Top 10 Anime Ending Themes

Produced by Japanese rock band Spyair as their fourth single, Spyair also performed one of Gintama’s many opening themes “Sakura Mitsu Tsuki”. The beat in “Samurai Heart” is rather uplifting, especially compared tothe imagry of the show’s characters looking gloomy in the rain. But Gintoki doesn’t care about the rain and you get a sense that the music is playing in his head as he gears himself up for the next episode. “Samurai Heart” finds its home as the 17th ending of “Gintama” and it has become a fan favourite because hey, some people just like it hot.

Only the Golden Girls can take on the “Golden Boy”. For a series that follows law school dropout Kintaro who travels around Japan from job to job, affecting many women’s lives in the process, “Study A Go Go”’s cheery and catchy theme reminds us that we shouldn’t take it too seriously. You need a song that will pick you up when you are down? Just sit back and listen.

Sometimes an anime outro needs to calm you down, other times the outro keeps up the show’s intensity. “Great Escape” is the latter. Performed by the Japanese alt-rock band Cinema Staff, “Great Escape” keeps theviewer stressed out and focused, while still being a little lighter than series’ intro. The visuals blast across the screen, keeping pace with the song’s beat, we get to see our favourite characters taking on a titan, and a walnut to symbolize…. stuff.

Some may say life is like a box of chocolate, but Rie Fu would have you believe otherwise. “Life is Like a Boat” serves as the polar opposite to Bleach’s alt rock opening. Rie Fu makes this theme unique, as both her English and Japanese vocals flow together seamlessly. The first ending of countless in “Bleach” history, the track shows that the series is not just action-packed but can pull on your heartstrings at the same time.

“⅓ no Junjou na Kanjou” wraps up our smurai adventure over Siam Shade’s vocalist Hideki Imamura and his smooth singing voice. The sixth ending song of “Rurouni Kenshin”, just after the Kyoto arc, the theme was originally designed for the much darker Jinchu arc that explores the back story of the show’s protagonist. The anime made some significant changes from the manga however, and that story was scrapped. Thankfully theoutro theme made the cut, and we get to hear this terrific song closing out a fantastic series.

The first outro to Cowboy Bebop, “Real Folk Blues” plays over a slideshow of gorgeous stills that almost look like photographs of our favourite space bounty hunter. Performed not by a Japanese rock band, but a jazz group known as The Seatbelts, this song perfectly encapsulates the mood of Cowboy Bebop. Spike Spegal is as down to earth as it gets, and “Real Folk Blues” sounds like something he might listen to while he’s cursing through space. Ready to sit back and enjoy, as you can only jam so hard until its time to sing the blues.

Friends may come and go, but brothers stay together. Written and performed by yet another Japanese rock band known as SiD, “Uso” actually debuted at number two on Oricon charts in Japan. A much lighter touch than Yui’s opening theme, the track is used for the first fourteen episodes, which serve for the set-up of the thrilling adventure that is “Brotherhood”. The childish drawings that summarize the Elric (elle-rick) brother’s adventure are a perfect representation of the fun we have in this series.

No words can describe the madness that is Fooly Cooly, but “Ride on Shooting Star” is as close as we can get. Confusing viewers everywhere as the ending for this short 6 original video animation series, “Ride on Shooting Star” breaks away from anime trends with live-action visuals. The great pop rock music blends really well with the stop motion adventures of a seemingly living moped that goes on an adventure.

Our next entry is the best Kyoto Animation has to offer. Unlike almost all of the entries on out list, “Hare Hare Yukai” is actually performed by the voice actors and characters from the series itself. This theme is the origin of the Internet meme “Hare Hare Yukai Dance”, where series fans would break out the dance moves in public. This theme is so catchy that if it is already stuck in your head, we are not sorry. A unique ending theme for a unique series.

Before we end with our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

“Sayonara Solitaire” by Chiba Saeko
“Chrono Crusade” (2003-04)

“Sekai Ga Owaru Made Wa” by Wands
“Slam Dunk!” (1993-96)

“I'm ALIVE!” by Becca
“Black Butler” (2008-14)

“Heart of Sword” by T.M. Revolution
“Rurouni Kenshin (1996-98)

Nothing screams severe change like our final entry. While the ending animation is rather simple, Kalafina’s rather mystical chanting over an ominous beat creates a much darker tone, building the groundwork for the rest of the series. “Puella Magi Madoka Magica” is one of the darkest magical girl series ever and “Magia” reminds the audience of this with its extremely menacing tones and strong beats.
Do you agree with our list? What is your favourite anime ending theme? For more inspiring top tens published every day, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.