For whatever reason, there have been a ton of Favourite Anime OP posts out lately. These are always pretty fun to read, and I had thought of doing my own for quite a while now (in fact, I’ve been putting that off for the last couple of years, if not longer). And while I do intend to get there eventually, I thought it might be good to first write up a few different articles on the topic, each with their own specific theme. First up: my top 5 foreign language OPs.
The vast majority of anime OPs are, understandably, written and performed by Japanese artists or groups, and the accompanying vocals are therefore also primarily sung in Japanese (albeit often with snatches of English here and there, as has been considered cool and fashionable for decades now). However, it’s not unheard of to have songs by Western artists featured in anime OPs as well, such as with Eden of the East, Wolf’s Rain, and Mushishi. Since these OPs seem to have already attracted their fair share of attention though, I’ve decided to discount any songs performed in English by English native speakers. Not because I dislike said songs, but because I’d rather look at some hopefully less well-known OPs instead of just posting a bunch of videos that everyone’s likely to immediately think of on their own.
Honourable Mention: Elfen Lied
While I think the show itself is a total mess, the opening to Elfen Lied is everything the series probably should have been: eerie, haunting, and mournful. Sung mostly in Latin, with a bit of Greek thrown in for good measure, the lyrics of ‘Lilium’ use parts of the Bible as well as an old Catholic hymn, with high-pitched vocals but the music in a minor key, complete with piano and violin in the background. The overall effect is both powerful and unnerving, especially when paired with the artwork, which is based on the works of Austrian symbolist painter Gustav Klimt. It’s a bit like listening to some kind of ethereal opera dirge – more a ceremonial lament than anything else – and that suits Elfen Lied better than most of the actual content ever did.
5. Gasaraki
I don’t expect a great many people to recognise the name Tane Tomoko. The singer-songwriter made her debut back in 1985, but even when one of her albums peaked at number five in the Japanese charts in 1990, she never saw a huge amount of commercial success. ‘Message #9’ though, the OP to 1998’s Gasaraki, is well worth some attention. There’s one short line of Japanese but otherwise the song is performed entirely in English, with lyrics that are pronounced reasonably well and mostly even make complete sense – something of a rarity when it comes to Japanese songs. However, it’s the music itself that really makes the song for me. As the series mixes science-fantasy and mecha with feudal Japan, so does the music mix a futuristic vibe with traditional Japanese elements, pairing solid beats with classic sounds from Kabuki and Noh theatre. It’s an interesting and arresting combination, and one that still makes an impact on me today.
4. .hack//Sign
Japanese band See-Saw, made up of dynamic duo Kajiura Yuki and Ishikawa Chiaki, was bound to be on this list somewhere. They’ve done quite a bit of anime-related work over the years – in fact, Kajiura composed the entire soundtrack for .hack//Sign – but ‘Obsession’ in particular has always stood out to me. If I’m being totally honest here, the all-English lyrics aren’t exactly stellar; often difficult to make out and, in Kajiura’s usual fashion, more whimsical than necessarily sensical. They’re sung with plenty of power behind them though, and the song is an odd but compelling mixture of rapid, almost urgent-sounding electronic beats and Kajiura’s now trademark background chanting.
3. Zetsuen no Tempest
Zetsuen no Tempest’s first OP, ‘Spirit Inspiration’ by Nothing’s Carved in Stone, is still one of my favourite English-language Japanese songs of all time today. I listen to a lot of different types of music, but alternative rock is one of my preferred genres and ‘Spirit Inspiration’ is a great track to rock out to. The lyrics are all over the place and really only make (some) sense if you squint, but the pronunciation is good enough that anyone who didn’t know the band would probably assume they were American. Well-paced, catchy, and with a strong beat in mainstream punk-rock/pop-punk style (think somewhere between Green Day and Sum 41), it’s definitely an OP that has me up and dancing every time I hear it.
2. Kiznaiver
https://dailymotion.com/video/x6oezf1
I don’t think I’d heard anything from Boom Boom Satellites until I saw Kiznaiver, and that makes me doubly glad I watched the show. ‘Lay Your Hands on Me’ turned out to be the band’s final record, as vocalist and guitarist Kawashima Michiyuki unfortunately passed away due to illness in 2016, but they could not have asked for a better song to go out on. The track has a great, deliberate build-up and ends on a wonderfully strong yet dreamy note; it’s an excellent smooth trance number as well as being the perfect fit for the kind of surrealness that Kiznaiver itself happens to sell. The all-English lyrics, while not quite natural enough to pass as being penned by a native speaker, are pronounced just fine and, despite the circumstances, manage to be uplifting rather than depressing.
1. Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
This anime series has what is quite possibly my single favourite overall soundtrack of all time, and both OPs contribute to that ranking. I was sorely tempted to list them as separate entries for this list, but in the interest of fairness decided to combine them. Of the two tracks, however, ‘Inner Universe’ always comes out on top for me. Composed by the legendary Kanno Yoko but written and performed by the late Russian singer Origa, ‘Inner Universe’ is sung primarily in Russian, with bits of English and Latin for good measure. Origa has an amazing vocal range and puts it to great use here, and her voice instantly both stands out from and yet blends incredibly well with the electronic music. A perfect fit for the ideas and themes that Ghost in the Shell explores, it wraps and pulses around the lyrics like some kind of cybernetic heartbeat, and stays in the head long after the song finishes playing. The OPs visuals might be outdated, but this is one piece of music that never will be.
Question of the post: Did I miss any of your favourites? Let me know one or more of your own picks for best foreign language OP in the comments (again, note that for the sake of diversity, I’ve deliberately left out of songs performed in English by English native speakers).
OTAKU LOUNGE 
Those were really nice op songs for sure! To me, Elfen Lied is my ultimate favorite when it goes by foreign that is NOT English.
However, I have to say that the only time I heard an opening (that was not from a Japanese group) that made me hear her full album is Lucy Rose with her music from Mushishi. I just love the vibe she puts out! 😀
If we go, really ULTIMATE favorite (Japanese included) then I would have to go with Kalafina xD
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I agree with all three points. Our musical tastes align, Arthifis!
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Great minds think alike 😉
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I’m with you on Lucy Rose! I also ended up buying that whole album thanks to the Mushishi OP. In fact, I bought 2 – one for me, another for my mother. 🙂
I also happen to be a huge Kalafina (and by extension, Kajiura Yuki) fangirl.
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Ooooh that’s a great idea! I should show Lucy Rose to my mother, I think she would love it! I don’t know, it’s just there is something really uplifting with her music that always makes me feel in a good mood!
Kajiura Yuki ❤ ❤ ❤
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I really agree with Kiznaiver. While the anime and I don’t really see eye to eye, that opening is fantastic and really draws you in. Thanks for sharing such a great list though I can’t really think of any other OP’s from the top of my head that aren’t just English by English speakers.
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I did quite like a lot of the Kiznaiver anime, but the show certainly has its problems, and it’s not a hard favourite of mine. But yeah, that OP though. Beautiful.
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Missed all of my favs… But as I have a post in progress on *just* that topic…. 🙂
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Excellent. I look forward to reading it. 🙂
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Nothing’s Carved In Stone’s “Out Of Control” for Psycho Pass was great (though that opinion is certainly bolstered by the stylish visuals)
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I don’t mind that track either, but I have to admit I’m not crazy about any of Nothing’s Carved in Stone’s work aside from ‘Spirit Inspiration’. I listened to 2 of their full studio albums and just felt sort of… meh about them.
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Those are pretty good. Latin tends to be quite the drama engine in anime. I love the OP of Elfen Lied. Kajiura has some track in her Noir soundtrack (“Canta Per Me”, “Salva Nos”), but there neither openings nor endings. I’m really fond of the Dantalian no Shoka – OP “Cras numquam Scire”. (According to the lyrics, it seems the full version of the song shifts to Japanese, but OP ends just before that.)
There’s also the really cute Spice & Wolf Ending song, but that’s – obviously – an ending.
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Yes, Kajiura is one of my favourite composers of all time, hands down, and she does really seem to love her Latin (not to mention all that dramatic background chanting). I didn’t love Noir, but I did adore the soundtrack.
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I would have throw in ‘Duvet’ by BoA (in English but sung by a Korean Pop icon) but I covered that in my own list so… lol. I totally 100% agree about Ghost in the Shell; still some of the best openings of all time.
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I definitely thought about that one, and I know the song has a ton of fans, but I don’t love it in quite the same way as I do the others on my list. If it had been a top 10 though, ‘Duvet’ would have been on it. 🙂
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Re-listening and looking at your list, I agree! It’s certainly a ‘classic’ but it doesn’t quite blend with your other choices.
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One of my all-time favorite OPs is from Martian Successor Nadesico, “You Get to Burning.” It fits the show like a glove, and is catchy as hell. While the OP from, say, Cowboy Bebop is great and timeless, there’s something to be said for music that perfectly encapsulates its moment, and listening to “You Get to Burning” is like a time warp back to the mid-1990s.
No one ever talks about it anymore, but in a similar vein, the soundtrack of Kimagure Orange Road is also a really stellar representation of 1980s pop. It had several different OPs and EDs over the course of its run, all of them great, but the third OP was probably my favorite, “Actress in the Mirror,” where the music, animation, and its relationship to the story at that point was pretty sublime. Honestly, though, unless you’re repelled by 80s pop, you can’t wrong with any of the music from KOR.
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Those are some really great picks! And yeah, you just don’t see much, if really any, of that style of music in anime anymore. People have brought back 80s pop style, sure, but while it’s certainly possible to copy a particular genre or style, it’s impossible to perfectly capture a time – and as you point out, music that so thoroughly captures its time is really something special.
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Hey there. Long time lurker, first time poster. Big fan of your site. You totally had me with Gasaraki, one of my favorite series ever and with a beautiful OP. I’d also like to add the OP of Xamd, which was made by Boom boom satellites. It’s simply perfect how it blends music and images.
And also “kiri” (I think that was the name) by Monoral which was Ergo Proxy’s OP. Really beautiful indeed.
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Lurkers are just as welcome as posters, but glad to hear from you nonetheless. 🙂
Xamd is one of those shows I’ve never gotten around to watching, but I do really like Boom Boom Satellites. I’ll have to check out that opening. Also, definitely agree that Ergo Proxy’s OP is really great too. I didn’t include it here only because the lead singer is actually British, despite Monorail being a Japanese band. English is one of his native languages, and therefore doesn’t technically qualify for this particular list, much as I do love that OP/
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Cool, didn’t know he was British, no wonder his pronunciation was so perfect 😉
And yeah, by all means, check out Xamd’s OP. It’s really good (I also liked the series quite a lot BTW. A bit similar to Last Exile but pretty unique and with fantastic visuals. Bones at its finest, really)
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The anime is probably not everyone’s thing, but I’m always a big fan of Asterisk’s ED “Waiting for the Rain”. Rasmus Faber is good xD
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I admit, I’ve never seen that one. I’ll definitely check out the ED now though!
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Oh my goodness, Message #9 is one of my favorite anime OP songs ever even though I never finished Gasaraki. I remember hearing that song from the trailer ages ago, and I was hooked. I liked the industrial beat mixed with the Noh chants in that song.
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Yes, it’s a really unique and striking mixture going on there.
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Very much so. It was a creative and dynamic song.
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