The 6 best anime openings of 2024

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

2024 was filled with an abundance of anime riches to choose from. From the long-anticipated debut of series like Dan Da Dan, Delicious in Dungeon, and Kaiju No. 8 to surprise favorites like The Apothecary Diaries and The Elusive Samurai, there was seldom a moment this year where there wasn’t a hilarious, pulse-pounding, or moving anime to watch and enjoy. We’ve already published our picks for the best anime of this year, so now it’s time to get even more into the nitty-gritty: What were the best anime openings of 2024?

Polygon readers enjoyed our list of last year’s best anime openings so much, we’re doing it again! So, with that in mind, we’ve once again compiled a list of this year’s best opening sequences, highlighting the most bop-worthy title tracks and the amazing artists who brought them to life on screen.

Dan Da Dan — ‘Otonoke’

Director: Abel Góngora
Music by: Creepy Nuts

Dan Da Dan quickly asserted itself as one of this year’s best anime when it premiered in theaters in September, followed by its television debut in October. Aside from its inherently zany premise of a misfit couple of high school classmates battling against an inexplicable deluge of paranormal and extraterrestrial adversaries, the anime also boasted one of this year’s most striking opening sequences.

Abel Góngora, the Spanish animator and director known for his work on last year’s Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, the 2021 Star Wars: Visions short “T0-B1,” and the title sequence for 2020’s Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!, delivers a visually bristling cinematic experience with Dan Da Dan’s opening titles. Packed with extreme close-ups, psychedelic colors, and black silhouettes that pay homage to the opening of 1966’s Ultraman, Góngora is as bizarre and hard to forget as the anime itself. Combined with an infectiously hyperactive track by Japanese hip-hop duo Creepy Nuts, and you’ve got an opening sequences for the ages.

One Piece — ‘UUUUUS!’

Director: Megumi Ishitani
Music by: Hiroshi Kitadai

Megumi Ishitani is popularly considered by One Piece fans to be one of the best directors to ever work on the series. Known for her standout work as an episode director on episodes 957, 982, and 1,015 of the Wano Country Arc, as well as the “One Piece Fan Letter” episode produced to celebrate the anime’s 25th anniversary, Ishitani is recognized for her cinematic sensibilities when it comes to scale, pacing, and lighting.

All of those qualities are on full display in the series’ 26th opening sequence, which combines expressive “rubber hose animation,” bright colors, and deft editing that complements the pacing of Hiroshi Kitadai’s rousing track “UUUUUS!” Ishitani’s opening is yet another stunning accomplishment in the director’s nascent career, and a thrilling sequence that carries the torch of One Piece’s legacy proudly forward.

Mashle: Magic and Muscles — ‘Bling-Bang-Bang-Born’

Director: Shun Enokido
Music by: Creepy Nuts

Creepy Nuts were on a hot streak all throughout 2024. Before delivering the anime bop of the fall season with Dan Da Dan’s aforementioned opening track “Otonoke,” Japanese hip-hop duo DJ Matsunaga and rapper-singer R-Shitei blew the door off the hinges with their track “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born” for the second season of Mashle: Magic and Muscles.

To the tell the truth, Shun Enokido’s opening animation is fine… but, well, just fine. It’s obvious that Creepy Nuts’ track is pulling most of the weight here, as the sequence itself is composed almost entirely of montage shots sharply contrasted with stark primary colors and split-screen transitions. The song really popped off on social media, with TikTok users creating mashups of the track and dancing in rhythm to the beat.

Metallic Rouge — ‘Rouge’

Director: Motonobu Hori
Music by: Yu-ka

Of all the anime openings to air in 2024, Metallic Rouge’s took me by surprise. If I had a list of things I had expected to see and hear this year, an anime opening inspired by ’80s new jack swing would not have been one of them. Nevertheless, Yu-ka’s track “Rouge” absolutely rocks. Series director Motonobu Hori combines sci-fi iconography and blink-and-you’ll-miss-it foreshadowing to create an opening that’s as evocative as it is entertaining to watch.

Delicious in Dungeon —  ‘Sleep Walking Orchestra’

Director: Yoshihiro Miyajima
Music by: Bump of Chicken

Everything about Delicious in Dungeon’s opening makes the audience feel like they’re about to embark on an adventure. Bump of Chicken’s “Sleep Walking Orchestra” sets the tone perfectly, with a rousing melody played on a hammered dulcimer paired with Irish flute before transitioning into a thumping drum kick and whimsical rhythm guitar section. Yoshihiro Miyajima, the director of Delicious in Dungeon’s first season, does an excellent job introducing viewers who aren’t already familiar with Ryoko Kui’s fantasy manga to its characters and universe. All in all, it’s a lighthearted beat that beckons the audience to come along for the ride.

The Elusive Samurai — ‘Plan A’

Director: Miyuki Kuroki
Music by: DISH//

True to its name, The Elusive Samurai snuck up on us when it premiered this July, earning an honorable mention on our list of the best anime of 2024. Miyuki Kuroki’s animation does a great job of leaning into what makes the show’s animation style so unique, with torn fabric patterns and abstract backgrounds that nod toward The Elusive Samurai’s knack for theatricality and fourth-wall-breaking humor. “Plan A” is a serviceable opening theme, with booming gongs, bamboo flutes, and a thrumming guitar hook that draws the audience in to focus on the visuals.