Dude. We’re not going to get anymore AoT openings after this. No more bangers to look forward to.
In terms of anime OPs, Attack on Titan really is a titan (heh heh, get it?) of the industry. Each one is a unique and effective combination of amazing music and creative, meaningful visuals. Just about all of them have become memes to one degree or another.
However, not even these are all created equals. There are some clear highlights among them. So I did the only logical thing to do: I created a tier list.
S tier: OP1 Guren no Yumiya, OP6 My War, OP7 The Rumbling
A tier: OP3 Shinzou wo Sasageyo, OP4 Red Swan
C tier: OP5 Shoukei to Shikabane no Michi
D tier: Jiyuu no Tsubasa
I wonder how many people are gonna want my blood for these.
I feel like I don’t need to explain why Guren no Yumiya is in S tier. It’s the first OP of the series. The shit is downright iconic. The song is amazing, the visuals are stunning, and it perfectly captures the tone of the first season. It’s exciting, it’s tense, it’s kind of horrifying, and it gets your blood pumping. Easily one of the best anime OPs of all time.
As for the second OP… Yeah, I don’t think a lot of people will argue this one, either. Jiyuu no Tsubasa is really disappointing. The song is forgettable and the visuals, while decent, aren’t nearly as subtle or interesting as any of the other OPs. For fuck’s sake, this opening is a great big spoiler! D tier for you, Jiyuu no Tsubasa.
Not that the mystery it’s spoiling is all that difficult to figure out.
I nearly put OP3, Shinzou wo Sasageyo, in S tier. It’s got one of the best songs of the lot and it has some truly incredible visuals. I still sometimes find myself muttering the lyrics while I’m in the shower! My problem with it is that it doesn’t really match the tone of the second season. Season two is a dark horror-mystery story. Yet this OP wants to get your blood pumping like it’s season one! Which is fine, but it doesn’t fit the tone of the season, so it goes into A tier.
Similarly, I nearly put Red Swan into S tier as well. It’s more quiet and somber tone matches the season it’s attached to better than action packed thrills and it has some really incredible visuals. Initially, I wasn’t a fan, but this one really grew on me. My only real problem is more personal than critical; I find the song to be less easy to listen to on repeat than the others. It’s a great song, but I can only really stand hearing it once or twice before I’m done. Still, it is deserving of a spot in the A tier.
Does anyone even remember Shoukei to Shikabane no Michi? Seriously, it is such a forgettable opening! The song is just about on the same quality as Jiyuu no Tsubasa; fine, but not interesting or even that exciting. The visuals are fairly creative and capture the frantic tone of this part of the story really well, but none of them really stick out in my mind. The only shot I can really recall is the basement tease right at the end. Not a terrible OP, but not an incredibly interesting one. C tier.
Now we get into the season four openings. And personally, I think these two are among the best in the series. Hence why both of them are S tier.
My War perfectly captures the tonal change of the series. It isn’t trying to create a sense of excitement. Rather, it’s going all-in on dread and horror. It’s visuals are absolutely stunning and delightfully vague, capturing the new focus of the story while not giving too much away. Not to mention that My War is easily my favorite song out of all of these. I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve listened to it.
Then there’s The Rumbling, the latest and last OP. You may argue it’s too soon to put this one at S tier. And I hear your argument. And I disagree with it.
As the final opening of the series, I think The Rumbling is perfect. The visuals are absolutely stunning, reflecting on how far we’ve come and how dramatically things have changed. The song perfectly captures the sense of doom and tragedy the story is building up to. Not to mention that the song is a god damn jam; I can’t wait for the full song to come out.
Also, we already got a pretty solid meme with the Eren screaming shot. So it’s already a classic.
And that’s my list. If you disagree, that’s cool. It’s just my totally objectively correct opinion. Feel free to share your different completely wrong one.
If I have to explain that that was a joke, I’m gonna do a Rumbling in real life, I swear to god.
Jonah's Daily Rants 