Top 10 Anime Songs of 2020

“Sword Art Online: Alicization – War of Underworld” Season Two (2020)

Like everything in this sequel, this final opening is big, bombastic, and practically dripping with flare. While it has that suspenseful build-up that perfectly ties into Underworld’s darkest hour, there’s an overarching sense of triumph to this song, one perfect to herald in the return of Kirito. Given the sheer amount of SAO we’ve been subjected to over the last couple of years, there was every chance this thing could feel bloated and unearned. Thankfully, it has just the right amount of flash to get you riled up for the next virtual showdown.

“Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!” (2020)

There’s a reason this thing took the internet by storm. Half of it was due to those exquisitely meme-able dance moves, while the other half couldn’t stop listening to this banger of an opening! It’s so bouncy, so light-hearted, you’d be hard pressed to find someone who didn’t find the whole thing delightful. With many claiming to be the female equivalent of the JoJo torture dance, the only downside is that once it gets inside your head, you’ll be hard pressed to get it out…

“TONIKAWA: Over The Moon For You” (2020)

There’s so much charm here we don’t even know where to start. First, we have to give prompts to singer and actress Akari Kito; you know, the voice of main girl Tsukasa! There’s a fragility to her voice that effortlessly captures the very nature of the romance genre within the opening seconds. That would normally be enough…at least until the beat drops! The electronic component to this song is so unexpected yet so on point that it will give you the best kind of whiplash! Pump up the volume for this one!

“Dorohedoro” (2020)

Yeah, this is pretty much the song we expected to be paired with a series about a lizard man who eats gyouza and has a talking head living inside his mouth. This opening is visual and audio lunacy, effortlessly conjuring feelings of dread, and it just works! The distorted vocals and heavy rifts perfectly reflect the madness of Caimen’s everyday life, all of which continue to escalate before concluding with an almighty splatter - like Shin just took a hammer to the band’s equipment! Not sure how they’re going to top this if they ever do a season two.

“Higurashi: When They Cry – Gou” (2020)

Much like this franchise fondness for genre bait and switch, this ending theme has a duality to it that might seem rather contradictory, but works so well is downright unsettling. While there’s a lightness you could see easily fitting into your average slice of life anime, there’s still a sinister undertone to it, one that becomes more apparent as the ending montage parades images of the cast’s horrendous homelives. It certainly makes for a beautiful listen, but like all things Higurashi, once it takes you down the rabbit hole, you’ll never be able to appreciate it the same way again.

“Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World” Season 2 (2020)

The best ending theme to come out of the year by far, and wouldn’t you know it, it has Echinda front and centre orchestrating the whole thing. While this track doesn’t give you the pulse-pounding thrills to go along with Subaru’s endless stream of deaths, it does have quite a serene melody to it. While we can’t say it's uplifting, it more than succeeds in creating a surreal atmosphere. Which, given the madness we’ve seen the Witches of Sin dish out this season, is more than appropriate.

“Rent-A-Girlfriend” (2020)

He may be the ultimate simp, but it's this opening that’s got us thirsty! Catchy as can be, this song is the ideal track to showcase the myriad of stellar best girls that occupy this series, while offering a fresh injection of J-rock to separate it from all the other lovey-dovey rom-com hopefuls that have saturated 2020. Much like Kazuya’s inability to make a sensible decision, this thing will quickly spiral into an endless cycle of instant replays. Though unlike Kazuya, it’s sure to bring a smile to your face.

“Tower of God” (2020)

What happens when you marry together an acclaimed webtoon, a beloved K-pop bad, and stellar animation? A legendary opening song that might just go down as one of the best newcomers to the scene. Mad props to Stray Kids, since they not only delivered a track with incredible depth and gravitas, but performed it in three different languages! We’re slightly edging towards the Japanese version here, which was featured in the anime. This song is too good for someone like Rachel.

“Black Clover” (2017-)

There’s been so much quality content out this year we’d almost forgotten that Asta and the Black Bulls had been consistently excelling, with this latest opening further proof that they know how to deliver in both action and funk. Palpitating with a jazzy beat, including some incredible piano work that should be the stuff of envy, it’s not quite what we imagine when we think final battle, but we’ll be damned if it doesn’t work! You’ll be snapping your fingers harder than when Yami owned the Devil.

Before we reveal our number one pick, here are a few honourable mentions!

“Golden Kamuy” Season Three (2020)

“Interspecies Reviewers” (2020)

“Boruto: Naruto Next Generations” (2017-)

“The Misfit of Demon King Academy” (2020)

“Digimon Adventure:” (2020)

“Jujutsu Kaisen” (2020)

We all know the ending is one of Mappa’s greatest animated flexes, especially with the hyper-chill Lost in Paradise blasting out Gotou-levels of smoothness. That being said…we still have to give it to the opening song. While not the heaviest or the darkest, it does a magnificent job at roping us in with its escalating vocals, adding layer upon layer before exploding into a chorus that tows the line between upbeat and the kind of rock we’ve come to expect with these new age shounens. A lot like Yuuji’s exploits – it continues to get better and better the longer you stick with it.