Thread by @_ibcf_

gonna post some of my favorite animated OPs

“ureshii yokan” (1995) from chibi maruko-chan
animator: masaaki yuasa

i’ve posted this one a couple times already and i will happily post it again. you can never have too much yuasa animation! incidentally momoko sakura herself wrote the lyrics to this

“humming ga kikoeru” (1996) from chibi maruko-chan

animator: hideyuki funakoshi, who also animated the “dangdut reggae” and “b-class dancing” segments in “chibi maruko-chan: my favorite song.” impressively this goes beyond even the yuasa OPs in sheer trippiness

tokimeki tonight (1982)

animator: gisaburo sugii, director of “night on the galactic railroad.” not much actual animation here but the song and designs are super catchy. the show is fun too and i urge you to check it out

patlabor: early days OVAs (1988)

animators: hiroyuki gouda, hiroyuki kitakubo, shinji hashimoto, takahiro kishida, possibly others. you can see exactly who did what on sakugabooru! sakugabooru.com/post?tags=mobi…

apparently hiroyuki kitakubo took an exceptionally long time to animate his sequence and didn't follow the char designs, which may have something to do with noa's hair mysteriously being black in his shots

kiznaiver (2016)
kengo saito, yuuto kaneko, akira amemiya, hideki nakagawa, hiroyuki imaishi, masaru sakamoto, yuki watanabe

that’s a lot more animators than i expected. yes it’s pretty much just the main characters striking poses but the song and kaleidoscope effects are so rad

lupin part 2 (second OP, 1978)
animator(s) unknown

how 70’s can you get? super cool colors and layouts. sakuga wiki says yuzo aoki storyboarded this, and maybe animated parts of it too(?) it sure looks like his work

lupin part 2 (fourth OP, 1979)
animator: yuzo aoki

aoki did everything on this one for sure. i like how cartoony and classy it is at the same time

lupin part 3 (second OP, 1985)

PRESUMABLY animated by yuzo aoki, though i haven’t seen a direct source on this. at any rate it’s my favorite lupin OP, and quite possibly my favorite animated OP of all time. pure cartoony goodness

kaiba (2008)
animators: kenichi yamaguchi, takayuki hamada, and yuichiro sueyoshi

after a few eps into the show this OP consistently made me want to cry. the feels man, the feels

miyuki (1983)
animator(s) unknown

i’ve only seen one episode of this. but mitsuru adachi’s character designs sure are appealing and the song and visuals in this OP sure are nice. i should watch more and also all those later TAC adachi adaptations

bugs bunny show (1960)
animator: gerry chiniquy

is there any animated intro more iconic and enduring than this one? tragically most of the show’s original bridging sequences continue to be missing, and may well be lost forever

mickey mouse club (1955)
animator(s) unknown

the MMC wasn’t strictly a cartoon but this is one of the earliest animated TV show openings and may well have started the grand tradition. in typical disney fashion it is very majestic and lengthy (too long for twitter in fact, sorry)

heartcatch precure! (2010)
animator(s) unknown

with the hella catchy song and umakoshi character designs, this opening is very good at making you hyped for MAGICAL GIRL ACTION. surprised i can’t figure out who animated it though, maybe i’m not looking in the right places…

tottemo! luckyman OP 2 (1994)
animator: yoshinori kanada

unsubbed show about a superhero with the power of incredible luck. this OP is one of my favorite things kanada has done, i will never get tired of it

underdog (1964)
animator(s): unknown

pretty sure the theme song is the main reason this show is remembered

tom terrific (1957)
animator(s): unknown

gene deitch’s pioneering tv classic, with contributions by the likes of jules feiffer and jim tyer. imo deitch’s firing from terrytoons was one of the worst things to happen to US animation

the alvin show (1961)
animator(s): unknown

back when alvin was good. features very nice art direction by jules engel (of UPA fame) and a wonderful opening number

moeru! onii-san (1988)
animator: masayuki

also known as “the burning wild man” in english, though i wonder why anyone bothered translating the title because it’s never had english subs. masayuki is a well-known gainax dude but seems most of his animation work was done in the 80s

cattanooga cats (1969)
animator(s): unknown

the show itself looks pretty bad but this OP is a real groovy thang! love the nanke-esque cutout dance animation

Alfred J. Kwak (1989)
animator(s): unknown

you’ll never keep a good duck down! a dutch-german-japanese co-pro that's seemingly famous everywhere except the good ol' USA. i need to actually sit down and watch it sometime

count duckula (1988)
animator(s): unknown

british duck vampire. i like cartoons about ducks. the thriller-like music adds so much

arthur & the square knights of the round table (1966)
animator(s): unknown

australian show directed by zoran janjic, former zagreb animator and later head of hanna-barbera's australian division. and what wild animation! did zoran bring that style? more research is clearly needed

mrs. pepper pot (1983)
animator: koji nanke

nanke not only did the OP but designed the adorable characters for the whole show! that alone should be enough reason to see it

anmitsu hime (1986)
animator: koji nanke

another show with nanke character designs, and no english subs. looks like there’s sakuga and good storyboard/direction by the likes of ryutaro nakamura so i hope this injustice is remedied soon

gosenzou-sama banbanzai (1989)
animator: koji nanke

it’s all hand-drawn.

kyoro-chan OP 2 (2000)
animator: koji nanke

show featuring the ChocoBall bird mascot (japan’s equivalent of the cocoa puffs bird?) @animegolem believes this “might be the best OP ever made” and it’s easy to see why. just watch it

urusei yatsura OP 3 (1984)
animator: koji nanke

every UY OP is good so i had a heck of a time choosing one. OP 3 might be the most nanke-ish of the nanke OPs so it seems like a good representative (though the still lum illustrations are by series character designer akemi takada)

ranma 1/2 OP 4 (1990)
animator: koji nanke

everything about this OP is fantastic. definitely in my top 10. nanke is just too good

the gutsy frog (1972)
animator(s) unknown

this show is known for its wild animation but i’d also like to note how pleasantly low-key and stylish the BGs are, esp in this OP. the singer (susumu ishikawa) also did the voice of pero in toei’s “puss in boots,” if you couldn’t tell

gamba no bouken (1975)
animator(s) unknown

top tier dezaki and also top tier A Pro. i love this super stylized and high-energy OP

flying warped boy (1984)
animator(s) unknown

crazy gag show that is unfortunately more or less “lost media” at present. and that’s a shame because this OP is wicked

hustle punch (1965)
animator(s) unknown

hoodlum animal kids launch savage attack on innocent motorists! this opening was directed by none other than isao takahata

panda kopanda (1972)
animator(s) unknown

pandas via takahata/miyazaki and the A Pro crew. what’s not to love?

serial experiments lain (1998)
animators: akihito yamashita, hidenori matsubara, hirofumi suzuki, kouichi arai, tokuyuki matsutake, tomokazu tokoro, toshiyuki tsuru

PRESENT DAY! PRESENT TIME! one of the anime that got me into anime, and this OP played a big part in that

by the way i’d like to take this opportunity to remind you that the director of lain (ryutaro nakamura) also directed a film called “tomcat’s big adventure” which has yet to be screened in the united states or publicly released online or otherwise

the first ranma OP is another good one that inexplicably has no animator credit (and no, it probably isn't nanke). at least we know tomomi mochizuki directed it

https://twitter.com/_ibcf_/status/1067278792127787009

the society of deadly ninja monks hell-bent on keeping the identity of the first ranma OP's animator a secret