The Top 10 2025 Anime Openings

2025 is coming to an end, and with it concludes a very solid year for anime. For many anime fans, there’s nothing better than the start of a new year of anime, of course because we’re often treated to some incredible new shows, but also, because a whole new wave of anime openings hit the scene. A great anime opening can do a lot for a show, hooking new viewers who may have skipped the show otherwise, and setting the tone each week for the episode to come. It’s a testament to the relationship between Japan’s anime and music industries that for decades now, each new season of anime has maintained the importance of the opening movie, and 2025 gave us some great new additions to the line-up.

Today, we’re ranking our top 10 2025 anime openings. We’ll be covering any opening that released this year, so you may even see some Fall 2024 two-cour shows mentioned! We tried to judge these openings based on visuals and music alone, but in some cases, the good vibes behind an opening may have simply been so undeniable that it made its way into our ranking. But never mind all this criteria talk, let’s get into our best of 2025 anime openings ranking!

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10. Frontiers (Shangri-La Frontier)

Image by C2C

Shangri-La Frontier is a grievously underrated show, and so it stands to reason that its opening animations also rarely make it into the conversation. However, ‘Frontiers’, the series fourth opening, is so undeniably good that it has managed to insert the anime itself into discussions it had been unmentioned in before. What makes a truly special anime opening is the ability to hype-up any viewer, even those who haven’t watched the show itself, and ‘Frontiers’ manages to do just that. With its stunning visuals, and haunting choir-backed instrumental, this blend of the orchestral and hip-hop genres make for a stand-out viewing and listening experience.

I love when I can tell that an anime opening has been well thought-out by the showrunners, and a generic rock song hasn’t simply been plastered over a bland visual of the show’s protagonist running aimlessly along to the music. This is also the first time that Awich, one of Japan’s most prevalent hip-hop artists, has contributed to an anime opening, making Shangri-La Frontier not only an incredibly enjoyable opening, but a milestone for fans of Awich herself. Though it barely made it into our 2025 anime openings top 10, that’s more so a testament to the quality of these remaining openings, than any poor reflection on ‘Frontiers’. A must-see opening for sure.

Watch the full ‘Frontiers’ opening here.

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9. Watch Me! (Witch Watch)

Image by Bibury Animation Studios

For a lot of people, YOASOBI’s involvement in this opening is enough to convince them of its quality. While I’m glad to report that the music here is great, easily one of the happiest of the 2025 anime openings, it’s the visuals of Witch Watch’s Season 1 opening that really make this one stand out. While Witch Watch was a fun show, it’s almost confusing how good these opening visuals are, considering the show itself never reached such optical heights. The animation is stunningly smooth and inspired, capturing an essence of magic that few other openings this year were able to achieve.

This may be one of the more controversial picks on our 2025 anime openings ranking – a lot of anime fans will insist that if an opening isn’t an intense rock ballad underscoring action-packed shonen visuals, then it’s not worth their time. However, Witch Watch’s ‘Watch Me!’ opening perfectly encapsulates the feeling of the show itself, and manages to do so without feeling generic or obnoxious. It may not feature dazzling fight scenes or any real emotional catharsis, but ‘Watch Me!’ is explosive in its own way, and managed to stand-out among a sea of pretty strong openings this year.

Watch the full ‘Watch Me!’ opening here.

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8. IRIS OUT (Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc)

Image by MAPPA

I might be cheating a little here, because ‘IRIS OUT’ is technically not an anime opening as we typically understand one to be. Instead, this newest Kenshi Yonezu banger acts more so as a music-video length introduction to the Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc movie (which you can find our review of here), with its extended runtime giving it a slight advantage over its 2025 anime openings competitors. However, I think it would be impossible to leave this opening off the list, firstly because it’s so damn good, but secondly because, of all of the openings on this list, it may be the most universally popular of the year.

Often, I’ve seen comments claiming that seeing this opening in action in a theatre made the cinema-going experience worth it alone for Chainsaw Man fans, and it’s not hard to see why. This opening is stunning visually, a perfectly-trippy ride through the wild world of Chainsaw Man, scored by the beautifully manic sound of Kenshi Yonezu, who also contributed Chainsaw Man’s practically perfect first opening, ‘KICK BACK‘, to the series. I think it’s a fairly safe bet to call Yonezu one of the best anime artists of all time at this point, with ‘IRIS OUT’ only contributing further to his extensive catalogue. When you watch the Reze Arc movie for yourself, don’t skip over this opening sequence – it’s really something to behold.

Watch the full ‘IRIS OUT’ opening here.

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7. On The Way (DAN DA DAN)

Image by Science SARU

Personally, I think it’s going to be nearly impossible for any DAN DA DAN opening to top Creepy Nuts’ ‘Otonoke‘ from the first season, and though I don’t think that ‘On The Way’ quite exceeds the original, it comes almost alarmingly close. In fact, the only issue I have with this opening is that it’s not long enough! AiNA THE END is no stranger to great anime music, but I think that ‘On The Way’ is her best contribution to the industry yet, with her thrilling song only bolstered by this opening’s extraordinarily creative visuals. Both of DAN DA DAN’s openings are now 10/10 when it comes to outstanding animation, which is exactly what such an outlandish show deserves.

In an industry that loves to dump spoilers flagrantly throughout opening animations, DAN DA DAN’s second opening manages to completely avoid any spoilers for new fans, while also infiltrating the opening with hints and nods to fans of the manga. Above all else, ‘On The Way’ is a fun opening, which is just what any good DAN DA DAN opening should be. Also, I love that AiNA THE END was game to include the ‘Dan Da Dan’ chant as part of this song, maintaining a connection with Creepy Nuts’ first opening, while also taking the series beyond new frontiers.

Watch the full ‘On The Way’ opening here.

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6. Mirage (Call of the Night)

Image by LIDENFILMS

Speaking of Creepy Nuts, their absence from this year’s DAN DA DAN opening thankfully didn’t hit too hard, considering we got our share of their work with Call of the Night Season 2’s opening ‘Mirage’. If there’s anything you can be sure of, it’s that Creepy Nuts will never make the same-sounding opening twice, and yet every single time, they manage to completely nail the vibe of any genre they step into. Creepy Nuts inspired the very creation of Call of the Night, so it’s great to see them continuing to work on the series’ music. Their ending sequence for this season, ‘Nemure’, is also an absolute banger, and the perfect companion to ‘Mirage’ – check the ending sequence out here.

For now though, let’s talk about ‘Mirage’, the sequence that earned Creepy Nuts a spot on this 2025 anime openings ranking. In an unexpected turn of events, this opening saw the band dive into the reggaeton genre, and though you might never have expected that genre to work in-hand with an anime about night-crawling vampires, it blends seamlessly with the vibe of the show. The action-packed visuals also help elevate the opening even further, and though ‘Mirage’ is not the top pick on our list, I think it’s safe to say that this is probably my most listened-to opening of the year. The vibes are immaculate, to the point that I would be fine with Call of the Night keeping this as its opening song for the rest of the show’s run.

Watch the full ‘Mirage’ opening here.

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5. HUGs (Gachiakuta)

Image by Bones Film

‘HUGs’ is an absolutely bonkers song, the kind of opening that clicks for some people, and just sounds like mindless noise to others. Luckily for me, this opening hits in all the right ways for my ears, and its chaos perfectly fits the madness of Gachiakuta. In many ways, the song reminds me of Maximum the Hormone’s ‘What’s Up, People?‘, the second opening of Death Note that many people despised, but that a select minority actually preferred to the series’ first opening. I’m proud to say I was one of those people who preferred the second opening of Death Note, and so, ‘HUGs’ is easily one of my favourite 2025 anime openings.

The visuals manage to be completely enthralling and captivating, with a unique blend of 2D and 3D animation at play, all while totally avoiding even a hint of any spoilers. This is Gachiakuta’s first opening, so it’s great to be able to enjoy the opening in all of its glory, without having any story points spoiled. I have to admit, I was quite disappointed when the series swapped out ‘HUGs’ for the series’ second opening, which I think is far inferior to Paledusk’s original, but hey, at least I can watch this opening on repeat for the foreseeable future. Easily of the most unique and inspirationally abrasive 2025 anime openings.

Watch the full ‘HUGs’ opening here.

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4. ReawakeR (Solo Leveling)

Image by A-1 Pictures

Unfortunately, I really don’t care for Solo Leveling as a series. With that in mind, it’s mind-numbingly impressive how hyped this opening makes me feel. You know an anime opening hits hard when it gets you excited for a show you don’t even enjoy! Now, to be fair, getting LiSA on an anime opening is almost a guaranteed success, but I think that ‘ReawakeR’ is one of her strongest outings yet, and with Felix of Stray Kids providing the perfect foil to her soaring vocals, Solo Leveling ‘levels up’ with its best opening yet, and easily one of the best openings of the year.

I can also never fault Solo Leveling for its visuals, and thankfully, A-1 Pictures kept animation quality in mind when putting together this opening. The visuals flow perfectly, and capture all of the adrenaline that makes the series special for so many fans. ‘ReawakeR’ is such a good opening, that it makes me want to love Solo Leveling. I’m not quite there yet, but who knows? Maybe the third opening of the show will win me over completely! For now though, ‘ReawakeR’ is deserving of heaps of praise for how connected it makes me feel to a show I don’t care for from a story perspective – a near-perfect anime opening, through and through.

Watch the full ‘ReawakeR’ opening here.

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3. Saikai (The Summer Hikaru Died)

Image by CygamesPictures

I fell in love with The Summer Hikaru Died from the very first episode, and the series has ended up remaining my favourite anime of the year in the seasons since it aired. With songs like ‘CHAINSAW BLOOD‘, ‘Hadaka No Yusha‘, and ‘RUN SAKAMOTO RUN‘ under his belt, Vaundy is also one of my favourite Japanese artists. All of this is to say that I may be a little biased when it comes to ‘Saikai’, the Vaundy-performed opening of The Summer Hikaru Died, but I honestly think that this is the perfect opening for this series.

‘Saikai’ captures all of the feelings that make The Summer Hikaru Died a special show, with Vaundy’s song encapsulating love, sadness, and an underlying tinge of the supernatural. The visuals are equally compelling in all of these fields, with scenes of Yoshiki and Hikaru’s good times together constantly interrupting by sinister flashes of blood-covered knives and ghostly spirits. This opening, in music and in visuals, perfectly conveys the uneasy feeling of this series, and even if it failed in these areas, the song is enough of a banger all on its own to justify its placement on our list. If you haven’t watched The Summer Hikaru Died, be sure to check it out, and if you need convincing, maybe this opening will pull you over the line.

Watch the full ‘Saikai’ opening here.

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2. CARMINE (One Piece)

Image by Toei Animation

It blows my mind that nearly three decades since its inception, One Piece has continued to pump out some of the best anime openings of all time, and with its contribution to our 2025 anime openings line-up, ‘CARMINE’ continues this trend. ‘CARMINE’ by ELLEGARDEN is One Piece’s twenty-eighth opening, and proves that the show has, somehow, only gotten better and better as time goes by. Watching a One Piece opening can feel a little overwhelming at this point, with all of the references to the series’ massive ongoing story being crammed into one 90-second sequence, but ‘CARMINE’ manages to feel incredibly well-paced, while still featuring all of the story’s major players.

This opening is also easily one of One Piece’s most intense openings ever, calling back to the same heightened intensity of ‘One Day‘, one of my favourite anime openings of all time. The visuals are coated in an incredible orange hue, and the song, though certainly a more typical song than the series’ recent openings, ‘Uuuuus!‘ and ‘Tenshi to Akuma‘, fits the intensity of the current arc to a tee. It’s hard to beat being a One Piece fan these days, and this opening proves that Toei Animation is dedicated to giving their loyal fans an experience to remember, even as the series draws ever closer to its monumental finale. Not quite the best of the 2025 anime openings, but pretty close, only being beat out by one, phenomenal underdog.

Watch the full ‘CARMINE’ opening here.

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1. INERTIA (To Be Hero X)

Image by BeDream

To Be Hero X is a masterpiece, easily one of the best anime series in years, and luckily, the show’s opening sequence matches the insane quality of the show itself. As it so happens, to the surprise of no one, Sawano Hiroyuki was involved in this phenomenal opening, the mastermind behind the soundtrack of Attack On Titan. Partnering with Rei, who provides vocals, the team blesses fans with ‘INERTIA’, one of the most thrilling anime openings of all time, a rollercoaster of an opening, that perfectly fits this supersized superhero bonanza. Unlike any of the other 2025 anime openings, on our list or beyond, ‘INERTIA’ feels like a fully-realised song with a beginning, middle, and end, somehow all elegantly fit into your typical 90-second sequence.

The visuals are top-tier, featuring X’s trademark animation-style changes, and showcasing all ten of the heroes who make up the show’s arc-based structure (check out our arc ranking here). Somehow, ‘INERTIA’ manages to take us on a dazzling journey through all of the show’s main heroes and environments without ever feeling overwhelming or nauseating, a testament to the animation’s smoothness, and how perfectly Hiroyuki’s music compliments its pacing. Even if you never plan to watch To Be Hero X, check out this opening sequence. It’s worth a watch completely independently of the show itself, and that’s perhaps the highest praise I can afford to our winner of the 2025 anime openings ranking.

Watch the full ‘INERTIA’ opening here.

See also: Every Attack On Titan Opening, Ranked

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Conclusion

So, that’s our list! After hours and hours of listening to all of the openings that 2025 had to offer, we settled on these as our 10 best 2025 anime openings! What did you think of our ranking? What was your favourite opening of 2025? Be sure to let us know, and thanks for reading!

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