In many cases, OPs and EDs are just as essential to anime as the show itself. Whether it's to get you in the mood, set the tone, or just be addicting to watch and listen too, I consider these essential to the viewing experience.
Granted, some shows handle these better than others. Thus, here are my favorite OPs and EDs of Winter 2018. As tends to be the case with anime, trying to upload these to YouTube results in region blocking. However, if you want to watch or even download them for yourselves, just click the song title in each category. It'll take you right to it. With that, let's get started!
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OPs
Ne! Ne! Ne! - STARTails✩ (Slow Start)
My first favorite isn't really anything particularly special. In fact, some may call it par for the course. I'd even go so far as to say that I'm starting to get tired of OPs with the voice actors singing them. However, this OP does what OPs do best; setting the mood for the show.
With a nice guitar riff and JPop hook to start us off, the music sets in nicely with the pace of this OP as it shows of the main cast before the camera slams into Hana's forehead to reveal the title. As we go into the verse we get some more profile shots and interactions between the girls before leading into the other cast members.
The OP starts to break away from the standard as we head into the chorus, and it's here we get a nice look at some of the girls' profiles. First is Hana with her pink style, with touches of the show around her like the leek umbrella, teddy bears, and sakura petal globe she got as birthday gifts. Next is Tamate's which shows off her love of cooking and preference with being called Tama-chan.
After a brief break with Hana's death by pancakes, we have Eiko's profile focusing on her hairclips with candies and notebook in tow. After this somewhat boring profile we get Kamuri's showing off her love of food, piano, and Eiko. Ending off with some like lipsyncing, and we've got an OP that every part as cute as the show it precedes. Simple as it may be, this OP succeeds in doing what it intends to do, and I enjoy watching it every time.
POP TEAM EPIC - Sumire Uesaka (PopTeamEpic)
While I enjoy them when they come around, OPs don't need to have a story or deeper symbolism in them. Sometimes an OP can just have a catchy hook and visual beat. POP TEAM EPIC has that in spades.
Matching the chaotic nature of the show and source material, this OP starts off with flipping through various "channels" on a CRT before being smashed in with a spiked bat. This live-action touch also highlights the flexibility of the show's medium.
After panning across animated manga panels reminscent of PopTeamEpic's roots, the verse highlights various abstract effects and animations featuring Popuko and Pipimi before gliding into the chorus. Here we some more live-action touches and pictures and drawings from various cultures as Popuko and Pipimi rotate around the typography.
This concludes with a similar effect as Popuko and Pipimi walk towards the camera before zooming out of a new CRT. An extremely catchy electronic beat accompanies the whole OP and is incredibly easy to get stuck in your head. Bringing it all together, this OP is easily a standout, but there's only one I liked better.
Flashback - Miyavi vs. KenKen (Kokkoku -Moment to Moment-)
My favorite OP of the season does an excellent job combining visual effects and symbolism with some incredible music. Quite fitting for a thematically appropriate show.
Flashback has a similar chaotic nature to POP TEAM EPIC, but it almost psychadelic presentation and typography makes it a standout. This is punctuated by its symbolism surrounding Makoto's family and their association with the frozen world. It also does a great job highlighting the creepiness of the Handler.
I only wish it was a bit more involved in telling its own story, but the focus on such abstract visuals is intentional. Will there be more to this OP? Probably. As the show progresses, the little hints and symbolism will like become more tangible. Regardless, it's still a great watch for its sheer uniqueness and quite fitting as my favorite.
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EDs
PRIMALove - ClariS (Beatless)
Let me get this out of the way; the story of this ED is not good. It has the same flaw that many EDs do when it comes to female casts. Even if they're tangentially related to the story, be sure to show the girls being cute! (Darling in the FRANXX comes to mind as another example this season)
Showcasing Yuka almost exclusively (you know... Arato's little sister? The girl that gets the second-most screentime after the power gap that is Lacia?), PRIMALove does have two things going for it. The art, while mostly stills, is at least pleasant.
More importantly (and the reason i'm including it as one of my favorite EDs), the music is excellent! A song by ClariS? With kz as producer and arranger? That's a shoe-in for me!
That's all I got really. As I said in my Meh post; I'm a sucker for ClariS.
Ref:rain - Aimer (After the Rain)
Having equally as invoking music as PRIMALove with better visuals, Ref:rain is a strikingly emotional ED. This love ballad starts out with a fitting dreary shot of a field track drenched in rain. The presentation during the verse is mainly the movement of the water and the umbrella, with the only flourish being line art of Akira moving across the screen.
While simple, these visuals do develop as the ED transitions into the chorus. Leading up to it, the umbrella disappears and the rain stops. From here, the song ramps up its composition and the singer's voice grows even more soulful. In time with the change, the shining sun causes the water on the track to evaporate with the same bubbly effect Akira experiences when her heart flutters.
There's not much else visually invoking to this ED, but it ends nicely with Akira's full line art profile being filled in by rotating layers of watercolor and a waterdrop falling from her umbrella. The music is what really sells Ref:rain. The composition of the art may not be involved, but it matches thematically. However, there's one ED this season that does both incredibly well.
Jewelry - Saori Hayami (Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card)
After watching the OP and the actual show, I wasn't really expecting anything special about Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card's ED. In fact, the first 10 seconds would lead you to believe that. However, the moment the lyrics kick in is when Jewelry gets special.
This ED is hands-down the best animated anything this season. Every frame is lovingly drawn with nice touches like removing hard lines on Sakura's hands to simulate motion blur and flowing waves on her dress as she comes to a stop. Thematically, it captures quite a bit of the main characters' personalities and looks lovely to boot.
It would be nice if the whole ED could be at this level, but the few moments of panning over still art retain the same lovely quality. Overall, Jewelry is an excellent example of an ED, one that makes me want to watch it every time. And that's something quite rare of EDs for me.
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And there we have it, my favorite OPs and EDs of Winter 2018. This was a bit of an unexpected stop-gap in my impressions of the season, but these lovely songs inspired me to include this. Don't worry, I'll have plenty of time to gripe and be negative with the next post. Keep an eye out for my Worst Anime of Winter 2018!
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