Best Ending Themes of Fall 2011

Eh, I probably could have gotten away with a much shorter list of ending themes for Autumn 2011's anime season, even though there were a ton of new songs submitted for approval. While some shows could probably use the creative juices to draw more attention to themselves, it felt that a lot were content to shrug their shoulders and scrimp on the ED budget. Have a character walk across the screen, slap down a bunch of photos, get the latest debut artist's first single, and go out for a smoke.

The good news about lesser displays of talent in the EDs is that it makes picking the best (and worst) that much easier. Here are my entries into the rankings for Autumn 2011's ending themes (pictures as always courtesy of CD Japan).

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Best Opening Themes of Fall 2011

Suffice to say, it's been hard to read the surface of the past Autumn 2011 anime season. Die-hard fans will admit that the summer usually brings lazier titles, while the winter is more of a hibernation, leaving the equinox seasons to be the ones to carry the load. Considering the restraints usually come off in the fall, the load certainly appeared hefty this season.

The same ideas of renewal and competition tend to go with the animation and music for the opening sequences--I'd say that only Mawaru-Penguindrum, Gintama', and Nichijô impressed me with their  opening numbers last season, while the other shows struggled for a unique display. Fall seasons usually are meant to be more impressive, although the lack of a Shaft animation again made me a little hesitant to rip through the fifty-plus opening songs from anime shows this season.

The general consensus? Better! Less fluff, more stuff! J-Rock seemed to dominate the airwaves a lot more than last year, perhaps in an effort to wake up fans before the winter slumber. Here's my personal rankings for the latest anime trimester—hopefully we won't be singing in baby-talk next winter.

(Pictures, once again, provided by the awesome folks at CD Japan.)

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