Yes, I’m very much a passionate music fanatic. Can’t you tell? I’m also a big animation and image composition fan, and in my opinion, a good OP is one that combines fantastic visuals and a great track, with superb coordination to bring out the best of both worlds. It’s why I feel disappointed if an OP has a great track but subpar animation, though there are exceptions to this little bit of causality. Now let’s have a brief rundown on what’s the best this season has to offer… So far.
First up is…
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A musical number of cutsey concentrated into a lethal form and addictive number:
Cagayake! Girls, sung by… The four main characters of K-On!
Okay, I’ll be honest. I don’t really like this song. Heck, I probably won’t bother hunting up the full version when it appears. But it’s so damn addictingly cute that I can’t help but nod my head at its beat. It’s insanely catchy. And for some reason, I like this over the ED. Yes, I know, I’m wierd.
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Decent visuals but a solid track by the fine lady who brought us Lion from Macross Frontier:
Kimi Shinitamō Koto Nakare by May’N, Shangri-La
Well, this one was sorta an in-between as far as visuals go. Nice animation on the main character and her ensuing action scenes, and the panning shots of the girls were nice but overall a subtle effort in terms of an opening sequence. I do like the song a fair bit though, and will be hunting for the full version when it does appear.
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Haunting vocals carry the atmosphere for this entry:
Karma by Kokia, Phantom: Requiem of the Phantom
(Due to technical difficultie-I mean, sparseness of availability, the provided video lacks the OP sequences’s visuals. Well, watch the anime itself for the visuals then!)
Ah yes, Bee Train. As of usual, their OP has mostly limited animation, and the gargantuan task of carrying the atmosphere for the series’s OP lies in the music. And what a track it is: Haunting sorrowful vocals practically make up the entire song, and it gives a cold and chilly atmosphere that you won’t find often. My one complaint is that it ends a little too suddenly, but I guess that’s not much of a complaint, is it?
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And finally, the one OP this season that rocks my socks like no other:
Again – Yui, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
Okay, well, this was quite a mind-blowingly pleasant surprise. The lovely atmospheric depth shots, melancholic mood, and the sweeping visuals made this one a stunning piece of work in itself, but add on the brilliant number by Yui, and the result is that this has become one of my favourite OPs of all time. BONES really outdid themselves for this one. As a note: I went back and watched all of the previous FMA OPs on youtube, and frankly they were all crap in comparison. Mostly. OP 4 was kinda decent. I’ll just say that this and the first episode of the series has made FMA: Brotherhood a strong entry in my book of things to watch this season. And for full version hunters: The full version of both the OP and ED are already out. Why can’t this happen more often?
Disclaimer: I watched the first episode of the previous FMA season and wasn’t impressed enough to go on. This season however had a strong start, despite being an anime original, so we’ll see how it goes from there.
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And there you have it, a quick and brief by yours truly. Stay tuned next time for more insight into this season, maybe, perhaps. I bid thee good day and fare thee well!
Edit: Noirsword was here and edited some stuff behind the scenes. How delightfully responsible. Thanks Noinoi-sama!
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I think I’m going to OD on cuteness because of K-ON’s OP. Death by moe, not a bad way to go.
I didn’t like FMA’s OP. It wasn’t cute at all. Although, in my K-ON induced delirium, I may be missing the point.
Yes, I too thought the new FMA’s OP was excellent. Never read a whit of the manga, but I loved it nonetheless. Really, just continuing FMA’s legacy of excellent OPs/EDs.
Overall, I’m liking a lot of new shows this season, a lot more than Summer/Fall/Winter ’08, for sure.
K-ON’s OP is enough to give you a sugar high. Moe so lethal that it gives me diabetes just watching the OP.
Shangri-La’s OP is okay. I’m not a huge Angela fan, but like I said in a prior post, the animation is pretty nice.
Phantom’s OP is simply phenomenal. While the animation is minimalistic, the song more than makes up for its shortcomings and sets the mood for the somber show perfectly. I almost like it as much as the Kara no Kyoukai endings.
FMA Brotherhood’s OP simply blows all of the OPs from the first series out of the freakin’ water. Good stuff.
@Roy: Ha. Beware the drug. It has a vise upon your immortal whims.
@Kadian: Yep! I never even tried finishing the first season myself.
@Noinoi-sama: You’re a sucker for Bee-Train, aren’tcha? But that’s okay.
Half of these got pwn’d by copyright claims, apparently, but at least I got to see the fabled Shangri-la OP that I heard about but never bothered watching. The song is pretty good, but the visuals weren’t too special.
Anyway, I think your thoughts on the K-ON OP pretty much sum up my own, both on the song and the show. It’s not particularly good, but I can’t help but enjoy it for one reason or another.
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