Evangelion opening breaks record with 100 million views

Singing at the top of your lungs the song of the depressed giant robots is a mandatory requirement to call yourself a fan of Japanese animation. This Tuesday, within the anime community, it was confirmed that the legendary musical theme A Cruel Angel's Thesis sung by Yoko Takahashi has just crushed a historical record by surpassing 100 million official streams on Japan's music platforms.

The supreme otaku anthem

To give you an idea of the scale of this achievement, the famous ORICON popularity chart revealed that in the last week alone, the song was listened to more than half a million times. Adding up all the numbers since the company began counting digital streams in December 2018, the official theme of Neon Genesis Evangelion reached the monstrous and untouchable amount of 100,170,514 plays.

A hit that refuses to age

The most incredible part of this news is that the song is no trendy new release. This track was first released in October 1995. More than 30 years have passed since the world first heard this melody on television, and it remains exactly as popular as it was on day one. Yoko Takahashi herself continues to fill stadiums singing this anthem that gives you goosebumps at every event she attends.

The magic behind the record

Making a song from the nineties continue to compete against modern anime hits is no easy task. This record demonstrates three vital things about the power of this franchise:

• Pure nostalgia: Veteran fans never tire of listening to it because it reminds them of the afternoons watching the series after school.
• New generations: Thanks to short videos and internet memes, today's teenagers discovered the song and haven't stopped playing it on their phones.
• The weight of the anniversary: With the 30th-anniversary celebration of the mecha story, everyone is reviving the craze for these classic television characters.

Seeing that the mythical song of angels and robots remains the undisputed queen of Japan after 30 years, do you think there is any modern opening that can take its crown, or will Evangelion always be the king of otaku music?