Opening theme's that...just don't fit/are really bad [Archive]

Selius Raine

08-13-2006, 07:22 AM

Are there any shows that you can think of that have theme songs that just don't fit? I remember that Kino no Tabi: The Beautiful World has an interesting...pop-like song for an opening song. It was unexpected, to say the least, considering the nature of the show.

^^; can't think of any bad ones at the moment though.

jetfire

08-13-2006, 07:56 AM

animanic_critic

08-13-2006, 09:15 AM

I didn't think Rurouni Kenshin's first opening theme fit at all. I found the singer horrible, and way too happy sounding. I can't remember if the lyrics fit, but the tone of the show just sounded like the woman was singing for 5 year olds at a kid's birthday party. So I just found it was mostly the type and tone of the song that didnt fit.
I second to that. Rurouni Kenshin's second opening may be just as terrible, or even worse. You kinda think they were recording it when they had sinus issues...

... another theme I thought of is Gundam SEED Destiny's fourth opening. The first three are tolerable, but suddenly the fourth is an R & B number, which I don't see fit with the mayhem and grit found in the series itself.

Kai-Zodd

08-13-2006, 10:02 AM

Berserk's opening theme. "Tell Me Why" is totally out of place with the show. Here, we have this dark, medieval action/horror/drama, and the opening is some weird Engrishy rock song by a group called "The Penpals." I don't know what they were thinking there, especially when they went to the trouble of getting Susumu Hirasawa to do the rest of the show's score, which is excellent. You'd think, after how wonderful the rest of his music was for the show, they'd just get him to do the opening. Heck, Berserk Forces would be a perfect opening. Oh well, anyways, at least the rest of the show's music is great.

Emeraldas

08-13-2006, 01:56 PM

Evangelion's opening is MUCH too optimistic.

Niner

08-13-2006, 10:28 PM

Evangelion's opening is MUCH too optimistic.
That can be said for most of Evangelion's vocal music, love. XD

As for the topic, I've always felt that Noir's opening was yucky and ill-fitting for the series itself.

animanic_critic

08-14-2006, 12:21 AM

Noir's opening theme is actually good - a little awkward at first for the rhythm, but I sorta got the hang of it later on. However, Gungrave's honky-tonk opening seems a little off. Not horrible, but not really appropriate.

LadySage

08-14-2006, 12:37 AM

BIG O! BIG O BIG O BIG O!

I hate that theme song, just a repetition of the title over and over. At least it's better than the closing theme, which is this horrifically cheesy soft-rock number.

Yodatsubato

08-14-2006, 12:40 AM

Trigun's OP sounded like the singer injected novacaine into several strategic, yet vital, points along his mouth.

That doesn't mean it wasn't appropriate for the anime. But I think something else would have done the series a bit of good.

Evangelion's opening is MUCH too optimistic.
Don't worry; the epilepsy that ensued from the opening video more than made up for it.

hayama22

08-14-2006, 05:24 AM

The theme of Mai-HiME felt really awkward and out of place during the latter half of the series. They probably should've changed it by episode 17 or so.

Emeraldas

08-14-2006, 08:12 AM

That can be said for most of Evangelion's vocal music, love. XD

True, but the thread is just about openings. I think endings should be mentioned too, though, since there are a lot of those that don't match the show. Outlaw Star's ending, for example, might lead you to believe that the show has attractive art, or that it's good.

Niner

08-14-2006, 08:23 AM

I liked Outlaw Star. ;_;

And Mai Otome suffered from the same problems that Mai-HiME did, since the ending theme was far too cheery towards the tail end of the series when the shit started to hit the fan.

Tyrdium

08-14-2006, 09:27 AM

A good chunk of the opening for Binbou Shimai Monogatari bugs me. It's really nasal and annoying sounding. On the whole, though, most OPs I've heard are at least fairly decent.

And Mai Otome suffered from the same problems that Mai-HiME did, since the ending theme was far too cheery towards the tail end of the series when the shit started to hit the fan.Pshaw. Evangelion clearly wins that one.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!-- Fly me to the moon, and let me play among the stars..."

Niner

08-14-2006, 09:45 AM

Yodatsubato

08-14-2006, 09:56 AM

Well yeah, as I said. Eva has some of the cheeriest vocal music for such a morose series. Komm Susser Todd, Fly Me To The Moon, Cruel Angel's Thesis, the Ode to Joy... all quite happy. Then you watch Shinji emo the world into non-existence. Lovely, really.
I like that kind of thing though. If I'm watching some bloody massacre, or some guy shooting himself, or some guy's head being popped off by a giant robot, I might as well be happy about it.

I welcome any time an overly dramatic anime gives me the opportunity to listen to some nice, soothing music instead of paying attention to what's going on. I'll tune into the anime again when the anime thinks I should (ie., takes itself seriously enough).

animanic_critic

08-14-2006, 09:59 AM

Mai-HiME's ending theme is mediocre, I agree, but the overall music is generally very pleasing and catchy to my ears, let alone the opening theme. I would say that Mai-HiME's overall music is one of Kajiura Yuki's better works.

But one thing does bother me - Vandread: Second Stage's opening theme. The first season's opening is very good, but it's otherwise for the second season's. Sounds like the opening's being done on a faulty turntable...

Niner

08-14-2006, 10:37 AM

wtf no

Mai-HiME's ending theme was awesome. It fit pretty well for almost all the episodes in the series' run. It was the OP that got clunky when the shit hit the fan in the latter half of the series.

animanic_critic

08-14-2006, 10:46 AM

Oh okay, misquote. Mai-HiME's ending theme is wonderful; I meant the ending itself, but I guess that's another story altogether. I do find opening quite suitable throughout the whole series, let alone the the second half.

One opening has struck my mind: Magic Users' Club. Quite irritating rhythm and a chorus to match.

Finnf00

08-14-2006, 02:21 PM

To my recollection, there have only been three openings which I truly enjoyed. Well, maybe Wolf's Rain would make it four. These are; GitS:SAC, Texhnolyze and Cowboy Bebop. Every other opening have felt bland, naive, or downright hideous compared to these ass kicking intro's.

animanic_critic

08-14-2006, 10:26 PM

Every other opening have felt bland, naive, or downright hideous compared to these ass kicking intro's.
As much as I agree on the three openings mentioned being pleasing to the ears, I believe there are alot more other opening themes that are still very much commendable: RahXephon, Elfen Lied, Ergo Proxy, Fullmetal Alchemist, GITS 2 - Innocence, Ai Yori Aoshi, Yami No Matsuei... just to name a few.

Major Tom

08-14-2006, 11:03 PM

Trigun's OP sounded like the singer injected novacaine into several strategic, yet vital, points along his mouth.

Trigun's OP, HT, didn't actually have any singing in it.....I assume you are talking about the ED?

I put another vote in for Noir's Copella's Casket. The best I could do for that song is tolerate it.....and that's only because I don't like skipping OP sequences, so i got ot listen to it 26 times...at least.

Outlaw Star's OP song grated on me. It was like a flashback to the 80's.....

And I can't say I was too fond of the OP's for Rozen Maiden and Träumend

Finnf00

08-15-2006, 01:00 AM

As much as I agree on the three openings mentioned being pleasing to the ears, I believe there are alot more other opening themes that are still very much commendable: RahXephon, Elfen Lied, Ergo Proxy, Fullmetal Alchemist, GITS 2 - Innocence, Ai Yori Aoshi, Yami No Matsuei... just to name a few.I left all movies out on purpose. Rahxephon and Elfen Lied I don't like. The others I haven't heard nor seen.

kLaUS

08-22-2006, 08:15 AM

I left all movies out on purpose. Rahxephon and Elfen Lied I don't like. The others I haven't heard nor seen.

whoa , you dont like hemisphere ?¿ its almost my favorite ost song, and i think it does fit with the show.

For bad songs, i hate the opening for escanflowne, i just never like the song, and one that doesnt fit, the one from bersek, its so blank...

animanic_critic

08-22-2006, 08:49 AM

kLaUS

08-22-2006, 12:28 PM

Oh, I can't stand BLOOD+'s 4th opening theme (雷音/Raion by Jinn)! Sounds so... corny, to put it mildly. That song deserves to be butchered beyond recognition.

kLaUs: No... kidding? That's perhaps one of Maaya Sakamoto's best songs ever...

Really, as i said, Hemisphere is one of my favorite songs, so is my favorite Maaya's song. Yakusoku wa Iranai always sounded corny and kind of lame.

And you are right with the Blood+ fourth opening, the other are so great specially the one from Hitomi Takahashi, and the one from uverworld is also really good. But that last one its just awful...

jetfire

08-22-2006, 05:54 PM

Oh, I can't stand BLOOD+'s 4th opening theme (雷音/Raion by Jinn)! Sounds so... corny, to put it mildly. That song deserves to be butchered beyond recognition.

Which is dissapointing, since they had some other good opening themes. Especially Season's Call by Hyde. That song was freaking amazing in my opinion, and the opening animation went along with it very well.

Yodatsubato

08-23-2006, 02:13 AM

Trigun's OP, HT, didn't actually have any singing in it.....I assume you are talking about the ED?

Uhh, yeah. My bad. I haven't seen it in a while, and I didn't have the anime anywhere in my grasp to verify which is which.

The ED's the one where the vocalist sounds like a drunken hobo, right?

soundchazer

08-23-2006, 11:33 AM

I have what I believe is one of the best examples of music mismatching the actual content of a show:

Opening for Narutaru. Too cheery, specially when you consider that

a girl got raped by other girls with a crystal bottle, and people dying left and right by the end of the show.

NausicaaBoy

08-23-2006, 11:56 AM

those who hunt elves is annoying (first and second season)

I really like DNAngel's theme (True light - Miyamoto Shunichi) and Chobits (Let Me Be With You- Round Table) and the bleach themes....

kyubichan

08-24-2006, 08:33 AM

I really like DNAngel's theme (True light - Miyamoto Shunichi) and Chobits (Let Me Be With You- Round Table) and the bleach themes....

*Asterisk is awesome, although slowed down a bit from the original.
Hmmm... I don't like what 4kids does to the music (background and opening/ending) of anime they license. And I'm not going to start about the dubbing and editing.

NausicaaBoy

08-25-2006, 03:55 PM

Houkiboshi is my favorite of the bleach themes...asterisk is also really good... haha yes I know what you mean...the dubbing...please dont start...Im sympathizing with you in a none verbal way. lol

silan

09-16-2006, 06:05 PM

The opening for Gankutsuou has always bugged me. Not the music itself, but the lyrics, which I absolutely cannot stand.

To my recollection, there have only been three openings which I truly enjoyed. [...] Texhnolyze [...]
Win.

Minnie

09-22-2006, 04:37 PM

Escaflowne's ending theme, Mystic Eyes. I mean, whyyyy? The rest of the show was brilliant music-wise and then you get stuck with a dud like that song that's set to scenes where Hitomi macks out with Amano/Allen. D: Way to turn off the viewers. >_>

kLaUS

10-10-2006, 05:12 PM

The opening for Gankutsuou has always bugged me. Not the music itself, but the lyrics, which I absolutely cannot stand.

oh my god,, its true ,, the opening is, i dont know how to explain it... its kind of akward... Not only the lyrics, also the music,, everything its out of place

7Raven7

10-10-2006, 07:16 PM

I agree with Outlawstar, hands down worst beginning to a series.

Almost every FMA begining song as well. I thought the music, especially the opening songs, was the one downside to this series.

Datsun

10-11-2006, 03:21 AM

Yeah, I sorta agree on fullmetal alchemists first theme, and in fact probably the 2nd opening as well as the show gets pretty dark quite early on, and both themes, particularly the first one just sound really cheesy.

And yeah, the Gankutsuou opening is pretty bad... it's one of those songs that you'd sing along to only as a joke.

Hehe, and I've only heard it a couple of times but the One Piece dub opening has got to be one of the most wretched and mockable openings ever.

L-sama

10-11-2006, 05:36 AM

Almost every FMA begining song as well. I thought the music, especially the opening songs, was the one downside to this series.

I don't know. I personally thought that the FMA opening themes were fine (especially the fourth, Rewrite by AKFG) and didn't seem out of place. Now, if there was any theme from FMA that didn't fit, I beleve it would be the third ending (Motherland by Crystal Kay). Too soft and mellow for that point in the series.

Hehe, and I've only heard it a couple of times but the One Piece dub opening has got to be one of the most wretched and mockable openings ever.

Oh man...that was horrid. Don't even get me started on that poor excuse for an opening.

Tremolo

10-11-2006, 05:47 AM

I love the One Piece dub opening. It's just incredible, an amazing testimony to a group of people managing to create something so utterly and hilariously abysmal. And therein lies its brilliance.

YA-YO.

I don't know. I personally thought that the FMA opening themes were fine (especially the fourth, Rewrite by AKFG) and didn't seem out of place. Now, if there was any theme from FMA that didn't fit, I beleve it would be the third ending (Motherland by Crystal Kay). Too soft and mellow for that point in the series.

Quoted for truth.

Major Tom

10-11-2006, 08:25 PM

I don't quite understand the dislike for The Count of Monte Cristo opening. I think it's a nice song, and the lyrics actually do quite fit the context of the story.

Perhaps a darker toned song in the latter part of the series could have enhanced the overall experience, but the song we've got is fine.