Making lists such as these is never an easy task, but in a way it's still a fun one as it can be interesting to sit down and evaluate how each of your favorite anime openings stack against one another. This list will undoubtedly change as my list of completed anime grows ever larger, but at the moment I'm quite confident that these ten OPs perfectly reflect my absolute favorites thus far.
English anime openings were purposefully omitted, as I'm sure we all can agree they're almost always inferior to Japanese ones. There are only one or two that I would even remotely consider putting in a Top 10 list such as this, but for simplicity's sake I'm just going to leave it Japanese-only.
#10 - I SAY YES (Zero no Tsukaima ~Futatsuki no Kishi~ OP)
Link: http://youtube.com/watch?v=gEdSWwjhURk
Comments: The openings for both the first and second seasons of Zero no Tsukaima are pretty much neck-and-neck, but I do have to give the slight edge to I SAY YES. I find myself listening to it a little more often than First Kiss, but both are great songs regardless.
#9 - OK! (Pokemon OP3)
Link: http://youtube.com/watch?v=_Ezwo6Foiwg
Comments: This can be pretty much a symbolic entry encompassing all the 10+ Pokemon openings so far, as there isn't one in the bunch I don't like. However, OK! seems to stand out the most, and it's been a song I've enjoyed going back to for many years now.
#8 - Tabi no Tochuu (Spice and Wolf OP)
Link: http://youtube.com/watch?v=2MDMGAV2dHg
Comments: An almost hauntingly beautiful song, combined with an extremely beautifully animated opening. I fell in love with this song almost immediately, and it fits the mood of Spice and Wolf perfectly.
#7 - Kohaku (Grenadier OP)
Link: http://youtube.com/watch?v=grtEGSf3WFc
Comments: Another one of my favorites that's been around for a few years. It's a terrific opening all-around, just like the anime it represents. Love it still to this day.
#6 - Rewrite (Fullmetal Alchemist OP4)
Link: http://youtube.com/watch?v=TvGFEL-YhF4
Comments: This one took a little big to grow on me, and I didn't completely enjoy this song until I heard the full version. While it's slow to start, it kicks up quickly enough to make an incredibly good opening for Fullmetal Alchemist.
#5 - Bouken desho desho? (The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya OP)
Link: http://youtube.com/watch?v=140AILNFASo
Comments: In my mind, Haruhi's opening still remains one of the most visually spectacular openings of any anime, and of course it's all complemented perfectly by the wonderful talent of Aya Hirano. Can't wait to see what kind of opening KyoAni cooks up for Haruhi II.
#4 - Hishoku no Sora (Shakugan no Shana OP1)
Link: http://youtube.com/watch?v=C8-szsFJqWk
Comments: The opening which introduced us all to the kick ass Flame Haze, Shana. This OP demonstrates both Shana's tough and happier sides to go along with an upbeat song you can't help but love.
#3 - Undo (Fullmetal Alchemist OP3)
Link: http://youtube.com/watch?v=KIdOEgK0xc4
Comments: I cannot possibly say enough about how great an opening Undo is. Alternating back and forth between the younger and older Elric brothers, their carefree youth in comparison to their trouble fight in the present, everything about this opening hits home on an emotional level, and that's why it'll always be near the top of any list like this I ever made.
#2 - Motteke! Sailor Fuku (Lucky☆Star OP)
Link: http://youtube.com/watch?v=VuxSuib5IwM
Comments: What can I say - it's Lucky Star. If you get what Lucky Star's about, you love this opening to death. If you don't, all your left with is a huge feeling of WTF. That would describe my initial reaction a bit, but not for long as I would soon anticipate seeing this play at the beginning of every episode. It's a true classic in every sense of the word. I love Lucky Star, and I love this opening.
#1 - JOINT (Shakugan no Shana II OP1)
Link: http://youtube.com/watch?v=VEx5PjDOe2M
Comments: My all-time favorite opening, and it would take a hell of a lot to ever de-throne this one. If there ever was an opening that perfectly embodied what Shana was all about, it's this one. JOINT rocks you from start to end, with several memorable moments in between, and it deserve this top spot without question.
You know, I probably would have loved Shana II even if it had turned out to be some kind of trainwreck; I take no shame in admitting that I'm a die-hard Shana fanboy, and the original Shakugan no Shana will likely always have a spot in my all-time favorite anime. Thankfully, despite some early bumps in the road, Shana II managed to live up to its massive hype, even if it did fall a bit short of the original.
As mentioned above, the season unfortunately didn't get off to the best of starts. One of the things that I loved about the first Shakugan no Shana series was that it always maintained an excellent balance of the action, comedy, romance, and school life elements that made up the show. The beginning of Shana II, however, is almost entirely frontloaded with the romantic-comedy aspect, with little to no action in between. This is further exhasperated by the addition of another character into the love triangle between Shana, Kazumi, and Yuji, when in reality the whole fighting-for-Yuji's-love elements should have been downplayed after the last season. It disappointed me that the first 1/3 of the season seemed to revert back to the way things were in season one instead of building off all the progress Shana had made with her feelings towards Yuji.
Still, things picked up in the two-part flashback about Margery's past (which, as a fan of the character, I really loved), the balance began to even out more, and the rest of the series became absolutely fantastic to enjoy. The action in particular was kicked up considerably and far eclipsed anything found in the first Shana season. I also liked seeing Yuji evolve into a more mature character who could fight alongside Shana and made a difference in battles, instead of just constantly being helpless like he was throughout season one.
I have very little complaints about the rest of the elements that went into Shana II as well. JOINT was easily the standout song of this season, and it's already become my favorite anime OP to date. The animation quality was much improved too, in particular the final battles towards season's end which were beautifully vibrant and colorful. And, while the finale did feel a bit rushed, it ended in perfect fashion again, leaving plenty of options open for a Shakugan no Shana III, something that feels inevitable at this point (and it better happen too!).
Because of the earlier flaws from this season though, this season just can't measure up to the near flawless first season of Shana. Still, Shakugan no Shana II only further strengthed my love for this anime franchise, and I'm truly looking forward to seeing where things go from here. I'll be waiting patiently until then for our favorite Flame Haze to return once more.
Final Score: 9
I began watching this series originally based on the numerous GIFs of various fanservice shots in action I had been exposed to thanks to my good friend ChiBKey. Being a sucker for that sort of thing, I naturally gave Rosario+Vampire a shot. While not a great anime by any stretch of the imagination, Rosario grew on me over time and become a very enjoyable guilty pleasure, and overall I have to say I was pretty satisfied with the series.
Of course, the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about this anime is FANSERVICE. There are flailing boobs and pantsu shots seemingly every five seconds, and most of the humor in Rosario is derived from this. Such things usually don't make for a great anime overall, but it kept me laughing and interested in the series long enough to see it evolve into a little better storytelling towads the end.
Still, while the storytelling got better, it was far from perfect. There were plenty times in the series where the plot became almost secondary to the fanservice aspects. Certain plot points were either ignored once brought up or never fully elaborated upon, and the repetitive nature of most episodes's final conflict (including Moka's transformation sequence being repeated ad nauseum) got old quickly.
However, even with these glaring flaws, Rosario+Vampire managed to overcome them chiefly on the shoulders of a very strong, loveable cast of characters (Kurumu <3) and a great sense of humor about itself. If an anime has to go the route of an over-abundance of fanservice, Rosario is a good example of how it's done right. It may not have got off to the best start, but it finished strong, and much to its credit, never stopped being entertaining.
Final Score: 7
This won't be my traditional final thoughts on the end of a series I've been watching. To be honest, I'm not sure I could do Fullmetal Alchemist justice with this sort of thing. As the lengthiest anime series I've watched in a long time (even if I did basically marathon it), there's a lot of things I'd have to cover, and I'd inevitably miss something important or two in doing so. And believe me, there was a lot I loved about this series, but I'd like to focus on what I've taken away most from it, and that's how this series made me feel overall.
It's something I've touched on before, but one of the primay factors that goes into determining how much I enjoy a specific anime are what kind of emotions it invokes in me and how strong those emotions are. As one of the deeper and more well-told stories I've experienced from an anime, Fullmetal Alchemist naturally brought about a lot of intese feelings within me, and in a way it's really transcended the boundaries of anything I expected. It made me fear my own mortality a little bit more, it made me miss my mother more than I have in a long while (don't worry, she's not dead, I just haven't talked to her in quite some time), and most of all it made happy and upbeat to merely have been a part of watching such a great series. It's a happinies that exists even after the final episode has come to a close; one I doubt will receed anytime soon.
Really, to me, that's the power of anime. Of course this sort of thing isn't exclusive to anime - any work of fiction that has a great story, well-developed characters, heart-string-pulling moments, and every other aspect that goes into making a great work of art can do the same. The same goes for real life experiences as well, of which certain fiction can invoke recollections of positive memories. But with anime, as I continue to watch more and more of it, I find that this sort of thing happens on a much greater scale for me personally; there's just something about those over in Japan who come up with this stuff that connects with me in a way that most Western storytellers can't.
Fullmetal Alchemist is one of the best examples I can choose to illustrate this point. I imagine others have felt similar things about this great series as well. It's safe to say that any anime on my list that scores a 10 also does similar things to FMA, and I couldn't be happier to have this anime join that small group. It's one of the greatest works of entertainment I have ever viewed - anime or otherwise.
Final Score: 10
An excellent example of an anime that hooked me right from the start and followed up with twelve more episodes that were just as entertaining as the ones that preceeded it. Minami-ke sticks in my mind as one of the more entertaining and hilarious slice-of-life comedies that I've seen thus far, and to be honest I'm surprised I didn't get into this one sooner.
Minami-ke follows the daily lives of the three Minami sisters: the eldest, Haruka, the youngest, Chiaki, and my personal favorite, the middle sibling, Kana. As the show goes on it gradually introduces several of the classmates of each sister, who all begin to form a large group of friends and the unique personalities and quirks of each character really help to flesh out of the laughs. One of the highlights of the show is that while Minami-ke usually focusses on random moments of these characters's everyday life, certain moments are expanded and built upon as time goes on which gives the anime a loose, but important, sense of continuity. This allows for several running gags including the hilarious transformation of Chiaki's classmate Makoto into Mako-chan.
In truth, the only major downside to Minami-ke is that the show is over before you know it. At only 13 episodes, it feels like they could have continued on this pace for another 13 easily, and while the show does go on in the follow-up adaptation, Minami-ke ~Okawari~, it does lose quite a few things in the process and never quite feels as good or as funny as the original. Still, the first season of Minami-ke easily stands amongst the best slice-of-life comedies you can find out there, and I most certainly enjoyed every laugh and every moment this delightful little anime had to offer.
Final Score: 9
