Playlist: The Case to Make Anime Opening Themes the Soundtrack to Your Life

Can they be ridiculous sometimes? Sure, but Japanese animation wouldn’t be the same without the excessive positivity of its opening music. It’s nice to walk around with a bit of cheesy optimism sometimes.

Written by Wonjune Lee

Illustrated by Micaela Galvez

Saying that there is a formula to anime opening sequences would be a staggering understatement. Usually, they highlight the most impressive animation work in the whole show, with fast-paced action or intricate dance sequences featuring dozens of characters. They’re meant to be short and sweet eye candy that catches the audience’s attention. As a result, the vast majority of anime openings are upbeat and cheerful, with the music that accompanies them playing a huge part in creating the mood.

The anime opening sequence formula dates all the way back to the beginning of the Japanese anime phenomenon in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. Openings for shows like “Mobile Suit Gundam” and “Astro Boy” are early examples that featured the typically intricate action and upbeat music. The trend continued through the ‘90s and ‘00s as anime began to enter mainstream culture outside of Japan, and the tradition lives on to this day.

The formula of anime openings has become such a staple of the medium itself that it turned into  something of a meme in recent years, with videos poking fun at their excessive positivity and hectic atmosphere by adapting other forms of media in that style. (The Drake and Josh Anime intro comes to mind.) It’s music that’s meant to rile up an audience for a story about to be told. Regardless of what that narrative ends up being, and frankly, there’s something attractive about the idea of being excited for something — even if that something ends up being a story about a child soldier’s traumatizing journey through an intergalactic war where he slowly loses faith in the good of humanity.

So yeah, the world’s a pretty terrible place to be in sometimes, and it can feel like we’re all just waiting for the next terrible thing to jump out from around the corner, but we can at least get excited for thirty seconds of unadulterated, childish positivity before the ads eventually roll. That’s got to be a pretty good attitude to have, right? And there’s no music better suited for living in the moment than anime opening themes. Here’s a playlist of some of our favorites.