Top 10 Absolute Best Anime Endings That Should’ve Been the Opening

Lost in Paradise: When the ED is a total lifestyle and you just gotta vibe in the neon.

Yo, what’s up, degenerates and cultured elites?! It’s your girl Ultima Ultear, the only person in this community with the spine to tell you that your "Top 10" list is actually trash and your taste is mid at best.

I’m back from my three-day hiatus (which was mostly just me arguing with bots on Twitter about why filler episodes are actually a vibe) to drop some absolute fire on your dashboard.

Today, we’re talking about the ultimate betrayal in the industry: The Ending Theme (ED) that is objectively better than the Opening (OP). We’ve all been there. You’re ready to skip the credits to binge the next episode of your favorite trash-tier isekai, and then suddenly, a beat drops so hard it makes your soul leave your body.

You’re sitting there thinking, "Why is this masterpiece tucked away at the end where only the 'completionists' and the people who lost their remote find it?" The Japanese industry works in mysterious, often unhinged ways, but putting these bangers at the end was a crime against humanity.

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10

Sugar Song to Bitter Step – UNISON SQUARE GARDEN

Kekkai Sensen

If you don't start uncontrollably vibrating the moment this bassline starts, you’re legally dead. The OP was fine, sure, but this ED? It’s a literal fever dream of dopamine. Putting this at the end is like serving the wagyu steak after the bill has been paid.

09

Lost in Paradise – ALI feat. AKLO

Jujutsu Kaisen

Don't even look at me. Kaikai Kitan is a classic, but Lost in Paradise is a lifestyle. It’s the vibe of a guy who just watched half his friends get turned into cursed finger snacks but still knows how to dress better than you. This deserved the prime 90-second slot at the start of the show.

08

Don't say "lazy" – Sakuragou K-ON!

K-ON!

The OP was high-pitched moe-bait. The ED? It was a rock revolution. This is where we realized Mio was the secret protagonist and the rest of the band was just along for the tea and cake. It’s gritty (for K-ON standards), it’s stylish, and it’s a total lie because they actually are lazy.

07

The Real Folk Blues – Mai Yamane

Cowboy Bebop

"Tank!" is iconic, I get it. But The Real Folk Blues is the emotional gut-punch that defines the 90s. Ending the show with this was basically the directors saying, "Yeah, you're gonna be depressed now. Enjoy the saxophone, loser."

06

Hunting for Your Dream – Galneryus

Hunter x Hunter (2011)

Departure! is a great song, but they used it for 148 episodes. By the time we hit the Chimera Ant arc, I was ready to throw my monitor out the window. Meanwhile, the heavy metal shredding of Hunting for Your Dream transitions so perfectly from a cliffhanger that it should have been the main anthem.

05

Magia – Kalafina

Puella Magi Madoka Magica

The OP is a sugary lie designed to trick you into thinking this is a show about friendship. The ED is the sound of your childhood dying in a dark alleyway. Magia is a masterpiece of gothic tension that should have warned us from episode one.

04

Ride on Shooting Star – the pillows

FLCL

The entire soundtrack of FLCL is basically a religious experience, but this song is the pinnacle of "Coming of Age" angst. It’s messy, it’s loud, and it fits the chaotic energy of the show way better than any standard OP ever could.

03

Roundabout – Yes

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure

Let’s be real: the "To Be Continued" meme wouldn't exist without this. It’s a 70s prog-rock masterpiece that feels more adventurous than 90% of modern anime OPs. If you don't feel like a buff man in a crop top when the acoustic guitar kicks in, you’re watching JoJo wrong.

02

Stay Alive – Rie Takahashi

Re:Zero

The despair in this song is palpable. Every time Subaru dies (which is every five minutes), this song hits like a cold bucket of water. It captures the psychological horror of the series far better than the high-energy OPs.

01

Fly Me to the Moon – Various

Neon Genesis Evangelion

I don't care about the copyright issues on Netflix. This is the greatest ED of all time. After watching Shinji have a mental breakdown for 20 minutes, listening to a bossa nova cover of a Sinatra classic is the only thing that keeps your brain from melting.

Ultima's Hot Take

"If you skip the ending theme, you aren't a real fan. You're just a casual tourist visiting the world I live in. Change my mind."

So, which one did I miss? Or are you going to sit there and tell me some generic shonen OP actually goes harder than Lost in Paradise?

Sound off in the comments before I find your IP address and force-feed you dubious-quality filler episodes!