"Every Anime Opening Ever" and the opening which is unlike any opening ever, anime or otherwise

[thehefner]

I can count the number of anime films/shows that I like on one hand, and I haven't seen much more than that, but this video is still brilliant and dead-on:

I noticed that one anime that isn't included (and there were 93 different ones used for that video!) is the opening for Paranoia Agent, a show which box_in_the_box turned me onto. It's one I should have watched anyway, since it was done by the tragically-late director of Perfect Blue, one of those very few anime works I love.

Not only is this opening unlike every anime opening, it's unlike any opening to any show I've ever seen anywhere:

The first time I saw that, my first reaction was puzzlement. Then by the time we saw the mushroom cloud, my jaw just dropped. And it happened every time I saw the credits at the start of each episode. Jaw dropped wide open, I was awestruck, disturbed, enthralled, and I didn't know why. I still don't.

Something about all these characters, most of whom are tortured in their own ways, standing amid the wreckage of Armageddon and laughing. It's like one of those dreams that just skirt the edges of nightmare, y'know?

Comments

[night-train-fm.livejournal.com]

Aah, Tenchi and Gundam Wing, that takes me back. ^_^

I was kind of hoping they'd use a bit from Digimon Tamers (a show I heartily recommend) for the 'offered hands' bit at the end.