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Greetings music lovers and welcome back to Otaku Thursday! Today I’m delivering what is arguably one of my favorite posts to write each season: top anime openings for the season! That’s right, it’s that time where I make a playlist of all the anime openings from summer 2021 and Star and I spend hours (legit hours) listening to them one by one and narrowing down our top five anime openings of the season. So, without further ado, let’s start this countdown.

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5 ) Koko kara Saki wa Uta ni Naranai by Poppin’ Party, Bokutachi no Remake

This opening is honesty so great. Star and I can both agree that there’s something just feel-good about it. The song is a bop and it’s very heartwarming. The animation is like, okay–its standard. Nothing special but it’s really cute and really fits the show. I don’t know, I just feel like this is a really solid opening and it depicts the anime well (or at least what I know of the anime so far). Super good.

4 ) Gamble by syudou, Tsuki ga Michibiku Isekai Douchuu

This is the only opening on the list that actually makes us want to watch this anime. Because we had no interest in it before. However, the music paired with the cinematic cuts for the opening is just–beautiful. Music mixing is just gorgeous and on point–like there’s even a scene where I noticed that the friggin’ curtains are moving in time to the music. Honestly super thoughtful direction and love the song itself.

3 ) Analogy by Ayane, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Sotsu

I feel like out of all the openings this season, this feels like the most unique opening of the season. Mainly because of the vibe it gives off which is refreshing compared to other openings–which is in due part to the fact that Higurashi is one of the only horror/thriller/psychological shows this season. Still, the song is appropriately haunting as is the gently synchronized animation (like the opening and closing of the eyes). The kind of sketch outline effect in it also gives those distorted vibes was also a cool detail.

2 ) [Forget Me Not] by ENHYPEN, Re-Main

GOSH. I love this opening. I really do. Why? Because we have an anime about water sports without the shirtless action shots feeling too gratuitous. But no seriously–aside from that, this is a super solid opening in terms of both music and animation. All of the special effects used and stylized moments feel appropriate–from lens flare, to color tones or hues. It feels fun and fresh, it does a damn good job at depicting what the anime is about, and it really just–it’s the kind of anime opening I want to see in a summer anime lineup.

1 ) Sora to Utsuro by sasanomaly, Vanitas no Karte

I just wanted to say that Star and I made this list together, and despite my love of Vanitas, I did not choose this for number one–I let Star do that! This opening is definitely a bop though–like I will admit it was stuck in my head earlier today. The art to go along with it is also really good. It showcases all the different animation styles the show uses–from the incredible detailed standard art to the chibi art used for more comedic moments. The colors are vibrant and beautiful, the long shots remind Star very much of art fitting of a period piece, and the fountain sequence is absolutely gorgeous in animation terms. I also appreciate how it legit has a narrative in the opening rather than showcasing any real spoilers for the show. It just showcases a day in the life of Noe. The one thing I will say is it gets me every single time we see that gratuitous scene of Noe in the shower (but in all fairness it only lasts a second). So yeah, all and all–we decided Vanitas’ opening was number one for us this season. Oh…as a side note. As a manga reader…this opening is HELLA misleading but I hope you all look forward to the anime.

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Well that’s it! That has been our top five openings of summer 2021 anime. As a final note, I will say that this season of anime opening’s was a little underwhelming. Not that openings were bad this season, but rather there weren’t any that really jumped out or stood out as clear ‘best opening’. However, a lot of the openings are just kind of like cute or edgy but not in ways that particularly stand out. Anyway, what were some of your favorite opening’s this season? Let me know in the comments below! Til next time~!

Stay weebtastic

xoxo

Luna

P.S. I actually had to write a P.S. this time because I just watched the full opening for Shiroi Suna no Aquatope and gosh darn if we hadn’t already decided this list I would have put it at my number one. Tayutae, Nanairo by ARCANA PROJECT is a really refreshing song that really matches this anime. Not only that, but the opening animation is gorgeous–like drop dead gorgeous. This studio really knows how to do water animations and it showcases in the opening–the characters look so soft and crisp and bright. And the whale shark and fish? My lord this is a beautiful opening. So just know in this section, that Shiroi Suna no Aquatope‘s full opening is now number one in my heart.