Lots of TV shows have great theme songs and animated shows are no exception. Music taste is of course a very subjective and personal thing. So instead of attempting to present a ‘comprehensive’ list, our podcasters on the Dreaming Machine have each picked their personal “best theme songs”, no matter how random. To clarify, we have defined ‘theme song’ very broadly as ‘music over the start or end credits of a show’.
Editor: This list is brought to you by Dreaming Machine, before we get into the list – subscribe wherever you get your podcasts or listen on Spotify:
Arthur
I remember watching Arthur as a kid despite knowing I was too old for it at the time. I think at least 80% of the reason was the infectiously catchy and bouncy opening number. The show finally ended its run in 2022 after 25 seasons and 253 episodes! “And I said hey!…”
Hey Arnold
Another extremely catchy opening song, the jazzy, New York horns adds a lot to this. While I think later shows have pushed forward what ‘kids cartoons’ can do (step forward ‘Avatar’…) I still remember this being a likeable, fun and thoughtful show.
Pokemon
As an anime fan, I typically complain about the covert changes that western broadcasters impose on Japanese cartoons on their journey to our screens. However, I must acknowledge the poppy soft-rock brilliance of the opening theme tune created for Pokemon’s original release here, so much more exciting and iconic than the twee original song included on its Japan release. As for the addition of the ‘poke-rap’? Hey, even that has a charm to it…
Amphibia (closing theme Season 1-2)
Amphibia can get a bit overly zany and random at times, especially when it deviates away from the (in my opinion far more gripping) overarching plot. This is why it’s great that this sweet, calming and melancholic closer is there to wrap things up. Check out the podcast episode we recorded on Amphibia and just hear my reaction when Amy reveals to me that this lovely musical closer was dropped for season 3….
Futurama
Such a great theme tune captures the futuristic vibe perfectly but in a really fun and catchy way. The souped-up versions for the opening and closing titles in the later series are my favourite mixes of the song; it’s just a shame that during this era the opening titles often had to be edited down to accommodate longer-running episodes (at least it was for a good reason!). As a bit of trivia, an uncannily similar song appears in the 1969 political drama film ‘Z’ – which online sources suggest was used as ‘inspiration’ by the show’s composer Christopher Tyng.
Eureka Seven
A fun sci-fi and mecha anime, albeit the story and characters of which seems to have been rather heavily ‘influenced’ shall we say by the famed series ‘Neon Genesis Evangelion’. Anyway, over its epic 50-episode run there were 4 different sets of opening and closing theme songs. My personal favourite is the ‘Amazing Grace’-sampling exuberant pop-rock of ‘Sakura’ by Nirgilis (the fourth opening song as the story takes some very dramatic turns!). I appreciate that in its original Japanese showing the changing themes likely felt like separate seasons – but I still love the idea of a theme tune changing over time to keep things fresh and think more shows should follow this example.
Serial Experiments Lain
A very creepy and strange series about a girl’s connection to a virtual reality world, which of course selects a UK indie song as it’s opening number! And at least in Britain the song (‘Duvet’ by BOA) is relatively unknown but it’s great and deserved to have transcended the band’s ‘Big in Japan’ status. Evidence, if any was needed, that anime songs can take all sorts of forms and still be a major success.
Samurai Champloo
Where Shinichirō Watanabe’s Cowboy Bebop had blended space, westerns and jazz, his follow-up Samurai Champloo blended a samurai tale with hip-hop. The show is perhaps an easy target for the ‘style over substance’ critique, but if you watch the effortlessly cool and stylish opening titles, backed by ‘Battlecry’ by Nujabes, a cheeky riposte would be “When it looks and sounds this awesome does anyone really care?”
The Tatami Galaxy
A brilliantly quirky and clever show by the acclaimed Masaaki Yuasa. The closing theme’s synth-pop number is simply a great song that perfectly fits the offbeat and paranoid vibe of the show. I appreciate anime has featured quite heavily in my selections but this example shows how great anime can be in providing exposure to awesome music.
Honourable mentions:
Paranoia Agent closing theme, Rugrats, Ducktales! Disenchantment (longer version for the opening episode of each series), She Ra and the Princesses of Power.
Do you have any favourites we haven’t mentioned? Let us know, comment below
