Anime Anime Global

November 3 is “Culture Day” and “Record Day”.

Culture Day is a national holiday that was established in 1948, and Record Day is an anniversary that was established by the Recording Industry Association of Japan in 1957.

There is a genre called a “denpa song” among anime songs. The definition of a “denpa song” varies: the song that is so addictive that it is stuck in your head once you listen to it, the lyrics are impressively surreal, the melody is too crazy, the accompanying footage looks bright in vivid colors, and more.

Therefore, Anime!Anime! conducted a reader survey titled “Speaking of an opening & ending ‘denpa song’ that is stuck in your head?”. During the survey period from October 22 – 29, a total of 101 responses were received. For the gender ratio, the females were the majority with about 65% while the males were about 35%. For the age distribution, we received the majority of responses from the young readers: about 45% were from teens, and 25% were from people in their 20s.

■There are a lot of varieties for “denpa songs”!

The most voted songs were “Take It! Sailor Uniform”, the opening theme song of “Lucky☆Star” and “Chikatto Chika Chika”, the ending theme song of Ep.3 of “Kaguya-sama: Love Is WarKaguya-sama: Love Is War”.

“Take It! Sailor Uniform” is popular for its up-tempo lyrics and opening anime. The comments received include, “I have no idea what the lyrics mean, but it’s stuck in my head! The characters’ loose dancing and cheer girl costumes are cute and impressive.”

“Chikatto Chika” was inserted as a special ending song. The song is packed with the charms of the main character Fujiwara Chika. The comments received include, “Secretary Fujiwara’s singing voice and dancing were so cute that I watched the footage over and over again” and “Including the smooth dancing footage, Chika’s charms as a denpa character were overflowing in this ending. It was pretty impressive.”

1st place was shared between the theme songs, in which you can enjoy wonderful dancing anime as well as the song itself.

In this survey, songs that have a sense of speed have won many votes.

“Ganbare! Kumoko-san no Theme” – Ending Theme of “So I’m a Spider, So What?”
“This is sung by Yuki Aoi-san, who plays the role of the protagonist Kumoko. As it contains superfast rate of rap and enka, opera, and idol-style phrases in the middle, it is very hard to sing, but it is enjoyable.”

“Super Ultra Hyper Miracle Romantic” – Ending Theme of “VALKYRIE DRIVE -MERMAID-”
“The sequential ‘Zukkyun’ of the hook is very satisfying, which contributes to the perfection level as a denpa song.”

“Maware! Setsugetsuka” – Ending Theme of “Unbreakable Machine-Doll”
“You can see the voice actress being earnest in the hook, which contains the sequence of ‘Maware!’ in a very fast tempo.”
“The lyrics with Japanese four-character idioms lining up are unique.”

“Umapyoi Densetsu” – Ending Theme of Ep. 13 “Uma Musume Pretty Derby”
“This song was produced in response to a request of a denpa song. It was performed in a music program, so I suppose its popularity is relatively high.” The song that received a lot of attention this year has also ranked in.

Moreover, songs with unique world settings drew attention as well.

“Seishun Oden” – Ending Theme of “Inazuma Eleven”
“The lyrics liken the feeling of girls in love to oden, which were funny and striking.”

“Mousou Express” – Opening Theme of “Otorimonogatari”
“The entire lyrics show Nadeko-chan’s degree of yandere*. The title of hiragana and chilly feeling when I first listened to it are still standing out in my memory.”
*Yandere: The state of being sick as the person loves someone too much to the point the person is potentially dangerous.

“Odoru Akachan Ningen” – Ending Theme of “Welcome to the N.H.K.”
“The intense lyrics were written by Otsuki Kenji, portraying the sorrow of losers. It would create a lively atmosphere if you sing it with your friend in a self-deprecating manner.”

A wide variety of theme songs have been voted.

*This survey is intended to research the readers’ “interest in anime and characters today”. It is not intended to discuss the relative merits of each character nor work. I would be glad if this article can help you develop an understanding and interest in anime and characters.