the glory gospel singers sing a cruel angel's thesis

The Best (and Worst) Neon Genesis Evangelion Theme Song Covers

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It is one of the single-most recognizable anime themes in history. Upon pressing play on any given episode of Neon Genesis Evangelion in the last 20-plus years, it has thrust forward, delivering an assault of characters and giant-robot violence, fist-pumping power chords, and lyrics about angels and boys and the blue sky. It is chock-full of meaning and symbolism and foreshadowing to the messy, psychologically complex, emotionally jarring events of the series it invites you to watch. It is also relentlessly dumb, musically ham-fisted, and far more impressionist than even the crazy complicated chronology of that series.

Perhaps that tension—and its incontestable catchiness — is why “A Cruel Angel’s Thesis,” originally performed by Yoko Takahashi, has endured so. It’s a hymn that’s been performed to high heaven, by groups secular and religious, professional and amateur, anime adoring or anime despising. Even Disney’s Goofy has a goddamn cover of this goddamn song. Because I can’t resist a good YouTube dive, here are the best and worst renditions of this idiotic, irresistible track, labeled according to their EVA Unit model number .

Unit-BOBBY!: The Match Made In Texas

Artist: Gamblor Performance review:   ★★★★★

As unbeatable as the taste of a crisp Alamo beer on a sweltering night in Arlen,the smell of propane, and the 1986 Texas Longhorns women’s team.

Unit-JOY: That Gospel Lift, That Angelic Riff

Artist: The Glory Gospel Singers Performance review:   ★★★★

A truly stunning take on the track. This New York gospel group slayed this performance on the Japanese song competition program NHK Nodo Jiman . They even got an apparently confused Japanese audience to clap along.

Unit-MIME: The Buoyant Verve of Post-Soviet Dance

Artist: The Ukrainian Military Band + a miming dancer? Performance review:   ★★★1/2

The only reason this doesn’t get a full four stars is because the video I found is less than 40 seconds long, but this rendition really does come with everything else. Dueling tubas, footwork, energetic hand motions. On several Friday nights running, I have sat down on my couch, with a neat scotch in hand, and watched this video on repeat for two hours. There is nothing finer.

Unit-YOUNG BOY: The English Impatient

Artist: AmaLee Performance review:   ★★★

Many attempts have been made at translating the original Japanese lyrics of “A Cruel Angel’s Thesis.” AmaLee, a YouTube-famous singer who’s made a name for herself with several anime covers, has arguably the take that lyrically makes the most sense and sounds the closest to Takahashi’s original vocals. You can’t ask for much better if you want an English take.

Unit-SLOW: The Bike Horn Model

Artist: aberrantkenosis (music) + Alex Small-Butera (video) Performance review:   ★★1/2

For some, I would assume, there is a place for bike horn covers, the specialty of Soundcloud user aberrantkenosis , who has compiled several volumes of the stuff. If that’s your cup of tea, I respect it and prefer coffee. Unforunately, this rendition moves at a more languorous than any other on this list, and I cannot personally endorse it. The attempt, however, is admirable.

Unit-GOOD BOY: The Canine Modification

Artist: Gabe the dog+ Mweeorgh (video) Performance review:   ★★

What is there to say, but “Woof?”

Unit-666: The All-Boys Catholic High School Model

Artist: The young men of Chaminade High School Performance review:   ★

Full disclosure: Both John and I attended this all-boys Catholic high school in Mineola, New York, and hated it. This parody was apparently made by some of its intrepid nerdy students who were attempting to crack wise on the aggressively Christian-themed music videos the administration would use to launch the morning announcements. (Others included über-Godboy ballads like “Awesome God” and “Be Ye Glad.”) This is a fine joke as-is, but to anyone who’s sat through those 8am announcements, it’s gold.

It makes me happy to see a glimmer of anime humor in an otherwise defiantly conservative, moralistic den of adolescent misogyny (that in recent years was the subject of troubling sexual abuse allegations ). Applause to the students who created the video. Hopefully dogma and demerits didn’t traumatize them too badly.

Unit-1932: The Good, the Bad, and the Goofy

Artist: Goofy Performance review: No stars.

A smattering of the top YouTube comments on this video, ranked:

• “this video made both my lungs collapse”
• “This song will be played on a loop at my funeral”
• “I don’t know how I got here. But I don’t plan on leaving”

In short, you need to watch it.

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A Cruel Angel's Thesis

A Cruel Angel's Thesis is the opening theme song for the series Neon Genesis Evangelion , composed by Hidetoshi Sato and sung by Yoko Takahashi . The lyrics are by Neko Oikawa while the arrangement is by Toshiyuki Omori. The song also has the distinction of taking first place in the JASRAC Awards. [1]

This song was written with relatively limited involvement from Hideaki Anno and the production staff, being handled by producer Toshimichi Otsuki . [2] Anno originally wanted to use an excerpt from Borodin's Polovtsian Dances in the opening, but the producers did not approve of this and instead decided to use a J-Pop song, which eventually resulted in the creation of this song by Neko Oikawa.

Oikawa apparently had very little knowledge of the show, which was under production at the time with the episodes not having been colored. According to tweets and interviews, Oikawa went through a proposal of the show (possibly Neon Genesis Evangelion Proposal ) and watched two unfinished episodes on fast-forward, only serving to broadly "fit" the anime after the fact [3] [4] The writing process for Episode 01 took as long as six months, [5] and the opening sequence was not yet finished. [6] [7] The original song included a male chorus, which was cut at director Hideaki Anno's request in order to "emphasize maternal affection". [8]

Oikawa states that she took inspiration for the title from the manga A Cruel God Reigns . [9] Among other statements, Oikawa said the lyrics "become a legend" were originally "become a weapon" and that she decided to make the song about the perspective of a mother when her child "leaves the nest." [10] Singer Yoko Takahashi was also brought in relatively haphazardly and had no knowledge of the series, and would only see the opening featuring her voice when it aired on TV. [11] She had also first met Anno on the day of recording. [12]

Original Japanese Lyrics: Neko Oikawa

Translation Notes

1 This was translated by Takayama Miyuki and these are the translator's notes:

• young boy, become the legend! : The word "shinwa" actually means "myth" ("legend" would be "densetsu"), but I think it sounds better as "legend."
• with surging, hot pathos : "Atsui" (hot) can also mean "intense, passionate." "Pathos" is "the quality or power in life or art of evoking a feeling of pity or compassion; pity; suffering; sorrow."
• Embracing this sky [universe] and shining : "Sora" (sky) is the reading given for the kanji for "uchuu" (universe).
• has any meaning : The kanji used for the "a" in "aeta" is not the normal kanji used in "au" (to meet). It's the first kanji in "ouse" (encounter, tryst) and has more of a connotation of meeting by fate or being brought together by fate, not just meeting. (Interestingly, a dictionary I have gives the meaning of "au," when written with this kanji, as "to meet (with drama or pathos)")
• for learning freedom : The "watashi wa sou" is probably "watashi wa sou omou." And "bible" in this case isn't referring to *the* Bible. "Bible" can also mean "guide book, how-to book, a book valued for its use as a reference," like in "a handyman's bible," or "a bird-watcher's bible."

2 This is the translation found on the U.S. release of Evangelion by ADV.

3 The instrumental section contains chanted non-Japanese lyrics in Yoko Takahashi 's version and a few others, while other versions of the song have a purely instrumental section. The January 1996 issue of Newtype magazine transcribed Takahashi's lyrics in this section as "Fariya. Seta(or sepa) messo. Fariya. Tuse." which they speculate is from the fictional language of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Alternatively, an EvaGeeks forum discussion suggests that the lyrics may be "Faria? Será mesmo? Faria? Eu sei!" which is in the Portuguese language. Since the word "Faria" is usually used in a similar way as the English word "would", those lines could be interpreted as someone doubting something or someone else. There has never been any official information on the actual lyrics or their meaning, if any.

• ↑ http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2011-05-25/songs-from-evangelion-other-anime-win-jasrac-awards
• ↑ From the animania blog report on the March 28, 2005 NHK Anime Yawa talk show (translation by animania) - Otsuki said he allowed Anno to do whatever he wanted in the anime except for the theme music. Otsuki was particular about the theme and handled the music staff by himself, going as far as to claim that no anime staff, even Anno, met the music staff (apparently contradicted by Oikawa's statements). - Yuko Miyamura, BS AnimeYAWA
• ↑ “My manager got the job, we had a quick meeting lasting about 30 minutes, skim-read the proposal and watched two episodes on fast-forward. And with that I was told ‘so, yeah, just write whatever you want!’, and finished the song [lyrics] in about two hours. Sorry to burst your bubble, guys!” http://soranews24.com/2015/01/08/a-cruel-angels-thesis-took-just-two-hours-to-write-says-evangelion-lyricist-neko-oikawa
• ↑ "It wasn't even colored. I wrote the song, and my job was done. I wrote it in about two hours." Anime News Network interview with Neko Oikawa
• ↑ 2nd JUNE interview
• ↑ Notenki Memoirs
• ↑ According to Hidenori Matsubara during the Animazement 2015 convention, "the song was created before they even got done with animation for the opening theme. Strangely enough, the song manage to go along with the opening animation."
• ↑ Refrain of Evangelion OST Booklet, 2003.
• ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20160830224921/http://news.livedoor.com/article/detail/11939169
• ↑ https://www.sankei.com/west/news/161228/wst1612280011-n1.html
• ↑ Yoko Takahashi Performs Neon Genesis Evangelion Theme, “A Cruel Angel’s Thesis,” to Excited Crowd at Anime Expo 2015 in LA
• ↑ —When was your first meeting with Mr. Anno? "It was on the day of recording. As I said earlier, when I entered the studio before anyone else to get ready, even while I couldn't afford, a man dressed in black and wearing sandals suddenly appeared. I didn't know who it was, but I just said hi, and he was actually Mr. Anno (Hideaki). It was a shocking encounter (laughs)." - Yoko Takahashi: EVANGELION FINALLY (2020)

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537. Christ for the world we sing

1 Christ for the world we sing! The world to Christ we bring with loving zeal; the poor and them that mourn, the faint and overborne, sin-sick and sorrow-worn, whom Christ doth heal.

2 Christ for the world we sing! The world to Christ we bring with fervent prayer; the wayward and the lost, by restless passions tossed, redeemed at countless cost, from dark despair.

3 Christ for the world we sing! The world to Christ we bring with one accord; with us the work to share, with us reproach to dare, with us the cross to bear, for Christ our Lord.