Oath Sign vs To The Beginning

LanceC said:
Reposting what I said on the other thread:

The only thing I hate though is Maiya's entrance when the chorus kicks in, why does the character I hate the most have to enter at the best part of the song lol. I also don't like the Motorcycle scene, it's pointless and stayed too long.

stAtic91 said:
Because there's no action? It has a more emotional and meaningful impact for me, showing most masters and servants facing away and being all gloomy, while focusing more on Kiritsugu and foreshadowing what's to come. I prefer this opening and think it's a perfect fit for the second season. Musically, it's a lot better too, imo; but then again, I'm probably biased because it's Kalafina... Well, it's all subjective and opinions.

Shocked said:
I like Oath Sign as a song better. For some reason I remember it more than To The Beginning. Also, the first opening was, in a way, more flashy and interesting with all the things going on. Except the Saber vs. Assassin thing and the Excalibur seemed like they were included just for the heck of it.

I like To The Beginning as the opening song to Fate/zero better. The tone fits Fate/zero and the opening animation itself is more atmospheric and less actiony, which again fits Fate/zero. Though, the opening has a spoiler or three that are pretty critical to the story. That was kinda unfortunate.

Redfoxoffire said:
It's tough to beat Kalafina. Oath Sign...didn't succeed.

But I do agree with all those who say Memoria > new ED.

Leon-Gun said:
It's funny so many people claim they like it over To The Begginning when I remember the outcry of fans who hated Oath Sign's shounen-like animation and run of the mill song and were outright sad that Kalafina had not been handed either OP or ED singing roles even though Kajiura was at the helm of the show's music.

LunarMoon said:

The people raging against Oath Sign, were a completely different set of people than those who are currently stating that they preferred it to To the Beginning. As for me, it isn't even a contest, in that I vastly prefer the new OP to Oath Sign. As a standalone piece, Oath Sign wasn't necessarily bad, but it would've been horrible at indicating the mood of Fate/Zero, especially throughout the 2nd half. It was a peppy, fairly generic J-Pop piece, while To the Beginning was specifically written for the series, with lyrics that heavily reference its plot.

LanceC said:
Reposting what I said on the other thread:


To the Beginning:
Amazing OP, I didn't think this one would top Oath Sign (Oath set the bar too high) but this is really incredible. This one really fits the show better being a sad and tragic anime and all, and now I think Oath Sign gives a more shounen-y feeling. The intro is also better than Oath's even though they have the similar visual (water under bridge on Oath, Rocky terrain with swords on Beginning) and it really gets you in the mood. Animation is top-notch as well, I like the part where Kiri is floating in the water then an afterimage of Iri hugs him in the next shot.

The only thing I hate though is Maiya's entrance when the chorus kicks in, why does the character I hate the most have to enter at the best part of the song lol. I also don't like the Motorcycle scene, it's pointless and stayed too long.

SeraVerte said:
"Oath Sign" is catchy and all the visuals are great. I personally find LiSA's voice much easier to listen to especially at the high point of the song when Saber uses Excalibur.
As for "To the Beginning", as many have already mentioned, the motorcycle shot is far too long and I find having Iris bleeding from the mouth and eyes a bit too much.

Miya_F_Exia said:
Oath Sign has a random amateur shouting like crazy.

HikaruIzumi said:
Oath Sign. If it was only music then definitelly To the Beginning (Kalafina's songs have a huge power). However, since it's about opening themes, animation is a huge part of it for me.

Oath Sign left much greater impact on me, the animation is in nearlyperfect sync with the sound, the introduction of the contestants of the battle over Holy Grail is incredible and it protrays the fighting style/attitude of everyone important. The only flaw I see in Oath Sign is that in the charatcer intro, you can't see all heroic spirits with their masters, only a few of them but that's not such a drawback, since it's most likely to give some tone of mystery about spirits to it. Oh, and (not really a flaw just a negative note) it doesn't feel unusual, it's very good both music wise and animation wise but 90% of the better fighting anime openings have the same feel.

To the Beginning is superior music wise and far inferior animation and fluency wise. Most of the time the animaton doesn't go along the song and it fails to catch the power of the song, what is very disappointing. The flow of the animation is equal to the song only in very few scenes. It feels way too rushed and not thought through what is dumb considering that they took several months break to make the show perfect. The charatcer introduction makes me feel/tells me nothing and you can't get even basic understanding of their attitude from it (if it changed compared to the first one or stayed the same). The charatcers feel emotionless themselves as if they were just figurines. You can't see who they are, just what they look like unlike Oath Sign. And since now it's probably going to be more drama than 1st season, it's a huge drawback.

Both openings, however, fit to the season they're in. Oath Sign is more actiony, while To the Beginning is more emotional. But I still feel they could have done MUCH better job with a song like To the Beginning.

BloodRequiem said:
Most novel readers would choose To the Beginning because of how well it fits.

ssjokg said:


I wonder if it is so hard for anime only viewers to see how much it fits...