Winter 2008 OP Reviews

Now that all the major series for winter have started their runs, it's a good time to rank the OPs of the season! This post was inspired by Epic Win's post on anime OPs.

I'm rating the OPs based on the following, with each on a scale of 1 to 5, with higher being better:

1. Song awesomeness: Even the best animated OP is going to be glossed over if the song sucks
2. Animation quality: This is why we watch anime, isn't it? This also takes into account whether the song is synced with the animation at all.
3. Bonus points: Extra (or negative) points for things that aren't included above.

Note that I've tried to find high-quality versions on Youtube; unless you have an awesome fast connection, you'll probably have to pause it and wait for it to finish loading before you try to play it. Without further ado, here is number 11!

11. Kimi ga Aruji de Shitsuji ga Ore de ~They are my noble masters~, Hizamazuku Made 5 Byo Dake! (Miyuki Hashimoto):

Song: 2
Forgettable j-pop. It's not unpleasing to listen to, but nothing to compel me to recommend it.
Animation Quality: 3
Synced to the music, shows the characters, but that's about the only good things about it.
Bonus Points: 0
Nothing special
TOTAL: 5

10. Spice and Wolf, Tabi no Tochū (Natsumi Kiyoura)

Song: 3
Kind of slow and melancholic, so far it doesn't really match the mood of the series.
Animation Quality: 3
It shows scenes from the series, but it's not really synced to the song.
Bonus Points: 0
Nothing clever about the OP jumps out at me
TOTAL: 6

9. Gunslinger Girl -Il Teatrino-, Tatta Hitotsu no Omoi (KOKIA):

Song: 5
A catchy song with a touch of melancholy. It's actually pretty catchy, and it (might) match the mood of the series.
Animation Quality: 2
Basically lots of still pictures of random scenes and guns done in either water color or using some photoshop filter on real images. It's creative, but 1) isn't specific to Gunslinger Girl, and 2) doesn't give any indication what the series is about. Heck, it could be the opening to a drama.
Bonus Points: -1
I took off a point for not living up to the OP of the first season, which wasn't even that good!
TOTAL: 6

8. H2O ~Footprints in the Sand~, Katayoku no Icarus (Yui Sakakibara):

Song: 3
Typical j-pop, with some interesting instruments. Nothing really special, and I could see it getting annoying with repeated listening.
Animation Quality: 4
Animation is good quality, mostly scenes of the characters in typical harem anime fashion. It's not as good as the True Tears OP though.
Bonus Points: 0
Nothing special
TOTAL: 7

7. Zoku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, kūsō Rumba (Kenji Ohtsuki and Zetsubō Shōjo-tachi):

Song: 5
Catchy song, kūsō Rumba, by the same people that did the OP to the last season.
Animation Quality: 1
If you remember the first season's first episode OP, this is mostly the same, with lots of text and still pictures. I expect this to get better, but right now it's kind of lame.
Bonus points: +1
The text is actually relevant to the series, and this alludes to the previous season as well, so bonus points here.
TOTAL: 7
Since this is really just a "fake" OP, I ranked it above H2O because it was trying to be bad :P.

6. Rosario + Vampire, Cosmic Love (Nana Mizuki):

Song: 3
Pretty generic upbeat j-pop.
Animation Quality: 4
Good quality animation that's synced to the song, shows all the characters I guess.
Bonus Points: +1
Censoring bats ftw!
TOTAL: 8

5. PERSONA -trinity soul-, Breakin' Through (Shūhei Kita):

Song: 3
J-rock music, appropriate for the OP, but not very catchy in my opinion. Reminds me a bit of the OPs for GTO.
Animation Quality: 5
Cool transitions with silhouettes of characters in the beginning, nice color/texture effects, shows some of the characters.
Bonus Points: +1
Nice animation effects.
TOTAL: 9

4. Minami-ke ~Okawari, Kokoro no Tsubasa (Rina Satou, Marina Inoue & Minori Chihara):

Song: 3
J-pop, has a very dramatic feel to it (which is not suited to the series, but appropriate for the OP.
Animation Quality: 5
Great animation, dramatic scenes which make it funny since that's not what the show is about, all the characters are shown, creative backgrounds/situations; I like it a lot!
Bonus Points: +2
Sims/Sim City reference in the beginning! Bear! LULZ if you watched the first season -- it makes the series look so dramatic, but it's not.
TOTAL: 10

3. True Tears, Reflectia (eufonius):

Song: 5
It's eufonius. Upbeat j-pop, if you like any of her other stuff, you'll like this too.
Animation Quality: 5
Animation is good quality, mostly scenes of the characters that are probably taken from the series. It's synced to the song, so full points here.
Bonus Points: 0
Doesn't really do anything special...
TOTAL: 10
This is ranked above Minami-ke Okawari because I like the song better.

2. Hatenkou Yuugi, Heartbreaking Romance (Kanako Itō):

Song: 4
Upbeat techno j-pop, actually sounds a bit like video game synth music in the beginning. Probably would get annoying after a bit.
Animation Quality: 5
Second most interesting OP this season. Shows the major characters, and some crazy stuff going with the backgrounds in the beginning. Synced to the music too.
Bonus Points: +1
It goes together really well.
TOTAL: 10

1. Hakaba Kitarou, Mononoke Dance (Denki Groove):

Song: 4
Unique song in a sea of j-pop. This is probably what I'd call techno; it's Denki Groove!
Animation Quality: 5
Very creative! They animated in the style of an American comic, with bold lines and colors. And it actually flows pretty well! I lack the words to describe its awesomeness, just watch it.
Bonus Points: +1
Incredibly unique style. Most interesting OP this season and that's why it's number 1.
TOTAL: 10