Anime is a spectacular medium that has provided its community a variety of top of the line entertainment, and it certainly doesn't look like it's going to stop any time soon. Leading the charge of the anime pack is Shonen anime, an action-packed subset of the medium that seems to dominate it, simultaneously bringing in young fans and somehow managing to maintain them over a lifetime.
Entire lives could be built around the adventures of everyone's Shonen heroes; but if there's anything to really drive a unifying force between the community, it would the very theme music that has fans singing along at the very beginning. The art of the Shonen OP is a nimble one. To hype up a season and sound great doing it is a difficult job, and there are certainly forgettable failures across the years. However, in celebration of a decade of greatness, this list will be running down the best Shonen OPs from the 2010s.
10 Black Clover-Opening 3, "Black Rover"
Black Clover had to work a lot to earn the community that it has. Beyond just appearing like just another Shonen anime, its own production is notorious for not being the most glamorous among any of its contemporaries.
However, if there was anything to ever earn fan's trust, perhaps even passionately blindly, it would be a banger opening song, and "Black Rover" by Vickeblanka was just that. Showing spectacular art, teasing heartfelt action, and practically screaming the name of the show in people's faces, this OP worked hard to leave an impression on fans.
9 Fairy Tail-Opening 16, "STRIKE BACK"
However, if there was ever a strong example of Shonen OP fundamentals, i.e. being the most Shonen looking thing in existence, it would be all the action-ey edge that went into Fairy Tail's "STRIKE BACK." The music itself has a grungy beat to get people's adrenaline running while still flexible enough to tie into the more emotional cadences of the animated sequence.
Speaking of which, there is a lot of information in the opening. Dragons, clocks, two Lucy's, an epic sequence between Natsu and Erik, and even an overly dramatic falling tear all served well to tantalize people's imaginations.
8 My Hero Academia-Opening 2, "Peace Sign"
Not a year has gone by recently without people arguing over which is the most banger My Hero Academia OP. If anything, good for Bones for giving what is nearly becoming its flagship anime (sorry Fullmetal Alchemist) a consistently great run of OPs. However, if one had to pick an entry for a list of Shonen OPs, "Peace Sign" would probably have the strongest genre fundamentals of them all.
It's all hype in this one, as the students of UA all slowly prep for the incoming tournament. The opening has gradual pacing that eventually explodes into a high octane barrage of action, character poses, and OP greatness.
7 Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba-Opening 1, "Gurenge"
The young gun of this list, Demon Slayer has skyrocketed in fame and success for a variety of very good things that it does: Great action, great characters, and animation to boot.
All of its already great qualities get rounded up by an incredibly well-animated opening sequence that not only perfectly encapsulates the cold, uphill journey of the series' rising samurai but has quite a tune to go along with it.
6 One Piece-Opening 17, "Wake Up"
Of course, the current king of Shonen Jump has had its fair share of great OPs. Given its exact length and all the money its fans throw at it, it's customary that a few of them would have to be good. Landing on this list is the constantly running feet of the Straw Hats, as this list gives its spot to the anime's 15th Anniversary OP, "Wake Up."
This festive sequence provides a humble look at the daily lives of the Straw Hats that is soon haunted by a golden, Hercules beetle and later the Marines and Blackbeard. There's plenty of fast-paced action, showing off the skills of the entire crew, plus plenty of great teases for the ensuing Dressrosa Arc.
5 Gintama-Opening 9, "Togenkyou Alien"
Not everything is all action and hype on this list. Sometimes a good Shonen OP just needs to make its fans smile, and Gintama's ninth opening, "Togenkyou Alien," does a great job of doing that. The beginning of it already preps fans with some hilarious funny faces that get rewarded with a fast sequence of dancing, chasing, and explosions.
There's a short tidbit of endearing action and backstory that later becomes washed away with more hilarity. There's even an infamous episode where the characters actually mess up the OP sequence, insinuating that they've had to perform it for every episode. Now, that's Gintama.
4 Naruto Shippuden-Opening 6, "Sign"
To be fair, this opening premiered in October of 2009. It still makes this list, however, for having a good portion of its run last within early 2010, plus the opening itself just being immensely good. Naruto never seems to disappoint with its OPs.
The series is full of action-packed yet always somehow somber montages that can get people cheering and crying in equal measure. However, "Sign" makes it here for pretty much just crying, as this tear-jerking send off to a fan favorite is as beautifully nostalgic as it is stunningly well animated.
3 One Punch Man-Opening 1, "The Hero!! ~Ikareru Ken ni Honō o Tsukeru~"
Few OPs can perfectly balance an immense feeling of power and downright ridiculous spectacle the same way that One Punch Man's iconic first OP did. A faithful callback to the stoic, hard-boiled tones of anime's past, this fun little sequence simply features Saitama punching the atoms out of several colorfully designed enemies.
The build-up to each of his punches and the magnificent particles that follow easily define Shonen spectacle as well as the absurd, in-your-face quality that makes this series so special.
2 JoJo's Bizarre Adventures: Stardust Crusaders-Opening 2, "JoJo Sono Chi no Kioku ~end of THE WORLD~"
Reaching the end of this list, the only thing that was hard to do was to decide whether to label this entry as Opening 2 or 4 (JoJo titles are, appropriately, becoming bizarre). The entry itself was an easy, natural fit for a showcase of Shonen spectacle, action, and personality. The camera charging at the crusaders, in the beginning, gives a strong impression of an impending threat that each of the characters are clearly battle-ready.
The staircase sequence is a nice little tease for the enemies and obstacles to come, and the ending itself is outright iconic, showing a sequence breaking stare down between the protagonist and antagonist that the series would try to replicate later but not with that same heart-stopping feeling.
1 Attack on Titan-Opening 1, "Feurroter Pfeil und Bogen"
Easily landing the top of this list is an OP that can still get fans singing 7 years later as well as set a high standard for what all amazing OPs should be, a standard that the series still struggles to recapture itself (not that it's doing a bad job by any means).
The first OP of Attack on Titan just had this stunning quality that took everyone by surprise, showing series-defining action and an overwhelming sense of community that is hard to find in any of the series' contemporaries. Seriously, any sequence that could get anyone slightly trying to simultaneously learn German and Japanese is doing something truly special.