Summary
Within 90 seconds, an opening encapsulates an anime’s essence: its tone, its themes, and its characters. It represents the entire show. Openings are also a symbiotic relationship between animators and musicians: an iconic opening can bring a band new fans, while a theme song by an established artist can raise interest in an anime.
Withso many incredible animeswith iconic openings, it’s difficult to choose just a dozen. For newcomers, openings mark the moment they become fully invested in a new show or season. For fans, these songs are a gateway to treasured memories. Here are some of those memories revisited.
12Makafushigi Adventure (Dragon Ball)
Performed by Hiroki Takahashi
Dragon Ball can safely lay claim to beingone of the greatest shounen series of all time. What started as a lighthearted fantasy series soon evolved into a media juggernaut that enraptured millions and packed real-life stadiums to witness its hugely hyped fights. The first series, however, focused largely on adventure, with new encounters on every horizon.
Makafushigi Adventure, composed within two days, captures the spirit of the 1980s anime. The song paints the world as one big treasure island, waiting to be explored. Seeing Goku flying on his cloud, his young eyes bright with wonder, it’s hard not to be convinced.
1199 (Mob Psycho 100)
Performed by Mob Choir
One-Punch Man is more popular, but Mob Psycho 100 is Japanese manga artist One’s greatest work. The anime has endeared many to its unassuming hero, thanks in no small part toits stellar animation.
99 is an iconic opening not just for its clever songwriting, where the Mob Choir counts up the digits throughout, but also for its hilarious dissonance. It seems like such an epic opening was only designed to put its po-faced protagonist on the spot. All he wants is to live a simple life and confess to his crush, guys. Leave him alone.
10Complication (Durarara)
Performed by Rookiez Is Punk’d
Durarara is the kind of anime that you can watch, adore, and at the end still ask yourself, “So what was all that really about?” The series' sprawling, suspenseful storylines and bizarre characters are utterly compelling. At the heart of Durarara is Ikebukuro: the city itself.
The anime’s second opening encapsulates the frustration and disillusionment some of the characters experience, stuck in a district that seems to be populated with more villains than civilians. One of its most original aspects is that the previous episode is recapped in the middle of the opening, replacing the rap verse. When the song kicks back in, it’s sure to give you goosebumps.
9Duvet (Serial Experiments Lain)
Performed by Boa
One of the most avant-garde and somber animes of the nineties, Serial Experiments Lain is still subject to fascination and analysis today. It’s not just because of its intriguing plot and beautiful art style. It’s because its opening is an absolute earworm.
At the time, Duvet was unusual in that it wasn’t written specifically for an anime. It was a song director Chiaki J, Konaka picked out of an alt-rock album. The man has good taste: set to dreamy visuals that reflect the protagonist’s mood, Duvet is unforgettable.
8Driver’s High (Great Teacher Onizuka)
Performed by L’arc-en-Ciel
No opening captures the vibe of its protagonist quite like that of Great Teacher Onizuka. From the moment you see his morning routine in the heavily stylized intro, you know this guy can’t be bothered.
At the time of GTO’s airing, L’Arc-en-Ciel was one of the most popular rock bands in Japan, and Onizuka seemed like the kind of guy who’d put his hopes and dreams into their songs. Irreverent, carefree, and juvenile, he nevertheless manages to teach his students some unforgettable life lessons. The guy has a heart after all.
7What’s Up, People (Death Note)
Performed by Maximum the Hormone
Death Note is one ofthe gateway animes- the battle of wits between L and Kira served as many fans' first brush with the medium. Through all its twists and turns, the show left us breathless and eager to know what happened next.
Maximum the Hormone is a band that does System of a Down better than System of a Down. Their raucous energy is a perfect companion to Death Note’s attitude. The visuals of the opening sync up perfectly with the song: admit it, you can already see L spinning on his chair.
6Hikariare (Haikyu)
Performed by Burnout Syndromes
Can a single sports match take up an entire season? In Haikyu, it sure can. The third season sees the underdogs face their toughest opponents yet. Every moment is breathtaking. We wouldn’t blame you if, at some point, you stood up and cheered like you were watching a real volleyball game.
As one of thebest sports anime ever made, Haikyu is home to quite a few brilliant openings. The greatest is Hikariare. The lyrics are poetry, urging you to never give up on your dreams. Karasuno High’s volleyball team didn’t, and look where they are now.
5Unravel (Tokyo Ghoul)
Performed by TK From Ling Tosite Sigure
Tokyo Ghoul was responsible for turning a whole generation into lifelong anime fans during the early 2010s. In large part, that can be attributed to its iconic opening. Unravel is one of the most memorable anime songs of all time. It has inspired covers, memes, and everything in between.
Heavy on the emotion and backed by the visual flair, this is one opening every anime fan can recognize - even the ones who haven’t watched Tokyo Ghoul. If the medium ever had an anthem like Seven Nation Army, this would be it.
4The Rumbling (Attack On Titan)
Performed by SiM
By the time its final season debuted, Attack on Titan was the biggest TV show in the world. The anime had already brought out some titans of its own: the third season’s opening was composed by Yoshiki of X Japan, one of Japan’s most famous rock bands.
However, it was SiM that would become Attack on Titan’s house band with The Rumbling. Heavy, destructive, and filled with dread, it nevertheless managed to work in a tasteful reggae bridge. The song catapulted SiM into fame, and they would come back to record Under The Tree for the next special.
3Tank (Cowboy Bebop)
Performed by Seatbelts
This is one of those openings you never skip. Cowboy Bebop’s intro is a jazz jam that can be recognized from its instrumentation alone. It simply oozes attitude and is set to heavily stylized clips of its main characters at their finest and flashiest.
Apart from a spoken-word segment at the start, it’s entirely instrumental: the big bass and the trumpets do the talking. The piece was written to evoke spy films from the sixties, but it went beyond. It launched our expectations into the stratosphere, and the anime lived up to them. James Bond, eat your heart out.
