Hello and welcome to Project Nitsuj. Well guys it’s a new year and this year I’m going to be trying new and different things. Take a walk on the wild side and see what happens starting today. I’m going to name my top 11 anime openings from 2016. Why top 11? Because just like someone else I too like to go one step beyond. Also, I love music and I love anime openings. 2016 gave us a lot of good openings that just naming one of them would be an insult. Great music and effort deserves to be recognized so sit back and get ready to add some new tunes to your ipod or mp3 player. These are the top 11 openings of 2016.
#11. Coolest from Sakamoto Desu ga
When you first watch this opening about a cool high school student you would think they would go the Cowboy Bebop route and use a jazz song to match his coolness right? Nope. They instead go with a rock song empathizing that our main character is not only cool. He’s cool, cooler, and the coolest. You would think this would work against the point they’re trying to empathize but no, it works here for some odd reason which perfectly describes the anime. Throughout the entire opening all kinds of over the top stuff that many people would find ridiculous happen but since it’s Sakamoto it just looks cool and this same mindset can apply to the anime. A lot of things are over the top and don’t make sense but it just works and for that I am thankful for this cool opening.
#10. Paradisus-Paradoxum from Re:Zero
//youtu.be/ucXk4i2vfpg (full)
The second opening of Re:Zero. I know a lot of people like the first opening more than the second one but for me personally the second one was the overall better one. While I have to admit the music for the first opening is all around better it didn’t really match up well with the visuals of the opening and was all over the place. The second opening however had music that better matched the visuals of the opening and you get a clear mindset of our main character and what he’s going through. He is suffering time and time again while barely clinging on to his sanity. He feels pain and uncertain of what to do but through trial and error he manages to figure out what he needs to do to reach the ending where he’s happy and everyone around him is happy as well.
#9. The Day from My Hero Academia
https://youtu.be/wFGHIaqPbNM (full)
I love the guitar in this song. When I first listened to this opening I thought it was alright but as time went on I slowly began to enjoy it to the point where I never skipped it. Every time I listen to this song I just feel a surge of energy rush through my veins. It’s as if the song is saying that the day has come for you to take the spotlight for the world to see and yeah that kind of matches up with the anime. The whole anime is about a young boy being groomed to take the spot of his hero and not just him but multiple young heroes. This opening is saying that their day has come and it’s time for us to recognize them. Also, I love the scene where All Might trades punches with that bird monster. Somebody make a gif out of that.
#8. Innocent Promise from Shounen Maid
Considered an underrated series by a lot of people and yeah I’m not gonna lie I didn’t really get into this anime all that much either. But I have to admit the opening is amazing. The piano chords just blow me away every time I listen to this song. I love how it starts off all peaceful and beautiful matching the atmosphere of the visuals and then when the music starts to pick up and it sounds like an action scene is about to happen the visuals match up with the music. The visuals and the song really do work off each other well in this opening and was honestly what got me interested in the anime. While I didn’t care for this anime the opening was great and every now and then I always go back to check it all.
#7. Signal from 91 Days
One of the best openings from the summer line up. This opening sets the mood perfectly for the anime. It doesn’t give a whole lot of exposition about the anime but rather sets the tone and mood for what we’re about the see while also giving us glimpses of what’s to come in the anime and I love it. I like how the singer sings the song like a whisper as if he’s trying to comfort himself. There’s a lot to be interpreted in this opening that I could go on for minutes trying to interpret everything. Do yourself a favor and re-watch this opening to see all the signs you can interpret from this opening that happens in the anime. Trust me, it’s a lot of fun.
#6. Reason Living from Bungou Stray Dogs
https://youtu.be/GsyCMTEFDjY(full)
Here’s another underrated anime that I didn’t get around to watching but according to Mira and Shizuku who are big fans of the series I’m an idiot for not putting this on my top 11 animes of 2016 list. My response to them was make your own damn list you lazy bums. Anyway, it was tough deciding which opening to choose from this series as both openings were very good and I enjoyed both of them. But in the end I like the second opening more. While the first opening is good it feels like a race car warming up before the big race. The second opening however feels as if the race is in full force and that car is driving fast and hard. This opening has excitement, alliances being formed, and symbolism of our main character, his rival, and possible love interest. According to Shizuku this was a kickass anime and the second opening was kickass. Why didn’t you put this on the list you dumbass?
#5. Reason Triangle from Joker Game
//youtu.be/UvyDaiydJJM (full)
Oh now this opening was cool. This is what I would imagine James Bond’s theme would be like if he had an anime. Once I heard this opening I couldn’t get it out of my head. It was catchy, the beat was good, and the animation fit that spy like atmosphere the anime was trying to create for us. While the anime may not have lived up to the hype of what we were expecting one cannot deny that this opening kept you coming back to watch the series and made you feel and act like a cool spy.
#4. Gospel of the Throttle from Drifters
It figures a kickass anime like Drifters would have a kickass opening to go along with it. The second you hear this song you will be addicted to it. It is so good and catchy. Not to mention it’s sung an English so it sticks with you all the more whenever you hear it. The visuals are also amazing. We got CGI artwork which looks unbelievable. I wish there was a way to download them and turn them into posters and the 2.5 hand drawn animation is also a thing of beauty in my eyes. Yeah they’re not the best drawings but they still look cool and amazing to me personally. My only complaint with this opening is that throughout the course of the anime this song was only used 3 or 4 times. Why!? You have a kickass opening, use it! If I was on that production crew I would have been looking for any excuse to add this song into the anime. It’s just so kickass that it’s hard not to sing along with it.
#3. Genesis from Dimension W
//youtu.be/hMKDN6B6fQA (full)
Here’s another anime that just didn’t live up to the hype of the fans but one cannot deny that the opening got you hooked on the series. It was just so good to listen to it. The beat was like something from the future and matched up with the series so well. The selling point of this opening would have to be Kyouma’s dance at the beginning. That guy has got some serious moves that I swear he’s Mugen in the future if not Mugen’s descendant. When the main character can’t help but dance to the opening of his own anime you know the opening is going to be great and this opening was great.
#2. Kami Iro Awase from Danganronpa 3: Despair Arc
The Despair Arc serves as a prequel to the Danganronpa series and the answer to the question of how everything went to hell. Knowing this, you need an opening that’s filled with despair and lots of it. This opening definitely nails it in that department. Not only is the opening sad but it’s actually quite creepy. As the anime progresses the opening changes ever so slightly. We get different color palettes, some characters vanish, and some of them just look dead on the inside. As the anime progresses we see how despair is slowly creeping in and taking over everyone and the opening doesn’t hide it. Despair is destroying hope and the characters that we have come to like are falling into the abyss of despair but that one little smile at the end gives us a small sign of hope that everything will be alright. Hopefully.
And the number 1 opening for 2016 is. . .
#1. 99 from Mob Psycho 100
//youtu.be/9h8DML5F6yM (full)
Hands down the best opening of 2016 both in song and visuals. The song features the most epic count up in the history of man. Every time they start to count I can’t help but smile and join them. The visuals are all amazing. It’s the perfect blend of weirdness and awesomeness. The speed is so unreal in this opening. It never stops moving, every second something is popping up or moving yet despite this you don’t feel lost or creeped out at all if anything you find it creative. I keep going back to watch this opening and each time I do I find something new and interesting. Both the visuals and music keep building up to something amazing until the song comes to an end before the big unveiling of what they’re building up to but you don’t feel dissatisfied with the end as it only gets you interested more in what they’re building up to. It’s like waiting for a game to fully download on a game system. It keeps building up slowly to 99 and when it reaches 99 the screen blanks out and then it reveals what you’ve been waiting for. The opening of Mob Psycho reveals to us an amazing anime with visuals out of this world and a main character and story we all enjoy and look forward to seeing in the next season.
Well that’s my list. I hope you enjoyed. What was/were your favorite openings of 2016, let me know in the comment section below. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time on Project Nitsuj where we take a look at the best endings from 2016.
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