Let the fight begin!

Welcome to the ActiveCore Spring 2007 Anime OP Charts

First of all a nod in the direction of Youtube and AnimeNewsNetwork whom this event couldn’t have taken place without!

Not all the shows from this season have been included as there are some I know nothing about and a few where I couldn’t find an online video to watch it. If you would like to submit a song to be included in this list please post the show title and a link to the video in the comments section.

The Rules

1.  The show has to have started airing in April 2007 or have a new OP first airing in April 2007
2.  The show has to have a streaming video of the OP on the web (that i can find without learning kanji)
3.  The judge (me) has to be vaguely aware of the show

Criteria

The OP’s will be judged on the Animation, Music and how they have been Combined overall (what I’ll call fusion). Quality of the version watched will be taken in to account as I don’t have time to download a perfect copy of each show. If there is a full version of the song it will not be taken in to account when judging. This is purely my personal opinion, it is not in anyway impartial, scientific, philosophical or based on any professional music training.

The Contestants

01.  Bleach – ALONES by Aqua Timez (link)

While this isn’t the best Bleach OP, I do like it. The song is catchy and upbeat while the animation is promising and stylish. It does however lose marks for the shaky camera at the beginning.

Animation – 3.5 / Music – 4 / Fusion – 4.5

02.  Blue Dragon – FRIEND by Keita Tachibana (link)

While i’m not actually watching this series the animation was instantly recognisable and very pleasing to my eye. Sadly the song was down right boring and unoriginal.

Animation – 4 / Music – 2.5 / Fusion – 3

03.  Bokurano – Uninstall by Chiaki Ishikawa (link)

An OP which actually made me want to watch the show! The animation seemed very good in places, although the CG mecha was a bit to much. The song was very pleasing to the ear, I would defiantly download it.

Animation – 4 / Music – 4 / Fusion – 4

04.  Claymore – Raison D’être by Nightmare (link)

I’m not a fan of Nightmare but this song really grabs me. The animation is really stylish and high quality although the arrangement of it isn’t as good. Sadly the fusion isn’t as good as the separate parts.

Animation – 4 / Music – 4.5 / Fusion – 3.5

05.  Darker than BLACK – HOWLING by abingdon boys school (link)

This was my front runner before I started this. I absolutely love the vocal on this song and the riffs are great to. The animation it breathtaking and atmospheric. This is how it should be done.

Animation – 4.5  / Music – 4.5 / Fusion – 4.5

06.  El Cazador de la Bruja - Hikari no Yukue by savage genius (link)

This OP has grown on me, the animation is nicely done and the song has seeded itself in my brain. The arrangement of the animation however works against it for me.

Animation – 3.5 / Music – 3.5 / Fusion 3.5

07.  Engage Planet Kiss Dum – Jikuu o Koete by II MIX DELTA (link)

In places this could have been an OP by Move (the band). I like the song, it’s not amazing but it has a classic feel to me. The animation is sadly lacking, why am I watching a case rolling around in the credits?

Animation – 2 / Music – 3.5 / Fusion – 3

08.  Heroic Age – gravitation by angela (link)

After seeing the first episode of this show I wasn’t even sure that this OP was from this show. A set of poor character close ups and bad CG don’t help this OP. The song is ok but nothing memorable.

Animation – 1.5 / Music – 2.5 / Fusion – 2

09.  Idolmaster Xenoglossia – Binetsu S.O.S!! by Miyuki Hashimoto (link)

It’s Sunrise, could you tell? Nice animation and points for the mecha not having over the top CG. Music was good, it fitted the animation well.

Animation – 3.5 / Music – 3 / Fusion – 3

10.  Kaze no Stigma – blast of wind by Saori Kiuji (link)

More Gonzo? Oh glee… This looked about the same as a million other OP’s. Animation was standard if lacking in detail. Song was nice enough while it played, but I barely remember it now. Meh.

Animation – 3 / Music – 3 / Fusion – 2.5

11.  Kono Aozora ni Yakusoku wo – Kono Aozora ni Yakusoku o by KAORI (link)

Very standard once again. Nice animation, bland characters, same old story. Music was fine, likable if forgettable. Good balance overall.

Animation – 3 / Music – 3 / Fusion – 3

12.  Koutetsu Sangokushi – Nostalgia by camino (link)

Is that two men, wait what? The animation seems pretty solid if a little generic fantasy. The song is pretty much the same, enjoyable to a degree but nothing i’ll remember in a days time. Overall not to bad.

Animation – 3 / Music – 3 / Fusion – 3.5

13.  Lovely Complex – Kimi + Boku = Love? by Tegomass (link)

Fast catchy song, lots of stars and a tall woman?! I actually like this much more than I should and want to watch the show now. Very enjoyable romance/comedy OP.

Animation – 3.5 / Music – 4 / Fusion – 4

14.  Lucky Star – Motteke! Sailor Fuku by Aya Hirano, Emiri Katou, Kaori Fukuhara & Aya Endo (link)

Oh Kami-sama! It’s growing on me and it takes a man to admit that. I like the animation and the comedy value of the song and overall package is undeniable.

Animation – 3.5 / Music – 3 / Fusion – 3.5

15.  Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS – SECRET AMBITION by Nana Mizuki (link)

This is something I may have liked 15 years ago. While I can appreciate some of the animation and design work, I don’t really like it. The song, I can’t even remember it and it just finished playing.

Animation – 2.5 / Music - 2 / Fusion – 2.5

16.  Nagasarete Airantou – Days by Yui Horie (link)

This OP actually gets better as it goes along, well the animation side at least. The song is generic and cheery all the way while the animation gets better and more comical.

Animation – 3.5 / Music - 2 / Fusion – 3

17.  Over Drive – WINDER ~Boku wa Koko ni Iru~ by Shonen Kamikaze (link)

While the actual show looks awful the animation seems to be quite good, although the character designs are dated. The song has grown on me, but doesn’t seem to suit the mood of the show.

Animation – 3.5 / Music – 3.5 / Fusion – 2

18.  Romeo × Juliet – Inori ~You Raise Me Up~ by Lena Park (link)

Gonzo, please stop it! This does absolutely nothing for me, although the animation isn’t bad. The song is something like torture for me, a bad cover of a bad song. The animation and music also seem totally out of touch.

Animation – 2.5 / Music - 1 / Fusion – 1

19.  Seirei no Moribito – Shine by L’Arc-en-Ciel (link)

Aside from the slight engrish and drab character designs this is actually quite appealing to me. The song doesn’t reach out and grab me but it’s nice. The animation seems to be of good quality and makes me want to find out more about the show.

Animation – 3.5 / Music – 3 / Fusion – 4

20.  Seto no Hanayome – Romantic summer by SUN&LUNAR (link)

This seems to be somewhat of a niche show but not quite as bad as I initially thought. The animation has a reasonably unique style and the song was energetic and fun.

Animation – 3 / Music – 3 / Fusion – 3

21.  Shining Tears X Wind – Shining Tears by Souichiro Hoshi (link)

Oh dear, just how far have Sega fallen from grace. If anyone is watching this you have my sympathy. I don’t have anything nice to say about this, it was just abysmal.

Animation - 1 / Music - 1 / Fusion - 1

22.  Shinkyoku Soukai Polyphonica – Apocrypha by eufonius (link)

All I saw were mecha instruments and boobs. The animation was passable, the song was bland. It got slightly better as it went on but falls far below average.

Animation - 2.5 / Music - 1.5 / Fusion – 2

23.  Sisters of Wellber – Theme of Wellber by Akio Dobashi (link)

Surely that should be the ED? Nice animation, stupidly out of place music. I’m a sucker for background animation and it seemed quite nice in that OP, although the characters once again seem very dull.

Animation – 3 / Music - 1.5 / Fusion – 1

24.  sola – colorless wind by Aira Yuki (link)

Going head to head with Shining Tears x Wind for most feathers in an OP! The animation was good but got worse towards the end. The song was standard but I enjoyed it. Plus points for a nice umbrella.

Animation – 3 / Music – 3.5 / Fusion – 3.5

25.  Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann – Sorairo Days by Shoko Nakagawa (link)

Saving the best for last? Definitely. Brilliant animation, both character and background design. Really good song, great riffs and nice vocal. Music and animation in harmony and portray the show very well.

Animation - 4.5 / Music - 4.5 / Fusion – 5

Awards

Most Surprising OP – Lovely Complex (Very enjoyable, I now want to see the show)

Most Surprising Song - Bokurano (Uninstall has lovely vocals and subtle backing music)

Most Surprising Artist - Claymore (I never liked a Nightmare song before but Raison D’être is just great )

Most Surprising Animation - Over Drive (Animated much better than I thought it would be)

Worst OP - Shining Tears X Wind (Poor animation, awful song. Nothing more to say)

Worst Song - Romeo x Juliet (Inori~You Raise Me Up~ Bad song, bad cover. Not my thing)

Worst Animation - Heroic Age (The first episode was ok, this OP looks nothing like the show)

Best  OP – Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann (This OP captrues the atmosphere of the show more than any other)

Best  Song – Darker than BLACK (HOWLING, the song with the most variety and the one that sticks in your mind)

Best  Animation – Darker than BLACK (While I prefer GAINAX visual style, BONES is clearly better)

Aftermath

Not to many surprises for the best and worst awards but there were a few shows which were not even on my radar that now seem quite appealing. Noteworthy OP’s are Seirei no Moribito, sola and Lucky Star. None of those quite did enough for any kind of award but I enjoyed them all more than I thought I would.

The figures show that quality of animation was marginally better, overall, than the quality of the music. Lots of shows fell in to the mid range with very few standing out, either positively or negatively. Most shows fused the animation and music together well in order to represent the given show.

Conclusion

This was a fun little project which I am glad to have finished. I apologise if you read it half way through when I messed up the html or while there were some other mistakes. This was indeed far more work than I thought it would be, it may not look like much but most of my hours at the PC this weekend were absorbed by this.

Hopefully some of you will enjoy it, although i’m sure some won’t. If any of the facts are wrong please let me know and I will correct them. If you have an opinion about any of the OP’s or my views please share them in the comments. This was a valuable experience for me, if not for this feature I wouldn’t have bothered looking at 80% of these shows. I now feel like I know a little more about the series this season.

Looking back I would have liked to put more time and detail in to this. I would have been happier if I could watch each OP in downloaded form and take some screenshots. I would have liked to put in more detailed explanations and ratings. These will be things for me to take in to account if I attempt this again.

I’m also aware that it became more of an awards contest than a chart, I may go through each show later and number them in order to their success.

For now, I’m off to relax.