OPs that don't match the anime

[Puguni]

I remember recently seeing the Japanese opening of Digimon after being raised off the English one. I was pleasantly surprised to see the sequence had been kept in the English, but I kept thinking that the Japanese OP song didn't match the gist of the show. I thought the singer was somehow unfit.

Anyway, I suppose that this happens a lot when someone has seen the dub version of a show after seeing the subbed version. Any thoughts?

[Tommy]

Melissa from FMA lacked the "FMA feel."

[RedMage]

Most anime theme songs have absolutely nothing to do with the content of the series. I got used to it years ago.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

Melissa from FMA lacked the "FMA feel."

XD what? Melissa totally had the FMA feel. It's one of my favorite songs. It fit the FMA feel very well, just because all "hard rock" and crap doesn't mean it doesn't make it FMAish.

[Tenshi no Ai]

The only thing I can think of is the Black Cat ending. Such a serious story (with some comedy) but SUCH a cutesy ending! Crazy...

[FadedOne]

The originally opening to Honey & Clover. The food-art is just plain creepy....and then the bony hand made of shrimp? what does any of that have to do with a slice-of-life/comedy/romance? sheesh. (But I admit, it does amuse me now. )

[jon_jinn]

Hunter X Hunter TV first opening didn't match the anime. very slow paced for such an action packed adventure.

[Rocketshipper]

the second Naruto ending theme. The show is all action and stuff, and then they have an ending that's a slow love song. I was like o_O. It's a good song though.

[Ashley]

Spiral. That totally freaked me out. I'm usually okay with like, punky-poppy-happy Jpop numbers, but not only was there a total lack of animation (key root: motion), but the theme was not only awkward but almost TOTALLY OPPOSITE of the series. I wonder who's brilliant idea it was to say, "hmm, we've got a serious, somber, high-stakes mystery going on...let's make the opening a cutesy, hyper theme!"

I'm sure there have been others, but that one takes the cake in my experience.

[Ingemar]

The second OP of Fate/Stay Night. A lot of fans complained that it was too "Gundammy" but I wouldn't know since I never watched any Gundam. The thing was that the OP lacked the epic feel of the rest of the series and clashed with the rest of the soundtrack.

[Puguni]

The originally opening to Honey & Clover. The food-art is just plain creepy....and then the bony hand made of shrimp? what does any of that have to do with a slice-of-life/comedy/romance? sheesh. (But I admit, it does amuse me now. )

I think it was based off the fact that the college students were art students and that food was a big issue for them. Remember how they often pigged out on food and loved people who bought them food? Also, who could forget the Romaiya special episode? XD

But anyway...that hand freaked me out too; I hated that creepy thing.

[Myoti]

the second Naruto ending theme. The show is all action and stuff, and then they have an ending that's a slow love song. I was like o_O. It's a good song though.

Oh, yeah. I thought that as well.

Though I haven't actually seen much of the anime, the later Naruto themes (six and seven, I think?) seemed overly dark and gritty, especially for being the seasons of nothing but filler.


And it's not an opening, but I thought the two ending themes to Outlaw Star didn't quite fit. Kinda sad and slow for such a series.

[FadedOne]

[quote="Puguni"]I think it was based off the fact that the college students were art students and that food was a big issue for them. Remember how they often pigged out on food and loved people who bought them food? Also, who could forget the Romaiya special episode? XD

But anyway...that hand freaked me out too]
haha...that special episode was hilarious to the point of being creepy.

And yeah..maybe the food art is reminscent of the meals the girls kept cooking. The meals of death. LoL.

[Radical Dreamer]

Though this is actually an ED, rather than an OP, I didn't really think Motherland, from FullMetal Alchemist, really fit all that well. I mean, it was all R&B, and I don't like R&B anyways, but mixed with FullMetal Alchemist, it was just...No. XD

I actually liked the OP Melissa a lot, though. o_o

[Shao Feng-Li]

Rurouni Kenshin's "Tactics"...

[mitsuki lover]

The way that they edit anime for airing on tv makes it hard to tell unless you have the unedited version on DVD at home.

[Maledicte]

I heartily agree with Ashley on Spiral's. *shudder*

[Phil Hartman]

[Raiden no Kishi]

Rurouni Kenshin's first OP, "Freckles", annoys me. It starts off with this interesting guitar riffage and then devolves into sugary pop nastiness that TOTALLY doesn't fit the show at all. Bleh.

.rai//

[Tommy]

Raiden no Kishi, you JUST beat me to that.

[KhakiBlueSocks]

Rurouni Kenshin's first OP, "Freckles", annoys me. It starts off with this interesting guitar riffage and then devolves into sugary pop nastiness that TOTALLY doesn't fit the show at all. Bleh.

.rai//

Oh yeah! I will never forget the first time I heard "Freckles"...It was a terrifying experience. I was so amped up with the guitar riff at the beginning...but then when Judy and Mary (Song Preformers) started singing in that high, Chipmunk-ish voice...that did it for me! As though that wasn't bad enough, the lyrics were really and truly gut wrenching. That was the longest 1:30 opening title sequence I ever lived through.

BTW, the opening theme for Digimon in Japanese is called "Butterfly" preformed by the always cool Koji Wada. There's also a shorter, slower version of "Buttefly" with a piano that's just so relaxing!

[Kumagoro]

Every theme song for shows on TV that has to be re-written has been consistently AWFUL. Yu Yu Hakusho's theme is OK, but Kenshin, Zatch Bell, One Piece, and the like are all terrible. Yugioh's new theme is just an instrumental, so I'd say it has the best re-wrtten theme-song.

[KhakiBlueSocks]

Every theme song for shows on TV that has to be re-written has been consistently AWFUL. Yu Yu Hakusho's theme is OK, but Kenshin, Zatch Bell, One Piece, and the like are all terrible. Yugioh's new theme is just an instrumental, so I'd say it has the best re-wrtten theme-song.

Yu Yu Hakusho's theme was OKAY...but there was one problem for me:
Without the lyrics, I wouldn't know what the song was about or what the words were! For some reason I can't make out any of it! It sounds like the singer (who has a beautiful voice, mind you) is mumbling!

As far as instrumental themes go, NOTHING beats the clean and classical "Zion! (Aim for the Stars of your Dreams)" theme song from Pilot Candidate/Candidate for Goddess/Megami Koushei! It matches the animation on screen really beautifully!

[rocklobster]

I nominate "Tell Me Why" by the Penpals. It was used for Berserk. For my reason, check my review of the anime.

[Ashley]

Awww, I actually liked Freckles. More than...hmm, what was it...the second season? The one they used during the Kyoto Arc--the freaky, candle-y, sensual one. That made me feel awkward every time I saw it.

[MasterDias]

Every theme song for shows on TV that has to be re-written has been consistently AWFUL. Yu Yu Hakusho's theme is OK, but Kenshin, Zatch Bell, One Piece, and the like are all terrible. Yugioh's new theme is just an instrumental, so I'd say it has the best re-wrtten theme-song.

I was under the impression that both YYH and Kenshin kept the original theme songs on TV.
For the other three; One Piece has some great Japanese openings, Konjiki no Gash Bell! and Yugioh both have some pretty catchy Japanese openings as well.

Anyways, regarding Kenshin's openings, I generally agree with Ashley. First opening was decent, second opening just plain grated on my nerves.

[Kumagoro]

[quote="MasterDias"]I was under the impression that both YYH and Kenshin kept the original theme songs on TV.
For the other three]

The original YuYu opening theme is "Hohoemi no Bakudan" by Matsuko Mawatari, not "Thank You for Waking Me Up". And as for Kenshin, the OP themes are "Sobakasu" by Judy & Mary (eps 1-38), "½" by Makoto Kawamoto (eps 39-82), and "Kimi Ni Fureru Dake De" by Curio (eps 83-95).