How To Decide Which Genre To Watch For Japanese Learning
After reading about each of these genres, you might have an idea of which genre youd like to learn from. If you do, thats perfect, go for it. If not, heres my quick rundown on genres and Japanese learning level.
For all:;RomanceFor beginners : ActionFor intermediate : Comedy/Slice-of-life, Drama/TragedyFor advanced : Psychological, History Not recommended: Mecha/Military, Supernatural/Magic
Personally speaking, I think romance is the best genre to study from, more specifically when the characters are high school or older. ;The realistic setting of an anime gives more reality to the dialogue used, which means more application in real life.
Another point to note is that animes with characters that are college students or older with at least an equivalent amount of intelligence tend to speak very natural Japanese in daily conversation. Keeping these ideas in mind, searching for anime with these attributes will most likely help you the most in learning Japanese from anime.
A Short History Of Anime Music
We look back at the history of anime songs through five timeless hits
Music and Japanese anime;have always been intertwined. The intro and end credits are always accompanied by a song usually one that embodies the show or films worldview. In the 60s anime developed into a musical genre in its own right, evolving into what is now one of the most popular types of Japanese music out there. If youre new to the joys of anime and dont know where to start, fear not weve picked out the five tracks that define this most joyous of genres.
Top 100 Anime By Genre
crimson_tigerRefine
- Instant Watch Options
PG|24 min|Animation, Comedy, Fantasy
PG|24 min|Animation, Action, Adventure
The adventures of a young wandering swordsman who stumbles upon a struggling martial arts school in Meiji era Japan.
14A|24 min|Animation, Action, Drama
Seven chosen mages and their summoned heroic spirits fight against each other to try and win the Holy Grail: a magical device that can grant any wish.
14A|24 min|Animation, Crime, Drama
An intelligent high school student goes on a secret crusade to eliminate criminals from the world after discovering a notebook capable of killing anyone whose name is written into it.
You May Like: How To Color Anime Eyes With Markers
What Does Otacore Sound Like
Otacore sounds like pop and electronic music that would commonly be associated with the anime scene. It is quite a loose genre as it encompasses an area of interest rather than a very specific musical style.
Check out this Otacore spotify playlist for some examples. As you will hear right away, the music is much more diverse than what you would expect from a style such as Nightcore !
Japanese Anime & Manga Genres
We all know what fantasy, sci-fi, horror, and thriller mean. But anime and manga go beyond that, and there are all kinds of Japanese genre names that might perplex you.
Maybe you already understand what shonen and shoujo are all about. But what about isekai? What exactly does slice of life entail? Whats the difference between ecchi and hentai? Weve broken it down for you!
Understanding the Japanese genre names can be helpful when you want to find more anime to watch and manga to read. and pin it on your wall so you always have a handy reference at hand:
Popular Topics
Recommended Reading: Shows Like How Not To Summon A Demon Lord
How Anime Has Helped Japanese Music Go Global
Header image credit:;
Anime isnt just a style of animationits a rich and exciting world of storytelling. A futuristic city where humans clash with titans, the adventures of a teen wizard anime can mean action, fantasy, supernatural, comedy, or romance, but its far more sophisticated than Saturday morning cartoons.
Anime fans know that music plays a major role in heightening the drama. While the vast sonic landscape of anime music is no secret in Japan, its now traveling faster than ever to millions of new fans globallyand as streaming numbers prove, theyre just as obsessed. As a result, the adults and teens who love anime are now discovering more about Japanese music and culture as a whole.
Today, J-Pop and J-Rock are now popular genres around the world. Thanks to the international explosion of anime, a song like Red Swan, the sweeping opening theme of;Attack on Titan;season three, finds an audience far beyond Japan. The cinematic rock ballad was created by composer, pianist, and rock drummer;YOSHIKI, leader of the world-famous rock band;X Japan, and;HYDE, vocalist of legendary rockers;LArc~en~Ciel.
When I first heard that the producer and director of;Attack on Titan;might be interested in having me as a composer for the opening theme song, I said Whoa, this is such an honor, YOSHIKI told us. Its one of my favorite series.
Brief Overview Of Japanese Music
Japan is the Second Largest Music Market in the WorldJapan is the largest physical music market in the world, with 2 billion dollars, and the second largest overall music market include online market, with 2.6 billion dollars as of 2014. Japan has variety of music genres include J-pop, J-rock, J-hip hop, Japanese reggae, Japanese Jazz, Japanoise, Anime Music, Game music, Traditional Minyo, Traditional Wadaiko, Traditional Kagura, Traditional Dengaku, Traditional Gagaku and so on. As Japan is the inventor of Karaoke, you can find Karaoke everywhere in Japan, and you can enjoy and sing almost all the Japanese music in Karaoke.ORICON announces the most influential music ranking in Japan as with the billboard in U.S.A.
Don’t Miss: Anime Quizzes Buzzfeed
Examples Of Sports Anime Includes:
- Haikyuu!!
Question: What anime genre does “Fairy Tail” fall into?
Answer: It’s part of the shounen, action, magic, and comedy genres.
Question: Does One Punch Man belong in the fighting anime genre?
Answer: It sure does belong in the “action” genre.
Question: In what category does Citrus belong?
Answer: Citrus belongs in the drama, romance, school, and shoujo ai genres.
Question: What category does Deadman Wonderland fall into?
Answer: It is the same as Tokyo Ghoul–horror, action, and psychological.
Question: Does Attack of Titan belong to supernatural or horror genre?
Answer: I’d say both.
Question: What category does ” The Irregular at Magic Highschool” fall under?
Answer: It falls under the magic, school, supernatural, and action genres.
Question: Do Naruto and Naruto Shippuden fall into the superpower and magic genres?
Answer: If you consider the overpowered ninja techniques showcased throughout the show , then yes, this anime can be classified as a superpower anime. I have reservations when it comes to classifying it as part of the magic genre, but if you consider ninjutsu and genjutsu as magic, then there’s your answer.
Question: What category does Tokyo Ghoul fall into?
Answer: Believe it or not, it’s a member of the horror genre. It also falls under the action, supernatural, and psychological genres.
Top Music Anime With Awesome Songs And Beautiful Stories
The best music anime certainly tends to feature an amazing soundtrack to compliment the action of the show. But oftentimes what drives the story forward and keeps viewers intrigued is the drama behind the music; the motivation, struggle, romance, and friendship between characters are vital components to what are often very emotionally charged narratives. Here are 15 of the best music anime for lovers of music, and a good story.
Recommended Reading: What Type Of Anime Character Are You Buzzfeed
A Tv Station In Japan Has Ranked The 30 Best Anime Songs Of All Time
Listen to openers from 10 cult classics out of Japan
- Olivia Wycech
- 9 September 2020
Welcome to Japan, the manga capital of the world. Also a subculture that the rest of the world so desperately wants to understand and be a part of, yet is criminally underrated outside of Japan. Despite our best attempts, well probably never fully grasp the significance of Japanese anime to the country’s culture as a whole, but we can try and we can certainly enjoy the music.
TV Asahi Network, one of Japans largest television networks, has put together a list of what it considers to be the best anime songs of all time. The list is called Animation Songs General Election and ranks 30 of the most popular tunes. The list was compiled through votes collected from over 130,000 anime fans.
Assuming the title of the best anime song of all time is A Cruel Angels Thesis from Neon Genesis Evangelion . Originally sung by Yoko Takahashi, the song was released in 1995 as the theme song to the hit anime which have now both achieved cult-status.
Gurenge comes in second and is the theme song to one of the most popular animes currently Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba.
Check out the first 10 songs from the full list below, and pay special attention to the view count, many of which crush You Tube plays from some of the biggest western artists.
Music In Anime: Carole & Tuesdays Genre
I love music. I grew up playing piano and guitar from age 10, and since then Ive played in tons of different bands and recorded some music of my own. I also love anime, and I especially love all the amazing music in thats in some of my favorite anime. Theres so many great shows out there with amazing original soundtracks I could write about, but today I wanted to write about a fairly recent one that blew me away in 2019. Carole & Tuesday, a sci-fi music show by Cowboy Bebop auteur Shinichiro Watanabe, is a show about two plucky young female musicians and how music can transcend any worldly boundaries. And every song on it is amazing and in English, so I can actually sing along to them!
Bebop
Set on a futuristic Mars that feels closer to our own modern society, Carole & Tuesday is the story of a poor refugee and a runaway politicians daughter who become friends over their shared love of music and start a band together. They have their work cut out for them, though, because they are the only musicians who still write their own songs everyone else performs music written entirely by AI. Its a clear metaphor to the struggles indie musicians face today competing with the corporate machine. And as a fan of acoustic coffee house singer-songwriters, the girls wholesome blend of folk, pop, and R&B is 100% my thing. The first song that they play for the show is The Loneliest Girl, a gorgeous piano ballad that will make any Regina Spektor fan tear up:
Also Check: How To Draw Hot Anime Guys
Anime Subgenres And Settings
These are the more specific categories of anime. Some of these subgenres are unique as they can describe a type of narrative that is essentially exclusive to anime or at least more prevalent in that medium. These subgenres cover a wide variety of themes and settings that can apply to the wider spectrum of major genres. For example, there can be multiple anime with a school setting that range from comedy to horror.
What Is The Connection Between Lo
We can nowadays see Japanese and Anime influences all over the lo-fi music. For instance, if you search for lo-fi hip-hop music on YouTube, you will find anime type thumbnails. Mostly they are hand-sketched cartoons. Else, the characters are taken from some famous characters of classic animes like Samurai Champloo and Cowboy Bebo.
Chilled cow channel has Study Girl, an artwork done by Macharo. Everyone was wondering who the Lofi girl was? It even seems as if the Study girl is stuck inside the eternal cycle of writing.
However, the influence is taken from a global point of view. It can be the aesthetics of lo-fi music that matches best with anime thumbnails.
Samurai Champloo & lo-fi music
Samurai Champloo is a classic popular anime that features the legendary work of jazz hop musician -late Nujabes. This anime mixes old-fashioned Japan with western hip-hop music and the song beautifully fits this anime. The popularity of this song rose and people fell in love with his work. So, eventually, other producers were inspired to create such beats. We can say that Nujabes is one of the triggers of the lo-fi genre reinvention.
Likewise, we can assume that anime thumbnails try to recreate feelings and sounds of nostalgia. Thus, Japanese images convey those feelings at their best.
Recommended Reading: How To Draw Anime On The Computer Using Paint
S: The Birth Of Anime Song Culture
‘Atom March’ from ‘Astro Boy’ by Kamitakada Boys’ Choir
Anime songs exploded into the public consciousness with the emergence of Tetsuwan Atom, Japans first full-scale animated TV series, known internationally as Astro Boy. Atom March, its opening theme, features lyrics written by poet and perennial Nobel Prize for Literature contender Shuntaro Tanikawa.;
What Was The Origin Of Lo
Lo-fi was first used commonly in the 1950s. The decade was an era of creation where young musicians were inspired to record their music. This was when tape skips and classic distortions came into existence.
During the 60s, The Beach Boys used the Lo-fi sound in-home equipment. Therefore, during the 80s lo-fi were no longer low-quality sound. It had emerged as a culture of DIY indie rock bands. With the growing popularity of hip-hop, different young people were using modern types of equipment for creating nostalgic sounds.
You May Like: How To Draw Small Anime Eyes
Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad
Beck is about a group of high school friends who start a band together, and it actually starts to take off. They end up touring in America, but things fall apart between them in the end, with life getting in the way of their dreams.
But Koyuki, a guitarist with Beck, finds life dull without the band, and he goes out to see if he can get Beck back together, wanting to feel the energy and excitement of making music together once again.
Latin Reggae And Ska Music
When the first electronic games were sold, they had rudimentary sound chips with which to produce music. As the technology advanced, quality increased dramatically. The first game to take credit for its music was Xevious, also noteworthy for its deeply constructed stories. One of the most important games in the history of the video game music is Dragon Quest. Koichi Sugiyama, who composed for various anime and TV shows, including Cyborg 009 and a feature film of Godzilla vs. Biollante, got involved in the project out of curiosity and proved that games can have serious soundtracks. Until his involvement, music and sounds were often neglected in the development of video games and programmers with little musical knowledge were forced to write the soundtracks as well. Undaunted by technological limits, Sugiyama worked with only 8-part polyphony to create a soundtrack that would not tire the player despite hours of gameplay.
The techno/trance music production group I’ve Sound wrote themes for eroge computer games, and then broke into the anime scene. This group was able to find fans in other parts of the world through their eroge and anime themes.
You May Like: How To Draw Hot Anime Guys
Biwa Hshi Heike Biwa And Goze
The biwa , a form of short-necked lute, was played by a group of itinerant performers . The root of Biwa music was The Tale of the Heike. Biwa hshi organized into a guild-like association. The biwa is Japan’s traditional instrument.
Lafcadio Hearn related in his book Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things “Mimi-nashi Hoichi” , a Japanese ghost story about a blind biwa hshi who performs “The Tale of the Heike“.
Blind women, known as goze , toured beginning in the medieval era, sang and played accompanying music on a lap drum. From the seventeenth century they often played the koto or the shamisen. Goze organizations sprung up in many places, and existed until the 21st century in Niigata Prefecture.
S: The Internet Age And The Voice Actor Boom
‘Hare Hare Yukai’ from ‘The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya’ by Haruhi Suzumiya, Yuki Nagato and Mikuru Asahina
The success of Hare hare yukai, the ending theme to the first season of late-night schoolgirl adventure series The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, established a new style of anime song in which characters from the show sing and dance to the theme. Consequently, a select few stars led by Nana Mizuki began to blur the boundaries between voice acting and musical stardom.
Read Also: What Does Anime Mean In English
Love Live School Idol Project
- Episodes: 13
- Aired: Jan 2013 – Mar 2013
As you might already noticed from the title, this anime is some sort of School Idol thing, and its not just about the idols that made this anime popular amongst the other musical genre themed anime, its also about the journey and overall character development of each individual that boosts the appeal. Having great music piece from the anime was just a mere bonus.
Kousaka Honoka is a student of the Otonokizaka High School which was inconveniently located at the border of three major cities, causing it to lose popularity, and ultimately making the school under threat of shutting down due to lack of students enrolling. Being enthusiastic of saving the school, Kousaka came up with the idea of creating a school idol that might help gain popularity of the school itself. But will her plan be successful? Find out more in Love Live! School Idol Project!
Introducing Lisa The Queen Of Anime Themes
As the popularity of Japanese animation begins to build even more abroad, the popularity of Japanese music does as well. International audiences have been familiar with Japanese anime for a long time with titles such as Sailor Moon, Speedracer, Dragon Ball Z, etc dominating our childrens networks. As streaming services such as Crunchyroll, Funimation, Netflix, and more make anime more accessible to us, the more open to Japanese music we are. The curiosity in opening ourselves up to more can be daunting, however, who would you consider to be dominating the openers we love?
At The Honey Pop, we want to introduce you to LiSA, who is deemed the queen of anime themes to anime fans around the world. Even if youre not an anime fan, LiSA is an artist you dont want to miss out on.
MEET LiSA
Image Source: LiSA via Twitter
LiSA had her solo debut mini-album released in 2011 and was called;Letters To U;by Aniplex under Sony Music Artists. Her success with her music in;Angel Beats!;opened up plenty of doors for her. Shortly after her solo debut, LiSA released Oath Sign which was used for the 2011 anime television series;Fate/Zero.;After the immense success that Oath Sign brought LiSA, her songs were continuously used as either openers or closers for anime shows.;
QUEEN OF ANIME
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba!
Keep Up With LiSA: | | |
Want to read more about J-POP? Click here!
Featured Image Source: LiSA for Candy Stripper via LiSA Twitter
Also Check: How To Draw Easy Cute Anime Girl
