don't skip the openings

17 May, 2024

the absolute worst thing someone can tell me about their anime viewing preferences has nothing to do with the kind of show they watch but how they watch it.

skipping openings just because you're on a binge can so easily rob you of what i'd argue are the best narrative and collective highs a series can offer.¹

from a purely functional standpoint, they give us time to breathe and process what exactly we're watching. take, for example, the three versions of shippuden's penultimate opening— blood circulator. each variant denotes which point of the story you're at, and primes you for what's to come. (if you pay attention, you'll notice they lead into each other seamlessly! so neat.)

sometimes it's instinctual and more about building anticipation tonally, regardless of how much plot you can actually glean from the corresponding visuals. cowboy bebop's tank! and samurai champloo's battlecry both come to mind as prolific game changers; though i'm sure if you dig deep enough director watanabe shinichiro is bound to have woven meaning between the lines.

on the rare and special occasion when anime is specifically centered around music, getting the mood right becomes even more significant. the fictional bands of k-on!, bocchi the rock!, and given are lent tangible legitimacy because their openings double as MVs. character voice actors will often go as far as lending their vocals to the supporting track despite not being singers by profession; lyrics and compositions are usually crafted specifically for the show. like, i doubt anyone can help jamming out when they're confronted by beck's hit in the usa; the whole production is pure nostalgia dopamine for anybody who cared about rock in the early 2000s.

(side note: somehow my favorite MV-style opening is from a show that has nothing to do with music, haha. tite kubo's impeccable sense of fashion landing the jump from page to screen crowns bleach king, i fear.)

other times, it's about payoff.

gradually mapping out mob psycho 100's kaleidoscopic dreamscape or unraveling the intricacies of oddtaxi's mystery episode to episode just feels satisfying. on a wider scale, great openings can walk, talk, and even roll out the red carpet for each other. see: the incredible legacy that unfolds between one piece's original we are! and its most recent uuuuus! can't be fully parsed unless you've stuck around for the entire ride.

now, this section would be a total sham if i didn't round it off talking about directors bringing in the opening song as background music to really bolster a story arc's climax. when that's done well? like with gurren lagann's sorairo days— it's often the moment you can never go back. in haikyuu! speak, that's the moment you'll be hooked on volleyball. everything a show has tried to say laid bare at your feet; the culmination of a thousand gives and takes.

(anecdotal: when it happened in kekkai sensen with hello, world!, i swear i graduated onto a higher plane of existence.)

point being: so much is lost in the act of refusing to be conditioned. to appreciate art, we must first surrender ourselves to it.

even if you never really click with a series, sticking with the credits for as long as possible isn't a total waste. there are ops that transcend the medium and cement themselves as pillars within the community at large. think evangelion's a cruel angel's thesis, hunter x hunter's departure!, death parade's flyers. if you've ever been to a karaoke session where someone picks earth, wind & fire's september or queen's bohemian rhapsody, you know it's blasphemy not to belt your heart out in unison; nevermind telling an ouran fan you haven't a clue what it means to kiss kiss fall in love.

here's the real kicker, yeah? behind every single one of these triumphs is a dedicated team of animators, directors, performers, and assistants who've put their all into creating something meant to be replayed for our viewing pleasure. hell, even the small stuff— like deciding the right timestamp for an op to actually come in every episode— requires cultivating a certain level of rhythmic awareness.

i took up multimedia in college (they made us dabble in basically everything) so maybe its trivial for me to be kicking up a fuss. but i promise it's fucking hard. all of it. every element coming together on such notoriously tight deadlines borders on miraculous.

i understand the temptation to click on the button. maybe you're on the edge of your seat, or waffling with the weight of how you should be doing something else. but make no mistake: if you really want to be moved? honor your artists. don't skip the openings.

ending this entry here mainly because WOW this got long quickly. here’s to the first of many posts that’ll be somewhat related to j-pop/rock — i basically grew up on the stuff. it hurt not to just list all my favorite songs and gush. don't even get me started on ending credits, which are overlooked far more frequently.

p.s. sorry if not every link works regionally. (hello from the philippines!) happy to hear any strong thoughts or opinions on an op or ed here: savetooru@gmail.com

009: writing this felt like running a hot knife through butter.