CAA: Christian Anime Alliance

This is something that kinda bugs me. Why do some anime start with ep 1 skipping the theme song? It makes me feel like I missed something when any TV show doesn't have an opening theme. (It's my only peeve with Lost)

I guess it's because it's the very first episode; they want to make it special, or at least grab viewers??

maybe because a lot of times the openings have main characters or occurances in them that you aren't supposed to meet just yet?

Even American shows do that nowadays, trying to make first eps special by not using the usual opening credits. ^^v

CR makes an interesting point - though I would hope many realize that certain spoilers just shouldn't be in the montage!

yeah no joke Mith! *remembers digimon and how it ruined it for me*

It's far more simple than you might think.

Aside from the spoilers in the opening montage, it's a matter of time. Shows only have a finite amount of time to work with, and having an extra 90-120 seconds or so (which is actually about 5% of your air time) to introduce your characters and set up your plot is a considerable benefit. Rumbling Hearts doesn't have an OP in the second episode either, and both the first and second EDs consist of music, credits, and despite that, the show goes on throughout the credits.

Or it could be simply the opening haven't been created in the beginning of the anime.

Sometimes it might simply be the network's decision not to run the opening at all in favor of having more time for commercials*Koff Adult Swim Koff*

ChristianRonin wrote:yeah no joke Mith! *remembers digimon and how it ruined it for me*

Wait a minute...I thought all episodes of Digimon had the opening title--even the first ones!

Anyway, back on subject, the decision to start with an opening theme may vary from creator to creator. They probably don't want a long opening sequence with a killer song to wear out the view's senses before the anime starts, so they save it for the 2nd episode. Fullmetal Alchemist premiere episode skipped the "Ready, Steady, Go" title sequence, and jumped right into the story. IMHO, that was one of the small little details that made it so great.

KBS: I was talking about the second half of the first season..^^; the opening for the show kinda spoiled something huge. at least IMO.