Best English Anime Songs?
GoldenUsagi
them, how about this...which anime songs have the best English? I'll mention
"Blue" from Cowboy Bebop, and the opening from Lain.
GoldenUsagi
----
Give Inuyasha back his pot!
Charles Groark
>
> Since there was just a thread about which anime songs had the worst Engrish in
> them, how about this...which anime songs have the best English? I'll mention
> "Blue" from Cowboy Bebop, and the opening from Lain.
Tongue planted firmly in cheek, it would have to be Gilbert
O'Sullivan's _Alone Again, Naturally_ which was used as a
closing theme for Maison Ikkoku for a number of episodes.
Since it was originally done is English, it should have the
best...
Charlie
Metlhd3138
Joshua Kaufman
>
> Since there was just a thread about which anime songs had the worst Engrish in
> them, how about this...which anime songs have the best English? I'll mention
> "Blue" from Cowboy Bebop, and the opening from Lain.
>
Not exactly anime, but how about "Dreams in a Pie" from Napple Tale?
Totally wacked out lyrics....but they fit perfectly to the music...
-Joshua
--
AOL-IM: TerraEpon
David Watson
One episode, and it was the OP. Gilbert's "Get Down" was the ED.
As for "Rain," might as well just slap down the whole Yoko Kanno catalogue
and pick through, since the English in her English songs is pretty much
flawless across the board. And, of course, "Alchemy of Love" by
Christopher Franke, Nina Hagen and Rick Jude, from Tenchi Muyo in Love.
--
Dave Watson, Severed Heads Liberation Front (_Stretcher_ CD-R--sevcom.com)
Swetier Balzoff (aka Ottawa), Ontario, Canada Email--shlf [at] ncf [dot] ca
My music and anime webpage: http://www.ottawa-anime.org/~eyevocal/
Yvette Watson, 1942-2002--You will be greatly missed and always loved.
youth
"GoldenUsagi" <mina...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20030522220509...@mb-m14.aol.com...
The English versions of Magic Knights Rayearth & Fruits Basket op theme sound
great. It's too bad there aren't full versions available.
g'day
youth
Megane
metlh...@aol.com (Metlhd3138) wrote:
> The US dub of Tenchi OVA #2 "im a pioneer"
That certainly has to be the best of the few translated songs.
But for songs which are English to begin with, I probably like "Follow
Your Dream" from A-Ko the best. There's also a song I like on the
Cowboy Bebop soundtrack that's sung by an American. Another good song
is the OP to hack//SIGN, even if the lyrics are a tad Engrish. It came
out pretty well for _not_ (I think) being sung by a native speaker.
David Nakamoto
My I ask which episodes, since I haven't seen that series yet? Thanks !
"Charles Groark" <cgr...@comcast.com> wrote in message
news:3ECD8BDE...@comcast.com...
David Nakamoto
the ending of some of the NGE episodes. This is if the original song was
done in English.
"GoldenUsagi" <mina...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20030522220509...@mb-m14.aol.com...
D B Malmquist
>
> Since there was just a thread about which anime songs had the worst Engrish in
> them, how about this...which anime songs have the best English? I'll mention
> "Blue" from Cowboy Bebop, and the opening from Lain.
The opening to "Lain", "Duvet", was written & performed by the
British band Boa.
As for best natural-English-sounding rendition of English lyrics
by a Japanese, how about the version of "St. James Infirmary"
on "Metropolis"? When I heard it I thought that the vocalist
was an African-American blues singer, but in fact the credits
list Kimura Atsuki. (Who I presume, but do not know for certain,
is not a native American.)
--
- dbm
Nonrandom link: http://www.animelyrics.com/anime/metropolis/stjamesinfirmary.htm
Charles Groark
>
> Hi Charlie !
>
> My I ask which episodes, since I haven't seen that series yet? Thanks !
I don't argue with Dave Watson if I can possibly avoid it
(grin): his memory's better than mine. I remember it
vaguely as being well into the series, possibly the second
season... According to one web site I found, it was
apparently episodes 24 through 33.
http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/1914/misound.html
Dave was correct: _Alone Again, Naturally_ was the opening
and _Get Down_ was the closing theme. At that point in the
series, AAN is so perfectly fitting for Godai that I laughed
out loud when I first saw/heard it...
Charlie
Chibi-Light
wrote:
Yes, that's a good choice. I'll second that one.
CL
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Joshua Kaufman
>
> "GoldenUsagi" <mina...@aol.com> wrote in message
> news:20030522220509...@mb-m14.aol.com...
> > Since there was just a thread about which anime songs had the worst Engrish in
> > them, how about this...which anime songs have the best English? I'll mention
> > "Blue" from Cowboy Bebop, and the opening from Lain.
> >
> > GoldenUsagi
> > ----
> > Give Inuyasha back his pot!
>
> The English versions of Magic Knights Rayearth
There two of those :)
-Joshua
--
AOL-IM: TerraEpon
Psaiyan Prince Vegeta
>Since there was just a thread about which anime songs had the worst Engrish in
>them, how about this...which anime songs have the best English? I'll mention
>"Blue" from Cowboy Bebop, and the opening from Lain.
"Komm, Süsser Tod" from the End of Evangelion is probably the best one
I have heard, though the song that plays over the end credits -
"Thanatos - if I can't be yours" is pretty good too...
Were the songs in Perfect Blue originally in English? I have only seen
the dub.
--
Reverend David "PPV" Hawthorne -
ICQ: 260681668
I wish that I could turn back time,
'cos now the guilt is all mine.
Can't live without
the trust from those you love.
I know we can't forget the past
you can't forget love & pride,
because of that, it's killing me inside.
'\
_\______
/ HENTAI \========@
____|__________\_____
/ ___________________ \
\/ _===============_ \/
"-===============-"
Andrew Hollingbury
Engrish in
> them, how about this...which anime songs have the best English? I'll
mention
> "Blue" from Cowboy Bebop, and the opening from Lain.
Duvet's a given ^_^
Just about anything by Yoko Kanno has good English because she uses native
lyricists - mainly Tim Jensen, but troy provides lyrics for Gravity (Wolf's
Rain) and some of Maaya Sakamoto's non-anime work on Easy Listening.
Shine, from Hellsing, has good English. Cheesy, though.
"SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINE, SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINE down on me",
everybody! Sway in time with your lighters! ^_^
Hanada Shounen-shi has the Backstreet Boys "The One" and "Drowning" as OP
and ED. Whether that's good or not is debatable, however ^_^
I haven't heard it, but apparently the opening for L/R is sing by Billy
Preston or something like that.
Andrew H
David Watson
> David Nakamoto wrote:
>>
>> Hi Charlie !
>>
>> My I ask which episodes, since I haven't seen that series yet? Thanks !
>
> I don't argue with Dave Watson if I can possibly avoid it
> (grin): his memory's better than mine.
Ha ha ha! Funny thing is that I'm not even being controversial or prickly
here. Sad thing is that my memory for things like that is pretty good,
but I'm terrible with people's names.
> I remember it
> vaguely as being well into the series, possibly the second
> season... According to one web site I found, it was
> apparently episodes 24 through 33.
> http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/1914/misound.html
It was episode 24 only, and, according to accounts, the Viz Video version
replaces it with the standard OP and ED for that season ("Kanashimi yo
Konnichiwa" and "Ashita Hareru Ka"), but did leave "Alone Again" in when
it was used as BGM for a scene in ep. 27. Have to admit that I had to
Google for most of that. dB)
> Dave was correct: _Alone Again, Naturally_ was the opening
> and _Get Down_ was the closing theme. At that point in the
> series, AAN is so perfectly fitting for Godai that I laughed
> out loud when I first saw/heard it...
It does, doesn't it (esp. with the last verse edited out)?
Here's more info about its brief history in the show:
http://www.csua.berkeley.edu/~leon/mi/html/mifaq.html#ep24
5parrowhawk
> Since there was just a thread about which anime songs had the worst Engrish in
> them, how about this...which anime songs have the best English? I'll mention
> "Blue" from Cowboy Bebop, and the opening from Lain.
>
Props to token Gundam series: "Back to Paradise" from Gundam 0083. I
love that fight scene, and the (good English) background song fits it
like a glove.
- 5parrow
sanjian
> Since there was just a thread about which anime songs had the worst
> Engrish in them, how about this...which anime songs have the best
> English? I'll mention "Blue" from Cowboy Bebop, and the opening from
> Lain.
Of course, Duvet. Someone else also mentioned "Follow Your Dream" from
A-ko. I'll have to toss on "Remember My Love" from the UY movie of the same
name.
Kurt Bernhard Pruenner
> "Komm, Süsser Tod" from the End of Evangelion is probably the best one
Now, I haven't seen EoE, but going by that title - are you sure that those
aren't German lyrics? *wonders*
--
Kurt Bernhard Pruenner --- Haendelstrasse 17 --- 4020 Linz --- Austria
.......It might be written "Mindfuck", but it's spelt "L-A-I-N".......
np: The Modernist - A Goldberg Variation (Kangmei)
Carlos F. Urrutia
> Psaiyan Prince Vegeta wrote:
>
>>"Komm, Süsser Tod" from the End of Evangelion is probably the best one
>
>
> Now, I haven't seen EoE, but going by that title - are you sure that those
> aren't German lyrics? *wonders*
>
the title translated to "Come, Sweet Death."
Kurt Bernhard Pruenner
Yep, that's the translation. Still, I wonder why they kept the name in
German when the lyrics are English... weird...
--
Kurt Bernhard Pruenner --- Haendelstrasse 17 --- 4020 Linz --- Austria
.......It might be written "Mindfuck", but it's spelt "L-A-I-N".......
np: The Modernist - Prozac Europe (Kangmei)
Psaiyan Prince Vegeta
<9sjs...@sneakemail.com> wrote:
>Psaiyan Prince Vegeta wrote:
>> "Komm, Süsser Tod" from the End of Evangelion is probably the best one
>
>Now, I haven't seen EoE, but going by that title - are you sure that those
>aren't German lyrics? *wonders*
Nope, it's English - I swear. ^_^
http://www.cs.stir.ac.uk/~cth/mp3s/Komm%20Susser%20Tod.mp3
Check it out...
David Watson
> Psaiyan Prince Vegeta wrote:
>> "Komm, Süsser Tod" from the End of Evangelion is probably the best one
>
> Now, I haven't seen EoE, but going by that title - are you sure that those
> aren't German lyrics? *wonders*
German title ("Come, Sweet Death") but entirely English lyrics.
Itm0001
Fly Me To The Moon.
Ivan
D B Malmquist
>
> "GoldenUsagi" <mina...@aol.com> wrote in message
> news:20030522220509...@mb-m14.aol.com...
> > Since there was just a thread about which anime songs had the worst
> Engrish in
> > them, how about this...which anime songs have the best English? I'll
> mention
> > "Blue" from Cowboy Bebop, and the opening from Lain.
>
> Duvet's a given ^_^
I think in order to be eligible for "Best English in an Anime Song",
the song should either be written by somebody Japanese, or performed
by somebody Japanese.
> Just about anything by Yoko Kanno has good English because she uses native
> lyricists - mainly Tim Jensen, but troy provides lyrics for Gravity (Wolf's
> Rain) and some of Maaya Sakamoto's non-anime work on Easy Listening.
>
> Shine, from Hellsing, has good English. Cheesy, though.
> "SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINE, SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINE down on me",
> everybody! Sway in time with your lighters! ^_^
>
> Hanada Shounen-shi has the Backstreet Boys "The One" and "Drowning" as OP
> and ED. Whether that's good or not is debatable, however ^_^
Ugh. Those songs are even naster than "Hanada Shounen-Shi"'s
character designs. Which is saying something.
> I haven't heard it, but apparently the opening for L/R is sing by Billy
> Preston or something like that.
And a wildly inappropriate musical selection it was.
- dbm
David Watson
> Andrew Hollingbury wrote:
>> I haven't heard it, but apparently the opening for L/R is sing by Billy
>> Preston or something like that.
> And a wildly inappropriate musical selection it was.
Given that there are a few Beatles references in the series, getting the
man who was briefly the Fifth Beatle to do the OP was a pretty good idea,
actually. And I thought the song was all right.
D B Malmquist
>
> D B Malmquist (d.b.ma...@com.swap-com-and-rcn.rcn) writes:
> > Andrew Hollingbury wrote:
> >> I haven't heard it, but apparently the opening for L/R is sing by Billy
> >> Preston or something like that.
> > And a wildly inappropriate musical selection it was.
>
> Given that there are a few Beatles references in the series, getting the
> man who was briefly the Fifth Beatle
Was he? I didn't know that. I could definitely hear similarities
of Clapton's musical style in there, though.
> to do the OP was a pretty good idea,
> actually. And I thought the song was all right.
I agree, I liked the songs also, I just thought they didn't fit properly
with the action. They were too light and folksy for the darkish, old-
world, steampunkish world design. That 1st episode was already a bit
too lightweight, the music only emphasized its thinness. The folksy-
sounding accompaniment to the fight on the blimp was even more excessively
lightweight, IMHO.
--
- dbm
Random link: http://www.shockanime.com/films/series/broken_saints/play.asp?page=2
Don Redmond
aj...@FreeNet.Carleton.CA (David Watson) wrote:
Isn't some part of the Gatchaman trilogy stuck with an
English track?
Don
K. A. Pezzano
>Since there was just a thread about which anime songs had the worst Engrish in
>them, how about this...which anime songs have the best English? I'll mention
>"Blue" from Cowboy Bebop, and the opening from Lain.
>
Maaya Sakamoto's "Vector", from some Esca movie disc B-side whose name
escapes me.
You have to listen real close to notice she's not a native English
speaker.
--
"Japan: Please reconsider cartoon gun-toting big-eyed
prepubescent blondes as your national heroes."
- Mystery Science Theater 3000
sanjian
> On 23 May 2003 02:05:09 GMT, mina...@aol.com (GoldenUsagi) wrote:
>
>> Since there was just a thread about which anime songs had the worst
>> Engrish in them, how about this...which anime songs have the best
>> English? I'll mention "Blue" from Cowboy Bebop, and the opening
>> from Lain.
>>
> Maaya Sakamoto's "Vector", from some Esca movie disc B-side whose name
> escapes me.
>
> You have to listen real close to notice she's not a native English
> speaker.
Anou, I think Sakamoto-sama is just doing the back-ups on that song. If you
listen to the japanese track, and the english one, you can hear the
differences in her voice... and a stark difference in voice and tonal
quality. Whoever sings the english version is not as good.
David Watson
> David Watson wrote:
>> D B Malmquist (d.b.ma...@com.swap-com-and-rcn.rcn) writes:
>> > Andrew Hollingbury wrote:
>> >> I haven't heard it, but apparently the opening for L/R is sing by Billy
>> >> Preston or something like that.
>> > And a wildly inappropriate musical selection it was.
>> Given that there are a few Beatles references in the series, getting the
>> man who was briefly the Fifth Beatle
> Was he? I didn't know that. I could definitely hear similarities
> of Clapton's musical style in there, though.
He played keyboards for the Let it Be sessions and Apple Corps rooftop
concert. That's him on electric piano on "Get Back."
>> to do the OP was a pretty good idea,
>> actually. And I thought the song was all right.
> I agree, I liked the songs also, I just thought they didn't fit properly
> with the action. They were too light and folksy for the darkish, old-
> world, steampunkish world design. That 1st episode was already a bit
> too lightweight, the music only emphasized its thinness. The folksy-
> sounding accompaniment to the fight on the blimp was even more excessively
> lightweight, IMHO.
I didn't think it clashed that badly. Yeah, the series is kind of
lightweight...but is that necessarily a bad thing? It still entertains
me.
D B Malmquist
<<snip>>
> >> to do the OP was a pretty good idea,
> >> actually. And I thought the song was all right.
> > I agree, I liked the songs also, I just thought they didn't fit properly
> > with the action. They were too light and folksy for the darkish, old-
> > world, steampunkish world design. That 1st episode was already a bit
> > too lightweight, the music only emphasized its thinness. The folksy-
> > sounding accompaniment to the fight on the blimp was even more excessively
> > lightweight, IMHO.
>
> I didn't think it clashed that badly. Yeah, the series is kind of
> lightweight...but is that necessarily a bad thing?
Not necessarily. But in the case of the 1st episode of "L/R", yes.
I should express my complaint about it being "lightweight" more
precisely. The action at the end is supposed to seem dangerous, but
the folksy, laid-back music, combined with the insouciant attitudes of
the two male agents, somehow spoil all the tension in the final scene.
Rather than sitting forward in my chair and becoming involved in the
fight, I was leaning back and feeling unconcerned.
That, specifically, was what I meant by "L/R" being too "lightweight".
--
- dbm
Random link: http://www.geocities.com/likeglass55/
Andrew Hollingbury
"sanjian" <san...@widomaker.com> wrote in message
news:arAza.72276$_e6....@news2.east.cox.net...
> Anou, I think Sakamoto-sama is just doing the back-ups on that song. If
you
> listen to the japanese track, and the english one, you can hear the
> differences in her voice... and a stark difference in voice and tonal
> quality. Whoever sings the english version is not as good.
Nope. Maaya sings Vector (which is the B-side to Yubiwa). It's her single,
after all. That's actually how she sounded in English then - compare with
Dreams in a Pie from Napple Tale from around the same time. Vector's lower
in her range than Yubiwa anyway, so she sounds a bit throatier on the track.
She has had three years or so to improve since then, however, and Gravity in
particular is rather impressive in English diction (Garden of Everything is
slightly lacking, but she's only backing Steve Conte on that track, as is
Amsterdam Park on the Gravity single in fact but I'll conveniently ignore
that ^_^). All the songs she sings on The Other Side of Midnight are
English with the exception of Fad, which is in Kanno-ese, and she sings on
average one English song per album.
Andrew H
Frank Raymond Michaels
news:20030522220509...@mb-m14.aol.com:
> Since there was just a thread about which anime songs had the worst
> Engrish in them, how about this...which anime songs have the best
> English? I'll mention "Blue" from Cowboy Bebop, and the opening from
> Lain.
>
"Key of the Twilight" from .hack//SIGN
--
FRM
K. A. Pezzano
<a.holl...@ukonline.co.uk> wrote:
>Nope. Maaya sings Vector (which is the B-side to Yubiwa). It's her single,
>after all. That's actually how she sounded in English then - compare with
>Dreams in a Pie from Napple Tale from around the same time. Vector's lower
>in her range than Yubiwa anyway, so she sounds a bit throatier on the track.
>
She has quite a wide range, but at that lower end in Vector it sounds
incredibly sexy!
But I've got a big ol' Maaya crush anyway, so I'm kind of biased.
>She has had three years or so to improve since then, however, and Gravity in
>particular is rather impressive in English diction (Garden of Everything is
>slightly lacking, but she's only backing Steve Conte on that track, as is
>Amsterdam Park on the Gravity single in fact but I'll conveniently ignore
>that ^_^). All the songs she sings on The Other Side of Midnight are
>English with the exception of Fad, which is in Kanno-ese, and she sings on
>average one English song per album.
>
I sadly don't own anything of her own newer than Dive (and "Baby
Face", while cute, shows quite a heavy accent). But I have noticed
how much she's improved over the years, and how more mature her
singing has gotten.
The Wielder of the Scythe
But just today, I heard 'Angel Queen' the theme tune to 'Millenium Queen'; another one of the
works in the the Leiji Matsumoto universe. Done by Kitaro (remember him of the long stringy
hair?) and Dara Sedaka, daughter of Neil.
Don't know it being the best but certainly up there somewhere at the top. Almost a perfectly
sensible English ballad.
sanjian
> "sanjian" <san...@widomaker.com> wrote in message
> news:arAza.72276$_e6....@news2.east.cox.net...
>
>> Anou, I think Sakamoto-sama is just doing the back-ups on that song.
>> If you listen to the japanese track, and the english one, you can
>> hear the differences in her voice... and a stark difference in voice
>> and tonal quality. Whoever sings the english version is not as good.
>
> Nope. Maaya sings Vector (which is the B-side to Yubiwa). It's her
> single, after all. That's actually how she sounded in English then -
> compare with Dreams in a Pie from Napple Tale from around the same
> time. Vector's lower in her range than Yubiwa anyway, so she sounds
> a bit throatier on the track.
May have helped if I was thinking the right song. I was thinking the
english version of Yubiwa....