I dunno, probably. But I don't care.
Here's what I'm thinking, though. It might be too early to call my anime of the year (even though I have a pretty good idea), what with the Fall anime season still in full swing. But we're most likely not going to get anymore new anime openings for the rest of the year. And if that's the case, why not make things easier for myself in the long run and recap the opening and ending themes early? That way, instead of trying to do so many recaps in January, I can have more time to transition into the Winter 2019 season. So, this week I will be talking about my choices for the best anime opening themes of 2018, and next week I'll be looking at the best ending themes.
Before I dive into the list, though, a quick review of my rules. I try to limit myself to only one opening per franchise, just to give more shows a chance to shine. I judge openings both on how much I like the song, how good the visuals are, and how well I feel they fit the show they're trying to convey. As such, only shows that I have actually watched will be eligible, so shows like JoJo won't be on the list this time since I'm too far behind to watch any of Part V. And it was quite difficult to narrow down my picks to just ten, so there will be honorable mentions. But enough stalling!
Number Ten
Cells at Work! was a fun comedy that was one of the few high points in an otherwise disappointing summer season. And the opening for Cells at Work! takes all of that fun and boils it down to a solid 90 second music video, showing the sheer amount of chaos that goes on in the human body each and every day just to keep things running smoothly. Every single cell, both major and minor, gets a chance to shine in the op, but it never feels like it's dragging out or cutting away from something important with the bouncy tempo keeping everything moving and clever editing keeping the viewer from ever being confused. And I just love when the opening theme is sung by the cast of the show.
Number Nine
My Hero Academia is undoubtedly one of the best shows of the year and one of my favorite shows of all time. And all five of the openings it has had so far have been either good or great. But Odd Future, the first opening of Season 3, easily stands as my favorite of the series yet. The techno style is a refreshing change from the typical rock and pop that characterize most anime openings, and the way the beat just keeps getting faster and more intense fits perfectly with the increasing intensity of this part of the series.
A ton of plot points were foreshadowed in this opening, too, from upcoming battles to secrets about the villains to the biggest moment in shonen anime all year. I don't want to spoil anything, but if you watched season 3, you already know what I'm talking about.
Number Eight
Remember when I just praised My Hero Academia for doing something different? Kokkoku took that up to eleven this year. Flashback is one of my all time favorite opening songs to listen to and I actually listen to it while writing up the weekly roundup all the time. And the video that goes with the song is pretty great too. The use of bright shifting colors overlaying the characters creates a feeling of otherworldly-ness and it works with the imagery of stop signs and clock hands to really sell you on the idea of a world where time has stopped. AND, fun fact, this song is by Miyavi, aka the man who played Byakuya Kuchiki in the live action Bleach film we watched earlier this year. So that's cool. I just wish that the actual show Kokkoku lived up to it's incredible opening theme.
Number Seven
I'll be honest: Angolmois is here almost entirely because of how much I like the song. Braver is another song I just love to listen to, especially when working on the blog. But that's not to say that the visuals are bad either. They match the pace of the music very well, and the way everything starts peaceful and reflective before building into an intense crescendo as the action becomes bloodier and bloodier only to stop abruptly when the battle is done and Jinzaburo is left to consider what he has just been through is chilling every time. And of course, like the rest of the show, the rough, sketchy artstyle and the filter over everything to make it look like an older piece of historical art really works for me.
Number Six
Hey, look, it's a show from the roundup! Cool! It's too soon to say how much Union ties into the story of Gridman, but there is already a lot of depth to the visuals that I've seen so far. Everything about Akane being the crazy little supervillain that she is was right there in front of me from the second episode but I never was able to see it because of the subtlety used in the presentation. The normal image of isolation is usually just used to suggest loneliness but there are enough signs, such as the focus on her box cutter or the way the images of those she has killed cracking like a broken mirror, to show that there is more to her than it appears. And the song itself is pure goodness, working just as well as the battles in the show itself to call back to the cheesy heroic narratives of the 90s tokusatsu series it is an homage to.
Number Five
Is it unfair to have One Piece on the list when it has 20 years of history and an extra minute of time to work with? Maybe. But on the other hand, it's automatically disqualified from the ending theme list since it did away with ending themes years ago. So there's that. The One Piece anime has always been a series of ups and downs as far as an adaptation goes, and the previous opening from last year was a huge disappointment for me. But when Super Powers came a few weeks ago for One Piece, I was elated. Tying into the escape from Whole Cake Island, the opening builds itself around Luffy's battle with Katakuri as the main focus, only cutting away to show his allies struggling against the forces of the Big Mom Pirates to sell just how important it is that he wins his battle and gets his friends to safety. Every moment of the battle scenes is gorgeously animated, with one major exception: the scenes focusing on the Vinsmokes during the second chorus are just normal footage from the show sped up, and that's inexcusable. But when the central narrative of the opening is so good and there's so much foreshadowing for key moments that I know are coming from the manga, I just can't get that mad about it. I'm just so glad to see that One Piece has a good opening again!
Number Four
I didn't expect to like A Place Further than the Universe as much as I did. That's a statement that applies both to the show and the opening. The Girls are Alright is a beautiful anthem to the joy of discovery and adventure and the endless possibilities of youth, and the way everything is presented ties into those themes so well. I love all of the environmental shots and even when there are several shots being shown rapid fire, the opening doesn't just use still images to save work. The time is taken to animate everything and a lot of detail is given to what each of the girls is doing at any given point in their Antarctic adventure, and it's all so in character. I'm especially a fan of how Kimari removes her face mask in one shot, which leaves with sunburns on her face for the rest of the opening. And how about that boat? With CG that good, it really makes you wonder why shows like Overlord and Goblin Slayer can still struggle so much.
Number 3
I LOVE Food Wars. The goofiness of high intensity cooking battles being juxtaposed with sexual imagery speaks to me on a spiritual level, and with the Tootsuki Train Arc airing this year, all of the character building has come to a head, and I was loving every second of it. And the opening song, Symbol, was a big part of this season's success. The song is perfectly designed to get you hyped for the show, and while there isn't a lot going on with the visuals, there is enough foreshadowing for plot twists that while the obvious one of Hayama switching sides can be spotted pretty quickly, the other major plot twists can hide in plain sight, really only making sense in hindsight. And that's pretty cool.
Number Two
I agonized over which opening from Golden Kamuy to include in my list, as both are fantastic. But while I may enjoy the season one song Winding Road a bit more, I decided that the second season opening Reimei fit the tone of the show much better. The sheer weirdness of everything on display, from Sugimoto and Asirpa just eating for the first thirty seconds of the video to seeing Tsurumi and Edogai dancing in the taxidermy costumes, combined with the awesome action scenes pretty much encapsulate everything that makes Golden Kamuy unique in 90 seconds of pure greatness. Golden Kamuy is a criminally underwatched show this year and I plan to write a review of it once the second season wraps up, but if you can't wait that long after seeing this glorious
Before I move on to number one, I have a quick rapid fire list of some honorable mentions. These are all openings I loved but felt didn't quite make the cut.
- Grand Blue
- Captain Tsubasa Opening 2
- Overlord II
- Skilled Teaser Takagi-san
- Megalo Box
- My Hero Academia Season 3 Opening 2
- Golden Kamuy Opening 1
- Hinomaru Sumo
- Killing Bites
Number One
I don't have a strong argument as to why Lupin the 3rd Part V has my favorite opening of the year. It mostly comes from a place of nostalgia. Getting to hear the classic Lupin the 3rd theme song with a new French twist just made me happier than any other anime opening this year. The song is just the perfect blend of playful and serious that matches the tone of the series so well, and seeing Lupin go so far as to shoot a car into space and attach a camera to a satellite just so he can spy on Fujiko sunbathing is the best. There isn't any real foreshadowing or visual metaphor going on in this opening since this isn't a plot focused show, but the character introductions are all perfect, easily conveying what each character is about so that even if you've never heard of Lupin the 3rd before you can jump right in and get involved. Which you should. Ignore the Part V in the title, you don't have to have watched any previous part of Lupin to follow the story here, and it's amazing.
Happy to see Golden Kamuy at #2. I really like this season so far.
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