Hello friends, it’s been a long, long time…
First off, apologies for the long hiatus: I decided to focus on the job search and not post anything for a while. In retrospect, I probably should’ve done an update post, but hey better late than never.
The good news is that I’m finally employed and have been for the past few months. It’s nice to get paid doing something interesting and fun. Also, it turns out money is kinda important, so I’m glad I’m getting paid in general.
Anyway, that’s not why I’m here. I’m here for the blog.
I’ll be honest, I didn’t miss writing that much. It was nice not having to write about stuff every weekend for the handful of people reading these (though I guess you’re one of them, so thanks!). Having said that, I still have the occasional itch to write something, though in the future it’ll probably be more long-form posts such as these.
So you may be wondering… why did I come back? What amazing topic was I eager to write about? Well, this post was inspired by a few things, but I think the biggest one was my love of music.
I’ve always enjoyed listening to music (proof: my 52,313 minutes listened on Spotify in 2021 and 72,261 minutes in 2020), and that kinda bled into anime with their openings and endings. I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of an anime opening/ending. How did it evolve to the universal format of 90 seconds of music and visuals?
Well, that’s a question for another person to answer, because I’m just here to talk about some of my favorites.
I’ve always had a few go-tos to answer the question “what’s your favorite anime opening/ending?”, but I never really thought deeply about it… until now! I spent weeks (if not months) compiling a list of openings and endings to rate, and narrowing that down to a handful that I truly enjoyed. It was a hard process, but I think I came out of it with better knowledge of what I like in an opening/ending. Knowledge I’ll be sharing shortly.
Some things before I get into it: I’m not claiming this as a objective “BEST ANIME OPs/EDs EVER!!!” list. In fact, I’ll be mentioning some notable omissions (OPs and EDs that are considered “good” or at least popular enough to be talked about in “Best Of” lists like these) throughout the blurbs. Even then, I’m sure I’ll miss some obvious ones since I admit I haven’t been watching much anime over the past two-ish years (so anything super recent might’ve gone over my head).
So that’s where YOU come in!
I have a Google Sheet of the OPs and EDs I considered for this post (link here), and if you don’t see your favorite on there, write a comment down below! I’d unfortunately have to manually approve it since bots have been spamming my comment sections, but I’ll get to it eventually!
Finally, openings and endings on the list are in alphabetical order, and not any order of preference.
Anyway, I think that’s enough rambling on… let’s ramble about the topic at hand, starting with openings! Links provided below via /r/animethemes and their site animethemes.moe.
Favorite Anime Openings (OPs)
| Anime Title | OP Song Name |
| Black Clover (OP4) | Guess Who is Back |
| Inuyashiki | My Hero |
| Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon | Aozora no Rhaposody |
| Mob Psycho 100 | 99 |
| Mob Psycho 100 II | 99.9 |
| Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru. (OreGairu) | Yukitoki |
| Osomatsu-san 2 (OP1) | Kunshi Ayauku mo Chikou yore |
| Sakamoto desu ga? | COOLEST |
| The iDOLM@STER (OP2) | CHANGE!!!! |
| Yamada-kun to 7-nin no Majo | Kuchizuke Diamond |
| Yuru Camp | SHINY DAYS |
| Zombieland Saga | Adabana Necromancy |
Black Clover (OP4) – Guess Who is Back
First, an opening from a show I haven’t even watched. You may be wondering, “how do you know about it, then?” Well, good question.
Most of the openings and endings from anime I never watched come from /r/anime’s Best Opening and Best Ending contests held every year-ish. You may be familiar with their similar “Best Girl” contest where characters compete in March Madness-style bracket matchups to determine who is the best girl (salt very much included).
Well, unlike those, the Best Opening/Ending contests are nice because you don’t need to watch the anime the character came from to vote (though that doesn’t stop some people…). Instead, you just need to watch hella openings and endings. For someone like me who honestly hasn’t watched that much anime, it’s a cool way to be introduced to some openings and endings I would’ve never discovered otherwise.
And this was one of them. I’m not a big shounen guy, and Black Clover is definitely one of the… lesser watched out of the ones I’ve heard about. I mean I’ve heard about it — I just never watched it, and frankly, I never even planned to.
But it was during the Best Opening 8 contest when I was going through the first round matchups. One particular matchup pitted this opening (seeded 191) against Yukitoki (seeded 66), the opening to the first season of Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru (AKA OreGairu), which funnily enough is (1): my favorite anime and (2): also in this list (I’ll talk more about it later).
Those two facts aren’t related… maybe.
Anyway, I was set to vote for Yukitoki, but I watched the Black Clover one as an impartial voter. Well, within the first few seconds the song hooked me in, and by the end, I was so awed that I actually chose it. It didn’t win because of the difference in seeds, but hey Yukitoki is still a great opening so I wasn’t too bummed.
The song itself is definitely a big reason why this is on the list — I mean, it was what drew me to it originally. Having said that, it’s definitely not the sole reason why it’s here. One big theme I’ll probably be referring to a ton is that visuals are super important to an opening, but not in the way you might be thinking. I’ll specify that more later, because this opening isn’t a great example of that.
Instead, let me talk about the biggest reason for this opening’s inclusion to the list: hype. Maybe it’s because I don’t watch many shounen anime, but hype is rare in a lot of the openings I watch. It’s hard for me to watch an opening and genuinely get hyped (for lack of a better word) for what’s about to come.
Usually an opening gets me in the right mood to watch whatever is coming, which I guess is similar to hype, though still different. Less high stakes, usually. It makes sense why shounen anime go for hype openings: they usually have tons of fights and action-y scenes that require some level of hype to go into. And I think this opening is the perfect example of that.
I don’t even know what happens in the episodes where this is the opening, but I can only assume the characters are fighting the big bad boss (at least that’s what the visuals indicate). As a sports fan, it reminds of the pre-game videos where they show highlights of the players to get the crowd amped up for the upcoming game, complete with accompanying high-energy music.
Actually, that’s a really good comparison — the majority of this opening shows off the characters: the first intro part (30 seconds) with them posing, the back half with them doing whatever fight/magic stuff they’re doing, and it’s all matched to some high energy music (a rock/rap combo). Combined together, you get a opening that can be described as hype.
Unrelated, but one small (but not critical) factor I thought about while grading when watching openings and endings of anime I never watched was whether it made me interested in watching it. And, I’m not gonna lie, this opening made me slightly consider watching Black Clover, until I remembered the comments about the main character’s screaming and the most important thing: I’m not a big shounen guy.
Maybe someday.
Inuyashiki – My Hero
Similar to the Black Clover opening, this was something I discovered through the Best Openings contest. This time, though, it’s from a relatively obscure anime. I mean, if you asked me what Inuyashiki is about, I would have no idea. I would’ve thought that you meant Inuyasha, an older but more well known anime.
But that hasn’t stopped me from enjoying this opening. The song is by the band MAN WITH A MISSION, who you may recognize from their other famous OP song database for the anime Log Horizon:
This was another contender for this list, but it suffers from something that a lot of anime openings and endings have — bad composition.
One of the things that bugs me with any opening or ending is when the song and visuals don’t match up well. What I mean by that is that the transitions between scenes don’t match the song. Just watch the video above for an example — it feels like they just added the song randomly to the visuals and called it a day. None of the cuts in the video match with the music, and it makes for an overall disjointed experience.
It sucks, too, because I actually really like the song, but a good song solely doesn’t make for a good OP/ED. It turns out visuals are kinda important to the experience too since is anime is, you know, a visual medium.
Another example of this is from the popular anime Fire Force. When it was announced that Mrs. GREEN APPLE was doing the first opening, I was legitimately HYPED. They’re my favorite band and I knew they were guaranteed to come up with a banger for one of the most anticipated anime of the season.
Well, the song definitely delivered, but when I watched the opening, something felt off.
The first seconds weren’t bad, but around 0:25, when the song went into its next verse and the scene stayed the same, that’s when I realized: the visuals and song didn’t match.
To be fair, it’s still a decent opening, but man it could’ve been so much more, especially with the song choice. It doesn’t help that the visuals themselves didn’t blow me away, but that might just be my bias speaking.
Anyway, back to Inuyashiki‘s opening. It helps that I really like the song (a common sentiment throughout this post), but the visuals really bring this to a whole other level. I actually think the use of CG is well done, especially since it’s only really used with the mechanical parts with the robots and moving machinery. There’s a lot being told here with the short cuts of the people and random scenes and the overarching red/blue balls and chase with the grandpa robot, but it does it well without being too overwhelming. Combine all that with the fact they match up with the flow of the song, and you get a great opening.
Best of all, it keeps my attention and grips me for the entire 90 seconds, which is something I find to be important yet (frustratingly) highly subjective. It’s hard to quantify what makes an opening or ending keep my interest, but the ones that do end up being my favorites more times than not.
Overall, a very good opening from a little known anime, one that I actually considered watching because of the opening… but haven’t watched.
Yet.
Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon – Aozora no Rhaposody
If there’s one word to describe why I love this opening, it’s fun.
This was one of the first openings I thought of when I was initially making this list, and for good reason. It’s full of charm, it’s hella creative, and it has a catchy bop of a song that you just can’t help moving along to.
I’m sure there’s a ton I could talk about regarding the technical aspects of the opening, but it all just boils down to that one simple word: fun. I can point to a number of scenes from this that I love — the dancing dragons, the fractal Tohrus, the countdown featuring characters actually saying the countdown number (that detail!), the ASCII Kanna, and the spinning people (to the rhythm of the song, too!). No scene lingers for too long, everything is crisp and timed perfectly, and it’s just pure unadulterated… fun. That’s all there is to it.
I guess my only gripe with this is the scene with Lucoa, but I think that exemplifies my feelings about this show in general — great with the exception of the big booba hat dragon lady and her unfortunately named sidekick.
And if you’re wondering what my opinion on the second season’s opening is, let me just say… I’m not a huge fan of dance number openings and endings. The only exception to that is the famous Hare Hare Yukai:
Other than that though, I don’t like openings and endings where there’s a dance routine for a good portion. That includes famous examples like Kekkai Sensen‘s ending Sugar Song to Bitter Step:
Or this ending from Kaguya-sama: Love is War:
And you may be thinking, “well okay, but the second opening for Maid Dragon doesn’t have stuff like that?”
You’re right, but in this case, the thing I’m talking about is the part where the characters lip sync the rap portions of the song. Here’s the opening for reference:
Yeah it’s kinda stupid, but man, I’m not a fan. It doesn’t help that this opening is less creative than the first one, either — if I have to be honest, even if they didn’t have the rap part, it probably wouldn’t have made this list anyway.
Still, if we’re talking about the first season’s opening, no question it’s one of my favorites. It’s a great opening from the cream of the crop of animation studios (Kyoto Animation). There’s a reason why it’s a popular opening.
Mob Psycho 100 – 99
If you’ve watched this anime, you know why it’s on the list. If Aozora no Rhapsody is listed because it’s fun, this opening is listed because it’s creative. Seriously, there’s so much going on — so many small little details that you miss on your first, second, or even 58th watch. In fact, I’m watching it right now while writing this up, and there’s still stuff I’m seeing for the first time!
It’s kinda amazing how they could add so much without making it too crazy. There’s tons of references to the anime (no duh), but they do it in a way that isn’t too spoiler-y, something I know other openings have trouble with (especially shounens).
And on top of that, it’s fun to watch. It grips you for the entire 90 seconds by throwing so much at you and gives you a good idea of what you’re dealing with in terms of the story and characters.
I feel like I should say more about it, but that basically sums it up. It’s creative as hell and a fun watch. You may be wondering what I think about the second season’s opening, and well…
Mob Psycho 100 II – 99.9
Here’s your answer.
If 99 was a force of innovation, this is basically its older brother after going to art school. It takes the creative juices from the first edition and raises it up to 100 (heh).
There’s so many great parts to this opening that I highly recommend just watching it, even if you never watched the anime. It’s hard to put into words because I’m sure there’s technical terms for some of it, but with scenes like the spinning characters at the beginning/end, the thin lines creating the illusion of moving characters, and the symbols of Mob Psycho 100 morphing into “Your Life is Your Own”… hoo boy, there’s a lot of amazing work there.
That last part in particular is actually one of my favorite scenes not just in this opening, but in all openings period. The first time I watched it, I remember rewinding and trying to figure out what happened, only to get my mind blown that the symbols initially spelled “Mob Psycho 100”. To this day, every time it changes to “Your Life is Your Own” while those exact words are sung, I honestly get chills.
Well, I guess that’s one of the advantages of having full control over the music (like here with the “MOB CHOIR” or whenever a seiyuu sings). You get more creative freedom with the visuals.
Plus I haven’t even talked about the fight scene yet! Something that wasn’t even in the first opening!
It’s funny… I remember when I first started watching this season, I didn’t like the opening and thought the first one was better. Well that changed as the season went on and now I think the second opening is way better than the first one. They’re both great, but this takes it up ten notches.
Now you may be thinking “wow, this guy loves creative openings huh?” Well, that’s not entirely true. Creativity helps, but it’s not the sole factor. Take, for example, the Horimiya opening:
Creative? Yes. Good opening? Eh…
Sure, maybe it’s the song (which I’m not a huge fan of), but I think that the visuals are a bit too abstract for me. I’m sure there’s some whole underlying message or metaphor that I’m missing, and that’s fine. I was never good at English class anyway — I really didn’t like being forced to look for imagery and metaphors in books.
The point is that an opening or ending can be super creative, but if it starts getting too abstract and into “artsy” territory, it loses me. That’s where I think the Mob Psycho openings shine — the creative bits relate to the anime either through the characters, the storyline, or other little Easter eggs. Literally every weird piece of the puzzle has a connection to the anime that’s pretty obvious. It makes for a fun experience, and at the end of the day that’s what I want.
So yeah — definitely up there on my favorites list. Oh, and I guess watch Mob Psycho 100 too if you haven’t, because guess what? It’s getting a third season! Can’t wait to see how they one-up themselves this time with its opening.
Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru. (OreGairu) – Yukitoki
A huge disclaimer: as mentioned above, this is my favorite anime, so this inclusion may be a bit… biased.
Honestly speaking, there’s nothing special that sticks out for this opening. If anything, this is the perfect example of an opening that matches its visuals perfectly to a song (though that’s pretty much the case for every opening and ending on this list).
Still, there’s aspects of this opening I really enjoy — the little slice-of-life montages of each character in the beginning do a perfect job of summarizing all three of their personalities, and the part with Zaimokuza (the chuuni guy) falling that matches with the song makes me laugh every time I watch it (along with 8man’s reaction to what actually ends up being Yukino/Yui). It helps that the song is great, too.
At this point, you may be noticing I’ve mentioned the opening’s song in every single blurb. Well, I know I mentioned a music isn’t the only factor to a good OP/ED, but it’s still pretty important. Take, for example, another recent popular anime’s opening:
I remember when this showed up in /r/anime, everybody was praising it for the music (especially the beat drop), so of course I had to give it a shot as an electronic music fan.
Well… there was a beat drop. That’s all I can really say.
To be blunt, I hated it. And I don’t use “hate” very often because it’s such a strong word (see for yourself — search for “hate” in this article and I’m sure it’ll only show up here). But no joke, when I was re-watching this opening I physically reacted in a way that wasn’t dancing. More of a recoil.
I guess the point I’m trying to make is that the song is important to an opening/ending. I’m pretty sure every entry in these lists (including the honorable mentions) have songs I liked or even loved. That’s definitely the case here, though then we could get into the argument about whether I like the song because I loved the anime or whether I would’ve liked the song anyway.
But that’s another story. For now, all I know is that this is a good opening, bias be damned.
Osomatsu-san 2 (OP1) – Kunshi Ayauku mo Chikou yore
This is the other opening from a show I haven’t watched, though I have watched a few episodes of the first season. Similar to the Mob Psycho 100 openings, this makes the list because of its sheer creativity.
Admittedly it’s not as creative, but I think that actually works to its benefit. What I mean by that is while there isn’t as much on the screen, it maximizes the items that are there and creates a fun package of an opening. One complaint I’ve heard about the Mob Psycho 100 openings is that there’s way too much going on (valid), which isn’t a problem here.
The biggest thing I love about the opening is the creative way they were able to add staff credits to the opening. Most of the OPs and EDs I linked are creditless because they usually just get in the way of the good stuff, but here, they actually integrate them into the main visuals so they’re kinda essential. That’s also nice because it gets the names of people who made the anime in the forefront instead of as a distraction. Lord knows they need something with how little they get paid.
Example of integrated credits
I could go on about each individual little scene from this opening, but that would take too long so I’ll just end it here by saying the first season’s opening is also pretty good (but not good enough to make the list). Go give it a watch it you’re interested.
Sakamoto desu ga? – COOLEST
Another relatively obscure anime, but this is one I’ve actually watched. I’ll just say this — read the manga, it’s so much better.
With that out of the way, let’s talk about arguably the best part of the anime: the opening. Out of every opening and ending on this list, this is by far the simplest. It’s literally just scenes of the main character Sakamoto being “cool” in different color toned backgrounds with the occasional words. So why is it in my favorite openings list?
Execution.
It’s why Kimi no Suizou wo Tabetai (I Want to Eat Your Pancreas) is one of my favorite anime romances. The story is typical shy boy meets outgoing girl who’s dying, and they get closer together. While I’m sure that describes like a hundred movies and TV shows, the difference is that the story is well executed and thus it’s a good movie.
Short aside, but one of my biggest pet peeves is when people think a revolutionary plot automatically means something is gonna be good, or vice versa (boring cliche plot = bad). You can have the most amazing idea for a story but if you don’t write it well, then it’s gonna suck.
Similar idea here. While the way I described the opening makes it seem boring, the way they actually execute it makes it great. The way the background has arrows to convey motion; the fast paced change between every scene; the 3D pop-up words matching the song lyrics (Yeah! Yeah!, Special, Break Out!, Wake Up!); it all adds up for a fun experience that’s pretty hype. Plus the song matches that tone really well — it’s a high-energy rock song that conveys the excitement the opening brings.
What’s funny is that I don’t even think scene transitions match up to the song that well, but they somehow make it work extremely well so that it’s not an issue. One of the few examples of that you’ll see on this list, I bet.
The other funny thing is that most of the stuff Sakamoto is doing in the opening is super corny, but that actually matches the idea of the show to a T. Sakamoto is the coolest guy (hence the name of the opening song): he does stuff that to most viewers is probably corny as heck, but is perceived as cool in the show. That’s a nice little detail.
Add it all up and you get one of the more obscure anime to have such a great opening. Probably not the last example, and definitely not the only example in this list. Trust me — we’re gonna get hella obscure when we get to endings. Get ready for that.
The iDOLM@STER (OP2) – CHANGE!!!!
Idol anime are an interesting subject to me. As someone who’s played the mobile rhythm games for Love Live and Idolmaster (and other non-idol music franchises like BanG Dream, D4DJ, and Project SEKAI), I put myself in the category of idol fan. Heck, I was the sole writer for the Idol Issue back in my college anime club’s weekly magazine. I’m fully in that idol hell.
Still, I’ve always had a touchy relationship with idol anime. I’m a relatively realistic guy leaning towards pessimistic (though I try to see the best in people), which doesn’t really mesh with the main message in most of these idol shows.
It’s one of the biggest drawbacks I had to the Love Live anime. Not saying this anime doesn’t have that issue either, but I found The iDOLM@STER to be a refreshing more realistic take on “achieve your dreams and work your hardest to do so” rather than the whole “find that shining hope” thing to save the school.
I guess the point I’m trying to make is that idol shows and I don’t mix that well, and that kinda extends to the openings as well. It’s usually a given that the opening for an idol anime will have a dance number, which I actually don’t really care for. Watch any of the Love Live openings and they’ll usually be doing their dance thing a majority of the time (the endings are a different story, but those weren’t good enough to make the list either).
This anime’s opening, though, is a bit of an exception. Sure, there’s the dancing part, but it’s actually shoved towards the end for the first and last 20 seconds. The rest of the opening has scenes from each of the idols’ daily routines, slice-of-life moments I really appreciate, stuff like this:
You may be thinking, “that’s it? Why is this in your favorite openings list, then?” Well I’m glad you asked, reader. It’s just good clean fun. There’s little snippets in the opening that I enjoyed other than the slice-of-life stuff (feel free to skip the next paragraph if you don’t really care about the details).
The intro showing each member with a star in their image color. The scene with Chihaya alluding to a hugely important plot point. The finger countdown matching the song lyrics (3, 2, 1). The little scenes with each member showing off their personalities. The smooth transition between those scenes and the dance routine. The camera pan with Yayoi.
And the most important part — everything is 2D animated. No CG dancing here. For 2011 (the year this anime was made), that’s pretty crazy.
Definitely more of a low-key entry in this list, but still a great opening nevertheless.
Yamada-kun to 7-nin no Majo – Kuchizuke Diamond
If you had asked me what my favorite opening was before I compiled this list, my answer would be this.
Now if you’ve watched it, you may be wondering why. I mean, we’ve seen some hella great openings filled with fun and creativity, and then there’s this, which could be described as a presentation of the anime’s characters in a sepia filter.
Yeah, I admit it isn’t as eye-popping or interesting compared to a lot of the openings on this list. Understandable. But there’s something that really tickles my fancy about this opening. Something about the grainy sepia-like tones pleases me, and that combined with the bop of a song is enough for me to rate it highly.
Seriously, I love this song. It was my most played song back when I was using iTunes as my main music hub, and even now I still enjoy listening to it on the Spoofy.
As a piano player, I love when piano (and really, any orchestral instruments) are used in songs. Ultimately, I think that’s what makes this song so good — the use of piano as a main instrument (and the string instruments in the background) give it a happy yet somewhat melancholy feel, working in tandem with the visuals for a great time.
The one complaint people have about this opening is that it spoils who the witches are, but if I have to be honest, I don’t think that’s too egregious considering their reveal is usually the same episode they’re introduced. Given it’s a one cour anime, it’s kinda hard not to do that: 7 witches, 12-ish episodes… do the math.
I guess the interesting question is now that I’ve done this exercise, would I still consider this my favorite opening? It’s hard to say since all 12 openings in this list are all great, but it’s definitely still near the top. No conclusion for now.
Yuru Camp – SHINY DAYS
Our next example comes from one of my favorite anime that come out in the last few years, the CGDCT (cute girls doing cute things) show with MAXIMUM COMFY. Simply put, this opening is great for some of the reasons I’ve already mentioned — it’s fun and has some nice creative touches.
The Jackson 5 inspired song is peppy and hard to not dance to. Combined with the vibrant, colorful visuals, and it makes for a fun time to prep you for the MAXIMUM COMFY.
There’s also a few specific things I love about this opening. Like the Osomatsu-san opening, they integrate the credits into the opening seemlessly, with the bonus that’s in English, too! Also, small things like the brief cuts with the detailed backgrounds (an integral part of the Yuru Camp experience) and the foreshadowing of the three different Rin bun shapes scattered in the collage of different camping gear items add to the fun times.
There’s definitely more I could say, but I think that’s about everything. In short, truly MAXIMUM COMFY.
(Oh, the second season’s opening? Still good, but not great)
Zombieland Saga – Adabana Necromancy
The last opening on this list is one I’m still heavily debating the inclusion of. On the one hand, it’s a genuinely well made opening with a fight scene that’s on par with some action anime I’ve watched.
On the other hand, what exactly separates this from the honorable mentions that I’ll talk about after this section?
I guess consider this on the edge between being on the list and in honorable mentions. In the end, what exactly ends up separating this from the rest? The anime its from.
If you don’t know, Zombieland Saga is one of the best anime that has a WTF plotline. I won’t talk about it here because I don’t want to spoil it for those that haven’t watched it (if you’re one of them, go watch it now!), but basically, this opening is a perfect microcosm of the craziness and fun that the anime is, and at the end of the day, that separates it from the below honorable mentions.
Is it stupid? Yes. But it’s my list so you can’t stop me. Hah!
No, but seriously, it’s a great opening (and so are some of the other honorable mentions). If you’re wondering about my opinions on the second season’s opening, well… I don’t have any. I actually haven’t watched the second season yet.
I’ll get back to you on that, but from what I remember when I saw the second season’s opening, it wasn’t as good. That’s all I’ll say for now.
Honorable Mentions (OPs)
As I mentioned, there were a ton of close calls to the best openings list, so I’ll quickly talk about some of them below. Most of these openings were either great with some meh parts or decent with some great moments. So let’s get into them, starting with:
Amagi Brilliant Park – Extra Magic Hour
Has its moments (the fast-forward with everybody’s day to day). I also loved how the first few episodes’ opening had the error “It’s not a fairy tail” (which is unfortunately fixed in the linked version)
Boku Dake ga Inai Machi (ERASED) – Re:Re:
Second half with the clocks and other visuals was a bit too abstract, but still a great opening
Small aside — this was legitimately on track to be my favorite anime until episode 10 onward hit. Seriously, if the anime ended after episode 9, it would be hands down my favorite anime — maybe even my favorite work of fiction. It hooked me like nothing did, and that includes other mediums too. Too bad the ending was.. that.
Carnival Phantasm – Super☆Affection
Filled to the brim with Fate references, but I still enjoyed it as someone who understood none of them
Also shoutout to the “spinoff” of the spinoff, Fate/Grand Carnival, which uses the exact same song/concept, just with different characters (both song and visual wise). Also a fun time (though I slightly prefer the older one). Linky here.
D4DJ: First Mix – Guru Guru DJ TURN!! (Youtube link)
An underrated opening to match an underrated anime
Domestic na Kanojo – Kawaki wo Ameku
Top-tier song, not as top-tier visuals
Dororo OP1 – Kaen
Top-tier song, decent visuals
Hanayamata – Hana wa Odore ya Irohaniho
It’s pretty much your typical CGDCT opening, but it has some cute/funny moments and it’s one of the few dance number OP/EDs I actually like. Also it got me interested in the anime which is a plus in my book
Irozuku Sekai no Ashita kara – 17 Sai
Like the anime: amazing visuals but a bit boring
Isekai Shokudou – One In A Billion
Something about the hopeful nature of the song and seeing all the different creatures from different worlds eating together makes me happy, and I appreciate any opening that makes me feel something. Still, it feels like it’s lacking something to bring it out of honorable mention
Kiznaiver – LAY YOUR HANDS ON ME
Love the kaleidoscope-like visuals combining some settings from the anime, but the second half brings it down for me
Konosuba (season 2) – TOMORROW
First half is best-of list worthy, second half not so much
Kuzu no Honkai – Uso no Hibana
Creative visuals, but not enough for me to bring it out of honorable mention
Nichijou OP1 – Hyadain no Kakakata☆Kataomoi – C
The exact same tone of the anime. Whether that’s good or not is up to you — I like it, but the middle part with the professor/Nano is a weird shift to me both visually and song-wise
New Game! (season 1) – SAKURA Skip
Cute song and has great moments (well-animated countdown at the beginning, morning routines) but the later parts are a bit boring in comparison and I still don’t like Kou with no pants (why is that a thing)
One Punch Man (season 1) – THE HERO !! ~Okoreru Kobushi ni Hi wo Tsukero~
Hype as hell, but looking at it now, something about the way he’s fighting random monsters we never see in the anime kinda takes me out of it
Pop Team Epic – POP TEAM EPIC
Hella creative but gets a bit too chaotic especially during the later parts
Uma Musume Pretty Derby (season 2) – Yume wo Kakeru!
Consider this an entry for the first season’s opening too since they’re pretty similar (first half slice-of-lifey scenes, second half racing moments).
I do prefer this one a bit since it has funnier moments like Turbo’s errant shoe (RIP Tannhauser) and the “horas” from Kitasan Black and Satono Diamond. Speaking of which, it’s super weird to see them small here since I’m so used to seeing their grown-up versions in the game. Also the high amount of fanart of Dia-chan in… not so family-friendly ways.
Also I laugh every time I see this face of Gold Ship in the opening since it looks like it came straight out of Family Guy:
Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei (The Tatami Galaxy) – Maigo Inu to Ame no Beat
Another biased entry since this is one of the few anime I rated 10/10, but it’s still a good opening that alludes to the plot (if you know, you know)
Warau Salesman New – Don’t
A hella obscure anime with an amazingly creative opening
Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii – Fiction
Really close to being in the list, but ultimately, like the anime, it felt too empty at times
Favorite Anime Endings (EDs)
| Anime Title | ED Song Name |
| Bakemonogatari | Kimi no Shiranai Monogatari |
| Cheer Danshi | LIMIT BREAKERS |
| Clannad | Dango Daikazoku |
| Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou | Ohisama |
| K-On! Movie | Singing |
| K-On!! (season 2) ED2 | NO, Thank You! |
| Sakura Quest (ED1) | Freesia |
| Uma Musume Pretty Derby | Grow Up Shine! |
Bakemonogatari – Kimi no Shiranai Monogatari
Our first entry in the best endings list is a classic — the first ending in the first installment of the Monogatari series. This was my default answer when asked what my favorite ending was, so no-brainer that it ends up here.
I mean what can I say — this is a classic for a reason. The song is a banger (more piano!), the visuals are in that classic Monogatari style, and though it’s not as flashy or eye-popping as some of the other openings and endings, it gets the job done in its own way.
The funny thing is that I actually prefer the second version of this a bit because there’s some more visuals in the beginning and later parts. The reason I linked the first version is spoilers, so I wouldn’t recommend watching the other one unless you’ve gotten to the latter episodes of Bakemonogatari.
Another reason why I love this ending (and I’m sure a lot of people feel the same way) is the connection it has with one of the scenes in the anime, which is arguably one of the best not just in Bakemonogatari, but in anime as a whole. Not gonna talk specifics because, again, spoilers, but if you know, you know.
With that, it’s a good segway to talk about another reason to love an opening or ending. We’ve dived into hype, fun, and creativity as some reasons, and those are definitely good. But for me, I think emotional connection is one of the most powerful reasons to like an opening/ending.
It can be stuff like this where an opening/ending connects to a particularly memorable scene. Another example could be your favorite anime’s opening/ending (which I alluded to a bit in the OreGairu section). Though it’s more of a subjective reason, I think it’s perfectly valid.
We can go into the whole idea of subjectivity versus objectivity (which I did while writing multiple paragraphs on the topic in a prior draft), but I think my time is better spent moving on and concluding here. Definitely still on the top of my list in terms of favorite endings, and a reminder to watch the Monogatari series if you haven’t (I know I need to get back to it).
Cheer Danshi – LIMIT BREAKERS
Remember when I said we were gonna get obscure in the endings section? Well, here you go. I bet you’ve never heard of this anime, and honestly, I would be surprised if you did. This was something I watched back when I was able to consume 20 new anime per season. God, I still can’t believe I could do that, and during college no less.
If you want my opinion on the anime itself, all I remember was that it was surprisingly good. Of course, that was when I was new-ish to anime, so who knows how I feel about it now.
Well, I can at least talk about the ending. If there’s one obvious reason why I love it, it’s chibis. I’m a sucker for chibi characters: take, for example, an honorable mention in my list, the ending to Himouto! Umaru-chan R (season 2):
Well actually, I guess there’s a better reason, and it’s one we already talked about: hype.
I mean, just listen to the song — your standard cheer-style song with accompanying chants. Combine that with the chibis doing cheer moves and the classic “big words” that seem to be a pattern in this list (definitely not the last example of it), and you get an underrated ending.
Clannad – Dango Daikazoku
Disclaimer: I never watched Clannad, so I don’t know the context of this song. It’s on my plan to read list (the VN, that is), so maybe I’ll find out someday.
But even without that knowledge, this is still a helluva cute and emotional opening. Cute because the little dango characters are way too adorable (especially the variations like the baby and old couple), and emotional because it has that classic Key theme feel (similar to the vocal songs from VNs I’ve read like Little Busters and Rewrite). Those chimes in the second half exude Key energy.
What really amazes me about this ending is how simple it is, but how it still carries so much emotion to it (even for someone who knows next to nothing about it). Seriously, it’s just a bunch of dango living their dango lives.
It’s the song that I think really gives it that oomph, but the visuals sure help a ton as well. Man… I can’t imagine how much I’ll like this once I actually get the proper context. That, or how much I’ll cry when hearing this song.
Guess I should start reading the VN soon.
Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou – Ohisama
This ending is an example of what I like to call the “storyline” OP/ED. Basically, the 90 seconds are devoted to a mini-storyline that’s played out through the entirety of the OP/ED.
Some examples I can think of off the top of my head are the Boku no Hero Academia (season 2) second ending (which also happens to be an honorable mention):
And the Nisekoi (season 2) opening:
These storyline OP/EDs are usually hit or miss for me, but this particular example is on this list because it’s basically an extension of the anime (plus an accompanying song).
For those who’ve never watched this anime, which is also known as Daily Lives of Highschool Boys, it’s a comedy series focused on, you guessed it, the daily lives of high school boys. The ending is done in the exact same style of humor as the skits in the anime — the nonsensical school play combined with the reactions of the audience still makes me laugh inside every time I watch it.
The song matches the ridiculousness of it all perfectly, and it all melds together for a quintessential Nichibros experience. Basically, if you haven’t, go watch this anime now, especially if you’ve ever been or are currently a high school boy. Super hilarious, and one of the few anime that I rated a 10/10.
K-On! Movie – Singing
K-On as a whole has some banger openings and endings (and songs in general), but I think this is definitely up there as one of the best.
One of the things I love about the ending is that it defies the standard movie credits ending. You know what I’m talking about: a black screen with scrolling credits along with a song. Well, that is how this ending starts, as seen in this example with the credits left in:
But out of nowhere comes Mio ripping through the fourth wall, taking you along for the ride of your life.
And heck, it only gets better from there. If you thought the K-On endings were already good, wait until you see the MOVIE version. You know, the one with more time and resources. The quality is out of this world, and I love the aesthetic of everybody’s outfits.
There’s so many little things that I love as well. The wind (complete with animated hair billowing around) is a nice addition considering the setting, and the different filters used between scenes adds dimension to the entire experience.
Also there’s hair-down Ritsu, who’s the best character in the entire anime. More hair-down Ritsu please.
No, but seriously, I love the music video feel to the whole thing, and it doesn’t hurt that the song is a banger (as most HTT songs are). Then when it ends with all of their instruments grouped together, it hits you — the emotions knowing it’s the end of K-On. A great conclusion for one of the great CGDCT anime series ever.
K-On!! (season 2) ED2 – NO, Thank You!
Speaking of K-On… let’s continue on the HTT train with another banger of an ending: NO, Thank You!
For me, it all comes down to two things — the song and the outfits. This is actually my favorite song to come out of K-On as a whole. Yes, even over classics like Fuwa Fuwa Time and U & I. It accompanied Kuchizuke Diamond as my most repeated song when I was still using iTunes.
But also, the whole aesthetic of the ending with the school uniforms and hoodies is seriously my jam. I’m a huge fan of hoodies, so seeing the opening scene of Mio wearing the school uniform/hoodie combo was a killer. And the other outfits when they perform aren’t too bad either (with a special appearance from hair-down Ritsu again!).
There’s other reasons why this is a favorite, and I could get into the technical details, but it all comes down to the hoodie. Hoodie is supreme.
(Also the song I guess. But that’s a given by being on this list.)
Sakura Quest (ED1) – Freesia
Hoo boy… this is gonna be interesting.
So context — out of all the openings and endings on this list, this is the one I dreaded writing about the most. Not because I didn’t like the ending — in fact, quite the opposite.
I LOVE this opening.
I was hooked from the very first time it ran while the anime was airing. I waited in bated breath for the release of the full version so I could listen to it on repeat like a madman. And I was legitimately saddened when they switched to another ending in the second cour (which was all right, but definitely not as good as this one).
Yet… I can’t describe the reasons why I like it so much. I’ve watched it so many times, with an open mind and different theories, but ultimately it’s hard to really say why it’s on this list.
Is it the song? I mean it is a great song, but I don’t think that’s the main reason.
Is it the visuals? I mean they’re not amazing in all honesty. The first half features each of the five main characters in simple white and pastel-tone colored backgrounds listening to what’s assumed to be the ending song based on parts when they lip-sync to it. The second half is all of them walking in sync with the same headphones with occasional shots of the town and the final scene of the main character singing the final verse. Both parts are bookended by a shot of water in the day (start) and the evening/night (end).
All in all, nothing too crazy.
Is it an emotional connection? I mean the anime wasn’t that great, and like I said, my love of the ending came immediately, so it probably wasn’t due to that.
You know, after thinking about it for a while, I guess it’s a combination of the song and subdued visuals providing a calming yet hopeful experience. In short, I just like the feel of it. Simple as that.
That was kinda underwhelming.
Uma Musume Pretty Derby – Grow Up Shine!
Our final entry in this list may come with a bit of a bias. I admit I’ve been.. sorta… obsessed with the Uma Musume franchise while playing the mobile game. Shoutout to my friend for letting me know it was out on its first day of release, allowing me to immediately download it and slowly descend into this madness — I blame you for putting me on this wild ride (not really).
But truthfully, I actually loved this ending even before getting deep into the franchise. This is a classic example of a FUN ending. It’s vibrant, high energy, and features our friend “big words”… but better! They’re animated in fun ways, starting from the very beginning with every letter in “Pretty Derby Spica Cup” moving in a unique fashion and only getting better with the different English phrases (my personal favorite is the “Ready” in “Ready…. Go!” stretching up: I copy it every time by moving in sync).
The words also act as transitions between each scene, which makes it both practical and fun. Anytime you have that combination, you take it and run (heh horse girl joke).
If there’s one thing I don’t like from this ending, it’s the end with the panning shots of the girls sleeping. I don’t know… that’s kinda weird. Maybe it’s just me, though, and hey — it didn’t detract me from excluding this in the list entirely. Also it does kinda foreshadow the main characters for season 2, so there’s that.
I only wish the second season’s ending was as good, because hoo boy… it was disappointingly boring compared to this one. Here’s hoping for a potential third season (CyGames pls).
Honorable Mentions (EDs)
Similar to the openings list, there were a ton of close calls in the best endings list. Again, most of these endings were either great with some meh parts or decent with some great moments. So let’s get into them, starting with:
BanG Dream (season 3) – Yume wo Uchinuku Shunkan ni!
Love the simple scrolling visual of all the characters doing slice-of-life things, one of the few on these lists where I’m meh on the song
Boku Dake ga Inai Machi (ERASED) – Sore wa Chiisana Hikari no You na
Mostly here for the nostalgia factor; this is one of those cases where the visuals are a bit too abstract
Boku no Hero Academia (season 2) ED2 – Datte Atashi no Hero.
Aforementioned example. Fun storyline ending with great song
Centaur no Nayami – Edelweiss
Unironically the best thing about this anime, which I’m not sure is a good thing
Eromanga-sensei – adrenaline!!
As much as I hate this anime, the ending song is pretty boppin and the animation is smooth (even if it’s just the character waiting for the laundry to be done)
Free! Eternal Summer (season 2) – FUTURE FISH
Pseudo-storyline ending with fun moments
Fruits Basket (2019) ED2 – One Step Closer
The felt animals really make this ending for me
Haikyuu! (season 3) – Mashi Mashi
Similar to BanG Dream season 3’s ending, a simple scrolling visual with all of the teams, except here there’s no SoL scenes
Haikyuu! (season 4) – Kessen Spirit
The song alone carries this, though I’m biased since I’m a huge HoneyWorks fan
Haikyuu! (season 5) – One Day
I love the mini-plotline of this with everybody watching the match
Himouto! Umaru-chan R (season 2) – Umarun Taisou
Aforementioned example. Chibis = winning formula, even disregarding the dance number
Hitoribocchi no Marumaru Seikatsu – Ne, Issho ni Kaero
Another example of the scrolling visuals with characters living their lives, except the visuals here are manga panels (and the characters walking are also in their original manga design which is a nice touch)
Joshiraku – Nippon Egao Hyakkei
Never watched the anime but this definitely made me interested in it
Also tied to one of my favorite anime theme mashups:
Just Because – behind
For some reason, this ending is super nostalgic to me. Maybe it’s the winter themes + rural setting reminding me of my visits to Korea? Overall, a bit too slow for me (but that’s nice in its own way)
Little Witch Academia ED1 – Hoshi wo Todoreba
Love the beginning’s visuals, and the song is also pretty good
Mahou Shoujo Madoka★Magica – Magia (HEAVY SPOILERS: VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED…though if you still haven’t watched this anime, what are you doing?)
The classic! Brings out the feelings of the anime perfectly (if you know what I mean…)!
Mikakunin de Shinkoukei – Masshiro World
One word: chibis
Mob Psycho 100 II – Memosepia
Chibis, yes, but also slice-of-life scenes? Even better!
New Game!! (season 2) ED2 – Yumeiro Compass
The beginning half always makes me feel warm inside. Just seeing those happy faces coupled with that music… aww.
Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru (OreGairu) – Hello Alone
The idea is great (anime characters in real life backgrounds), but the execution is lacking
Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru Kan. (OreGairu season 3) – Diamond no Jundo
The song carries this hard — this was my most listened to song in 2020. Proof:
It’s what I describe as the love child of the previous seasons’ endings — it keeps the cheery pep of Hello Alone (S1 ending) while adding some emotional notes in the mix a la Everyday World (S2 ending). Fitting for the final season of this anime.
We don’t talk about Shin.
Psycho-Pass – Namae no nai Kaibutsu
A famous ending for a reason: unique visuals + great song. The only thing is that the visuals don’t sync that well with the music for me. Still a great ending, but not good enough for the list.
Saiki Kusuo no Ψ-nan 2 ED2 – Duet♡ShitekudaΨ
Storyline ending…? Pretty simplistic visuals, but that’s on par for this anime (not bad by any means)
Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo ED1 – DAYS of DASH
This was actually a close pick for the best endings list — I LOVE the song (I played it on repeat when it became available outside Japan for streaming), and the whole theme with opening up the world (so to speak) was well done here. In the end, I think the idea is great, but it’s not enough to put it on par with some of the other great endings I’ve seen.
Shakunetsu no Takkyuu Musume – Bokura no Frontier
Chibis? Yes. Funny SoL moments? Also yes.
Tamako Love Story – Koi no Uta (HEAVY SPOILERS FOR TAMAKO MARKET/LOVE STORY: VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED)
I’ll say the main reason I love this is story-related, so I won’t go into details. Also if you are curious about this ending and haven’t watched any of the anime, skip about 20 seconds in.
Very similar to the K-On movie ending as well (actual visuals instead a black credits screen, music-video like visuals)
Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei (The Tatami Galaxy) – Kamisama no Iutoori
Similar to the opening: creative and relates to the overall plot
Yuru Yuri (season 1) – My Pace de Ikimashou
I usually don’t like CGDCT endings, but this has funny moments and the song isn’t too… cutesy, for lack of a better word
And that’s the end of the long boi post! If you’ve made it this far, thanks for reading! I’m not sure how frequently I’ll be posting in the future, but hopefully I’ll have the time and ideas to be able to write more of these long-form posts in the future. In fact, I have one in the works, so look out for that in the upcoming week or so!
Until then, hope y’all are staying safe out there, and I’ll see you in the next post (whenever that is)!
Fractals and Recursion 