Yata’s Top 10 EDs of 2023

“Already? Yata, you usually don’t post these until December!” Look, extenuating circumstances occurred: I moved across state lines over the summer, and thanks to a combination of overlooked deadlines (oops, my fault) and DMV delays (not my fault), I essentially didn’t have a road legal car for all of October, rendering me a homebody in my free time. I could rant about the state of car dependency in this country, but that’s not what this blog is for, and needing something to do while biding my time, I made more than just a head start on my OP and ED lists—I outlined the former (that is, chose its final candidates) and completely finished the latter, months ahead of schedule. Yes, I know a few Netflix ONAs have yet to air, but seizing the opportunity, I asked my followers on Twitter if they’d rather wait until year’s end to see this ED list or indulge me by letting me churn it out now. By a narrow margin, immediate gratification won, so here we are.

Yata’s Top EDs of 2022

Howdy again, y’all! It’s great to be alive, and I say that with particular gusto as, mere hours after my previous post on this here blog, I came down with a 103.6ºF fever. The culprit? You guessed it: COVID. Yes, I was vaccinated and boosted—this current strain going around doesn’t give a fuck. That it could’ve been even worse (and that I made it three years before succumbing for a spell) doesn’t escape me, and I consider myself extra fortunate as I’d accomplished almost all of my year-end projects just in the nick of time to rest up and recover with nothing hanging over my head.

That said, there was one last loose end to tie up before sending the blog back into hibernation: my top 10 EDs of the year. With my OP lists, almost anything is fair game: whether I watched a show or not, whether I finished it or not, I’ll give any OP eligible in the time frame a look; I want to witness and promote the best of the best. But EDs, while a craft onto themselves, have a lower bar to clear. Fewer of them stand out. The ones that do manage to stand out do so a lot. And so this year, already spit-balling 10 I wanted to highlight solely out of shows I finished, I eschewed the notion of checking out every 2022 ED in the database. I revisited those from every show I watched, but I knew what picks would most honestly reflect my faves from the year and I got them right the first time around.

Yata’s Top 10 EDs of 2021

Hey, everyone. Yata here. Last time I logged in to post, spring had just sprung, but in the months since, mostly for work-life balance-related reasons, myself and Haru thought it best to put lengthy For Great Justice projects on hold.

Up front, I’ll confirm that hiatus from seasonal coverage will probably continue into 2022, but I still feel motivated to give our readers and friends something after all the radio silence, so my annual wrap-up material—my Favorite EDs, Favorite OPs, and Year in Review/Top 10 posts—will still arrive as usual, spaced out every few weeks before January if all goes well. To kick it all off, why not get the shortest one out of the way first?

Yata’s Top 10 EDs of 2020

It’s Yata, back for the third month in a row with takes about anime themes. What do you mean, “already?” I told you there wouldn’t be a huge wait this time around! What do you take me for, a liar? My record speaks for itself: I may be wrong about things, but I never intentionally lie. It’s for that very reason you should be able to trust that I ain’t bullshitting you: these following ten anime EDs are my favorites the medium gave us in 2020.

Yata’s Top 10 EDs of 2019

Hey, everyone. Yata here. I’m now 9 months late to what’s supposed to be an annual tradition here at For Great Justice, my opinions about the year’s OPs and EDs, but better late than never, I guess. If nothing else, you lot kept demanding the usual content, and while I’d normally be happy to provide, my time management has gone completely out the window and it will probably remain there through the end of the year. There will be no good time to churn these overdue pieces out. Their day has passed. But in order to get any head start for this year’s OP and ED list, I’ve first got to make good on last year’s promise. There can’t be a gap in the timeline. My pride won’t allow it.

Yata’s Top 10 EDs of 2018

For Great Justice is not dead. We are merely sleeping, and this post is our middle-of-the-night bathroom break, which is to say the only reason it’s here is because I wouldn’t be able to focus on other tasks without the momentary pleasure of relieving myself of these wonderful, irrelevant thoughts on some anime ending themes. World, get ready to be my proverbial toilet.

Yata’s Top 10 EDs of 2017

There’s just never enough time to go around, is there? The end of the year is slowly approaching, and I’ve already got loads of finals, holiday commitments, and other writing to juggle. Another list on top of all that seemed unthinkable. Hell, those annual Top 25 OPs lists I do take about two months of listening, writing, reshuffling, and editing before I even come close to a finished product, and that’s usually on top of all those other matters. Before now, though I’ve always been curious about doing an ED list too, I felt there was neither the demand nor the supply for one, since let’s face it, ending themes always get the short end of the stick. While a deserving OP is easy to rewatch, even during one-sitting marathons, EDs are usually less memorable, less addictive, and ultimately less talked about than their introductory counterparts.

But as I sat down in mid-October to run through my preliminary list of 2017 openings, I came to a surprising realization; this year has been uncharacteristically fantastic for ending themes. I could name several shows whose closing montages were just as well-regarded as their OPs, if not more so, and I didn’t want to waste the opportunity to do some of them great justice. After floating the idea and getting some warm feedback, I decided that if I were to ever do an endings list, this would be the year to try it out, and if I had any chance of completing it, I’d have to crank it out early. And thus, here we are.