The List

5 Best Anime Opening Songs of Spring 2020

The List is back this week for a brand-new music edition. If you're looking for excellent tracks to add to your “OMG BEST SONGS EVAR” anime playlist, you've come to the right place. What, that's not the name of your highly-curated Spotify list?

5. “Jiku no Mayoi Hito” by Demon Kakka and Arika Takarano from The 8th son? Are you kidding me? I Love Me a good goth opener and The 8th son? Are you kidding me?'s opening hits all the right notes. The song mixes a choral-like chant, Demon Kakka's deep vocals, and Arika's higher register for something I can only describe as operatic rock. IMO, the anime itself doesn't pull from the best part of the song, leaving out the harkening, eerie church bells at the beginning.

Demon Kakka has been a staple of Japanese heavy metal since the 1980s. His stage persona is larger than life and includes full face paint, capes, armor, and giant platform boots. He's performed as both a voice actor and musical artist for anime and was the frontman of the Seikima II. Look up their OP for Terraformars Revenge if you want more head-banging rock.

Arika Takarano is no small-time act either. You might be more familiar with her as the vocalist behind ALI PROJECT, the gothic-lolita act with an easily recognizable mysterious sound. ALI PROJECT has been active since the late 80s and have performed for everything from Rozen Maiden to Code Geass.

4. “Kyoryu Agemizawa” by Kyoryu Friends from Gal & Dino

I'll admit that this opening's visuals do a lot to sell me on its poppy, feel-good aesthetic. The very beginning reminds me of Bobby's World of all things before it slides into quick cuts of chocolates, make-up accessories, and anything else a gal living in 2020 might want. Plus, there's a dinosaur. Gal & Dino's catchy visuals were put together by Kamikaze Douga who you might remember from the multimedia anime Pop Team Epic.

As for Kyoryu Friends, like a lot of anime, the opening is performed by the series' main cast. It's not unusual for cast members to take on a temporary name, usually something tied to the anime itself, when they get together to perform a theme song.

3. “Into the blue's” by ACCAMER from LISTENERS

It would be a major misstep for a series centered entirely on famous rock performers to release a dud for its opener. Fortunately, LISTENERS doesn't have to worry about that because “Into the blue's” gets your blood-pumping immediately. The song was written by JIN, a musician and author who wrote the Kagerou Daze novel (which was based on a Vocaloid song) and sparked the creation of LISTENERS. The music from the series, its setting, and concept all have touches of JIN. ACCAMER is a new artist but with “Into the blue's” as her first single, I hope we get to hear more from her!

2. “TOP” by Stray Kids from Tower of God

This opener does two things exceptionally well: communicates what to expect from the action-centric Tower of God and change-up just at the right from fast-paced rock to hip-hop. If you haven't heard of Stray Kids before, they're a boy band out of Korea with an interesting back story. The eight-member group were brought together due to a reality television show. Almost all of the members have a background in rap and the group is multi-lingual. The Tower of God OP is actually available in three languages; Korean, Japanese, and English.

“TOP” is a song that deserves multiple repeats and just might motivate me to tackle that exercise routine I've been putting off...

1. “Daddy! Daddy! Do!” by Masayuki Suzuki featuring Airi Suzuki from Kaguya-sama: Love is War Season 2

The contenders for the top three was a huge toss-up, but coming in first is the toe-tapping “Daddy! Daddy! Do!” from Kaguya-sama: Love is War season two. The song's frontman is known throughout Japan as the “King of Love Songs” and has been bringing his flavor of rock and pop since the 1980s.

“Daddy! Daddy! Do!” is Masayuki Suzuki's second foray into anime OPs having previously performed the first season's opener, “Love Dramatic” which is also FANTASTIC. “Daddy! Daddy! Do!” also features former child performer Airi Suzuki who used to sing with idol groups C-ute and Buono!. Since debuting as a solo artist, she's found success on the Oricon chart with her debut album “Do Me a Favor.”

Kaguya-sama is a hilarious comedy that I can't recommend enough. If the you think the song is good, you'll want to stick around for the whole show.

THE POLL

We didn't have a poll last week but this week we want to know your top 5 anime openings for the spring 2020 season! Check next week for the results!