A great anime opening does more than hype the episode — it is a miniature artwork that defines a series's soul in 90 seconds. These are the openings that fans have rewatched millions of times and that never get skipped.
YUI's rock opening for Brotherhood balances energy and emotion in perfect proportion to the series. Its combination of the brothers' bond and the dark imagery of their journey makes it the most emotionally resonant OP in shonen anime.
UVERworld's coming-of-age rock anthem combined with footage of the young heroes maturing into their powers captures the essential spirit of MHA's thesis — that anyone can choose to be a hero.
The Seatbelts' jazz big band opener is inseparable from Cowboy Bebop's cool aesthetic. The jagged imagery, the brass stabs, and the complete absence of dialogue make it the most cinematically distinctive anime opening ever produced.
Linked Horizon's anthemic orchestral metal opening set the bombastic, desperate tone of Attack on Titan perfectly. Its imagery of Titans looming over walls became instantly iconic and is arguably the most recognisable anime OP ever.
Yoko Takahashi's upbeat J-pop opening is in deliberate contrast to Evangelion's psychological darkness — a tonal joke that somehow works completely. The most culturally embedded anime OP in Japanese culture.
Mrs. GREEN APPLE's anthemic opener with its extraordinary first-episode animation from Studio David Production set an impossibly high bar that the series consistently aspired to meet.
Goose House's acoustic duet opening uses warm amateur-recorded intimacy to capture the hopeful, fragile nature of young love perfectly — one of the best musical-thematic matches between a song and its series.
Linked Horizon's third collaboration with Attack on Titan delivered a six-minute epic that functions as a summary of the series' mythological scope — the only anime OP that builds to a climax of its own.
TK from Ling Tosite Sigure's fragile, distorted vocal over building electronic production is perfectly matched to Tokyo Ghoul's identity crisis themes. Unravel has hundreds of millions of streams and spawned thousands of piano covers.
KANA-BOON's driving guitar-pop OP perfectly captured the energy of Shippuden's final phases. Among Naruto fans it is considered the greatest of the many OPs in the long-running series.
LiSA's haunting ballad ED used after the Mugen Train film's devastating climax produced one of the most emotionally powerful anime music moments ever — played in empty cinemas as audiences sat in silence.
JAM Project's power metal anthem matched to sakuga animation of Saitama's ridiculous training montage is one of the funniest and most energetic OPs in anime — perfect for a series that is simultaneously parody and genuine action.
“Again — Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood OP1”
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