Sturgeon’s law dictates that 90% of everything is crap. No matter what it is, there isn’t one genre or medium that a person 100% fully likes or enjoys. The biggest fans of the Beatles can admit ‘Wild Honey Pie’ or ‘Piggies’ don’t deserve a second listen. Nintendo fans definitely know some games they’ll never touch again. While anime fans can recognize when a show is dull, poorly produced, or just too bad to put up with.
Yet there’s usually some upside to even the most disappointing examples of media. Something that gives those who saw it something nice to remember it by. Maybe it had that one good fight scene, that one great performance, or a great intro song. Which is where these shows come in. Here are some animeseries that lacked staying power but managed to have kickass intros.
7 ChäoS; HEAd- ‘F.D.D’
Yes, that’s how the title is written. The show was about a reclusive anime nerd who ends up pulled into the center of a serial killing within Shibuya. It was meant to be a shocking thriller series as its lead learns to break out of his shell and face reality. In practice, it got mixed reviews at best. The show was either a weak adaptation of the original visual novel, a source of unintentional comedy in its ineptness, or even a tolerable thriller.
The intro, ‘F.D.D’ (Filthy. Defiler. Disgrace) by Kanako Ito, is a solid rock song. Ito’s vocals are particularly nice, in that its delivery mixes a tough delivery with a sweet sound. Like punk with a melody. The guitar work is also quite catchy. It has that ‘earworm’ quality ‘Bomb a Head’ has, except its appeal is more instant. Instead of the song growing on people, it’s more likely to get them replaying the song again after finishing it. At just over 4 minutes, it’s certainly quicker than powering through all of ChäoS; HEAd’s episodes.
6 Tenjou Tenge- ‘Bomb A Head’
Don’t try to deny it. Just because a franchise lasts long doesn’t mean it’s a jewel in the crown. It could be a cubic zirconia. Tenjou Tenge was better at bringing fans of fist-fighting and female flesh together than some of its rivals, like Ikki Tousen or Masami Obari’s earlier OVAs. There was little else under the hood after that though. Even the soundtrack was largely criticized for being average at best. Save for one track.
m.c.A-T’s ‘Bomb a Head’ was used as the show’s first opening theme, and it’s a lively, hip-hop bop that lives up to the term ‘earworm’. It’s not perfect: the electric beat is a little wonky, and the initial intro drips with fondue. The tune quickly picks up the pace as its mix of rap and singing catches on, giving the song a charm that makes it hard to put down. While some may still like Tenjou Tenge’s combo of boobs and blood, anyone not into that will still find some fun in ‘Bomb a Head’.
5 Ace Attorney - ‘Never Lose’
The Ace Attorney anime got better as it went along, though it never really matched the original Capcom games. The art and animation would occasionally dip, and some creative compromises noticeably kneecapped it. It’s not a great start when the episodes based on the classic first game’s cases ended up weaker than the Justice for All adaptations.
However, Season 2 got off to a nice start with its new intro. The synth tune and strong beats gives it a nice, moody atmosphere that goes well with Tomohisa Yamashita’s singing. His delivery is as passionate as Wright’s defenses, and the lyrics fit the theme without feeling forced either. The anime might not be a reason to fire up Crunchyroll, but the song is worth chasing down.
4 Captain Earth- ‘Believer’s High’
It sounds like it should be a step-up from Captain America. Instead, Captain Earth is a humdrum mecha anime that doesn’t really do much to stand out from the crowd. It doesn’t get as grim as Evangelion, nor as fun as the Gundam series, and isn’t as interesting as either. Captain Earth is just there if mecha fans want it, like a direct-to-DVD movie lingering at a thrift store.
However, it does have a good intro. ‘Believer’s High’ by Flumpool was the show’s first OP, and it’s a riveting rock song that’s a little cheesy, but in a good way. Between the guitar chords are some nice, swelling strings, and Ryuta Yamamura’s vocals sell the song’s feeling of looking for lost love. Which isn’t an uncommon theme for anime.
3 Brain Powerd- ‘In My Dream’
Even monkeys fall from trees. Captain Earth didn’t catch on as a Gundam-esque mecha show. But Gundam’s creator Yoshiyuki Tomino ended up making a show that was even more disposable. Brain Powerd told an odd plot about a teenager uncovering the titular ‘Antibody’ mech to keep scientists from destroying the Earth in order to gain knowledge from a mysterious ship called ‘Orphan’. Ironic, as most reviews from viewers said they lost brain cells watching it.
Not that it was a total bust. The show was scored by Yoko Kanno, the woman behind the tunes for Cowboy Bebop both the original show and the Netflix version), Ghost in the Shell: Stand-Alone Complex, Wolf’s Rain, and a hundred other shows. After a twinkly piano intro, ‘In My Dream’ kicks into gear with some wailing guitars and a raucous vocal performance from Eri Shingyōji. Back in the day, the OP and Kanno’s score were enough to keep viewers powering through Brain Powerd. Thank goodness for YouTube nowadays.
2 Record Of Lodoss War- ‘Kiseki No Umi’
Fantasy fans might’ve gotten something out of Ryo Mizuno’s franchise, and its wide spanning array of manga, anime, and video game adaptations would be proof of that. For anyone else, it’s hard to imagine there being a more generic example of the genre. Lord of the Rings, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and even the Harry Potter franchise have some drive within them that sets them apart from the rest. Record of Lodoss War: Chronicles of the Heroic Knight from 1998 might as well have come from a factory in how bog-standard it is.
The intro, ‘Kiseki no Umi’ by Maaya Sakamoto, sounds very pretty though. It fits the show’s theme of sounding adventurous and whimsical, while being soft and gentle. Like the show is a sweeter take on the Dungeons & Dragons-esque tales, particularly with how close its knight and elf leads are. Not that its high quality is too surprising. Yoko Kanno co-wrote and produced this song too.
1 Macross 2- ‘A Hush Like 200 Million Years'
Macross II, or Super Dimensional Fortress Macross II: Lovers Again (say that 3 times fast), is the odd one out in the series. Its plot about a human journalist and an alien battle singer (‘Emulator’) trying to bring peace between their cultures was considered too similar to that of its predecessor, Macross: Do You Remember Love? Which was quite deflating for old anime fans back in the day as Animerica described it as “the most eagerly anticipated anime sequel ever” back in 1992.
However, it still delivered on the musical front. Being a franchise about mechas fighting with music, Macross needs some solid tunes behind it. While the soundtrack is dated by today’s standards, the songs still deliver in terms of emotion and power. The intro song, ‘A Hush Like 200 Million Years’ by Mika Kaneko, is no exception with Kaneko's lively yet touching vocals. Gen X anime fans may find plenty to grumble about with the show, but the OP won’t be one of them.