Winding down to the final themes of the countdown. More under the cut 
#19 “Sara” (City Hunter 2) It’s funny that both of my favorite themes from the City Hunter franchise are from the same series; it wasn’t like that in the previous version of this countdown where I featured the second OP from the original City Hunter series – “Go Go Heaven” is uber catchy and makes you want to sing along to it, but “Sara” has a more level tonality about it that won me over. I haven’t finished City Hunter 2, but the moment I heard this song, I was attached to it for its romantic undertones. “Sara” is supposed to refer to Kaori, the main female lead in the series. I think in one of the episodes, Ryo refers to her as such, and in an endearing way that it ties into the opening theme appropriately. If you follow the anime series, it’s hard not to grow attached to these characters, even in the crazy, episodic adventures they find themselves within. Ryo’s a pervert with some annoying habits XD, but again, I don’t know, I find him to still be a likable character in and above it all. I had the same sort of vibe when I watched the spin-off series Angel Heart.
#18 “Yuudachi” (Boogiepop Phantom) When going back through my overall list to make sure I didn’t forget any themes before uploading them accordingly, I totally missed the fact that Boogiepop Phantom’s opening had a great impact on me. I can’t believe I omitted it! 
It’s such a great song, with a mid-tonal soulful quality. It’s calming to hear and from time to time, I find myself listening to it when I want something relaxing to hear. I really liked Boogiepop Phantom as an overall series. And though this video is older (I finished Boogiepop Phantom, finally, a while back; I’ve been meaning to watch it again from the beginning though). A lot of people say they didn’t understand the series, but if you watch it more than once, then it hits you with its meaning a lot more profoundly than your initial view. Just think of it as something akin to Paranoia Agent and other psychological series of that nature 
#17 “Wish” (NANA 2nd OP) Where do I start? There are so many things about this theme/opening that jump out at me that it’s hard to put them into coherent sentences (either that, or typing about 101 Anime Openings is finally taken its toll on me ). NANA’s second opening is my favorite in the series for its gorgeous animation, and illustration of the contrast between the Black Stones and Trapest bands. If you’ve read the manga, you already understand why that’s significant. Olivia Lufkin’s voice is gorgeous and she fits this more melodic rock scope very well, I could see her in the guise of Reira, Trapnest’s lead singer in the series.
#16 “Tank” (Cowboy Bebop) Tank is definitely one of my favorite themes of all time. It’s a classic instrumental that makes you think of the dramatic big band days of the jazz era. I love the orchestration and the coordination with the sequence. Cowboy Bebop has one of those openings that you won’t forget long after you watch it. The colors, the dynamic, the character shilouettes, everything about it radiates this cool vibe and you can’t help but be taken into the personality of it. Yoko Kanno is one of my favorite anime composers point blank for the way she seamlessly blends jazz alongside other elements in her music (since jazz is my first love musically, I appreciate it in that sense). Indeed, she’s one of the first composers you think of when it comes to jazzy elements in a theme, but she’s certainly not the only one. Still, I think of her as being among the first I’ve known to have such a momentum in her music.
#15 “All the Way” (Kino no Tabi) Kino no Tabi is one of my favorite anime series of all time, and the opening I find to be very fitting to its overall mood, undertaking a long journey and undertaking it without reservations. It’s a mellow theme, and the series takes that seamless mood for its majority, though there are some heavy themes the series delves into, such as issues of cultural relations, what it means to be human, etc. Mikuni Shimokawa is known for her theme contributions to the Full Metal Panic series among others, but I would say this is probably my favorite theme from her, and the sequence works brilliantly with the tonality of the song. Love the animation and smooth transitions in the opening; certainly it’s one of those themes I can call to mind very easily, both sequence and song.
#14 “Give a Reason” (Slayers Next) Slayers Next is both my favorite series from the franchise and my choice for favorite opening theme. It’s infectiously catchy, point blank. I couldn’t get this song out of my head even if you asked me to. Its romping melody and sequence is both engaging on a firsthand listen, as well as invests you in the sequence you’re watching. It was one of my top 10 anime themes on a previous run, but I had to take a step back and think about what other songs engaged me the most in retrospect, so it was bumped down a few notches as I saw more series to note. Still, I think of “Give A Reason” rather fondly, especially considering Megumi Hayashibara is one of my favorite seiyuu and J-pop singers. She has a lengthy career and engaging vigor she brings both to her roles and songs.
#13 “Cruel Angel’s Thesis” (Neon Genesis Evangelion) Don’t jump me because I put Evanglion’s theme here. 
Everyone and their sister, brother, cousin seems to put this theme at #1 (Tank as well, but can you assign any measure against it? They’re both excellent songs; they both made my list rather highly and I have a profound amount of respect for them both), but I can think of several themes that stand out in my mind above Eva’s theme. Still, it’s one of my favorite songs to date, and it does have a nostalgic, energetic feel to it that matches the sequence point blank. Evangelion was not one of my first anime series, and I have a love/hate relationship with it that’s indubitably noted. There are times when I’ll start screaming bloody murder about some of the things I found irking about it, but at the same time, I really enjoyed the series for what it had to offer.
#12 “Konya wa Hurricane” (Bubblegum Crisis OVA) This is how you do an opening if you want to grab someone’s attention, at least where music is involved. BGC has some of the best soundtracks I’ve heard in anime to date, and I love hearing them even if it dates back to the latter part of the 80s. There’s just an infectious amount of energy and melodic sway that the songs from the series have that sets it apart from other anime songs to date. I once noted that you don’t really see moments like this in modern anime series where you have a scene that commands your attention to both the action and the music simultaneously. It has been one of my favorite themes for a long time, was even my #1 for a time, but I note it highly among my favorite anime themes on a classic anime perspective. This isn’t the only BGC theme on my list, so you’ll see at least another coming in the measure of the countdown.
#11 “Rinbu Revolution” (Revolutionary Girl Utena) Utena was another of the shoujo series that was among my first, and I watched this not long after I watched Sailor Moon SuperS. It’s a series that’s hard to appreciate if you’re not into symbolism and if the numerous elements of bishounen (I’m not complaining, I’m just saying ) and the repetitive duels get to you before a certain point in the series. Yet, when the series hits its stride, it bolts to the finish line, and I definitely appreciated the series for what it had to offer in that measure. For the theme song, Masami Okui is yet another of my favorite Japanese singers, she has a vibrant vocal that seems to shine in both her more upbeat and placid songs. It’s not so much that Rinbu Revolution simply has a driving progression, it’s also melodic, and it fits the opening animation very well between the symbolic turns and noting the characters in the duel. I’ll admit whenever I think of this theme, I think of the spinning roses, and almost always the reference to Utena makes me think of the songs from the franchise, one of which is this theme, the others you’ll have to see in my separate countdowns
My top 10 is coming in the next entry! Whoo!
Hmmm, yes the eva theme seem to be high on everyone’s list. After an extremely promising opening, I thought it descended into a generic (albeit quite catchy) jpop song. I just don’t know why people rate it so highly. There’s been more originaly openings such as Tank, and more catchy conventional jpop songs, like the FMP fufmlkasdfklff opening theme.