The 100 Best Anime Openings Of All Time (100 – 91)

As much as this is a K-pop blog, it’s also a J-pop and anime centric blog. But unfortunately, I haven’t had the time to really tackle the latter in depth, or at all over the past year. That however ends here with what is probably one of my most ambitious projects yet.

The Top 100 Anime Openings of All Time.

Now while I have done a “Best K-pop Songs of The Decade” list in the past ( a list which is now already severely outdated *yikes*), that is nothing compared to the task I’m undertaking here. Mainstream anime has been around a lot longer than K-pop and while that list only took into consideration songs that came out over a 10 year timespan, this list here contains openings over the span of almost 40 years with the oldest being released in the mid 80’s and the latest being in 2019. And to make things even harder, my initial shortlist amounted to nearly 250 songs, of which many still remain strong favourites. But after culling some incredibly strong candidates, I think I’ve finally done it. Ofcourse a list of such a nature will never be concrete but I think that the list I have compiled is truely something special.

And since I’ll be ranking openings and not just songs, the criteria here will be a little different than my average countdown. Here I’m considering both the visuals, the song and its influence. So while a I might love a song, if its visuals and influence aren’t as strong, it would place lower than lets say a song with more influence and better visuals. And since I have my many personal biases towards certain bands and certain shows, please know that this list is heavily subjective. As so is every list that critiques art. So if you don’t find your favourite opening on the list, don’t get too discouraged.

So before we get into it, let’s look at some honourable mentions that I adore but *JUST* missed the cut

Honourable Mentions:

Hearts Grow – Kasanaru Kage (Gintama Op 4)

Mika Nakashima – Kiss of Death (Darling in the Franxx Op 1)

Psychic Lover – Precious Time, Glory Days (Yu-Gi-Oh GX Op 4)

Orange Range – O2 (Code Geass R2 Op 1)

SID – Monocro No Kiss (Black Butler Op 1)

Yōsei Teikoku – Kuusou Mesorogiwi (Mirai Nikki (Future Diary) Op 1)

Miwa – ChAngE (Bleach op 12)

Chemistry – Period (Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood Op 4)

Uverworld – Gekidō (D-Gray Man Op 4)

L’Arc-en-Ciel – Ready Steady Go (Full Metal Alchemist Op 2)

100. Aqua Timez – Velonica (“Bleach” Opening 9)

Year Released: 2009

A bouncy, guitar driven track, Velonica succeeded musically thanks to its rapid fire delivery and addictive melodic turns. But as with most Bleach openings, the animation here is truly the star of the show, utilising a blotchy colour palette and unique animation style for a standout opening.

99. Psychic Lover – Break Your Spell (“Cardfight Vanguard” Opening 6)

Year Released: 2014

A fitting anthem to one of my favourite card game anime arcs, Break Your Spell powers forward on a rousing melody and larger than life production fit with a chorus for the ages. The animation and framing here might be a little generic but the fluidity and symbolism to the events that occur is appreciated.

98. GARNiDELiA – Ambiguous (“Kill La Kill” Opening 2)

Year Released: 2015

When in need of a driving edm banger for your anime, you can’t go wrong with GARNiDELiA. Her powerful vocals lend the uniquely animated and incredibly violent second half of Kill La Kill an incredible opening which carries the key essence of the show whilst still bringing something new to the table.

97. JAM PROJECT – THE HERO!! (“One Punch Man” Opening 1)

Year Released: 2015

Probably the first big upset of the list, One Punch Man’s The Hero!! is one of the most popular and critically acclaimed anime openings of the past decade. And for good reason too. The animation here is just stunning, accurately portraying the shows larger than life elements whilst still managing to hint at Saitama’s more goofy personality traits. If the song had aged better than it did, this would have been top 50 easily.

96. 3-nen E-gumi Utatan – Question (“Assassination Classroom” Opening 3)

Year Released: 2016

An all around solid opening, Question was the first opening of the second season of the great but rather underrated Assassination Classroom. It’s a total jam and the contrasting character frames alongside the lyrics are perfect in the context of the show.

95. 9mm Parabellum Bullet – Sen No Tsubasa (“Re: Hamatora Opening 1)

Year Released: 2014

Some truly mesmerising animation lend this severely underrated anime an opening that stands up to the best of them. Sen No Tsubasa is both musically and animation wise fantastic, transforming the “characters standing around” trope into some truely compelling with the use of some excellent transitions and punchy backing.

94. Fear, and Loathing in Las Vegas – Let Me Hear (“Parasyte: The Maxim” Opening 1)

Year Released: 2014

Symbolism plays a big part in the first and most popular opening for cult classic Parasyte: The Maxim. The opening lays out the entire plot of the show in a clever yet incredibly subtle manner that can only be truly appreciated once one has seen the show. And the screamo Let Me Hear is the perfect soundtrack to a show that is as weird as it is brutal.

93. Hello Sleepwalkers – Goya No Machiwase (“Noragami” Opening 1)

Year Released: 2014

A fan favourite amongst the anime community, Goya No Machiwase pretty much brought Noragami to the forefront of many anime fans attention when it first premiered. The greyscale colour palette with only the eyes coloured was an inspired animation choice and the stomping rock of the song that accompanied it only made the entire experience better.

91. Kana Hanazawa – Renai Circulation (“Bakemonogatari” Opening 4)

Year Released: 2016

Incredibly addictive and one of the most meme-worthy anime openings of the past few years, Renai Circulation is much more reserved and playful than your average opening. And that sense of simplicity works heavily in its favour. The animation is perfect, choosing to only follow Sengoku Nadeko throughout its entire runtime while she just acts cute. But viewers be warned, the actual anime is as far from this as you can get.

Still great op though.

91. Tatsuyuki Kobayashi and Konomi Suzuki – Never End Tale (“Fairy Tail” Opening 20)

Year Released: 2015

Despite Fairy Tail being a pretty terrible show, there’s no discounting its openings, which remain some of the most consistent in recent memory. The emotive, melodic and driving Never End Tale remains one of the franchises strongest, powering forward on a gorgeous melody and an equally engaging performance. And the fast paced animation fits the nature of the song perfectly.