'My Hero Academia': Ranking the Openings

To be honest, they’re all great.

My Hero Academia is about a week away, and it’s easily one of the most anticipated anime of the year. This anime is popular for a million reasons, from the fun plot and action sequences to the dynamic characters and emotional stories they have. It also helps that they have great openings. Having a good opening is pretty much essential to any anime (I mean, you may have even heard the opening to Neon Genesis Evangelion and don’t even know it) as it highlights and foreshadows important story arcs to expect. My Hero Academia has had five openings thus far, and honestly, ranking them is very hard. However, before the latest season drops and we get another (most likely) awesome opening to look forward to every week, let’s look at the openings that came before and see which is the best of the best.

5) "Make My Story"

Is this most recent opening your favorite? Good, because it’s still amazing even though it’s my lowest entry. To say it again, I love each opening, and honestly none of them are bad. This one ends up on the bottom mainly due to the fact that it’s come after so many other awesome openings. For example, the visuals show the Hero Exam arc, which comes on the heels of the end of All Might. After the wild battle that was All Might vs. All for One, it’s hard to feel like the stakes are as high.

That’s not to say there aren’t great moments in this opening that carry that same integral plot points, like Todoroki showing parallels to his father Endeavor, and Bakugo staring after All Might, wanting to be like his favorite hero. Overall, though, this opening is more about the fun action of the series, and not necessarily the life-threatening ones. I love the shots of Lida reaching out a helping hand and Uraraka’s adorable smile, giving main character Deku’s best friends a chance to shine. Then there is Deku himself looking so darn happy at the very end, and I love that so much. This opening has all the energy characteristic of the show, but for me it doesn’t necessarily stick out as much as the others.

4) "The Day"

I’m sorry to put the first one so low on this list, but there’s only five of them, so it’s difficult. "The Day" started us off with the show, and it perfectly captures what is the main story line of the show; the powerless Deku trying his hardest to be a pro hero like his number one hero All Might. It opens with lyrics about starting a great adventure as Deku reaches out to All Might, standing in the light ahead of him. It’s such a great introduction to the character, and has an even greater impact in the first few episodes when Deku is just starting to meet All Might and see his dream get started.

I also enjoy the way this upbeat rock song introduces us to the anime. It shows all the students in Deku’s hero class with bright colored backgrounds, their teacher Aizawa in action, and a glimpse of one of the best fight scenes of the show between All Might and Nomu. A key moment in this opening parallels Deku and his school rival, Bakugo. As young children they face each other, Deku optimistic and Bakugo with his “I’m better than you” attitude directed at our protagonist, before the shot switches to them being older and facing away from each other. Deku and Bakugo are interesting in that they both idolize All Might and want to be heroes, but they’re so different. They’re relationship is central to the show, and "The Day" shows it to us right away. Also, Deku is honestly my favorite character and anytime we get to see him as a young child is the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen.

3) "Peace Sign "

This is the second opening to My Hero Academia. Again, the beat is super catchy and energetic. This is one of the most playful sounding openings out of all of them, as this is for the tournament arc of the show. Like the fifth openings, this one doesn’t have any life or death stakes to it, but it does show the dedication the students have to doing well in the tournament to kick-start their careers as pro heroes.

I particularly love the opening with All Might’s boots jumping into frame as Deku watches on with that determined look on his face. It also shows the students stretching and preparing for the tournament, which is really cool, and I have to mention because it’s my roommate’s favorite part. It helps to show which of the students are the main ones to focus on, including Deku and Bakugo, and others like Todoroki, Kirishima, Uraraka, and Iida.

I mainly love the shots of the tournament in this one, mainly the short clip of Deku and Todoroki fighting each other. Other than the recent All Might vs All for One fight, Deku vs Todoroki is probably the best fight of the show so far. Both are pushed to their physical and mental limits, and watching Deku break through to the reserved Todoroki is amazing. You get a glimpse of it in the opening from Todoroki’s face as Deku blasts him with a bit of his One for All power. This one lands in the middle for me because the arc is so good, and the mood and vibrancy to this song fits perfectly with the arc. It’s too much fun, and I love rewatching it.

2) "Odd Future "

Now we get to my top two. I had a bit of a hard time choosing, but I ended up putting the fourth opening here. The fourth opening is awesome, as it shows Deku in his full glory as a hero. The start when he bolts off into a run followed by an epic piano break gets my hyped every time.

This one has so many cool shots in it, from Todoroki flying through the air, All Might fighting All for One, and Shigaraki walking in darkness. This opening gives a little bit of everything in this arc, from finally showing our main group of villains to Deku fighting a GIANT MUSCLE MAN!! There’s a lot of fighting going on, and you can really tell from the crazy energetic chorus. The ending is also great, with Deku standing beside All Might, ready to fight. I love seeing the two of them together and posing, as the relationship between the teacher and student stays the focal point for the show.

Another small detail about this opening is that when they show the title, they use this shine effect to go across the words, and it’s the coolest thing ever.

1) "Sora Ni Utaeba"

This opening is perfect, and that’s all I really have to say. I love the way Deku and All Might smile at each other and clasp hands, showing the start of Deku being able to really fight on his own along with All Might. It’s the first time we also see Deku with his powered up look. He’s lightning quick and has control over his powers now.

This song is my favorite to listen to out of all the openings. It has a great beat to it, a catchy chorus, and badass guitar riffs. This opening also sounds like the most serious of all of them, as this arc shows the students getting into real life fights and risking their lives. The best sequence is during the chorus when notable villain Stain fights Todoroki, Iida, and Deku. The trio of students compliment each other and work together, and it’s the coolest thing I’ve seen in any of the My Hero Academia openings.

I love the character shots in this too. It gives us a glimpse of Momo’s insecurities, Uraraka’s desire to be stronger, and Bakugo’s rage at Deku seeming to surpass him out of nowhere. A personal favorite of mine is when Iida turns to the camera with a shot of his older brother reflected in his glasses. It’s just a moment of what his arc is, and it works super well. For me, this is the catchiest of the openings while also having meaningful plot details. Please, just go listen to this opening right now.

I’m not sure where this new opening will fall, but My Hero Academia hasn’t disappointed me yet. With the introduction of characters like Mirio, and rumors of more character development to our existing characters like Kirishima, I’m excited to see what they’ll give us in the new season.