Some of these are intentionally misleading, and some are just bizarre.
Sometimes, the opening perfectly reflects the anime’s mood and themes. Sometimes it’s less obvious. And in some cases, the opening choice just seems odd, as it is in no way like the anime itself.
These cases are all pretty interesting — so let’s look at some of them.
Perhaps the most popular example of this, Death Parade’s opening is a fun song with visuals featuring the characters performing an elaborate dance. The anime? A psychological study of humans, touching on the topics of guilt, sins and punishment. It is way deeper than the opening initially suggests, and that seems to have been done on purpose, to emphasize the contrast between the opening and the anime itself.
The opening, for the lack of a better word, is incredibly edgy. A metal song, showing Tomoko, the main heroine, breaking the chains, is supposed to symbolize something… but the anime is about her being incredibly awkward and socially unadapted, and she changes little during the course of the series. It is still an interesting watch (even though many people might find the cringe comedy overbearing), but the opening is incredibly misleading.
The visuals for the opening of the original Berserk anime (1997) fit the show perfectly. The song, however, is very jarring, especially compared to how dark the anime is. It is a chill tune with English lyrics that make little to no sense — and are pronounced with a distinct Japanese accent. It’s a cool song, and many fans love it, but it has little to nothing to do with the actual anime. Even more bizarre, the ending is a slow, melancholic song also sung in broken English with a Japanese accent — and made by a completely different band.
A happy song, with visuals of two children happily going exploring. What could go wrong? Another example of an opening being misleading on purpose, MiA’s OP is in no way indicative of the show itself. The anime is incredibly dark, featuring a lot of disturbing content, with the protagonists having to endure a lot of physical and mental pain to survive on their journey.
The opening is very similar to openings from your usual slice-of-life/”cute girls doing cute things” anime. Asobi Asobase itself, however, couldn’t be more different. It’s a slapstick comedy, often featuring incredibly crude jokes that catch you off guard, and it ventures into the absurdist humor territory often. The ending, featuring a death metal song, is equally strange.
Some of these are intentionally misleading, and some are just bizarre.
Sometimes, the opening perfectly reflects the anime’s mood and themes. Sometimes it’s less obvious. And in some cases, the opening choice just seems odd, as it is in no way like the anime itself.
These cases are all pretty interesting — so let’s look at some of them.
Perhaps the most popular example of this, Death Parade’s opening is a fun song with visuals featuring the characters performing an elaborate dance. The anime? A psychological study of humans, touching on the topics of guilt, sins and punishment. It is way deeper than the opening initially suggests, and that seems to have been done on purpose, to emphasize the contrast between the opening and the anime itself.
The opening, for the lack of a better word, is incredibly edgy. A metal song, showing Tomoko, the main heroine, breaking the chains, is supposed to symbolize something… but the anime is about her being incredibly awkward and socially unadapted, and she changes little during the course of the series. It is still an interesting watch (even though many people might find the cringe comedy overbearing), but the opening is incredibly misleading.
The visuals for the opening of the original Berserk anime (1997) fit the show perfectly. The song, however, is very jarring, especially compared to how dark the anime is. It is a chill tune with English lyrics that make little to no sense — and are pronounced with a distinct Japanese accent. It’s a cool song, and many fans love it, but it has little to nothing to do with the actual anime. Even more bizarre, the ending is a slow, melancholic song also sung in broken English with a Japanese accent — and made by a completely different band.
A happy song, with visuals of two children happily going exploring. What could go wrong? Another example of an opening being misleading on purpose, MiA’s OP is in no way indicative of the show itself. The anime is incredibly dark, featuring a lot of disturbing content, with the protagonists having to endure a lot of physical and mental pain to survive on their journey.
The opening is very similar to openings from your usual slice-of-life/”cute girls doing cute things” anime. Asobi Asobase itself, however, couldn’t be more different. It’s a slapstick comedy, often featuring incredibly crude jokes that catch you off guard, and it ventures into the absurdist humor territory often. The ending, featuring a death metal song, is equally strange.
