Akiba Research Institute Announces the Results of the Akiba Anison Awards 2020! The key point of ani-songs that won the hearts of anime fans in the Corona disaster is "emphasis on the world view"!

Akiba Research Institute's official voting project "Let's decide the best ani-song of the year," which was held from January 20 to February 3, 2020, has now closed! Akiba Research Institute Anison Award 2020", which was held from January 20 to February 3, 2020. Here are the results.

This voting project is a project to decide the best ani-song of the year 2020 by everyone's vote. The project was to decide the best ani-songs in 2020 by your votes. Which ani-song will be chosen by Akiba Research Institute users as the best ani-song of 2020?

Please check this out as well!
⇒ This year, too, Hiroyuki Deguchi and Ichirokuso Samejima will talk about the best anime songs of 2020 ! This is the BEST Anime Song of 2020!

Let's start with the top 10.

No. 1 Mai Fuchigami "Crossing Road" (ED of "Shokugeki no Soma Gou no Sora"): 1264 votes

No. 2 Aoi Eir "I will... (ED of "SWORD ART ONLINE ARISATION War of Underworld THE LAST SEASON") 1250 votes

No.3 Makoto Furukawa Makoto ni Harutenya [Today is Makoto's Day] (OP of "Takkuboku Tori Tantei Sho") 658 votes

No.4 SUZUKI Minori "Yozora" (ED of "Koisuru asteroid") 430 votes

No.5 ARP "Burn it up" (ARP Backstage Pass OP) 328 votes

No.6 Akari Kito "Kimi no Tonari de" ("Adachi to Shimamura" ED) 314 votes

No.7 Kanako Takatsuki "Anti world" (OP of "One Million Lives") 261 votes

No.8 ELISA "Hikari no hoshi" ("The Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Die Neue These (NHK version)" ED) 222 votes

No.9 Aina Suzuki "Hikariiro no uta" (ED of "Hatena☆Illusion") 208 votes

No.10 Rena Ueda "Literature" (OP of "Witch's Journey") 199 votes

First of all, it is striking that many of the top-ranked songs were ballads with soothing melodies or pop songs with beautiful melodies, as if to reflect the world that has been drastically changed by the new coronavirus.

In particular, "Crossing Road" sung by Mai Fuchigami (ED of "Shokugeki no Soma: Go no Sora") at No. 1, "I will..." sung by Eir Aoi at No. 2 (ED of "Sword Art Online: Arinori") at No. 3, and "I will..." sung by Mai Fuchigami (ED of "Shokugeki no Soma: Go no Sora") at No. 4 were all popular. (ED of "SWORD ART ONLINE ARISATION War of Underworld THE LAST SEASON"), both of which are sung by female vocalists with lyrics of enveloping tenderness and a gentle push on the back, over a beautiful song melody. The song is a superb pop tune with a vivid piano melody, dramatic strings, and drum phrases.

The song is great from the perspective of an anime song that enlivens the work, but the key point is that it is also a song that gives a quick lift to the listener's spirits.

It is no wonder that these two songs competed for the top spot.

Third place went to "Today's Makoto ni Harutenya," the OP theme song for "Takkubotori Tantei Shojo," sung by Shin Furukawa, who is always at the top of Akiba Research Institute's recent popularity polls for voice actors. The retro-inspired song with Furukawa's beautiful voice also received a large number of votes. The music video, with its bewitching mood, is also a must-see.

In fourth place was "Yozora," the ED theme of "Koisuru Asteroids" sung by Minori Suzuki. Suzuki has always had a strong reputation for her singing ability and expressiveness, and this ballad song fully showcases her charm as a singer. Since the theme of the anime is astronomical observation, the lyrics and music have a romantic finish, reminiscent of a scene looking up at the night sky surrounded by stars.

The song was highly popular, partly because of the way it matches the worldview of the work.

Fifth place went to "Burn it up," the OP theme for the anime "ARP Backstage Pass," which depicts the members of the ARP idol unit. The song is sung by ARP, of course. The song is a hot and cool EDM with a strong bass sound, which is very popular nowadays.

It may be a coincidence, but the popular female vocal songs have a "healing" image. Male vocal songs evoked an image of "strength," and the top five songs were clearly divided in terms of trend.

Looking at the top 6 and below, female singers were all in the top 5. In particular, Akari Kito, Kanako Takatsuki, and Aina Suzuki, all female voice actresses who debuted as artists between 2019 and 2020, have been remarkably active, and all have demonstrated high singing ability.

Ms. Kito sings "Kimi no Tonaride de" ("Adachi to Shimamura" ED), which has a stylish, fast-paced style and is as refreshing as the anime. It is a perfect match for Kito's singing voice.

Takatsuki and Suzuki, both from the voice actress idol unit "Aqours," ranked in with their debut solo artist songs, and Takatsuki, who has memorized more than 1,500 anime songs, sings a super aggressive hard rock tune that can be considered a royal anime song. Ms. Suzuki, a talented singer who once won a folk song contest in her hometown of Hokkaido, Japan, challenged the contestants with a pop tune that made the most of her outstanding singing ability. The results are as you can see. We have high expectations for their further success in the future.

I personally recommend "Hikari no Hoshi" (No. 8, "The Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Die Neue These (NHK version)" ED) sung by ELISA and "Literature" (No. 10, "Witch's Journey" ED) by Rena Ueda.

ELISA has always been an impressive singer with expressive vocals reminiscent of opera, and this song is a magnificent one that makes the most of her weapons. It is a ballad song that is a gem to listen to at the moment "another page in the history of the galaxy" is being carved. Only she could sing such an anime song.
Currently, ELISA is taking a break from her music activities and is looking for a new agency to resume her activities. We hope that she will return to the scene as soon as possible and weave a new song into the history of anime songs.

And we would like to push "Literature" at No. 10 as a song that can only be sung by a voice actor. The melody itself has many semitones and requires a great deal of singing skill, but Ueda's ability to sing it with the subtle nuances of breath and emotional expression that only an actor can bring to the song is truly remarkable. The lyrics of the song are also based on the growth of the main character, Irena, and the story-like lyrics probably had a great impact on her singing.

Overall, the music is more about how it can be listened to carefully than about flashy elements such as catchiness and variety. The main point of evaluation in the anime song scene in 2020 was whether or not the song was well suited to the work.

Please take this opportunity to check out the songs ranked 11th and below.