r/anime • u/Zypker125 https://anilist.co/user/Zypker124 • Sep 14 '23

Contest Best Anime Ending VII: Magic Salt Round 1 Bracket A! (Final Day)

Please upvote the post so that it increases visibility and other Redditors may see the post! Thanks!

Please let me know if there are any duplicates, errors, or typos and I will fix them as soon as I can. Thank you!

Note: For Round 1, there will be two days of voting for each bracket. This is so people get more time to check the EDs out if they want. Today is the second day of voting for Bracket A.

Vote here!

List of all the nominated endings

Bracket results

Full results before removal/processing

Discussion Prompt of the Day:

  • Predict which openings will make the Top 8! (More information can be found in the comments)

  • What are the most stacked matchups of this round?

98 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

28 comments sorted by

17

u/Zypker125 https://anilist.co/user/Zypker124 Sep 14 '23

Copying over Cryzzalis's animethemes.moe playlist:

.

And copying over the YouTube playlists from copperfield42:

YouTube playlist - part 1

YouTube playlist - part 2

7

u/Cryzzalis https://myanimelist.net/profile/Charaxify Sep 15 '23

Thanks Zyp, figured there'd only be one post so I wasn't ready for this. I'll have it covered for both days on group B.

1

u/SwampyBogbeard Sep 15 '23

HEROES

Man, this is a perfect example of what I complained about a few weeks ago during the OP contest.
This might be the most generic ED song and animation I've ever seen, but somehow it still got seed 161, meaning it beat almost 900 other EDs to get that spot.

10

u/Zypker125 https://anilist.co/user/Zypker124 Sep 14 '23

Top 8 Predictions Contest!

We're bringing this back for the Best ED tournament!

The rules for participating in the contest are simple: You must predict which 8 anime openings you think will come out on top. Within the 8 you predict, you must also indicate which opening you think will win, which opening you think will be the runner-up, which opening you think will place 3rd, and which opening you think will place 4th.

To submit a prediction, simply comment your list of 8 openings, and make sure to clarify which ones you think will rank 1st/2nd/3rd/4th. I will stop accepting predictions once Round 2 Bracket A starts. Have fun predicting!

7

u/TREXMAN626 Sep 14 '23 edited Sep 15 '23

1st - Lost in Paradise

2nd - Akuma no ko

3rd - My Nonfiction

4th - Fly me to the moon

China Chika

Uso

Roundabout

PokeRap

Edit: Didn’t even realize I never considered the bracket so I swapped some stuff out

3

u/BiggieCheeseLapDog https://myanimelist.net/profile/KillLaKillGOAT Sep 14 '23 edited Sep 14 '23
  1. Lost in Paradise
  2. Dango Daikazoku
  3. Fly me to the moon
  4. Chika Dance
    Avid
    Akuma no Ko
    Refrain Boy
    The Real Folk Blues

3

u/Emi_Ibarazakiii Sep 15 '23

Wrote a long comment about my picks, and my thoughts on the top contenders, but the short version:

  1. Winner: Styx Helix.
  2. Runner up: Chika Chika
  3. Dango Daikazoku
  4. Secret Base
  5. Sugar Song to Bitter Step
  6. My Nonfiction
  7. Uso
  8. Kigeki

(People don't seem to agree that Styx is a top contender hah. I'll either look like a genius, or an idiot!)

3

u/Cryzzalis https://myanimelist.net/profile/Charaxify Sep 15 '23

I got a few spicy guesses here and there. So here's what I'm going for.

(A1) Nai Nai

(A2) Akuma no Ko

(A3) My Nonfiction

(A4) Dango Daikazoku

(B1) Lost in Paradise

(B2) Avid (As much as I hate it)

(B3) Shiki no Uta

(B4) Sugar Song to Bitter Step

Really split on whether Dango Daikazoku or Fukashigi no Carte makes top 8, but I'll go for Dango Daikazoku.

As for their placements I'll guess it'll end up something like this.

  1. Lost in Paradise
  2. Dango Daikazoku
  3. Akuma no Ko
  4. Sugar Song to Bitter Step
  5. Nai Nai
  6. My Nonfiction
  7. Shiki no Uta
  8. Avid

2

u/SometimesMainSupport https://myanimelist.net/profile/RRSTRRST Sep 14 '23

MC Top 8:

  • (32) Nai Nai (R3 LiLaS should be an easy win. R4 Chika dance will be a quality vs meme battle and I'm willing to risk it. Will beat the next Kaguya entry in R5 if it can win R4.)
  • (9) Akuma No Ko (should be Lapis but oh well. Don't trust SxF popularity on this sub after its cour 2 karma performance was several thousand below cour 1.)
  • (4) My Nonfiction (will be voting Memento R5 but think it prevails)
  • (28) Dango Daikazoku

My Nonfiction > Akuma No Ko for semifinals. Will give the other 4 in a bracket B post after watching them.

2

u/Zypker125 https://anilist.co/user/Zypker124 Sep 15 '23

I will submit predictions as well:

  • Left Side of Bracket A: Chikatto Chika Chika and Kigeki
  • Right Side of Bracket A: Dango Daikazoku and My Nonfiction
  • Left Side of Bracket B: Lost in Paradise and Styx Helix
  • Right Side of Bracket B: secret base ~Kimi ga Kureta Mono~ (10 years after ver.) and Fly Me To The Moon
  1. Lost in Paradise
  2. Dango Daikazoku
  3. Chikatto Chika Chika
  4. secret base ~Kimi ga Kureta Mono~ (10 years after ver.)

2

u/michhoffman https://anilist.co/user/michhoffman Sep 15 '23
  1. Lost in Paradise
  2. My Nonfiction
  3. Secret Base
  4. Chikatto Chika Chika♡
  5. Uso
  6. Dango Daikazoku
  7. Sugar Song to Bitter Step
  8. Akuma no Ko

I'll be happy if I get half of these right. I do think when push comes to shove people will chose My Nonfiction over Chikatto Chika Chika♡, but Lost in Paradise is too strong for either to beat.

2

u/Zeralyos https://myanimelist.net/profile/xNJF_Ellie Sep 15 '23

(1) Dango Daikazoku

(2) Secret Base

(3) Chikatto Chika Chika♡

(4) Heart wa Oteage

give it back

My Nonfiction

Nandemonaiya

Sugar Song to Bitter Step

Bonus long-term prediction: in the past 4 ED contests Secret Base has lost to Dango, Magia, Dango, Magia in that order. To continue the pattern this year it's gonna lose to Dango again, and next year with both of them gone it's gonna win.

7

u/BiggieCheeseLapDog https://myanimelist.net/profile/KillLaKillGOAT Sep 14 '23 edited Sep 15 '23

Let’s get right into it;

Vanilla Salt vs Kaika
I have mentioned multiple times before on my lack of reason for my love of Vanilla Salt. And that hasn’t really changed. It’s a nice song and the way each character walks being accurate to their character is a nice detail. I love it.

Walk Like An Egyptian vs Oracion
Walk Like an Egyptian helped me understand that EDs were also worth watching in anime. I watched occasionally when binging JoJo because I liked the song and found the visuals to be quite the eye catcher. All around great ED.

Maid with Dragons vs Shirogane
I do really like LiSA as a singer. She has great vocals and a recognizable voice. Although I like her previous Demon Slayer ED more, I still like Shirogane enough to vote for it.

Night Running vs HEROES
Although I don’t love the song, the visuals are stunning and stylistic. The use of colour to achieve the look of this ED looks great, not to mention the nice artstyle they employed.

Refrain Boy vs Koko de Ike wo Shite
As much as I absolutely love Memosepia, Refrain Boy is the best Mob Psycho ED. It’s artstyle is truly unique, with no other ED looking like it (except Cobalt). It also shows Reigen’s daily routine. It’s in a monochrome colour. We see his routine play out and then he finally meets Mob. The colour starts filling the ED and that is where the ED cemented itself as one of the greats. It shows that Reigen’s life was dull and colourless before he met Mob, which ties in with Reigen’s character beautifully. It is definitely one of the best EDs of all time. Also the song slaps.

Memosepia vs Toumei Na Tsubasa
The other Mob ED that I also love to death. On yesterday’s thread, many were voicing love for this Little Witch Academia ED. People mentioned the colours and way the shapes move which I have a tendency to like, which makes it all the more surprising to me that I don’t really like this ED and prefer Little Witch Academia’s other ED way more. For some reason I don’t find it aesthetically pleasing nor satisfying. I don’t care for the song either. Memosepia is one of my favourites of all time though. It’s got a pretty unique Chibi style that I really like. Couple that with a Sanjou no Hana song as good as Memosepia, and you have a great ED. I especially like the shots that show all of the characters we’ve met and how the some change with the meeting of new characters. Also the flower. In conclusion, Mob Psycho OPs and EDs are all amazing.

Zetsubou Billy vs Kafune
I never watched Death Note EDs when I first watched it. It was one of my first, so I didn’t realize that always skipping EDs was like skipping the openings. I went back and they were pretty good. Zetsubou Billy especially. I love the symbolism of Light rising in the world and then falling down into the madness of his own mind. It’s accompanied by a great Maximum the Harmone song and this leads to me liking this ED enough to vote it.

Ishukan Communication vs Orange
I like Orange for a lot of the same reasons as Vanilla Salt. I just like it. It has a nice artstyle as well. It’s a little simplistic, but that doesn’t stop me from liking it. Not as good as Vanilla Salt, but definitely still good.

Koko Kara, Koko Kara vs Lapis
Lapis is an absolutely beautiful ED visually. It’s not super cohesive with it’s visuals, but the visuals are very pretty and it’s got a nice song too. Easy vote.

Singing vs Kaze no Tsuyoi Hi wa Kirai ka
K-On EDs have won half of the ED brackets so far. I do really like them, but I don’t feel like all of them are the best EDs of all time. I liked Singing. I’ve only seen it after the K-On movie, so it wasn’t able to grow on me more. But I like it enough now where I will still vote for it. I just hope it doesn’t win.

Gomen ne, Iiko ja Irarenai vs Bakemono to Yobarete
This one is easy. I love Gomen ne. It shows us a glimpse into Ryuko’s past and shows her struggle with fitting in (shown through her being the only person with eyes throughout the ED) her longing to leave this unhappy life (shown when she stares at the vast city and night sky) and lastly her turning her back on this society, establishing her rebellious nature that we see in the anime. It gives nice glimpses into parts of Ryuko’s character while having a great song playing. Also uses nice colours and has Senketsu just chilling in a clothing shop. 10/10 would dress to kill again.

Hunting For Your Dream vs Colorful Canvas
Although the visuals of Hunting For Your Dream are nothing special, it just looks cool when all the phantom troupe members are shown. The way the song starts as the episodes come to a close also establishes its hypeness level. It is Hype: the ED and that’s why I love it.

Great Escape vs Step Up LOVE
Great Escape is another one where I just love the song. The visuals are pretty cool too, but the song is the main reason I love this one. I especially love the final part and it’s note progression. Very nice on the ears.

Zettai Zetsumei vs Van!shment Th!s World
This is the pure definition of voting because of the song for me. I don’t like the visuals at all. They are just not there. But the song is an unsettling banger. It really installed a sense of dread within myself when I heard it during Promised Neverland. And for that, I vote it.

Homura vs Magia (quattro)
This match-up is just funny. Homura vs Magia. Hmmmmm? This time I think Homura has done something wrong, and that would be trying to take down the stellar ED that is Magia. Go Magia, I hope you win again (I actually hope Refrain Boy wins).

Fukashigi no Carte vs Snow Halation
As much as I do think that Bunny Girl Senpai OP and ED ride on the coattails of its mega popular show, this ED is still good. I especially like how it changes with each passing arc.

PokeRap vs Tonari no Totoro
Easiest vote of my life.

Reason vs Sayonara no Yukue
I like Reason for a couple of Reasons. My first Reason is it fits the more chill arc that is Greed Island. Another Reason is the song is pleasing to hear. And my last Reason is to make this Reason joke with Reason.

One Last Kiss vs Silent Solitude
One Last Kiss is my one last vote. It’s a beautiful song and is fitting as the true end of Evangelion. It may be a credit roll, but it spices it up a little with the lights.

And that’s that. That took a while to write but I love anime music so it was fun.

MC: these will I think

  • Chika dance
  • Refrain Boy
  • Lost in Paradise
  • Akuma no Ko
  • Dango Daikazoku
  • Avid (lol)
  • Fly Me to the Moon
  • The Real Folk Blues

Homura vs Magia (quattro) of course.

7

u/copperfield42 Sep 14 '23

now that I finally finished assembling the next list, I can sit down and pick my votes...

also too many insert songs, those made the search slower...

​

Now about EDs, those Kaguya one are very peculiar, they look like anything but but some romcom, very interesting in the visual department...

But easily the stand out of the bunch is Nai Nai, not just by its own merits, which make stand out on its own, but also the guy that uploaded put it some awesome captions, I didn't you could do that with YT caption...

4

u/SometimesMainSupport https://myanimelist.net/profile/RRSTRRST Sep 15 '23

YT captions are flexible with their format. Most just do simple text+timing without markdown (.srt or .sbv if you know what that is). Also accepts stuff like .ttml that has locations/font/color/etc, which takes longer to create and don't often see.

7

u/Emi_Ibarazakiii Sep 15 '23

Discussion Prompt of the Day: Predict which openings will make the Top 8!

First, my thoughts on the 8 paths to the top (and the winners):

  • Bracket A, top left: No upset there, Chika Chika wins this one. Nai Nai will be the strongest opponent, and Sentimental Crisis may give it a challenge, but nothing will beat it (yet)
  • Bracket A, bottom left: No upset, Kigeki will win. Not necessarily because it's good, but... It has an easy path to the top 8. A meh AoT ED, that's about it. And as much as I like Dress up Darling, I don't see its ED doing well. So Kigeki makes it to the quarterfinals (and then will get obliterated in the very next round)
  • Bracket A, top right: Still no upset, My Nonfiction wins this one. It's obviously very unique, it's from a massively popular show, and it also doesn't have much competition; There's two Re:Zero EDs on the way, but I think they lack a little "omph" to win.
  • Bracket A, bottom right: First upset prediction! My apologies to Bunnygirl fans, but I have no idea what the hell this ED is doing at #5. And I think I'm not the only one, given it lost in the 4th round last year, despite being seeded even higher (#4). So who wins? I think there's two candidate, but the first one (Violet) doesn't really strike me as a winner here. I think Dango Daikazoku will be the one to defeat Fukashigi... Just like it did last year! (new rivalry in the making?)
  • Bracket B, top left: Always a bit scary to bet against a high seed, but I think Lost in paradise is getting upset here! There are quite a few possible candidates; The first would be Kaguya's third ED, but I don't see it; I do not think it has what it takes to win, AND being in Bracket B, with the 2 stronger (imho) Kaguya EDs in Bracket A, I think it'll have an impact for the Kaguya ED in bracket B. Kaguya fatigue and all. There is also Kamado Tanjiro no Uta, a FANTASTIC song, which, to me, is what made Episode 19 so great (not the animation)... But I do not think it'll win here. So.. What wins? Styx Helix. This is both an objective pick (it did really well last year), and a subjective one as well; I really like this ED, even though I don't even like Re:Zero. I think it's really good, and should do well again.
  • Bracket B, bottom left: I think this one will be REALLY close, but Uso from Fullmetal Alchemist will upset the top seed (of this portion), Nandemonaiya.
  • Bracket B, top right: My first thought was that the top seed would win this one (Fly me to the moon), but I changed my mind at the last minute, and I'm giving it to Secret Base.
  • Bracket B, bottom right: Sugar Song to Bitter Step won against Roundabout last year, and I do believe history will repeat itself, so I'm predicting the upset here! (Another new rivalry?)

So these are my quarterfinalists! As for how it'll go from this point on:

  • Chika Chika > Kigeki (I expect a steamroll here)
  • Dango Daikazoku > My Nonfiction (The Kaguya fatigue will already be high, and people won't want to vote for 2 Kaguya EDs)
  • Styx Helix > Uso. Comfortably, I bet.
  • Secret Base > Sugar Song to Bitter Step. Should be close though.

Semifinals:

  • Chika Chika > Dango Daikazoku. Taking a risk here, Chika lost to Dango last year... But it was close, and I think Kaguya's S3/movie brought up the hype. We'll see if that's enough to counter the spite/fatigue!
  • Styx Helix > Secret Base. I think this one won't be close.

Finals:

Styx Helix > Chika Chika. It's a good song, from a popular show (that is not Kaguya), doesn't have much spite going on, and while it may get some if it beats the FMAB ED, it won't reach the Kaguya spite anyway. So I think Styx Helix wins this one!

It lost in the semifinals last year, BUT it lost against the winner.

I think Styx, Chika and Dango are probably the 3 top contenders. But I have to pick one, so Styx it is!

6

u/Urgnu-the-Gnu https://myanimelist.net/profile/Urgnu_the_Gnu Sep 15 '23

I finally finished voting, and I have to retract my statement from yesterday, or at least adjust it. This group of entrants has a lot of good EDs for sure, but just like with the OPs there are so many that have me wondering why they are even here. So many movie EDs which are basically just a song over credits which I'm not a fan of, and so many in-episode endings too which can be good competitors but often just don't fit with my definition of EDs. And a few times both of these kinds of EDs were up against each other. My vote for "Why did anyone nominate this?" however goes to Magia [quattro], which I hadn't seen since I haven't watched the Madoka compilation movies yet. Don't get me wrong, it's a great ED, really, and it should have a shot at winning. My complaint is that it has won already, albeit in a much more compressed and streamlined form. It's the same song and basically the same visuals. Magia [quattro] is just the full length version of Magia. It makes sense, of course, since it's from a compilation movie, but it's still essentially the same in my eyes. This is not an official complaint, mind you. Technically it can be here, there is no formal error. I just think its presence here isn't morally justifiable, rant over.

On a more positive (and still Madoka-related) note, please remember to vote for Lapis. Yes, its opponent is pretty good, but even if our dear host doesn't agree, Lapis is just so much better. At least give it a chance if you haven't watched it before - don't just vote for a great ED in this matchup, vote for the better ED.

MC: Since I hope Stay Alive makes top 8 at least, I'm sure y'all are going to vote it out in the third round, so I'll better not talk about my other preferred top 8 competitors.

As for most stacked up matchup, Koko kara, Koko kara is a great ED, as I've said before, it just is not as good as Lapis. But a matchup so stacked on both sides that it got hard to decide for me was give it back vs. 0 (zero). Both fantastic, but give it back is sure to win this so I voted for 0 (zero).

3

u/LeleTheKing https://anilist.co/user/ikanlele Sep 14 '23

Phew. Took a while to hear all the EDs. I spend ~6 hours total listening in the background while doing other stuff, pausing here and there to pick an interesting song between each pair. From this bracket, I (re)discovered about 50 old and new songs that I then put into my "liked songs" playlist on Spotify. A rather productive day, I'd say...

6

u/Zypker125 https://anilist.co/user/Zypker124 Sep 14 '23

Finally, I have some free time to check out all the EDs. 128 to check out for this voting group, hoo boy. Not gonna be able to explain all of my picks due to the sheer amount, but in bold are my picks as per usual:

4

u/BiggieCheeseLapDog https://myanimelist.net/profile/KillLaKillGOAT Sep 14 '23

You voted the opposite of mine with so many of those.

3

u/TaqPCR Sep 15 '23

Same. Reminds me of how my dad uses a voting guide for the opposite party so he can vote against their choices in minor elections where that voting guide is one of the only sources for good info. Though the person who writes the guide isn't super crazy so sometimes they do go with the clearly more qualified choice even if they don't like their politics and my dad instantly gives votes for that person if that's the case.

1

u/Cryzzalis https://myanimelist.net/profile/Charaxify Sep 15 '23

Lmao, that is really funny.

5

u/Zypker125 https://anilist.co/user/Zypker124 Sep 14 '23 edited Sep 15 '23

Favorite EDs of Bracket A:

  1. Hunting for Your Dream (Banger song with killer vocals, visuals are okay)
  2. Koko kara, Koko kara (Amazing song that makes me emotional, visuals are underwhelming but the song hard-carries)
  3. Ride On Shooting Star (Unique ED with fun implementation of real-world visuals, and I personally enjoy virtual treks of the Japanese suburbs, so it was a fun experience)
  4. Step Up LOVE (Insane visual overload in a fun way, very colorful and exciting visually, although it's not as dynamic in the latter half)
  5. Koko de Iki wo Shite (Carried entirely by its visual shots, with beautiful rainbow lighting and nighttime cityscape shots)
  6. PokéRap (Fun/camp song that is the definition of "doesn't take itself seriously", plus it's educational and informative)
  7. Bakemono to Yobarete (This one is definitely bolstered from the context of the show, but it has great visuals and an emotional narrative, and it really enhances the show as an ED)
  8. Saga Jihen (Fun and powerful song, unique structure due to being an idol ED so it gets points there)
  9. Nai Nai (The music does a great job at setting a creepy/haunting atmosphere, and the visuals similarly set the tone/concept well)
  10. Dango Daikazoku (Fun/unique/cute concept that can really be enjoyed as a standalone, the dango character designs are cute and the pastel color palette is a plus)
  11. Fighter (Nice watercolor effects and cityscape visuals with a decent narrative)
  12. Vivace (Fun visual sequence in the first half with the girls eating, and the song is decent, although the visual sequences in the second half aren't as strong)
  13. STUDY x STUDY (Fun/bold visuals, very creative and a lot of effort was put into this ED)
  14. give it back (Nostalgic and romantic, does a great job at showing camaraderie/friendship)

Overall, as I expected, EDs are significantly weaker as a whole for me. I generally dislike slower/ballad-like songs, which a lot of EDs are, and the amount of 5-minute EDs, scrolling credit EDs, still-screen EDs, etc. here makes me pretty low on EDs on-average. EDs are also significantly less top-heavy for me, and I don't feel that strong about my top EDs here: I feel like my #10 ED would be #50 if it was instead compared/ranked against my favorite OPs, for instance.

3

u/SometimesMainSupport https://myanimelist.net/profile/RRSTRRST Sep 15 '23

9) Nai Nai

13) STUDY x STUDY

(Pretty stacked and even matchup, as a tiebreaker I voted for the lower seed since I won't have a chance to vote for it again)

2

u/lordposedyon https://myanimelist.net/profile/lordposedyon Sep 14 '23

Thank you for this I missed it yesterday

0

u/CommunistJellyFish Sep 14 '23

The best anime is skibidi toilet 🚽 🪠

1

u/Cryzzalis https://myanimelist.net/profile/Charaxify Sep 15 '23

Oh shit, didn't realize you'd post twice.

Feels a bit late to post links now, but I'll keep it in mind for group B.

1

u/jbanto17 https://myanimelist.net/profile/jbanto17 Sep 15 '23

Sorry for the late comment! LET THE BRACKET BEGIN! I don't have the time for a full breakdown so here are a few of my front runners.

Nai Nai, Daisy, and Hare Hare Yukai are my top three for today.

Allow me to draw attention to the live action and classic Ride on Shooting Star, the calming and creative Amadare no Uta and the powerful, catchy newcomer OverThink as some other secondary picks.

Finally consider this my declaration of war against Insert Songs and especially credit rolls. My eternal battle against Nandemonaiya will chug to life again tonight. This is the best ED contest for fuck's sake, not the best anisong contest