Soundtracks are one of the best parts of anime, especially the openings and endings. The recent release of webtoon adaptations like The Tower of God and The God of High School have shone a light on K-pop artists lending their voices to anime music, something nearly unheard of up until recently. But, with K-pop gathering steam in the early 2000s and bursting into the international market, more and more Korean vocalists are singing the themes of the latest anime epics.
Here is a small snapshot of the various opening and ending themes sung by some of your favorite K-pop artists:
"Slump" - Tower of God
Both the opening theme "Top" and ending theme "Slump" are sung by Stray Kids, an eight-member K-pop boy band. Stray Kids is still a relatively new group in the K-pop industry, having debuted in 2017 but already making a name for themselves with their vocals in Tower of God. Compared to the more upbeat and rock-inspired opening, the ending theme is more subdued. The some is made especially moving when it plays near the end of Episode 12, after a big reveal and a few moments of complete silence. The transition of the scene of Bam falling while the somber, solo guitar opening plays to scenes with the other characters as Felix starts to sing is done especially well.
"Every Heart" - Inuyasha
Inuyasha is known for its iconic opening and ending themes, like "Change the World," the series' first opening song, sung by Japanese boy band V6 or "Fukai Mori" by Do As Infinity, the second ending. But another song that captured everyone's hearts is "Every Heart," by K-pop solo artist BoA. This is the fourth ending theme of the anime and was released when she was just 15 years old.
BoA is known as the Queen of K-pop for her extraordinary dancing skills, multilingualism and her numerous accomplishments as an artist. She's a well-known name in Japan, being the first K-pop singer to break onto the Oricon chart and is the first and only Korean artist to have six consecutive number-one albums on the Oricon chart since debut.
"Neverland" - OZMA
F.T. Island sings the opening "Neverland" of OZMA, a 2012 anime based on the unwritten script by Leiji Matsumoto, about an Earth covered in sand and the journey of a wanderer named Sam. The anime is short, clocking in at only six episodes — half the amount of the standard number of episodes.
F.T. Island, short for Five Treasure Island — "Five" for its five original members — was one of the earliest K-pop rock bands to debut in the 2000s. Known for their lead singer's powerful vocals, the group also sang for Shiawa Theory and Toriko.
"Brand New Days" - Rilu Rilu Fairilu: Yousei no Door
This upbeat and sweet opening to Rilu Rilu Fairilu: Yousei no Door is the perfect match to the voices of K-pop girl band Apink. Rilu Rilu Fairilu was a character franchise created by Sanrio and Sega Sammy Holdings before later receiving an anime adaptation in 2016. The series follows a group of small fairies called Fairilu who love to go on adventures and make new friends. A second series was adapted a year later with the third finishing in 2019.
The six-member group has been in the music industry for 9 years and is known for their cutesy aesthetic but, in recent years, have branched out into more mature concepts. In 2019, the group went to Anime Matsuri Convention in Houston, Texas to perform their latest release.
"Change" - Hanasakeru Seishounen
At first glance, Hanasakeru Seishounen looks like a shojo romance anime where the protagonist participates in a "marriage game" to pick her future husband, but there is a bigger mystery at play rife with drama and politics. "Change," the opening of the anime, is sung by J-Min, a female solo singer who released this single two years after her debut.
What's unusual about J-Min's beginnings is that she first broke out into the music entertainment industry, not in Korea, but in Japan in 2007. She released several soundtracks for Korean dramas but it wasn't until 2014 that she formally made her domestic debut.
"Share the World" - One Piece
Imagine the sheer joy and excitement K-pop anime fans felt when it was announced that boy band TVXQ (or Tohoshinki, as they are known in Japan) a five member boy band, would be singing the 10th opening of One Piece. The group has sang not one, but three songs for the anime: "We Are!," the 17th ending "Asu Wa Kuru Kara" and "Share the World." "Share the World" is by far the group's most popular song for One Piece, reminiscent of the early 2000s era with its instrumental and rhythm in the chorus.
TVXQ was extremely popular back when they debuted but, due to a lawsuit with their company in 2009, wherein three members argued that their 13-year contract was too long and profits were unfairly distributed among the group. As a result, those three members left TVXQ to make a new group called JYJ while the other two continued to stay on as TVXQ.
"Win" - The God of High School
The God of High School only has three episodes out, but it has already garnered a lot of attention thanks to its amazing fight sequences. It's exciting and gets everyone's hearts racing. The ending is an entirely different story, though. "Win" has a relaxed and laid-back feel, reminiscent of a summertime hit, giving fans a nice break from the fast-paced action of anime.
CIX, the group who sang the ending, is one of the most recent rookie groups to burst into the K-pop scene, but they're already proving how talented they are with the release of this ending and will surely gain momentum in their popularity as time goes on.
"Houkiboshi" - Bleach
Most of the time, opening themes hit harder than endings because they're intended to hype up the audience for the upcoming episode. Ending themes generally round out the episode with a quieter sound and a slower tempo. But the third ending of Bleach, performed by Younha, upends this status quo. This ending has a total of 13 versions with one version for every squad of the Gotei 13.
Younha is a singer-songwriter who, similar to J-Min, started her career in Japan before debuting in Korea. The second artist, after BoA, to break into the Oricon Chart's Album Top 20, she is highly sought after for her songwriting skills and has collaborated with several K-pop acts like SHINee's Jonghyun, Epik High and RM from BTS. Her collaboration with RM led to her being the first Korean female soloist to top the US iTunes Chart.