Best anime/movie soundtracks of the big three?

[Fefifo]

Bleach?

Naruto?

Or One Piece?

And explain why

[Captain Highwind]

Oh definately Bleach.

Despite it's filler and pacing issues, it cranks out a ton of awesome music, like the espada themes, and songs like Invasion (see sig) and Treachery. The first season's music was alright, but they're redoing a lot of it lately with orchestra which makes it awesome.

[Beefy]

Bleach

Because Shiro Sagisu is the man. The man who made the epic music of Evangelion and whose music made the otherwise mediocre Kare Kano a lot better.

Honorable mention goes to Naruto with the Orochimaru theme music.

[Baseball]

This is extremely tough to decide. If there's any clear winner, it would probably be Kohei Tanaka for his work in One Piece. He's established some amazing themes, and more often than not, his work is outstanding. Tanaka is also not afraid to use established classical works in the show if the scene calls for it--notably the Ave Maria during Chopper's flashback, and the New World Symphony in the final fight against Crocodile in Alabasta.

However, I can't discredit Shiro Sagisu or Yasuharu Takanashi. The only loser in this competition might be Toshio Masuda, simply because his movie soundtracks were completely uninspired and pedestrian. Shiro Sagisu has done well with Bleach, though lately he has been overusing certain tracks within the show. Also, his choral arrangements are lacking. He never does a straight a capella recording of singers, which I think would be really cool. I love how he associates styles of music with different characters; the Arrancar themes primarily center around acoustic guitars, the Visoreds are ska, and the Soul Reapers are primarily classical. Ichigo and his friends? Industrial/Grunge, though we haven't heard many of those tunes in a while.

Yasuharu Takanashi definitely broke some new ground too for Naruto. Toshio Masuda's soundtrack introduced definite themes for the characters in Naruto, along with certain instruments. However, not only does Takanashi establish new themes for important characters in the show, but he also uses real instruments. Masuda's almost criminal overuse of the synthesizer really could kill the mood, which is why I hold such disdain for the first three movie soundtracks; they're almost entirely synthesized, and poorly at that. Takanashi's music can at times sound authentically Japanese, which really sets the mood of Shippuden. But at the same time, he'll mix in the guitars when necessary to pump up the viewers.

[garfield15]

I want to say One Piece. A lot. It's music is very iconic. To the point that I know that when a scene happens in the manga, I can say "Oh I bet they're going to play this music here" and I'm actually usually right. Plus, outside of like one or two, One Piece has a very good track record with OP songs.

But....I have to give it up to Bleach. Especially early Bleach because they gave us the awesomeness that was Number One. One Piece has a great track record with OP songs but Bleach (to me personally) has an even better one mainly because I recognize most of the bands playing. And the battle music for Bleach is very up-tempo when it needs to be and very creepy when it needs to be. I don't anyone can forget the theme music that plays at some points (you know, the one that has the strained guitar strings and the people in the back going "waa-waawaa" all distorted-like). So as much as I think the story is lacking, I'll give it to Bleach in terms of music.

Naruto had great music in the begining but then started to lose it in Shippuden. In terms of OP songs, I think it's ironic that most of the songs I liked were in filler and the canon ones weren't the best I've heard (Except for OP 5 for Sasuke Retrieval arc. That was the greatest) whereas for Shippuden, the canon arc songs rock and the filler arc songs aren't that hot. Especially the current one though I have warmed up to it. FLOW is coming this week so I'm looking forward to that.

Hey, why hasn't FLOW done a One Piece OP yet?

[Mr. Anime]

It's a hard choice for me as all three have awesome soundtracks but I give the edge to Kohei Tanaka for the after mentioned use of classical music and the air of adventure, he puts into One Piece's soundtrack.

[Silver Soul]

Bleach, bar none, it's the only one of the three I actually remember all the openings and endings to and also the the series has a memorable loop and BGM especially in it's first season. I hardly remember any of One Piece music but I do remember most of them sounding the same. I have fond memories of Naruto's soundtrack from Part I but haven't found any memorable music in Shippuden.

[Radiant]

One Piece can not be beat. One Piece's background music is AWESOME. The classical and orchestral music adds to it, plus the music enhances the emotion more than any other anime I've ever seen does.

In fact it's unfair to compare Bleach and Naruto to One Piece here for me, because One Piece has my favorite music out of any series, anime or otherwise. I'll give it to Bleach that it has some cool background music, but not on the scale that One Piece does.

Naruto? Nothing special at all. Sorry.

It should be noted that I judge less on openings and endings. To be honest I haven't even heard a lot of them because I just skip over them. I've been hearing more of One Piece's openings and endings and being pleasantly surprised that they're pretty good too. But sadly I do not usually care for such music as the popular anime use in their openings and endings. That's why I give my favorite opening and ending to Monster. It's something completely different.

But this isn't about Monster. XD

So yeah, I'm judging on background music here. BGM is the most important anyways, if you ask me. =P And One Piece's BGM just wins everything.

[macattack]

Hey, why hasn't FLOW done a One Piece OP yet?

Hey, why hasn't FLOW done a Bleach OP yet? XD

In the subject of BGM . . .

Bleach has the most diverse BGM by far. It dives from industrial/hard rock to flamenco (a type of Spanish dance music) to ska to crazed synth explosions and all-out classical whenever need be. Shiro Sagisu does a great job of composing themes that fit the characters and the show despite utilizing so many different genres. But B13a from the latest Bleach movie is the single best tune from any of these series. Just listen to it. Nothing One Piece or Naruto has done can match the sheer epicness of B13a.

Naruto Shippuden's music to me stands out more than the original series. The synth has been greatly reduced, and been replaced by real instruments. The shibasen (a Japanese guitar) gets used a lot for emotional/sentimental pieces, and the introduction of strings helps add dramatic weight to every piece they're used for. Taiko drums and electric guitars are holdovers from the original series and thus gives Naruto both an oriental and modern flavor, it gives Naruto's music an identity. I find that Shippuden's usage of real instruments and more complicated arrangements provide a more satisfying and powerful listen than the original series.

One Piece tends to fade in the background for me unless it involves the OPs/EDs. The 4kids music didn't fit well at all, and although the original BGM fits better, it doesn't stick in my head the way Sagisu's and Yasuharu's compositions do. It's not bad but it's just there in general, with the exception of some themes.

The worst music is probably the original Naruto series, which got on my nerves in general. The synth gets used WAY too much for everything, and only some awesome electric guitar solos save the soundtrack. I know the music has its fans but I have a preference for real instruments. I don't mind synth as long as it isn't overpowering. Here, it is overpowering.

As for favorites, it is actually Shippuden's BGM which is cancelled out by the original series' lackluster score, which gives Bleach the victory.

[garfield15]

Hey, why hasn't FLOW done a Bleach OP yet? XD

Well, I always figured they would get to Bleach eventually. I mean, Bleach had freaking Beat Crusaders, Yui and AKFG.

Hey, why hasn't AKFG done a One Piece opening either? XD

[macattack]

Well, I always figured they would get to Bleach eventually. I mean, Bleach had freaking Beat Crusaders, Yui and AKFG.

Point taken. I have a feeling they're saving FLOW for the final episodes of the series.

As for AKFG, One Piece has never been one for edgy OP tunes. I think AKFG is a little too loud and aggressive for OP. I think FLOW is just mellow enough to be OP-ready but AKFG doesn't really fit.