Heyos Everyones!!
Amazingly, 2016 really flew by, and it’s safe to say that the year is upon its final weeks! As I’d like to do every year, I want to end the year off by recalling some of our favorite openings these past few seasons, and showing off these openings and explain just why we love them so. Unfortunately, Danny won’t be joining us this year, but this is a perfect time for our newest member Mickey to show off his questionable taste in anime!! On that note, let’s begin! Please note, these are not in any order.
Ace: This year had so many good openings!! I’m sure you all will be able to predict my picks, but I can’t help loving these openings!! Regardless, my first pick has got to go to flying witch. I really couldn’t not put Flying Witch on here, as I not only listen to the song on repeat, but I also have it as my morning alarm!! Although the song is great in its own right, I must give credit to the opening as a whole. The song fits the opening to a T, and being the comfortable show it is, both really stand out to encompass the viewer in a nice, relaxing atmosphere, generating enjoyment and laughs at the same time. Visually, the opening encompassed the overall plot of the show (there is none), and provides the overall characteristics of the main characters as well (Makoto’s sense of misdirection continues to be my favorite trait to this opening). The few touches to syncing the opening visuals and audio really jump out as well, as I am a sucker for those type of touches. In any case, flying witch is a show worth your time, especially if you enjoy these relaxing, nothing happens-type shows. The opening really just expands upon the greatness of the show, while containing the mixture of magic and average daily life, and meshing it together into a great time.
Mark: Hey guys! Mark here! Man, this year is pretty tough to choose just three openings from! But, I think I’ll be able to manage! Let’s start out with my personal favorite and probably most recent anime, Keijo! Hip, Whip Girl! Just from the opening itself, it just seems like a big joke…technically it is. But this is a GREAT joke. With great “plot” and lots of “backstory,” if you know what I mean. I’m a really big fan of shounen anime, and this opening REALLY hits the shounen style. In just the first ten seconds you can already get a grasp about what this show has to offer. And that’s a lot of TnA. A lot of fanservice and girls doing cute things. It then does a sequence of showcasing the main four girls and gives you a glimpse as to what their personalities are like. Following that we get a good break down of what events are going to take place in the next 12 episodes. We see the girls from the upper-class and get a sneak preview of what their special moves are, and then we get a full group shot of their rival school as a final battle. Now for my favorite part! It pans back to the main four and tells us EXACTLY what each of the girls have as their special weapon. (Personally Gates of Bootylon is my favorite, and I felt super hype as soon as it finally showed up in the anime.) The opening then ends with a couple key scenes of training and then a full cast shot of a good amount of people that show up in the anime. So yeah! If you haven’t already started Keijo! Do it! BELIEVE ME. IT WILL NOT DISAPPOINT YOU!
Mickey: One of my favorite shows from this season was My Hero Academia, and naturally, a kick-ass show deserves a kick-ass OP. We were given the full shonen platter: the “fated rivals” shot, good guys going to town on baddies, a cryptic but menacing glance at the villain, the sequence of supporting characters bursting onto the scene. No shortage of dynamics here, especially with the track itself being so hype.