Every Attack On Titan Opening Ranked From Worst To Best

Attack On Titan is one of the most legendary anime series of all time, leaving an indelible mark on the anime industry for over a decade. Even now, with the series finale nearly 2 years in the rear-view mirror, fans are still discussing the story of Eren Yeager, and as part of this discussion, Attack On Titan fans still debate one very important question to this day – what is the best Attack On Titan opening? For people who aren’t fans of anime, it’s almost bizarre how much fans obsess over openings and endings, but for those of us who get it, a good opening can change the entire vibe of a series, getting you hyped-up for the episode to come, or allowing you to reflect on the episode you’ve just seen.

Before we get into this list, I truly believe that there is no bad Attack On Titan opening. Some are certainly worse than others, but for the most part, each opening speaks incredibly well to the season it is paired with, and from a musical perspective, all of the contributors to Attack On Titan‘s legacy gave it their all. Today, we’ll be judging each opening from three different angles – music, visuals, and suitability for the story. This means we’ve got a lot to talk about, so let’s dive right into our Attack On Titan opening ranking!

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8. Saigo no Kyojin (Opening 8)

Image by MAPPA

No Attack On Titan opening is truly bad, but it would certainly be fair to say this the series’ eighth opening ‘Saigo no Kyojin’ left the smallest mark on the show. A large part of this is down to the fact that this opening only appeared in the episodic version of the Attack On Titan: The Final Chapters specials that were originally released in two movie-length chunks, and so, the opening has likely not even crossed the radar of many casual Attack On Titan fans. However, for those of us who sought this Attack On Titan opening out, it didn’t leave much more of an impact than if we had never seen it at all.

The visuals of ‘Saigo no Kyojin’ are undoubtedly its strongest asset, but no matter how appropriate they are, a large portion of the visuals are flashbacks to older episodes of the series. There’s a very cool final sequence where we see all of our main characters bringing the fight to Eren’s Founding Titan, but outside of this, the visuals are mostly unoriginal. The song itself is also a little underwhelming – though it was great to see Linked Horizon return to the series for its finale, the song is a little too self-referential for my liking, considering its overwhelming similarities to ‘Guren no Yumiya’. Overall, ‘Saigo no Kyojin’ is an effective farewell to the series, but ends up feeling derivative with its music and visuals that both rely on paths already walked by the series.

Watch the full ‘Saigo no Kyojin’ opening here.

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7. Shoukei to Shikabane no Michi (Opening 5)

Image by WIT Studio

If Linked Horizon’s self-referential work on ‘Saigo no Kyojin’ posed an issue for me, then you can guess how I feel about the fifth Attack On Titan opening, ‘Shoukei to Shikabane no Michi. I need to give this opening some major credit for how well it ties into the story of the anime – this opening hits our screens directly after the fairly mellow ‘Royal Government Arc’, which itself was paired with a surprisingly low-energy opening. The ‘Return to Shiganshina Arc’, paired with ‘Shoukei to Shikabane no Michi’, marked a return to form for Attack On Titan, and for many, the arc that this opening highlights is the pinnacle of the series.

However, I have two major issues with this opening. As much as the song succeeds at getting the viewer’s blood pumping, the song is kind of a mess, particularly when the latter half of the opening devolves into a maddening callback to all of Linked Horizon’s prior work on the series. Then, as beautiful as the visuals are, they are essentially a spoiler-filled walkthrough of the entire ‘Return to Shiganshina Arc’. Spoilers are somewhat common in anime openings, but the spoilers here are so egregious that many fans skip the opening entirely until they’ve already seen a good chunk of the season. Ultimately, though I can respect its impact on the series’ vibe, ‘Shoukei to Shikabane no Michi’ ends up feeling like a spoiler-filled compilation, as opposed to a true Attack On Titan opening in its own right.

Watch the full ‘Shoukei to Shikabane no Michi’ opening here.

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6. Shinzou wo Sasageyo (Opening 3)

Image by WIT Studio

In what is easily my most controversial take on this list, dare I say that ‘Shinzou wo Sasageyo’ is far from the best Attack On Titan opening that many fans claim it to be? In some ways, I understand why this opening has found its footing with fans. It does sound like it would be the national anthem of Paradis Island, and pairing this patriotic feeling with visuals of our main characters saluting their nation certainly has a powerful effect. However, is it wrong for me to say that, from a musical perspective, I would never want to listen to ‘Shinzou wo Sasageyo’ as a song itself?

Outside of its patriotism, the visuals of ‘Shinzou wo Sasageyo’ are still very strong, but is ultimately let down by the second season of Attack On Titan being the show’s low point for me. Attack On Titan Season 2 always felt like a season that would be better experienced on a rewatch, considering that the first time around, almost everything it explores is a complete mystery to its viewer. Unfortunately, there is a mental association for me between ‘Shinou wo Sasageyo’ and frustration. Though I can respect why this third opening would top many other fans’ lists, it simply doesn’t work for me nearly as much as the five openings left to go on this ranking.

Watch the full ‘Shinzou wo Sasageyo’ opening here.

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5. Jiyuu no Tsubasa (Opening 2)

Image by WIT Studio

You may be beginning to notice a pattern take shape at this point in the ranking – though I can respect their contribution to Attack On Titan as a series, I really don’t think that Linked Horizon make the best openings for this show. To be fair though, it’s not Linked Horizon that let ‘Jiyuu no Tsubasa’ down, but rather WIT Studio, who seem to have phoned it in when it came to replacing the original, and undoubtedly most iconic Attack On Titan opening, ‘Guren no Yumiya’. The visuals of ‘Jiyuu no Tsubasa’ are pretty underwhelming, particularly when the song’s explosive chorus hits, and we are left to stare at the inner-workings of ODM gear.

Outside of this mechanically-focused chorus, a lot of the rest of ‘Jiyuu no Tsubasa’s visuals are incredibly strange and off-putting. Hange is made to look extremely menacing, there’s a weirdly sexualised shot of Mikasa, and we are treated to a disturbing close-up of a titan smacking his lips. As much as I enjoy this song, the visuals are a real let-down, and unfortunately, the opening as a whole starts to feel like an afterthought when paired with the ‘Female Titan Arc’, an arc that doesn’t do a whole lot of heavy-lifting to elevate this Attack On Titan opening.

Watch the full ‘Jiyuu no Tsubasa’ opening here.

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4. Red Swan (Opening 4)

Image by WIT Studio

I do not care what anyone has to say about the fourth opening of Attack On Titan, I will defend ‘Red Swan’ for as long as I can still talk about it. As much of a departure as it was for the series, and from Linked Horizon, ‘Red Swan’ works because it catches its viewer so off-guard. This opening represents the ‘Royal Government Arc’, an arc where the series really slowed down, and focused on character-building and politics as opposed to outright action. In this sense, a methodical, piano-focused song is exactly what I would have wanted for this point in the show.

To be fair, the visuals are a mixed-bag for me. Some of them hit really hard, particularly the flashbacks to our protagonists as children, as we realise all of the innocence lost throughout the first two seasons of the show. However, I will yield and say there is an underlying corniness to some of ‘Red Swan’, in both visuals and music. The section where our heroes pose like slice-of-life characters as Yoshiki softly whispers ‘what to believe?’ in our ears like a 90’s boy-band member is spine-tingling in all the wrong ways. However, its occasional melodrama aside, ‘Red Swan’ is a risky opening that manages to stick the landing. I can see why its peaceful nature is too much of a departure from the usual Attack On Titan opening style, but it will always have a spot as one of my favourites from the series.

Watch the full ‘Red Swan’ opening here.

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3. Guren no Yumiya (Opening 1)

Image by WIT Studio

At this point in the series, each of these openings stand as some of the best anime openings of all time, so though ‘Guren no Yumiya’ is easily one of the most iconic anime songs of all time, a third-place spot is still huge praise. ‘Guren no Yumiya’ hits the bullseye in almost every single way an anime opening can, especially an Attack On Titan opening. The visuals are thrilling, if a little unusual. Then, we have to talk about the song. This is easily the best song that Linked Horizon ever contributed to Attack On Titan, and the gap between this and second-place is pretty considerable. Even if you’ve never watched anime a day in your life, if you’re at all tapped-in to online pop-culture, you’ve likely heard this song before – its impact was massive back in 2013, and its impact remains massive today.

The only real reason that ‘Guren no Yumiya’ is not higher on this list is because I personally like these top two openings more on a personal taste level. If I had to knock this opening down a peg, I could argue that the first season of the show is a little weaker than its later stages. In fact, watching this first opening back, the Attack On Titan we knew back in the ‘Guren no Yumiya’ days almost feels like a totally different show from where it ended in 2023. Overall, this first opening put Attack On Titan on the map in an explosive way, and is easily one of the best that the series has to offer.

Watch the full ‘Guren no Yumiya’ opening here.

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2. My War (Opening 6)

Image by MAPPA

In many ways, ‘My War’ marks a catharsis for Attack On Titan as an anime. With the production shifting from WIT Studio to MAPPA, and with the story itself experiencing a four-year time-jump, hearing and seeing ‘My War’ explode onto our screens felt like watching an entirely new show, and a pretty horrifying new show at that. As much as you could argue that the visuals of ‘My War’ are leagues below every other Attack On Titan opening in quality, the monotone, hollow visuals, with the only bursts of colour coming from blood and explosions, are a pretty solid visual indicator that the show was about to get far more serious than ever before. What was once an action-packed shonen series was now a very harrowing exploration of war, genocide, and human hatred.

At a time when Attack On Titan was so soaked in terror and death, ‘My War’ acts as a terrifying prelude for the trauma to come in each episode. Shinsei Kamattechan had previously contributed the equally-spooky ‘Yuugure no Tori’ to Attack On Titan, as the series’ third ending song, but even that song doesn’t compare to just how unusual ‘My War’ is as a musical piece. I genuinely don’t think I’ve ever heard another song that sounds like this – drums, chanting, and violins collide to make a song that, honestly, sounds like war itself. The visuals aren’t quite as strong as the opening taking the top spot on our list, but in every other way, ‘My War’ stands as one of the strongest anime openings of all time.

Watch the full ‘My War’ opening here.

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1. The Rumbling (Opening 7)

Image by MAPPA

Those of us who were keeping up with Attack On Titan as it was airing will remember when ‘The Rumbling’ opening was considered to be the show’s final one. Though this didn’t end up actually being the case, what a way to go out if it was. SiM made their Attack On Titan debut with this song, and though many fans were counting on Linked Horizon returning to close out the series, I think that SiM did a far better job than any of us expected. The only downside to this opening is that it’s absolutely riddled with spoilers, but at this point, the Rumbling itself wasn’t exactly unforeseen, so I’ll give it some slack.

Personally, I think that this is the best opening song that Attack On Titan has ever had, and the visuals manage to look back on the journey that the show has taken us on, without resorting to lifting frames from old episodes like ‘Saigo no Kyojin’ did. Though many look back on the WIT Studio-era of Attack On Titan as the good times, I think that the fourth season, paired with ‘My War’ and ‘The Rumbling’ prove that MAPPA more than held their own, and breathed a new, gritty life into the series, suitable for the darker themes of its fourth season. To me, ‘The Rumbling’ is an unskippable anime opening, and to be quite honest, takes a spot in at least my Top 5 anime openings of all time. A masterclass in what an anime opening should be.

Watch the full ‘The Rumbling’ opening here.

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Conclusion

Though one opening had to take the bottom spot on this list, I truly believe that there are no bad Attack On Titan openings. Across its decade as an ongoing anime, the show pumped-out some of the greatest anime openings of all time, which is partially why ranking them is always such an exciting and varied experience! Do you agree with my ranking? What’s your favourite Attack On Titan opening? Be sure to let us know in the comments, and thanks for reading!

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