During the opening ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, we got to hear a lot of songs we know from various Japanese video games. Not only that, during some of the matches at the Olympics in Japan, we could hear anime openings that matched the discipline! We got to listen to songs known widely such as victory fanfare from the “Final Fantasy” series, and even the opening of “Attack on Titan” anime!
You can see the tweet by “Dragon Quest” creator, Horii Yuuji, below:
His tweet roughly translates to:
When the entrance music for the Olympic Games was played by Dracula, I was also moved to tears. I felt that it was worth it doing this for 35 years (creating the Dragon Quest franchise). I would like to thank Mr. Sugiyama for composing the wonderful music, and all the people who have supported me. Thank you!
List of the songs played during the Tokyo 2020 Olympics Entrance ceremony
Also, you can see the full list of the songs played during the opening ceremony below:
- Dragon Quest “Roto’s Theme”
- Final Fantasy “Victory Fanfare”
- Tales of series “Sorey’s Theme – The Shepherd”
- Monster Hunter series “Proof of a Hero”
- Kingdom Hearts “Olympus Coliseum”
- Chrono Trigger “Frog’s Theme”
- Ace Combat “First Flight”
- Tales of series “Royal Capital Majestic Grandeur”
- Monster Hunter “Wind of Departure”
- Chrono Trigger “Robo’s Theme”
- Sonic the Hedgehog “Star Light Zone”
- Pro Evolution Soccer “eFootball Walk-on Theme”
- Final Fantasy “Main Theme”
- Phantasy Star Universe “Guardians”
- Kingdom Hearts “Hero’s Fanfare”
- Gradius “01 Act I-1”
- Nier “Song of the Ancients”
- SaGa series “The Minstrel’s Refrain: SaGa Series Medley 2016”
- Soulcalibur “The Brave New Stage of History”
To top it off, the Olympics in Japan also featured some anime openings! During the archery competition in a match between Indonesia and the United States, “Guren no Yumiya” (the first “Attack on Titan” opening) by Linked Horizon was played. It wasn’t the only instance of an anime song being played though! “Kimi ga Suki da to Sakebitai” by BAAD (“Slam Dunk” opening theme) accompanied female players representing the Japanese team in the “Basketball 3×3” category.
Apart from that, we got to hear the theme song of “Haikyu!!” (“Imagination” by SPYAIR) during the volleyball match between Japan and Venezuela. We could also hear the soundtrack from “Ghost in the Shell” during Judo matches. As you can see, there was quite a number of anime openings and songs played during the Olympics in Japan!
For example, you can hear the “Haikyuu!!!” opening in the Tweet below:
In this Tweet, you can hear the “Attack on Titan” opening playing:
During an “Equestrian” competition, Naruto Shippuden’s “Blue Bird” (played on a guitar without the vocal) opening theme was played:
What’s more, a Mexican gymnast, Alexa Moreno, chose a track from the “Demon Slayer: Mugen Train” during her routine:
Demon Slayer’s opening was playing in a boxing match between Japan and Tunisia:
Source: Yahoo! Japan News, Twitter, Kudasai Twitter account
©古舘春一／集英社・「ハイキュー!!」製作委員会・MBS
©諫山創・講談社／「進撃の巨人」The Final Season製作委員会
