Top 35 Best Anime Ending Theme Songs Of All Time (Ranked)
This post may contain affiliate links. If you buy something we may get a small commission at no extra cost to you. (Learn more).
We always remember our favorite ending themes in anime.
Sometimes more than the opening in some cases!
Sure, the opening has the difficult task of hyping us up for the next twenty minutes – but the ending’s job is far harder. It follows up cliffhangers, emotional climaxes, and may even be the last thing you see before the experience is over.
There have been thousands of anime ending AMVs that could have made it onto this list, but I couldn’t rank them all, my friends.
I am but one man. Yet through years of devout research(read: watching anime), I’ve put together a huge list of the best ending AMVs & themes in all of.
It wasn’t easy – I had to fight buffering, broken earphones, and a lot of crying – but I think I’ve done it.
Our main character rotates naked in the fetal position, suspended seemingly underwater.
As she elegantly twirls, a soft and haunting ballad sings, wings flap in the background, and the color temperature gradually changes – until she vanishes in a flurry of feathers.
It doesn’t overstay its welcome nor interrupt the somber, delicate tone of the anime it’s ending.
Sayuri’s gorgeous voice sings over the artistically silhouette of a girl running though abstract imagery.
The instrumentals crash over you suddenly, exploding in an enthusiastic barrage of guitars and drums and hectic singing, before ending the piece on a quiet & contemplative note.
It’s a shame Ranpo Kitan ended up such a disappointment, but luckily this isn’t the last we’ll see of Sayuri.
You can feel the gravitas of the sister’s situation through guitars playing when the ending starts, cinematic and melancholic.
We’re presented with a completely white screen, our MC walking slowly but persistently in the forefront.
Eventually we reach the chorus where the morbid grip is dropped in favor of something more heartfelt and optimistic, until ending with the sisters finally meeting.
A storybook with crude childish drawings of our characters, and an expressively whimsical atmosphere.
This works hand in hand with the sweet vocals.
Unbearably cute, incredibly catching, and befitting the wholesome anime’s central motif of friendship and love (though the title might make you think otherwise).
While the opening of Death Parade is lighthearted, perhaps to freshen you up before the tear-jerking events of each episode… the ending drags on that emotion.
Sad, sorrowful singing – “I’m not gonna make it, is it almost over now?” – above morose guitar-heavy instrumentals, amplify the despair that makes up each episode.
Starting with softly sung vocals atop a frantic but quiet beat, the song eventually opens into an upbeat cybernetic collection of eclectic guitars and swooping strings.
Then it evolves again, into something resembling an electronic dance song that I cannot help but tap my foot to.
Furious and frantic, this AMV ending theme carries the cyberpunk aesthetic on its shoulders proudly.
Bitpunk electronica, an eager drumbeat, and a killer subdued vocal performance introduces this ending – one of Hiroyuki Sawano’s best – before the digital ambient atmosphere drops in favor of smashing guitars and haunting singing.
In Japanese, German, and English, she paints a vivid picture of emotional detachment, frustration, and anger all with her voice.
This is my favourite Hiroyuki Sawano vocal performance.
Switching from Japanese to English from verse to verse, he screams lines like “are you still my family?” and “it won’t be long, we’re gonna see the end of night” with such earnest compassion, that you’d believe he was a character in the show.
This theme reflects the estranged nature of the two main characters, adopted brothers now working for opposing sides.
The verses are soft-spoken, frightened, before the instrumentals drop into an eclectic chorus rife with emotion.
Nightmare’s soft introduction acoustics is a front for the energetic rock anthem that is Alumina.
Reflective, considerate, and sorrowful feelings are rapidly replaced with a victorious gothic chorus, complete with cascading piano keys and gorgeous harmonious notes.
Somehow it feels like a window into Light Yagami’s mind.
All the while stylized and grandiose images of Kira are shown on screen, eyes lit red and menacing.
Starting off slow and morose, You Won’t See Me Coming quickly escalates into crunching electric guitars, a raspy gold-soaked voice, keyboards and synths, booming with class and coolness.
Jean-Jacques Burnel’s composition perfectly matches the bombastic, aristocratic & regal tale of revenge that is The Count of Monte Cristo.
Her high pitched, sing-song voice works in harmony with the minimalistic imagery on screen with this AMV.
We’re shown different distorted images while the instrumentals gradually build, until the song and animation explodes one more in a collection of sliding guitars, shifting strings, and an emotional vocal performance that goes down as one of her best.
The funky visuals (reminiscent of vaporwave) show a collage of Windows screens, ASCII text images, and other technological elements, while a complex math-rock song plays in the background.
The intricate guitar work, and the way both female and male vocals act in emotional harmony, is simply wonderful.
The aesthetically satisfying sliding and merging of different multicolored tatami mats, in time with a bizarre electronic song, is the perfect way to end Masaki Yuasa’s coming-of-age masterpiece.
The whispering vocals add an alien energy to the upbeat background electronica, accentuating the time-bending antics of the narrative brilliantly.
The ending to the Greed Island arc is certainly my favorite HxH ending, due to its emotional harmonious singers.
With more significance placed on Gon and Killua’s relationship in this arc, it’s only reasonable a song reflecting that be included.
The ambient electronic-acoustic instrumentals and lovely duet vocals perfectly convey their relationship; happy, poppy, energetic, and filled with love.
Charming illustrations of Ed and Alphonse accompany a sorrowful, earnest performance by Sid.
This is the ending most people remember from Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, due to its intrinsic emotional synergy with the quest of our main characters.
And once you get into the series, this is an ending you’ll never forget.
Millet sings atop a brutally animated scene of bloody warfare, a song about drowning, about being submerged in the feelings of our main character Thorfinn.
With Adele-esque pipes and heavy Western-indie influence, this song is an emotional bridge between episodes that encapsulates the main character’s mindset.
Samurai Champloo is many things – romance, action, drama, and much more – but its main motif is the blending of samurai and hip-hop.
To this end, the outro perfectly fits.
With cool lo-fi beats and a smooth guitar in the background, Shika no Uta calmly de-escalates the events of the episode with a soothing alternative piece.
Infectiously catchy, driven by the strong female vocals, this song wraps up the journey of our characters powerfully.
I’ll be honest – this ranking choice was near impossible.
With so many incredible endings (from Roundabout to Walk Like an Egyptian), slimming it down to one was difficult.
But here you are: Part 4, Diamond if Unbreakable, probably has the best ending.
Dripping in 80s charm and donning the newer Araki aesthetic of shifting colors and flamboyant poses, the twisting AMV in this ending is simply awe-inspiring.
On top of that is the song, perfectly suited to the atmosphere of the part, singing about cherry Cola and magenta feelings with all the bombast and catchiness expected of JoJo’s.
Featuring stellar fingerstyle guitar work, complete with bends and slides that sound simply wonderful, Wareta Ringo is a melancholic yet hopeful pop rock song that rounds of each episode perfectly.
Taneda Risa’s smooth vocals seem almost ethereal when paired with such instrumentals.
Unique – much like From the New World itself – this song perfectly grasps the core atmosphere of the show in a catchy, rhythmically strong earworm of a song.
Every episode of Neon Genesis Evangelion features an alternate version of Frank Sinatra’s wonderful classic, with different instrumentals and vocals depending on the events of that episode.
Each rendition is different, so judging the performance in one listicle entry would be impossible!
But the simple inclusion of the song in the anime is fantastic; a wistful ballad dreaming of somewhere else, namely the moon. And considering the moon is so significant to the plot of NGE, there is even more relevance in there.
An innovative, fantastic way to gauge our characters’ emotions.
Sadly this is not available on Netflix so if you want some classic Sinatra-style Evangelion, pick up the DVDs or check around for other streaming options.
To those who haven’t watched Clannad, the ending may seem infantile – even silly – but for those who have, it’s a tear-jerking anthem rife with nostalgia.
It’s full of fears of being alone, and thoughts on community.
It’s such a gorgeously simple song. It somehow encapsulates everything that makes Clannad so sweet, with a thematic resonance to one of the characters.
One of the sweetest ending themes in all of anime, still able to lift my heart with one listen.
What better way to close off an anime about artificial sentience then with the song on technological advancement?
Radiohead’s masterpiece is a British progressive rock song depicting human fears of technology becoming sentient, of us giving it the ability to rule our lives, and of the cognitive split to occur… were we thrust into a world like Ergo Proxy’s.
While the visuals aren’t much to look at – merely credits displayed in an aesthetically pleasing way – the song adds depth to the story.
And I think it cultivates an atmosphere that really prepares you for the next episode.
Distorting, distressing. Bordering the line of music with an experimental, eerie, and impossibly catchy tune.
The vocalists sing without rhythm, in dissonance to one another, while uncomfortably simplistic instrumentals try their hardest to drag it down.
Everything in this song – in this ending – is at odds with itself.
As if unsure of what direction they want to take.
Without notice, the BPM will increase, the vocals will collapse. You cannot expect any part of it.
It closes out an anime focusing on cognitive dissonance, feelings of shame, confusion, and depravity with an equally frightened song.
This is kinda like listening to corruption itself. Or having the devil in your ear – and throughout the length of the piece, the voice gradually conquers.
This is an acquired taste for sure, but to me, this is art.
Kafka was playing games in utero, and writing lists even longer. He has published numerous books and video essays, and is currently a student at university.
