Saria’s bit on OPs and EDs got me thinking about the subject. Or perhaps it’s the fact most of this season’s new OP and ED singles hit store shelves this past week. So much music to listen to. Wow.

Anyway, it occurs to me that I have a tendency to judge OP and ED themes separate from the shows they represent. That is, if I dig a song, it’s because I actually dig the song itself. The merits of the show are of little consequence. The end result is that many of my favorite OP and ED themes come from shows I wouldn’t list as favorites - or, in some cases, shows I have zero interest watching in the first place. Good music is good music.

As for the music itself, I find ED themes see more action in my playlist than OP themes. My problem with most OP themes, I think, is this: they don’t work very well out of context. More often than not, the more GET TO BURNING a theme is in TV-bite-size pieces, the more inane it sounds on its own. There’s a certain style of arrangement typical of OP themes that doesn’t work well when expanded to create a full song. From a musical standpoint, they’re often disappointments.

ED themes, on the other hand, tend to have a little more going for them musically. And, because there’s often less need to pair the music so closely to the animation, they tend to make more sense musically. They sound like real songs as opposed to… well, cartoon theme songs. The same could be said for the “B-sides” typically found on OP and ED singles. Often, I enjoy those songs more than the headliners.

In fact, the song I can’t get enough of at the moment is Ishikawa Chiaki’s “House”, the B-side on the Simoun OP single - a show I’m not even watching. Like I said, good music is good music.

And, for the record, “You Get to Burning” isn’t just good music… it’s the BEST MUSIC EVAR.