My Five Favorite Anime Openings:
#5: Psycho Pass:
Thoughts on the Opening:
Psycho Pass’ first OP is fantastic. I love that it caters to an extremely underused aesthetic in anime that I happen to be a fan of, film noir. The use of black and white, combined with the grainy filter that is used throughout the OP give off a more cinematic feeling. Being a Production I.G anime, obviously the animation is great, but something that also stands out to me is the fantastic visual direction. The visuals in this OP feel dynamic and that is mostly down to the skilful storyboarding. To briefly touch on the song, I think it’s great. I wouldn’t say that it necessarily reflects the tone of the anime, however, in this case it didn’t really need to, considering the visuals already do that so perfectly. I also think that Abnormalize is by far Ling Tosite Sigure’s best anime opening.
Thoughts on the Anime:
Psycho Pass has a very dark and interesting dystopian setting that is made all the more terrifying by its extreme realism. It’s full of great characters who progress over the course of the story, this progression also helps to keep the viewer invested in what is happening. Overall, Psycho Pass is a thematically rich work of fiction that not only presents an interesting world, but one that is a fantastic glimpse into a potential future for humanity.
#4: Kids on the Slope:
Thoughts on the Opening:
Another day, another 10/10 MAPPA OP. In my opinion, this is the best OP that Shinichiro Watanabe has every directed. The editing, the shot composition, everything about this is perfect. I mentioned the editing, but to elaborate, I love that each shot so perfectly leads into the next, all while maintaining perfect synchronisation with the music. This OP should be the standard for visual direction in an anime OP.
Thoughts on the Anime:
I would place this anime as Watanabe’s second best, it may be a manga adaptation unlike his other anime, but even so, from the parts of the manga that I read it seems like Watanabe was able to make an anime adaptation that actually justifies its existence. Having an anime about music isn’t necessarily always going to be better as an anime, but Watanabe has proved time and time again how good he is at choosing people to compose soundtracks. The characters in Kids on the Slope range from fantastic to absolutely terrible so it’s hard to judge them as a whole, however, what this anime does best is maintain its style throughout. The feeling that this anime gives off is unlike any I have seen, the directing style and the fluid animation reflect what the story is about so perfectly. The animation has a sort of bounce to it, this directly reflects the Jazz music that is played by the characters. The use of rotoscoping also works wonders for this anime. While this anime may be inconsistent, the sheer number of fantastic scenes in it more than make up for it. I’d give it a strong 8/10.
#3: Mekakucity Actors:
Thoughts on the Openings:
Being a Shaft OP, naturally it is very visually impressive. The animation has a lot of character and does a great job in reflecting the tone of the show. I find it to be a little different from most Shaft OPs, however, the spirit of Shaft is still very much felt throughout the OP. I also greatly appreciate the aesthetic that they were going for with the high contrast colours that are present throughout, I won’t waste anymore time talking about the OP as what I really want to discuss is the anime itself.
Thoughts on the Anime:
Mekakucity Actors is by far the worst Shaft show that I have ever seen. This anime had a promising start, I liked the structure of the plot, having the first episode thrusting you into this futuristic world and wasting no time explaining what was actually happening, the concept of showing and not telling was in full force during the first episode. Episode two then recounted the events of the first episode from the perspective of another character, this provided some much needed expositions, and it was also a pleasant surprise to see that the exposition was presented in a tasteful manner. I would say that Mekakucity Actors remained good until around episode six, from then on the quality dropped considerably. Any attempt at characterisation was handled clumsily and had the opposite effect than what the writers intended, the characterisation made me care about the characters less. Also, the sheer amount of melodrama that was present towards the end was unbearable, and if that wasn't bad enough, it then devolved into an edgy mess of an ending. It was as if the writers didn’t understand what the appeal of the show was in the first place. Ultimately I gave it a 4/10, which may seem a bit high after reading that, however, the visuals were consistently great enough for me to raise my score a bit, being a shafter show, the art, animation and directing were fantastic throughout. Also I had enough good will leftover from the early episodes that I was able to restrain myself from giving it the 2/10 that it might actually deserve.
#2: Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress:
Thoughts on the Opening:
Out of all the fantastic OPs that Wit Studio have produced, to me, this is by far their best. There’s some tough competition, such as AOT and Seraph of the End, however, my preference for the Kabaneri OP mostly comes down to the song. For the most part, I greatly enjoy any anime openings that Egoist works on, and out of all the great songs she has composed for anime, this is by far her best. The song is just so distinct, it really stands out when compared to the vast sea of generic anime songs that upon hearing, I immediately forget. To touch on the visuals, the art and animation is great, something that also stands out to me is the fantastic action direction. Tetsuro Araki (the director) has always been great at directing action, maybe even the best action director in the industry, so it is only natural that this opening would follow that trend.
Thoughts on the Anime:
I have talked about Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress extensively in the past so I will spare you any repetition. But to summarise, Kabaneri’s first half is perhaps one of the best set of episodes I have ever seen in anime. I have no doubt that, if the entirety of the show had been as good as it’s first half, I would have put it in my top ten anime of all time. The art, animation, directing, soundtrack, characters, plot and everything else is absolutely perfect for the first half. Even when there are slightly underdeveloped characters, there is more than enough happening elsewhere to make up for it. What caused Kabaneri’s drop in quality was entirely down to it’s script, the antagonist of the story is abysmal, the threat being Kabane was a lot more engaging as it was easier to understand, having poorly thought out politics enter the story was only ever going to be to the story’s detriment. As I said, I won’t go into too much detail, so for now, these are my thoughts on Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress.
#1: Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu:
Thoughts on the Opening:
I have never seen another anime opening that has so perfectly reflected not only the tone of the anime, but also the events that take place. This OP is both thematically and symbolically rich, the visual direction is spectacular and leaves the viewer feeling both awed and slightly uncomfortable. As the show progresses, the meaning behind the OP becomes clearer and clearer, a sense of desperation is felt, this is because you start to realise what the eventual outcome of the series is going to be. This OP exemplifies how to perfectly foreshadow events using an OP, it is especially impressive considering there are a vast amount of OPs that outright spoil major plot points, for example, Mirai Nikki. Something I also love about this OP is the song, it is able to be equally beautiful and haunting, which is a dynamic I am yet to experience in any other anime OP/ED.
Thoughts on the Anime:
Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu is perhaps the most genuine story I have ever experienced. The characters all feel so real, the level of effort that has gone into crafting them is unbelievable. This anime has some of the most human feeling characters I have ever seen in fiction. Absolutely everything about this show is perfect, the first season had some minor issues but the second season was able to resolve them all, and even go further, creating one of the best anime of all time. Not to mention, the 11th episode of the second season is perhaps my favourite episode of anything ever. It was genuinely able to bring a tear to my eye, absolute perfection. I touched on the visual direction in the OP, but to not talk about the directing in the show itself would be a travesty. Every shot is framed perfectly, it is always clear and to the point. There’s a wellspring of fantastic shots in this show that would take too long to go over, the fact that the same director just worked on Kaguya-sama is an absolute tragedy, such a waste of the talents of a fantastic director.
Well that wraps up my top five anime openings, comment either your top five or just some of your favourites.
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