones, like "Bow and Arrow" for Medalist or "Hope" for Anne Shirley, but they don't quite feel like instant classics and haven't stuck with me throughout the year as much as I was hoping for. Even the second DANDADAN OP is kind of a shrug, as while it does have some stylish visuals, songwise Kakumei Dochu is nowhere near as good a bop as "Otonoke." Needless to say, the competition this year hasn't been fierce, but even if it were, it's hard to imagine any other opening topping the instant charm of "Watch Me" by YOASOBI.

Visually, it's far and away the easiest standout of the year thanks to Megumi Ishitani's direction. The opening is stuffed with references to individual manga chapters, each serving as a quick, self-contained gag, and each features its own unique art style that grabs viewers' attention and sells the joke's intended effect. This works even as the last few moments of the opening shift towards a more battle-focused look, and despite adopting many different looks over 90 seconds, it transitions between them almost seamlessly, maintaining a constant sense of momentum from beginning to end. With that much going on, you'd expect a lot of the visual direction here to feel random. Still, it all serves Nico's attempt to show off as many of her spells as she can, without considering the consequences, which helps convey much of the show's humor even without hearing the characters speak.

Of course, as great as the visuals are, they can only do so much to sell the show without an equally strong song, so thankfully, YOASOBI steps up to the plate here. "Watch Me" may not be as haunting or epic as Idol from Oshi no Ko, but it's just as good at setting the tone for the show it's attached to, and the upbeat tempo of the song matches pretty well with the largely cozy vibes of Witch Watch as a comedy. The same goes for its lyrics, which mainly center on Nico's desire to get Morihito to look her way, and they work in harmony with the OP's visual direction to convey everything you need to know about Nico's personality. Witch Watch couldn't have asked for a better anthem, and if you haven't checked out the show yet, it's a great reason to watch this witch.

—Jairus Taylor

"INERTIA" by SawanoHiroyuki[nZk]:Rei & SennaRin (To Be Hero X)

The Hiroyuki Sawano-composed "INERTIA," in its original form, is the opening theme song to To Be Hero X and is sung entirely by male vocalist Rei alone. However, this version of the song changes things up by adding female vocalist SennaRin to the mix. In the verses, the two stanzas swap, with SennaRin's voice adding a kind yet haunting quality to the music that's not present in the original. Then for the chorus, the first half is done with Rei singing the melody and SennaRen the harmony—only for the two to switch roles on the back half. It's a great mixing of male and female voices that takes the song to a whole new level.

What's doubly cool about this version of the song is that it's only played once in the whole series—as the credits to the final episode. Instead of the usual opening visuals, this song is paired with original animation that showcases never-before-seen moments from the titular X's backstory, along with hints at what will happen in the show's upcoming second season. It also introduces several heroes and villains that have only shown up in the show's background elements thus far—showing us for the first time what they are capable of—and seeing X's reality-altering powers in action is always a treat. In other words, the song's even got its own lore-filled music video to accompany it.

—Richard Eisenbeis

From the group that brought the world the pop earworm, “Shin Takarajima,” sakanaction dips its hands into its first-ever anime opening theme. With over 83 million Spotify streams, “Kaiju” broke Spotify Japan's record for the most-streamed song on release day in late February-early March 2025. The rock track slowly builds after kicking off with the iconic verse, “Nando Demo,” and takes off into an intense piano arrangement. “Kaiju” was the first song that sakanaction released in three years, and encapsulates the soul of Orb: On the Movements of the Earth in its lyrics. There's no other opening sequence that came close to “Kaiju,” musically or visually, and it still haunts me nearly ten months later. As such, I will be discussing spoilers for Orb below.

The Japanese title of the series, 'チ,' is a homophone for the Japanese words for Earth, knowledge, value, and blood, among other meanings used in the series. “Kaiju” is used in the first and second cour of Orb, and has subtle updates as the protagonists change in their respective parts. The verse, “This world is conveniently imperfect, so I want to know,” expresses the speaker's desire to both seek and share the knowledge they've discovered about the world, fitting the characters and their journey in Orb. I never once skipped the opening and stared into the small details the animators incorporated into the sequence. On my third rewatch, I noticed the globe included only continents that reflected 15th-century European understanding, with a vast Pacific Ocean without the Americas.

By the time it changes for the fourth and final time in episode twenty-four, the previous character outlines are replaced with frames of pure black, representing the deaths of all the characters whose sacrifices led to this one moment in time. However, their faces, their names, and their likenesses are forgotten or lost. I felt a wave of devastating sadness as characters who once stood in their spots under the stars disappeared from view. It's a visual representation of what Bishop Antoni says to Nowak at the end of episode twenty-two: “When it comes to you and the heretics you executed, neither of you will be known to history." Although he's an example of a greedy, corrupt religious figure who makes one good point, the opening song proves he's off mark as the final shot reveals Rafal's pendant in Albert Brudzewski's hands.

As a side note, frontman Ichirō Yamaguchi explicitly stated on a YouTube livestream that he would love to work on another anime song again, but it's hard as the landscape is filled with Aniplex-produced anime series and thus scored exclusively by Sony Music Japan's musicians. Slow progress is being made, but competition is intense among different productions. Food for thought.

—Kalai Chik

100 Meters is a remarkable sports anime movie created using rotoscoping to jaw-dropping effect to recreate the sheer, brutal physicality of sprinting to the limits of human endurance. Directed by ON-GAKU: Our Sound's Kenji Iwaisawa, it's only his second movie, yet 100 Meters rivals The First Slam Dunk as one of the very best, most entertaining, and most intense sports anime movies of the past few years.

A large part of the film's success comes in the form of its great soundtrack, and by far the standout track is the closing credits song "Rashisa" by Official HiGE DANdism. Higedan are well-known to anime fans for providing songs for Tokyo Revengers (the excellent “Cry Baby” and “White Noise”), SPY x FAMILY (“Mixed Nuts”), and most recently “Same Blue” for Blue Box.

Their high-tempo, urgent, thrumming, guitar-solo-led "Rashisa" is the perfect accompaniment to a movie about pushing oneself to the limit, competing not only against others but against oneself. With lyrics like “happiness and sorrow, anxiety and hope, despair and highs, and every single one of these is yours and mine”, the song accurately encapsulates the duality of positivity and negativity that drives every athlete. The hope of success, the fear of loss, and the drive to continue are all evoked by what I feel is one of the very best anime songs I've heard all year.

"Rashisa" (meaning “likeness” or “essence”) has found a permanent place on my YouTube playlist, serving as a powerful reminder of a movie I thoroughly enjoyed. Listening to it is almost enough to make me seek out my running shoes and start pounding the streets again just to feel that runner's high. Except I live in Scotland, and it's miserable, dark, and wet out there. Maybe come springtime, as the trees blossom into life and the sun returns from slumber, can I live out my anime-driven fantasies of athletic success, fuelled by the sound of "Rashisa" from my trusty earbuds?

—Kevin Cormack

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