Anime EDs have it rough. They usually don't get the fanfare that OPs get, and they also have the burden of playing after the viewer has been swept through the emotions of an episode. If an ED sounds off, even a little bit, then things can get awkward in a hurry.
If you watch enough series, then you are bound to come across a few EDs that are just completely inappropriate for a series. Mood Whiplash is a common occurrence with these songs -- an episode will have a dramatic end, and then the ED flips on and completely ruins it. Maybe it's a good song on its own; however, if connected to the wrong series, even a good song can quickly turn into crap.
So let us honor some EDs that have made for awkward experiences for anime viewers!
This is "Rock the L.M.C." from Red Garden; this ED inspired this post. Red Garden is not an entirely happy series through seven episodes. (I guess that is to be expected from a show about four girls brought back from the dead who are forced to fight supernatural creatures to regain their lives.) A couple of the endings have been downright depressing ... only to be followed with, "ROCK! ROCK! THE L M C!" and then I'm like "wtf is this i don't even".
As a song, it's not bad -- kind of goofy, but a fun listen. As an ED to a mostly serious (if completely bizarre) series? Uh, no. Not happening.
Then there's "Torch" from Clannad ~After Story~, an ED that is pretty infamous for being a huge sugary bitchslap of Mood Whiplash. There's no denying it: After Story -- particularly the second half -- goes for tearjerker endings pretty hard. And "Torch" does work with the finale without a doubt. Unfortunately, that is the only episode it works with; every other episode is more like, "LET ME WALLOW IN MY TEARS INSTEAD OF TRYING TO INJECT ME WITH 500CCs OF HAPPY PLEASE". Come on, After Story, you should know the score.
Finally we have Escaflowne's ED, "Mystic Eyes", which distinguishes itself by being not only totally inappropriate for most of the endings but also a fucking terrible song. Seriously, that song blows so much that the Hiltons would be embarrassed to associate with it. (Although if you're like me, you'd actually consider that appropriate for Escaflowne's horrifically awful stretch of episodes from around eps 15-20. Nothin' like capping off some stupid ass romance like a bit of "Mystic Eyes", I always say.) I'm glad I watched this in Anime Club and could distract myself by chatting with people instead of listening to this garbage.
I doubt this is the end of the line with inappropriate EDs. What do you, the viewers at home, think? Any experience with EDs that just seem like they're in the wrong series?
