Explanation of the themes featured under the cut, as per usual 
#39 “Dress” (Trinity Blood) Trinity Blood’s sequence is really a compilation (rather handily I might add) of scenes from the series, combined with some images of the church. It’s interesting they would pair this song with a vampire themed series considering Buck-Tick’s former contribution, but I think since Buck-Tick has that dark, dreamy quality about their songs, it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise. They remind me of influences based on one of my favorite English bands, The Cure. It explains a little more of why I ranked this theme so high. I found “Dress” to be a stronger theme overall than “Gessekai”, with more melodic arrangement and dynamic instrumentation; it sticks with you not so much for the sequence, but the song is strongly tied with its mood. I think Trinity Blood’s opening is well animated, but I almost wish they could have done a bit more with it in retrospect. I say this only because I’ve seen the series in full and noted it – I thought it was good, typical in a vampire anime series, but Abel Nightroad is a funny leading character, particularly in his goofy stages. 
Of course…in his vampire form…no comment.
#38 “Ai no Hitoribocchi” (Touch 2nd OP) This was almost an instant favorite for me, considering I really like sport adapted anime series with a little something more in the mix. I haven’t finished Touch to date, but I started a while back and I progressively came into it. It’s about as long as Slam Dunk if you can imagine that, and considering I’m almost to the point where this opening theme starts, I have a long way to go. It’s a beautifully done series. Nice elements of romance, comedy and drama rolled into one, and the sport elements aren’t too heavy for one who might not gravitate towards the genre.
On the theme: I really liked the catchy melody, particularly with how well it sequences this “in medias res” stop and start vibe within it. It’s a song (dates back to…1985, I think) with a very nostalgic feel for me.
#37 “I’ll be the One” (Hikaru no Go OP2) This was another theme I had a hard time placing in my overall list, but finally settled since Touch’s theme came so close to it (in the proximity of the countdown, not in relation) in terms of sport anime. Hikaru no Go’s very addictive. If you watch it, you’ll likely be hooked on learning about Go, and it has a nice story and characters to follow with a bit of a supernatural edge (courtesy of Sai, I still remember how much his character made me laugh, alongside his interactions with Hikaru). I miss series like this that extend a bit longer than the standard 13-26 episode series and manage to hook you through progressively. “I’ll be the One” is energetic with a very clear cut animated sequence. HAL’s upbeat J-pop style reminds me a little of Ayumi Hamasaki among other popular J-pop singers, and at least in part, I know that’s what allowed the song to grow on me. I think the reason why it also ranks so high is because I watched this series around the time I really started to be engrossed in anime for what it was (not so much in the same way I was exposed to Sailor Moon, where I didn’t know about anime or its classifications).
#36 “Uninstall” (Bokurano) This is one of the most beautiful songs from an anime series I’ve heard in the past year, and from such a popular adapted manga. Ishikawa Chiaki is an individual artist who has worked countless times with Yuki Kaijura (as a part of the group See-Saw) and contributed a number of different themes for anime (Mermaid Forest, Gundam Seed, .hack//sign, among others). If the number of Yuki Kaijura contributed songs on this list doesn’t boggle your mind yet, you can say she’s one of my favorite anime composers among others. The animation was very well adapted, I liked the focus on each of the characters and the conflict noted in the sequence. For those who don’t know what it’s about, the series revolves around a group of school kids whom are placed in a game environment and literally have to fight for their lives while in the game. I won’t spoil any more of it, but let’s just say it’s becoming a new favorite in my eyes as I come closer to finishing it.
#35 “duvet” (Serial Experiments Lain) Still one of my favorite theme songs for its congruences with the thematic; pretty somber, but you don’t readily get that impression with the melody, so it’s counterbalanced. Lain is a trippy series in a similar measure, and it was the first anime of its kind that I watched. In subsequent watches, I finally appreciated it for what it had to offer (it’s kind of the same way I think about series like Paranoia Agent and Boogiepop Phantom – the latter is still a series I need to finish). To correct a common misconception: boa is not BoA. boa is a British group whom have performed independently for a number of years, I know they have two albums, and I own one of them called “Twilight” digitally. BoA is a Korean artist who has performed anime themes, namely “Every Heart” from Inuyasha. I made the same mistaken attribution the first time I saw this series, but I figured it out after a few Google searches. XD
The sequence itself really stood out in my mind with its transitions. You see Lain in the television among all of these other images and you get the impression that she’s almost like Big Brother from George Orwell’s 1984. Odd? Definitely. She’s so transient and disconnected from reality, and I think that idea is what makes the song work so well with the theme. It’s also one of the reasons why it stands out so much among most of the themes I’ve highlighted thus far.
#34 “Rewrite” (Fullmetal Alchemist 4th OP)/”Ichirin no Hana” (Bleach 3rd OP) To spare any dwellings on the subject, FMA is one of my favorite anime series. Matter of fact, it’s stuck smack dab at #2 on my overall anime list. “Rewrite”, the fourth opening, features awesome animation and the Asian Kung-Fu Generation contribution definitely caught on to me. This is one of, if not my favorite AKFG songs, and I do have a number of songs I love by the group. A lot of people told me in retrospect that this was too low for “Rewrite” to be. I don’t know if I agree, because there were a lot of anime themes that stood out just as well in my mind. It’s hard for me to put into words why this isn’t higher, but I can tell you it’s not the only favorite theme from FMA I have. Most of you can probably guess what is to come if you’ve seen this countdown before, but for those who haven’t, I’ll leave you in thought for just a little bit longer. 
So this was my second tie of the overall countdown, and unwittingly; I didn’t intend for it to happen that way, it just did. “Ichirin no Hana” is my favorite Bleach theme hands down. Why? It’s very different from its respective peers, and you wouldn’t even think of this as a typical anime song. Most conventional themes are bubbly, catchy radio friendly J-pop that can get stuck in your head for days on end. “Rolling Star” and “D-Technolife” did that for me instantaneously and I loved them on first listen. “Ichirin no Hana”….I don’t know if I loved it at first listen, but it was one of those themes that you had to either love the stylistic or appreciate how divergent it was to really come into it. It’s also worth noting that more conventional J-rock themes have melodically bouncing rhythms that propel them. This completely goes outside the boundaries and while it’s a heavy melody, it also has this rather teeming, almost seething, tonality that threatens to bubble over at some point, and I think of Ichigo when I hear it (and of course his hollow side, which is shown in the sequence, very clever to come into that). The sequence isn’t one of the most dynamic, but it fits the song well.
High and Mighty Color are one of my favorite groups to listen to, though unfortunately Maakii, the lead female vocalist, left the group a while back. It was one of the few J-groups I knew to have a prominent male and female vocalist coinciding with their divergent styles. Yuusuke switches between singing, melodically rapping, and screaming his lungs silly. 
Maakii is more melodic, she has a unique vocal, that’s both surging and fits with rock and more melodic ballads quite well.
#33 “Shell” (Witch Hunter Robin) I think Witch Hunter Robin’s animation stood out to me along with the rather darkly textured style of the song. I love Bana’s vocals here, I don’t know whom to compare her to, because she has a style unlike most I’ve heard. Pity that I don’t know much of her work outside her contributions to WHR. The melody as a bit of a grunge flavor, but with a bit of a lighter, more melodic tonality, so it’s hard to put it into one set bubble.
The animation is just as dark and rich as the tonality of the song, very fluid and smoothly executed. I still play this song on my Ipod rather frequently, even to date, it’s one of those songs that stuck with me and didn’t want to let go, only with this, it’s never released it’s grip, whereas with some of the former songs, I’d set them to the side and listen to them to in a set moment. I could listen to this for a long time and not get tired of it.
#32 “Rhythm Emotion” (Gundam Wing 2nd OP) I promised that I’d have another Gundam Wing song on my countdown, and here it is. Wait…what? No, that factor doesn’t mean I arbitrarily placed it here. XD This is my favorite theme from the series, hands down, and one of my favorite Two-Mix songs as well. It has a drive I tend to lean towards, especially with respect to Gundam songs, but what makes it different is that it takes a little more liberty with the melody than “Just Communication” does. I also liked the sequence a lot more than I did with “Just Communication”.
#31 “dis (club-mix version)” (Infinite Ryvius) Infinite Ryvius is one of my favorite sci-fi series, and as mentioned in the video, one could think of it as a “Lord of the Flies” in space if they really wanted to. Yet, it’s so much more than that, combining elements of “1984″ among a number of other different things, and I love how it focuses on different groups to provide a shifting perspective of a space camp attendance gone terribly wrong, and the students are forced to make the journey home for themselves. The song is performed by Mika Arisaka (Gundam Seed Destiny, Twelve Kingdoms), and I have a lot of respect for her as a vocalist. Loved her contribution to this theme, and probably as you’ll see in my ending themes countdown (coming soon…hopefully), you’ll hear a lot from her.
#30 “Hateshinai Tabi” (Bubblegum Crash) Oddly enough, I don’t remember the Crash OVA all that well, but I do remember the music from it, notably. One of which was this opening theme. You can say I have an orientation towards elder sounding themes, but I find the Bubblegum Crisis/Crash soundtracks incredibly appealing. Hard to say exactly why, but I guess it goes along with what I mentioned about Touch’s 2nd OP: there’s something really nostalgic about it. Not to mention it’s chock full of attitude and personality.
