Anime songs that were hits in the 1990s. Recommended masterpieces and popular tracks.

YOU GET TO BURNINGMatsuzawa Yumi

YOU GET TO BURNING

Aired in 1996, Martian Successor Nadesico was a popular TV anime that combined SF mecha action with romantic comedy elements.

Its opening theme, YOU GET TO BURNING, marked Yumi Matsuzawa’s major-label debut as a vocalist and became a hit, breaking into the top 10 on the Oricon charts.

ETERNAL WIND ~A Smile in the Shining Wind~Moriguchi Hiroko

ETERNAL WIND ~A Smile in the Shining Wind~

This piece is the song performed by Hiroko Moriguchi as the theme for the film Mobile Suit Gundam F91.

It became her first entry into the top 10 on the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart, peaking at No.

9, and ranked No.

47 on the year-end chart.

Befitting a grand anime set in space, the lyrics carry prayers for peace and a message of hope, also giving it an anti-war dimension.

Though a mid-tempo ballad, its sweeping choruses and strings create a sense of scale that offers a powerful comfort to people living with the anxieties of the times.

It’s an iconic 1990s anime song that makes you want to overlay feelings of parting and reunion with loved ones, and thoughts about the future.

Until the world ends…WANDS

WANDS “Until the World Ends… [WANDS 5th Generation ver.]” MV

This is WANDS’ eighth single, which was used as the second ending theme for the 1994 TV anime Slam Dunk.

It played alongside Mitsui Hisashi’s comeback arc, topped the Oricon weekly chart for two consecutive weeks, and became a million seller.

Show Uesugi’s impassioned vocals and Tetsurō Oda’s masterful composition lyrically portray the sense of loss after heartbreak and the turbulence of shifting emotions, building gradually from the first verse and bursting open in the chorus—thrilling whether you sing it or listen to it.

Also included on the album PIECE OF MY SOUL, it remains an immortal classic loved across generations, continually covered by the reactivated fifth-generation WANDS since 2019 and by Show Uesugi himself.

We are!kitadani hiroshi

One Piece OP 1 "We Are"

The anime adaptation of One Piece, the flagship series of Weekly Shonen Jump, began in 1999.

Its first opening theme was We Are!, which was Hiroshi Kitadani’s debut single.

The song won the Theme Song Award at the 5th Animation Kobe Awards.

JAMTHE YELLOW MONKEY

THE YELLOW MONKEY – JAM

THE YELLOW MONKEY is a band that steadfastly upholds its own aesthetic, grounded in glam rock.

Released in February 1996, this song is a heavy rock ballad whose piercing, earnest message resonated widely.

It portrays a sharp gaze toward society and a thirst for life—touching on everyday loneliness and the unease felt toward overseas news coverage.

It was used as the ending theme for NHK’s music program “Pop Jam,” and its coupling track became the theme song for the anime Rurouni Kenshin.

When you want to feel the human vulnerability and quiet prayer that lie behind the dazzling sound, this is a track well worth listening to.

GET THE WORLDKageyama Hironobu

Bakusō Kyōdai Let's & Go!! OP

Just hearing the intro makes your heart start dancing—this is that kind of song.

It’s the theme song of Bakusō Kyōdai Let’s & Go!! Thanks to this anime, Mini 4WDs became a social phenomenon.

The cool melody and vocals are irresistible! Sing it at karaoke and it’s guaranteed to hype everyone up.

It’s a work that matches the anime’s image perfectly.

As myselfKuwashima Houko

As Myself (New Version)

Martian Successor Nadesico is a science fiction anime produced by XEBEC that aired from 1996 to 1997, and it later received a theatrical film.

The ending theme is “Watashi Rashiku,” Houko Kuwashima’s major-label debut song.

Houko Kuwashima also voices the main heroine, Yurika Misumaru.