In the last post I told you about my favorite anime openings of 2012. Now, it is time for my favorite endings!
Anime endings are usually never given much attention by viewers since they play at the end of an episode, but personally I find them just as important as openings. If something bad happens in the series it would not be good if a cheery song would start playing, right? It would ruin the mood. Naturally this did not play a part of my judgment when creating my list. Instead I just chose what I liked.
Hope you like them as much as I do!
Honorable Mentions
Hidamari Sketch x Honeycomb ED
“Yume Gumo (夢ぐも)” by
marble
I am a sucker for the singer marble, okay? Her voice is lovely. A shame I could not find the updated version of the ending, which is much prettier than this one.
Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! ED
“INSIDE IDENTITY” by
Black Raison d’être (Maaya Uchida, Chinatsu Akasaki, Azumi Asakura, Sumire Uesaka)
Kyoto Animation probably had an unused K-ON! ending lying around, but it completely misses what made those work: the harmony between the music and the animation. Here it is… random stuff that tries to look cool while failing.
As a side-note, this ending (as with the opening) became horribly unfitting as the series went on.
Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo ED1
“DAYS of DASH” by
Konomi Suzuki
Sakurasou is odd in how I really like both its opening and ending songs, but they both fail at the visual part. This ending gives me energy and makes me happy, however silly that may sound.
Kimi to Boku 2 ED
“Kimi to Boku no Banka (君と僕の挽歌)” by
Yuu Sakai
A feel-good song with still pictures showcasing the cast making fun of each other. The latter part makes me smile.
Natsuyuki Rendezvous ED
“Anata ni Deawanakereba ~Natsuyuki Fuyuhana~ (あなたに出会わなければ～夏雪冬花～)” by
Aimer
I do not get this ending. It got a really strong song, but one second I may like it but another one I may not. This is why I cannot put this in the top list. If I always liked it, it would with no doubt place high in my rankings.
Joshiraku ED
“Nippon Egao Hyakkei (ニッポン笑顔百景)” by
Momokurotei Ichimon
The first part of the song is actually from an old Japanese folktale about a couple that could not come up with a name for their child. Despite the priest suggesting many names, they could not decide, so they ended up giving the child all the suggested names.
Never would I have thought such a name would end up in a catchy song as this.
Rinne no Lagrange ED1
“Hello!” by
Megumi Nakajima
Man, I really love the visual approach of the openings and endings of Rinne no Lagrange. Too bad this particular song is not too catchy.
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure (2012) ED
“Roundabout” by
YES
The song is awesome. I actually added it to my Spotify playlist about a month before JoJo aired and liked it. Too bad I almost fall asleep when watching the actual ending, though.
Best Endings of 2012
12. Chousoku Henkei Gyrozetter ED
“Strobe” by
Tempura Kidz
Dancing mecha-cars.
Never change Japan.
Never change.
11. Inu x Boku SS ED6
“sweets parade” by
Kana Hanazawa
The typically sweet ending by HanaKana. No way you can dislike it.
10. Ano Natsu de Matteru ED
“Vidro Moyou (ビードロ模様)” by
Nagi Yanagi
I have a thing for calm and stylistic endings like this. It helps that the song is nice too. Besides, it got black borders. Not sure why, but I like that touch.
9. Psycho-Pass ED1
“Namae no nai Kaibutsu (名前のない怪物)” by
EGOIST
This ending continues to grow on me, especially the strong start to make you hyped for the song. It is like a wave. Starts strong, drops in intensity, gradually builds up and then, wham, chorus! And visually it fits.
8. Binbougami ga! ED
“Koi Boudou (恋暴動)” by
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Punch me or something, because I have no idea why the heck I love this fanservice ending as much as I do. Sure, it is catchy and nicely done, but still. Maybe it is because I love Ichiko and Momiji so much. Help me.
7. Papa no Iukoto wo Kikinasai! ED
“Coloring” by
Yui Horie
Sparkly and electronic. I like.
6. Rinne no Lagrange Season 2 ED1
“Jersey-Bu Tamashi! (ジャージ部魂!)” by
Kaori Ishihara, Asami Seto and Ai Kayano
“Jeeeersey-bu tamashi, Jersey-bu tamashi”.
This series got way too good opening and endings. It has convinced me to give it a try.
5. Natsume Yuujinchou Shi ED
“Takaramono (たからもの)” by
Marina Kawano
As you probably can see, this video has been altered to avoid copyright issues. If you want to view it in its original form, you can do so HERE.
The endings of Natsume Yuujinchou have always been warming and this one is no exception. A strong ballad and warm animation, more or less.
4. Nisemonogatari ED
“Naisho no Hanashi (ナイショの話)” by
ClariS
Shaft are doing their usual thing with a unique sense of animation and great songs. Much to my surprise they will have to take off their crown this year and give it to some other endings that managed to be even better.
3. Kokoro Connect ED1
“Kokoro no Kara (ココロノカラ)” by
Team.Nekokan [Neko] featuring. Junca Amaoto
3. Kokoro Connect ED2
“Cry out” by
Team.Nekokan [Neko] featuring. Atsuko
3. Kokoro Connect ED3
“Salvage” by
Team.Nekokan [Neko] featuring. Rekka Katakiri
Warning ED1: Only watch from where the video is set to start and stop when the ending is finished (04:50 mark). Otherwise you will be spoiled.
For a series that went overboard with the drama and underutilized its wonderful concepts, it sure had great endings. I cannot really put one over the other, so here they all are in place number three.
2. Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita ED
“Yume no Naka no Watashi no Yume (ユメのなかノわたしのユメ)” by
Masumi Itou
People.
It is Masumi Itou.
Plus some dreamy sequences of the rise and fall of our civilization.
If you do not like it, you may now leave.
1. Shin Sekai Yori ED1
“Wareta Ringo (割れたリンゴ)” by
Risa Taneda
I could watch/listen to this for a whole day and I would not get bored. In fact, I actually did listen to it for almost a day once.
Wareta Ringo is my own perfect anime ending.
At least from this year.
Anime Viking 
Wow, your top three are basically the exact top three I thought of, too! From the New World’s ED especially seems to sweep me away with the atmosphere of the series. Jinrui’s ED worked really well to get across that there were actual meaningful messages in the series behind its bright and zany exterior. And I quite liked how Kokoro Connect would have its little next episode preview transition into the ED of each story arc.
My other favorites are Joshiraku’s and Kill Me Baby’s EDs, since they’re so funny. I also rather liked Another’s ED, which I found a rather light, pretty little song, contrasting well with the tone of the series.
Someone else with good taste, I see! 😉
I really like fade-ins for some reason. Kokoro Connect did it really neat with making the preview a part of the fade-in. One of the better uses of it I have seen, actually.
Afraid I found it utterly boring 😦
This must have taken a lot of work. Good Job. 😛
I don’t know if I agree with it, but I haven’t watched/heard them all, so I can’t really comment.
Though I personally would have placed JoJo and Binbougami-Ga a bit further up. I also really like the Chu2Koi ending, though it is mostly just the song. I guess I prioritize good songs a lot more than good animation in my endings for some reason.
It’s because I’m really slow when writing/searching and that WordPress messes everything up. >_>’
But thanks!
Well, ultimately it comes down to whether or not you like the song. The visuals should still fit it, though
WHERE IS KILL ME BABY
I DEMAND A RECOUNT
(And Joshiraku should obviously rank second.)
I’ll be honest and admit that I forgot about KMB when writing this. It wouldn’t make it into the top list, though. Besides, the best aspect of it is all the silly dance videos it has spawned (the best one seems to be removed, sadly
)
When I saw the title of this post, my first thought was “whoever doesn’t pick Wareta Ringo as one of their top 3 is going to get an earful from me”. Needless to say, I’m glad to see that it’s also your favourite ending, I just love the singer and you can’t get tired of listening to the song.
Cheers, mate 😀
Your list is quite different from mine but hey, it just shows that this year has many great endings! And that #1 is really good. I haven’t watch SSY so I kinda miss its fantastic ED.
[…] comparison to last year, there has been a lack of stylish and catchy endings which I generally enjoy. In addition, if you […]