This is just a bonus post I’m doing because I love music and want to share some good songs I’ve listened to lately
One of the things that really helps me when I’m writing something is listening to the right music. I have a few playlists on spotify, as well as a list of liked songs that’s growing at the speed of sound. I want to start sharing some of these playlists with you guys. So starting with March 2021, I’m making a playlist with songs I’ve discovered that month, or I’ve just listened to an unreasonable amount. Here’s the playlist as well as some explanations as to why I picked these songs.
Let’s start with the big winner for me; Machine Gun Kelly. I remember MGK as the guy who tried to diss Eminem and kind of failed. After that I didn’t really listen to any of his music. I like Hip-Hop, but I’m also very picky when it comes to the genre and I figured I wouldn’t be missing out too much. Well let’s just say I was wrong. In 2020, MGK made a punk-rock album called “Tickets To My Downfall” and it’s absolutely amazing. I love punk-rock, with Fallout Boy being one of my favorite bands ever. I know that’s kind of the vanilla punk-rock band, but I do think they’re very good at what they do and Patrick’s voice is a gift to us all. MGK seems to be part of a recent movement to revive the genre and I am all here for it. I’m adding 3 songs from his album to the playlist, but make sure to check out the entire album! In a similar trend I found out about YUNGBLUD fairly recently. He did a song with KSI and Polo G called Patience. It also has the punk-rock aesthetic that I love, with KSI’s singing being very good. With special guest Travis Barker from Blink-182 fame this song is star studded.
Doing hardcore parkour from one genre of music to the next, let’s move on to J-pop. That’s right, I’m still a weeb at heart and Japan has delivered consistently good music. I’m specifically pleased with True’s album Storyteller. The songs have been used by the Slime Isekai anime with the song 黎明 or Reimei being used at the apex of episode 9. It fit the scene it was in so well that I ended up listening to the song on repeat for the following two days. Another amazing artist I discovered fairly recently (it might have been February, but I make the rules here) is Yuuri and his song Kakurenbo. I’ll make sure to add it to the playlist.
There are a few more songs and artists I want to highlight here, so it’s time for a lightning round. Bruno Mars’ song Leave the door open with Anderson .Paak is a joy to listen to. Bruno is super talented. I’ve also been listening to Post Malone, and his song with the pokemon tune is a masterpiece. A good friend of mine recommended the rapper NF to me, and his songs are really good. Last I want to mention is one of the biggest artists of this moment: The Weeknd. None of the songs I’ve listened to are particularly new, but they are absolute fire, so I have to add them.
I wrote most of this post a couple days away from posting it, and I have since added a few more songs. The most notable being “Last Cup of Coffee.” by Natsumii, Valkyrae and Lilypichu. I have to admit I don’t watch their streams too much, since I’m not huge on watching long streams. I do think they’re all very funny people and I love seeing them in highlights. This song is a nice combination of chill music, coffee and existential dread. If you like this one, check out Lily’s song Dreamy Night as well. It was one of, if not my most played song of 2020.
I think I’ve kept you waiting long enough now, here’s the March playlist, listen to it while you’re working on your own creative projects and let me know if there’s any music I should really check out in April. Thanks for reading and remember to like and share!
One Piece is an absolute behemoth of a franchise. With over 1000 chapters and (as of writing this) 965 anime episodes as well as fourteen movies it is one of the most successful comic franchises of all time. One of my guilty pleasures is watching people react to a compilation of the One Piece openings. Not only are they all absolute bangers, it’s great to watch other people enjoy them as well, and in the case of a first time watcher see their reactions to the amount of visual chaos that is One Piece. I thought it would be fun to think about which of the openings I actually thought were my favorite, so I decided to make a quick top 5. My top will arguably change over time, but after watching the entire list yesterday, and having it open on my second screen again right now, this is the order I came up with. Beware of spoilers of anything before the Wano arc.
Undeniably one of the most uplifting songs in the entire list of One Piece openings. It’s early on and unfortunately fairly aged, but this song just gets me happy. I almost can’t help to join in and go “Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.” At the appropriate time. Unfortunately One Piece wasn’t doing longer openings yet at this point, so it’ll have to sit at around 90 seconds, but it’s short and powerful. There is also an English version which is equally good.
I’ll admit that the Dressrosa arc went on for longer than it should have. I think a lot of people certainly agree. The conclusion was fantastic, and it produced some of my absolute favorite moments of the show, but it did take a long time to get there. With a vast amount of characters shown in this opening, including the menacing admirals and Blackbeard, who I can’t wait to see more of in the approaching final arcs, makes for great visuals. The crew flying in front of a mediocre CGI background sky doesn’t even bother me with how cool they are. And the transition of the Mera Mera no Mi from Ace to Sabo is done splendidly.
I struggled choosing between this one and Opening 21: Super powers. I think they’re visually the most impressive out of all the openings bar Wano, and the juxtaposition of Luffy’s intense pain when confronted with Sanji’s past, compared to his normal upbeat mood, as well as the absolutely terrifying silhouettes of the Big Mom crew just makes this opening hit differently. There’s also many different versions of it, which is a staple at this point. Super Powers has the conclusion with Katakuri, which is why I almost put it in here instead, so consider this an honorable mention. I just think the melancholic tones of Hope fit this arc better, and Super Powers, although catchy, has to be one of the more boring songs in the series.
I would be remiss not to include the original opening, but improved. Because the only thing that could improve a banger like We Are is if it was sung by the crew itself. Dated in it’s animation, the song itself certainly holds up, and I think I prefer it to the remix that was used later on in the series. Not much to say about this one, except that is absolutely slaps.
One of the coolest designs in the manga I think. Jinbe is amazing!
I’ve heard numerous people say they don’t like this song much, and I understand why, but I respectfully disagree. The art is great, and the visuals, for the first half of the song, show how much fun the straw hat crew is.They’re wacky, over the top and a bunch of absolute morons, and we love them for it. They love adventure and are having a great time. Some of the quick animations in between give the same amazing feeling that the colored cover pages of the manga often give. The song hits a sadder note when we see Ace, and we’re reminded that the straw hats aren’t in a great spot right now. This quickly changes with the most awkward salute given by the Impel Down guards. The song hits straight back into more optimistic tones as Luffy and his new friends head to Marineford to go save Ace. I couldn’t say it better than the singer herself, who ends the song with “matteru” or according to the subs. “Look up ahead, my treasure, as you are waiting there for me!” I don’t know how correct this is, or how badly I butchered the Japanese, but it is very fitting for this arc.
That was far from a definitive list, and I’m sure there’s openings that deserve more credit than I give them. I also quite like Crazy Rainbow Star, as well as Share The World! As a matter of fact, I don’t think there’s a single bad opening, but these 5 stood out to me. The only thing I can say is that some of the more recent songs have felt kind of boring to me, and I haven’t been impressed by the Wano openings, bar the animation.
But what would your list be? Do you agree with mine, or are there other Opening Themes that you preferred. I want to look at the endings in the future as well, since One Piece had some great ending themes. Leave a comment down below if you want to see that, and like the post if you want more lists like this. Thanks for reading!
Initially I was going to write a piece talking about different Japanese artists, and what I liked about them. After two attempts of writing up a list I still wasn’t quite happy with what I wrote down. It had great artists, but the content had quickly turned into a boring list, with my writing adding no real depth to the post. As much as I like lists, that’s not the purpose of these kinds of blog posts, so instead I decided to specifically look at anime openings and endings. Now, for this list I’m going to look at openings that I personally love, and I will be ignoring some super popular ones that will get an honorable mention at the end, but have been mentioned by many before me. I hope you find some openings that suit your musical taste, and maybe even find an anime or two to watch. These are not in any particular order. Enjoy!
There are many reasons to watch an anime. Maybe you like the art style, maybe you’ve read the synopsis and found it very interesting, maybe your favorite youtuber talked about, or a friend recommended it. All of those are valid and common reasons, but there is one anime I watched for a different reason. My first experience with Chihayafuru was through seeing the opening song in a compilation on youtube. I loved the sound of it, and I listened to it for a while, until I decided to watch the Anime that it was a part of. To my surprise, Chihayafuru quickly became one of my favorite anime, alongside 3-Gatsu no lion. The relaxing sound of 99RadioService accompanies each of the three seasons and I think they’re all fantastic songs in their own right.
I enjoyed Utawarerumono (that trips me up every time I write it) for what it was. It wasn’t amazing by any means, but as a person who loves the cat ears and the tail (don’t judge me, we’re all degenerates here) it was a very enjoyable watch. The opening theme to this anime sounds great. I’ve thought about it for a bit while writing it, but I’m not quite sure how to talk about it. It’s just a pleasant sounding track in front of a pleasant watch. Please check this one out, and give both Utawarerumono seasons a go as well. I am planning to go back to them in the near future and do a proper review, so look forward to that!
I debated amongst a few Bump of Chicken songs. I was initially going to put Acacia here from the Pokemon animation that came out last year, but eventually decided against it. I also considered some of the music they did for 3-Gatsu no lion, which is one of my favorite shows of all time, and which I will write about in the future. The reason I ended up choosing Hello World over their other songs was because it was the first Bump of Chicken song I really listened to. Kekkai Sensen is an absolute blast to watch, and the other opening and ending songs from that show (both seasons) are phenomenal as well. Hello World is a great soft-rock track accompanied by a very well directed animation opening. Hello domou, boku wa koko!
I really like Dr. Stone. I don’t think it’s a great setting for a long-running show, but I also wouldn’t be surprised if the author has way more creativity than I do, so it might turn out great. I do sometimes get anxious that shows might go downhill if I can’t see the long-term potential. Is that something other people experience as well? Sometimes it’s completely wrong, but often it’ll be right. Anyway, this is about anime openings, so let’s go back to that. The first season of Dr. Stone was blessed by two amazing openings by Burnout Syndromes and Pelican Fanclub. The opening to the second season is a little less upbeat, but feels a bit more melancholic. As if it’s a prelude to the clash that’s going to happen during this second season. (I’m writing this a little while before posting it, but I assume there’s a fight coming this season.) It’s not quite like other shonen opening themes, but it’s still extremely pleasant to listen to.
I have to admit I’m not watching Black Clover. It’s one of three shows currently on my ‘stalled’ list. I want to get back to it eventually, since the manga is great fun. I have gone ahead and listened to the openings, and Vickeblanka’s rock songs are a joy. I couldn’t choose between this song and Black Rover, which is the third opening of Black Clover. Yeah, I think he matched the titles to the show there. Both have their own merits, and if you enjoy one, you’ll likely enjoy the other as well. Both capture the fun and energy of Black Clover quite well, and what I like about these songs matches what I like about Black Clover.
A gorgeous and simple album cover from Bump of Chicken’s Butterflies, worth a listen for sure.
You’ve made it to the halfway point of this list. What do you think so far? Any good songs on here? Let’s give a quick shout to some honorable mentions while we’re at it. There’re many amazing songs we won’t get to cover today, so I’m sure I’ll end up making several more lists in the future. “Let me hear” by Fear, and Loathing in Las Vegas perfectly captures the madness of the Parasyte anime, and gets you hyped for some depressing alien stuff. Asian Kung-Fu Generation’s “Re: Re:” has been talked about a ton, and I’ve heard people say it would fit better in front of a shonen anime. I think I even saw an edit at some point where it was used on a Naruto opening animation and it fit like a glove. Still, it was in front of Erased, which was an undoubtedly less upbeat show. Kenshi Yonezu is undoubtedly an extremely popular artist in his own right, and some of his songs have been in front of popular anime. One that has always stood out to me, for an anime that misses the boat twice today, was “Orion” used for 3-Gatsu no Lion. Thinking about it, that show was truly a blessing of music as well, I’ll make sure to talk about this in my inevitable review. Anyway, with these honorable mentions out of the way, let’s go back to this particular list.
I was unsure which Fire Force opening I was going to put on this list. There’s many great entries for both of the seasons, including a fire song by Mrs. Green Apple. Eventually I decided on this song by Kana-Boon. I mainly picked it out because there are so many other Kana-Boon songs that should also be on this list, and I didn’t want to flood it with one artist too much. This song is arguably better than the anime it precedes. Fire Force is by the same author as Soul Eater, which I absolutely adore. Unfortunately Fire Force hasn’t seem to hit the same highs so far. It’s a decent shonen for sure, but it just doesn’t quite get my attention like other shows that have been airing recently. The opening is absolute fire though. I’m a big fan of Kana Boon in general, but this song just fits the anime perfectly.
One Piece, after all these years, is still one of my favorite anime. When it comes to manga, it’s my favorite by a long shot, but we’re not here to talk about manga today. One Piece has an impressive runtime of well over 900 episodes at this point, with episode 1000 likely coming up later this year. Through this runtime it has cycled through many openings. I considered putting the very first opening here instead, because that one is fantastic as well, but this is my personal list, and for me this opening hits differently. This was the opening when I first started watching One Piece back in the early 2010s. It’s upbeat as well as somber, which really fits the wild emotional swings you experience while watching this show. Give it a listen, and then go give One Piece a quick watch, shouldn’t take too long right?
These images capture the heart of One Piece, and how much they really are a group of friends.
Perhaps not the anime song named Blue Bird you were expecting, but I’d call it a pleasant surprise. Bakuman, for the two of you that aren’t familiar, is a manga about creating manga. Hold onto your hat Xzibit, because there’s layers to this one. A decidedly different story by the author of Death Note, this one is amazing, and Blue Bird is such a mellow song that perfectly captures the dreamy attitude our main characters have. I think anyone who likes the anime or the song should give the music video for this one a watch as well. It’s not a marvel of cinematography, but I think it strangely fits the song itself in its serenity. It’s certainly relaxing to watch.
I almost made the mistake of switching the title of the song with the artist, because besides this one song I’m really not all too familiar with them. Just like some of the other songs on this list, this comes from a show that holds a special place in my heart. I’ve had a saying about slice of life anime for a long time now, that I’m sure I didn’t come up with, but I’ve been using it consistently. I like to say “It’s an anime that heals your soul.” This is true for many shows, and my favorite is coming up at number 10, but Barakamon is the show that started my love for Slice of Life shows. Before this show I mainly watched shonen shows, maybe some comedy or romance shows at best, but the idea of just lying down and watching some fairly normal people living their life sounded boring to me. Now I think very differently, and this show, as well as this very relaxing song, will always hold a special place in my heart.
Readers will have figured out at this point that I absolutely adore this show.
Wait, did I get that right? Oh no, I didn’t. My bad, it’s actually called “Shiny Days” by Asaka. It’s just that the song reminds me of the Jackson 5 so much that I get them mixed up from time to time. This is my good mood song. I can’t listen to this song and not be in a good mood instantly. It vibes, it grooves and it is absolutely a joy to listen to. Yuru Camp tells the story of a group of high school girls who go camping. Sometimes as a group, sometimes alone. I did a review of the manga as well. It’s the peak of slice of life stories in my opinion, and with a second season currently airing it should be fresh on everyone’s mind. The second opening is fine as well, but this one is definitely on a level of its own, and I find myself humming along every time I hear it.
Although very fun to do, this post ended up taking much more time than other posts. Below, you’ll also find a spotify playlist with some of the songs. Not all of them were available, unfortunately. I’ve added links to the songs. Official verisons of the openings where available, and the full song versions where they were not available. Please leave a like, comment or a follow if you want to see more of this kind of comments. I like making lists as much as the next person, but it takes more research and time than a random rant. Thanks for reading!
Why do you write like you’re running out of time? Write day and night like you’re running out of time? Every day you fight, like you’re running out of time Keep on fighting, in the meantime-
These are the lyrics to the song Non-Stop from the hit musical Hamilton. I was a big fan of the music, especially since I recognized some of the inspiration they used. As a teenager I had a good few years where I listened to rap music on the daily. Think of artists like Tupac, Dr. Dre, Eminem, Jay-Z, Kanye West, the whole list. Nowadays it’s lower down my list of priorities, but I still appreciate a good rap song. The thing that has always drawn me to rap, is that it is there to convey a message. The same can be said about many genres of music, but I think hip-hop and rap takes the crown here.
During literature class a couple years back we talked about the song The Message by Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five. It’s a song of protest. And honestly, some of the issues discussed in the song are still relevant to this day. Equal rights unfortunately do not exist for everyone, and civil unrest is not yet a thing of the past. I won’t go into the video too deep, because quite frankly I’m terrible at literature, and barely remember a majority of that class. In my defense it’s been several years already (time flies) so it’s not strange. I should take more notes.
You’ll grow up in the ghetto, living second rate, and your eyes will sing a song of deep hate.
This song was sampled for the Hamilton musical, and appears in the Cabinet Meeting song. The point of it all, is that writing needs to have meaning to be interesting to me. Hip-hop does this, but so do good stories. A good story isn’t just a hobbit tossing a ring into a big ol’ vulcano (although that can be very entertaining in and of itself). A good story to me does something more profound than that. It makes you think. Hamilton’s songs, as well as The Message make me think, and I believe that to be very valuable.
When I started writing stories, the only thing I wanted to do was think of fun characters and put them in cool places. I remember finding a hidden labyrinth under my primary school playground that led to a jungle and then a dark cavern. We were saving a classmate of ours, and there were traps and scary things around every corner of the journey. This was before I had a computer, mind you, so I wrote all of this on paper. Unfortunately it has all been lost to time, but I still have the memories of our little writing club in which we all sat around and wrote stories on blank A4 paper. I had no aspirations of telling deep stories back then.
Nowadays, I do want to write about something more profound. Not all the time. I have a story planned for NaNoWriMo later this year that is just chaos mixed with madness and slight hint of insanity. That is fun as well. But whenever I am writing part of the Necromancer’s Daughter (spoiler alert, my draft is a lot further along than one or two chapters), I can’t help but think why this story is interesting. It’s the struggles the characters go through. Figuring out family, the place you belong, xenophobia, religion, war crimes. There are many things a character, or a real person, can struggle with, and these are a lot more fun to dive into than a fiery mountain.
At this point you might be thinking: that sounds very cool and all, Nick, but what does that have to do with the Hamilton song? And to that I say: good question. Not much, honestly. The only thing I take away from those lines is the value of writing.
A picture says more than a thousand words.
I hate that saying, I always have. So what if a picture says more than a thousand words. I’ll just make sure to write a thousand words and then some. Screw your picture, my words can paint a better picture than your canvas ever can, it’ll just take me longer to get there. And while you paint your pretty picture, I’ll keep writing like I’m running out of time.
Opal Kaharis 