Top 15 anime openings of the 2020s: every fan knows them
The top anime openings of the 2020s aren't just a nostalgia trip — they're an honest snapshot of the era when anime finally went fully mainstream worldwide. The 15 tracks below are the ones that locked into your memory from the opening bar, racked up hundreds of millions of streams, and spread as memes long before their seasons ended. See how many you recognize.
What makes an opening iconic
Not every opening becomes a legend. An iconic one is the one whose first 3 seconds make you look up from your phone. 3 key signals:
- Instant recognizability: the track works even without the visuals
- Music–animation synergy — they reinforce each other instead of running in parallel
- Virality: fanart, covers, and parodies appear on their own
These are the criteria the 15 picks below are built on.
The openings that defined 2020–2021
1. Jujutsu Kaisen — «Kaikai Kitan» (Eve)
The first season of Jujutsu Kaisen blew up in fall 2020, and its opening did a lot of the heavy lifting. Animation directed by Shingo Yamashita turns every frame into a piece of sakuga, and Eve's voice doesn't let go even after the twentieth listen. At the Crunchyroll Anime Awards 2021 it was one of the major contenders.
2. Attack on Titan: Final Season — «Boku no Sensou» (Shinsei Kamattechan)
Winner of the Crunchyroll Anime Awards 2022. The final season of Attack on Titan got an opening that plays like a requiem: noise rock, chaotic editing, no second of calm. SiM would repeat the trick later, but the bar was set right here.
3. Odd Taxi — «ODDTAXI» (Skirt × PUNPEE)
A niche detective story with a walrus taxi driver as the lead — and one of the most stylish openings of the decade. Lo-fi hip-hop plus minimalist animation: a rare case where the opening captures the entire personality of the show.
4. Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! — «Easy Breezy» (Chelmico)
Masaaki Yuasa knows how to make openings you want to rewatch purely for the joy of it. Chelmico plus the acid-coloured visuals — pure energy for the rest of the day.
The hits of 2022: a year of major premieres
5. Attack on Titan: Final Season Part 2 — «The Rumbling» (SiM)
Winner of the Crunchyroll Anime Awards 2023. SiM didn't just write a heavy track — they hit the exact emotional nerve of the finale. «The Rumbling» communicates the sense of inevitable catastrophe better than any voice-over could.
6. Chainsaw Man — «KICK BACK» (Kenshi Yonezu)
Every one of the first season's 12 episodes got a unique ending, but the opening with KICK BACK became the symbol of the whole run. Kenshi Yonezu proved once again that he can write anime hits on demand — after «Peace Sign» for Boku no Hero Academia, it's basically a pattern.
7. Spy x Family — «Mixed Nuts» (Official Hige Dandism)
Official Hige Dandism were at their peak in 2022, and Mixed Nuts is the textbook example of a pop single becoming an opening: nothing extra, everything in its place.
8. Bocchi the Rock! — «Seishun Complex» (Kessoku Band)
Bocchi the Rock! was one of the biggest anime events of 2022, and the opening sounds exactly like it should for a show about a school rock band: anxious, honest, with an unhinged guitar riff. Kessoku Band went from a fictional in-show band to a real musical phenomenon — their albums hit actual Japanese charts.
YOASOBI takes over and new names arrive: 2023
9. Oshi no Ko — «Idol» (YOASOBI)
The most popular anime opening by every measurable metric: streaming, YouTube, TikTok — the absolute leader everywhere. YOASOBI wrote a track that doubles as a thematic spoiler for the whole series if you pay attention to the lyrics. That's a rare feat.
10. Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 — «Where Our Blue Is» (Tatsuya Kitani)
Winner of the Crunchyroll Anime Awards 2024. The line «YOU ARE MY SPECIAL» spread across the internet the day the episode dropped. The Season 2 opening is a completely different register compared to «Kaikai Kitan»: quieter, more precise, and more disturbing because of it.
11. Frieren: Beyond Journey's End — «Yuusha» (YOASOBI)
A show about Frieren walking the long road of memory got an opening that takes its time — just like the show itself. YOASOBI sound different here than in «Idol»: meditative, with a sense of vast distance.
2024–2025: Creepy Nuts, Dandadan, and new stars
12. Mashle: Magic and Muscles Season 2 — «Bling-Bang-Bang-Born» (Creepy Nuts)
Nominated at the Crunchyroll Anime Awards 2025. Creepy Nuts pulled off the impossible: a track for a comedy shounen that sounds genuinely serious and instantly catchy at the same time. The music video's choreography became its own meme well before episode 2 aired.
13. Dandadan — «Otonoke» (Creepy Nuts)
Winner of the Crunchyroll Anime Awards 2025. 2 hits from one group in a single season — that hasn't happened in a while. «Otonoke» is sharper and more paranoid in tone, which fits Dandadan's chaotic world perfectly.
14. Solo Leveling — «LEvel» (SawanoHiroyuki[nZk]: TOMORROW X TOGETHER)
A Korean anime adaptation with a Korean opening — a landmark moment for the industry. Hiroyuki Sawano wrote the orchestral base, TXT added the pop hook, and the result plays like a trailer for a blockbuster.
15. One Piece OP 26 — «Uuuuus!» (Hiroshi Kitadani)
Nominated at the Crunchyroll Anime Awards 2025. One Piece has been consistently delivering above-average openings for the past few years. OP 26 — with flawless sakuga and Kitadani in top form — cemented the franchise's reputation for some of the best opening sequences in the medium.
Why these 15
For the top anime openings of the 2020s shortlist, 3 parameters mattered: community impact, musical quality, and the visual side. The list isn't trying to be objective — no such list exists. A few entries missed the cut not because they're weaker but because a limit is a limit:
- «Zankyosanka» (Aimer) from Demon Slayer: Mugen Train Arc — one of Aimer's best
- Ranking of Kings OP 2 — a Yamashita scene you want to break down frame by frame
- Vinland Saga Season 2 — an opening that plays like an epilogue to the first season
Test yourself
If you recognize all 15 from the first few notes, you're ready for the real challenge. Play the quiz on AniQuiz: an anime music quiz game where every track is a question, not just background. The top anime openings of the 2020s are only the starting point — the quiz pulls from every era and genre.