Ep 9 "Top 5 Anime Openings"
Phone. Save me shirt? Oh, sorry. I can't do that, bro.
Jacci:You gotta save yourself.
Mac:I'm live right now. What up, anime heads? It is the, eat the cake crew coming to you with a a pretty exciting episode. Jackie has jumped in here before we went live, and she was like, I'm so stoked for this thing. And I I am too.
Mac:So, normally, what we do is we break down a kind of a property. We talk about the manga, the creator, their inspiration. We talk about the anime. We talk about the studio. We talk about the opening, the music, all of that stuff.
Mac:And then at the end, we say, you know, come you know, there's a couple couple shows we think you should check out. This episode, we're not getting into that because what we decided to do is talk about our top five favorite anime openings, so far. This is a fluid list. I know mine is. It changes depending on my mood.
Mac:But the show deadline was coming up. I had to make a choice. I selected 5. I'm happy with them, but they can move varying on how I'm feeling for the day. So it was harder than it I don't know for you guys.
Mac:But for me, like, I was just like, oh, top 5. We were joking about it last show, but I when I sat down and tried to think about it, I'm like, shit. I gotta get rid of this one out of here because I don't have room to put this in here. So, I finally I finally I I think my 5 is is pretty solid. What about you, Jackie?
Jacci:This was really hard. This is probably the hardest thing I've ever done in my life.
Mac:We I was talking to somebody at work. He's one of my anime buddies, and I was just like, yeah. So I got this show, and we're talking about top 5. He's like, what? Let me and he made it sound like he had it, like, oh, you gotta have yourself.
Mac:And then he went to his desk, and then he came back. He was like, you know what? This is harder than I thought. Yeah. I was like, what if I told you you have 10?
Mac:Would that be easier? He's like, now that I think of it, no. You know? Because it it it I guess it just depends on how long you've been watching anime because now you have a collection of openings in your head, and you're like, I never thought of having to rank them.
Daimyo:It also I think it depends too on the the period. Like, if you go really old school stuff, they had less less I mean, they didn't emphasize the intros and stuff as much. They still have music and stuff, but it wasn't like today. I mean, like, we were discussing before, they had different, you know, different music for openings, closings, different ones for each episode. They've really gotten to where they're merging the the the popularity of the music, you know, with with the popularity of
Mac:the actual show where it's
Daimyo:not just like because, I mean, seriously, we've all watched Dragon Ball z. It's not one of the most, you know, gripping gripping,
Mac:I didn't I didn't make your list?
Daimyo:Oh, yeah.
Jacci:I mean, I'm not gonna lie. Like, I used to jam out to that when I was a kid. That was that but but don't even get me started on Digimon. Okay.
Daimyo:Oh, Dig Digimon overall. I can I can concur with that? And I was not a kid. I was a grown ass man watching.
Mac:I was like,
Daimyo:this is pretty dope, man.
Mac:Why don't Digimon get
Daimyo:any props? It's all Pokemon. I love Digimon.
Mac:Yeah. I
Jacci:I I think what's tough too is, like, I I was on my, like, j pop playlist that I have, and I was like, yeah. These are, like, my top 20 that I always run back and forth, and some of them are not even, like, openings. Some of them are regular songs, and I realized that a lot of those openings were on shows that I haven't seen in a Oh. Really long time.
Mac:Oh, okay.
Jacci:So shows that I, watch now and I'd rave about all these openings now, monitored, I didn't realize that the ones I run the most are actually from older shows, and I think that's what was hard. Because I'm like, what do I talk about? Do I talk about what everyone else is watching right now or some of the openings that were back in, like, nineties, early 2000 that I still play to this day.
Daimyo:They stick with you because they
Jacci:they they
Daimyo:hold that nostalgia and stuff.
Jacci:Yeah. So I would actually argue that I don't I think I I I do have, like, a top 3 that I could consistently play all the time, but I think this time, I chose a a different what am I feeling right now kinda top 5 and what do I want people to know. Because it has a little bit of nostalgia, but then it has a little bit of, hey. If you'd like this song, also go watch. So
Daimyo:Yeah.
Jacci:It was hard, though. I it was really, really hard. I'm not gonna lie. I didn't so much. Difficult.
Jacci:I wanted to talk about so much. I'm like, oh my god.
Mac:Alright. But like I said, it everybody put in their due diligence, and, you know, we'll talk about our openings, and then we'll also kinda introduce you to the bands a little bit and give you a little bit more info on the bands and the artists behind these openings. So, hopefully, you guys will wanna check them out. With that being said, once we're done live, when I do the description and put the video out, I'll make sure to put a YouTube link to everybody's, opening so you guys can go check it out fully. Because during the live, we're not gonna be able to play the full openings because, you know, copyrights and stuff, and we don't need Copy it, man.
Mac:Copy me. Right. Yeah. We don't need half of Japan running over here and trying to cut down our our little stove, before before it gets to where we want it to get to. So that and I'll be making a, Spotify playlist, with all of the songs as well so you can hear the full song instead of just the, probably the 90 seconds of the opening.
Mac:But with that being said, we got, Jin in the comments. We got Blaque in the comments. They will be dropping their 5 if they have them. You know? No pressure to anybody watching to drop 5.
Mac:But if you have them, you know, would like to hear it. So we'll go ahead and play the intro, and then, hold on. Wait. Wait. Wait.
Mac:Wait. Wait. Okay. I thought I deleted it, but we're here. Play the intro, and then we shall get into, these amazing songs we got.
Mac:The following is a presentation for the podcast network, reminding you to always question the answers. Okay. Who wants to go first?
Jacci:I'll wait.
Mac:You'll wait? Okay. I'll, I'll oh.
Jacci:Oh, yeah.
Mac:As we normally do.
Jacci:As always, tradition. Can't break it.
Mac:A nice little, shot to get the show started officially. And, Here's to a, a great time with some great peoples. Cheers.
Jacci:Me back. Cheers. Kumpai.
Mac:What's the best time for you? Hold on. I got dad duties. Come here.
Jacci:Aw.
Daimyo:See you tomorrow. LJ. What up?
Mac:Alright. So my number 5, you may have heard it. You may have heard it. It is a, an opening to a a I would wanna say a popular anime. I think the intro is more popular than the anime itself.
Mac:So for my number 5, I am going with bling bang bang born from creepynuts. People are like, why do you have this at number 5 with as many streams as it has, as popular as it has, dance trends, people doing the dance from the intro? Why is it at number 5? And I will say I put it there because how it's it's recent. You know?
Mac:It it was the new thing. Do I think it's gonna stand the test of time? Yes. But, you know, seniority for these other songs on my list. So, you know, no offense to creepiness.
Mac:Amazing band. Amazing band. But let me, bring up and, you know, we'll play a little bit of it for you. And, I'm pretty sure everybody knows knows the rhythm, knows all of that good stuff. Add to stage.
Mac:Hopefully, you guys will be able to hear it, but we'll play a little bit of the opening. Yeah. Such a dope song. Such a dope song. But, about the artist, they they are pretty much the the it crowd that's working right now in anime.
Mac:So Creepy Nuts, Japanese hip hop duo formed in 2013 consisting of rapper, Architai, and DJ Matsunaga. The duo is known for its unique blend of rap, jazz, hip hop as well as their clever lyrics and engaging performances, gained significant popularity, not only in Japan, but internationally, thanks to their dynamic sound and, charismatic rapport between the members. And, obviously, this song here kinda put them on the map over here in America when it comes to that. Very few people were really listening to them when they were over there in Japan. They also, this may come up in somebody else's list, but they are known for dropping the opening for probably one of the hottest animes out right now, which is Dandadan.
Mac:I'm pretty sure if you follow any kind of anime influencer, video, channel, anything, somebody has probably already did a review talking about how amazing that that show is. So, that is pretty much an overview. Now their members, I wanna say, they, by themselves, were already established in the in the in the culture. So, Rshate, he kinda won, not kind of. He did win, Japan's kind of top MC battle, the UMB grand championship 3 times in a row from 2012 to 2014.
Mac:Then he kinda started doing features, and he started his, actual commercial music career. DJ, Matsunaga won the DMC World DJ Championship in 2019 and performed at the closing ceremonies of the Summer Olympics they just had there in 2021. So, very successful. And it's one of those things where, if you watch the rap battles with, like, he is very grimy. He can get very you know, you obviously, I don't know Japanese, but thanks to you 2 for throwing the the subtitles up there.
Mac:You're like, this
Jacci:dude is Yeah.
Mac:Is wordplay, how he can change his flows, his rhythms, and everything. And you'll notice it when you listen to, you know, bling bang bang born or, or, the opening for Dandan there. So you can kinda he he reminds me of I don't know who I would compare him to being able to kinda like I don't this may sound blasphemous, but like a Kendrick Lamar, how he can change, like, depending on the melody he needs to go to, change his flow, change his word playing, things like that. And, DJ Matsunaga, just not only as a DJ with turntables and stuff, but as a producer being able to come up with the the funky kind of beats that they use. They also did the opening for a anime called Call of the Night.
Mac:That's more of a jazzy, laid back tune, but the lyrics every time they do a lyrics like for, this one here, bling, bang, they're born, it's more of a kind of a braggadocious. Hey. Look at me. You guys are using magic. I'm using my mic.
Mac:You know, you know, I'm flashy. I gotta you know, when you listen to the full song. So it's a it's it's a it's a dope song. So very popular song. I know everybody kinda knows it.
Mac:I'm sorry if you're upset that it's at number 5. But when you think about all the openings and the history of anime
Jacci:Yeah.
Mac:For it to be number 5 on somebody's list, I think that's that's a nice little shout out. What you got? You did it? What
Jacci:your number 5 is, or what we think about your number 5?
Mac:You think about number 5. Do you think it's it's ranked right? Do you think I I I discredited it by having it at 5? Thoughts.
Jacci:I don't think you discredited it at all, but I because I really like that opening as well so much, and I really love creepin' nuts.
Mac:Behind behind the scenes, I was like, if somebody calls something, you're not allowed to have it on your list. Right? So if I had not claimed this one, Jackie, would this have made your top 5? No. No?
Mac:Yes or no?
Jacci:No. Okay.
Mac:Yeah. Wow. Alright. Well, I
Daimyo:just I just didn't I I think that you get put it on the or putting it at 5 was good because it's kind of a a a early experience for creepynuts as far as, you know, coming into the the game. So it gives people experience to go check them out early on. It's it's like you said, their, you know, their popularity is exploding in as far as, you know, intros right now with Dandadan. So, you know, it has that same kind of vibe where it's it's very, I don't know. Like, it just it just brings this high energy, to the to to it all and it matches what you're what you're, the feel for the show, I guess, in a way.
Daimyo:So, yeah, I could see it holding 5.
Jacci:One thing that I like modern anime is and what they're doing with some music lately is before, it was just always like a j pop, maybe j rock kinda opening, and they've been expanding a lot more with their genres. And so they're adding more rap or English even intros to, Japanese anime, or it's, like, indie kind of pop or jazzy, and it's it's really cool. And I think the funnest part is when it's like a I don't wanna say silly because it is kind of a fun song and, like, silly song, if you will. How well the artists and even, like, the animation studios and who's creating the anime, how they're able to choose, like, the correct music that fits the tone of the show and how the artist because because some of the songs I think that's a single of his. I don't think that's on his album.
Jacci:I don't know if he,
Mac:like single?
Jacci:Yeah. I don't know if he actually created an album and this was just a song that was used.
Mac:It's it's a single. It's not on any albums. Yeah.
Jacci:Yeah. So they, like, create the single for that. So the way that they're able to do that, I think, is really cool that these artists are able to, like, figure out what the the theme and the tones are of the of the show and then able to, like, create a a song that, like, matches it perfectly. And just, like, the silly movements and all the visuals and colors in the opening, I think, is really sick, and it's very like, what is this show about? I wanna watch it.
Daimyo:Yeah. It draws you. It's like you you make it piques your interest in the way that it comes out.
Jacci:Yeah. I like I like creepy nuts. I think he's very, like, when you have the new and upcoming artists that are kinda, coming into the new age, if you will, he fits the bill, like, really well. Both of them do. And, they're really capturing artists a lot.
Jacci:I I really like their sound. I think they're really fun to listen.
Mac:Yep. And shout out to a studio, Vine who, animates that. And, obviously, they animated the opening. So being able to blend the animation to the song, because I think the song they make the song first, and then the animation company is like, let's, you know, do something fun that kinda kinda plays along. Cool.
Jacci:I didn't know that.
Mac:Yep. So, yep. That's my number 5. Alright. Who's next?
Daimyo:I guess, I'll I'll go next. My number 5 is, Kiri by Monorail, which was a the intro for Ergo Proxy. They are a duo of guys. I'm trying not to butcher names here, but, Anis Shamida does the vocals and guitar, and Ali Morizuma does the bass guitar and keyboards. And together, they had music that they're putting out under Monorail, which is a j rock group, primarily from 1999 to 2017 with a pause in between.
Daimyo:But this was their kind of one, notable hit that kinda gave them some recognition. The reason I I liked it was, I I checked out Ergo Proxy a long time ago, and I felt that, as far as music intros go, I I I try to stick to or I like the ones, like, we were just like Willie had mentioned and Jackie backed up as well, where the song kinda conveys an emotion or something about the show. It brings that the feel of the show out. Kinda like, I don't know, like, getting you ready or into the the feel of the show as it's coming out, and I felt this did really good. It fit the time period, as far as, like, alt rock in that period.
Daimyo:It just gave that feel to it with it.
Mac:You mind if I play a little bit of it? So Oh, absolutely. Well, it reminds me of a not grunge, but, like like Yeah. Like a radio in it, like a weaver, kinda chill vibe.
Daimyo:Yeah. Like a but like a
Mac:The visual
Daimyo:dark alt rock kinda deal. Like, apparently, this song has tongue it's it's the song is basically, like, about I felt it was very haunting when when you're watching a show, but, of course, I didn't really read into it at the time. But it's a beautiful song. It's about a deep, like, complete love, and that's why some people theorize that it's a savior based love, like someone with religious overtones as far as, like, kuri is, like, short for I'm gonna I don't want to butcher it, but it's the way in which the Japanese, kurisuto, which means Jesus, it's like Christ. So short for a savior, the love of your savior being expressed, because it's like a deep complete love.
Daimyo:It's like that love gives the person more understanding and meaning of their existence. So, it goes very it goes well along with the whole the whole series, but also I felt like that vibe, that that dark alt rock kind of vibe that comes across, you know, little, it it definitely, to me, fit the time period and so forth. So with stuff that was popular here, you know, stuff you would hear on the radio back in o o five, o six here, you know, it felt like they they carried that over with the vibe of the the intro for that song, and it it played well with the whole the whole series.
Mac:Yeah. I've I haven't seen this one, but it's one of those songs where, like, you look at the visual and you hear the song. You can already tell it's, like, an emotional anime. I would assume you, you know Yeah. Correct me if I'm wrong, but, I like drama.
Mac:Yeah.
Daimyo:It's a
Mac:nice it's a nice change up than your your upbeat, you know, drums and all that other stuff, just a laid back. So I think attack on Titan has done that as well. Like, their first three openings were just, like, fucking hyped up, and then they went to, like, this slower one for their 4th opening. People are like, yo, what the fuck is this? Like, this isn't what I'm used to, but then you see how the show starts changing from brings them in.
Mac:Exactly. Yeah. Behind it. You're just like, well, that's cool. So I I love it, like you said, when when the song matches the tone of what you're about to watch.
Daimyo:Yeah. Perfect. That's a great example, the whole attack on Titan. It it it really reflects a a feeling. You know?
Daimyo:And you you wouldn't know it when you first feel the change in that, but then suddenly, you're like, emotion is playing a huge part as it goes on. So
Mac:Yeah. Alright, Jackie. You're up.
Jacci:Okay. My number 5 that I picked, some people might have watched it. Some people haven't. I think it's super underrated anime. So, if you haven't watched it, you should.
Jacci:But it is opening 1 of 2 openings of the anime Dororo that, was first aired on, Amazon Prime. I think that's the only place that you can find it, and I don't even think it's on Amazon Prime anymore, because I tried to find it again, and I couldn't. But it might be correct me if I'm wrong. So it's called Kain, and the band is called Queen Bee. They're also known as, Ziyu Vachi, is what Queen Bee is known as.
Jacci:Kain, like, I think it's like most anime openings. It's just a single. It doesn't really come from an album, but I did find, like, some more well known bands. It'll be an album that a song's chosen from.
Mac:Mhmm.
Jacci:I really like it, though. The the opening style is like an old style painting, with the colors and and really the notable colors is gonna be, like, reds, oranges, and yellows, and that's very apparent through, the series itself. There's a lot of symbolism, throughout the series. I'll let it, play, though. That's so good.
Mac:I was I was fighting. I was like, I'm like, ah. I I love this one too, but go ahead,
Jacci:I'm sorry. No. It's a really good it's a really good song. The band is, sounds really interesting too. If you actually listen to the whole song, there's a second bridge to it that's, like, a lot more different, and, like, the 2 singers are going, like, back and forth kind of.
Jacci:Like, they're almost, like, arguing, which kinda makes sense because the the main protagonist, his name is Hakimaru, and Doro is actually, like, the young child right there that's actually a girl. It's a stark difference between the 2 and their dynamic, which is kinda like what the song kinda, talks about. And and the translation for it as well is just, like, talking about, like, you know, I can't sleep. Like, I'm trying to change, but, like, I'm gonna, like, fight for what's mine, and I'm gonna party it up kinda. It talks about a flame a lot that's, like, burning up, which is also notable throughout series if you've ever watched it or if you wanna watch it.
Jacci:Fire is a huge symbolic thing in the series. But the opening is, you know, like I said, notable with the colors. It's just a really sick and mesmerizing opening in my personal opinion. The opening displays, like, the hard and chaotic world that you're about to delve into. There's a lot of distorted imagery, dark and ominous atmosphere.
Jacci:In the opening, there's, like, body parts scattered everywhere. And then Queen Bee, so just a little bit about them. That single, it came out in 2019. So Doro is more of a newer kind of, anime and, that song reached number 2 on the Oricon chart. So if no one knows what that is, that's the Japanese music industry standard for, like, singles popularity chart.
Jacci:Just like we talked about the Billboard 1 100, Oricon's the same thing. So it immediately reached number 2 in its 1st week, and then it charted like that for 16 weeks, which is pretty sick. So, it was a really good song. Doro had 2 openings. So this is one, and it just spanned the episodes 1 through 2.
Jacci:And it's just a little bit I did do a little bit of just tiny facts about the anime that it opened for, which original anime, I guess, came out in 1969, and they made a remake in 2019 for 24 episodes. And, Doro actually means little monster. But Queen Bee is a Japanese rock band. It be it was formed in 2009. Like I said, it it's known in Japan as Yuvachi, and they describe that their music and imagery themselves as fashion punk, basically, which makes sense.
Jacci:It is kinda rock, but it is a little bit more punk. You'll hear a little bit. I can see where the fashions coming through because it's like they're moving with the times just like fashion constantly evolves, so I can see how they're bringing in some of those techno vibes that they do.
Daimyo:Yeah. Yeah. The drums and so forth are definitely different than standard punk, but yeah.
Jacci:Yeah. It only has 3 people. I did see that they've released 6 albums. They have a total of 26 singles. And then other anime that they've opened for is Tokyo Ghoul, Chainsaw Man, Undead Unluck, as well as Oshinoko.
Jacci:And then, another another fun fact with Doro, the other band that has, like, opened up or made openings for them, our endings is Asian Kung Fu Generation and Eve, which I'll talk about Asian Kung Fu Generation later. I actually didn't talk about Eve in mine, which is surprising because I really like Eve. I purposely didn't because I thought there'd be more j j k love with people, but there wasn't. And I'm kinda upset now because I wish I would've done it. It's okay.
Jacci:But, and the animation studios by MAPPA. A lot of people are familiar with MAPPA. It makes a lot of great anime. It's Attack on Titan, Jujutsu Kaisen, Kakeguri, Chainsaw Man, Hellfire. All the things, which also a lot of other bands open up for those as well.
Jacci:But, Queen Bee is really sick. I they, I really like their style. I picked it as number 5 only because, when I did first listen to the song initially, when I first heard the full song, I didn't know how I liked the switch from the first bridge to the second one, but then, like, I listened to it a few more times. I'm like, no. This is sick.
Jacci:I really like that. And then just that first high note that he hits.
Mac:Oh.
Jacci:So nice.
Mac:I like when the when the when the when the the chorus drops, when he's like, light it up, baby, and then the the guitars and the drums, it's like, it it's it's it's in my my my gym workout play. Well, there's a lot of openings in my gym workout playlist, but that's one of the ones where, you know, the beat gets you going, and it just helps you. And, like, the full song, like Jackie said, like, the the snippet, the 90 seconds it gives you for the the opening, great. But then when you listen to the rest of the song, the back and forth between the two artists, and then it goes where the the breakdown is, and you just hear the drums. Oh my god.
Daimyo:I have to check it out. Yeah.
Jacci:It's a good one. It's a good update too. I like it.
Daimyo:I like it.
Mac:Amazing. So, in the comments, we had, shout out to Black who's tuned in. He said his number 5 was Fullmetal Alchemist. I think they had a few openings. I know I'm a fan of their first opening.
Daimyo:I
Mac:don't know the name off the top of my head, but I think that's one of the more iconic openings that they've had. The second one, I'm also a fan of. But if you could say if you could let us know which one it is, we'll we'll bring it up and and show the the folks out here. Jen says darker than black intro.
Jacci:Oh.
Daimyo:I love that tip. That's a great one.
Mac:And then, shout out to the homie, Kimpachi. He was gracious enough to drop his top 5 in here. Let me scroll down and see. His I'm assuming it's in reverse. So, he went with, kibibaba, to Tumi, which is the Trigun Stampede opening.
Mac:Mhmm. Which if you haven't seen it oh, you left the, you left the YouTube link in here. I will give this a moment. Let me copy that and, show the world what our homie, Kenpachi, is all about. Alive.
Mac:Shout out to him as well, man. Hopefully hopefully, everything's going good. Also, this is the full song. It's not the opening opening. But, we can go ahead and bring it up and give it a listen so the folks know what he's talking about.
Mac:I like the vibes, man.
Jacci:Yeah. Yeah.
Mac:So I've heard a lot of stuff. I don't know if this the try guns stamp, stampede that's the remake that they're doing. Not the remake.
Jacci:Oh, the the anime that's, that just dropped on country roll this year, I think?
Mac:Current one that's that's going on right now.
Daimyo:Yes. The newest iteration of it? Yeah.
Mac:So I have yet to check that one out. I know I like oh, shoot. Where Jackie went off to? There you go. Disappeared on me for a bit.
Mac:She's back. But yeah. So I heard, you know, Trigun's one of those staples where people are like, you got you have to have watched Trigun. So
Daimyo:Everybody's at least checked out some Trigun if they're in Miami.
Mac:A western, you know, cowboy gunslinger type anime, which I'm all for. So I'll be sure to check that one out. But, let me share with you all my number 4, which, you may have heard
Daimyo:of or
Mac:may not, a little anime that goes by the name of Sword Art Online.
Jacci:This is such a good running song.
Mac:Now without getting too into it, Sword Art Online, it does fall off at a certain point. Most would say it falls off. It gets kinda weird. It's one of them anime. Like, you're watching it.
Mac:You're watching it. And then, like, a certain scene comes along, and you're just like, oh, shit. This is wild. I hope nobody comes in, and, of course, that's when people walk in. What are you watching?
Mac:You know? God. Like, where were you when all the cool stuff was happening? There's there's multiple
Daimyo:sword art online, story lines. So right?
Jacci:Yeah. Yes.
Mac:So, the I
Jacci:heard the worst ones like Gun Gale Gungale or something like that.
Daimyo:Yeah. I think that that's the one I've heard about too. So
Mac:introduced guns and old girl has the pink Uzi, and she's doing I mean, it's some people like it. I watched it just because I'm just like, you know, Kurita's in it. Let me see what what he's about, what's going on. Pink Uzi outfit. Yeah.
Mac:I mean, she was fucking people up that pink Uzi. I got. Whatever color it is. 20 years and and and Hey.
Jacci:Uzi was my favorite gun when I played, modern warfare, man.
Mac:But, I'm a go, oh, yes. So Black said his song for Fullmetal Alchemist was Yeah. Saw that. Yeah. That is the one I'm talking about.
Jacci:Which one? How are they seeing the comments, by the way? I can never figure out how to look at them. Oh, yes, Black. 100%.
Mac:Yeah. So, we got that going on. But like I said, Crossing Fields by am I out of pocket by calling her the queen of
Jacci:She you're not.
Mac:You're not. Okay. Lisa.
Daimyo:She's She's on my list too. Yeah.
Jacci:She's so good, dude.
Daimyo:She just she's amazing. She's like the Beyonce of anime. She's everywhere.
Mac:She she like, if you're like, I want my anime to be a hit. Lisa, can you can you do a opening for I I know you're paying out of pocket. Yeah. Like, you're taking a second. You want me to
Daimyo:check out check your budget, but yeah.
Mac:It's worth it. It's worth it. She's gonna set you up for success. You know? So, I'm a go ahead and let this I'm a turn to make sure the volume is right, because the opening is so oh my god.
Mac:It's it's such a beautiful song. So, go ahead. Lisa, take it away.
Jacci:That's so good. You started it right, the best part.
Mac:So what I wanna do is get to the part where, like, the chorus comes in, and it's such a
Jacci:uplifting It's so good. You ever watch her perform it in concert? The crowd goes wild when she gets
Mac:to that part. He has the, that Netflix oh, man. I mean, like, if she was to tour the US and come, like, I I'm bro, I'm there. Fanboying.
Jacci:Yeah. Yeah.
Mac:1 100%. Like I know the words, but I don't. Just get it
Jacci:on. Yeah.
Mac:Let me see if I could find that part.
Jacci:Oh, so good.
Mac:It's such a beautiful song.
Daimyo:The way she brings the emotion into it too with her
Mac:Her vocals are No. Oh, goodness. So
Jacci:good.
Daimyo:It is.
Mac:Oh my gosh. She just hits the spot. Her song She's
Jacci:such a she's such a good singer too. It's insane.
Mac:Her vocal, her practice, her exercises, and stuff were just off the chain. But, so Lisa is a popular Japanese singer songwriter known for her work in the anime music genre. She's gained significant acclaim for a powerful vocals and energetic performance style. Her real name, Lisa Oribe. She adopted the stage name Lisa as a tribute to a character Lisa from the anime Evangelion, which I didn't know.
Mac:I thought that was pretty dope. Like, she's in it. She's a 100% in it. You know?
Jacci:She is that bitch.
Mac:She I I I can't complain. You know? She's that it. She's the she's it.
Daimyo:She brings that emotion like you said. I mean, it you feel it in the words when she comes across a verse, especially anything that's got some sort of emphasis, like, we were just listening, like, it just belts out and you you feel it. You know? You're like, wow.
Jacci:That's just She's a performer too, man. Like, she's really good.
Mac:When she's on stage, she she she knows how to the actions to do on the stage to present the emotion of the song, which is out of this world. So, she started out in a band, named Chuckie performing at live venues across Tokyo. But then she joined another group called Girls Dead Monster, and that group
Jacci:Oh, that's a great freaking group.
Mac:Yep. They performed the theme, the opening to the anime Angel Beats.
Jacci:So Yep. They sure did. And they sang all of the music. Angel Beats was on my list at one point, but I took it off. I could go on and on about Angel Beats.
Daimyo:Yeah. She's credited for a lot of the, you know, I mean, it's a lot of people credit that as her beginning, her debut for all of her singing, but it's like, yeah. I mean, solo, I guess. Solo,
Mac:but Yeah. So she's best known for singing anime openings and endings. She's has like, I the list if I was to list all the openings and, like, we'd be here for a minute. But most notably, crossing fields, which I think kinda boosted her. Like, everybody's like, oh, shit.
Mac:Who is this? But to me, this would be the song I would want her to end a concert on. I'd be like, probably about 9 on this.
Jacci:I agree.
Mac:But I think more more recent bias, people would want her to sing, I think it's Grange. Yeah. What
Jacci:Eric is gonna talk about? Yeah.
Mac:Yeah. Yeah. So I'm I'm a let him do that, but she sings that one. And then, other ones as well. Catch the moment from Sword Art Online, Ordinal Scale, the movie.
Mac:She does this new opening queen for, Shangri La Frontier.
Jacci:Oh, yep.
Mac:She sings that. Bro, I can go on and on again, but we'll let that ride. But, I just think it's it's it's amazing. You can go to Spotify. She has album after album.
Mac:All the songs don't go to anime, but you can listen, like you can go there and enjoy her music. She is one of the most well known artists in Japan, crossing over into doing some features on k pop albums. Like I said, if she came to the states I know she does a couple. Like, she'll come to the states to hit, like, Dallas or, like, you know, a couple cities and and get out. She doesn't do a full tour.
Mac:But when she tours a world tour, like, around the Pacific region, concert sold out. Crowds bet. It it is it is an event. It is an event, and I will just end this by saying we must protect Lisa at all cost. At all cost.
Daimyo:Alright. I agree to that. Okay. So, my number 4 is waiting for is the title by Ryrie. Yo Ryrie is the band.
Daimyo:I could not find a lot of information about the band. The song is the intro for Guyver when they did the 2005 bio boosted armor remake. Basically, got, it was the more digitized for the art and so forth, but I felt like I picked this specific music because I felt that the band really captured the the energy, but also the mysteriousness when they played when the music comes and and and really brings brings you into the into the series because it is a mix of high energy and also, the, the the struggle to find, to uncover the truth of what's going on, the meaning and purpose of what what they're actually facing and going through. So I feel like the music conveys that very well, but it also it's a it's a it's a energy kinda like what we've been talking about with that vibe that's brought in. Like, it it sets it up for the the show as it starts.
Daimyo:And, really carrying through being a fan of the original Guyver series and, seeing this was like, when they re when they remastered and and rereleased it, I really felt like they did it with the with for to bring in a a new generation, and you get that feel. This is a whole, like, appeal to the next generation to enjoy the same stories. And, the energy energy they brought with the music, I feel, also loops in. But it's also close to the same time period. Like I said, 2005, so close to ergo proxy, so you're still getting that kinda alt rock feel.
Daimyo:But this one's more high energy than ergo proxy, which more of more suspenseful. This one's more energy, but, still, I I felt like it had that vibe of, searching or anticipation. So
Mac:I think I've seen this bloodshed armor one.
Daimyo:Yeah. This one is, it's definitely upgraded as far as the action and the, art. Brought it more to the the like I said, more of the digital age because the old stuff was each frame penciled, whereas this one, you could tell, is is still used more of the modern art techniques. But I like the guitar. I'll, the energy contrast to her voice, which her the lyrics are talking about someone, like, almost like a discovery of oneself.
Daimyo:Yeah. And, but the guitar and not the the music is more high energy, so it goes along with a story where shows, you know, discovering everything about himself, but it's a it's it's during this this, intense, you know, situation where he's battling all sorts of strange monsters. He doesn't know how he got in the situation. So that high energy music in the background with her overlaid voice, which is very beautiful singing voice. Yeah.
Daimyo:I just couldn't find a lot as far as any further work as, Yoh, Re or Ryrie. It's it's she lists her and lists music, but not music as far as along with the band or as along with anime in general. So it's something that I was hoping to maybe ask. Like, I know, Jackie has a lot more information when it comes to these anime, these bands that do anime music. But I felt this one like yeah.
Daimyo:Like Blaque says, it it's it's got some some serious energy behind it, and her her voice is is not only beautiful, but it it it does fit that feel of, like, longing and searching for answers and for a solution. And and that really plays into the story because, your main characters, he's he he starts off as not being the most, you know, confident of heroes, but he sticks it out and he sees it through because he wants the answers. He wants, you know, to know. So it's it's to me, it's one of my favorite series, from a kid, and then seeing the remastered version, and I felt like the remastered music was just excellent.
Mac:Yeah. Diver is one of those, I don't wanna say you have to, like, along the lines of, like, Ghost in a Shell, Akira, things like that. Like, Guyver is one of those like, you just admire the all the hand drawn animation that's in it, like, the the amount of time people put into it. You you can't go wrong with with OVAs, you know, because they can just get as visceral and and as as dark and as graphic. So they can tell the story the way that it's intended to be told without worrying about, oh, no.
Mac:You know, we gotta dumb it down for, you know, the public, if that makes sense. Yeah. So, yeah, I'll I'll be checking that one out because I saw that the blood stain. Alright. I'll check that one out.
Jacci:I just wrote it down. I've been running down, like, all of the
Mac:All the all the Some
Jacci:of them I've seen that Willie's saying, but for yours, I think, like, I missed out on a lot of, like, the old nineties style, early 2000s animes because I was 10, kind of, when I actually started researching and trying to watch anime more because at first, I was just watching what was available on Adult Swim.
Daimyo:Yeah. And it was hard. The the availability, that's something we've touched on a couple of times. Back in, you know, the nineties and the early 2000, you were lucky if you were able to find a DVD set somewhere. And if you did, they always had, like, number 2, 7, and and 10.
Daimyo:You're like, oh, that's wonderful.
Jacci:Well, YouTube, back in the day, you could just Google stuff on YouTube or all of the YouTube or all of the anime, pirating sites. Like, that it was easy.
Mac:I mean, you used to go
Daimyo:to, Best Buy because that had one of the most diverse anime sections out
Mac:of anywhere
Daimyo:you could go. And you'd go through, but then you're like, I gotta drop a $150 on this, or they'd only have, like, box set 1 and box set 3. And you're like, well, where's 24? So it was always a game to get through to be able to go and Google it, like you said, or check it out in Crunchyroll and stuff now. It's a gift.
Daimyo:It really is, and I've I've enjoyed it because not only can I fall you know, go back and to the ones I've loved, but I get new ones from, you know, both of you and other friends of mine who are into it? And I hear it, and I'm like, I can go look it up and, like, hey. I get to check this out, you know, right away instead of hunting down in some, you know, smelly Best Buy section.
Mac:It's okay.
Jacci:It is kinda smelly, isn't it?
Daimyo:Yeah. It always smells funny. It's like
Jacci:A little bit. Birds hang out.
Daimyo:Yeah. Like a GameStop. Like, woah. Has that specific smell of GameStop. Yeah.
Mac:It's like oh. Alright, Jackie. Number you're number 4.
Jacci:I number 4. A lot of people because it's only 12 but it's only 12 episodes, and it has literally ruined people's lives because it's so sad. It's called the Kame Ga Kill. Okay?
Mac:Liar mask.
Jacci:The opening is called Liar mask
Mac:by Rika
Jacci:Mayama. It's opening 2 of 2, and it covered episodes 15 to the end. Came out, 2014 in Japan. 2016 US is when, Comic God Code came out.
Mac:If you
Jacci:haven't seen it, you need to go watch it. Literally, a quick 4 hours. Just go get your heart broke. Oh, gotta watch it.
Mac:Oh my gosh. This song. Alright. I'm Hold on. Let the let me let me bring this up.
Mac:It was play beginning because you guys need done so reluctant.
Daimyo:He's like, I'm I'll bring it up. No.
Jacci:I Well, because sorry. So before you play it before you play it, Wiley or Wiley, Willie, sorry.
Mac:It's fine.
Jacci:Sorry. That was disrespect. I'm sorry. I'm getting well, I'm getting too excited. The the the thing about this opening is the first opening is, like, way more upbeat.
Jacci:Right? Like, you don't really know what you're getting yourself into. And around this time in the show, also, like, shit changes. And you very much know, like, what's starting to happen in the show, and it's just like, what the hell am I watching? And so this the this opening really covers that change in pace and, theme.
Jacci:It's really good.
Mac:Alright. I I just love how it starts and then the the build. Oh my gosh. Okay. Everybody just sit back and enjoy this this piece of of work.
Mac:This. Oh, gosh. It is
Jacci:are you gonna wait to get to the to build up?
Mac:Yeah. Yeah. You know it.
Jacci:I know. I'm waiting.
Mac:Here we go.
Jacci:There it is. Yeah. Yeah, dude.
Mac:It's that choir. It's the choir in the background that makes epic.
Jacci:Yeah. When she does the one partner song, she's like, like, it's like this, like
Mac:Like, it turns into a lullaby?
Jacci:Yeah. Yeah. And then it's just she's just like, kill, kill, kill. And it's like, oh, shit.
Daimyo:It goes from
Mac:yeah. God damn it.
Jacci:So, the the song itself very much covers, like, the anime, the themes, and the and the lyrics in it, too. It's just, like, talking about, like, I'm recalling my fates. I'm in the moonlight. I am here to, like, deal with all these tragedies. Like, let me try to reach the end and do all this stuff.
Jacci:And, even if blood spills, I'll stand up tall and fight, like, is, like, some of the lyrics. So very much goes with the theme of the show. Yeah. It's really great. But, Rika is actually, a part of a Japanese j pop group with 10 people in it.
Mac:Let me
Jacci:One thing I'll say is I do like J pop and k pop. Right? And I'll listen to, like, some of it, but I always, like, think a lot. Like, how are you putting that much time into this? Like, there's no way 10 girls are getting a solo part in a song.
Jacci:Like, there you got a maybe a 5 people, and then there's gonna be another song where those 5 people aren't singing the other 5 are. Like, that's just crazy to me. But either way, this song specifically came out November 20 November 26, 2014. It reached number 17 on the Oricon, charts. Mhmm.
Jacci:The opening overview is, like I said before, it's darker. It's more intense. It reflects the the fringe tone of the story as the anime progresses. It showcases more of the main protagonist, that heavy rock sound. The dynamic fight scenes really highlight the brutal nature of the self.
Jacci:And Rika did a really good job with this, but she only did this one song for this anime, and then she went back to, like, being a part of her her group, which their idol group is called Shiritsu Ebisu, Chugaku, which is shortened to Ebichu is what they're known as in Japan. Like I said, there's 10 members. They don't do any other animes, but they've done 8 albums. There was a lot of singles, actually.
Daimyo:Albums with 10 singers? Like, wow.
Jacci:Yeah. They and they are still active today. Like, they're still very much like a big pop group in Japan, but they originally formed as a quintet quintet, apparently, in 2009, and and now they've just expanded, and, they're still pretty popular now. But she was one of the founding members of, that group. I looked too much more into the group, to be honest.
Jacci:That's just kinda like what I saw. But the, animation studio that created this is the same animation studio that made the manga. It's White Fox. If you haven't seen other animes of these that White Fox has done, you should go watch them as well. Besides the last one, I'm gonna say, is The Devil is a Part Timer, Steins Gate, Re 0, and, Goblin Slayer.
Jacci:Go watch that.
Mac:Goblin Slayer is solid. But like I said, you
Jacci:I will watch the first episode, and I will I'm scared.
Mac:You gotta get cool with a lot of things real quick.
Jacci:I I wanted to watch it, but I was talking to Steven. Steven's like, don't
Mac:watch it. Cooled a
Daimyo:lot of things as in hell with goblins. If I'm gonna check it out, like
Jacci:Yeah. It's, the first scene you know what? I don't care. I'm just gonna say it. You can literally look it up and you'll see a picture of it.
Jacci:The first scene is literally a goblin raping a chick.
Mac:So, like, adventures would go and, on a it's like a, I guess, taking place like a RPG. You have guilds. They come together. They eat up the door on on missions.
Jacci:But it's
Mac:very cool. So goblins, they can't, reproduce themselves. So what they do is, like, they when they get the opportunity and a human female comes around, they try to keep them alive to mate with them to reproduce. So when, like, so they were in there, they got overwhelmed, and, you know, they kill off the males, and then they start trying to have their way with the females. And they No.
Mac:Yeah. I'm sitting here watching, and Crunchyroll is just like, hey, bro. This ain't this ain't Naruto. Like, it gives you a watch that
Daimyo:It tells you upfront. Like, yeah. This is gonna
Mac:be dope. It's not
Jacci:and it's no. It's not hentai. Right? Like, it's not hentai.
Daimyo:Yeah.
Jacci:It's not.
Mac:Well, I mean, you could tell what's happening. You're just like Yeah.
Daimyo:I mean, look at Ninja Scroll, like, right as, you know, you get to to sigh, and then it's like, woah. You know? And, of course, that's when that's when people walk in or your parents are like, what do you want?
Mac:What's this? No. No. No. It's a it's a
Daimyo:ninja movie. Like, sure it's a ninja movie.
Jacci:Yeah.
Daimyo:He's got our boob in his mouth. You're like, oh.
Mac:Yeah. Sorry.
Daimyo:I I'm sorry. It's okay.
Jacci:No. No. No. You're fine. It's this is some of the
Mac:Grandma don't work. Grandma, no.
Jacci:People when people argue and they're like, oh, anime is for kids, It is absolutely not for children. Okay? Like, we are not watching, you know No. My cat one that I like to watch, but whatever. Woah.
Jacci:So it's the one that I talked to you about. It's, the masterful cat. Yeah. I love that show. So awesome.
Mac:The masterful cat?
Jacci:The masterful cat is depressed again today. It's about a cat that has to take care of his human because
Mac:Okay. I
Jacci:love it so much. It's so stupid.
Daimyo:I'm learning new stuff. I'm always open for that.
Jacci:Other bands that also played for Akame Ga Kill or made openings or endings for them is, Sora Amamiya. If, you're not very familiar with Sora Amamiya, she did some, pick for 7 Deadly Sins in Tokyo Ghoul. Interesting enough, she's also the voice actress of Akame. I didn't know that.
Mac:Oh, wow.
Jacci:Yeah. Famous. Miku Sawai did some music for Kill La Kill, and then Amamiya, also did. Miruku Chan, Rent A Girlfriend. There's actually a bunch that Sora Amamiya has done.
Jacci:So just just really great music overall and people being a part of the overall theme. I I love this song. It's sick. It
Mac:Oh my gosh.
Jacci:Oh, and and it was, like, one of the favorites for like, people to this day still say, not only is a comic I gotta kill one of their most favorite anime, but that second opening is, like, close to, like, a lot. I I would argue it's at least in a lot of people's top 20.
Daimyo:Yeah.
Mac:I love that.
Jacci:Yes. It's my number 4 just because there's some others that are coming that I just listen to a lot. So but it's still a good one to listen to.
Mac:I I I fuck with that song, Hailey. Like, the the intro and like you said, it's a very like, if you listen to the full song, it it's like more of a you got the kind of the the military drum, and it's like marching, and you know they're about to go into battle. And it's so like, the song hits better when you watch the show. I will just say
Jacci:that.
Mac:It just hits better. Shout out to the, Cutting Edge Hero crew. Tap it in. What's up? What's up?
Mac:Kampachi's number 4 is the 1 piece. The 3rd opening for 1 piece, I carry wow. I'm not a fan of 1 piece openings. I'm I'm just not. Like, it
Jacci:There's a few that I actually like, but it's the same band that does a lot of their openings, and I don't know if I'm a huge fan of the band. Oh, okay. That's my point.
Mac:The English dubs sung by Vic, looks like Mignogna. I don't know how to say his last name, but he ended up being the dub voice of Edward Elric in all Oh. Versions of, Fullmetal Alchemist. So that was
Jacci:really great, voice actors.
Mac:Yep. Like I said, I'll be putting the the description and and building the, the Spotify playlist after so you could tap in.
Daimyo:I'm excited for that too after all your choices.
Mac:And then I think somewhere in the comments, Black said his number 4 was the opening to Dandenan, by the way. So
Daimyo:It's still one of my favorites, but, hey, we thought that was taken. So
Mac:Yep. Yep. Yep. So, well, we I thought it was. I just knew I had to claim one of them, and I claimed the one that's superior.
Mac:And I will stay and I will die on that hill then. They're both amazing, but bling bling bling brown bong. Bling bang bang born is is my go to. Now my number 3 comes from a a little known a very only only the who's who's knows of this one. It's a little show called attack on Titan.
Mac:You may have heard of it. It's it's Yeah.
Daimyo:We have heard of
Mac:them. You may have I am. I know. At Taco Titan, needless to say, theme songs, bangers. Bangers.
Mac:I don't think there was one miss on all. Even the even the slower pitch one where people, like, what the hell is going on? If you watch the show, the song slap, because you knew what the hell was going on. Individuals, anyway.
Daimyo:Yeah. You knew it were kind.
Mac:Yep. It's the 3rd opening. Shenzhou wools the saga. Right? It's pretty much translates to dedicate your hearts, and it's their the battle cry of the scout segment of their their army.
Mac:And it's like their battle cry when they go into battle. Because if you watched it, you know the odds are really against them when they're fighting these titans. So in order to rally them up, that was kind of their battle cry. The band well, first of all, intro, obviously, animated by Wit Studios. Amazing job.
Mac:You know what? I'm a just bring it up, talk about it. We're gonna play this song, then I'm a talk about it. Then I'm a bore you, but first, y'all gotta see this shit. But, I mean, you could watch it, like, preparing to go to battle and all that.
Mac:I'm just
Jacci:Yeah. Fucking.
Daimyo:It builds. It's really, like
Mac:This part here where they're just
Jacci:Chaotic. I love it.
Mac:This part here? Oh my god.
Jacci:Yeah. This is it.
Daimyo:There it is.
Jacci:It's so I just got chills. It's so good, dude. It's so
Mac:Horizon does not fucking miss.
Jacci:Dude, they don't Look
Mac:at this shit. Oh my fucking god. Like, let's let's do it. Like, alright. Got that out my system.
Mac:Amazing. Like It is. Listen to the full song. It is it is an emotional, event for you. At Link Horizon, Japanese musical group known primarily for their work in the anime industry.
Mac:More particularly, their their dealings with the attack on Titan themes. The group was formed by Revo, who's the leader and also composer. Because it is if you see them in their shows, they're like a full up band, like a orchestra string section. It's almost like, what's the closest thing? Like, the Trans Siberian Orchestra.
Jacci:Oh, yeah.
Mac:You know, they got the guitars and all that stuff. It you know, it's almost a holiday, so, you know, they about to go back on tour and do their their Christmas stuff with
Daimyo:It reminds me that the feel when you're listening to it is, like, when they did the I I think it was Metallica did it with a, I don't know, it's the Chicago Symphony or somebody, but they they had it all together and, like, the symphony cuts in into while they're playing, you know, some of their greatest hits, and it's just that it just brings so much of that epic feel, like, through like, you mentioned the the goosebumps or the hair on the back of your neck standing up. You're, like, oh, the feel. It's just, like
Mac:Let's let's fucking do this. You know, like, I would've been in there, like, bro, there's fucking huge ass people out there. They would've played this shit. I'm, like, let's fucking kill them. Let's let's do it.
Mac:I just gotta cut their neck. I'm on it. Let's go. You you let me go there. But, the biggest thing is, prior to forming the the the group Linked Horizon, he was known for his work in a band called Sound Horizon.
Mac:I guess he likes the word horizon.
Jacci:Interesting.
Mac:And they blend his thing is he likes to blend storytelling with a variety of musical styles. So it's not like he's just making music to make music. Like, there is a a larger story being told in the in the things that he's doing. And it's you can kinda see it. I don't know if he created the story or, like, when a tackle titan approached him for this.
Mac:Because all of his songs, like, it it it starts off the first three openings are more like, because if you you've everybody's here seen attack on Titan. Right? So the first kind of three openings is more of like the propaganda. Like, the let's rally up. Let's fight these.
Mac:These are the evil guys and all x y z and stuff. And then when you start seeing the behind the scenes, the unraveling, the real secrets on on what's going on out here, then it turns kinda into a rebellion. Now you're fighting against the same propaganda and army that you were fighting for. And that's when you get, like, your, your rumblings, your, I forget the other one where you start seeing, like, there's some discourse, there's some disruption in in in where your your loyalties lie. You know, you're, like, either wrong with Aaron and his rebels or you're still rocking with, you know, the army and the king and bro, it's
Jacci:Molly's.
Daimyo:The Molly. They be you could see that they begin to to question more or see more
Mac:Like, why are we?
Daimyo:As they start to feel the consequences of what's going on. You know? Because at first, like you said, they're all pumped, and it's like, let's do this together. And then as as it goes on and they start feeling the impacts of the decisions to go forth and be you know? The the and then they then it starts to change.
Daimyo:You know? So, yeah, it's it's it matches it. The feel is is excellent.
Mac:So the band was formed in 2012, and, it was a pretty much a project. We all was like, hey, let you know, let's do this live performance, get this orchestra and stuff in here. So, their music incorporates a blend of symphonic rock, progressive rock, orchestral elements known for its grandiose soundscapes and intricate compositions. So like you said, just that little snippet. 90 seconds of, like, a 4 minute and a half minute song is right there.
Mac:You like, having not even seen it and you I if I showed somebody this, like, would you be interested in watching this show? They'd be like, yo, what the fuck? Let me in on you know? Let me in on this. Their lyrics often draw on epic storytelling, fantasy themes, and dramatic narratives, which resonate with the themes of the anime for which they provide music.
Mac:Now I was torn between this one and the original opening, because that's the one that set it off. And you got the
Jacci:choir coming in. There is something about a freaking choir that when people bring it in openings, it's
Mac:sure it's real.
Jacci:Ample, man.
Mac:What do
Daimyo:we gotta do? Tell me what phrases it up. It just really does.
Jacci:It's They are bringing the spirits into this. Like, it means something. Exactly.
Mac:They are not fucking around with this. Yeah. So, yeah, that is my number 3. Again, I had to pick one theme from attack on Titan. I had to I had to include ALT on this, and this I felt this was the one that compared with combined with the opening, the animation, and that that that spectacle that you saw, like, let's gear up.
Mac:It's battle time. They're coming to our city. We gotta hold the walls. Let's go. And they jump off the wall and, oh, oh.
Mac:That one. Alright. I'm done. What you got, Nereid?
Daimyo:Alright. So my number 3 is No Need For Promises by Maya Sakamoto, for Vision to Escaflowne. Reason I picked it is the same thing that you're talking about. It's that epic sweeping I mean, it's like a a wind of, you know, just feel and, like, it brings you knowing or it comes to you, like, in this, like, I don't know, like, a gust of, you know, that this epic quest or this epic saga is gonna just pull you right in. And I mean, the the it's the singing because Maya Sakamoto, she's a very famous singer.
Daimyo:Her career start actually started, like, around 96, but she'd been singing since, like, 1986 or 1988 as a child or as very young. She did 3 songs for Wolf's Rain. She did an opening theme for I can't pronounce this. Rakezavon? Razezafon?
Daimyo:Razezafon?
Mac:I believe you. Yeah.
Daimyo:But, you can go ahead and play it. I'll I'll I'll speak more after. But, yeah, I felt like the epicness of this this song really leads into Escaflownie as as a whole series. It's it's near and dear to me because one of the first animes I watched with my wife, Jen, all to get, you know, from start to finish, trying to bring her, like, hey. This is kind of stuff that I like, hoping that she wouldn't go, oh, you're a weirdo.
Daimyo:I was like, well, we'll start off with Escafone because everybody thinks that. But, yeah. So Escoffone, is a fantasy style of anime, but this this song brings that epicness to the fantasy setting. No need for promises.
Mac:Alright. Let it oh, let me make sure it's not muted. Oh, here it goes. What are you buffering for, bro? You're plugged into the TV.
Daimyo:He has a beautiful voice. And if you're watching the opening, you can actually see it kinda it does the classic anime go through the characters, but one of the
Mac:I will say this. Like, any, like, it's gonna sound like soup. I I don't care. It's weird. I love this this this tone of voice.
Mac:Like
Daimyo:I didn't yeah.
Mac:Whatever. It's soothing and you're just, like, it it just gets you, pulls you in to the song.
Daimyo:Genuine. It really does. Like a And
Mac:I was trying to find the the actual opening thing, and you guys can Yeah. Continue to talk about it. And if I find it, I'll bring it up so we can see that.
Daimyo:Maya Sakamoto is is a great, individual that's involved in a lot of anime and music. Like I said, she did 3 songs for Wolf's reign. If anyone else hasn't seen that, it's a good series. It's very different, original idea. She did 2 o or she had opening theme and 2 songs for that, Raizaphon, which is, I believe, is more of a mecha style anime.
Daimyo:She is a voice actress though and she's done a lot of work. She actually is the voice of Hitomi in the Japanese version of Escaflone. So when you hear her singing, she's actually the main female character of the entire series as well. That's one of the things I caught so much. Like, you mentioned her voice.
Daimyo:Hitomi's voice is is, like, I don't know, iconic in a way. Like, if you've ever watched it or or a fan of it, it's one of those, you know, not only innocent, but it conveys a lot of emotion in the way she speaks. Because Hitomi
Jacci:Oh, there you go.
Daimyo:Kinda kinda it's a it's a, escape to a new world. So in a way, Hitomi's, not a coming of age, but in it is in a in a sense. Like, she's finding herself, but the song is about being lonely in love. Like, loving someone from a distance, even though you both have emotion, but never getting to share that love or or to have them feel that they're the object of your affection. So she's trying to convey that to the, you know, the person who she wants to give her heart to.
Daimyo:So that's this you know, that's what she's explaining when she's singing to them. But, Sakamoto, she's a great voice actor. She's done, Gundam Seed. She was in Death Note. She's in Evangelion.
Daimyo:She's done Ghost in the Shell, Ghost in the Shell stand alone. But like I said, Hitomi is probably her iconic voice acting because she did the primary character. And if you ever get a chance to check out the series, I mean, it's one of those, like, you'll you'll probably pick it up especially because it's it is an older anime that, you know, a lot of the newer stuff, you'll see the the hints that these, characters as they go on, female characters that have fit that same kind of design of, you know, like a a teenage Japanese girl who's not only finding love, but finding herself and where she fits in the whole thing. Because Hitomi, if you've ever watched the series, falls into this fantasy world, which is a mirror of maybe our our, you know, ancient medieval world. So, there, she she becomes an integral part of this journey, this adventure of of of a as a man who could be king and this whole whirlwind war and stuff.
Daimyo:But it's it's it's an amazing epic saga, and I feel her song carries not only that innocence and that purity with it, but it that that flowingness. Like, it almost feels like a dance. So, that was why I picked it. I felt like it it conveyed that. I tried to get a little bit of everyone, you know, with different animes.
Daimyo:And this one, I felt
Mac:it was
Daimyo:my more epic, like, saga, like, a a journey, and I, you know, I liked it a lot.
Jacci:Yeah. Maya was also the Japanese voice actress for Aerith from Final Fantasy 7.
Daimyo:There you go. Yeah. I'm telling you, it's it's it's a it's a Yep. It's amazing how much she's been involved in. When you go start digging, you're like, holy cow.
Daimyo:I didn't know she did that voice. It is is impressive.
Mac:So I will say this, before we get to your number 3, Jackie. Cutting Edge Hero, they jumped in. Their number 4 was j j k. I'm assuming probably the first intro, with, with E.
Jacci:Oh, I I wanna know what their what it is because
Mac:Which one?
Jacci:I like all openings. There's a specific one that I advocate for, but I didn't put it on
Mac:my list. See what
Daimyo:we'll ask him.
Jacci:I'm not gonna lie. If I had to go again, I probably would have put it on my list, but I didn't.
Mac:What would you have taken off?
Jacci:I probably would've taken off Doro. Okay. Taken off. And I would've put on the 3rd season, first part opening, and that's my favorite j j k opening, and it's I listen to that song at least once or twice a week.
Mac:Yep. Black's in here. He likes Tank from Cowboy Bebop. Classic. It's one of those you know you know what you're watching.
Mac:Mhmm. Like, it. Like, it was Yeah.
Jacci:It's a good one.
Mac:Yeah. I love it. I love it. And then, number 3 for cutting edge, Cheryl, is obviously Oh,
Jacci:the samurai champloo. Yep.
Mac:Samurai champloo. Yep. So, Jackie, your number 3 is
Jacci:I number 3. I don't think a lot of people know, about this anime, but it's called Blood Plus. K. The what?
Daimyo:I love that anime.
Jacci:I never hear anyone talking about it, but,
Daimyo:Oh my god. It's good.
Jacci:Yes. It's called Blood Plus. This specific opening is opening 3 out of 4, and it covered, basically the last 15 episodes, to the end is what it said. There's a total of 50 episodes for this anime specific oh, wait. I think I messed it up.
Jacci:It it was opening 3. There's a total of 50 episodes for this anime. It came out in I think it said 2,005 in Japan. The song is called Colors of the Heart by Uberworld.
Mac:If you
Jacci:don't know who Uberworld is. Uberworld is as we get up into my top, my favorite bands are, like, really gonna come shining through here. This is the 4th single that they produced. It came out May 17, 2006, and it reached number 3 on the this one, it really slaps, like, immediately in the beginning.
Mac:And when you got music that hard going in there just standing in a field and the wind's blowing, you know this shit's about to be lit.
Jacci:Yeah. It's funny. Get
Mac:real in here.
Jacci:Because it it's funny because this opening is, like, a little bit trippy. Right?
Mac:Yeah.
Jacci:Oh, no. Sorry. Wrong one. It's like a drawing, which I really liked, which is it's a complete stark difference not only from the anime itself, but the other openings that were previous to it. And just a little bit of background, blood plus for people who if they haven't seen it, it's about a young girl who uses her blood as a way to fuel her powers, and she has, like, a caretaker, if you will, that is, helping her out.
Jacci:And there's a lot of, like, past and history and stuff that you find out about her. It's really sick. It's a It aired on, Adult Swim a really long time ago. I say really long. It was back in 2006, but I guess that was kinda long ago.
Mac:It's 18 years ago.
Jacci:This song is one of my I play this. It's heavy on rotation, and Uber World in general is just a really, really great band, Japanese rock band. They formed in 2,000 consisting of 6 members. Interesting fact about Uber World is they purposely, spelled it where Uber is caps, but world is lowercase. And the Uber is the German word Uber, meaning over, and the English, where sorry.
Jacci:The German word Uber, meaning over, and then the English word why didn't it mean yesterday? I wish. Uh-huh. English word word over, to basically form a phrase that means crossing above the world, which I think is really cool.
Mac:I see.
Jacci:They have 12 albums and about 40 plus singles. I I didn't include some other singles that they had, but they have a lot. And they made openings for Bleach, which one of the most famous ones, and one of my favorites is d techno life.
Mac:That didn't make your list? It did. The list?
Jacci:My list probably would have been Uberworld and Asian, Kung Fu Generation and Eve if I had the ability to do that, but I wanted to have more of a variety. Okay? I I Theory.
Mac:How about Bennett?
Jacci:Thank you.
Daimyo:She said she was finally done at, like, 3:30 in the morning. I just happened to be awake. Well, it's 3:30 in the morning for me. I was like, woah. Finally done.
Daimyo:I was like
Jacci:Oh, I was I took a lot. It was this was really hard. That's what I'm saying. It's really hard for
Daimyo:me. Jackie.
Jacci:My Hero Academia, specifically Odd Future. Even though we have yeah. They did promised to, Neverland, Gintama, Blue Exorcist, d Grayman.
Mac:It
Jacci:just, like, a really, really great freaking band. And like I said, it was number 3 in the Oricon charts for a really, really long time. Like, this song is, like, really I run to this song actually a lot. If I'm not in a running mood, I put this song on. This is also the song I listen to when I need to sit in planks for my PT test.
Mac:You do the plank?
Jacci:Oh, yeah. I can't reach. My arms can't reach my freaking legs. I've always had issues with sit ups, so I do the plank. I don't gotta move.
Jacci:I just gotta sit there for about 2 minutes, and I'm out. 2 minutes.
Mac:Oh my. Right. Hit 40 seconds in a plank, and it's like fucking San Andreas. Like, I'm
Jacci:Work on your core, man.
Mac:Are you okay? I'm I'm fine.
Daimyo:I really like Blood Plus. I thought it was a great series.
Jacci:And, so underrated. Am I personal
Daimyo:It's a reimagining or reboot of Blood. Right?
Jacci:Mhmm.
Daimyo:Because, like, because Blood was nineties, and then this was 22,000
Mac:I don't remember the actual
Jacci:2000 2,005 in Japan, 2006 in the US. So
Daimyo:because it it really steps it up because it was, like, set in the eighties in the original blood. This one's set modern. So it's kinda cool to see the character get to go through a a bunch of stuff, and you learn more history in this than you did in the original.
Jacci:So it
Daimyo:was a great retelling.
Jacci:I have a, I have a these next few are, like, my favorite because when I was a kid, this is when I was really listening to j pop or j rock. And these are some of the very first songs that I really, really, like, liked listening to. And Blood Plus was the first anime that I found interesting that wasn't like your typical rom com or fantasy or, like, Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball z or stuff like that. Blood Plus was out of the norm for me, and I really liked it. And the and the music was really great.
Jacci:It's
Daimyo:very story driven. It's very, character character building too. It's great.
Jacci:For the animation studio, you got a, shout out to production IG, Ghost in the Shell, Haikyuu, FLCL, Attack on Titan, Guilty Crown. Oh my god. That's my mom.
Mac:She
Jacci:does she has no idea what I'm talking about. She doesn't understand a single. But she watches anyways, so thanks, mom, for your support.
Mac:Awesome. I love it.
Jacci:Other bands that play for Blood Plus, interestingly enough, Hans Zimmer produced 4 CD soundtracks for the series, which I thought was super dope and interesting.
Mac:What? Yes. He's that is that is that's that's you're breaking you're breaking the budget for that.
Jacci:Yeah. I I haven't done research on that, so I wanted to go look and and see. But also hide, if you heard of hide, does some stuff with attack on Titan, Darling and the Franks, demon slayer. And then k is most notably for spy family, openings.
Daimyo:Hans Zimmer's like a a an a found, like a foundation of music, especially any kind of soundtracks. Like Yeah.
Jacci:I was I did not know that, so I was very surprised when I saw that. I think that's so I'm a huge score Psylocogy?
Mac:That's him.
Jacci:Yeah. I'm a huge score person and also soundtrack OSTs. I also like those. I used to, you know, go on Limewire and download those on a CD and listen to all the time. It was sick, and then I would play it and learn on my violin or piano or whatever though.
Jacci:So I when I see, like, big producers like that or, what do the people call that? Orchestrate Composers. Composers. Thank you.
Daimyo:Conductor. Composers.
Jacci:Either way, composers that are, like, doing that stuff, especially Hans Zimmer because he's definitely one of my favorites when it comes to scores. That's in blood plus Yeah.
Daimyo:He's up there, like, John Williams, and Scott and Greg. Yep.
Jacci:Weird. So UberWorld, like, especially, like, as we see that there's a lot of rock themes that we're getting into with some of this music. Like, UberWorld's one of those j rock groups that just hits hard, man. Like, they they don't okay. We done 3.
Jacci:Should we take a shot, to go into our top 2?
Daimyo:Yes. Top 2 times. So shot? Okay.
Mac:Top 2 plus I've been over here,
Daimyo:unfortunately, just hitting the bottom.
Jacci:Oh, that's the honorable mention. I can't wait for that one.
Daimyo:I know. Well, we've already missed shot. We're halfway to do it. Called out your honorable mention already.
Jacci:Oh, no. My honorable mention, I'm waiting till the end.
Mac:No. Nobody nobody broke it down, though.
Daimyo:Oh, okay. Well, I mean, I don't know if I could
Mac:it's an honorable mention, but I gotta okay. It's fine. Oh, let me turn it this way so they can see what's
Jacci:going on. It's just for a
Mac:pet. Yeah. See it. Here you go. Here you go.
Mac:Cheers. Cheers.
Daimyo:I got my oh, it's my gaming wall.
Jacci:Oh, I love that. Oh, sorry. Side note. This has nothing to do with anime. But for, Halloween, I wanted to I had big candy bars that I handed out.
Jacci:I always wanted to be that house that does that, but I didn't have a lot. So I made kids roll a dice and then gamble. Oh. I did.
Mac:She's having kids shoot dice in the corner for kids.
Jacci:Hell, yeah, man. You're not just gonna get this. You gotta gamble it. We're in Vegas. Learn it now.
Jacci:You lose sometimes. However, one of the kids started crying, so I had to give her the.
Mac:711, fool. Yeah.
Jacci:I think we
Mac:over in the corn. Roll roll your 2 tits. You gotta get below a 50. No. I didn't get it.
Mac:Here's a tipsy roll.
Daimyo:No. Roll that 20 side
Mac:of that, man. You need to get that a natural twenty. It was
Jacci:a cool idea. It was fun, but, it didn't work with the younger kids. They definitely, like, were very upset. So I'm
Mac:doing that now. They're like, where's
Daimyo:my damn candy bar, like
Mac:I'm going out there with my dice bowl, 2 tens. Yeah. Bowl, and it depends on what time you do. You get the
Daimyo:jacket standing out there with, like, some twenties in her hand.
Mac:What was that? In the corner, like
Jacci:Oh, I wanna get a I wanna get a massive, like, d 20 die now, and I wanna use that for, like, alright. 15 or better, man. Sorry. We don't play around here.
Mac:Get off my porch today, guys. Get out of here. I'm calling a cop. Security.
Jacci:Alright. Willie, what's your number 2?
Mac:Was there a couple let me try and see. Make make sure I didn't miss anybody in their their, their rankings. Number 3, obviously, we talked about Shamar and Shamplow. Number 2 for, for Danny over there at Cutting Edge is the, DBZ Japanese theme.
Jacci:Oh, I don't think I ever listened to the Japanese theme.
Daimyo:I don't
Mac:I did, but I listened to it after the American one where it's just drag it, drag it, drag it. You know? I'm just like, bro, I'm fucking ready to go. You know? Then you listen to the Japanese one.
Mac:You're like, what? There's words? Next to this? Just fight. You know?
Mac:So, I don't see anybody else with a number 2. So for me, number 2, again, by a band who I think is up and coming. I love their music outside of their anime stuff. From a, anime known as Fire Force, we have, missus Green Apple, and the intro is called Inferno, which when paired with the actual anime, it's it's a match made in heaven with this one. So, I'm a let it play for a bit.
Mac:You know how I do. I'm a get fucking hyped and emotional and shit when when stuff starts playing. So I'm a let it breathe, and I'm a talk about it, and then I may turn it back on when it gets to the part y'all all need to fucking hear. And and that plus the animation, you're kinda seeing what's going on. This build up here?
Jacci:Yes. That's so good, man. So good. Missus Green Apple. Missus.
Jacci:Missus. You did not need to go that hard.
Mac:I'm so oh my god. And then Thank you. You get oh, 100%. So you have this, and then it oh, man. This part here, I gotta let this slide through.
Jacci:Oh my god. So good.
Mac:Oh my god. I this
Jacci:So good.
Mac:This this intro had me hooked. It was like a random thing. Crunchyroll Crunchyroll was like, here's a new anime you might like. And it was, like, late at night. I just finished Attack on Titan, caught up on Demon Slayer.
Mac:I'm like, what else is out here? I turned it on, and this intro came on. I'm like, you had my curiosity. Now you have my attention.
Jacci:Now you have my sleep hours.
Mac:Yes. I was gonna go to bed, but let me catch up. And it just so happened I was 7 episodes behind, so I was able to just binge all those and then Oh, nice.
Jacci:Get into
Mac:that weird spot where now you're, like, waiting week to week, and you're, like, man. Yeah. So you go ahead.
Daimyo:Question. You mentioned before that the, the music is made, and then the animators try to make a intro or something that kinda flows along with the music. Correct? So exactly that's the order for the most part.
Mac:So, I mean And the the crazy part is when you listen to this song, the part that was at the end where it's just them, the vocals, and they're falling down, that's towards the end of, like, a 3 and a half minute song. So they just they just They they cut at the beginning, the intro part of it, chopped it, brought the ending part, and blended it so well. It it's it's it's amazing. And like I said, shout out to, the, actual and and this is, I think, their first time producing a anime at at this level, David Production Studio. They were in charge of animating fire force on top of the the intro.
Mac:Let me tell you, when it comes to sound like the the anime itself, the sound editing and and composition and stuff is is out of this world. Like, when they use their powers That's
Daimyo:what I was thinking, like, just watching that. I was like,
Mac:this little
Daimyo:intro, the animated intro matches it so well. It's like I mean, it's one thing to see clips from the show, and it's another thing to see, like, it it unfolds so well matching each, you know, verse that's coming out. It's just really good. That I think that's why we like things like, Dan 2 Dan and stuff. It's like the flow of the intro and the and the imagery go together so well.
Daimyo:You know? Yeah. So it's awesome.
Mac:Yep. So, obviously, popular, very popular Japanese rock band formed in 2013. The group is known for their catchy melodies, dynamic sound, mix of rock pop, and indie influences. They gained a significant following both in Japan and internationally, thanks to their unique sound, relatable lyrics. And, their name came about because it was chose it was chosen because it evokes a sense of freshness and growth.
Mac:So the member the members in the group include, Moroki Suda, who's the vocals and, lead vocals and guitar. Akira Kawai is contributing to the, the background, you know, kinda like rhythm guitar of it. Dakai Kato does the bass, and then, Kota Kawai does drums, and Hirito or Hiroto Tanaka does the keyboards and stuff. So, if you go to YouTube, all of theirs pretty much all of their songs, most of their songs have videos to it. All their videos relate to the lyrics and things like that.
Mac:The the band is very uptempo. They do have, I guess, what you would call their version of ballads. But a lot of their songs, they're when I when I listen to their when I well, you know, you watch them on YouTube and they have the the captions, the subtitles to their their lyrics and stuff, it kinda reminds me of, like, a Japanese version of Fallout Boy. You know, like, their their lyrics Oh, yeah. The how they how they tie their music to they don't take themselves too seriously type thing.
Mac:So when you watch their videos and you listen to them, I guess that would be the best way to kinda say relate to them is, the Japanese father.
Daimyo:Strong vocals and yeah.
Mac:Yes. Because, you you know, Motoki like, his I don't know. Like, when you listen to it, how he'll take his voice low and then hit those high notes and go back low and the I was just like, oh my god. I'm I'm broke, bro. So they stand out as a dynamic influential rock band in Japanese music scene, catchy tunes, thoughtful lyrics, energetic performances.
Mac:Again, these are one of these are some of the bands who are like, bro, just give the US a chance on a tour, man. You'll be shocked, the people that would show up to to watch these guys sing.
Daimyo:I'd love to see a lot of these groups come. Yeah. That'd be great, like, concert series.
Mac:Yep. So, shout out to missus Green Apple. I would think that they would pick up more. I don't know if they're doing touring and and working on their just their albums and stuff, but, if any anime company animation company or or somebody's trying to start a project and they just got picked up for an anime adaptation, go go call up missus Green Apple.
Jacci:Yeah.
Mac:They're gonna send your shit up right. It's all I gotta say. Also, early next year, I think spring, they're gonna start part 1 of the final season of fire force. So like I said, you have time to go catch up seasons 1 and 2 before, the finale.
Daimyo:Is it how long is seasons 1 and 2? Like, how many episodes is it?
Mac:22, 23 episodes.
Jacci:22, 23.
Daimyo:Okay. Okay. That's doable.
Jacci:Pretty good.
Mac:Yeah. But, yeah. So that's my number 2, missus Green Apple, Inferno.
Daimyo:Excellent. I enjoyed it. Alright. So my number 2 is Shell by Bana or Chino Chino Taka Takayanagi. Okay?
Daimyo:And it's on the witch hunter Robin series. It's the intro for witch hunter Robin. I felt it as a very haunting, kind of melody. It's in it's in the alt rock kind of vein again, but this one I felt was more of a, an expression, and it can and it conveys a lot of that that feeling again. But when you're listening to it, if you know what the song is saying and what it's expressing, it reflects this the the the series itself so well.
Daimyo:Like, we'll listen, and then I I can explain some of the the meaning. I felt like it was very much in the same vein as Ergo Proxy as far as that alt rock kind of feel from the yeah. See another early 2000 feel.
Jacci:Is this one a Gulf Swim?
Mac:They had
Daimyo:it for a short period
Mac:of time.
Daimyo:I don't know if they played the whole series or not. But, I bought the box set once again back when that was the only way you could get
Mac:the whole thing because Adult Swim was hit
Daimyo:or miss. If you missed an episode, you weren't sure they'd ever go back.
Jacci:Yeah. I think I think it's like you know when you, like, go back into the vaults of your memory, and you're like, wait. Why does this sound familiar? I'm pretty sure this is, like
Daimyo:You've probably seen it. And, like I said, the the I felt that the hauntingness of the song goes along with so so well, like the lyric lyrically what it meant. And the song, it's talking about not recognizing one's own self and basically facing unknown change or becoming less of yourself. And it reflects the series so much because in the series, when you if you get a chance to check it out, Robin is a witch and she has abilities, pyrokinesis and so forth. But she's working with the witch hunters and, trying to track down some rogue witches who are using their abilities to harm others.
Daimyo:But in a way, she feels like she's not she's betraying herself, but she understands what needs to be done. So it's like it's a conflict, and I feel like the music in this in this intro really conveys that in the way that it seems like she's she's, feeling diminished, and that's where that haunting feeling comes from and afraid of what's coming, but she knows what she has to do. So in in a I I really like the way that, Bana was able to convey that lyrically. Now looking up Bana, it's she's a j rock singer, mostly does music extensive music career outside of anime. I couldn't find a lot of work to what she'd done except for she was involved with Gundam Evolve and Full Throttle.
Daimyo:There was a, I can't remember exactly which Full Throttle it was, but it's one of the offshoots of the Full Throttle series. But she's done some work, but she she has a lot more work when you look at her discography, as far as commercial music or or music done outside of the anime kind of realm. But I felt like her voice was very, beautiful. And, to me, like I said, I picked this because of the the haunting feel of the voice and the way that she's when she's saying it, it it could it it really I felt like I could picture Robin's feelings when she's when she's expressing this. So, it's one of it's one of my favorites as far as it fit the time period.
Daimyo:Once again, for me is music wise, a lot of alt rock, at the time was similar in nature. So, it's a good series if you get a chance to check it out. It is an older series, but, easy to pick up and finish. I think it's it's maybe 20 episodes. I'd have to double check, but it's not that long.
Daimyo:It's a pretty straightforward story, but, I'll in the same vein of the more of the drama, more of the mystery, less action. But, very well well done. I watched this, of course, the Japanese, the or the sub, not dub. So the acting voice acting was excellent. So, and it I I enjoyed the music a lot.
Mac:Yeah. I'm I'm, like, watching the opening while you're you're talking, and it's I I like the the, I guess, the setting, the era, kinda like the the vibe it's putting out. You know? It's it's Yeah. It's letting you know, like, it's what you're getting into.
Mac:Like, they do show, like, the guns and then, you know, loading it up. But based on what you're saying, like, it's not fully just gunslinging, you know, bullet time jumping, shooting at stuff. There's there's some drama and and some, you know, behind the scenes and and I mean, it's it's it, again, like, Jackie is over here making the list. Like, I will say I appreciate you jumping and joining the the eat the cake crew because, like, me and Jackie just would have been here talking about upbeat shonen and and a couple of Yeah. And you're coming here just just giving us the foundation, and here's some other stuff that you check out.
Mac:So I appreciate you joining in, and that's that's all. Thank you. I'm I'm
Jacci:on the line with you. The main characters. What's it? Not I don't wanna say vibe, but the Personality.
Daimyo:Design. Design. She gives off. Yeah. The design.
Daimyo:It's like it really fits her mood. They convey
Mac:a lot of her mood and feeling
Daimyo:in her appearance. She's very out of place in the world of mortals, like, of normal humans and their interactions. But she's trying to trying to be a part of that and, you know, trying to help make it right. And it gave me some I know this is strange and it's kinda because I've been really excited about it, but, Silent Hill 2 just did their release of their remake, And it kinda gave me a lot of the same vibe, that feel of, despair, but I don't know, like a like a darkness, but it's an internal darkness. And, yeah, like you mentioned, there's you know, there there shows some action in it.
Daimyo:It shows some of Robin's ability and it, to be I don't know. It it like I said, if you get a chance, check it out. It's it's interesting. I'm doing the same thing as you guys do, and I'm writing down the stuff you guys are recommending, like, Firefox and stuff. So it's it's a great.
Daimyo:I love the fact that I'm getting to learn from you guys and and share some of the stuff that, I enjoyed a lot.
Mac:Yeah. This this looks amazing. And you said it's only 20 episodes?
Daimyo:I have to double check. I'll have to look it up, but it's not that long. I mean, a walk in
Mac:it for your boy.
Jacci:That that's easy. Yeah. Too
Mac:easy. Alright, Jackie. What you got?
Jacci:Number 2 is got an anime known as Code Geass. K? Mhmm.
Mac:It's a
Daimyo:really
Mac:I'm a party.
Jacci:Really great one. For a lot of so this one, just a little backstory. This is gonna be I was really this one took me so long. I could not decide between the first or the 5th opening. It was really, really hard because but, the last opening is by Asian Kung Fu Generation, surprise, surprise.
Jacci:And I'm gonna be talking about them later, so that's why I decided to go with the first opening because, again, this is by a band known as Flow. The the song is called Colors, and I actually found this song before I found the anime. So I was on YouTube and this is when I was really getting the j pop and I so I just went on a YouTube just spiral. Yeah. Just watching j pop music videos and songs and stuff.
Jacci:And I found this band first before I watched Code Geass, but we'll we'll play it. It's just a really great opening. The music video is really fun too.
Mac:Oh, well, I didn't mean to do that. I'll go back. But I just wanted to pause it. I love that old school, that Yeah. That little little jazzy thing
Jacci:that I love that. Yeah. Flow is amazing. I love Flow. So it goes through the opening a little bit.
Jacci:It's like your standard, you know, anime shows the scenes, shows a little bit of the characters. But what I like about this opening, it doesn't actually give you a like, most openings now actually gives sneak previews of what you think
Mac:Mhmm.
Jacci:Is gonna happen or scenes from the show. This one doesn't really show you sheen scenes. It just shows you people. And it's a lot of fucking people. You're like, who are these people?
Jacci:It's just the universe in general of the entire show is, like, really great. I'll let you turn up because I think this is my favorite one of my favorite parts.
Mac:Alright. Let me get to it.
Jacci:Oh, rewind a little bit. More and more and more. Way more.
Daimyo:Before the girl. There you go.
Jacci:Oh, right right before her, though.
Mac:Yeah. Right before.
Jacci:Yeah. Keep going.
Daimyo:Kinda just yeah. It's part. It kinda marks the rise.
Jacci:Yeah. So, yeah, it doesn't really show you you're just, like, confused. You're like, who's this person? Who's this person? What's that about?
Jacci:You don't know if it's a scene, but it's really, like, not a scene so much as just, like, a person and, like, you so you don't know what's gonna happen. But code chaos, this is opening 1 out of 5, and all the openings I would say besides 1, slap and for lack of better terms, there's 50 episodes, and it ran from 2006 to 2007. There is, a 4 part film that dropped in 2019 and a film series that dropped in 2024. I haven't watched either of those yet. It's been a while, and I've been wanting to rewatch it again before I watched it because when this anime came out, it also, it has as you saw, it has a lot of the robot type, like, mecha feels, and I couldn't really get into Gundam when I was a kid.
Jacci:So I didn't know if I would like it, but it's a lot more than the mecha. There's so much more background stuff. I I would argue that it's similar to, a lot of the twists and, villainy type. You don't know if you like the villain or if you hate the way they think, kind of like attack on titan type of thing where it tore a lot of people.
Mac:Shades of gray. Like
Jacci:Yeah. It's it's really. But, yeah.
Mac:So Probably gonna be best villains
Jacci:Yes.
Mac:Slash anti heroes in anime history. I'll just throw that out there.
Jacci:I agree. The album there's no album. This was just a single specifically for the anime, and the song itself was released November 8, 2006. This one reached number 2 on the Oricon charts, and it sat there for, like, within its 1st week. It was immediately up there, number 2, and it sat there for 16 weeks.
Jacci:Wow. It, like, did not move. This was a really popular song. Yeah. Yeah.
Jacci:The, the overall opening, it's a little bit trippy with, like, some of the and it kinda goes in the show. You have to watch the show to understand, like, why there's, like, so many, like, weird things happening. But, yeah, like I said, I like the opening because it doesn't really it still has a little bit of mystery to, like, who all the characters are, and it doesn't really show you scenes like some shows do. Flow is a Japanese rock band that began in 1993, and it actually started with just 2 brothers that they just wanted to start making music and now it was officially formed in 1998 with 5 people. They've released 40 singles and 12 albums.
Jacci:Other notable anime that they have openings with is Naruto, Eureka 7, DBZ. And then for some people that watch this, I've seen couple episodes while ago, but it's called Tales of, Zestria the Cross. It's a lot older anime. It's fantasy. But they've also contributed music to, Beelzebub and, 7 Deadly Sins.
Jacci:They've done a total of 21 openings for anime. Wow. So, they're very sought after, a really great band. Animation studio that did this was Studio Sunrise who if anyone knows Studio Sunrise, they've done Cowboy Bebop, Inuyasha, Outlaw Star, Gundam, Cyborg double 09. So some mecca, but also some fantasy.
Jacci:So really great studio. And then other bands that have played for Code Geass that most people probably know is Orange Range, which is Bleach. And, you got Ally Project, which Ally Project's more, infamous in Fate series type shows. Mhmm. But I love Flow.
Jacci:Their music video is just, like, a bunch of guys, like, with set up their, like, instruments in, like, a padded room, and they're, like, jumping up and out and just playing. It's a really fun music video to watch. And the overall, like, first opening and, like, the translation is just, like, talking about, like, hey. You know, I'm not gonna let all my troubles and worries affect me. Like, I'm worried I am, like, taking care of someone.
Jacci:I'm gonna, like, move forth and keep, like, doing what I gotta do for us type of thing and make sure that we're protected and safe, which if you watch the anime, it makes a lot of sense. But, yeah, it's a it's a fun song, and I really like the band a lot. And like I said, when I was a kid, I found them on YouTube, and I used to watch that song literally every single Oh. Favorite of mine.
Mac:Flow Flow has probably when we do endings, the I'll be considering them. They they're they have endings for, 7 deadly sins that I that I rock with.
Jacci:Yeah.
Mac:They do have openings, that they've done for Naruto. Probably one of the, I think they did a a go for Naruto. Yep. One of the most popular intros for for that thing. Oh.
Mac:We just Yeah. We just Yeah. It's so good. It's so good. But, it didn't make my list, so that that lets you know.
Mac:How how hard this was to do? Like, you just hear nostalgia brings you back in. You're like, but is this worth the list?
Jacci:Yeah. It was hard. But, yeah, I I listened to it so much that I'm like, I have to talk about it.
Mac:Yes. Nice. Nice. We have Black saying that his number 2 is, one day, one dream from the
Jacci:Yep. Live is awful. I went through all of openings. I was like
Daimyo:That's such a, such a vast amount of degrees.
Jacci:I'm I'm a huge considered. I'm a a huge fan of endings, though, way more than their openings, which is why I did not let it make any of my
Daimyo:So we will see them again.
Mac:So Look at you. Okay. Okay. We do have
Jacci:Number 1.
Mac:No. Let no. We honorable mention
Jacci:Oh, honorable mention first. Okay. Fine. Fine.
Mac:Oh, apologies. Number 2. Let me scroll up and and get I should have wrote these down. I should have been
Jacci:Oh, okay.
Mac:Like a ill prepared motherfucker out of here. So we have 54 oh, did we do his number 3? His number 3, by the way, one of my favorite. Like, it's it's in the rotation. It's broken games.
Mac:It's the first opening from, Shangri La Frontier. Fucks with this song heavy, bro.
Jacci:The opening is sick. I love, like it's just, like, when the because the bunny is my favorite. Like, the the the mafia bunny. That's good. That's o g o g o g check o g son.
Mac:Let me read it. Such a
Jacci:if you guys haven't watched this anime, you got it. It's really funny, but it's really great.
Daimyo:Check it out. Yeah.
Jacci:It's different.
Daimyo:I remember you talked about it before, so I was like, it's on my list now.
Mac:It's on the, I had it on one of my, hey. Put this on your radar type stuff.
Daimyo:Oh, that's right. That's right. We we discussed it then. Yeah.
Jacci:I'm behind right now, so I have to catch up, but it's really good.
Mac:Yeah. Season 3 is going on right now. But, bro, this this song is pretty like, it just starts off, gets you going. And then there's a, like,
Jacci:it's There's like a way great part. Yeah.
Mac:It's really You you know the part. Yeah.
Jacci:Yeah. It's just Yeah. Really great. Oh, it's coming up. I love when they do this part where it's just like, her.
Jacci:Dude, it's so sick. Right here. It's so good. It's so good. So weirdly enough though, I listened to the full song.
Jacci:I actually like the shortened opening version more than I actually like the full song.
Mac:Yeah.
Jacci:I don't like the second bridge.
Mac:I'm in that yeah. I'm in that that thing because, like, you just get the euphoria from the part where you remember from the intro.
Jacci:Yeah. And
Mac:then it just goes on, and you're just like, oh, okay. You know? Not not poo poo in it. It's it's it's still a song. It's still on my rotation.
Mac:Go running, go lifting. You know? It's just you you heard the opening. Like
Daimyo:Yeah. When you can connect the dots, it makes it more
Mac:impactful. Yeah. Gotcha. But, I was I was I was like, alright. I like their second opening as well, but the first one is is way better for to me.
Mac:So I think that was his number 3, and his number 2 was, The Rumbling by Sym.
Jacci:Cannot. I also listen to that one when I do planks.
Mac:You just said the the most hard because people probably think you're listening to some namaste shit. Like
Daimyo:Yeah. But, like, she's got some Pilates or yoga music, like, no.
Jacci:Absolutely not. No. Dude, I listen to some hardcore because I'm just sitting there, like, yeah.
Mac:The rumbling is actually what I'm doing when I do fucking points. So just fucking shake it and shit. Sergeant McCoy, are you okay?
Jacci:That's funny.
Mac:But I have to I have to I have to play. Like, this actually charted in the States on Billboard on the fucking on The Rock album or charts. So that is how popular that that the popularity of anime is is amazing. Because it it just this song and and shout out to Sim for doing the song in English. You know?
Mac:Yeah. But, I mean, just the intro, you're just like, let's fucking do work. You know?
Jacci:Yeah. Actually, blink bang bang born, I forgot I wanna say this previously, was also trending on TikTok for a while.
Mac:Oh my god. This is when shit got real.
Jacci:Oh, yeah. This this opening fit to the entire ending. Oh, and if you look up the meaning, like, with the lyrics compared to, like, the show, dude, you're like, oh, shit.
Mac:Yeah. Like, it's we'll we'll have it, like I guess, what anime throughout its run had the best open. And I think attack on type would be up there. Because, like, there was never a wasted moment in their open. Like, the opening's tied straight to what is going on in the show.
Mac:You know? There's fun openings, like, you know, bling bang bang born, but then there's, like, shit where you're like, this is part of the story.
Jacci:Yeah. Mhmm. Well, just like you said, like, yeah, Sim wasn't, linked to Horizon, but linked to Horizon is all about storytelling.
Daimyo:Yeah.
Jacci:That's what this whole freaking show was about. So the fact that, like, even the artists and the music that's going with it is also assisting with telling that story and progressing it is just a masterpiece, man.
Mac:It is. I like it. I like it. Well done, Capaci. So it's on me for number 2?
Mac:No. We're doing a
Jacci:Oh. No. It's not a 1.
Mac:Oh, it's not a
Jacci:Or honorable mention. Honorable mention and then number 1.
Mac:And then number 1. Yes. Okay. Honorable mention, for me. Anime, if you like to show Vikings, if you like all that mid, you know, the the Norse stuff on there's a anime I have for you called Vinland Saga.
Daimyo:Oh. Holly So good.
Mac:Oh, you oh, so you've heard? It's okay.
Jacci:So you've dabbled?
Mac:Oh, you
Daimyo:I was hooked, man,
Mac:first time
Daimyo:Checking it out, and I was like, wow. Yes. So,
Mac:I'll let I'll let the song ride, and then, of course, you know, I'll I'll talk about it. But, let me make sure I'm sharing the right thing. There we go. So it's a song called, Mukanjio by Survive Said the Prophet. Another kind of heavy metal ish.
Mac:I know their vocal is fucking it goes apeshit. Like, the his his fucking range is ridiculous. It is. But, the the band, everything, it it it just it fits. It they just pick the song, and they just animate the hell out of it.
Mac:The story, like,
Daimyo:I go rates right there. It's like, boom.
Mac:The story, you see, Thorfinn go through oh my god. Alright. Here he is. Here here we go. Let me just bring it up.
Mac:I just get so excited. I'm like a big ass kid out here.
Daimyo:It's a beautiful show.
Mac:I love the video. Oh, I
Jacci:like that part where he flipped the sword or his, dagger.
Daimyo:It's it's seriously is beautiful from start to finish. Like And it's another one of those, like, Jackie had mentioned. It's like a gray there's gray in your it's not black and white. It's not easy to chop going good and bad, you know. Even those struggle and you could be like, yo, man, I feel for him.
Daimyo:It's still
Mac:If you have not seen or heard of this anime, just check it out. It is very, very good. I
Daimyo:thought Prime had both seasons on Prime, I believe.
Mac:Yeah. I know, season 2 was over on on net or Crunchyroll, and I think they have both seasons on Crunchyroll right now. But initially, it was only on Prime when it when the season 1 was going on. Season 1 was on.
Daimyo:Okay. Yeah.
Mac:Yeah. But, Survive Said the Prophet Japanese band know for their energetic blend of rock, emo, and alternative music elements. You could kinda hear it there. When you listen to the full song, when they get to the bridge, like, the lead vocalist is is I have learned to appreciate vocalists that can do that gruffy yelling screamo type stuff and not mess with their voice. Because I just thought they're just shredding their vocal cords, but there's a technique to what they do, and he does it very well.
Mac:So they've garnered a significant following both in Japan and internationally, especially among fans of anime due to their contributions to various anime soundtracks. The band was formed in 2011, and their name reflects a philosophical outlook hinting at resilience and the idea of overcoming challenges. And the thing about that song, why I like it, is, you know, they make the song and the the the company's like, oh, we wanna use that for opening. Let's animate to it. Right?
Mac:The song's lyrics is pretty much you could probably hear the English parts like what was wrong with my dues, things along those lines. So, you can kinda look at it from the main character Thorfinn's point of view, like, you know, what's going on? I did everything I was supposed to do. Why is the world against me? You know, I'm a just get stronger.
Mac:I'm a do what I have to do. And that whole first season, you just like, he is like The
Daimyo:struggle is real, bro.
Mac:It's I don't he's almost feral with Oh, yeah. With it's his his his wanting revenge on His rage and revenge. For the reason he wants revenge. I'm not gonna spell it. Go check it out.
Mac:So when you like I said, you see the first opening on the first episode, you're like, okay. But as the show goes along, now you watch the intro, you're just like, fucking right, bro. Like, let's fucking do
Daimyo:it. Yeah.
Mac:So, their members, they got Yudai Kato, who's the lead vocalist, Sota Shindo, who's responsible for lead guitar, Yuki Takahashi, who does the bass, Ryo Katsumada, who does drums, and then you have Yuki, who does keyboards. So, pretty much just just, the way they blend, like I said, the emo with the alternative rock, you get a a hint of heavy metal because they they'd like to throw the double bass kicks on the drums and stuff to give you that that adrenaline heart, like, that's Heavy. But because the epic the full song when you get to the end and that shit just goes into hyperdrive, that's like if you're running your your PT test and it's like, last lap, one lap to go, and that's what he hits.
Daimyo:It's reserves. It's reserves.
Mac:Yeah. Like, the corners and stuff like that. What's wrong with McCoy? Yeah. Yeah.
Mac:Yeah. You know? They'll never understand it. They'll never understand. But Oh, yeah.
Mac:It's a it's
Daimyo:a it's a rough one, though. It it it is with Yeah. The music goes perfectly along with it. It's a it's a tough watch from some of the struggle in the beginning is tough. You're just like, I'm not saying, like I mean, it's along the lines, like, if you watch Berserk and you watch how Guts has to earn his keep to the point of get it's along those same lines.
Daimyo:Like, it it holds it pulls no punches. It's Yeah. His he he fights for every inch of survival that he goes through. You know? It's it's good.
Mac:Yeah. And, shout out to, WIT Studios, who animated that and and paired like, I couldn't have thought of a better opening to kinda lead into the story of Thorfinn and and his journey than, that there. And also, I forget the, I guess, the what would be called the antagonist in the first, season. But, you mess around and you watch it long enough, you kinda start understanding his point of view and why he did what he did. So it is an amazing watch.
Mac:Again, it is called, Wakanjio by Survive Said the Prophet. That band has, you go to Spotify, whatever streaming service you got, type in that. They have several albums. I've listened to them all. I've added so I have the anime opening playlist, and I have a j rock, j pop playlist.
Mac:So I'll probably find out about a band from a opening, listen to their discography, and I'm just like, your shit's going over here where I can listen to it outside the anime thing. So I'm I'm well cultured, if you will. You know? I'm broadening my horizons. So that is my number or my honorable mention.
Mac:Eric, what do you have for honorable mention?
Daimyo:Honorable mention, mine was mentioned earlier. I didn't get the back information. I apologize ahead of time. I wasn't sure if we were gonna actually get to those, but, it's a samurai shampoo. It's
Mac:a Battlefront. Probably,
Daimyo:I I was introduced to it through adult swim, and just the intro music coming on at night was like a nostalgic moment for me. But it to me, it it it kicked off a realization. Yes. Exactly. Like, suddenly, I felt like anime had suddenly come up with, like, getting with popular time music, and it's something you didn't see with American animation.
Daimyo:You know? I mean, to see the level of culture being brought in to, you know, to present this this new cartoon I'd never I'd never seen, this show before. And and, you know, you're used to watching our shows, which are, you know, But then when you watch this one, you watch the intro and stuff, you're like, wow. They actually matched it up with, like, modern, music, you know, or modern cultural feel. And it it just it spoke to me and and it really reflects the show in general as as it comes out to, you know, when I was watching Adult Swim and I didn't expect it at all.
Daimyo:So when it came out and you're like, these characters are so much more lively and down to earth, and the whole setting and feel was more relatable than like your your stoic, you know, old school samurais. You know, your stoic old school samurai feel was very reserved and, but with this one, I mean, it's it's it's balls out crazy from the beginning. You know? It's just like, and I felt like it reflected, so well. It just caught me right away when I first saw it on Adult Swim.
Daimyo:I was like, woah. What is this? So, I mean, it felt like it brought anime to a modern time feel for us here, where probably for at least a decade they'd already been feeling that in Japan. You know? But we were behind, so when this came, you're just like, this and probably Afro samurai, you were just like, woah.
Daimyo:They actually they're actually up to date on stuff over you know? Like Yep. So
Jacci:Well, the one, soundtrack or OST, I forget what it's, like, shinky no so I forget what it's called. A lot of people, cover that song a lot. Okay. The soundtrack itself, even on Simmer Champloo, is just very jazzy, very important.
Daimyo:Information because I wasn't sure if we did
Mac:the It's it was a, producer slash DJ, New Jabbies.
Jacci:Yeah.
Mac:And he he got a lot of his inspiration from, from J Dilla, like, a lot of the American hip hop stuff. So Yeah. He kinda got his his inspiration from that incorporated, you know, kinda some jazz funk and stuff like that. So Yeah. Unfortunately, he passed away in a car accident.
Mac:I think it was a 20, what, 2013
Daimyo:Well, he smoked my heart, man, because I've always been a golden age hip hop fan. You know? And and this this was just that in anime form for me right away in the middle of the night on Ando Slim. And, you know
Mac:Dude, he he he he is he's like the the because, like, I I'm I'm into, like, lo fi. So, like, when I'm at work or whatever, just play some lo fi. You can play his all of his albums he has, like, on Spotify, and it will give you that lo fi hip hop beat all the way through. And, like, finding out, like, he he got in an accident and he's no longer here. I was just like, damn, man.
Mac:Like, I feel bad that I wasn't following him or, like, listening to his music earlier. You know? Yeah. But it makes you appreciate what he's left behind even more, but, I'll go ahead and and play it. And like I said, like, this is probably another one of the more popular, anime openings themes that even if people haven't seen the show, they know what show it goes to.
Mac:Right? Exactly. Like, how about
Daimyo:A lot of covers like Jackie said. Yeah. Or
Jacci:I love that part. It does it, like, multiple times where it does, like, a low tone of the piano.
Daimyo:Mhmm. Yeah.
Jacci:I love that every single time.
Mac:Monet yeah. Oh my gosh. This intro is, like, bloated.
Daimyo:Yeah. And it just felt it felt so I don't know what what you say. Like, with the times, you know, at the time it came out, you were just like, woah. Because you're so used to stuff that was more classic. Right.
Daimyo:You know?
Mac:I think this was, like, the first hip hop centric anime opening where I was just like, oh, this must be, like, the American dub intro. Like, the Japanese
Daimyo:I know. That's what I was thinking. Look,
Mac:and you're like, no. The producer is Japanese. The people rapping on it are Japanese. You're just like, this is their legit opening. Like Yeah.
Mac:This is amazing. You know?
Daimyo:I feel like it influenced so much of what we see today. Like, I see shadows of that with stuff like when we're talking about, like, creepy nuts and stuff. Like, the whole feel of this, like, intro matching the music and just giving you a vibe. It just felt so different when it came out. You know?
Daimyo:I was like, woah. This isn't like you know? I mean, what was what else is on Adult Swim at the time? I think it was, oh, man. Inuyasha, of course, was always on Adult Swim.
Mac:Every time
Jacci:at 11, and it was on at 3. And it was on again at 11:30, and then on at 3:30 in the morning.
Daimyo:Because there's 3,000 episodes of that show. It's like Sick.
Mac:When you wake up, Like, oh, shit. I left the TV on. Oh, no. Do it.
Daimyo:On. No.
Jacci:Yeah. No.
Mac:No. Gotta go to fucking sleep.
Daimyo:So it was definitely that feel. Yeah.
Jacci:Yeah. I was a kid. I remember I was, in, like, 4th, maybe 5th grade. And so I had a curve not a curfew, but, like, a bedtime. So what I would do is I would take my, alarm clock, and I would put it right next to my head, and I would set it for 2:50 in the morning.
Jacci:And then it would go off and I would I would immediately I used to put it under my pillow so my mom wouldn't hear it, and then I would feel it vibrate. I would shut it off. But I would go downstairs, and I would turn on the TV so I could watch it. My mom usually would catch me Oh, my god. About halfway through the second episode.
Daimyo:What a delinquent.
Jacci:Shit. I was serious about it, but my mom wouldn't let me watch that shit.
Mac:Mama Jackie, you you, you are correct.
Daimyo:Warping your mind. Look at you now. There.
Jacci:I loved it, man. I would put the volume on, like, 5 so she wouldn't hear it, and I would get, like,
Mac:this I was trying
Jacci:to close watch because not TV.
Mac:I was trying to watch the scrambled channel waiting for it to get unscrambled for a bit. So I was a delinquent for real. You're just like, I gotta catch any wash.
Daimyo:Yeah. Jackie's a anime delinquent late at night, and
Mac:this love story, I need answers. Will they or won't they?
Jacci:Yeah, dude. I I'm re I'm rewatching Inuyasha, and now I'm rewatching it. I'm like, this is such a frustrating
Mac:Yeah.
Daimyo:That and it's one of those master animes where they all say each other's name, like, 4000 times.
Jacci:Oh, dude. That's the thing.
Daimyo:Anytime they look at each other, it's like, Iniyeasha. They gotta say each other's names, and it's just like I'm
Mac:right here. You have to keep saying it.
Daimyo:Yeah. We've been talking for 3 hours. We don't need to keep saying each other's names.
Mac:Have my attention. Say what you need to say. Alright, Jackie. Honorable mention for you. Okay.
Jacci:So mine, I think, is controversial, which is fine. I don't care. It is Fullmetal Alchemist. However, 2003 Fullmetal Alchemist, not brotherhood. Okay?
Jacci:So I grew up on the original, and I won't say the original because it's not. Obviously, the manga is. But before Brotherhood got animated, there was for anyone that hasn't watched it, there was a Fullmetal Alchemist that was, Japan created it, and the US created it. And it was completely opposite of what the manga was. Well, the first 10 episodes, I would say, kind of follows the story, but then they just went, like, on a whole different timeline.
Jacci:I still think it's worth watching. It's very interesting. It's like watching a whole new anime, but with your favorite characters.
Mac:Same
Jacci:characters. It's different. Yeah. Now do I think brotherhood goes down a better story line and ends better? 100 freaking percent.
Jacci:It's absolutely, amazing. But there is some things in the old version that I actually like more than in the in brotherhood. Blasphemous, I know. We can talk about what those specific things are at a different time, but either way, one thing about Fullmetal Alchemist, in the 2003, their their soundtrack and their music, I think was really freaking amazing, and a lot of people don't talk about it enough. So the one that I had to pick, I was torn between a bunch of them, but I, picked their 4th opening.
Jacci:It's called rewrite by Asian Kung Fu Generation. A lot of us know what that is or who they are because they've done a lot of openings for Naruto. But, it covers basically there's a lot of, like, back and forth between, like, what episodes this covers, but it's, like, the end to episode 51. Came out in 2003 to 2004 in Japan, and then it came out in 2004 to 2006 in the US. This actually came from an album of theirs.
Jacci:So this was their 5th single, but their second studio album is kinda what I read. I that doesn't really make any sense to me now I'm reading that, but whatever. Yeah. I agree. April 4, 2004 is when the song came out, and it was on this is a interesting fact I thought that was really cool.
Jacci:It reached number 4 on the Oricon charts, and it actually won the best anime theme song at the American Anime Awards in 2,007.
Mac:Oh.
Jacci:Now further ado, I love this opening.
Mac:Oh, here we go. Uh-oh. You Did that whole opening. You hyped it up so much.
Jacci:It's so good, man. It's really, really
Mac:Oh, there's a picture. Now watch when I push place. It's like, oh, you wanna play this?
Jacci:So this part is just like a slower part. It's, in this part of the series, like, you're towards the end. Right? So, like, you won't know what I'm talking about unless you watched it because it is it is very much different than brotherhood. But it is going along the same themes that brotherhood gets to once it gets to the end is, like, now things are happening.
Jacci:You found out a lot of things. Like, people might be dying at this point, and some things might be getting found out that, you know, you're, like, shit, dude. This, like, kinda sucks, and you don't know what's gonna happen at the end either. So that's why I like this. But the best part is when they get to the chorus.
Jacci:That's my favorite part of the opening.
Mac:The chorus is is is that's the part that they put in. It gets to be like, alright. I'm.
Jacci:But this is just, sorry. I'll keep talking so that way we don't get in trouble, and we can keep watching it, until I get to the course. But for those that know Asian Kung Fu Generation, they've also, they're Japanese alternative rock band formed in 1996. They originally were a college band that just had 4 members. And then, now they are what they are, and they're actually cited as one of the most balanced modern rock bands to emerge from Japan in the 2000.
Jacci:I did not get how many albums and, singles that they had. There's a lot. But they made openings for a race, my hero, Naruto, Borto, Bleach, Doro, just like I'll let it keep going because
Mac:Oh, Mustang aboard.
Jacci:Yep.
Daimyo:So, Jackie, Chris asked a question. Is this the one that they didn't finish the, series, but they finished it with the movie?
Jacci:Yeah. Yes. Yes. This is it. There was a movie.
Jacci:So I know we're talking about the anime a little bit, but the ending was not satisfactory at all. It was actually bullshit, which is why, a a lot of people were like, what the hell? And then and then a lot of things came out. They're like, this is not how the manga ended. And I found out years later, actually, that it was completely different, which I was confused of why, like and I wasn't reading a lot of manga back then.
Jacci:I and that's when I started actually getting the manga was because I was pissed off about, the fact that this was completely different than the original story. But, yeah, then they came out with a movie, and they're like, okay. You know, here's your ending that you wanted. Did they
Daimyo:did they change hands with the writers or directors or something? Is
Jacci:That I don't know. I'd have to do more research into that. I'm not sure. But with Asian Kung Fu Generation, like, these guys are just as you heard the song, like, they're they're really great. Like, they'll do, like, slower or they'll do way more upbeat ones.
Jacci:I think one of the biggest ones that they are, known for is Naruto's opening and the first one, I think, and I can't remember what the name Oh, but, the animation studio's bones, and if anyone is familiar with bones, they made a lot of great anime. So Wolf's Rain, Eureka 7, Soul Eater, My Hero, or in High School Host Club. That's a romantic comedy that I watched when I was a a kid, so I like that one a lot. Mob Psycho 100, Bongo Stray Dogs. Like, just really, really great anime.
Jacci:And Bones, it's the same one that did brotherhood, so there's no difference of the animation studio.
Daimyo:The animation studio.
Jacci:Either of them. Yeah. Same voice actors too, by the way, so no change. I think Alphonse's actor actually changes from the original to brotherhood. I think it's it's more of a high pitched, voice actor.
Jacci:So and I have to look up and do more research, but other bands that playing for Fullmetal Alchemist, and I did for both, Brotherhood and for, the original, but you got, like, one that's a porno graffiti. If you've seen the original one, Melissa was, like, one of the biggest, most hyped up ones. Yep. Ready, Steady, Go by, Lark and Seal. I think that's how you say it.
Jacci:Or Sheel. Oh my god. That great band. Then you have, like, UE again, which we saw earlier. Like, one of god.
Jacci:Chemistry Sid. Just really, really great people that went into this freaking anime, but I love Asian Kung Fu generation. They need to get an honorable mention because they're just like, the amount of anime that they have covered for and just the openings that they've done and, like, how present they are in the anime community with music is you don't know an anime that Asian kung fu generation hasn't potentially been a part. Or if you watch anime, there's no way you don't know who Asian kung fu generation.
Mac:Yeah. I mean, when you've been established since 96 Yeah. And you've done One
Daimyo:of the major titles. Yeah.
Mac:Or, like, OG Naruto. You know? Yeah.
Jacci:Yeah. Keep it up. Another another band too that I thought was interesting was the Moscow Symphony Orchestra, but that's that famous theme, Brothers is what it's called because it's sung in Russian. It's not sung in Japanese.
Mac:Oh, really?
Jacci:Yeah. So if you look up I which I tried to look it up. I think Brothers, that theme song is I think it's in brotherhood. It's been a while, but I don't remember it being played in brotherhood. I think it's only might be only played in the 2003 version.
Jacci:But it's called Brothers, and it's just background music. And it's, like, known it's a very iconic, soundtrack song, but it's sung in Russian.
Daimyo:Mhmm. Mhmm.
Jacci:Created by the Moscow Symphony Orchestra.
Mac:Yeah. Yeah. We don't fuck with Rush O'Brien. We love you, man. We roll with you.
Mac:We rock with you.
Jacci:Oh, yeah. I I just I had to give an honorable mention that because, regardless of the fact that a lot of people have a lot of heartache with this anime, it's still personally, I love the soundtrack. I love the openings. It was absolutely amazing.
Mac:Yeah. About that portion.
Jacci:The Yeah.
Mac:Voice actor for, for Edward. Yeah. He got a shit, and, so that's that.
Jacci:I forgot about that, which kinda sucks, but, you know, I it's the same thing with Rurouni Kenshin. I grew up on Rurouni Kenshin, and that dude was apparently keeping things of 14 year old girls and 16 year
Mac:Crazy.
Jacci:Dude. But, yeah, that's my honorable intention.
Mac:Yep. Kenpachi's honorable mention is the opening for a ninja, kamui.
Jacci:That's interesting. Really?
Daimyo:That's pretty good.
Mac:Vengeance is his choice. He didn't really leave an explanation on that, but, you know, we'll let it ride.
Daimyo:Well, it's Have you guys seen it? Really. It's actually really
Jacci:haven't seen it. I just read nothing but terrible things about Ninja Comics.
Daimyo:No. It's really it's really good for the initial idea and the initial,
Mac:product that's
Daimyo:given to you until it gets to I think it's episode maybe 3 or 4 where it just brings a lot of CG mecca into the situation, and it kinda just totally flips the story. But the music, I could see why Kenpachi picked it as far as the the music matching the vibe or the energy of the the initial feel of the show, which just watching the entire series or first season, you know, I was I felt it for the first I don't know, like I said, 3 to 4 episodes. You're like, wow. This this is gonna be great. And then out of nowhere, it's like someone decided that it's better to go, CGA mecha on it.
Daimyo:And I was like, I like the ninja mystical supernatural powers that were kind of on display in the beginning, and then it suddenly you're like, what happened? When did we end up in, you know, Power Rangers Go or something? I was like
Mac:No. He's not lying. It it totally flipped. The word. It's like, what do you what is happening here, bro?
Mac:Like, we went from this hand to hand shit that I saw.
Daimyo:That was dope. Yeah.
Mac:I
Daimyo:mean, it was dope in the beginning. You're like, damn. The this hand to hand is on point. It's kinda, like, on par with a lot of stuff we've seen from, Chainsaw Man to j j k yeah. I was like I mean, it was, you know, it was awesome.
Daimyo:But then and you're like, what?
Mac:Yeah. I'm sorry, Capaci. Like, this thing is in this fucking buffer hell
Daimyo:for Yeah. The rest of the series is so bad. It doesn't even want us to let a watch this. Don't don't don't
Mac:hype me up because I will let you sit
Daimyo:down. Don't break me up. But the music is good, though. I mean, he he picked a a good, intro, which
Mac:is on, Max, if I'm not mistaken. I don't think Max has taken it down or anything like that.
Daimyo:Just like I think they're gonna yeah. They're probably not gonna carry it and
Mac:stuff like that. Things on Max, I. E. Uzi, mom I.
Daimyo:E. Jackie's nemesis. Yeah. Jackie's nemesis is on there, but those guys don't ever wanna meet Jackie. They don't.
Mac:They're like Adult Swim. Adult Swim should
Jacci:never ever ever ever make anime ever again. Never. Just never.
Mac:Jackie was like, it's not even mediocre.
Jacci:Yeah. Give give me the give me the pens.
Mac:I'll do it. Draw it. Alright. We have come to the numero unos Numero unos. For our favorite anime openings.
Mac:Mine comes from a lesser known anime called Naruto Shippuden.
Jacci:Sorry. That wasn't that funny when I just thought it was stupid because you just traumatized it. It was not
Mac:Very, like, only the real ones know.
Jacci:That's funny.
Mac:About Naruto Shippuden. I would just say, Naruto, both the OG and Shippuden combined is my favorite anime. Like, because you talk about seeing a character grow. It's legit. You see this fucking kid in Naruto, this brat, turn into a hero that saves pretty much, I guess, you could say the world at that point.
Mac:The determination, like, it's I can get all mushy and talk about man, dude. You should watch it because the values that Naruto teaches, it's about determination and the power of friendship and never give up on you. I could do all of that stuff.
Daimyo:Yeah. But do it in an anime boy voice.
Mac:You better believe it. I don't know. I can't do it. Way. I'm gonna be dedicated to this.
Mac:I can't fuck it. I can't do the voice. But, we'll say the English actor or actress that did the voice of Naruto
Jacci:In the dub?
Mac:Yes. Ended up being a if you you probably haven't. But, like, there's a Disney Channel show called Lab Rats. And these kids go to a school, and their school has a principal, and it's this short white lady that's, like, over the top extra with all their shit. She is the voice actor for Naruto.
Mac:And I was like,
Jacci:shut the fuck up.
Mac:I was like, look at this shit. That's funny. Voice in one of my favorite I can't take the Disney
Daimyo:protein stuff. It just
Mac:Oh, I I was shocked. I was like, you couldn't pick up another voice acting role? Like, you are world you should be touring the world as the voice of Naruto Uzumaki.
Daimyo:Endlessly. You'd you'd never need to do anything else.
Mac:There's always a con going on. Just show up. You don't have to do this, ma'am. I mean, but a check's a check. When I
Daimyo:go to yeah.
Mac:I get it. You know, I'm not mad. But this, opening, Silhouette by Kanaboon, I feel if you're just at a anime expo or whatever and this song comes on, it's like, to me, would be the national anthem of motivation, determination. Because this is towards the end of shippuden, and you see the oh, I'm a just play it. Because the visuals had a lot to do in in why I chose.
Mac:So it's just you get a lot of the flashbacks. So if you watch the ocean up to now, it's just, oh my gosh, the culmination of 700 plus episodes come together for me. But it's it's so inspirational. The part that I like about it is there's a part I think once the chorus hits and you see, now, Ruth, they'll start running when he's a kid, and he you see him growing into the oh my gosh. I'm just I'm ready to go.
Mac:You know?
Jacci:This one.
Mac:Yep. Oh my. Look at this. Oh my. Goosebumps.
Mac:Goosebumps.
Daimyo:It really reflects his journey.
Mac:That's what I'm saying.
Daimyo:You know?
Mac:I will I will never not take the time to listen to this song.
Jacci:This is also when Naruto started changing their animation style too. Once they moved about I would say, like, from the pain arc and on, They started doing more
Mac:I won't lie. There's some freeze frames in the pain fight. Like, if you freeze it at the right time, you're like, bro, this animation looks like ass. But it was meant to be, like, seen in motion. You know?
Mac:Yeah. Yeah. There's a lot of fluid hand to hand. They weren't trying to
Daimyo:It's supposed to be conveying that action.
Mac:Yep. So, bro, this is this opening is is the bee's knees to me. And Kanaboom, like, Asian Kung Fu Generation, is one of those bands that are just you you name a anime, they probably done a opening for it on one of these things. They are they are goated when it comes to that. Song is called Silhouette.
Mac:Shout out to, Period Studios for the animation for Naruto. But, Kanaboom Japanese rock band that has garnered popularity for their energetic sound, catchy melodies, engaging lyrics. The the band was formed in 2,008. So older band compared to to some of these newer ones that are out there. It initially they initially formed by playing together while they were at college, gradually building up their reputation through live performances and and doing the the Tokyo music scene, which some of these bands that that we've covered, you know, they started out small, started getting their name, doing live shows and stuff.
Mac:I would love to see the the music scene, like, in the in the clubs and stuff, live shows in Tokyo. I'm pretty sure that they would be very, very lit. The band has 4 members, Masayuki Kana, who does the vocals and lead guitar, Takaharu Sato, who does guitar and back and vocals, Yasuyuki, Kritain, I'm assuming. Hopefully, I'm not messing that up. Base and back and vocals.
Mac:And then, of course, the drummer, he goes by Hero. His name is Hiroki, Saito. He does the drums. And like I said, every opening that they do, I could've list numerous openings, but they bring the energy. You you know it's you know it's kind of boom when you hear it.
Mac:They're still doing music to this day. I follow them on Spotify, and Spotify will be like, hey, kind of boom just dropped a new song. I'm just like, fucking you know what to do with it. Spotify, like, play it immediately for me. You know?
Mac:So, infectious energy, relatable lyrics, appealing to a wide range of listeners. Their successful blend of catchy melodies, like I said, rock elements alongside their involvement in the anime culture, which it kinda helped them, get as popular as they did, solidified their status as one of the prominent rock bands in all of Japan. So, again, go to wherever you stream music, Kanaboon. The anime side, I, you know, I tend to gravitate towards their anime openings. But like I said, it's one of those things where you click on an album and you listen to it.
Mac:You're like, this is more than just anime stuff. They're actual legit band, legit music, musicians, lyrics. And it it may take a little bit of effort going to researching and and looking up translations to their lyrics, but their songs have amazing meanings, energetic. So, again, Kanaboon, Silhouette, Naruto, Shippuden, opening 16. My favorite anime opening of all time.
Daimyo:Excellent. Excellent.
Jacci:I have to use the restroom really quick. But, Eric, if you still wanna, start, I'll have my headphones on.
Daimyo:Okay. Actually, I also wanted to call out, Chris put a fact up there. The Kana Booms, used to be known as Kana Small Blessing in college. So that's other music you could probably look up by, referencing that as well. So you may see the early beginnings of some of their talent.
Mac:Oh, shit.
Daimyo:That's just, exploded them, you know, to the point where I mean, they're like a household name with anyone who's animated now. I mean,
Mac:Danny. This right here. Yeah. I animation wise, there's probably better animated fights, but when you talk about the build up in the build. What this fight meant.
Daimyo:Mhmm.
Mac:What this fight meant. I can't fucking, you might be right. To me, this is my favorite because like I said, there's probably somebody who's watched all of 1 piece, and they're just like, this fight in 1 piece is it. But for me, emotionally, visually, like, each punch that landed from one to another, I I felt the pain. Like, not only physically, but emotionally.
Mac:Like, y'all used to be boys. Yeah. Like, y'all y'all came from this Like, like, family. Guys were both orphans. You guys were both looked at outcast, but one was just immensely talented.
Mac:1 had, you know, the knuckleheaded ninja like they called him. But they both came up to be the strongest warriors from their respective the leaf village. You know? So oh my god. The emotions leading up to like, Naruto is Naruto is my shit.
Mac:You know, big 3 forever. Naruto, 1 piece bleach. People go back and forth on bleach. Nobody's taking Naruto out of that shit for me. I got a number one from black Akaboshi.
Mac:I don't know why I love it so much. Where's that one from? Let me see if I can look this up. Unless you start talking about your number one right now or if you're waiting for Jackie.
Daimyo:No. I'll wait for, yeah. Let's let's hear what what which one Black's got there because, it sounds familiar during my research.
Mac:From Demon Slayer.
Daimyo:Yes. Okay.
Mac:Which opening? Oh, Morningstar. It's it's the the train arc. That's what that one is.
Daimyo:The training arc for Morningstar. Morningstar is the English version of that song. Yeah. Or the English name of that song. Yeah.
Daimyo:From the training arc. It's it it is it's dope. I mean, since we're on that subject, he he touched on my, my number one category there. My my number one is Red Lotus by Lisa, which we've already talked about, Lisa, but it's just it's just so amazing. I mean, she's just but, Demon Slayer in general, the the energy, the epicness, the the struggle, I mean, oh, and then so It's
Mac:it's the composition of that song as well.
Daimyo:Yeah.
Mac:It's like well, it starts out slow. You're just like, oh my god.
Daimyo:Is is it's it's just
Mac:This is gonna be it. You're like, I know what
Daimyo:this You're watching the the series for the first time, just seeing the the pain, and, I mean, whenever this intro came on, it's like reliving that pain of when Tanjiro first comes home. And it's like, man, I didn't know if I could watch that series because you're you're just like, oh my god, dude. How terrible can someone's luck be to
Mac:Go to the village and sell this charcoal. I'll be back. Come back. Yo, what the fuck?
Daimyo:Every every love everything that he loved in life is laying bloody in the snow. You know, it's like, bro, that was heartbreaking. It was tremendously heartbreaking. And this song just brings it all to bear, but it also shows that determinate I mean, the build in the music just backs up that determination that he has to protect what little he has left, you know, to grow stronger and to strive because whatever he's gotta do, this is all the love he has left in the world, and he's gonna put everything he can to defend it. And it's just I mean, it speaks to it speaks to me.
Daimyo:I think it was it's just amazing music. And if you're into anime now, you've definitely heard this. So that's why it was my number 1. Plus, Lisa is just freaking amazing. I mean, we've talked about it already in this show, but, I mean, it's just it goes it's just amazing.
Daimyo:So
Mac:Jackie, I will say that I am shocked that you I don't know what your number one is, that you have not mentioned a single Lisa song. I know. You're top. But I digress.
Daimyo:Oh, you're you're muted.
Jacci:Can you hear me?
Mac:There we go.
Jacci:Okay. I purposely I so when I went into this, I purposely did not want to pick mainstream things. I did not wanna pick popular animes because most people have been watching that stuff. You know? Like, are they familiar with it?
Daimyo:You wanna share something different.
Jacci:I wanted now I'm I not to say that some of this still wouldn't be in, like, my top 5 or top 10. I I like, there's still some that that's there, but some of it too, like, I just it's nostalgia for me, and I'm trying to bring people into some of, like, my favorites as well. And that's why I also, like, wanted to hit on some other animes some of these bands have been in because it also plays into my, like, this is what I like to watch type of thing. But when I saw you guys when I had Lisa on there, I was like, okay. They're gonna talk about it anyway, so why am I gonna put Lisa in mind?
Daimyo:Yeah. And, I mean, honestly, I was my brother had bought me a shirt. I didn't even watch Demon Slayer when it first came out. Brother got me a shirt in the video game for PS 4, I think it was.
Mac:And I was like, oh, that's cool. I haven't seen this yet. I'm sure it's good. But then
Daimyo:I just decided to check it out, and immediately, my 3 boys just immediately loved it. They I watch everything in the original Japanese, and they have no idea what's being said. But all 3 of them are just glued to the screen. And with the intro and with this song, it's just so much emotion and and, power that goes into this. I felt like they they really hit the mark.
Daimyo:So I had to put it on there as and you know I'm a fan of classics, and I love some of the obscure stuff, especially. But for something to be so mainstream but have so much passion in it beyond just trying to be popular, You know? Like, I felt like they touched on some real classical cultural connections and vibes. Like, as simple as the mask of the master I mean, if you're to the like, I'm half Japanese, so I've I've been lucky enough to experience some of that in my visits to Okinawa and Japan. And, I mean, they convey it so well and bring so much more depth and so forth to, like, the the look, the culture, the behavior of the individuals in this show.
Daimyo:So not only do I love the show now, especially because of my kids, but I love this song because I feel like it it really does capture the the emotional drive of this show of especially, you know, the the first season. So Yep.
Mac:Oh, this should have been 11.
Jacci:Dude, her and then the version that she does of this song where it's the first take and it's just acapella. Like, shut shut up.
Mac:I know. It's like, wow, dude. It's like
Jacci:She's just insane, man. She's so good.
Daimyo:That the power of her voice to just convey emotion
Mac:Yeah.
Daimyo:Is is amazing. And like I said, it brings the feels up, man, because the struggle this man lost everything he loves so quickly, but he's not willing to give up. It is it is beautiful not only in the sound, but in the presentation. All together, the art and everything with the intro is just it's beautiful and all encompassing. It lets you see everything that's to come, but not too much.
Daimyo:Like Jackie had mentioned earlier, you get tidbits, but you don't get the whole, you know and I think that that kinda hooks you in a way that you don't know everything. So it builds that interest.
Jacci:It's crazy how iconic this opening has become. Like, she like, Willie was talking about before. She has the opening with Sword Art Online, which is also, like, a fantastic opening. That's where she got her, like, up and coming. Kudos.
Daimyo:Yeah.
Jacci:I agree. Like, that's how she started. They they wanted more of her. But I would argue, like, this is really what, like, made her become, in my personal opinion, the queen of just, like and right now, I think she owns the crown right now of just
Daimyo:Yeah.
Jacci:The voice, the j pop, the even the openings of animes right now with what she's doing. Like, she is reigning supreme right now, at least as a solo artist. If we bring in, like, bands and stuff, I don't know. That that'd be pretty difficult. We'd really have to really have to, do some rankings, but yeah, dude.
Jacci:I don't know. She's just
Mac:She like, there's nothing she she she's batting a 1,000. No misses. She just can't fucking miss. And and I don't know if they approach her and be like, we want you to do a song for this because when you look at the like I said, like, when you look at the meanings of the lyrics behind our songs, I mean, just how does this pair so well with, you know, the the struggle that these guys are going through and the emotions and stuff? And and, obviously, is, like, knocking shit out the park anime wise.
Mac:Yeah. Once you hear the song and they're just like, oh, I just have to animate something to this, say less. You know?
Jacci:Yeah.
Mac:Watch me work, and they did.
Daimyo:Yeah. And it just it it it's like a total reflection of Tanjiro's character in song form as far as, like, the meaning behind where she she's expressing that he knows he's not strong enough, but he's gonna keep striving and be to to work to become all he can to protect the only thing he loves left in this world. And, I mean, it's a real, like, feel in her voice, but it's also everything you feel from the first episode on. You know, you're just like, wow. They were able to bring it all together in just the intro.
Daimyo:I was like, that's excellent.
Jacci:I mean, this song went viral across the world. Like Yeah. We're doing o or covers for it and everything.
Daimyo:Yeah.
Jacci:Yeah.
Daimyo:You hear people playing it all over. I mean,
Mac:you know 15 seconds of that song, people, like, oh, is that fucking Demon Slayer? You know? I know. It's like
Jacci:Or even people that don't watch anime. Like, I just saw a comment that you shared earlier from someone. They're like, I don't even watch anime, but I know what, like or I've heard of, like, x y z. So Yeah. Oh, yeah.
Jacci:That song everyone talks about. Like, isn't that from that anime you guys watch or something, like Demon Slayer?
Daimyo:Yeah.
Jacci:Crazy. I love it. My my little 12 year old self is, like, healing right now.
Mac:She's I feel
Jacci:she feels so accepted. Because back then, like, I hid the shit out of all my anime.
Daimyo:It wasn't something.
Jacci:Knew. No one knew that I liked anime because I wasn't, well, because back then, I went. So I did go to anime club. I tried it one time in my junior high, and and my it was junior high for me. It was 7th through 9th grade.
Jacci:They hadn't moved it to, like, a middle school yet and haven't put 9th grade to high school in. And I went there because, the the we were watching Inuyasha. That was the topic, and we're gonna do other stuff. And I was excited. And I was like, dude, I I wanna out.
Jacci:Why did everybody there have to be so weird, man? Like, when I mean weird, it is, like, the people that are just, like, just I don't know, man. Just now? Now? I'm not gonna lie.
Jacci:Now, like, with those people, I'm probably a part of that, but they're just, like, just very just socially awkward people, man. That's just what they are. They're socially awkward. They're very outgoing, and I just, like
Mac:Can I throw a bonus up here real quick Yeah? On on why Lisa will forever be mother to me when it when it comes to this
Jacci:Mama?
Mac:Jackie knows who this is.
Jacci:So oh, press pause really quick. Sorry. So this is what I was gonna say if I had to put a Lisa in my top. I'm not kidding. When she came out with this song, have you seen the music video of this song with her on the beach?
Mac:Yes.
Jacci:Need I
Mac:Tears.
Jacci:Need I say less? I'm the fuck. I love, but I actually think this is my new favorite song of hers right here.
Mac:And and I love this one because it's, like, first take, you just walk in here.
Jacci:Yes.
Mac:You just put the headphones on, and you just and and the emotion she has as she's singing this shit. I'm just so I will say, you know, me and Jackie when I saw this at the theater when it came out, her first song.
Jacci:I saw
Mac:I saw a bootleg version. Right? So I saw a bootleg, but at the end of the the version I saw, bootleg, this was playing. Like, this video was playing as the credits were going up. So this is when we saw it in theater, I was like, Jackie, wait till you see the ending.
Mac:Like, Lisa's about to have you and and it and, you know, it was a different ending. I was like, what the? Because this shit is so emotionally Yeah. Charged.
Jacci:Yeah. I'll I'll always forever be so thankful that Willie is the type of person he is. He's the best person to go watch movies with, man. He will let you cry, and he won't look at you or say shit, man. He will let you be in the moment.
Jacci:Sick. Their hair is so cool.
Mac:Like her voice is so quiet, but when she's singing, she has, like, this power. I'm just, like, Jesus. Remind you, I just finished watching the movie where when Goku's, like, set your heart ablaze all of this stuff is start singing this shit. I'm like, yeah. Yeah.
Mac:And, like, I was sick with COVID, bro. It was the best. My wife is like, what are you doing up here?
Daimyo:Breathe. You're like,
Mac:like, I can't I can't taste my food. I can't breathe through my nose. You're okay. Oh, god.
Jacci:It's so good, dude. Did it get so much better too?
Mac:In
Jacci:Oh my god.
Daimyo:Black's right, man. It's like she's pulling pain from it within her soul. It's like she's able to convey so much emotion, and it just comes across in her voice.
Mac:She had to have been, like, pulling from a place in her life, like, to get that kind of like a actor.
Jacci:Yeah. Or
Daimyo:she's able to just be in that moment. She can, like, empathize with the emotion that would be that moment in a in a special way that, you know, lets her sing with such power.
Mac:Yeah.
Jacci:I wanna see her in concert so bad.
Daimyo:I'd pay. Easily pays top top money for that.
Jacci:I can't wait till this next season comes out.
Mac:It's like the movies.
Jacci:Oh, yeah. That's right. The movies.
Daimyo:I heard that it's gonna be 3 parts because it's so long. Damn.
Jacci:Hey. You know what? Actually, I I'm
Mac:not okay with it.
Daimyo:They could make 8 part movie. I'd be fucking in
Mac:there, but it's like you know?
Daimyo:I just I just hope that 3 part movie of 2 hours a piece is gonna be enough to, you know, get get us all the answers and experience we we're looking forward to. You know?
Mac:Hey, Danny. For the next, Cape Con, I could put some on. If you could get Lisa to come, I'll put something on it. You know? Yeah.
Mac:I I'll see what we could do. I'll sell a kidney. No pressure.
Daimyo:If you get Lisa to come out, I'll sell a kidney because
Mac:If Lisa would come to, like, a con, it would shut the fucking shit down. I
Jacci:think That would there would be way too many people there. I think I'd be very upset.
Mac:Like, any kind of anime content like
Daimyo:we're there first, it don't matter, Jackie. We get there first. You know? Upsorry. 50 plus?
Daimyo:That's all the people we can I
Jacci:I you know what? I think so sorry. We're getting a little off topic, but I'm that type of person that tries not to, like, idol over idolize celebrities because they they're just regular people.
Daimyo:Yeah.
Jacci:She's a very close,
Mac:Let's see. If she is
Jacci:Like, I might I would I might actually camp overnight if Yeah.
Daimyo:I'd be speechless. Just Yes.
Jacci:Just to be like, hey. I just wanted to say hi and tell you I love you, and you're amazing.
Daimyo:Just stare
Jacci:at her because you don't I think I would camp overnight just to say that to her, and then I'd walk away. I wouldn't even care if she didn't like me after that.
Mac:Not with you or anything. Yeah.
Jacci:So if if she just said okay, I'd be like,
Mac:that's it.
Daimyo:Burn my ears off after that. I don't need to listen to anything else. Just be like like, done.
Mac:Oh my gosh. This shit is just it's magical. This is what like, Apple has dragged me to numerous k pop concerts. I'm like, if you love it, I like it. You know?
Mac:Yep.
Daimyo:I can see my mom's over my mom's over in Okinawa right now. Yeah. See if she can find anything that we could get, like, a an actual, like, CD or something from there that, you know, an album or something that she she has that we can't get you out of
Mac:the way. Know. Yeah. Get it. But, if if she touches foot in the states, she's like, I'm doing a concert in fucking
Jacci:Oh, I'm going.
Mac:Junior, Alaska. I'm like, I don't know why you're there, but Juneau it is.
Daimyo:Hop on this moped. Let's go.
Jacci:Is Juneau, Alaska a a place?
Mac:It is. Just I don't think.
Daimyo:Oh. We'll find it.
Mac:You know how I know because my son knows everything about geography.
Daimyo:That's true. He quotes knows every capital in the world. You're like We're
Mac:eating dinner. Dad, what's the capital of Botswana?
Daimyo:That's the kind of questions you
Mac:get. I get I get the question, like yeah.
Daimyo:You get hit up with the Botswana question.
Jacci:I get it.
Daimyo:Every flag from every nation.
Mac:And then my son will come up
Daimyo:and ask me, dad, if a zombie bit my arm and I chopped it off right there, do you think that I'd become a zombie? If I did become and I'm like, I I don't know, dude. I don't know. But I wish you knew at least the capital of United States of America. That'd be great.
Daimyo:You know? But the zombie's a sack. I'll answer your question when that comes.
Mac:I wasn't I wasn't at the level I was probably the the level of questioning that that your son was at, and look what I'm doing today. He'll be fine.
Jacci:He'll be fine. Yeah. He'll be fine. We're
Daimyo:gonna call it.
Mac:Anyways, I know this ran extra long, but this was a special episode. We wanted to take time and introduce you guys to some of the songs that mean a lot to us, songs that we like. And like I said, descriptions for the YouTube openings and videos and stuff will be put in the description of the video when it's published. And, of course, I'll let you guys know when the Spotify playlist is made Lily. With everybody's picks.
Jacci:Willy.
Mac:Yes.
Jacci:I didn't get to do my number 1.
Mac:Oh, no.
Daimyo:Yeah. We got carried away.
Mac:I'm waiting to hear Jackie drop off. I know her shit, bro. She's a
Daimyo:Oh, yeah. I'm waiting.
Mac:Go ahead. Go ahead. Yeah. Yeah.
Jacci:Yeah. Okay.
Mac:Bring us in. Bring us home.
Jacci:Also known as smile bomb, by Matsuko Mawatari. That's the Japanese version. The English version is by some chick named Sarah White that they randomly found in Texas, and then she disappeared.
Mac:Gosh.
Jacci:Yeah. I went that up.
Daimyo:Yes, ma'am. That's a hell of a driver.
Jacci:But it's Yu Yu Hakusho. Duh. So
Mac:I your favorite anime of all time.
Jacci:My favorite anime of all time, so it's gonna be my favorite opening. But, hey. A 112 episodes still only got one opening. They just changed up the, scenes a little bit throughout the show, but 1992 to 94. The it came from an album called Nice Unbalanced.
Jacci:It was recorded in 92, and it actually reached the top 4592, and it again made charts again in 2000 5. But I will say it's one of the more famously known openings. A lot of people are just like that nostalgic bop. You know, the other song where it's like, Maya Mayanaka, I think her name is. She's like, stay with me.
Jacci:And everyone's like, yes, bitch. I will sing with you. This is, like, one of those nostalgic ones that I just I will listen to the Japanese version. I will listen to the English version. It almost sounds like the exact same person singing it, but it's not.
Jacci:It's just really great. Like, put it on.
Mac:Let it ride? Let it
Jacci:ride. I just What?
Mac:At the back, text in your your your your composition. I'm here for
Jacci:it. Wait till we talk about endings, dude. Like, all of my endings have artists that sound very much like this. It's just love it.
Daimyo:Such classic nineties, man.
Jacci:Yeah, dude. I just love it.
Mac:Everybody has, like, a power bullet with the face.
Jacci:Oh, yeah, dude. And it's like your typical, like, here's some scenes. Here's some characters. There's nothing really any crazy about it. It's just got a lot of just the vibes, the art, the everything is just Oh my god.
Jacci:So to music. Like,
Mac:all good time. It's just
Jacci:a great opening. Whenever you listen to it, you're like, dude, I can't wait to watch this anymore. There's no there's no real chorus either. That's the other thing too. Like, when you listen to the song, there's no real break between knowing where the buildup or anything is.
Jacci:It's just a vibe the whole time.
Mac:Now let me ask you this, Jack. If Yu Yu Hakusho is not, like, your undisputed GOAT for best anime. Would this song have made your list? It's hard to separate the 2. I know.
Mac:You're like, I can't
Daimyo:Yeah. Because the feel the feels of 1 to the other.
Jacci:You know what? No.
Mac:Because I I could say if if I didn't like Naruto as much as I did and invested so much into it, like, I couldn't say that Silhouette was the best.
Jacci:Yeah. I no. I I agree. I I don't think it would have been my number one. I think that there's actually, there is one song that I have in my head that I know is, like, I listened to all the time I just listened to it yesterday that I didn't even have on my top, but I listened to that song even regardless of the show.
Jacci:But Mhmm. I just think of the sometimes with some of these, I think of the opening and the certain scenes that just make me go like, oh, god. I love this part because I'm, like, matching the scene to it. And I don't know. This just reminds me of when I was, again, like, 2nd, 3rd grade.
Jacci:What because this was on tsunami, not just a swim. And I would run home, make sure I hurried up and did my homework, especially on Friday so that way I could watch this shit because I think it came up after Sailor Moon.
Mac:Yeah.
Jacci:And then, like, what I watched all the time. This is back when I used to read fan fiction. I used to write fan fiction, and it was all of it was always about Yuu Hakusho and Inuyasha, but I just I love the girl in general. Like, she just came out with this, like, bop, and then she just kind of dipped after that. Like, she made some songs.
Jacci:She was a known singer, but, like, she didn't really, like, continue after the nineties. Like, she just, she's 25 years old when she recorded it. I think she's, like, 65 now or something like that. I can't remember. Mhmm.
Jacci:But then the English version, what I thought was funny is that they just found some bitch named Sarah White who is from Texas, and some guy said, I want you to listen to the song, and I want you to sing it. She goes, okay. And she did, and then she left. I I don't understand why that was the choice, but she sounds just as good, and the English version sounds just as amazing. So it's, I don't know, as we talked about with Naruto.
Jacci:Yep. I say more. But, yeah, it's just it's the only opening. It is the opening, the song for you, Hakusho. I go forever.
Jacci:Nice. But, yeah, if I if I didn't like You Haulk Show as much, I don't know if it would be in it wouldn't be I don't think it would be in my top 5.
Daimyo:I think it's hard because all of them have somewhat of a significance. The song is great or the music is great. The intro is great. But because of the show that it is linked to gives it so much more significance. You know?
Daimyo:I mean, it's something that is somewhat unique to anime in a in a sense that, not very many animation style series or movies outside of the Japanese version have this much dedicated, you know I mean, to them, this this is a huge thing, whereas, you know, it's not the same here. Like, you our our closest thing would maybe be a Disney movie with a with a, you know, like, a banging soundtrack like Tarzan where Phil Collins went crazy. But the rest of it, I mean, it's not on the same level where weekly you're getting, you know, this show that just ends up having so much memories and emotions attached to it that, of course, the music becomes, you know, linked to those, you know.
Jacci:And UHawk showed influence a lot
Daimyo:It did.
Jacci:After it came out. So it's
Mac:I would say it probably put the it it probably made popular the tournament arcs in a lot of things. Like, they're just like, oh, shit. We could throw 1 in our no. You know? Yeah.
Mac:I think their tournament arc is still
Jacci:The best.
Mac:One of the the best, if not the best. You know? Alright.
Jacci:That's my number 1.
Mac:Not mad at it. Not mad at it. Everybody picked the, a solid it's a solid list. I will say it's a solid list. If we weren't already at 3 hours, I would say if there's one song like, if I gave you 2 honorable mentions, would you be able to say this song would have been it?
Jacci:This song right here that I just said my number 1?
Mac:Or No. No. No. Like, what if you knew if there was a song that just missed your list. And I was like, okay.
Mac:Two honorable mentions.
Jacci:Oh, I already know.
Mac:What is it?
Jacci:Oh, it's the 3rd opening of jujutsu kaizen, the first part.
Mac:Well done. Oh, yeah. You mentioned that earlier. Yeah.
Daimyo:I mean,
Mac:I can
Jacci:It's either that or I would say Kaiju number 8's opening because I really like their opening. But it's all in English, so I tried to stick more with J pop, j rock, so that's the only reason why I didn't choose that one.
Mac:Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Jacci:Yep. That's my that would be my honorable mention. I fucking love that opening.
Mac:Mine would I forget. I think it's opening number 6 for Bleach. It's Alones. Yes.
Jacci:The. My time? My time?
Mac:My time? My heart was like, I was like, I was like, oh, I'm like, a loan's gotta be on there, just that. And I'm just like, wait a minute. But I gotta put that on there. And I gotta put that I'm just like, oh,
Jacci:no. Oh, no. Tough, man. It it was even, like, the the third opening of demon slayer with the sound Sheera, sound Hashira arc.
Mac:Oh, yeah. Like, the
Jacci:red light district. I love that opening.
Mac:That is probably my favorite one.
Jacci:Like, like love that opening. I love the even the the animation, the the him as a Hashira, I fucking love.
Mac:Yeah.
Jacci:But I love that season. That was my most I that I love Garend. I love the first opening, but I just like
Mac:Garend is iconic. But but I think it's Shang Shango or whatever. That shit. Amira?
Jacci:It's just fun, man.
Mac:That shit going on. I like Adamas by, Lisa for a sword art online. Yep. Alicization source. Anyway, like, there's there's a list.
Mac:But So much. Shit. This might be a 2 parter. We might do
Daimyo:the first attack.
Mac:And then
Daimyo:Gotta do a re attack with it.
Mac:Oh, no. We're gonna we're gonna release this in 2 parts. I don't wanna slap y'all with 3 hours of of us farming over our favorite anime songs, but I I liked it. I like bro, we went 3 hours talking about anime thing, and we have up to 10 people watching us live doing it. So Yeah.
Daimyo:And they did a lot of people put in threw out some good info too. Good. And a lot of it matched up with some of the stuff we were already talking about. Let's you know that, hey. We're on the right track for some of these because it it shows that the it's a it's appeal to so many different people because other people are throwing out similar things to our list, if not the exact same stuff.
Daimyo:So that's that shows its impact across the board, man.
Mac:I love it. I had a good time tonight. I was looking forward to this show.
Jacci:Yeah.
Mac:Either way. So with that being said, Jackie, would you like to do top five endings for our next show?
Jacci:I would love to.
Daimyo:I felt
Mac:it. It was a
Daimyo:she already has them, dude. She probably has,
Mac:like, a I know.
Jacci:I already know. Like, I and I actually have a top five. Like, I already know what they are.
Mac:It was like, I would love to do a top 5, and I'm just like, yeah. Next one. We're gonna be talking about yeah. We're gonna be talking about my niggas are. Freeran.
Mac:You know? And she'd probably be like, oh, I'm down to do that.
Jacci:Freeran almost made my top, but then I was like, you know what? No.
Mac:Wow. Wow. Well, the anime is amazing. She just doesn't think the opening's amazing. So, you know, take that for what it is, anime.
Mac:Either way, 2 weeks from now, I believe we'll be entering the Thanksgiving era. So
Jacci:Yeah. So we won't be able to do that because I'll be good.
Mac:Probably for the 1st Thursday in December, which I don't know what that is.
Jacci:Probably won't be able to do that either. I will be in San Diego for TDY.
Mac:The 12th.
Jacci:That is patch night.
Daimyo:The 19th.
Jacci:But wait. No. No. No. We can do a Thursday?
Jacci:Can we do a different
Mac:Yeah. We could do a different day. Yeah. Let's do a different day. You let us know when
Jacci:we do tell you guys, like, what this looks like because I got my schedules doped out for the next month right now.
Mac:Yeah.
Jacci:Yeah. Like, next week, for example, I am working, like, 16 hour days, Monday through Wednesday, but I'm gonna be off Thursday Friday. The week after that, we'll be gone in New Hampshire for Thanksgiving. The week after that, I'll be t d y. And then oh, 7th.
Jacci:The week of 7th, though. Oh, no. That's patch night. No. Patch night.
Jacci:I
Mac:don't know. Let us know. Let us know the earliest in the I'll message you.
Jacci:I'll message you.
Mac:Because we're we're gonna take a break for Thanksgiving, and everybody hang out and and be with family and stuff like that.
Jacci:So Yeah. Yeah. And then we
Mac:we wanna get one show in before we roll into Christmas and stuff. So They have to. Yeah. We gotta do it. And if possible, I know it'll be crazy, towards the end of December, if we can make it, kinda talk about our favorite anime that dropped this year.
Daimyo:But, you know, the year closes out, like, year over year.
Jacci:We're not, so we're we might go somewhere for Christmas, but we're not going home for the holidays. So we'll be, like, in Vegas around the holiday time.
Mac:Yeah. We'll we'll we'll QC it, but I think that'd be something dope. Just a little little eat the cake anime awards, if you will. Shout out.
Jacci:Love to do that.
Mac:Okay. So, stay tuned to the channel, and we'll let you know when our next show is. Expect to see a ad or or promo or something for it. But, you know, like you said, we we got lives. We're doing busy stuff over here, but we do not wanna let you guys go without any kinda entertainment or show from us.
Mac:So, unless you guys have anything to add.
Jacci:Nope. Thanks for joining and listening to our music.
Mac:Alright. So, also, I will let you guys know when that, playlist is set up and when the video will be dropping. So with all that being said, thank you guys for tuning in episode 9 of eat the cake anime. As always, take care, and, we'll see you next time. Peace.