I'll start things off with an example that everyone is familiar with: Dragonball Z. It's a show that 90% of us grew up watching whether they want to admit it or not. And Dragonball Z was unique in that it had two theme songs at the same time, the classic one which is used in everything and is one of the most recognizable songs to any anime fan and it has the specific to North America FUNimation Dub song that most of us heard as kids.
I loved the one we got, "Rock the Dragon" was a great song, however after hearing it time and again the classic DBZ theme song is what I have come to associate with Dragonball Z. I think it's because after a certain bit I stopped watching DBZ and when I came back to it, the original song, "Cha La" was what remained.
Though I will have fond memories of "Rock The Dragon" as well.
I think this is also why when when the Dragonball Xenoverse video game came out and a new band called Flow remixed and redid the original I loved it. It turned my classic DBZ intro into something new, modern, and I always will dig.
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Those songs helped us get there, into that moment, into that frame of mind, ready to feel the hype.
Two examples from a similar style of anime is the first intro song for Bleach and the second intro theme for Naruto.
The difference with Bleach/Naruto and DBZ is that they use a new theme song either every season, or at least change it between arcs. It is the same with most Shonen anime, they use fast paced, action packed, introductory music and video to provide the hype necessary for any proper Shonen anime.
The big reason that Shonen anime like these 3 use this type of fast paced, action heavy, heavier music, for their intros is that Shonen anime has always meant to be aimed at boys between the ages of 12-18, and what better than these types of intros to kick things off and get the boys hyped into watching their favourite characters kick butt for a half hour.
Alright, so not convinced by just 3 of the bigger Shonen anime because it's cliche. Let's take a look at a few more examples of how important intro songs are then I'll tell you why I think based on all the examples provided why good intro songs are so important.
I don't really want to talk about Lucky Star but here we go about what exactly themes mean to a show sometimes.
YET at the same time it means a lot to a lot of people, so much that the dance done by all the girls throughout the entire opening is copied and practiced by groups over and over, it's an important dance that people practice and they know the words by heart. I know....mind boggling right, but to each their own. For just a typical slice of life anime that may seem excessive but it's a song that while it may not set the tone of the show has somehow managed to surpass the show and become a thing of its own.
And the final one is a 180 degree switch in tone from Lucky Star and that is the intro song/video to Mirai Nikki: Future Diaries. Which just to fill you in is about a death game where the sole survivor becomes God, but the crazy part or crazy person I guess is one of the two main characters Yuno Gasai. She has what is known in anime as a yandere personality being she is affectionate to only one person and will do anything for that person to the point of murder, in this series that would be protagonist Yukitero Amano (Yuki). And the opening video CLEARLY shows her personality very well introducing you to what to expect from her in this show.
It's important because it sets the mood and emotions going in, if these things are out of balance it would show immediately. If Mirai Nikki were to have a lighter tone to the song and a less graphic video it doesn't set the same tone. No, that show is about death and gruesome acts of violence and you get that FEELING with the heavy guitar riffs, the blood red colour of the background contrasting to the monochrome. It's an intro that feels like violence, it's hard to explain but after watching an intro like that and then getting an episode like the ones in Mirai Nikki it's easy to see why it's the intro.
The same goes with any of the Shonen anime, they have those energy driven songs and videos to build up hype for ass kicking and that's what you get. If that type of music and those types of videos aren't what's showcased from the get-go, it throws off the show that is when you get intros like the third one in Naruto and 10th season of Bleach.
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I think generally as a species we can all agree that music unites us and makes us feel tremendous things that we may not feel otherwise. That music brings out the most important feelings and senses we have and even though this is Japanese, a language I don't know, it still brings out those feelings. The way music and visuals work together to provide us with such an array of emotion is something that is very hard to explain. Yet, that is the key to anime intro songs being so important, our feelings as human beings and if you disagree with me that's fine but I do have to say one thing about that.
3, 2, 1.......Let's Jam.