The counting in 99 is the definition of hype! 99.9 is fantastic too, I love how hard the bass goes. And the animation is Bones flexing like crazy.

Agh, can’t believe I completely forgot what Nagi no Asukara’s second OP sounded like. The way the breezy but melancholic vocals match that first scene of them all standing out in the wind deep in thought is just perfect.

Tank! deserves to be immortalized in a Hall of Fame at this point.

Bling-Bang-Bong-Born is such an earworm and the visuals are insane. Huge glowup from the S1 OP! It’s one of the many reasons I look forward to Mashle every week.

I love how Blessing’s upbeat, quirky, but thoughtful vocals and electronic elements paint the perfect picture of Suletta. It’s like listening to her character turned into music.

THE HERO!! is so goddamn iconic!

Except that it isn’t just those ten seconds. It’s the whole opening that evolves, throws back at earlier events just to push forward, in a way that feels completely natural and consistent with the theme of the anime series - evolving and going forward.

Perfect way to describe how the OP feels while watching the show. What also enhanced it for me was listening to the full version and reading the translated lyrics. I love how the second verse reveals that

It’s very moving and adds a lot of depth to such an upbeat and energetic song.

Always loved the Lain opening! OPs that use an original English song are rare but always a treat.

Even though I haven’t watched the show, this is a favorite of mine too! According to the friend who shared it with me, this was apparently the band’s last song shortly before the vocalist passed away from a medical condition. The lyrics and vibe of the song feel a whole lot heavier with that context 😢

Here are some of mine:

• Rewrite - Fullmetal Alchemist (2003) OP4. I can’t think of another opening for a long(-ish) show that feels like a culmination of everything that led up to that point. There’s the immediate impact of the guitars and drums crashing in from the very first second, and then for the next thirty or so seconds everything is kind of downbeat: the vocals are low and meandering, and all of the characters on-screen stand still in deep contemplation. And yet, the guitars and drums are still going ham in the background, and in almost every shot there’s some kind of movement being animated even while the characters are still. All of this builds an insane amount of tension beneath the surface – which finally explodes at the chorus along with Gotoh’s iconic “KESHITE” scream and some god-like action cuts with jaw-dropping animation. It’s hella cathartic every time I watch it and matches the final arc of the show being about letting go of the past and rewriting those regrets into actions for seizing your own future.
• Answer - March Comes In Like a Lion OP1. Even before I got very deep into the show and understood the full context of what this song was conveying, it made me super emotional. The music strikes that perfect balance between being uplifting and encouraging but also soft and reassuring, which matches up with the visuals of a troubled individual literally pulling themselves up after drowning in depression. I love the glockenspiel accents during the chorus that sound like stars lighting the path through darkness.
• Toki Wo Kizamu Uta - Clannad After Story. I LOVE how they took one of the best piano songs from the Visual Novel’s soundtrack and turned it into a breathtaking vocal ballad. Lia’s sustained notes in the chorus hit hard and make the song sound immense while still being intensely emotional and personal. Perfect song for what After Story puts its audience through.

I’m up to episode 6 of Delicious in Dungeon and I did not expect to be enjoying it as much as I have been so far. I’ve gotten tired of anime set in a medieval RPG-esque setting because they fall back on a lot of overdone tropes and thus have little to no intrigue as far as worldbuilding goes. Delicious in Dungeon, on the other hand, takes those fantasy elements, especially the monsters, and dives deep into their inner workings. Every time Laios pulls out that encyclopedia I’m floored by the ingenuity in the ensuing monster descriptions. The art direction, animation, and music are also top-tier thanks to Trigger being Trigger.