Here is our list of openings for the Greatest Anime Openings panel that we did at Otakon 2015. Apologies to the hundreds lined up who couldn’t get in, but you should be able to look up the openings based on the titles provided. If you have feedback to leave that you would like for us to see, go ahead and leave a comment here. If you have feedback to leave that you would like the Otakon staff to see, please post on the Otakon message boards, as they aren’t checking this page.
Links in red will take you to our podcast review of that title. If you’re wondering why some of the newer titles lack reviews, it’s because we write for Otaku USA Magazine, which likely contains our review either in its pages or on its website.
Galaxy Cyclone Braiger
Space Battleship Yamato
Dragon Ball Z OP1
Cowboy Bebop
Paranoia Agent
Attack on Titan OP1
Mobile Suit Gundam
Dirty Pair: Project EDEN
Mahoutsukai Sally (1989)
Magic Knight Rayearth OP3
Sailor Moon S
Fist of the North Star 2
Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure – Battle Tendency
Cromartie High School
City Hunter 2 OP2
Key the Metal Idol
Kill la Kill OP2
Azumanga Daioh
Kimagure Orange Road OP3
Gangsta
The Vision of Escaflowne
Baccano!
AKB0048
New Mobile Report Gundam Wing OP2
Death Parade
Majokko Meg-Chan
Kuroko’s Basketball Season 3
Slam Dunk OP1
Aim for the Ace
Tekkaman Blade OP1
Space Dandy
Gunsmith Cats
Revolutionary Girl Utena
Transformers Robots in Disguise (Japanese Ending)
The only opening that tops Cromartie’s OP in my books is GTO’s Driver’s High… One Piece’s 5th opening comes in at a close second. If you guys ever do a ‘Greatest Anime Endings’ panel, you gotta include Fist of the Blue Sky’s Kokoro no Rhythm… love that song!
Decent list, I might quibble about a couple of them but I grok this is a highly subjective deal.
I assume, given this was a panel, we’re talking actual OP credits or intro to a movie which includes a song. Solid.
So I see not nearly enough Sunrise product there. Sunrise made some awesome shows with great OPs. I think not having Overman King Gainer and Witch Hunter Robin on the list should be rectified.
Really, one could pull the general anime output of the ’80s and have over 90% of the OPs be awesome. I’m rocking it to Saint Seiya (Pegasus Fantasy) on my iTunes even as I type.
And nobody knows StarzanS. Nobody understands the power of showing someone your space, hoo hoo.
Couldn’t make the panel so I made myself a playlist for the AWO picks, and I thought maybe some others might enjoy it too. So here it is:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbbkYuwMJsbN9Ex8u3Tr87FSgff4I84C4
I generally like the picks. Nice mix of newer stuff with older picks from throughout history.
A suggestion for the future: Samurai Champloo. Takeshi Koike style + a good song whose lyrics say something about the place of the swordfighters Mugen and Jin in their society. If Death Parade has an awesome opening that’s rather unrelated to the tone of the program, Samurai Champloo is an awesome opening that, in my mind at least, pretty much sums up the show.
I dunno Steve, StarzanS does look pretty good, but I’d gotta go with Warped Boy on my “title know one knows about” list
https://youtu.be/PsKgRDQN38c
Ah, sure, that’s weird and kinda obscure, but StarzanS has both ‘Darth Vader’ and ‘Elvis’, and an ED theme that’s a tribute to Donuts.
Pretty hard to top that, even for Tatsunoko Strangeness. 🙂
(Just as I was a pioneer that fought to get Xabungle noticed, now I turn my strength to StarzanS. I DARE ADV/Sentai to release it!)