The medium of anime is easily one of the most popular and beloved forms of entertainment around. The wide swath of genres covered by this medium means that pretty much everyone will have a show to watch that caters to their interests. This, coupled with the beautiful animation and stunning direction makes anime such an amazing thing to behold at times.
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One of the many ways to judge the quality of a series is through their openings, colloquially known by fans as OPs. Usually shows with terrible OPs set the tone for the rest of the series in terms of quality, but there are a few notable exceptions to this rule.
7 "What's Up, People?!" By Maximum The Hormone — Death Note
Death Note is one of the most popular anime of all time. Everything from the incredibly tense scenarios to the duality of the main characters helps the show stand out in a class of its own. The fact that the first opening of this anime is also a visual and auditory treat is just icing on the cake
However, the second opening absolutely falls short. The loud vocals coupled with the unnecessarily violent ending to the song makes it a rather hard OP to sit through at times. Unless the person watching Death Note is into death metal or at least appreciates it to some extent, they might find it hard to like the second opening of Death Note as much as they loved "The WORLD".
6 "Jiyuu No Tsubasa" By Linked Horizon — Attack On Titan
The second OP of Attack on Titan, "Jiyuu No Tsubasa" is quite a stinker for many fans of the series. This OP was pretty much destined for failure from the get-go, given the fact that it came hot on the heels of one of the best anime OPs of all time, "Guren No Gumiya".
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Expectations were definitely high from the second OP of a brilliant show and "Jiyuu No Tsubasa" definitely didn't make the cut in that regard. It's not absolutely terrible, but it doesn't fit the high standards of this otherwise iconic show.
5 "Hitomi No Tsubasa" By Access — Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion
For a show as beloved as Code Geass, it's hard to imagine that one of its OPs was of such staggeringly low quality.
Ardent anime viewers who end up seeing this OP for the first time won't be faulted for thinking that this opening was reserved for a visual novel. It features some of the drabbest animation ever seen in an anime OP, which is a shame given the immense popularity of Code Geass. At least this OP is only reserved for the final two episodes of the anime.
4 "Chase" By Batta — JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is easily one of the most popular anime of all time. David Production has put their all into developing an anime that genuinely does justice by its legendary source material and becomes an unforgettable watch. This is especially true when it comes to JoJo's OPs, which are certainly great in their own right, save for one exception.
Diamond is Unbreakable is considered by many to be the best arc covered by the JoJo anime, but one of its OPs is so atrocious that most people can rightfully bring the whole series down a notch for its lackluster quality. "Chase" feels like an unnecessarily chaotic OP that doesn't really do justice to the high standards set by Diamond is Unbreakable. The fact that it follows hot on the heels of the beloved "Crazy Noisy Bizarre Town" certainly doesn't help things either.
3 "It's All In The Game" By Qyoto — Boruto
Boruto might've had a rocky start as an anime, but one can't deny that the show has come into its own with recent developments. That being said, the anime didn't really do itself any favors during the early going, with lackluster animation and boring plotlines scattered all across a series brimming with potential.
The problems of the series can be personified with the third OP, "It's All In The Game." The visuals present in this OP are bland and don't really do anything to invoke any interest in the viewer about what is to come.
2 "Believe It" By Jungle Crew And Silvia Orlandi — Naruto
Naruto has stood as one of the greatest shonen anime of all time. The OPs from the original showing of Naruto and Naruto Shippuden have been absolutely stellar, with a few exceptions that aren't even all that bad anyway.
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However, it's the poor German OP for Naruto that is worth laughing at. "Believe It" feels like a fan song written by schoolchildren, with lyrics that are abysmal at worst and hilarious at its best. The fact that the visuals accompanying this OP also feel absolutely random certainly doesn't help here either.
1 "The Pirate Rap" By Freshco — One Piece
It would be impossible to talk about the worst OPs of all time without mentioning the infamous Pirate Rap from the 4Kids Entertainment dub of One Piece. It's a testament to how horrible the 4Kids adaptation of One Piece really was that this OP is actually a highlight of it!
The song is full to the brim with cringy lines and mispronounced names (calling Zoro "Zolo" is one such example) that make it such an insufferable watch. This OP has made it clear as day for everyone to see that rapping in an anime opening without the skills to back it up is pretty much a recipe for disaster.
Next: Anime Theme Songs That Rock Harder Than Their Shows
