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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.
Ah Death Note. Great series really. An intelligent suspense, the plot revolves around two characters who are attempting to one up each other in a manner similar to Sherlock and Moriarty. Light Yagami a genius high school student gets near godlike powers enabling him to kill anyone he chooses by writing their names down in a notebook coined the "deathnote". He then begins to systematically purge society of criminals. The other character known simply as L, is a young eccentric genius who solves crimes and is trying to bring Light to justice. Their battle of wits and ploys kept myself entertained for the better part of a season and a half.
Since the series has two seasons it has two OP's. The first season OP is hardly worth mentioning. It is generic in every sense and is mostly composed of silhouettes of the characters walking or looking serious. The music is also unremarkable. It was actually quite hard to find an OP of the first season amongst the torrent of second season submissions but I did. It is attached below after the post, in case your curiosity is piqued.
The second season OP has a dramatic shift in character reflecting perhaps the growing popularity of the series. No longer generic, the opening focuses instead on the quaint peculiarities of each character, and Lights descent into madness. Anyone familiar with the characters from the first season can appreciate the references to the characters. The music has improved greatly as well. The opening theme is "What's Up, People?" by Maximum the Hormone. Saying the music is catchy would be an understatement.
Monday, March 07, 2011
Website Admin
Posted in: Anime,Editorial,Not That Guy
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