I felt sorry for the remaining five, so I’m changing this post to Top 10 OPs of 2009!

More OPs, more fun, amirite?

I said bye bye to all my PSD image files *sob*, so I had to create new headers and whatnot. I think it turned out better than I expected ;) I also changed the previous Best ED post to fit the theme.

Enough of my depressing techno babble, onwards to the opening sequences! As usual, I judged them based on the relevance to the show, artistic prowess, entertainment value, and of course music. So here we go!

+ Well well if it isn’t the OP everyone’s talking about, many parodies were made too.
+ KyoAni = nice animation. That’s all we need to know.

+ There’s never enough of Clamp, Madhouse and Sakamoto Maaya goodness in this world.
+ The keyword here is pleasant. Brings you back to the Card Captor days.

+ Short, sweet and simple. Pleasant song with equally pleasant art direction.
+ Shows Production I.G can do anything right, even romance shows.
+ Ok fine, biggest reason: Sawako’s in there.

+ Reminds me of El-Hazard, at least the second half.
+ Impressed with the usage of colours. Music is excellent.
+ Well-animated, you know, it’s a KyoAni kind of thing.

+ Very close to becoming 5th.
+ Duh, it’s Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei. Their OPs are always great.
+ Duh, it’s by Shaft. Their OPs are always great.
+ Once you know it’s a jab at a UFO cult in Japan, it becomes more interesting.

+ Sorry, am a sucker for designer motion graphic :P Visually stunning.
+ Not only is the music sung by Oasis, but it fits the sequence and show itself very well.
+ One of those OPs that you appreciate as you watch more episodes.
+ What can I say, Kamiyama Kenji and Production I.G make for a great team.

+ A top-notch shounen-anime-like OP with cuts in the right places and at the right time.
+ Ended up watching it many times, there should be an anime series about the OP. Wait…
+ Didn’t you know? When YUI picks up her guitar, magic happens.
+ Something you’d expect from Bones, and more. Cheers to them!

+ Shaft OP alert! They have established a style unique to them, which is already a feat in itself.
+ And as I think more about it, I would… Oooh, look at the pretty colours!
+ Not to mention pretty well animated too, on top of it being well art-directed.
+ Deep symbolism of the relationship between a sadist and a masochist.
+ Music is slightly irritating at first, but the more I listen to it, the more it fits.

+ An OP that wastes no time in telling you what the show is about.
+ A splendid representation of pure innocent love between two best friends.
+ Not overly done like many other anime OPs.
+ Soothes the mind, yet resonates the melancholy within you. Ok, I shut up now.
+ Props to J.C. Staff for such a wonderful piece of work.

+ I’m usually not into sci-fi OPs so much, but this was love at first sight. It’s a refreshing change.
+ Simple with no bells and whistles attached. Just a girl and her transforming bike.
+ Yet everything fits so well together, the music and visuals just play in seamless harmony.
+ It’s like saying “Screw characters showing up one-by-one, I’m gonna ride my bike”.
+ Again, Madhouse enters the number one spot in my Top OP this year. Props to them!

My favourite OP for 2008? Here’s something to refresh your memory on Madhouse’s greatness.

Time to get the Ahbonk.net Anime Awards show on the road!

First up are the ending sequences, meant to cool the audience down after 20 minutes of economic talks, concert shows and hot stapler action. As usual, they are judged based on their music, creativity and entertainment value. From number 5:

+ Storybook art feel is nice, though not as nice as the first season’s.
+ I like the song, moreso than other people on the Net it seems.
+ Horo is kewt, super-deformed or otherwise.

+ First off, this series has a different richly animated ending sequence for EVERY episode!
+ So think about it, this nicely produced ending was only for one episode! How cool is that!
+ Flying panties soaring the skies, silencing the world in their glory. You don’t see that everyday.
+ Song is soothing (end up laughing at the seriousness of it all), and the animation is very well-done.

+ Well what do you know, another Shaft Studios masterpiece. Figures.
+ Though nothing much is happening, it has a lot of hidden references to the events of the show.
+ With beautiful art direction to boot.
+ After Sony published his Miku album, Ryo (Supercell) was invited to compose for this ending. Also, Nagi sang a lot of anime tunes at home and posted her voice on NicoNicoDouga. To think that she was invited to sing for this ending… it became a hit collaboration between two doujin musicians. Love the music!

+ Kamiyama Kenji and Production I.G (which also resulted in Ghost in the Shell: SAC).
+ It’s not only an ending sequence, it’s an art piece.
+ I know, having paper-cut art direction is nothing new. Still suitability and implementation counts.
+ The music goes really well with the whole thing. Or the whole thing goes really well with the music. Ah whatever, they both rock.

+ The ending sequence is the only thing worth watching in this crappy show.
+ Yet, the ending made me curious about the show itself (regrettably).
+ I have a soft spot for old skool RPGs :) Superb effort on the art, plus a lot of sprite references.
+ It presented a lot of fantastic fantasy elements (tower, flying whale) in a minute and a half!
+ They even made the nice song RPG-like, which turned the sequence into an entertaining package.
+ The timing is great, ended up watching a lot of times and getting impressed each time.

Honorable Mentions:

+ Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood (ED1): Click here for ED
+ K-ON: Click here for ED
+ Maria Holic: Click here for ED
+ Seitokai no Ichizon: Click here for ED
+ Cross Game (ED3): Can’t find it online :(
+ Nodame Cantabile Paris-hen: Click here for ED
+ Inuyasha Final Act: Click here for ED