Talking about OP and ED of classic mecha/super robot anime (probably Pt. I)
Or, What am I doing? I should be working!
Being raised with (now probably suitably called ‘classic’) mecha anime, I learnt to love the soundtracks, the violent brass and string sections. Regarding their opening and ending theme/animation, the lyrics may now feel laughable (nanai pointed out Jeeg’s narcissistic lyrics that just make you roll on the floor, although words like Grandizer’s 守れ, 守れ, 守れ 人間 の 星、 みんな の 地球 may still feel as heroically romantic today as they did years ago). But the cinematic aspects of the animation - despite the then-technology - feel really cool somehow. Make you feel like you really want to get up and fight for Earth - or at least feel the rush in your heart. Feeling very brave.
And 20, 30 years haven’t reduced their beauty - and many remade versions of the classic mecha anime fail to radiate the same magnificence and coolness as their predecessors.
To fully realize the grandness of these opening/ending theme/animation, and how the music synchronizes with the animation, of course you have to watch them yourselves, and Youtube is a good place to look for them. For instance, try to find the openings of Voltes V and Go Shogun. I bet many Voltes V fans still cherish their memory of Heinel swinging his sword towards the screen in the opening.
Let’s start with one of the anime I love the most when I was a child, Toshi Gordian.
Um, wrong cap. Sorry. That's Daigo's butts.
The OP sequence opens up with Daigo’s turning his back on us in the distance. Suddenly a spotlight lights up, and the camera swirls, and wow! It turns out that Daigo is standing on a big stone being lifted by Gadeen! Mightiness! Crush them all, Gadeen!
Question is: wonder how Daigo turns in the air when he’s about to enter Protesser, the first robot? That’s a mystery.
Another of my favourite anime is Gaiking. The ED portrays the crew (that includes the captain and the Gaiking pilot) in their daily outfit/activity and that makes a fan like me go aaaahhhhhh. My favourite character is Pete, but I have to admit that this picture of Sakon is sex.
And if you watch Getter Robo, first you’ll be temporarily blinded by the sun, and then the three heads of the pilots appear, forming a circle. The first verse of the song begins with the fierce: GAN GAN GAN GAN! My heart always beats faster to hear that.
As for the ending, Getter Robo ending is classic, but my favourite scene can be found in Getter Robo G ending; it’s when the three pilots (now with Benkei replacing Musashi) look over their shoulders toward us. Totally fabulous.
While this one is from Mazinger Z: the robot appears from under a swimming pool. Don’t ask where the water goes. This makes me still believe that there’s a giant robot hidden underneath UI’s Rektorat Lake.
And this one is from the first Macross. The pilot (Hikaru) must have thrown up after doing the jump, but hell, it’s cool XD Macross’ OP is one of the best I’ve ever watched - all that VFs flying and fighting.
Like I have mentioned previously, many of the remake versions of such films as these are total fail. arisuesei has complained about Babirunisei remake - even the OP/ED of the remake are a farcry from the classic version. I remember the ending more than the opening, and this scene is strongly embedded in my mind:
PS. I hope putting Babiru Nisei here is still acceptable.
I really like Danguard Ace’s ED, especially this scene. What's his name again? Doppler?
While this one is from Ginga Shippu Sasuraiger OP - in Indonesia was released as ‘Wonder Six’. It starts with a red light moving on the right of the scene, with planets, stars, and space as the background. The light moves even quicker, disappears for a while, and suddenly a train hits us on the face! The four main characters (yes, there are four instead of six, actually - the two others are stowaways aboard the space train) then appears one by one. Rock then shoots at the screen, ‘breaking the glass’ into pieces.
I am sorry to say that my most vivid memory about this anime is when Blues flipped a coin - or something like that - and it slipped into the cleavage of a woman’s breast. Hum hum you naughty megane.
So, what about your childhood anime memories?
Being raised with (now probably suitably called ‘classic’) mecha anime, I learnt to love the soundtracks, the violent brass and string sections. Regarding their opening and ending theme/animation, the lyrics may now feel laughable (nanai pointed out Jeeg’s narcissistic lyrics that just make you roll on the floor, although words like Grandizer’s 守れ, 守れ, 守れ 人間 の 星、 みんな の 地球 may still feel as heroically romantic today as they did years ago). But the cinematic aspects of the animation - despite the then-technology - feel really cool somehow. Make you feel like you really want to get up and fight for Earth - or at least feel the rush in your heart. Feeling very brave.
And 20, 30 years haven’t reduced their beauty - and many remade versions of the classic mecha anime fail to radiate the same magnificence and coolness as their predecessors.
To fully realize the grandness of these opening/ending theme/animation, and how the music synchronizes with the animation, of course you have to watch them yourselves, and Youtube is a good place to look for them. For instance, try to find the openings of Voltes V and Go Shogun. I bet many Voltes V fans still cherish their memory of Heinel swinging his sword towards the screen in the opening.
Let’s start with one of the anime I love the most when I was a child, Toshi Gordian.
Um, wrong cap. Sorry. That's Daigo's butts.
The OP sequence opens up with Daigo’s turning his back on us in the distance. Suddenly a spotlight lights up, and the camera swirls, and wow! It turns out that Daigo is standing on a big stone being lifted by Gadeen! Mightiness! Crush them all, Gadeen!
Question is: wonder how Daigo turns in the air when he’s about to enter Protesser, the first robot? That’s a mystery.
Another of my favourite anime is Gaiking. The ED portrays the crew (that includes the captain and the Gaiking pilot) in their daily outfit/activity and that makes a fan like me go aaaahhhhhh. My favourite character is Pete, but I have to admit that this picture of Sakon is sex.
And if you watch Getter Robo, first you’ll be temporarily blinded by the sun, and then the three heads of the pilots appear, forming a circle. The first verse of the song begins with the fierce: GAN GAN GAN GAN! My heart always beats faster to hear that.
As for the ending, Getter Robo ending is classic, but my favourite scene can be found in Getter Robo G ending; it’s when the three pilots (now with Benkei replacing Musashi) look over their shoulders toward us. Totally fabulous.
While this one is from Mazinger Z: the robot appears from under a swimming pool. Don’t ask where the water goes. This makes me still believe that there’s a giant robot hidden underneath UI’s Rektorat Lake.
And this one is from the first Macross. The pilot (Hikaru) must have thrown up after doing the jump, but hell, it’s cool XD Macross’ OP is one of the best I’ve ever watched - all that VFs flying and fighting.
Like I have mentioned previously, many of the remake versions of such films as these are total fail. arisuesei has complained about Babirunisei remake - even the OP/ED of the remake are a farcry from the classic version. I remember the ending more than the opening, and this scene is strongly embedded in my mind:
PS. I hope putting Babiru Nisei here is still acceptable.
I really like Danguard Ace’s ED, especially this scene. What's his name again? Doppler?
While this one is from Ginga Shippu Sasuraiger OP - in Indonesia was released as ‘Wonder Six’. It starts with a red light moving on the right of the scene, with planets, stars, and space as the background. The light moves even quicker, disappears for a while, and suddenly a train hits us on the face! The four main characters (yes, there are four instead of six, actually - the two others are stowaways aboard the space train) then appears one by one. Rock then shoots at the screen, ‘breaking the glass’ into pieces.
I am sorry to say that my most vivid memory about this anime is when Blues flipped a coin - or something like that - and it slipped into the cleavage of a woman’s breast. Hum hum you naughty megane.
So, what about your childhood anime memories?