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Anime and Openings
Because some people complained about it, I’ve threatened to do a series on Anime Even Haters* Should See. However, I’m not quite ready there. To hold us over until I start, I’d like to talk about how they open. I love Anime openings for many reasons. In several cases, there are story reveals and visual expositions within them that when you later watch, you can be surprised with or give yourself a pat on the back for cleverness. A good example of this is Your Lie in April.**
Care is frequently placed in these, and for some anime, the opening title sequence is an important part of the show as a whole. In fact, much of Your Lie in April‘s story is presented in this opening, though we might not catch it first until you’ve seen the series. And to warn, I can’t watch this opening any more without going to tears. I’m such as sentimental sap.
I’ve just started “Hero Mask” and its opening is different:
There are no characters, but the music is perfect for a James Bond-esque mad science thriller. I remember so little of origami, so I don’t catch what each folded piece is, but the Numbering on each is most likely references to parts of the story. Again, I go back to the music. As much as I love the J-Pop that comes with a lot of shows, the minimal tense theatrical song adds to the opening and the show as a whole. It primes us for the show in ways a more familiar J-Pop opening wouldn’t.
In a similar vein is the title sequence for Cowboy BeBop.***
Again, little of the story, though you do meet the principal characters in the scenes and their respective spacecraft. What really sets this apart, of course, is the music, something that sets this entire series apart. That full-bodied walking bass and flashy jazz song prep you far more for this show than just about anything else. I should know, having actually purchased two of the soundtracks for this album back in the ’90s when legal streaming music was not as prevalent.
Of course, there are many openings to Anime, and the longer-standing programs with multiple seasons will have multiple title and credit sequences, creating a wealth of material.
So, enjoy it. You’ve been warned. This is an opening salvo to my upcoming series as I break back into writing at Ricochet. Take that, haters.
*I was going to call out someone specifically in this, but that would be rude. You know who you are!
**I will definitely write about this one. I will probably cry hard enough there will be teardrops on my computer screens.
***I will most certainly write on this one too. No tears though.
I like the music to Your Lie In April.
Cowboy Bebop is like something out of 1960s cops and robbers, possibly. I think I can see a Batman Action scene with that music.
And the origami Yer looking for?
We love Cowboy Bebop! Especially Ein. He’s the best character.
The first series Ray introduced me to is Please Save My Earth, and we watch it at least once a year.
I’m so vain, I bet I think this post is about me.
Bah! It’s in no way about you, Drew*.
*It’s totally about Drew.
One of my friends back in Missouri named their first Corgi Ein. We were all such fans back in the day.
Interestingly enough, that is origami. We made those in elementary school. A couple of decades later I followed origami directions and got the same thing. We just never realized what we were doing at the time.
When I first heard people mentioning anime, I had no idea what they were talking about. Then when I saw it I realized this is what we used to call Japanimation. Growing up that was the crappy low-buget cartoons like Speed Racer. So, this is a thing now?
Anyway, as for cartoon intros, I just saw an interesting one . . .
All anime is “Speed Racer” without the character development.
I always thought this one was maximally pretty and the musical piece is wonderful.
The capacity of Crowder to parody stuff is amazing.
Still is!
And this one’s still the best:
That space navy is probably the most naval space navy I’ve ever seen.
I quite liked the music for Cowboy Bebop but failed to get hooked by the show. Anime is an art form but one that I generally find too alien, particularly the conventions of ‘chibi’, the Charlie Brown-style yelling on otherwise more realistic looking faces, the childish boy/girl interactions, and the graphic sex where it appears.
For all that, I know I am missing out on a lot of good stuff. The Studio Ghibli stuff is phenomenal, just for a start.
And I might try out some of the stuff you’ve posted. Can you tell us more about the content?
Anime openings I really enjoyed, off the top of my head, are Attack on Titan, Baccano! (similar style to Cowboy Bebop’s Tank) and Samurai Champloo. They all really fit the style of the anime. The song that always gets stuck in my head is Neon Genesis Evangelion’s opening. And it’s quite ironic given how happy it sounds while accompanying very dramatic scenes (especially once you know how serious these scenes turn out to be). The riff of Trigun’s opening theme is great too.
Honestly, I also liked a lot of Naruto openings. Some are really cheesy and bad, but some really fit the show. Same for fullmetal alchemist. So much nostalgia whenever I watch any of those openings.
I liked this Naruto opening by far:
Not only is the music good, but it takes so many elements of the story as well.
Any mention of anime without Studio Ghibli is a crime.
They make Disney look like complete punks.
I think there’s a generational factor that creates expectations when we think of animation. If you grew up with Warner Bros, or Disney (or even Hanna-Barbera (or heck, even Filmation)), you have a certain expectation of what animated film is going to look like.
If you grew up with Pokemons or Dragonballz or whatever LSD for the eyeballs was imported from Japan, then you have a completely different expectation. Instead of high quality productions like Scooby-Doo, you want jerky, flat cartoons featuring people with big eyes, no noses, spiky multicolored hair, and lecherous robots pursuing schoolgirls wearing upsettingly tiny skirts.
[Everyone: OK Boomer!]
Studio Ghibli was inspired by Disney remember. Osamu Tezuka, the god of anime was also deeply influenced by Disney. Speaking of Osamu Tezuka, I cannot recommend his manga, Buddha enough. Check it out the next time you are in your local library.
And like that, I am transported back to my childhood. I love Star Blazers.
The intro to Haibane Renmei is beautiful. Ray and I bought a CD of the soundtrack. I have a theory of what the place is. Beware, however, that the series is rated TV-14, and I had to sign into my YouTube account to verify my age!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQVMjmB-qVc&t=2s
The problem is that you’re thinking of anime as a single genre, when it’s a form that’s used by just about any genre you can imagine.
For a cross-example, there’s “iyashikei” (healing) a form of anime that’s aimed at being relaxing and nice to watch. “Flying Witch” is one of my favorite examples of this. It also has a nice opening:
I’m pretty ignorant about anime, but I know enough not to dismiss it out of hand. Like all pop culture, there’ll be a significant amount of dreck, a lot that’s worth watching, and some that’ll transcend the medium. I like to say that when I die and get to heaven I’ll finally get caught up on my reading. That also includes watching and listening, and I can spend a century or two on this.
Ecclesiastes 12:12–
I’m sure the teacher would include anime and Netflix queues in that if they existed at the time.
Some of my favorite openings are Noragami and Black Lagoon.
Black Lagoon‘s title music has a KMFDM feel, which is appropriate for the show’s content.
Watch Kiki’s Delivery Service with your kids. Watch out for the black cat with a Brooklyn accent.
We have that one on DVD, actually. CC loves it.