Not That Guy - Favorite Anime OPs Part 1 - Higashi no Eden (Eden of the East)

I have been struggling to find a way to present my favorite anime openings (OP's) and closings. Originally I was set on making custom video content to discus and play the openings but at 15 minutes that would require that I would need to cut out a lot of the scene and dwell very little on each opening. So this is my solution; I will blog it. Each anime opening getting its own blog entry. This way I can talk and talk and then link you or maybe even embed the OP directly on the page, everyone wins.


In the genre of anime the openings are a serious component. Any anime worth their salt will put substantial effort into a polished opening sequence. While in the American market we treat openings somewhat like a book cover, something appreciated but nothing to judge by, for the anime an opening is often used as the first judgment of a series. It is the chance to not only  illustrate the visual appeal and aesthetics but also gives the viewer an indication of the quality of the audio through their choice of soundtracks. In a genre where the visual and audio style can make or break a series the opening serves a vital role of promoting their creation. In many of the examples that I will be covering, you will be left with a strong impression of how you feel about the specific anime just from the OP's. The beauty of this though is, that often, this impression is correct.

Higashi no Eden (Eden of the East)

The plot of Higashi no Eden starts out with a setting suspiciously similar to the Born Identity. Akira Takizawa has lost his memory and finds himself in Washington DC in front of the White House wearing nothing and possessing only a handgun in one hand a a cell phone with 8.2 billion yen in the other. In the mess that ensues he meets up with Saki Morimi a Japanese girl Visiting Washington for her graduation trip. Together they return to Japan to find out what his purpose is.

The opening song is "Falling Down" performed by Oasis. Despite ones feeling for the band, the choice of music style coupled with animation worked well together. Two versions were produced, one full length for the music video and one shortened for the anime. In both openings plot relevant text and scenes are flashed throughout the entire sequence and the style of anime is clearly visible throughout, although it is worth noting that the character drawings were edited into black silhouette for the music video. The way they incorporate the missile into the name is a nice touch too. I do feel that they overuse text throughout the OP, however I suspect they might be relying on the English language looking at least a bit jumbled to the Japanese viewer. Overall it is a masterful usage of music and animation and represents the anime well.

Short Version (Length 1:20 min)

Long Version (Length 4:27 min) Sometimes it feels like it never ends and over uses the hands a bit but its still a nice sequence. I personally enjoy the mountains.

Higashi no Eden is no stranger to quality. It is a great anime by all counts so it is no surprise that it also has a greatt end credit as well. The song is "Futuristic imagination" by a Japanese band 'School Food Punishment'. It is a neat use of stop motion animation using paper, pencils and a little bit of CGI (but not much surprisingly). Its also kinda cute.

----------
Be sure to like or share any links or videos you've enjoyed with the widget below.
FreakandNitro dot com's facebook fanpage

Posted in: Anime,Editorial,Not That Guy