天下制覇

 

They may not have the best animation, they may not have the best songs, but they’re some of the best openings around.

Hopefully I’ll slight at least two of the three people reading this by leaving out their favorite opening, and this is no means comprehensive as to openings I really love, but mostly a matter of what comes into mind when I think “damn, shows should have openings more like X.” Anyway, on with the show… well… the opening to the show. 

Uta~Kata’s Opening

There’s a lot to like about Uta~Kata’s opening. Very well sung, catchy tune, and it takes you pretty much the entire run of the show in order to fully understand all the imagery that gets thrown at you. As opposed to Mai Otome which outright spoils things, the clues Uta~Kata’s opening lays down for you give you something to look forward to while the show itself then twists those perceptions and images to tell its own story.

One Piece’s Second Opening

One Piece really does have a ton of really energetic, vibrant and vivacious openings that go along very well with the overall tone of the series. There’s no brooding or frowns on this pirate ship. We’re here to have fun, go on adventures, and ogle Nami. This one got the nod over the others for having a really great lead-in into the song itself with both the reiteration of the premise followed by the immediate stinger in the music.

xxxHOLiC’s Opening

As far as mood goes, xxxHOLiC’s opening nailed the target mood a lot better than the rest of the series did. Melancholic jazz with various mysterious images from future episodes of the series or just X-Files-ish images in general were exactly the tone that the show spent its entire run flirting with and failing to quite achieve except in a few places. In some ways, the opening was almost bad, in that it continually reminded the audience of what xxxHOLiC nearly was, instead of being about a whiny, screaming guy.

Pani Poni Dash’s 2nd Opening

Have I mentioned yet how SHAFT is always a good studio to talk about concerning openings yet? Yes? Well, very well. Any of Pani Poni Dash’s opening probably would have qualified, but like One Piece’s, the lead in was the tie breaker. Hanging phrases with animation directed choregraphed to the lyrics and music make it seem like it’s just another extension to the show itself.

Gundam Seed’s 1st Opening

I had to include a Gundam opening, they’re generally all too good not to, even if very few are excellent. Even though this isn’t the best directed or choreographed of the Seed openings (that prize goes to the 3rd opening), the pace of the animation fits the song a lot better and shows the drama and the action that are the main hooks of the series. It also manages the relatively large cast with aplomb and uses the 2.5 seconds or so that they’re each on screen to the fullest, making even characters that are absent for many many weeks be fresh and present in the mind of the viewer.

Cromartie High School’s Opening

Cromartie has another opening that is laden with self-references and matches the show itself so flawlessly that the two are nearly inseperable. The laid-back tone along with the madcap happenings and a cast full of straight-men and I really can’t imagine it starting any other way. 

Oroshitate Musical Nerima Daikon Brothers’ Japanese Opening

NDB’s opening is really a work of art. Musical style, animation, choreography, lyrics, everything works together to give that Blues Brothers feel… and then we’ve got…

Oroshitate Musical Nerima Daikon Brothers’ English Opening

 

Two great openings in the exact style that permeates the entire show, the voice actors for both versions sound like they’re having a blast, and let’s face it, fun is contagious. It’s rare that this kind of effort is put into doing an opening in Japanese, let alone for a redub, and even if I’m one of only 5 people out there to realize it, they absolutely nailed everything about this one for both versions. 

Alright, hopefully I’ve annoyed at least somebody, but that brings pretty much an end to this experiment in a serial set of posts. Maybe I’ll do it again some time, or try to cajole Mike into doing one, though he seems to be aiming to hit as many posts on Battle Moon Wars in one day as possible. What a chump.