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 

Tower of God: Allusion to the Bible (Part II)

 

In a previous post about Tower of God I wrote about how the 10 great families are like the lost 10 tribes of Israel. Link to that post is here. In this post I want to examine Baam and Rachel and how they are related to the bible and what I predict will happen in the series because of what I know about bible stories. 

*Spoiler Warning*

Let’s first talk about one of my favorite antagonists, Rachel. For those of you knew to the series Rachel is the reason why Baam, the main protagonist, enters the tower to find her. She was like a mother to him. She took care of/ used him until she was able to enter the tower. The way they dressed signifies that Rachel was taking responsibility for him. Sadly, entering the tower she showed her true colors and betrays Baam. This post isn’t about her being in the right or how evil she is. This post will explore how she relates to the bible and predict future events in the series because of this knowledge.

Rachel is the only character with a Hebrew origin name. All the other characters so far have Korean or over Asian roots to their name. In the Old Testament Jacob, also known as Israel, most favored wife was named Rachel. Israel had 12 sons two of which belonged to Rachel (Joseph and Benjamin). Three of the tribes of Israel were from Rachel; Ephraim, Manasseh (sons of Joseph) and Benjamin (One of two tribes that were never lost). As I have stated in my previous post Baam’s parents represent the two tribes that were not lost (Benjamin and Judah) which is important later in this post.

I believe from this information there are two hypotheses we can make about Rachel 1) She is Zahards sister or has some relation to him. If we assume that Zahard is like Jacob because Jacob was the patriarch over his sons and as you may recall Zahard was the leader of the 10 great families and Baam’s parents prior to them getting lost in purpose, then Rachel must be like Rachel from the Old Testament. I don’t think that Rachel is Zahards wife, but I would believe that these two are related for these reasons: 

1) They both have very similar hair colors. There are only a few characters with similar hair color (Zahard, Rachel, Wangnan Ja, etc) and Wangnan Ja is speculated to be a illegitimate son of Zahard. So Rachel could be related.

2) They are both irregulars, people that willed themselves to be in the tower. Only few people have willed themselves to the tower. I think if a sibling did so could another.

3) They both have/had a purpose to reach the top of the tower.

From this assumption I bet the reason Rachel gains many allies is because she tells them her relation to Zahard. While I have been reading this series, I never understood how she had such strong allies. She is weak, she brings nothing to the relationship but somehow has devoted followers. At first, I thought that was how her irregular abilities worked but know I think it is since she is related to Zahard. From this I predict that Zahard and Rachel both had the same goal to reach the top of the tower to see the stairs. Zahard may have given up, but Rachel hasn't.

Well that is enough about Rachel let us dive into Baam and what he represents. It is very common in movies and books to have someone that represents Christ. We seen this countless amount of times in Star Wars; Obi-Wan sacrificing himself so Luke and the gang can escape, Yoda teaching the ways of the force to Luke, and Anakin Skywalker being born without a father. Star Wars isn't the only franchise that does that Superman movies have portrayed the man of steel as Christ, Aslyan from Narnia is a Christ Figure, and every protagonist in Lord of the Rings is symbolic of Christ. In this Webtoon series Baam is the Christ figure. 

 

I have already talked a lot about the 12 tribes of Israel and how 10 of them became lost while two of them (Benjamin and Judah) didn't. Well Benjamin and Judah joined together and became known as the Jewish people. Jesus Christ was Jewish. I have stated earlier in the post that Baam's parents were the two tribes that were never lost which formed to become the Jews. Therefore, Baam is a representation of Jesus Christ.

This is not only the reason why Baam is a Christ figure. He also has unlimited potential and is able to do things that the family heads cannot. We know Christ performs many miracles through the priesthood. Also Christ is gathering Israel and I predict that Baam will gather the families together and climb to the top of the tower. 

In Doctrine and Covenants 18:10 it says "Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God." Baam also demonstrates what other souls mean to him. At one point in the series Baam is able to take souls and become stronger but instead he releases them.

SIU, the creator, is making Baam into a Christ like character, there are more similarities that I could share, but I don't want to sound sacrilegious because I believe in God and I believe in His Son Jesus Christ and I have the utmost respect for them. If you are looking for a fun series to read Tower of God is available on webtoons for free. I hope you enjoyed my fan theories.

***

Join us on our new Discord server to stay up to date and interact with other LDS geeks.

Tower of God: Allusion to the Bible

 

With the second season of Tower of God (ToG) in the works and SIU stopped being off his hiatus and releasing more chapters I thought it would be a good time to write another post about this amazing franchise. For those of you who do not know Tower of God is a South Korean webtoon that has over 550 chapters released. SIU started publishing this series in 2010 and it seems like there is no end in sight; yet.

What I really enjoy about this series is there are many references to the Old and New Testament. In this post I will go over some of the easter eggs I have noticed while reading this webtoon.

Tower of God

Let’s get the easiest easter egg out of the way first. Tower of God represents the tower of Babel. In Genesis chapter 11:1-9; the people wanted to build a tower “whose top may reach unto heaven”. Heaven referring to the place where God dwells. In ToG people are selected to enter the tower and if they reach the top, then a wish will be fulfilled by God.

We know from the series there are three individuals who want(ed) to reach the top of the Tower. Rachel, one of the best antagonists ever written, who wants to see the stars, Baam who initially wanted to reach the top to see Rachel, and young Zahard for reasons unknown my guess is he was searching for power.

Ten Great Families

 

@danyaeljl

This one I noticed early on, but the farther you read into the series the more you understand how the ten great families are very similar to the twelve tribes of Israel. In the Old Testament after Abraham has Isaac who begot Jacob who is renamed Israel (Let God Prevail) has twelve sons and their descendants are known as the twelve tribes of Israel or children of Israel. Ten of those tribes obtained land; Reuben forfeited their right and the Levites oversaw the temple. Eventually 10 tribes of Israel were lost besides Judah and Benjamin who merged and became what is known to us as Jews. However, we believe that there will be a gathering of Israel that is happening today.

When Young Zahard was climbing the tower, he had 12 party members. After some drama one of them died and the other mysteriously disappeared and had a child outside the tower named Baam. The ten remaining members scattered and became known as the ten great families. Now you may be wondering how they are scattered if they are all in the tower, that is easy to explain. They lost their purpose. The 10 great families and Zahard had a purpose to reach the top of the tower, but for some unknown reason they stopped. What I think is starting to happen is Baam is gathering the families together again and will take them to the top. Zahard hasn’t been trying to reach the top of the tower. He may have been trying to bring the families together but is doing it the wrong way by taking daughters from the ten great families and adopting them to be his princesses.

Lo Po Bia Ren

In Matthew 7 Jesus Christ gave a powerful sermon on the mount and in verse 15 Jesus says, “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.” One interpretation of this verse is that we should be careful who we follow because we could be deceived, enter Lo Po Bia Ren.

Before Baam enters the tower and climbs to the top, he (and others that are granted to climb) must be trained and tested. They are each split into positions that best suit the individual strengths. Baam is taught by Lo Po Bia Ren to help him become what is known as a wave controller. At the beginning he helped Baam, but once he learned that he was an irregular (someone that willed themselves to enter the tower without being granted), he turns against him and tries to kill him. 

As you can see above Lo Po Bian Ren is dressed in sheep’s clothing and we never really get to see what he looks like underneath at the beginning. As you learn later in the series the Lo Po Bia family (one of the 10 great families) can control animals and many of them are animals. Even though underneath his sheep clothing he is not a wolf this character is sharp and intelligent like a wolf.Therefore, we can relate that verse of scripture to Ren.

These are just three easter eggs that this series relates to the scriptures. There are more that I know of and some that I haven’t picked up on yet. I have personally enjoyed reading this long series. The world building is great, the foreshadowing is executed well; meaning I didn’t predict it, but once it came, I understood what happened prior. If you are interested in reading a clean series, then I would suggest reading this webtoons. It is free online, and you can access it here.