The best animated shows original soundtracks

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Rank the best original soundtracks or would be original soundtracks for animated shows? Shows that had the best original songs.

So I am not talking about music scores, if I was, a show like Ducktales would count, that had awesome scores. Nor songs that weren't made for the animated show, songs that permered shortly there after its release on animated show, like a lot of animes that counts. So unless it is because of its original songs or covers, a show like Family Guy wouldn't count either.

Here is my top 10 list:

1) Eureka Seven - I loved almost all of the songs, my favorites being "Days" by Flow, "Shounen Heart" by Home Made Kazozku, "Fly Away" by Izawa Asama, "Tips Taps Tips" Halcali.

2) Gurren Lagann - I don't know the name of the song, but the opening theme was great, as was the first closing.

3) Code Geass: Leloush Of The Rebellion - ever song by Flow was great, as was "Callin" by Mikio Sakai

4) Digimon Tamers - the songs "My Tommorow" by Ai Maeda also known as Aim, and "One Vision" by Takayoshi Tanimoto really made it equally fun show to listen to show as it is to watch.

5) Digimon Adventures - Great songs all around, but the highlights are "I Wish" by Ai Maeda also known as Aim, and "Brave Heart" by Ayumi Miyazaki.

6) Josie And The Pussycats - one thing the cartoon show had over Scooby Doo Where Are You!! in my opinion, is their songs were just a tad better. I love the songs "Road Runner" and "Inside Outside Upside Down".

7) Jem - basicly ever song in the first half of the series, at least the songs done by the two main bands. Favorites of my are "Twilight In Paris", "I've Got My Eye On You" by Jem And The Holograms, "Gimmie Gimmie", "You Ought To See The View From Here" by the Misfits (not to be confused with a real life band called the Misfits)

8) Bleach - I don't know the songs, I love almost all of the openings, and most of the closings. I especially love "Astirisk" by Orange Range, "Thank You" by Home Made Kazozuki, and "One Flower" by High And Mighty Color. As well as one of the fight songs, the guitar riff one.

9) Scooby Doo Where Are You!! - they had some excellent songs too. Just because I said, it is not as good as Josie And The Pussycats song, they are still great non the less. One favorite is "Seven Days A Week." by someone whose name I don't know.

10) Magilla Gorilla - Only one song, but they made it count. "Makin With The Magilla" by Little Eva is one of my all time favorite songs.
 
Most of all the DB/Z/GT ones. Dan Dan, We got Power, Cha-La-head-cha-la. And yes, some tracks that FUNi dub in some of the DBZ movies. Movie 8 is a perfect example.
One Piece is nice with “Happy-go-lucky” soundtracks.
Sonic X got some good music.
and Lupin III soundtracks rule too.
 
I'd say my favourite animation soundtracks are...
the Raccoons, for both the folk-pop music of the early specials and the 80's pop songs from the series itself. Actually, my favourite music from the series was the instrumental background music, but that's not really talked about as much. That intro theme song is so great. Hearing it always makes me nostalgic.

Lupin III
Yuji Ohno's work on the series throughout the last 30 years has been amazing, although the overly synthesized soundtracks to the mid-90's specials weren't quite up to par in my opinion. Recently he's stripped down to a smaller jazz ensemble though, with pretty good results. Overall though, nothing can top his original work for the red jacket series. That 70's funk-jazz-disco music is some of my favourite music, ever (actually, I could say the same about all three of these shows).

Urusei Yatsura
It was apparently one of the first Japanese shows to use some background music that was completely electronic, and surprisingly the electronic and traditional cues blended together well, despite being composed by two different people. All the music from this show, including the vocal songs, is fun and enjoyable, although some people might find it a little too bouncy and silly at times. Those people probably wouldn't be watching this show anyway though, so...

Cowboy Bebop's music is also incredible, but I don't really know enough about it, or remember enough of it, to say anything at the moment other than that 'Tank!' is one of the best theme songs for any show. I really have to re-watch that show soon.
 
The opening and closing themes for the Japanese version of "Pok?mon" are among some of my favorite songs ever in the annals of animation history. It could just be that for years, I was exposed to the god-awful original music of 4Kids, so anything that isn't "2 B A Master"-quality is welcomed with open arms. But that still doesn't subtract from the fact that these songs are great. Some of my personal "perfect best":

- "Aim to Be a Pok?mon Master". This was the original opening theme, and it still remains one of the best. Sure, the instrumentation's a little cheesy, but it's still a huge nostalgia bomb. I admit, I also like the Whiteberry version from the Jouto era. "Sorya sou ja!"
- "Pok?mon Ondo". For a fan like myself who eschews everything American about the "Pok?mon" anime in favor of its original Japanese counterpart, this is absolute heaven, because you know it's something that 4Kids would never be able to mangle. Dogasu and Arbo singing always makes me smile.
- "OK". This was the third opening theme, and the first of the Jouto era. And every time I hear it, I immediately forget that Jouto was overstuffed with boring fillers and minimal character development - if this song doesn't get you ramped up for an adventure, something's wrong with you.
- "Nyasu's Party". Some people don't like Nyasu's voice, but I think it's hilarious. This one's even funnier with its visual accompaniment, though.
- "Takeshi's Paradise". Yeah, it's goofy, but it's still better than "Two Perfect Girls", I'll give you that much for free. I can't help but like Takeshi every time I hear this one. I know he'll never impress a woman, but darn it, it's fun to watch him try.
- "Face Forward Rocket-dan". This wasn't the first song that Musashi and Kojirou got to themselves, but it's definitely one of their best. It helps that this is the first one that Sonansu was around for, so you've got him throwing in during the bridge. "S-s-s-sooOOOONANSU!"
- "Ready Go". The third Jouto opening, the fifth overall, and the one that I feel most accurately conveys the sense of adventure and excitement that this show often goes for. Ironic that it debuted with the ultra-boring Rafflesia vs. Kereihana filler.
- "Pokettari Monsutari". Oh my God, this is cute! Seriously, they must have done tests to find the Japanese singer with the cutest possible voice to sing this. And the visuals are hilarious - if you're ever in a foul mood, watching Inomu try to dance will pick you right up.
- "Because the Sky is There". Okay, on a serious note, this is probably - no, this is definitely the most beautiful song I have ever heard in my life. Swear to God, every time I hear it, I get misty-eyed. And the visuals of Satoshi and Pikachu on the hillside with the dandelion spores drifting all around...absolutely perfect.
- "Polka O Dolka". Well, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention this: my favorite Pok?mon song ever. Once again, you've got Nyasu singing, which is always golden, but then you've got the screwball twangy instrumentation, the snappy Japanese wordplay ("Norukasoruka polka odoru ka?"; rough translation, "Win or lose, will you dance the polka?"), and the association with "Odoru Pok?mon Himitsu Kitchi", the absolute funniest Pikachu short ever made (God, that Runpapa makes me laugh). Only thing left for me to do is learn that dance!
 
This is kind of funny, I love the 4kids soundtracks off from Pokemon. Yea, “2 be a Master” wasn't that good, but the Frist Opening is pretty decent (Which I love!!). And the third opening was ok.

Personally, 4kids done a decent job with Pokemon in the the first 3 seasons.
 
I guess Phineas and Ferb's soundtrack...? Some of them can be a little catchy. xP

And WITCH's too.

EDIT: And I also love Ouran's English opening. But I don't know if it's original. :/ (Haven't heard the Japanese)
 
Oh, come on J.B! Some of the songs, like the Pokerap, were hilariously awesome. You can't deny that. :p

Anywho, while I could go on about soundtracks in a lot of cartoons, I want to give a shoutout to the Japanese version of "Sailor Moon" (yeah, big shocker). I'm not sure it's because DiC's cues were god-awful (IMO), or that I listen to a lot of classical-eqse, Jazz, and other kinds of music (coughLooneyTunescough), but mark my words, the soundtrack is wonderfully bliss. Not only do I love the soundtrack for its wide variety, the way it slowly matured itself, and making memorable beats and whatnot, I can't tell a lie, there's some great songs on the show. So, following J.B. footsteps, here's just a sample (10) of some of my favorites (some are openings, some are closings, some are imagine songs. Get ready, it's a doozy):

-"Moonlight Densetu". The theme song for the first four sagas, and it stayed that way for a reason. Yeah, I admit, the lyrics doesn't match the openings/show that well, but come on, you gotta love the melody and singing of it. But IMO, DALI's version was better. I think it's because I prefer the instruments and voices in their version, I'll have to check one day.
-"Ai no Senshi". Not only do I love the way it was used in episode 68, I love the fast pace of the song and those brief instrument pieces. And the fact this whole song is dominated by synthesizers shows one out of the many reasons on how you use synthesizers right.
-"Route Venus". Possibly the best Minako imagine song. Not only is this a fun upbeat song, I feel this song protracted her character much more than the other two. Helps that this one doesn't take itself so seriously, which is why it's so fun to listen to.
-"Moon Revenge". The moment this song played in the R movie when I saw it the first time, I never looked at the dub the same way again. Not only do I love the melody and the way it sung, I just love on how the song was synchronize with the movie, both visually and vocally. Seriously, that song beats "The Power of Love" any day in the week if you ask me.
-"Tuxedo Mirage". You know, if there's one thing Sailor Moon was great at, it was the emotional songs. I mean, the vusuals are good and all, but the singing of this song is wonderful. I get goosebumps every time. But, I say it's tied with...
-"Watashi-tachi Ni Naritakute". My lord, this is one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard in an anime. Seriously, I REALLY get goosebumps whenever I hear this. It's so good, the song playing in episode 158 and 159 is probably one of the best moments in SuperS.
-"Sailor Team no Theme". If there is one song that always pump me up for no reason in this show, it's mostly this one. If this song doesn't pump you up, you're not a fan of rock. Go home.
-"Golden Queen Galaxia". Wow, Mitsuko Horie sure can sing! Not only does the singing is really powerful and grabs you attention, I love the piano solo in the middle in the song. Also, I wish someone made an animated music video for this song. It's open itself to the visual medium really well.
-"Bai Bai tte Itta". Yeah yeah, I know Chibiusa sang this, and this is really a kid friendly song, but consorn it, I love how upbeat the whole song is. Besides, who knew an ukulele, a synthesizer, and a violin go together so well?
-"Kaze Mo Sora Mo Kitto". Like I said, this show was great at emotional songs. For this one, it was really the melody and the general calmness of it all. And I don't know about you, but I think it worked with a Usagi jigsaw puzzle pretty well.

Now, I could go on and on (I don't have an definite favorite song), but I think I said too much. So yeah, if you got a few hours, look up the soundtrack. You won't regret it.
 
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