Best Anime Openings Part 3: Top 5 Favorites from 2010 ~2018 (21st Century Edition)

My favorite anime openings post-2010 was much easier for me to pick from than previous decades, since it's freshest in my mind, and I've seen less shows in the past several years. I think the only new anime I watched this year was Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card Arc. Unfortunately, none of the openings from CCS:CC made this list, despite my love for Maaya Sakamoto. Since this decade is not completely over, I chose five songs instead. This time around, I can clearly rank my favorite songs in order, starting with my most favorite as #1. The others songs have been tested with the passage of time, and I don't know if this will be the case for the songs I've chosen here, but I'm pretty sure I will enjoy these five songs for a long time to come.

I think I can't help having a 1990s taste in anime openings, which featured stronger hooks and a certain level of old school cheesiness. I realized I'm generally not a big fan of chaotic openings, both in terms of music and animation, which I think is more in vogue these days especially for shounen genre anime, not that I don't deny it works for some series. Neither do I like overly cutesy type openings (especially the gratingly squeaky kind), but again, I'm pretty open-minded as the list below probably covers a pretty wide range of anime genres and types of songs. I'm sure I must be forgetting some good opening themes but my rule of thumb for the test of time is if I don't remember it, it mustn't have been that great anyway.   

1. Guilty Crown OP1 - Egoist - "My Dearest" (2011)

This is one of my favorite openings in recent years, and was a chance find on Youtube recommendations. Because I liked it so much, I forced myself to watch the anime, which was not particularly as impressionable as the soundtrack. I wouldn't be able to summarize the plot of the anime for the life of me, but it was nicely animated and the character designs were good. The second opening, "The Everlasting," also by Egoist (of Supercell) is equally as excellent. Something about the vocals, the melody, the visuals all hits the right notes and embodies what the modern 21st century anime OP is all about. I think it'll remain one of the best openings of the decade to an otherwise lackluster anime TV series. Sometimes, the music is the best part of a series (Macross Frontier feat. Yoko Kanno).



2. Shingeki no Kyojin OP1 - Linked Horizon - "Guren No Yumiya" (2013) 
There are some anime openings that are so intense that you forget to breathe. Attack on Titan is probably THE shounen/fantasy anime of recent years, perhaps the only anime that could serve as a successor to the epic gritty shounen fantasy action that Fullmetal Alchemist was (though it will never come close to FMA in my heart). Actually that may be the main difference which sets apart FMA from others in its genre--the heart. The FMA characters, from Ed and Al, to the older military crew and even the side characters and villains are so well fleshed out and likeable. And the titans in Shingeki are just so ugly. In the AoT OP1, the German chanting, the smooth action sequences with detailed, rich backgrounds and the awesome composition by Linked Horizon (of Sound Horizon) make for the perfect anthem to a pretty chaotic anime. I admit, I put off watching this anime for a year before giving in because the opening sequence was so awesome. OP2 "Jiyuu no Tsubasa" is equally superb, with a more uplifting, anthem like tone to it, where as the first OP is urgent and frantic. I don't even remember what Season Two's OP3 was, however, though it had a too similar vibe to the other two. Anyhow, OP1 perfectly embodies the tone of the series in terms of music and animation in every way. 



3. Hanasakeru Seishounen - J-Min - "Change" (2009-2010)
I absolutely love J-Min's voice, and I chose this for the song more than the animation sequence, which is pretty generic limited-budget shoujo fare. My pet peeve over the past decade especially is how little effort goes into making shoujo series look good. You don't need a huge budget, but having consistent character designs and smooth animation and proper backgrounds can't be too hard. I'm not referring to this anime but just cookie-cutter shoujo series in more recent years. I recall enjoying this shoujo anime based off a manga by Natsumi Itsuki (who also wrote Jyu Oh Sei) since it had a splash of romance, political intrigue, a strong heroine, and that cheesy eighties romance novel feel. It is a reverse harem anime of sorts, done right. J-Min is a Korean singer, with a rock vibe, associated with SM Entertainment. This is also the most listenable song in this list.  



4. Magic Kaito 1412 OP2 - CHICO with HoneyWorks - "Ai no Scenario" (2015)
I love this opening song to pieces, and I've always enjoyed the various reincarnations of the Kaitou Kid franchise. Great job by HoneyWorks for writing a catchy, addictive hook. The opening animation sequence appears to have a more limited budget than Detective Conan, but it works well with the excellent song--I actually like the original HoneyWorks MV even more though!



5. Yuri!!! on Ice - Dean Fujioka - "History" (2016)
This was my favorite anime of that year, though I'm not really a sports anime genre fan generally. Ironically, several of my top favorite anime of the 1990s were sports anime ie. Slam Dunk and Cyber Formula. The opening animation sequence and choreography is fluid and beautiful in a minimalist way, which is attractive to me, since it's just Yuri, Yurio, and Victor skating--for a show centering around these characters about figure skating. I especially like it when animators update the opening sequence to progressively fill out with more color. Sometimes, openings have too many flashing images, psychedelic rendering, fan service character shots, random CGs and chaos, which suits some genres, like mecha and action series. But the appeal of this opening is how streamlined it is, how simple, and how well it suits its genre. I also find the singer Dean Fujioka to be a very hot and multi-talented actor as well. This is the most feel-good, inspiring song of the bunch.


Honorable Mentions:

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood OP1 and OP2 (2009-2010)

The last last three openings are good and fall in 2010, but at the end of the day, I still prefer Yui's "Again" and Nico Touches the Walls' "Hologram," OP1 and OP2 respectively, as I mentioned in the previous list.Technically, both songs missed out making it onto the 2000-2009 list by just a hair because that decade had such strong contenders. After some consideration, I decided that unlike the previous list, I might like OP1 "Again" by Yui as a song a hair more that "Hologram," though I love all the thoughtful manga reference put into the OP2 animation sequence, such as the Roy Mustang vs. Lust scene. Cumulatively, I still think "Hologram" is the best opening theme of Brotherhood though for its animation sequence and shounen action anime tone in general--parallel to "Ready Steady Go." I could have included an FMA Brotherhood OP3~5 song into the list above, but at the end of the day, the first two songs are better. But I also like the original FMA OST better in general. Truthfully, I was just too emotional drained from the original FMA anime by the time I got to Brotherhood. The difference between the FMA franchise, and many other shounen anime out there, is that I got very emotionally invested in the characters and their life's voyage, and I love that both FMA series tries to imprint very strong visual messages, including the stop watch engraving of "Don't forget," the railroad, the sky, the hand/automail reaching to the sky, and so on. I suppose out of the 2010 opening themes, OP4, Chemistry's "Period" would be my pick as best theme song. It reminds of me of FMA's OP3 "Undo" a bit. OP5 was just depressing and a bit philosophical. 

Angel Beats! Lia - "My Soul, Your Beats" (2010)

This was a heavily music themed anime, and I went in not expecting much, but the OST was good and it was a more heartwarming anime than expected. Yui Makino (TRC's Princess Sakura) plays a character with like five words the entire show. Jun Maeda is like a male version of Tomoyo and does everything one his own from writing the script to composing the memorable music.

Selector Infected Wixoss OP - Kanon Wakashima - "Killy Killy Joker" (2014)
I have not watched the anime, nor have any clue what it's about, but the song is so darn catchy. It missed the top 5 list because I have an inkling I might get sick of the song if I listen to it too many times, but this song made me take another look at Kanon Wakeshima of Vampire Knight fame and her awesome cello skills. 

Umineko Nako Koro Ni (When the Seagulls Cry) - Akiko Shikata - "Katayori no Tori" (2009-2010)
The horror genre is usually not my slice of pie, but I do enjoy a good psychological thriller and mystery, and where as I couldn't watch Higurashi, I was drawn into Umineko initially because of Beatrice's awesome character design. Beatrice reminds me of Yuuko on crack and is likewise voiced Sayaka Ohara (Yuuko from xxxHOLIC). This operatic opening remains probably one of the more memorable openings of 2010, though unfortunately, fans of the original visual the anime was based on heavily criticized Studio Deen's production of the story. The ending is very unusual, a rock opera by Jimang from Sound Horizon, "la divina tragedia ~Makyoku~ and yes, you've heard Sound Horizon because of Attack of Titan.

Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card – Maaya Sakamoto - "Clear" (2018)

Truthfully, I don't think this song will make it to my Top 10 list of the decade because I find the song a bit more forgettable than Maaya's other songs, and you all know how much I love her. This song was included for nostalgia's sake and a kickback to CCS OP3 Purachina, which I think is standing the test of time to be my Top 3 best anime opening theme of all time. The best part of the opening sequence is Sakura's feather dress, and I almost like the animated sequence of OP2 "Rocket Beat" by Kiyono Yasuno with the darker tone a bit more. But I found the song a tad bit forgettable and too bright compared to the imagery. Please, another collaboration between Yoko Kanno and Maaya Sakamoto for Season 2 of CCS:Clear Card so that we can close out this decade with another CCS song on the Top 10 list.

I'm pretty confident that my Top 5 best anime opening theme choices for the 2010~2019 decade will not change, but we'll see if I can even draw out a Top 10 next year. I think part of the reason I'm releasing this list early is because deep in my heart, I doubt there's going to be any strong game-changer or any challenger to the Top 5 list I have right now. I actually began writing this list in 2015, when I posted the Top 10 Openings Part 2, and the only new song I added since then was the Yuri!!! on Ice OP.  I'm kind of impressed at the range I covered as well, from Sci-Fi, Post-apocalyptic fantasy adventure, Shoujo, Shounen, and Sports. Truthfully, I can do away with all of the honorable mentions above and not bat an eye, and just have a Top 5 list for this decade. Most of the songs on the honorable mentions list I feel like won't stand the test of time for me, or I just included because they're supposed to be popular. For example, I debated including the opening for "Your Lie in April (Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso, 2014)" because I think it was a very solid, well-made anime about classical music, and I do love Goose house, and the soundtrack was great, but it's a song I would forget in a couple years' time. In the list above, Guilty Crown's "My Dearest" is the best song, but I would say Attack of Titan's "Guren no Yumiya" is the best opening theme of the decade, though it's my least favorite song to listen to on my playlist of the Top 5 because it's too intense to listen to often. 

Please do weigh in and give me your recommendations in the comments below, and let me know if I've been missing out a great song!
 

Check out my list of:
Top 10 Anime Opening Themes Part 1: The 1990s
Top 10 Anime Opening Themes Part 2: 2000-2009
Top 10 Anime Ending Themes

Yuri!!! on Ice Anime Review: Best Anime of 2016

Yuri!!! on Ice is undoubtedly my favorite anime of the year, if not past several years. Just when you think that nothing new, impressive, or original in anime can be made, this jewel of a show shot into the scene. I was intrigued by the premise of the show, a male figure-skating sports anime, when it was announced, but nothing prepared me for how good it actually would be. I was expecting light entertainment, but what we all got goes way beyond, it's an ambitious show but it sticks to its routes--figure skating. And I always believe, characters drive a show, and you get so much character development in the course of 12 episodes, not only of main character self-purported "dime-a-dozen" figure skater Japanese Yuuri Katsuki but world champion and coach Viktor Nikiforov of Russia and 15-year-old rival Yuri Plisetsky--as well as a bunch of other interesting competitors as well. I don't know if there is an anime where I've liked all the characters in the show so much since Card Captor Sakura. It's a rare show that I want to rewatch the moment I finish watching the episode, over and over again and puts a stupid grin on my face for the whole duration of the 23 minutes. Kudos to both director Sayo Yamamoto and writer Mitsuro Kubo for putting together an outstanding anime that remains authentic yet visionary. And of course, the choreography throughout the show is lovely since Japanese figure skater Kenji Miyamoto choreographed it. There may be some spoilers below if you haven't seen the show already. 


Viktor Nikiforov: Loss, Loneliness, Love, Life by wishluv on DeviantArt

From the first few seconds of the first episode, I was hooked to this show, that moment where young Yuuri is looking upon his idol Viktor skating, first the younger version with long hair and then the current version. The shadows in the animation, the sound of the blade hitting the ice, everything is so satisfying. I don't think there can be a more perfectly made first episode, from Yuuri's narration and flashbacks to his childhood, skating Viktor's routine for his childhood friend Yuko, to that penultimate seen in the onsen with the arrival of a naked Viktor. 

My favorite sports anime to date is Slam Dunk by Takehiko Inoue, which I think is the golden standard of all shounen sports manga and anime. Yuri!!! on Ice I believe is in its own genre, because technically it is a sports anime, which is not usually my favorite genre but occasionally I can really get into it, but because the characters are generally older and more mature, and it is a late-night anime. It almost narrates rather as a life a slice of life show. The hints of nostalgia, that heartrending moments when Yuuri declares this Grand Prix Final will be the final season of his skating career, the fact that Yuuri himself is not a teenager but a 23-year-old adult (considered old in figure skating age) who has come far but is finding his place as a figure skater, lets the show avoid all the common cliches of a sports anime. It's an odd comparison, but it hits similar notes for me that Honey and Clover did, my favorite slice of life anime ever. Yurio, or the other Yuri, would make the typical shounen anime protagonist as a 15-year-old prodigy/brat, but he too is developed beautifully. One of my favorite Yurio moments is that moment after the Agape short skate piece where he is staring at the ice, exhausted and disappointed in his performance, but then looks up at the audience with a smile, showing professionalism. The anime's note to these tiny details makes it so great. 

And of course, 27-year-old Viktor Nikiforov is the most enigmatic character and we don't really get into his head, his motivations and what makes him click until his full narration in Episode 10, though we get a little insight starting from Episode 5 during Yuuri's free skate routine. There was always the lingering question of why Viktor chose to coach Yuuri when he did, and also, the question of whether he was going to return to competitive figure skating, and I am glad they addressed this issue straightforwardly in the last episode. In my head, I was certain Viktor would return to competitive skating, especially since he is said to be partially inspired off of real-life figure skating champion Evgeni Plushenko. And it was clear in Episode 11 when he watched Yurio break his short skate record that he wanted to skate as a competitor again. Viktor's loss of motivation after being a five-time Grand Prix champion, his desire to continuously surpass himself, push the limits and shock his audience, his awareness of his popularity and legendary status paired with an introspective nature, makes him a fascinating character to analyze. Again, Episode 10 was one of my favorites, though there are many to choose from, since it was one devoted to character exposition off skate in Barcelona before the Grand Prix. It's a rare anime episode that I caught airing live because I was in Japan that time. I can't believe I stayed up till 3 a.m. to catch that episode and was sitting in a hotel room squealing by myself.That scene by the beach, when Yurio kicks Viktor's back numerous times, a move that would send Yuuri flaying over, can seem like a comedic moment, but rather, it symbolized that Viktor, who does not budge, is staying put. That line Viktor thinks, about how if he stayed in Russia as a competitor, neither Yurio nor he himself would have been as motivated, was very poignant. It wasn't touched upon earlier in the story, but Viktor, decided to take the season off, could also be seen as his gesture to let Yurio, the next-generation of skaters of Russia, to take the limelight and also grow as a skate in his senior debut. And of course, I love that revelation of the banquet after the Grand Prix Final the previous year where Yuuri gets drunk on champagne and proposes a dance-off with Viktor, asking him to become his coach. And how fun is it that the director switched up the ending theme to photos of the dance-off and pole dancing with Chris, and that light in Viktor's eyes at the end is just about the most heartwarming reaction ever. But perhaps the most poignant line by Viktor is how he recalls that he has been neglecting two L words for nearly 20 years: Life and Love. It's a pleasure to see Viktor go from the troubled, distant, lonesome man who has lost motivation in life, hiding behind his flirty, jovial facade, fill that empty void in him through being by Yuuri's side. Again, a sign of a healthy, mutual relationship.

Finally, the relationship between Viktor and Yuuri is developed organically yet fabulously, from Yuuri idolizing Viktor, learning to trust him, standing up against him, at time rebelling, and then standing on equal grounds. Their love for each other can be seen through the animation, the sparkle in the eyes, their gestures, and again, that shows the importance of animation and directing. I am not as devastated as I thought I would be that Yuuri did not win gold in the end, because I believe it sets stage for a second season. I started this show thinking I can fully be satisfied with one season, and these 12 episodes give more character growth and exposition than you would get in 200 episodes of some shounen anime, but I would be ecstatic for a second season, OVAs, or a movie (or all) with Viktor and Yuuri both returning as competitors, Yurio undergoing puberty and overcoming changes in his body as a competitor, an important issue raised in the first season, more insight into his burgeoning friendship with Kazakhstan skater Otabek Altin, and some more development for the rest of the skaters who did not get much air time because all the characters are so much fun and I especially love their dynamic together. 

Some other things to note is that the show makes seamless references to 2016 technologies and social media including Instagram and Yuuri gaining Viktor's attention through a Youtube video of his performance of his idol's routine "Stay With Me" which is probably the best animated routine in the show. I was thrilled that we get a duet version with Yuuri and Viktor in Episdode 12's ending credits, as if Sayo Yamamoto was granting everyone's wish to see the pair skate together.

The music for this show is amazing, as expected from a figure skating show, from the iconic "Yuri on Ice" piece for Yuuri's free skate routine to that catchy rap piece for American skater Leo de la Iglesia's short routine "Still Alive." The opening theme of the show, "History Maker" by Dean Fujioka is so fun and the best OP of the year in my mind. Plus, Dean Fujioka, also an actor, is really hot if you didn't know, and fluent in English. I don't think there has been a figure skate choreography anime OP ever before, and I love how the anime switches up the OP each week to make it more colorful--again the attention to the details. I never want to fast forward through the OP. And the ending theme, "You Only Live Once" by Wataru Hatano, is almost as catchy, but I do love episodes where they forgo the ending all together for more air time, such as Yuuri's press conference in Episode 5 (by the way I love that this anime does not forget earlier jokes and Viktor does end up buying Yuuri a whole new suit later after declaring he wants to burn the unfashionable tie), or the Episode 10 banquet scene, or Episode 12's duet exhibition to "Stay With Me." 



I think this opening captures the show so well. These characters really were born to make history.