The euphoric, heart-pounding, and body-moving melodies of the Naruto franchise’s openings, have captivated the ears and hearts of fans since 2002 when the series aired. Naruto’s openings consist of a combination of traditional Japanese music, rock, and various other genres, immersing fans into an epic and visually appealing mash-up of animation. Even without a full understanding of the lyrics, that has never kept fans from dancing to or humming along with these songs.
Throughout Naruto and Naruto Shippuden, the openings have conveyed messages about not giving up in the face of adversity, how loved ones will be there when times are tough, and most commonly how friendships can help people persevere even through dark times. These messages have been shared with fans through exciting instrumentals and seraphic voices. Fans were given 29 amazing openings over the two series run between 2002 and 2017, such as No Boy No Cry by Stance Punks and Niwaka Ame no mo Makezu by NICO Touches the Walls, but among those 29 openings, a handful standout as Naruto’s best openings of all time.
Light of a Firefly, like much of Naruto itself, is about Naruto and Sasuke’s relationship. Though Naruto clearly remains hopeful that he can redeem Sasuke, the rogue shinobi himself is only falling deeper and deeper into Orochimaru’s clutches. The lyrics reflect this as the singer mentions wanting to see someone they’ve lost again. All of it is a solid concept and is mostly well-executed, but Light of a Firefly’s primary flaw is its animation.
Though Naruto is well-known for its solid animation, Light of a Firefly instead primarily features static images of the series’ main characters looking pensive and worried. Though the intent is clearly to reflect the darker tone of Shippuden as the characters face uncertainty, the result just isn’t as visibly interesting as many of the series’ best openings.
Fitting with its name, Naruto’s third opening Turning Sadness Into Kindness is all about the contrast between Naruto’s lonely early life and his time with Team 7. The animation in Turning Sadness Into Kindness is well done, conveying Naruto’s journey well and showing just how much he’s grown in such a short amount of time. One of the best shots in the opening is the final one, where Naruto starts running alone only for the rest of Team 7 to pop up.
Though Turning Sadness Into Kindness is a great opening with some great animation, what lets it down is the song by little little. The music is good, but doesn’t necessarily fit with the opening animation. Overall, this isn’t enough to ruin the opening, but it does hurt it at least a little bit.
R.O.C.K.S by Hound Dog is certainly an odd choice for Naruto’s first opening, which is actually what ends up making it perfect. The music by Hound Dog has a distinctly 80s vibe to it that feels like a strange fit for a series that largely sold itself on its youthful energy as Naruto did. Not helping matters is how the music ends up contrasting with the visuals. R.O.C.K.S’ more chill energy doesn’t exactly fit the action scene of Team 7 facing some bandits.
Despite these problems though, R.O.C.K.S ends up working precisely because it’s so off. There is a nostalgic feeling to the song, as though a future Naruto is looking back on the early days of Team 7 right alongside the audience. There is an innocence and simplicity to everything that makes R.O.C.K.S a treat to revisit knowing everything that would happen later on in the series. While far from the franchise’s best opening, R.O.C.K.S earns its place in Naruto’s history as the opening that introduced many fans to the ninja world.
Sakura is one of Naruto’s most misunderstood heroes, which is why it’s refreshing to see her get a bit of the spotlight in Shippuden’s 9th opening, Lovers by 7!! Seven Oops. The opening is a bit scattershot in its approach, showing various groups active in the series at the time. The Akatsuki, the Five Kage, and the members of the Village Hidden in the Clouds are all shown in the middle of action.
Despite the varied subjects though, what anchors Lovers is Sakura and her struggles with Naruto and Sasuke. The opening starts with the young kunoichi caught between the two as their feud breaks apart the land between them while all Sakura can do is pray that the two can settle their differences. The lyrics reinforce this, as the singer is talking to a loved one who can’t quite show their true emotions. If the opening featured a little more of Sakura and honed in on these themes, it might have been a classic. As it is, Lovers is still strong, but not Naruto’s best.
Empty Heart by Anly has the unenviable task of closing out the entire Naruto saga, and though there are better openings, the series’ final introduction accomplishes its goals admirably. The opening shows off the characters in their Blank Period designs as they go about their lives, clearly happy to finally have found some amount of peace despite all the hardships they faced.
Empty Heart’s defining moment is the montage of Naruto and Sasuke’s fights leading up to their reconciliation as young adults with a high five. The lyrics reinforce the central theme of Naruto and Sasuke’s relationship as the singer talks about not giving up on loved ones no matter how dark their life gets. This perfectly reflects Naruto’s refusal to give up on Sasuke, making Empty Heart a perfect opening to close out Naruto Shippuden.
Hero’s Come Back!! started Naruto Shippuden with the titular ninja returning to Konohagakure. This opening perfectly set the tone for the new series, with its usage of drums and guitar combined with hard Japanese rap lyrics. The visuals featured the cast in their new gear combined with blurred, grainy images. This insinuated that the series would have a much darker and more mature tone, and it was executed perfectly.
In some of the most notable English lyrics, “3, 2, 1 make some noise,” are images of Garra, his brother, Konkaro, his sister, Temari, and Naruto showing concern as he vanishes from the screen and a hand is drowning in sand. With dark images of the Akatsuki and The 9 Tails, this first opening sets an exciting yet eerie tone for the series.
Naruto Shippuden opening 15 Guren (Crimson Lotus) by Does leads with a powerful guitar lead and dominating display of drums that breaks out into a menacingly paced masterpiece that is visually impressive and epic to hear. Crimson Louts captures the depth and malice of the Senju and Uchia feud. Translated lyrics mention, “Heads and tails, good and evil, light and shadow keep looking for the answer in between,” with visuals featuring Naruto and Sasuke with a wavering black line to separate them and a young First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, and Madara Uchiha with a split between them as well.
Guren’s lyrics and saturated visuals demonstrated how enemies or opposites can find common ground or die trying. Crimson Lotus remains with a dark dreamlike hue throughout as it showcases the rebirth of the 4 Kage, Neji’s death, the reunion of team 7, the bad blood between Tobirama and Madara, and the battle between Kakashi and Obito.
The band that seamlessly set the tone for the entirety of Naruto and Naruto Shippuden, Asian Kung-Fu Generation, gave fans and opening that stands the test of time with Blood Circulator. From the muffled guitar intro that breaks into an all-out jam session, followed by a voice so strong it sounds like a perfectly played instrument, Naruto Shippuden opening 19 executed a phenomenal close to the War Arc, Naruto’s ultimate villain Kaguya the Rabbit Goddess, Infinite Tsukuyomi, and Naruto vs Sasuke.
The lyrics of Blood Circulator focus on how one should never give up in the face of despair, with visuals of Naruto sinking into darkness while Team 7 continues to press on through battle. Together the lyrics and visuals climax in epic proportion as Naruto rises from darkness, and alongside Sasuke, they charge head first at Kaguya to the solo strings of a guitar and banging of drums.
The Naruto Shippuden opening that is better known as Shikamaru’s opening uses malefic tones and instrumentals to show the magnitude of the coming battle between the Akatsuki members Hidan and Kakuzu and Asuma Sensai along with his Team 10 and Jonin. Closer by Joe Inoue focuses on the importance of life and savoring it while we can, which becomes existentially apparent when Team 10 is faced with the death of Asuma Sensai.
The visuals of Closer are focused around Shikamaru and it’s all riveting, bringing in goose bump barring excitement that inspires fans to keep moving forward no matter what we’re faced with, even death. This opening is more melodic and calming, but the thrill behind its sequences easily makes it rank among Naruto’s best openings.