Openings are an often overlooked part of Anime. They not only show what to expect from the show but also add to how memorable a series is. There’s a lot of freedom for the studios on what to do with openings, which can make them either a hit or a miss. Fortunately, most ofNaruto’s openings hit very, very hard.
Naruto’s openings are not only immensely iconic but also some of the best ones in the entire series. Among the various amazing openings to choose from, here are our top 9 best Naruto openings!
9Diver
Gorgeous Visual Narrative Of Naruto And Sasuke’s Dynamic
Compared purely to the visuals of a lot of other Naruto openings, Diver may not be up to par, and even though it has no superbly animated fight scenes, where Diver shines is in its storytelling. The opening starts with Naruto sinking underwater surrounded by his enemies, showing a state of extreme helplessness, then Sasuke is shown to be in the same water, drowning as well; this water is a metaphor for how both of them were considered outcasts and initially did not have anywhere to properly fit in.
As the opening comes to an end, it shows Naruto being pushed up and out of the water by his friends and the people of Konoha, showing how Naruto was saved by getting closer to the people around him. Sasuke, in contrast, continues to look up at Naruto from the water, sinking deeper, showing his tendency to push away any help and instead choosing to stay alone.
8Blood Circulator
Light And Darkness As Hope And Despair
Naruto’s openings and the story itself have a lot of light and dark themes, representing hope and despair. Naruto himself has always represented light, whereas Sasuke is the darkness contrasting him. This goes deep into their characters, personalities, and even their color palettes and designs. This contrast between light and hope as an allegory for finding hope and despair is the main theme of Naruto Shippuden’s 19th opening.
The opening starts with Naruto, as well as other allies, being submerged into darkness when the Ten-Tails blooms and Kagura is resurrected. They escape the darkness one by one, calling out Naruto’s name, but he keeps on drowning deeper. Finally, after Sasuke calls out to him, Naruto escapes, turning into the Six Paths Jinshuuriki and preparing to battle Kaguya with Sasuke.
7Haruka Kanata
Creates Hype While Introducing Characters
Haruka Kanata is the second opening in all of Naruto. It’s what sped up Naruto’s popularity tremendously in a very short amount of time. The opening is one of the most iconic and influential ones in the entire series, despite its lack of expert storytelling or animated sequences that later openings had.
The opening starts by introducing Naruto and Team Seven, and then the supporting cast. The opening came before the Chunin Exam arc started rolling, so there isn’t much from a narrative standpoint. However, the opening introduces characters that we get to see later on, and does a splendid job of showcasing the world of Naruto.
6Hero’s Come Back
Naruto’s Revival
If one word could be used to describe this opening, it’d have to be hype. Naruto’s long-awaited return after a time skip had fans all fired up for the new series, and this opening did an amazing job at letting fans know just what the show had in store.
The opening introduces the new character designs for our already beloved cast, as well as completely new characters. The song, Hero’s Come Back, is extremely catchy and pairs well with the visuals to invoke a feeling of excitement.
5Go!!!
Fighting Dreamers
If Naruto’s second opening was what sparked the fire of its popularity, the fourth opening is what turned that spark into a blazing flame. Go!!, or more commonly known as Fighting Dreamers, is very simple. It’s a classic when it comes to Anime openings, and anyone who’s been into Anime would immediately recognize the first few seconds.
It follows the same idea as Haruka Kanata, introducing characters with a catchy song playing at the back. What makes Go!!! have an edge over its predecessor is that it has some sort of narrative to follow, taking place around the Chunin Exam arc.
4Not Even Giving In To The Sudden Rain
Visually Stunning Fight Between The Five Kage And Madara
Naruto Shippuden’s opening 13 is an absolute pleasure to watch from an artistic standpoint. It’s one of, if not the most well-animated and expertly choreographed openings in the series, and has an extremely hype and memorable soundtrack to make it beyond perfect.
At the start, the opening shows various characters of importance in the Shinobi War arc with scenes from the war playing as a backdrop. It then goes full throttle with its animation, showing the five Kage fighting Madara all at once in a thrilling sequence. It slows down near the end, with Naruto headbutting Obito, and finally ending with a wholesome fist bump with Kurama.
3Blue Bird
The Song Stuck In Everyone’s Head
An Anime opening needs to appeal to both your eyes and your ears. While most Naruto openings hold both their visuals and the music with equal importance, Blue Bird is memorable almost purely because of the beautiful song by Ikimonogakari.
The animation and visuals aren’t lacking either. The parts showcasing Shikamaru and Asuma’s fight with Hidan are especially well choreographed, with an emphasis on dynamic perspective shots. The recurring blue bird imagery also adds a lot of stylistic appeal to the shots. However, apart from that, the opening doesn’t have much to offer on the visual side of things and is popular mostly due to how catchy the song is.
2Silhouette
Comparing Naruto And Sasuke To Hashirama And Madara
If we were to tank openings by sheer popularity and influence, Silhouette would take the top spot with no contenders. The opening has reached cult status even outside the Anime community, with people creating memes and animations using the opening as a reference.
Even if the opening was not as popular, though, it would still be one of the best Naruto openings. From a narrative standpoint, the opening shows the resolution of Naruto and Sasuke’s arcs and compares them with Hashirama and Madara’s.
The opening starts with Hashirama and Madara fighting, contrasting the dynamic of Naruto and Sasuke. This contrasting theme repeats throughout the opening, with Naruto and Sasuke repeatedly banding together, and Madara and Hashirama fighting each other to the death. The opening also has extremely stunning visuals, depicting multiple beautiful fight scenes.
1Sign
Jiraiya’s End, Itachi’s Truth
Naruto Shippuden’s sixth opening it’s the most emotionally driven opening in the entire series, and it also doesn’t hold back on its animation, going all in with both Jiraiya and Itachi’s fights. The opening starts by showing Naruto and Sasuke’s childhoods, being doted on by Jiraiya and Itachi respectively. These joyous scenes are then flipped on their head with Jiraiya’s death causing Naruto to go deep into despair, and Sasuke killing Itachi thinking he was responsible for the suffering caused by the Uchiha clan’s death.
It also features other subtle nods to events happening in the story, such as revealing Pain to be one of Jiraya’s old pupils, adding to the tragedy of Jiraiya’s fight with him. There’s also a scene showing Naruto being physically covered in darkness in way that resembles his Tailed Beast form, working as both a metaphor for despair and a reference to Naruto eventually letting Kurama take control in his fight against Pain.
