Best 10 Anime Openings of 2014

Top Ten Anime Openings of 2014

This would have won, but it technically came out last year. 

As many others do this time of the year, it is time for a top ten list. This year, I decided to do a top ten opening themes this. The criteria was really simple. It had to be a song I liked, a song that was memorable in some way, and it had to be from an anime from 2014 that I watched. This is a very subjective list, and I am sure it would change in some way or form depending on how I am feeling, but these are a good base. Also I should add that I know nothing about music, what is good and what isn’t, or anything like that. I will probably say some stuff that are completely unfounded or untrue just because I think they apply to one song or another, and I am just misusing the word or phrase. But leaving that aside, let’s begin. This is my top ten anime openings of 2014.

10. D-Frag

D-Frag is an anime from earlier this year that I am sure by now everyone has forgotten by now. It was about a delinquent wannabe who is forced to join a game creation club filled with a bunch of weird people. His goal, which is to rule the school by beating up the strongest delinquents there, both keeps getting pushed back and being put right in front of him because of these strange people, one of whom is considered the strongest person in the school. It was a pretty funny show that I liked, but also I understood it could be bland and predictable to others. The opening though was perfect for the show. It has this high tempo that sets the mood for a show that throws jokes at you at a mile a minute, and also works with the chaotic nature of the characters who are usually running around for some reason or another. But the part that always got me was the break down at the end. I can’t say why, but it really works well, when it slows down, but then slowly builds up to the climax of the song, and also talking about the demon king not destroying the world. It is a fun song with some great baselines in it, which really fits the show it is attached to. 

9. No Game No Life

No Game No Life is a show about two siblings who are fed up with the world. They see it as a clunky, unwinnable game that just isn’t fun. They are invited and then transported to a world where games run everything, from settling debts to world politics, and decide to take over this world, and eventually face God in the ultimate game of chess. The show itself has some really clever ideas, but is marred by its inability to step above the lowest common denominator of the genre. It could be great, but there is too much incest/fan service/loli/add another terrible thing here, that anime as a whole uses too much of already. But its opening is great. It has this amazing piano melody playing throughout it. I admittingly have a thing for piano in anime openings, especially when it is done in a way that runs counter to how one would usually expect a piano to be used. But the piano is only half the equation. The other half is the visuals. In anime openings, visuals are key. If they don’t work, then the whole opening could fall apart. But No Game No Life’s opening looks wonderful. It is filled with game related imagery, like chess pieces and boards. There is this great bit where all they are doing are saying the name of the show, but because of the quite cuts to vibrantly colored chess boards with the main characters on them, surrounded by the individual words of the titles, it just all really works. It is a good song and a great video.

8. Gundam Build Fighters Try

The Gundam Build Fighters series has always had great openings, so this season’s opening is no exception. Throughout it has this high intensity energy that really gets you pumped for robot fights, which is really impressive when it has these great highs and lows in the song. The opening is just surprisingly packed, with a high intensity beginning and ending, but having these more mellow valleys in-between, hinting to the audience the more dramatic turns the story will take, and also having a great hip hop breakdown in the middle. I really have to give credit to the band, I believe they have done music for the franchise before, and it always works. It fits the series perfectly, in that it has all the honest dramatics that the show but also revels in the frank silliness that is kids playing with build your own robots. 

7. Free! Eternal Summer

Free has always had really great music. Surprisingly great even, for a show that only needs to be a sports anime mixed with a little eye candy. This opening was a very great rock score with some sick guitar licks right in the beginning that mixes well with the imagery of swimming smoothly, from the point of view of the character. The music also really fits to the more dramatic side of the show. While Free on the outside looks like a fun little swimming show, the darker feeling of the opening lets the audience know what really the show is about, or at least what the show can be about. Also it is just fun to listen to and rock out to a bit. 

6. Tonari no Seki-Kun

The Master of Wasting Time is a great show about a kid goofing off and the girl who sits next to him and gets wrapped up in his little narratives he sets up. The opening to this show perfectly tells us this in less than a minutes, with quick cuts to the girl watching and the boy playing around with a game or toy, all while a very upbeat and happy dong is playing. And then the song takes a beat, and we cut to the boy actually animating the opening. He is drawing the key frames, the in-betweens, doing the coloring, testing the animation, and then asks for the girl to do a bit of voice acting. They even have to endings, one where the girl is asked to do another take, and a rarer opening where she gets the thumbs up. It is a perfect opening for the show, showcasing the characters motives and what makes them interesting. And the little gag of the boy animating the opening makes me smile. It is a great opening. 

5. Shingeki no Bahamut: Genesis

One of my favorite songs from any anime is the Hunter X Hunter ending theme. It is a mix of screamo-esc singing, piano slow bits, and some really great moments that just pump you up. The opening to Rage of Bahamut comes very close to the feeling that that ending theme invokes. The best part is the English screamo sections. It is a mix of harder rock music with just a great loud voice. I actually didn’t even realize it was in English at first really. The lyrics in these sections are classic metal, with references to gods, angels, devils, and some soul searching, which also goes along with the themes of the show. It all really works with the fantasy genre of the show. It just goes to prove how effective metal and fantasy go together. 

4. Gugure! Kokuri-san

 

I have a thing for anime openings that have the characters or at least the voice actors are singing it. It brings something special to the song, it connects it to the show a bit more and makes the characters seem more than just actors on the screen, but active participants in every aspect of the show. Gugure! Kokuri-san uses this little trick to make a very fun opening. I like the little bit of banter between the characters as they argue in front of the opening theme, and that all three of the main characters get a few lines in the beginning to set the tone of the song. And that tone is disco. I think this is the first anime opening I have ever heard that took inspiration from 70’s disco music, and it really works. It becomes a great dance theme, something to really get down and boogie to. Also I think get down and boogie are lines in the song. This is a really fun opening that ends with a great dance number. Just dance, dance, dance. 

3. Garo: Honoo no Kokuin

The opening to any given Garo series is usually one of its weaker parts, though the ending is weaker. But that doesn’t mean the opening is in any way bad. And Honoo no Kokuin’s opening helps prove this. Visually it is fantastic. It has this unfinished feel to it, with very rough, stylistic art. It looks good, and it tells the story of its characters in a minimalistic style that is very enjoyable. It uses a heavy amount of black and darker colors, but that is just to make the brief splashes of color, the red and blue, and even the purple of Leon’s as a baby. The music is also great. It has this loud, operatic feel, but it also builds and builds, going faster and faster until the end of the song hits. It is a great opening for a very good show. 

2. Haikyuu!!

While Garo’s opening had a great buildup, that buildup never really had a great pay off. It ends as it begins, with the yell of Garo. Haikyuu, on the other hand, has a similar structure. It starts slow and small, but then the drums come in and it starts to pick up, but slowly. It builds, and builds, until it has to take a breath and just start demanding that you listen to it. And then it reaches its crescendo, the character spikes a volleyball and celebrates with an almost primal yell. And then it just glides on the waves of that crash into the show itself. This is the perfect song for a sports anime. It gets you pumped and prepared for the intense action it come. 

1. Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun

There is no song on this list that I like as much as this opening. Of all the openings I listened to and watched, this is the one that I never grew tired of. It is just funky and happy and bright. Right from the bass riff in the beginning you know this going to be a fun ride. I especially like the theme of manga that is going on. Every character introduction is done with a mix of manga panels and shots of the characters themselves. They are really brief introductions, but each one gets across some of the basic characteristics of them. And then everything goes crazy, as tanuki are coming alive from manga panels and the characters fight against them using brushes and rulers and in some cases just looking cool, the music swells, and it all leads into that fantastic bass line from the opening. This is one of my favorite opening themes of all time. The colors, the themes, everything about it is on point and it have never grown old to me. I plan on listening to this song for a while to come. 

And that is my favorite opening from 2014. This list kind of shows just how varied my music tastes are. From the disco of Kokkuri-san to the screamo of Rage of Bahamut, the classic J-rock of Haikyuu to the amazing funk of Nozaki-kun. I look forward to more of this trend of varied anime opening, and not just the usual idol/ j-pop/j-rock music that most openings use. Hopefully next year will look good too. So until next time, keep on watching.