<h1><em>In your eyes</em> by <em>Samantha Newark</em> in Project A-Ko (1986)</h1>

<p>The earliest use of an English song as an opening in the Japanese version of an anime I can find is <em>In your eyes</em> by <em>Samantha Newark</em> in Project A-Ko (1986), however, English songs were fairly common in versions <em>dubbed</em> for North America and Europe, often getting complete song rewrites instead of translations.</p>

<p>See the differences between Dragonball Z's English and Japanese openings for a good example of this.</p>

<p>Later on, however, when they stopped shipping new openings with anime (around 2000, for memory), English songs became more common, sporting names like Radiohead (<strong>Ergo Proxy</strong>, <em>2006</em>) and Oasis (<strong>Eden of the East</strong>, <em>2009</em>). An early and particular favourite of mine is <strong>Serial Experiments Lain</strong>'s opening, <em>Duvet</em> by <em>Boa</em> (<em>1998</em>).</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-02-29T04:19:20.957Z
Ah, I'd thought of "Duvet" when I saw this question as well!
Maroon
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-02-28T15:20:28.180Z
2016-02-28T15:20:28.180Z
Quill
<p>I noticed a few animes in the 00s feature Western opening and closing themes.</p>

<p>For example:</p>

<ul>
<li>Ergo Proxy's ending theme is Paranoid Android by Radiohead</li>
<li>Speed Grapher's opening theme is Girls on Film by Duran Duran.</li>
</ul>

<p>Both of which are pretty big names.</p>

<p>But, most anime usually have an artist/group performing the songs that hails from Japan.</p>

<p><strong>When did a track from the West first appear as an opening or ending to an anime?</strong></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-02-28T15:06:16.960Z
To clarify, is this specific to the Japanese version, or does this include the new openings bundled with dubbings? EG Pokemon, Dragonball Z
Quill
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-02-28T15:07:28.737Z
@Quill the original Japanese version (although, I'm sure dubs might be interesting too)
Toshinou Kyouko
<music><anime-history>
What was the first anime to feature an OP/ED that was not performed by a Japanese group/artist?
# What was the first anime to feature an OP/ED that was not performed by a Japanese group/artist?
Posted by: username_0 on 2016-02-28
I noticed a few animes in the 00s feature Western opening and closing themes.

For example:

* Ergo Proxy's ending theme is Paranoid Android by Radiohead
* Speed Grapher's opening theme is Girls on Film by Duran Duran.

Both of which are pretty big names.

But, most anime usually have an artist/group performing the songs that hails from Japan.

**When did a track from the West first appear as an opening or ending to an anime?**
**Tags:** music anime-history
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: To clarify, is this specific to the Japanese version, or does this include the new openings bundled with dubbings? EG Pokemon, Dragonball Z  
> **username_0**: @Quill the original Japanese version (although, I'm sure dubs might be interesting too)  
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## 1 answers
### Answer by username_1 on 2016-02-28. Score: 6 | Accepted answer
# *In your eyes* by *Samantha Newark* in Project A-Ko (1986)

The earliest use of an English song as an opening in the Japanese version of an anime I can find is *In your eyes* by *Samantha Newark* in Project A-Ko (1986), however, English songs were fairly common in versions *dubbed* for North America and Europe, often getting complete song rewrites instead of translations.

See the differences between Dragonball Z's English and Japanese openings for a good example of this.

Later on, however, when they stopped shipping new openings with anime (around 2000, for memory), English songs became more common, sporting names like Radiohead (**Ergo Proxy**, *2006*) and Oasis (**Eden of the East**, *2009*). An early and particular favourite of mine is **Serial Experiments Lain**'s opening, *Duvet* by *Boa* (*1998*).
> **Comments:**
> **username_2** (2016-02-29): Ah, I'd thought of "Duvet" when I saw this question as well!  
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