Though the number isn’t terribly high, a lot of the time the translations are usually pretty good adaptations in my opinion. And the kids versions are, if not good, still very memorable. English openings have a bit of a special place in my heart. It took me a long time to really get into watching anime subs, so I’ve seen a good amount of openings translated. For this list we’re specifically looking at official English openings to rank the best-of-the-best. And without further ado, it’s time to catch ‘em all. Or at least find the very best like no other OPs ever were.
15. Digital Monsters
Watch On YouTube Anime: Digimon So this theme song is stuck in my brain a lot, and that’s the only reason why I’m putting it on this list. Otherwise it’s not a particularly creative one. But if you ever saw this anime even one time as a kid, it’s probably buried deep in your head too. It repeats “Digimon, Digital Monsters, Digimon are the Champions”, with very little else going on lyrics-wise… But my childhood memories of this show have me at least mentioning it here. And if you have gotten it out of your head, well… sorry that I put it back in there.
14. Gero Gero Po!
Watch On YouTube Anime: Yo-Kai Watch This intro is a really cute one. I only started watching Yo-Kai Watch a few months ago, and I’m admittedly not too far into it. But I really think the theme song, while cheesy, is very fun. That sentiment describes a lot of the songs on this list. But the fact that there’s not much nostalgia in this one means it actually earned its spot here! And listening to the Japanese version as well, they did a good job adapting a theme song very fitting for kids, without making it feel like it lost the energy of the original.
13. Sakura Kiss
Watch On YouTube Anime: Ouran Highschool Host Club So when I really started getting into anime, past the old stuff that they used to show on Toonami, I started my journey on Netflix. And this is one of the first shows that I ever got into. It set a bit of a precedent for me, as I actually expected that any show translated into English would also have an English opening… but I soon found out that wasn’t the case. This theme is another one that’s very faithful to the original. And honestly, it’s just a very sweet song to get you excited about the romcom-type shenanigans that happen in Ouran High.
12. Beyblade’s Theme
Watch On YouTube Anime: Beyblade Now here’s an opening that always got me excited to watch Beyblade when I was younger. And to this day, I still love the rocking guitar and hyper lyrics. Beyblade gets a lot of jokes thrown at it, considering it’s just tops, but faster. But the show, like many that were just advertisements for toys, knew just how to get you excited so you’d beg your parents for them to buy you one. It also has a very sweet little message about falling down and getting back up again, that for some reason always helped me when I was younger. I’m only putting the first opening on here for iconic purposes. But honestly, a lot of Beyblade’s many English openings are actually very catchy.
11. Sailor Moon Theme
Watch On YouTube Anime: Sailor Moon This is perhaps one of the most iconic English openings of all time, similar to how Sailor Moon itself is insanely well-known. And this theme makes itself well known for good reason: It gives an intro to our team of Sailor Scouts, and then does a good job giving a brief introduction to what the show’s about. It’s a show about a girl going to school during the day, and fighting evil at night. A formula that was definitely integral in setting the magical girl anime genre premise. Though the theme itself is very simple, it’s catchy, and it knows exactly how to stick in your head.
10. Let Me Hear!
Watch On YouTube Anime: Parasyte I promise that this will be the only time I cheat like this on this list… But Let Me Hear is such a good song, and the vocals were done incredibly well by a Japanese vocalist singing English. The synthesizing of the voice gives it an alien-like feeling and really sets the tone about this otherworldly horror that has set its sights on humanity. The energetic instrumentals also set such a tone that gets you ready for both the horror and action aspects of the show, that if I didn’t put this on the list, I’d feel like I cheated myself. It was a lose/lose situation, so I decided to lose in my favor instead!
9. Follow the Light
Watch On YouTube Anime: Konjiki no Gash Bell/Zatch Bell So I love just about every opening of Zatch Bell, either English or Japanese, although it’d be easier to say that I adore this show as a whole. But to narrow it down to my favorite of the English openings, I love Follow the Light so much. It represents the energy with the show the best. And on top of that, it has the best written lyrics and even calls back to the first English theme song. It’s everything I could ask for from the kid’s dubbing company, so thank you on my behalf.
8. Free Your Soul
Watch On YouTube Anime: Dragon Ball Z: Kai Joining Sailor Moon on the list of iconic theme songs, “Free Your Soul” is an absolute banger that gets me excited for a show that I have extremely mixed feelings on. The fact that I love this theme song is a testament to how infectious the positive energy is that the Dragon Ball franchise gives off. And even though I’m not the hugest fan of the series myself, it lives rent free in my head, and brings a smile to my face whenever I hear “Don’t stop, don’t stop, we’re in luck now!”
7. Gotta Go Fast
Watch On YouTube Anime: Sonic X Nowhere is safe from the all-encompassing being that is Sonic the Hedgehog. Anime is no exception. “Gotta Go Fast” is probably where the blue hedgehog’s phrase was most popularized to a lot of kids. The theme song was addictively catchy, and I hear my friends humming it constantly. Now if only I could get my friends to remember more lyrics than JUST gotta go fast, I’d probably like it even more… But friends singing the same lyrics over and over again aside, I really do love this song, and I like just how perfect a fit it is for one of my favorite gaming icons. Yes I’m a Sonic fan, please don’t make fun of me, I already suffer enough.
6. Shaman King Theme
Watch On YouTube Anime: Shaman King Here’s a very inspirational theme for a show that was translated to a kids audience – and Shaman King’s theme song asks you to look beyond the surface of the world. But it also talks about the burden of destiny of the main character himself. It just always fills me with a giddy feeling inside, and was actually the reason I started to watch Shaman King recently. Surprisingly, a kid’s opening was good enough that it actually got me to watch the original anime. That’s not something that has ever happened to me before, so I thought it worth mentioning.
5. Spider Riders Theme
Watch On YouTube Anime: Spider Riders So this theme song is actually a good rap, no joking at all. This theme song flows with the best of them, and even made me want to ride some spiders, even though I hate those demons. If a theme song lets me look past one of my biggest fears in real life, I think it deserves a mention here on this list. Besides, I just think the song is a jam to listen to. And it captures the intensity of an action series. It reminds me a bit of the Sonic Riders video game openings as well, funnily enough.
4. Hyperdrive
Watch On YouTube Anime: Yu-Gi-Oh 5D’s When most people think of Yu-Gi-Oh’s English opening, they usually think of the iconic “It’s time to d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-duel!” mantra. But honestly, that theme doesn’t have much going for it. Those are really its only lyrics. And otherwise it’s just a set of intense instrumentals that certainly don’t fail at making the show exciting, but also don’t bring anything really interesting to the table. Now Hyperdrive is actually a very beautiful song. It encapsulates the themes of the whole show: rebellion, freedom, and card games on goddamn motorcycles! All jokes aside, I actually really like this song, and implore you to take a listen if you’ve never watched past the original Yu-Gi-Oh series – which you also should do if you can. GX and 5Ds are great.
3. Smile Bomb
Watch On YouTube Anime: Yu Yu Hakusho What an amazing opening. This is one that some people who are sub purists will even listen to over the original. The singing of this theme is absolutely divine. And I just absolutely adore the soft vocals overlaying an intense action scene, plus there’s something about the contrast that just gets me excited to see some serious fights. Beyond the vocals though, the instrumentals make such a good use of guitar and bass to give it a perfect 90s feel.
2. We Are!
Watch On YouTube Anime: One Piece Ahh, my bias is showing again. It’s no secret to anyone who knows me, but I absolutely adore One Piece the world over again. I started watching One Piece in English, and my ears were treated with the absolute delight that is the Funimation openings. And “We Are!” is easily my favorite of them. Some of you may have expected to see the Pirate Rap on here. But while I do love that cheesy and goofy mess, this song is actually a very heartfelt rendition of the original Japanese theme. It really feels like the crew is asking you to come with them so you can sail off onto a grand adventure with a bunch of lovable idiots – and I’m always here for that.
1. The Pokémon Theme
Watch On YouTube Anime: Pokémon I can hear you asking “well if you love the One Piece opening so much, why is it not your number one?” And what could possibly topple such a masterpiece? To that, I’d say you already know why. Yes, it’s the first Pokémon theme song. Now I know you all may have your favorites from this franchise. I enjoy Battle Frontier and Diamond and Pearl’s openings a bunch too. But let’s be honest with ourselves: How could this not be number one? We’ve all had our passionate car rides, or been at parties where we’ve passionately sung this song with our friends with as much energy as we could. And if you haven’t done that, I highly suggest you get on it. But this theme song just gets you so excited to find some friends, catch ‘em all, and play some Pokémon.
