Summary
- Anime openings often spoil key plot points like character deaths.
- Animation studios may assume viewers read the manga, justifying the spoilers.
- Spoilers in anime openings can range from major character deaths to the ending of the entire show.
Anime is notorious for putting in the worst spoilers in its openings. Some of these openings spoil things like certain character fights, upcoming moments, and even major deaths. While the spoilers have definitely been toned down in the openings of modern anime, they have not completely disappeared.
Perhaps the animation studios already assume the viewers are reading the manga, so they don’t consider the anime openings to be spoilers. It could also be that the studios would rather avoid creating multiple versions of the same opening while the arc progresses. Some anime do have multiple versions, but it’s rare to see them because of the extra work it requires.
8
Sign
Naruto Shippuden Opening Six By Flow
If you pay close attention to the sixth opening of Naruto Shippuden, you will notice many spoilers, including Jiraiya’s death at the hands of Pain. During the opening, Jiraiya is shown falling as he smiles and slowly closes his eyes. If that wasn’t obvious enough, the opening quickly cuts to Naruto, who is shocked and has a tear falling out of his eye.
The opening doesn’t stop the spoilers there, as it also spoils Naruto giving in to hatred and transforming into the Nine-Tailed fox. Okay, maybe that isn’t as obvious as Jiraiya’s death, but it’s still a major spoiler for the fight between Naruto and Pain.
7
Bloody Stream
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Opening Two By Coda
Openings in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure generally have some level of spoilers, but this one is a particularly bad case. Joseph and Caesar are seen fighting side by side in a beautiful scene. However, Caesar’s bubbles turn red as he screams in agony, followed by Joseph wearing Caesar’s headband and letting out a battle cry.
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It’s safe to say this would completely spoil the death of Caesar even without having to pay a lot of attention to the opening. The symbolism by itself spoiled enough, but Caesar also had to go off-screen with Joseph wearing his headband just to make sure that you caught the meaning of the red bubble.
6
Period
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood Opening Four By CHEMISTRY
During this opening, Ed and Al are seen standing in a massive transmutation circle, which then cuts to the gate of truth being shattered. This might not be much of a spoiler if you don’t know what it means. But for viewers who managed to figure it out, the whole ending of the show might’ve been spoiled.
These kinds of hints can be risky because spoiling the death of a character is one thing, but spoiling the ending of the whole anime is an entirely different level. Luckily, many casual viewers wouldn’t normally understand the hints or meanings in openings like these.
5
Shoukei To Shikabane No Michi
Attack On Titan Opening Five By Linked Horizon
You can figure out all the events occurring in the second part of Season 3 by going through this opening. To mention a few, it shows things like the beast titan throwing rocks at the scouts, Erwin leading the charge, and even Armin inheriting the colossal titan. All of these are massive moments in Attack on Titan’s best episodes and also dictate what path the anime takes.
Nearly every major event is either blatantly shown or referenced throughout the fifth opening of Attack on Titan. Luckily, things like Armin inheriting the colossal Titan are shown in quick flashes that are hard to catch, but it’s impossible to miss the Beast Titan’s assault or certain match-ups shown throughout the opening.
4
ALONES
Bleach Opening Six By Aqua Timez
The sixth Bleach opening spoils the fact that Orihime goes with Aizen to Hueco Mundo. After showing a few emotional scenes between Orihime and Ichigo, Orihime walks on a road while a portal opens behind her. You can see Aizen waiting for her in that portal and Orihime turns to him.
It doesn’t end there: it also shows Ichigo and the others running in the Hueco Mundo desert, implying they are going to go there to save Orihime. At face value, this might not seem like a big spoiler. However, you have to remember that this opening aired a good 20 or so episodes before Orihime went with Aizen.
3
Zankyou Sanka
Demon Slayer Opening Three By Aimer
The third opening of Demon Slayer spoils the existence of Gyutaro and hints at Nezuko’s grown-up form. While Tengen Uzui is seen fighting Daki in a beautiful animation sequence, we see Gyutaro’s back in the sky launching an attack on Tengen right after that.
We also see Tengen holding back Gyutaro’s blood demon art while Gyutaro is off-screen. While this would be easy to miss, Nezuko getting her transformation is made very obvious. The flower pattern on Nezuko’s form surrounds her in the opening while she’s looking down, alluding to some sort of change in her.
2
Departure!
Hunter X Hunter Opening Five Masatoshi Ono
The Chimera Ant arc’s version of Departure airs during the very first episode. Not only does it spoil what the royal guards look like, but it also spoils the king’s character design. Meruem is a big character who was built up until the reveal. However, all of that hype goes to waste if you simply see what he looks like in the opening.
Additionally, the opening spoils Gon’s fall into despair and hints at his transformation. While not as obvious as the rest, you can still easily catch Gon quite literally falling into a pit of darkness while his hair gets longer.
1
Tagatame
My Hero Academia Opening 12 By Toru Kitajima
Hagakure Toru’s face was hidden throughout the entirety of My Hero Academia, right up until the reveal in Season 7 of the anime. However, just before the reveal, My Hero Academia’s opening 12 shows her face for a few frames.
Normally, a few frames would be very easy to miss, but this was such an abrupt cut that you clearly see her face even without pausing the opening. It completely undermined the eventual reveal that happened during a beautiful moment.
