Anime Music (Part 2: Opening Themes/sequences)

For the second part of my series of posts on different types of music in anime, I will be going through some of my favorite opening themes from anime series and films. I will try and give a little bit more background on some of my choices for this list.
Rules for Opening theme definition.
1-If it music from a series, it must be used more than once as the opening music for it to count as an opening them. (ie, titles that do not have title sequences, but jump right into things without using the same music do not have an Opening theme)
2-The theme does not need to have lyrics.

On to the opening themes!

1)
Sailor Moon - "Moonlight Densetsu" (Dali performance)
Why I like it: Sailor Moon is what I consider to be my gateway into anime. I might have seen other titles before then, but stumbling on to Sailor Moon on TV some 12 or so years ago, I became interested. The story had more depth than I expected. While Dic made an English lyrics version of the song for the American release, the theme got me hooked, and when I finally heard the proper Japanese version, it was like hearing it for the first time all over again. This title sequence in particular catches my interest as it mixes the reality and the fantasy, and most importantly, shows one of the things I like most about the Sailor Moon story, the conflict between Usagi's destiny, and her desire to live a normal life.

2)
Captain Herlock The Endless Odyssey: Outside Legend - "The Endless Odyssey"
Why I like it: Another great vision of the Matsumoto Leiji character, Captain Herlock. This intro gives just the right feel for the epic seriousness of the titular character. It commands a respect and shows his motivation, but doesn't neglect his somewhat enigmatic nature as well.


3)
Otaku no Video - "Fight! Otaking!"
Why I like it: It's often said that we laugh the hardest when we laugh at ourselves. Gainax's two episode anime/mockumentary is a great example of this and it's opening theme is just the beginning of the hilarity.

4)
Cowboy Bebop the Movie (Knockin' on Heaven's door) - "Ask DNA"
Why I like it: It's a strangely addicting song, that gets stuck in your head unexpectedly. The sequence itself gives an interesting "passer by" perspective, bringing everything into perspective, that the characters are just a few people in a larger world.

5)
Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade - "Jin-Roh Main Theme (opening version)"
[No clip available]

6)
Re: Cutie Honey - "Cutie Honey"
Why I like it: One of the best examples of not forgetting a title's roots has to be in all incarnations of Cutie Honey anime. Every new form gets a new version of the original theme performed by Maekawa Yoko (which can be found here) Kumi Koda's latest version keeps an upbeat feel to the song, and the art style really hearkens back to a the feeling of the original Nagai artwork. Even more so, it's clear that the new opening sequence is meant to be reminiscent of the original, but at the same time, give a fresh feel.

8)
Getter Robo - "Getter Robo"
Why I like it: More Nagai, it's just wonderfully classic.

9)
Gasaraki - "Message # 9"
Why I like it: Gasaraki is a series that has sort of faded and stayed rather obscure, but it's not that bad all in all if you don't mind the sometimes heavy handed cultural feel that comes up from time to time. "Message # 9" is really good choice for the opening theme as it has the right amount of haunting feel to it that matches the tone of the series. One of the more enjoyable aspects is watching the visuals change slightly for each title sequence. (An interestig simultaneous set of 16 can be found here)


10)
Naruto - "Haruka Kanata"
Why I like it: Love it, loathe it, or just not care about it, Naruto has become one of the bigger names in anime. I can't consider myself a fan, but I don't detest alot of what I've seen. One of the reasons this opening is a favorite of mine is because I was introduced to this song (as well as other music by the artist) at least a month before I found it in Anime. Asian Kung Fu Generation makes me think of Karaoke in Ikebukuro after going to see some Sumo bouts first and anime second. That's not to discount the quality of the animation sequence for the song. Just through what is shown, a great amount of detail for relationships between characters of the show gets displayed, and some of the shots are downright amazing to look at. (The spinning around the different trios is one in particular that always stands out to me)

This is just a sample, there's tons of anime titles out there, therefore, a ton of opening themes, however, these are just a few that stand out to me.