I think we can all agree that the InuYasha EDs were better than the OPs, right? As much as I love Change The World and Grip!, nothing gives you an emotional gut-punch quite as well as the melancholy endings can.

Hearing one of the InuYasha ending theme songs transports me back to my 11-year-old self in a too-small apartment, eyes glued to our tiny tube-tv as the credits rolled. These memories way predate our current stream anything from anywhere mentality, and I knew that once the credits began to roll, it was another week until I was carted back to Feudal Japan.

InuYasha was probably the first show I ever developed an obsession for, so even now that I’m so far removed from that world, it continues to spark Marie Kondo levels of joy. Every once in a while I can spend hours watching YouTube compilations, listening to the music, and just reminiscing on a very simple time.

I’ve been wanting to make a general top 10 theme songs list for a while, and I certainly plan to rummage through the childhood favourite theme songs soon. But for now I thought, why not start with a list of something I know extremely well? So that’s what I did.

If you’re still on an InuYasha kick by the time you finish this list, check out the rankings I gave to InuYasha’s opening theme songs.

Here is my list of all of the InuYasha EDs, ranked from worst to best.

With You isn’t terrible. I think it starts off interestingly enough, but is then quickly dragged down by the weird musical overlay that just sounds like noise coming at you from every direction. Once that section is out of the way, we get more of what I expect from an Inuyasha ED. It’s a fun track that would work well as a backdrop against a bombastic Japanese video game. Still, compared to the other songs on this list, it just misses the mark for me.

While it obviously didn’t get as much syndication as some of the earlier tracks, I feel like if I’d heard this song hundreds of times I’d still struggle to remember how it went. There’s nothing particularly offensive about this track, it’s just blasé. Here and then gone.

Brand New World slaps you in the face with Change The World energy, and I expect nothing else from V6. The song sounds just as inspirational and pumped with cheese as its more sophisticated older sister, but it lacks the magnetism and decisiveness of Change The World’s hook.

Tooi Michi no Saki De – Ai Takekawa

Tooi Michi no Saki De screams DDR realness and I dig it. I actually think it’s one of the more unique sounding EDs InuYasha has, and it’s by far the best ending from The Final Act. I especially like the artist’s vocal delivery towards the midpoint, and think that she brought a noteworthy zest to the lineup.

Itazura Na Kiss – day after tomorrow

It lacks the desolation of my personal favourites, but she still slaps. My. Sweet. EMOOOOTION. Carly Rae Jepsen, who?

Come – Namie Amuro

Come is a dreamy, almost lullaby-like tune. Even with the music building up in the background, there’s just something very soothing about it. “I get, I get, I get, get the feeling…” might be one of the best English moments in any InuYasha ED. Don’t @ me.

Shinjitsu No Uta – Do As Infinity

Shinjitsu No Uta serves freshness off the get-go. Unlike most of the OP/EDs in InuYasha, it doesn’t lend itself to the early 2000s electro-funk wave. Instead, it boasts discernible live instrumentation, and samples traditional sounds throughout.

Dearest – Ayumi Hamasaki

We’ve reached the melancholy point of no return, folks. I don’t have much to say about this song, I just think it’s pretty. Ayumi knocks it out of the park, especially in the second half.

My Will – Dream

There was a point in the conception of this list that ‘My Will’ was ranked number one. It ignites the warmest feelings for me compared to all of them, but that’s almost 100% due to the fact that I heard it SO MUCH. Still, I love it. The visuals are also probably my favourite of all of the endings. I loved the juxtaposition of the modern and feudal world, even as a kid.

Fukai mori – Do As Infinity

“BOKUTACHI WAAAA” is a straight up mood, honestly. When I think of memorable song moments from Inuyasha, most of them come from this song. This was Do As Infinity’s first ED on InuYasha and they sing the hell out of it. For some reason I just loved the delivery of “fukai fukai mori no oku ni” as a child, and I still do.

Every Heart – BoA

After hearing this song as a youngin I came to the conclusion that BoA is GOAT. Imagine my shock to find out that she was one of the most successful K-pop artists to ever do it. And damn, did she do it. She’s got such a buttery smooth and soothing voice, but you know that. Every Heart is such a shimmery little bop, and that’s why it’s my number one pick.

When researching this list (read: listening to these songs over and over on YouTube), there were a myriad of comments on each video of people claiming every song to be the best and their favourite. To me there was no straight up bad songs, and they all had something kind of great about them. I think it speaks to something really special about InuYasha’s EDs that people’s opinions are so sparse.

This was such a fun list to make, and I’d love to know what your picks are for your best and worst InuYasha EDs. If you want to talk more InuYasha, check out my rankings of the openings. Number one might shock you…

Thank you for reading!