This post comes a bit late ( if your read my latest post, you know why) but I bring this Winter’s top OP’s. This season was harder than the last one since I had to rank not only the OP’s of the new animes but ALSO the new OP’s fron the long-running animes such as Gundam 00.

Even so, I managed to squeeze the list into 10 ranks. Just let me remind you I analyze not only the song quality but also the animation quality and if both of them are complementar.

Due to Youtube being a pain in the ass, you may have to use Internet Explorer to properly see all the vids.

Heyo all, I’m natsu from Neko’s Thinkbox, and I’m honored to do a small guest entry on T.H.A.T. Thank you, Extrange.

Since I haven’t watched most of the animes in this pool, I analyzed the appeal factor of each opening. So, basically, if it makes me want to watch the rest of the anime, the opening ranks higher.

 

10. Persona: trinity soul - [Breakin’ Through] by [Shūhei Kita]

Extrange: Breakin’ Through, in spite of being a fairly nice songe, has a extremely high voice pitch and it doesn’t quite adapt to the genre of Persona: Trinity Soul. Also, some parts of the animation feel awkward due to their non-natural animation. But this comes from a guy who follows the Persona and Shin Megami Tensei series of games since the old SNES so I’m maybe a little too picky…

natsu: 7. Persona – One of the many winter anime I have not watched yet… The opening looks mysteriously confusing to me, and it doesn’t really tell me what to expect in the anime. But I do like the song quite a lot, and I think both image and sound complete each other well.

9. True Tears - [Reflectia] by [eufonius]

Extrange: Another OP made by eufonius, more known for their work on the Clannad VN. Unfortunely, the song sounds like your typical “School real life romance” anime song and the animation isn’t specially remarking.

natsu: 4. True Tears – Eufonius delivers, as always: Reflectia sounds particularly nice to me. From what the opening has to offer, it is likely that I might start watching it soon. I suddenly became so interested I almost watched one episode as I was rewatching the opening… (Then again, I was too tired to close the video.)

8. ARIA The ORIGINATION - [Spirale] by [Yui Makino]

Extrange: Ah, sweet sweet Akari….*cough,cough*, fanboyism apart, the new season of Aria brings us another beautiful song and their original OP animation each episode. But in spite of the great perfomance of Makino Yui singing Spirale, I prefer the previous seasons song than this one, so I’ve ranked lower. Although that I do it with some heavy weight in my heart… Gah, now I feel like randomly hugging cats…

natsu: 1. ARIA – I’m in heaven. I have to admit I have been on an ARIA frenzy as of lately (sorry for my lack of objectivity here), but I absolutely can’t get enough of this kind of opening. The animation changes every episode, and always shows gorgeous sceneries of Neo-Venezia. Add to it the mellow tune and beat of Spirale and the overly gentle melody sung by Makino Yui, it’s simply perfect. Whenever I hear this song, it makes me feel at ease… “Hazukashii Serifu Kinshi”!

7. Ookami to Koushinryou - [Tabi no Tochū] by [Natsumi Kiyoura]

Extrange: Natsumi Kiyoura’s voice is great on this OP and really adapts to the mellowness of the show. The animation is also nice to watch but there is something there that I can’t quite discern that doesn’t really combine with the view that the song conveys.

natsu: 5. Spice and Wolf - The song is very calm and soothing, and it is a pretty melancholic melody. It is one of the few songs that immediately made me hum along. Animation-wise, the OP is decent; the beautiful sceneries fit the tenderness of the song. However, the whole looks a bit too dramatic for what the anime actually is for now.

6. Zoku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei - [kūsō Rumba] by [Kenji Ohtsuki and Zetsubō Shōjo-tachi]

Extrange: kūsō Rumba follows a similar formula of the 1st season OP (but instead of Bure we have Rumba…) which is funny because it’s like a parody of the prequel OP ( the whole show is filled with parodies.) Even the Op animation is extremely similar to the predecessor but lacks yuri and girls in bondage , which made it drop ranks. SZS anime is the nightmare of the OP reviewer since it changes OP and ED almost every episode. Even as I was writing this review, they changed OP’s, which I leave here as an extra vid.

natsu:6. ZSZS – Rumba rumba rumba rumba…. Oops! Fantasy Rumba sure is an interesting song, not only because of the repeating “rumba”, but also because of the pretty unusual vocals and lyrics. And as always, we are offered offers classic Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei-like randomness: body parts, intestines, muscles, ribs, etc… Abstract rumba. (3rd OP of ZSZS is hilarious, but will not rank higher in my ranking.)

Extra OP - Zoku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei - [Lyricure Go Go!] by [Ai Nonaka, Marina Inoue and Ryōko Shintani]

5. Gunslinger Girl -Il Teatrino- [Tatta Hitotsu no Omoi] by [KOKIA]

Extrange: This is a very impressive song from KOKIA, a famous Japanesee singer who has some impressive vocal skills (she can even hold a long-tone Opera note for 30 seconds). The song has nice tune that easily gets into your head and sticks there. Now the animation is terrible. I’m not against using real life videos and pics in OP’s (Moyashimon OP - Curriculum - is a great example) but on the case of GSG2 and knowing the VERY low quality of the anime itself, I fell like the use of real life pics was just a lazy solution from the producers.

natsu: 8. GSG2 – The slideshow of images sure is an interesting concept, however it was a bit disappointing that all the pictures were real photos, and filtered to give them a watercolor-drawn feeling. However, the song makes up for that with a pretty easy and catchy tune, and it easily allows to sing along.

4. Hakaba Kitaro - [Mononoke Dance] by [Denki Groove]

Extrange: Denki Groove can be considered as the guys who brought Techno Pop to Japan. Being myself a fan of electronic music (I was practicaly raised listening to Kraftwerk and Art of Noise) I maybe enjoy the song with a different view than the normal anime fan. The animation is also particulary interesting, with the retro look of the old Japanese comics and the “finale” of the OP.

natsu: 10. Hakaba Kitarou – Never heard about it. It definitely looks abstract and random. It’s like a comic strip, and the drawing style needs getting used to, but… heck, I really can’t describe such randomness! The music somewhat fuels it as well, because I can’t associate house music to it in any way. I don’t think it will make me watch more of it.

3. Shakugan no Shana II - [BLAZE] by [KOTOKO]

Extrange: It’s KOTOKO. It’s Shakugan no Shana. Both of them together means a powerful song and an animation to match it. KOTOKO’s show well her past experience of doing OP’s for anime series and OAV’s.

natsu: 2. Shakugan 2nd, 2nd OP – Instant win. I never watched Shana, but that is going to change. KOTOKO’s Blaze is great and perfectly matches the emotional and highly action-laden animation. It was quite intense, it even sent some chills down my spine. I guess I couldn’t ask for more here.

2. Hatenkou Yuugi - [Heartbreaking Romance] by [Kanako Itō]

Extrange: Another OP with a Techno Pop base, Heartbreaking Romance is ranked higher due to the perfomance of the singer, which matches well the quirkyness of the anime. The animation also conveys that oddness and adapts nicely to the beat of the song. And the fact that I hummed this song for 5 days straight…

natsu: 9. Hatenkou Yuugi – Yet another unknown series to me. The opening doesn’t seem to show a lot, only the three main characters and their weapons. Not that interesting, really. The music doesn’t appeal to me much either.

1. Gundam 00 - [Ash Like Snow] by [the brilliant green]

Extrange: Yes, you may hate the shiny ass of Gundam and the million sequels/spin-offs based on it, but Gundam 00 did it again. Ash like Snow is a song filled with energy and the animation is packed with emoness and robots blowing apart. What else you could wish from an OP?

natsu: 3. Gundam 00 2nd OP – Ash Like Snow from the brilliant green is already a step toward a more active opening song in contrast to the first opening, and I quite love the grungy guitars here. However, once again, the pace is pretty restrained and flaccid, which gives it a rather cautious feel in contrast with the action-laden animation. The animation is eye candy, and is quite inviting me to watch more.

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