Most successful anime theme song singles and soundtracks?

[pianocello]

In US, Billboard has a very comprehensive listing of the most successful singles and albums of all-time and this also includes hit singles from movies/TV series and also their soundtrack albums. I'm under the impression that in Japan while anime singles may hit the top 10 in Japan from time to time, they are generally not as successful as their non-anime counterparts.
Is there some kind of top 10 or 20 chart that lists the most successful anime singles and sountracks of all time in Japan? Is there also some chart that lists the most successful ones of all-time outside Japan?

[something]

[Edit: Skip to the next post for a more recent, more comprehensive list.]

Not all-time, but a couple months back someone posted a list of the best selling anisongs since 2000.

This is a bit out of date now, because it's from March 2010.

01) 2009 - 174,248 - K-ON! - Don't say "lazy"
02) 2002 - 173,894 - Gundam SEED - Anna ni Issho Datta no ni
03) 2007 - 171,756 - Lucky Star - Motteke! Serafuku
04) 2005 - 156,172 - Gundam SEED Destiny - Kimi wa Boku ni Niteiru
05) 2009 - 152,647 - K-ON! - Kagayake!GIRLS
06) 2006 - 146,739 - Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu - Suzumiya Haruhi no Tsumeawase
07) 2006 - 125,349 - Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu - Hare Hare Yukai
08) 2008 - 123,271 - Macross F - Lion
09) 2005 - 119,841 - Gundam SEED Destiny - Life Goes On

10 in this list is non-anime: Climax Jump from some Kamen Rider series.

As mentioned, out of date. I believe all four OP/EDs from K-ON!!, the second season, have now sold enough to break into this list. I know the Go Go Maniac and Listen have, and if Utauyo!Miracle or No, Thank You! have not yet, they will very soon. Kagayake has also long since passed the #4 song by now.

I know there was a more current and much more comprehensive list than this posted a little while ago, I'll try to find it later if I can. My Soul, Your Beats!/Brave Song from Angel Beats!, for example, is well past 100k and should also be on the list.

I'm under the impression that in Japan while anime singles may hit the top 10 in Japan from time to time, they are generally not as successful as their non-anime counterparts.

Oh yeah, definitely. You have huge exceptions like K-ON! but for the most part it is not typical for anisongs to tear up the charts. Most seiyuu (who sing a lot of the anisongs) aren't big household names and those that arguably are (uhhh, Mizuki Nana basically, arguably Hirano Aya to a smaller extent; I remember reading something by one of the seiyuu bloggers regarding seiyuu that "regular" people recognized by name), are better known for their non-anime work.

[something]

Ah jeeze, I found it already but my previous post took too long for me to just go erase it now.

http://yunakiti.blog79.fc2.com/blog-entry-5421.html

Best selling anisongs since 2000 This list is a bit more recent, as of June 2010
Note: This list is restricted to artists considered primarily "アニソン歌手" (anime song singers). See this list for a top 10 that includes mainstream acts that don't primarily do anime songs.

01) 2009 - 180,593 - K-ON! - Don't say "lazy"
02) 2002 - 173,894 - Gundam SEED - Anna ni Issho Datta no ni
03) 2007 - 171,756 - Lucky Star - Motteke! Serafuku
04) 2009 - 158,423 - K-ON! - Kagayake!GIRLS
05) 2005 - 156,172 - Gundam SEED Destiny - Kimi wa Boku ni Niteiru
06) 2006 - 146,739 - Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu - Suzumiya Haruhi no Tsumeawase
07) 2006 - 125,349 - Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu - Hare Hare Yukai
**) 2010 - 124,250 - K-ON!! - No, Thank You! [As of 9/21/2010]
08) 2008 - 123,271 - Macross Frontier - Lion
09) 2010 - 121,531 - K-ON!! - GO!GO!MANIAC
**) 2010 - 120,205 - K-ON!! - Utauyo!! Miracle [As of 9/21/2010]
10) 2005 - 119,841 - Gundam SEED Destiny - Life Goes On
11) 2007 - 113,915 - Kamen Rider Den'ou - Climax Jump DEN-LINER form
12) 2001 - 110,570 - Shaman King - Over Soul
13) 2004 - 109,777 - Gundam SEED - Akatsuki no Kuruma
14) 2010 - 108,625 - K-ON!! - Listen!!
15) 2008 - 108,504 - Macross Frontier - Diamond Crevasse
16) 2000 - 104,500 - Love Hia - Sakura Saku
17) 2010 - 100,515 - Angel Beats! - My Soul,your Beats!/Brave Song
18) 2005 - *97,179 - Gundam SEED Destiny - Honoo no Tobira
19) 2009 - *96,282 - Bakemonogatari - Kimi no Shiranai Monogatari
20) 2010 - *93,499 - Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha: The Movie 1st - PHANTOM MINDS
21) 2002 - *93,080 - Shaman King - Northern lights
22) 2008 - *91,539 - Macross Frontier - Triangler
23) 2008 - *85,799 - Macross Frontier - Seikan Hikou
24) 2000 - *82,850 - Pokemon - OK!
25) 2009 - *82,465 - K-ON! - Fuwafuwa time
26) 2008 - *82,297 - Rosario + Vampire Capu2- Trickster
27) 2007 - *82,271 - Kamen Rider Den'ou - Perfect-Action～Double-Action Complete Collection～
28) 2008 - *81,685 - Kamen Rider Den'ou - Double-Action CLIMAX form
29) 2009 - *80,717 - To Aru Kagaku no Railgun - Only my Railgun
30) 2007 - *80,218 - Katekyou Hitman Reborn! - Sakura addiction

Again, still out of date. Listen!! is probably top 10 by this point, or up a few spots at the least. Both K-ON!! OP2 and ED2 are top 10 by this point, so I added in the latest numbers I have for those (9/21). I think they've added a few hundred more since.

I also think some of the other K-ON! insert songs and maybe some of the AB! GirlDeMo discs have passed 80k by now.

Pretty impressive that over 1/3rd of these are 2009-2010 songs. Well, mostly thanks to 7 K-ON! discs of course.

[Fencedude]

Originally Posted by something

13) 2004 - 109,777 - 暁の車

Gundam Seed - Akatsuki no Kuruma

15) 2008 - 108,504 - ダイアモンドクレバス

Macross Frontier - Diamond Crevasse

18) 2005 - *97,179 - 焔の扉

Gundam Seed Destiny - Honoo no Tobira

20) 2010 - *93,499 - PHANTOM MINDS

Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha: The Movie 1st

21) 2002 - *93,080 - Northern lights
22) 2008 - *91,539 - トライアングラー
23) 2008 - *85,799 - 星間飛行

Macross Frontier - Northern Lights, Triangler, Interstellar Flight

[Ashyukun]

Interesting- that does very heavily skew toward newer shows (K-ON!/!, AB!, Haruhi, SEED, Frontier). Would definitely be interesting to know how going back to 1980 or so changes things...

[Isuzu Inugami]

How is "Northern Lights" 2002...?

And speaking of Frontier, I wonder if having a mainstream J-pop artist (assuming May'n really is a mainstream J-pop artist--I get the sense she's more of an up-and-comer with Frontier being her big break) as opposed to a seiyuu affects the perception of whether something is an anisong, or just a song that was used for an anime?

[Fencedude]

Originally Posted by Isuzu Inugami

How is "Northern Lights" 2002...?

Because I just realized that its not the song we are thinking of. I make this mistake all the time with this song for some reason.

This is Northern Lights by Hayashibara Megumi, from Shaman King, and it was indeed in 2002.

This is Northern Cross, by May'n/Sheryl Nome, from Macross Frontier

[something]

Originally Posted by Isuzu Inugami

How is "Northern Lights" 2002...?

Hmm here's the original post: http://yunakiti.blog79.fc2.com/blog-entry-5421.html

It must be Northern Lights from Shaman King instead of Macross. There was also a Macross F song with the same title? [Edit: okay yeah fence confirmed.]

I updated the list with Fence's additions and filled in the remainder.

And speaking of Frontier, I wonder if having a mainstream J-pop artist (assuming May'n really is a mainstream J-pop artist--I get the sense she's more of an up-and-comer with Frontier being her big break) as opposed to a seiyuu affects the perception of whether something is an anisong, or just a song that was used for an anime?

I'm sure it helps. You'll probably get a lot of people buying a "Mizuki Nana" single who aren't necessarily fans of whatever anime it goes with. In those cases I expect you're likely to see little to no reference to the anime itself on the CD packaging...

On the other hand if there's enough fans of the show then packaging it as connected to the anime helps. You're never going to see a K-ON! CD with Hikasa Youko or Toyosaki Aki on the cover in place of Mio or Yui. And of course the albums are listed as "Houkago Tea Time"...

[something]

Originally Posted by Ashyukun

Interesting- that does very heavily skew toward newer shows (K-ON!/!, AB!, Haruhi, SEED, Frontier). Would definitely be interesting to know how going back to 1980 or so changes things...

Sales before 2000 do seem hard to find, for DVDs or otherwise. I guess data from Oricon as we know it now wasn't as easy to come by? And the farther back you go the more things will be split between VHS and DVD.

[something]

Haha, I just realized KyoAni songs have 8 of the top 10 (or top 12 at least). K-ON! x 5, Haruhi x 2, Lucky Star x 1.

I've always said those guys are kings of OP/ED sequences and this sort of proves it.