Best Anime Opening Throughout the Years

 

Recently, I've been watching an anime and was inspired to write this post by its opening (OP) music. The challenging part of this post is that there is so much great music in shows especially anime. This will be the first in a series on the best opening music. I also plan to write about good ending (ED) music write on different time periods in future posts. However, in this post, I'll cover my favorite OPs from the last 15 years.

I'll keep this post short and won't go into details because I'm not the best at explaining why this music is notable, but I'm happy to share the songs I've enjoyed while watching anime. Of course, I've included a link to each song so you can enjoy them for yourself!

Note: I tried my best linking the source video this post, but I wasn't able to upload some of them from the source.

2009 Full Metal Alchemist: Again by Yendorami

2010 Bleach: Ranbu no Melody by SID

2011 Steins;gate: Hacking to the Gate by Kanako Itō

2012 Sword Art Online: Crossing field by LiSA

2013 Attack on Titan: Crimson Bow and Arrow by Linked Horizon

2014 Tokyo Ghoul: Unravel by Toru Kitajima

2015 One Punch Man: The Hero by Okoreru Kobushi ni Hi wo Tsukero

2016 Mob Psycho 100: 99 by MOB CHOIR

2017 My Hero Academia: Peace Sign by Kenshi Yonezu

2018 Darling in the Franxx: Kiss of Death by Mika Nakashima X Hyde

2019 Fire Force: Inferno by Mrs. Green Apple

2020 Tower of God: TOP by Stray Kids

2021 Jujutsu Kaisen: Vivid Vice by Who-ya Extended

2022 Ranking of Kings: Naked Hero by Vaundy

2023 Spy x Family: Kura Kura by Ado

2024 Kaiju No. 8: Abyss by Yungblud 

Exploring Anime Tropes: Deal-Breakers and Hidden Gems

 

I enjoy watching anime, a passion that originated during my teenage years with Dragonball Z. What draws me to anime is its unique ability to convey aspects that live-action cannot capture. While I appreciate anime, it's important to acknowledge its flaws. There are certain recurring tropes that, when considering a new series, one should investigate. Some of these tropes are harmless but annoying, while others are outright distasteful. For those venturing into the world of anime or contemplating allowing their children to explore it, I hope this list proves helpful. Here are five deal-breakers when it comes to anime.

The Main Character Always Fights the Final Boss

   While a harmless trope, it can limit the creativity of a series. In many Shonen anime, the main protagonist inevitably faces the final boss, sidelining opportunities for other supporting characters to grow. An example is Fairy Tail, where Natsu consistently confronts the opposing team boss, despite other characters being equally capable such as Gray or Erza. This trope could be improved by allowing other characters to take on the main villain in the arc especially when they are better suited for. For example, If the protagonist has fire magic and the boss also has fire magic, then let the supporting character with water magic face the villain.

Deus Ex Machina Occurs Too Often

   This overplayed trope involves the protagonist receiving an unexpected power boost to defeat the villain when on the brink of defeat. Often tied to the power of friendship. It’s ironic when an anime has dark themes not suitable for children, but the heroes use the power of friendship. Naruto is a notable example where friendship plays a significant role in the protagonist's strength.

Perverted Characters

   This trope, featuring characters who sexualize women, can be off-putting and occurs too frequently in anime. Characters like Master Roshi in Dragonball or Daru in Steins;Gate exemplify this issue, potentially deterring some viewers. Perverted characters tend to have nose bleeds indicating that they are having an impure thought.

Women Betrayal

   Aligned with the previous trope, the objectification of women in anime is a concerning trend. Despite character development, female characters are often depicted in impractical attire with unrealistic bodies. One Piece is cited as an example, where every female character is scantily clad. Which should discourage viewers with moral standards.

Brother and Sister Romantic Interest

   This uncomfortable trope, where a sister develops romantic feelings for the main protagonist, is a definite reason to stop watching an anime. Instances like those in Sword Art Online can be particularly unsettling. Typically, if the main protagonist has a sister, then she will have romantic feelings towards him. The exception being Demon Slayer.

Conclusion

  Reflecting on these tropes, I invite you to share your own anime pet peeves. Despite these drawbacks, there are numerous anime series that avoid these pitfalls. I recommend the following, excluding Steins;Gate due to its inclusion of the perverted character trope:

1. Bungo Stray Dogs

2. Spy X Family

3. Hunter X Hunter

4. Mashle: Magic and Muscles 
(Yes, this breaks the first tope, but it is still good)

5. Love is War

6. Ranking of Kings

7. Log Horizon

8. Classroom of the Elite

Fun with Spy Family

What happens when you combine anime melodrama with hyper competent characters and 60s spy thriller plot arcs? You get an enormously entertaining show with massive potential.

I’ve really loved watching Spy X Family with my wife. We’ve related to the emotional roller coaster each of the characters experience, and had a lot of good laughs. The first season weaved through phenomenal adventures of a ‘family’ putting their daughter through an elite private school, and growing closer than they expected.

Spy family is about three exceptional individuals, a spy, an assassin, and a mind-reader, who come together as the Forger family. 

Code name, Twilight is a spy who takes on the alias of Loid Forger when he is assigned a mission to prevent a major conflict in the middle of a brimming war between the two countries, Westalis and Ostania. His daughter, Anya, is a recruit from a local orphanage, and succeeds in grabbing his attention because she uses her mind reading capabilities to her advantage.

Loid also recruits a woman, Yor, to pose as wife and mother to Anya. Yor is secretly an assassin for hire just trying to make ends meet, since she grew up as an orphan. Anya is a former orphan, who just wants to keep her family together. She, in fact, loves her fake parents all the more because she is completely and totally informed of their secret identities as assassin and spy

So all three individuals in the spy family have different ways of responding to their bizarre situation. The truth is they are lovable; their internal dialogue is incredibly relatable. Lloyd is goal oriented to the nth degree but he can't stop himself from seeing the needs of his fake daughter, Anya, or how impressed he his by fake wife. 

Yor wants desperately to keep her family together, and is terrified that when they find out she's an assassin, it will destroy them.

Anya is probably the least imposter although the fact that she keeps her mind reading to herself is quite a bombshell.

Interesting thing about imposter syndrome is it leads to all sorts of negative feelings on the basis of cognitive distortion. Usually people who are hard-working and well deserving of their accomplishments have this nagging idea that one day they could lose everything when people realize that it was nothing more than an act all along.

No one in the family is quite so plagued by the sense that she could lose everything as Yor. She is constantly aware of how her work as an assassin or her shortcomings could end her relationship with Loid. Despite her superhuman assassin skills, she always terrified she won’t measure up in the eyes of her family. Her self-doubt is so relatable and endearing.

There’s time to binge the first season before season two comes out in October 2023, followed by a full length film the following December. I can’t wait!