Top Anime Openings Ranked by Fans

Here is a multi-article list featuring the best visual or musical intros currently recognized as the greatest in the anime world.

This is not an official ranking, as it’s impossible to include every anime, and it depends on fans’ votes that constantly change.
This article only covers the first part of the list (10 animes), with future articles completing the rest.

Feel free to comment below: What’s your favorite intro and why?

Cowboy Bebop (1998)

• Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hfOyOBHIq4
• Review: Undoubtedly the greatest anime opening of all time. A killer jazz track that slaps. In fact, the entire Cowboy Bebop soundtrack is legendary, adding tremendous value to the anime – though visually it has aged somewhat, its unique universe remains full of charm.
• About: 2071, Following an accident on the Moon, life on planet Earth became impossible. Humanity was forced to depart and colonize other planets. This exodus created chaos across the universe, giving free rein to the most dangerous criminals – a perfect playground for bounty hunters. Among them: the Bebop, a spaceship home to Spike Spiegel and Jet Black.

Dandadan (2024)

• Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4na2opArGY
• Review: A visual masterpiece
• About: Momo believes in spirits, while Ken only swears by aliens. Unable to convince each other, they make a bet: Momo must visit a hospital infested with extraterrestrials, and Ken a haunted tunnel… But what they encounter will defy their expectations, intertwining their fates in ways neither could imagine.

Spice and Wolf (2008)

• Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MN_WgwEmRaw
• Review: A magnificent opening – deeply melancholic and perfectly matched to the series. For anyone seeking adventure/romance, look no further: Spice and Wolf is truly exceptional, offering remarkably mature storytelling, dialogue, and character development.
• About: Lawrence is a traveling merchant who trades furs and goods. Due to his work, he returns to the village of Pasroe during the harvest festival. Unlike the rest of the country, the villagers are pagans who worship a wolf deity: Horo. Legend says a pact was forged between humans and wolves to ensure proper wheat reaping once the crops reached perfect maturity.
  But with new farming methods invented, the villagers no longer struggle to harvest wheat. Over time, they stopped taking the legend seriously—and eventually ceased believing in Horo’s existence altogether.
  As Lawrence prepares to leave the village, he discovers a young woman with wolf ears and tail hiding in the back of his wagon.

Elfen Lied (2004)

• Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nl4zXuMeT6g
• Review: Elfen Lied’s opening is extremely melancholic yet visually and musically stunning – truly brilliant. It perfectly sets the anime’s tone of devastating sadness. I strongly discourage watching this if you’re going through a tough or depressive period. But if you’re in a good place mentally? Go for it! Worst case, you’ll only be depressed for a few days 🙂 In my humble opinion, this anime is criminally underrated on SC.
• About: Lucy, a Diclonius (a mutant with extremely dangerous powers created by humans), is held in a high-security laboratory where experiments are conducted on these superhuman beings. After an accident occurs, she manages to escape—brutally slaughtering anyone in her path. Once outside the facility, a sniper lands a direct headshot, sending her plummeting into the ocean.

Fullmetal Alchemist : Brotherhood (2009)

• Link 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShEAiFqkY0Ea
  Link 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HusCOOG9e5Q
  Link 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRA5gsdCf4c
• Review: First opening, first knockout punch. Energetic, epic – what more could you want from an adventure anime OP? Nothing! Just sit back and listen! Special shoutout to OP5’s chorus at 0:41.
  If you’re desperately searching for an adventure anime, and stereotypical dumb shonen like Naruto make you rage, then watch FMA: Brotherhood instead: epic journey, brilliant plot, complex protagonists, sharp dialogue, and tight-as-hell fight scenes. What more could anyone want?
• About: In the country of Amestris, Edward and Alphonse Elric journey across the land in search of the Philosopher’s Stone—hoping to restore their bodies, lost after their failed attempt to resurrect their deceased mother.

Death Note (2006)

• Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdGOV8FX6F4
• Review: Let’s talk about Death Note’s ultra-epic opening. It’s brilliant—end of story. Just listen! As for the anime? It’s phenomenal… until, well… you’ll see why it goes downhill around episode 20
• About: Light Yagami is a brilliant high school student who stumbles upon a notebook that turns out to belong to a Shinigami (Death God)! He quickly uncovers the notebook’s terrifying power…

Domestic Girlfriend (2019)

• Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ua5UARWRYLA
• Review: Couldn’t care less about the anime, BUT the music (by Minami) is absolutely fire.
  I’ll scream it from the rooftops – go listen to all of Minami’s albums and EPs. That woman’s voice is pure magic, and her flow? Chef’s kiss.
• About: Madly in love with his homeroom teacher Hina, young Natsuo Fujii desperately tries to forget this impossible romance. In this state, he meets Rui, a girl his own age, and spends the night with her. But love and chance often create unexpected situations – especially when his father’s remarriage forces him to live with two new stepsisters: Hina and Rui. Now, how can he possibly coexist with both the woman he loves and the girl he had a fling with

BOKURANO (2007)

• Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1nrkeZ5yFs
• Review: A magnificent opening – deeply melancholic (just read the lyrics and you’ll understand) that fits PERFECTLY with the desperate spirit of this brilliant anime.
  Seriously, Bokurano is the best psychological anime I’ve ever seen. Check out my full review for more juicy details!”
• About: Wanting to spend more time together, fifteen kids meet at the beach after school. Before heading home, they decide to explore a nearby cave. To their surprise, they find several powered-on computers inside. Before they can even take a closer look, a shady man enters the cavern. He explains that he uses this place to develop his game—a story about eliminating fifteen invaders using a giant robot. To prove his claims, he invites them to test the beta version. All agree with varying degrees of enthusiasm… except Kana, the youngest of the group.
  Suddenly, they find themselves forced to pilot a giant robot to protect humanity—quickly realizing this is no game. One wrong move could cost them their lives… and those of thousands of others.

GTO : Great Teacher Onizuka (1999)

• Link 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoGODrn-T7U
  Link 2 Full OP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJeEtEZYIag
  Link 3 (also cool): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDh3D2ewiNs
  Link 4 Ending: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDh3D2ewiNs
• Review: Rocking opening. Absolutely killer – no notes except the chorus (0:50 onward) goes HARD. The animation slaps and perfectly captures the MC’s personality 😉
  Now let’s talk GTO – the ULTIMATE slice-of-life anime. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, but mostly you’ll follow this dumbass, slacker teacher and his class through insane school shenanigans. It’s the character growth that makes GTO unforgettable. A must-watch!
• About: Onizuka, a former delinquent, sets out to become the ultimate teacher – with his own unique approach to education..

Samurai Champloo (2004)

• Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TILn0KWExqM
  Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTWz7ugif-Y
• Review: Samurai Champloo comes from the same creator as Cowboy Bebop, and it shows. Why? Because you get deeply nuanced protagonists in a batshit-crazy world—all backed by a god-tier soundtrack. Welcome to Edo-era Japan with samurai… and fucking hip-hop beats! The opening nails it 😉
• About: Fuu is searching for the samurai who smells of sunflowers. After saving both Mugen and Jin, she manages to convince them to join her quest.

Don’t forget you can follow the rest of this list in the next post just here !!!