The Six Types of Anime Openings

By Elijah Gonzalez | October 22, 2025 | 12:15pm

Anime Lists anime openings

Epic Soundtracks Week continues at Endless Mode with an examination of the music of anime openings.

Many of the most celebrated anime of all time are bound by a common thread: they feature iconic opening themes that stand the test of time. Anime openings (OPs)—recurring intros that play before every episode and are accompanied by song—are an art form all their own. The best of them stick with us, an audiovisual snapshot that proves inseparable from the series in question.

But despite their frequent importance, not all opening songs are trying to do the same things: some exist to set the tone and mood of a given show, capturing its essence in sound and imagery. Others have barely any relation to the content of the series, either acting more as a palate cleanser or intentionally creating a contrast with what we’re about to see. Some even end up taking on a life of their own on social media as they climb the Billboard charts.

In an attempt to discuss some of the functions that opening songs and their accompanying visuals can serve, we’ve decided to define them in six categories. Now, it’s important to note that these aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive; in many cases, they will have overlap with more than one category. However, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t clear distinctions in function that are worth discussing.

With all that said, let’s get into the different types of anime openings. But first, a reminder: never skip the OP.

Tone Setter

Other Examples: Land of the Lustrous, Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu, Serial Experiments Lain, Chainsaw Man OP 3, Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End OP 2

One of the most straightforward and obvious functions of an anime opening is to set the tone for the series in question, acting as a sort of shorthand for the vibe and aesthetic it’s going for. These openings ease us into what the show is attempting to do, helping us enter the state of mind that the story is going to deliver.

Cowboy Bebop’s opening “Tank!” is a perfect example of this, a scorcher of a jazz track backed by character silhouettes that suggests a mixture of mystery and danger. The song itself embodies the series’ Western influences, and when combined with the moody visuals, draws attention to the show’s noir roots. There’s also a notable franticness to the instrumentation, which we eventually discover matches the inner lives of its characters.

As for the other examples listed above, the opening for Land of the Lustrous has an atypical rhythm that matches its atypical world, Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu uses somber vocalization to set up a decades-spanning tragedy, Serial Experiments Lain’s is haunting and nostalgic for a pre-Internet era, and Chainsaw Man’s third OP is nasty, visceral, and weird with a tiny dollop of warmth.

Tone Switch

Other Examples: Puella Magi Madoka Magika, Takopi’s Original Sin, hack//SIGN

On the opposite end of the spectrum, there’s the Tone Switch, openings which give off one energy only to pull the rug out from under you, as the show reveals itself to be something else entirely. The most common way this is employed is when a particularly bleak series begins with an OP that’s high-energy and fun, but it can also be used in the opposite way, too. While I’m cheating a bit, given that we’re talking about openings here, Black Lagoon’s ending theme is a great example of a Tone Switch as it goes from something mostly dumb and over-the-top (at one point, a dude cuts a bullet in half with a katana) to surprisingly introspective and melancholy.

This type of opening is often used to intentionally sucker punch the audience with emotional whiplash, provide a stark contrast to highlight the tone of the series itself (a cheery OP against gloomy happenings), to tease out the layers of depth of its characters (a lighthearted series with a more pensive OP), and more.

Death Parade is a great example of the Tone Switch: its opening is bright and cheerful, implying the series is some sort of bartender workplace hangout romp. In reality, it’s centered on bleak supernatural death games administered by our psychopomp protagonists as they attempt to weigh the souls of the recently deceased. Again, the disparity between the bouncy dance music of the opening and the sordid events that follow it makes the story pop.

Hype Man

Other Examples: My Hero Academia OP 1, Thunderbolt Fantasy OP 1, Basically Any Battle Shonen Opening

In some ways, this is a subset of the Tone Setter, but it’s a common enough template that it deserves its own category. Frequently employed in battle shounen and action series, many OPs exist to mostly do one thing: get the viewer hyped up and excited for what’s to come. That generally entails a high-tempo song with impassioned lyrics set against sweeping backdrops that inspire adventure. Oh, and there are almost always at least a few snippets of characters fighting, sometimes against an imminent big bad.

Hunter x Hunter is interesting because it makes the sicko decision to use the exact same opening song over 148 episodes. Because of this, it begins as the perfect example of a high-energy opening in its first few arcs, as our protagonist Gon sets off on a grand adventure.

However, after our protagonist goes down a dark path much later in the story, there’s suddenly a strong contrast between the opening’s tone and the series’ much more dour subject matter, creating a Tone Switch effect that’s even more effective because the same song and imagery now feel different in this new context. A more standard example of this type of opening is My Hero Academia’s first OP, which features an energetic song and All Might being cool as hell.

Plot in Miniature (aka, Foreshadowing Galore)

Other Examples: Orb: On The Movement of the Earth, Revolutionary Girl Utena, Full Metal Alchemist OP 1

If there’s one thing that many anime openings get a bad rep for, it’s for more or less spoiling a series’ plot—this is even more of a possibility given that most anime are adapted from manga, so the writers frequently know what’s going to happen far in advance. While Plot in Miniature openings don’t necessarily need to do this to qualify, this type of OP will heavily foreshadow the narrative arc of a series, often showing characters we haven’t met yet, giving allusions to big turning points, and more. At their best, these types of openings give us hints without outright telling us what’s going to happen, setting up mysteries and big questions. Then, when a twist finally reveals itself, it gives it that extra bit of impact.

Neon Genesis Evangelion’s OP, Cruel Angel’s Thesis, is one of the most famous examples of this, and while much of its foreshadowing comes in the last 30 seconds as we’re literally barraged with initially cryptic proper nouns and images beyond our comprehension, the song’s name alludes to its biblical imagery, while the lyrics describe a sort of hero’s journey. The literal first coherent image we see is of a biblically accurate angel, alluding to the Angel kaiju that will eventually invade Japan. But perhaps the biggest bit of foreshading is something else entirely; 75% of the opening and the song itself focus on the characters instead of the sci-fi nomenclature shoved in at the end. Considering that the show, especially its original run, is far more caught up in its cast than its lore, this opening parallels the series nicely.

Experimental One-Off

Other Examples: Kaiju No 8. OP 1 & 2, Dorohedoro

Sometimes, an opening is clearly trying to do something different, employing some form of avant-garde execution; this can come with the song choice, which might ditch the standard J-pop undercurrents found in many openings, or it could be in a visual style that uses abstraction, modern art influences, or ditches traditional animation altogether. These kinds of openings can often be the most attention-grabbing of all, suggesting the series may be going after something unique and outside the norm. Will the shows in question always follow through on this promise? Not exactly, as indicated by the example we have linked above.

Magical Girl Destroyers’ opening is a feast of striking imagery and yearning backed by a killer pop punk track by Aimi that eventually devolves into full-on aesthetic abstraction. As the visuals break down, the song gives way to a nightmarish electronic thrumming as pixelated nonsense and literal spinning JPEGs assault our eyes. It deeply, deeply rules, and got me to watch this not-very-good show long after I would have otherwise dropped because I was chasing whatever the OP’s vibe was. Thankfully, sometimes an opening can be appreciated purely on its own merits, and I still watch this one every now and again.

The Viral Hit

Other Examples: Bakemonogatari OP 4 (“Renai Circulation”), Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken, Oshi No Ko OP 1, Dandadan OP 1

These types of OPs, whether intentionally or not, feel laser-targeted at virality. The song usually has a catchy hook or earworm beat, and they frequently come alongside a dance that’s easy to replicate at home and could be the next emote in Fortnite. It feels like this kind of opening has become much more popular in recent years, probably because they can serve as fairly convincing marketing tools when they hit.

A perfect example is My Deer Friend Nokotan’s OP, which features a catchy track, a tempting-to-mimic dance, and heaps of absurdity that feel tailored for TikTok; again, it was enough to make me watch several episodes of what turned out to be a fairly lukewarm comedy.

That isn’t to imply that this type of opening is inherently bad, though; to mention another example, the visuals for Dandadan’s first OP are creative and colorful, and Creepy Nuts’ “Otonoke” is a pop and hip-hop mashup that gets at the show’s genre-blending style. When done right, like in this case, these serve as another reason to make you eager to check out the next episode.

Elijah Gonzalez is an associate editor for Endless Mode. In addition to playing the latest, he also loves anime, movies, and dreaming of the day he finally gets through all the Like a Dragon games. You can follow him on Bluesky @elijahgonzalez.bsky.social.