Otaku absolutely adore anime openings. Many of them have become iconic over the years — mostly for catchy or atmospheric songs. Some openings are weird, though, really weird — and here are the 10 most unique ones.
10. Tesagure! Bukatsumono
The opening for Tesagure! Bukatsumono sounds like your normal anime opening sung by the cast members… except, it’s not really one. Each line narrates what is happening in the opening, parodying common tropes like camera panning into the sky and the characters running.
The anime is no different: it’s a CGI series with motion capture and no script — the seiyuu are basically doing ad-lib comedy.
The original Berserk anime is an amazing dark fantasy series. It’s hailed as a classic, and the opening is just as iconic — despite the song choice being… bizarre, at least.
It’s a Japanese punk song, sung entirely in broken English — none of the lyrics make any sense, and the pronunciation isn’t any better. “Put your grasses on” has become a famous line in itself (and yes, it is supposed to be “glasses”).
Drifters is not an anime about cars. It’s an isekai about historical figures with superpowers fighting in another world… although the opening doesn’t really indicate that.
The unique visual style is combined with a song by an American rock band… about a car engine. It seems that someone didn’t get the memo.
7. ef
It might be considered cheating to mention anime openings by studio Shaft. That said, ef: A Tale of Memories. (and its sequel, ef: A Tale of Melodies.) stands out even among them.
The song visuals feature nonsensical text in English, and the rest is abstract imagery vaguely related to the series. Then every other opening is like that — and yes, both seasons have multiple versions of them.
The openings for JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken) are… well, bizarre. The art style is completely different from the series itself — it’s entirely in CGI (Part 5 is an exception), and yet despite that, it includes some of the elements from the manga.
As if that wasn’t enough, some of the latter parts include SFX — the openings change as the plot reveals further. These scenes often come at the most unexpected time, and fans love the openings for that.
5. NieA_7
It’s really hard to describe NieA_7. The most accurate way is “Serial Experiment Lain, but slice-of-life instead of cyberpunk” — and still, that’s not exactly right.
The opening is even weirder: the vocals are… unique, let’s say. It doesn’t fit the anime at all, and is often regarded as one of the most controversial choices for an anime song.
While stop-motion puppet animation has sometimes been used in anime endings — and, less commonly, openings — none of them made it as big as Beastars season 1 OP.
The song really helps too, with ALI having become one of the fan-favorite bands. The overall vibe of the opening is very different from that of the anime itself, and it looks vastly different from the anime itself.
3. Honey and Clover
The opening for Season 1 of Honey and Clover (Hachimitsu to Clover) is, frankly, incredibly visually. The visual sequence consists of nothing but food pictures, employing minimalistic stop-motion animation. Anime being obsessed with food isn’t anything new, and this is just an example of that.
As if that wasn’t enough, the opening for Season 2 is just as weird. It features a weird CGI statue in different scenarios — the studio really outdid itself for that one.
2. Tsukuyomi: Moon Phase
Another series by studio Shaft, Tsukuyomi: Moon Phase is a mix of parody and straight take on a vampire anime. The opening is… unique, for sure, and the “Nekomimi Mode” tune has been a meme for quite a while.
The music for the anime is just as weird as the series itself — and when the anime changes the opening in the middle for a short serious arc, fans are once again surprised by the creativity of the staff.
1. Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei
Every single opening for Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei is unique in its own regard. Both songs and visuals for the franchise are absolutely wild, and with every next season, it gets even wilder. It culminates in an extended opening sequence for the last OVA, Zan Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei Bangaichi.
That opening has to be watched at least once — it’s impossible to explain it with words. “Experimental” and “arthouse” don't even begin to properly describe it.
Perhaps the wildest part is the hidden message in the opening, which explains that the studio has no more resources to produce the series past that — they’d have to focus on Bakemonogatari instead, as it sells too well.
A lot of these are unlike anything else.
Otaku absolutely adore anime openings. Many of them have become iconic over the years — mostly for catchy or atmospheric songs. Some openings are weird, though, really weird — and here are the 10 most unique ones.
10. Tesagure! Bukatsumono
The opening for Tesagure! Bukatsumono sounds like your normal anime opening sung by the cast members… except, it’s not really one. Each line narrates what is happening in the opening, parodying common tropes like camera panning into the sky and the characters running.
The anime is no different: it’s a CGI series with motion capture and no script — the seiyuu are basically doing ad-lib comedy.
The original Berserk anime is an amazing dark fantasy series. It’s hailed as a classic, and the opening is just as iconic — despite the song choice being… bizarre, at least.
It’s a Japanese punk song, sung entirely in broken English — none of the lyrics make any sense, and the pronunciation isn’t any better. “Put your grasses on” has become a famous line in itself (and yes, it is supposed to be “glasses”).
Drifters is not an anime about cars. It’s an isekai about historical figures with superpowers fighting in another world… although the opening doesn’t really indicate that.
The unique visual style is combined with a song by an American rock band… about a car engine. It seems that someone didn’t get the memo.
7. ef
It might be considered cheating to mention anime openings by studio Shaft. That said, ef: A Tale of Memories. (and its sequel, ef: A Tale of Melodies.) stands out even among them.
The song visuals feature nonsensical text in English, and the rest is abstract imagery vaguely related to the series. Then every other opening is like that — and yes, both seasons have multiple versions of them.
The openings for JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken) are… well, bizarre. The art style is completely different from the series itself — it’s entirely in CGI (Part 5 is an exception), and yet despite that, it includes some of the elements from the manga.
As if that wasn’t enough, some of the latter parts include SFX — the openings change as the plot reveals further. These scenes often come at the most unexpected time, and fans love the openings for that.
5. NieA_7
It’s really hard to describe NieA_7. The most accurate way is “Serial Experiment Lain, but slice-of-life instead of cyberpunk” — and still, that’s not exactly right.
The opening is even weirder: the vocals are… unique, let’s say. It doesn’t fit the anime at all, and is often regarded as one of the most controversial choices for an anime song.
While stop-motion puppet animation has sometimes been used in anime endings — and, less commonly, openings — none of them made it as big as Beastars season 1 OP.
The song really helps too, with ALI having become one of the fan-favorite bands. The overall vibe of the opening is very different from that of the anime itself, and it looks vastly different from the anime itself.
3. Honey and Clover
The opening for Season 1 of Honey and Clover (Hachimitsu to Clover) is, frankly, incredibly visually. The visual sequence consists of nothing but food pictures, employing minimalistic stop-motion animation. Anime being obsessed with food isn’t anything new, and this is just an example of that.
As if that wasn’t enough, the opening for Season 2 is just as weird. It features a weird CGI statue in different scenarios — the studio really outdid itself for that one.
2. Tsukuyomi: Moon Phase
Another series by studio Shaft, Tsukuyomi: Moon Phase is a mix of parody and straight take on a vampire anime. The opening is… unique, for sure, and the “Nekomimi Mode” tune has been a meme for quite a while.
The music for the anime is just as weird as the series itself — and when the anime changes the opening in the middle for a short serious arc, fans are once again surprised by the creativity of the staff.
1. Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei
Every single opening for Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei is unique in its own regard. Both songs and visuals for the franchise are absolutely wild, and with every next season, it gets even wilder. It culminates in an extended opening sequence for the last OVA, Zan Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei Bangaichi.
That opening has to be watched at least once — it’s impossible to explain it with words. “Experimental” and “arthouse” don't even begin to properly describe it.
Perhaps the wildest part is the hidden message in the opening, which explains that the studio has no more resources to produce the series past that — they’d have to focus on Bakemonogatari instead, as it sells too well.
