Wow, what an image-heavy post!
(Spoilers in this post)
If you want to be really reductionist, the OPs and EDs for anime series are just a way for a studio to list credits. Oh, wow, we get to find out who did what for our favorite shows!
But the OPs and EDs in anime are so much more than that these days. Viewers demand some sort of animation to grab our attention as names of individuals and groups and corporations eventually flash onto the screen.
And a way for such a title sequence to really stand out, in my opinion, is for it to change or “evolve” over the course of a season. Such updates are meant to reflect major happenings within the series. Not only is it a means to avoid including major spoilers in the OP/ED, but it’s also a way for viewers to become engaged.
Yes, I usually don’t really talk about the animation of an OP or ED in my series reviews (and am only really talking about its musical chops whenever I do bring up OPs or EDs), but I do pay attention. Being encouraged to sit up and notice the changes is rewarding for me and I am sure others feel the same way.
The OP for Gakkou Gurashi! is a wonderful example to illustate my point. The reveals slowly trickle in for the viewer episode after episode and they’re subtly expressed in the OP. I’ll try to list each change that caught my eye and give an explanation.
I’m well aware this probably won’t get that many views (since the show is several years old) and that someone else made a video for this. So what? Not like I watched it. I feel like I gotta get this out here anyways. Here goes!
Episode 1
This is the original baseline. Very sparkly, huh? No further comments about this one.
Episode 2
Episode 3
No more additional changes as far as I can tell.
Episode 4
No more additional changes as far as I can tell.
Episode 5
Episode 6
No more additional changes as far as I can tell.
Episode 7
Episode 8
No more additional changes as far as I can tell.
Episode 9
No more additional changes as far as I can tell.
Episode 10
Episode 11
Episode 12 didn’t have an OP.
That’s all, folks.
The Lily Garden 
so cute
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Wow, they really put a lot of effort into just the opening! That is awesome!
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Haha yeah they did.
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Great job noticing those changes. It must have taken a lot of time. But I must say, I love this anime. Watched it and enjoyed it. The episode 1 by itself is explosive. It started by being a lovable, cute and cuddly anime (almost say, not again) then suddenly turned into a dark one. Perfect! 🙂
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Yo good catch! I respect anyone with that kind of eye for detail. I haven’t seen the show, but I can already tell I would have most likely missed the subtle changes. I’m a big fan of image heavy posts, so I loved this. Great post!
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Thanks! Mmm it’s always a treat when they sneak stuff like this in there. Hard to notice and all but it was fun trying to spot the changes.
Yay, I like image-heavy posts, too. Thanks for dropping by!
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Well….lol…that’s where you are wrong, as you can see from the responses: there are a lot of people that enjoyed this post, myself included 😀 I did the same as D though, skipped a bit over the latter episodes as I am currently in the middle of watching it. I had noticed a few changes, but not as much as you are now pointing out. Great stuff. I promise to go back to this post, as soon as I have completed watching the series, to see the rest of the changes 😊
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Thanks, raistlin, for the kind words. Hopefully you can enjoy the post more later!
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Remy has always had an eye for detail. Good job pointing out all of these changes. A lot of this stuff went over my head
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Thanks, Prattle. Yay!
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Having just finished watching this, I can honestly say I didn’t notice the opening changing at all. Then again, I kind of rushed through the viewing of the final six episodes and the story kind of had my full attention. Thanks for sharing.
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Mmmm fair enough. The story kind of commanded full attention. Thank you for dropping by.
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You’ve got one hell of an eye for detail, Remy. I spotted some of the obvious ones like Kei and the school’s state but the finer changes slipped past me completely. In short, this is a damn cool compilation (though I did skim the latter ones because I’m only as far as episode 6. R.I.P, Megumi though.
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*just skimmed the latter ones. And I have no why that ‘(‘ is there…
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Wahaha I just pay attention to silly things. But thank you.
Megu-nee ;___;
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You’be made a very fun post out of said silly things though!
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…ignore than b and imagine it’s a v.
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I don’t know that evolving OP’s are a growing trend, this is only the third that I know of. (The others are *Yūki Yūna wa Yūsha de Aru* (Yuki Yuna is a Hero) and *Madoka Magica*.)
Of course, it wouldn’t be the first time I was wrong…
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Yeah I’m not sure if it’s a trend. It just pops up from time to time. Maybe some studios/directors just invest resources differently.
There’s plenty of shows that do this. I just listed Gakkou Gurashi since I watched it due to D’s episode posts.
I don’t know your stance on TV Tropes but they list an incomplete list that is still pretty lengthy.
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/EvolvingCredits
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My policy on TV Tropes is generally not to click unless I have plenty of time, and to curse the person who posted the link… 🙂 This time I managed to avoid the temptation to click on links on that page, so you escaped with only a few minor curses. 🙂 🙂
While list is impressively long, compared to the number of anime coming out per annum what it shows that evolving credits aren’t all that common. Doubly so when you toss out the “swapped credits” on that list. SAO II appears on their list as evolving credits because of the Phantom Bullet/Mother’s Rosario change – but that’s actually swapped credits. (And actually they entirely miss a third set – the OP for the Calibur min-arc.)
That’s actually a general comment on TV Tropes… The body is usually pretty good. The examples are… not so much, and can be very hit or miss.
IMO: “Swapped credits” are wholesale replacements of the entire OP sequence, all but always involving a change in the OP song. “Evolving credits” are where the song and the basic sequence remain identical, but details are added, subtracted, or changed.
They also list together two things I’d separate, the OP and the ED, as they fill different roles. The OP sets the tone, and so evolving credits are of particular interest there. My favorite example being YuYuYu’s “No Spoiler” OP. (https://youtu.be/0s9U0CtdcBg) No character’s magical girl form appears in the OP until after she formally joins the group and her henshin is revealed.
/argumentative /pedantry
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That is fair. I humbly accept your curses.
I can agree with what you’ve typed as well as your definitions for the terms.
It’s kind of common and kind of uncommon. Last year had Ao no Kanata’s ED, Bakuon!!’s OP, Girlish Number’s OP, Kemono Friend’s OP, Long Riders!’s OP, and Stella no Mahou’s OP off the top of my head.
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This is a really growing trend, right? I remember seeing small changes every once and a while with EDs (ex. Angel Beats) in the past, as well as OP’s that would sometimes change (ex. while it isn’t quite the same, Bakemonogatari had maybe four or five entirely different openings in its 13 episodes), but nowadays it doesn’t feel unexpected anymore. Shows are moving this way, giving the animators a chance to reflect more of their artistry during these portions of the series.
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It happens from time to time. Some shows stubbornly stick with a more static OP or ED, however. It definitely is a way for the animators to flex muscles and all.
I wish it was more of a trend. Unexpected or not, it’s a pleasant surprise whenever it occurs.
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Have you been watching Tsuki ga Kirei? It’s an amazing little show, and it makes use of this technique on both the front and back ends.
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I’ve been meaning to! Heard it’s great.
Oh, I knew about the little Line conversations that happens in the background of the ED but I didn’t know the OP had that going on, too. Thanks!
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The OP shows a preview of the episode, which annoys me so I actually skip it, but I think some find it charming. The show is worth a try! It’s my favorite this season.
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Holy mother of God. What is this?!
Not only that it grabs my full attention, while I really want to watch this (because really – I die for this kind of extra mile efforts), I’m shit scared to even dig into it.
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Mmm. I would recommend it. Will probably write a series review later.
You won’t be baited like I was 3 years ago, though, since you read this post!
Also yes I’m also a fan of this extra attention to detail.
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