There are an uncomfortable amount of people who prefer to skip anime openings, and that’s just unacceptable. Anime openings — or OPs — are an institution in the community and should receive the undying respect that is owed. So, here’s my best and most loyal sacrifice.
I polled some other members of the Destructoid staff on their favorite OPs from across the anime-verse (and mixed them with some of my personal favorites) and compiled them below. If you see one here that you don’t recognize, why not give the series a shot? You might have found your new favorite anime.
Top 10 Best Anime Openings (OPs) of All Time
10. Attack on Titan OP5 — “Doukei to Shikabane no Michi”
I know — of all the Attack on Titan OPs, most would probably expect us to pick the first, Guren no Yumiya. But, I always enjoyed how “houkei no Shikabane no Mich feels like a more exciting, more hyped-up version of that intro. It also aligns so perfectly with the story to that point, and there’s a kind of poetry that this is the final Attack on Titan song featuring Linked Horizon (aside from the ED theme from The Final Season Part 3), and it was the last OP before things went truly off the rails.
9. Mob Psycho 100 OP3 — “1”
In much the same way that we picked a subversive pick for Attack on Titan, I deemed it appropriate to do the same for Mob Psycho 100. I feel like this OP is a beautiful and chaotic celebration of the wackiness and ESP-fueled madness that is Mob Psycho 100, and just in time for its final season, too.
8. Soul Eater OP1 — “Resonance”
I don’t think it’d be possible to do this list without acknowledging one of the absolute GOATs. Soul Eater, and its first OP, Resonance by T.M. Revolution, have earned a place in the annals of anime history for cramming as much as possible into a minute-and-a-half without it feeling out of place. In fact, everything here has a purpose, and serves to tell you all you need to know about the characters and world.
7. Call of the Night OP — “Daten”
OK, now we’re getting to the more ethereal side of the anime OP world. I personally adore openings that go above and beyond in creating layers upon layers of subterfuge and symbolism. In the case of Call of the Night, its first opening showcases its varied cast of characters flying through space, falling through doors in the floor, and part of a film set, but none of it feels wrong, so to speak.
6. Jujutsu Kaisen OP3 — “Where Our Blue Is”
I didn’t expect this kind of opening from Jujutsu Kaisen’s long-awaited return, but having seen the arc it belongs to, I must say it’s a perfect choice. In many ways, the Premature Death / Hidden Inventory arc is both a reprieve and a deeper descent into darkness before the Shibuya arc, and this OP does a great job of conveying that simultaneous sense of freedom and descent that it needed to.
5. Oshi no Ko OP — “Idol”
What is an anime OP list without at least one track by YOASOBI? I would say there’s a perfectly good reason why this one took over both the charts and the hearts of TikTok gremlins everywhere when it was initially airing. That’s because this opening captures a disorienting sense of suspense shared only with the anime it belongs to, Oshi no Ko. YOASOBI has this tendency to inject pure emotion into every song they perform, and it so happens that, in this case, the emotion was funneled into the visuals of the OP itself.
4. Kokkoku OP — “Flashback”
I fondly recall seeing Kokkoku’s opening back when it was airing and believing it was the most trippy but fun-to-watch opening out there, and to a degree, that still rings true! It has an expert use of color — both contrasting and complimenting — and the way every single cut has something happening in it helps keep viewer retention engaged. I still think it deserves to be considered among the best.
3. One Piece OP25 — “The Peak”
I can already hear the readers calling me out for recency bias because this is the most current One Piece OP, but hear me out. This opening is a celebration of the series’ storied past and its future, which is to come. And despite it being one of the shortest OPs since the Skypiea arc, it manages to squeeze in so much love from the production staff to the viewers at home, and it’s absolutely gorgeous.
2. Cowboy Bebop OP — “Tank!”
I have a bad feeling that I’d be tied to a pole and beaten with unsold copies of Cowboy Bebop’s Netflix series if I didn’t include Tank. Let’s just say there’s a reason this one is so iconic, from the characters being silhouetted, the story outline being present on-screen, and the expert use of color in identifying the Bebop and the Swordfish II. It just makes me want to rewatch the series if I’m being honest.
1. Clannad: After Story OP — “Toki wo Kizamu Uta”
I am almost certain I have said this before, and I will probably say it again — if I am given a chance to shout out one of my absolute favorite anime of all time, then I will take it without hesitation.
It helps that the opening for Clannad: After Story is one that I believe holds a deeper meaning than what you might think. I won’t go full Pepe Silvia here, but the long and short of it is that I believe this opening doubles as a sort of memorial for one of the characters.
To that end, it shows how each of the main cast, most notably those who either don’t show up (or who show up sparingly) past a certain point react to the news that one of their friends has died. It really is a remarkably directed opening that, even if that theory is inaccurate, channels the raw emotion the series presents and turns it up to 11. I still have a hard time listening to this one without feeling things.
