Should the OP and ED be Considered When Determining a Show's Quality?

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

I've been thinking about this when I'm trying to determine how good the show I'm watching is. On the one hand, the OP and ED can be skipped without missing anything, and so they aren't necessary to enjoying a good show. On the other hand, however, an OP can really be excellently done and get one excited for a show. For instance, Birdy the Mighty's OP was actually what sold me on the show, and I might even credit the OP with getting me back into anime by getting me excited to watch Birdy.

So, I'm curious about CAA's thoughts on this.

[Rusty Claymore]

The OP and ED are very important for me. It sets the mood and tone for the show, and I often end up collecting the songs. I'd watch the OP every single time, except my folks don't have the patience for it. XP
One of the only shows that had an OP that I didn't like was R.O.D. the TV. The music and video clips were great, but the frequent Bond-esque stills robbed the sparkles for me.

[Agloval]

I dunno if determining how good or otherwise a show is is sufficiently mechanical a process that you can have a rule like 'X element can(not) be taken into account'.

I suppose if I had to write a review, I wouldn't be terribly bothered if the OP and ED were bad, but I would note and credit the show if they were particularly good. I don't think they can make or break a title (though they might make or break particular viewers' pleasure -- hence the 'I couldn't even get past the OP' comments I see on YouTube now and then). Mind you, I might also be willing to talk about something as far removed from the anime itself as related audio dramas, or the DVD case covers, or what-have-you -- anything that struck me as good or bad in an interesting way. Maybe I'm in an inclusive mood at the moment.

As you say, a good OP can be a good advertisement. It's always nice if the OP is impressive enough that I can link a friend to it as a recommendation for the anime.

[Midori]

I think a really good OP and ED can really bring a show to life for me and make me love it. However, this is a rare enough occurrence that I don't especially hold it against an anime if its OP and ED kind of suck (in which case I usually skip them).

So basically, they're just one more factor that can make an anime good, except for that I can ignore them if they're bad, so it's kind of a win-tie situation (rather than win-lose or win-win).

[LadyRushia]

I think they're very important and usually the shows I like will also have OPs I like. OPs generally contain hints for major things that'll happen as the series goes along, so I'll usually watch them unless the song is terrible or I'm marathoning. It's fun to slowly be able to figure out what those little flashes and hints are.

[ShiroiHikari]

An OP or ED can't break a show for me. I just skip them if I don't like the song.

The only time an OP can ruin a show for me is if it contains major spoilers.

[Hiryu]

The opening and ending for me are a separate part of the anime and don't really reflect the content within the anime in a detailed way, unless, of course, there are spoilers in the opening or ending (Why do they do that? It totally kills the tension.) Even then, it doesn't really affect my decision in watching/recommending. I will however, note or mention the spoilers in the op/ed.

[Yamamaya]

Generally speaking good shows have good OPs and EDs. They generally create an impression of the show in my mind. If I really like a show's OP I'm probably more likely to watch it than if the show has a really crappy OP.

[Wolf-man]

I think that a shows OP and ED are important parts of the show and that they should be considered when rating a show. I mean I don't think that it should be a complete determining factor on whether a show is good or bad but if the show has a sucky theme then it definitely gets negative points. I think that a show can be so epic but if the theme sucks then some of the epicness kind of looses some of its appeal.

[TheSubtleDoctor]

To directly answer the question: no. While it is true that those segments of the program may draw in more viewers or fail to do so, the OP and/or ED have no bearing on the quality of a show, which is determined by things such as storytelling, characterization, action, entertainment value, etc.

I think an analogue to a show's having a good OP/ED is a show coming packaged with an art book. It's a great bonus that enhances the overall value of the product. Of course, you really dig it. But, subtracting that element of the product would not detract from the quality of the show itself.

[Saiya~Jin]

Usually an OP helps me decide on watching a show. Since, IMO, it SHOULD set the general mood/atmosphere for the show. It's not a make/break factor, though. But it definitely helps peak my interest if I enjoy the OP. ED themes, too, but not to the same extent.

[the_wolfs_howl]

Definitely not. I've seen several animes that I loved and thought were great shows, but disliked the OP or ED and always skipped them. For example, I always skipped the songs in Death Note (couldn't take the screaming profanity ) and Ergo Proxy (didn't like the voices). And there are plenty of shows where I'll turn it off before it gets to the ending because it's boring or I don't like it (Haibane Renmei, Trigun, Monster...). The only time I've fallen in love with an ending theme and not cared for the opening was Claymore, but I digress....

I think theme songs shouldn't be the measure of an anime because someone might enjoy the story of the show but not care for the style of music, for example. It's always nice when you like both (because then the song gets you extra pumped for the next episode), but why should that detract from your enjoyment of a series when you can just breeze right past it and not subject yourself to music you don't like?

The only time I've ever watched an opening and gone, "Woah, no thanks" was the Lucky Star opening x.x That's the most grating, annoying song I think I've ever heard, and is enough to throw me off the anime for the rest of my life. But really, I never felt the slightest inclination to watch a show with overly cutesy school girls anyway, so I would still not want to watch it if I hadn't seen the opening.

[mkalv]

Not really. Some good anime have really lousy openings, and vice versa.

[rocklobster]

I think the opening matters quite a bit. It sets the mood for the show, and when done right, can really hype you up. This is what kind of annoys me about American television. These days, we seem to be so ready to cram in as many commercials as possible, that if the opening appears at all, it's done rather rushed. (lately it seems like many shows just flash a logo on the screen and that's it: Lost, V, Eureka, Mr. Sunshine, etc)

[mouse]

Good opening and ending sequences are nice additions, but I won't consider a series terrible if it didn't have both. If, however, the series is all about music, I would consider the OP and ED sequences much more important.

[Wallachia]

Should the OP and ED be Considered When Determining a Show's Quality?

Should you judge the quality of a movie by the credits?

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

Funny, Star Wars is a much stronger movie because of how it chose to do its credits, so maybe you should?

[Midori]

Funny, Star Wars is a much stronger movie because of how it chose to do it's credits, so maybe you should?

Do you mean its story intro? Because those aren't the credits. The credits are at the end (mind you, they still have awesome John Williams music during them, but otherwise they're plain credits.)

But I do think of the credits of a movie much like the OP and ED of anime. I think that having good music or animation or whatever during the credits of a movie is a nice plus, but is not necessary to make a great movie. An example of a movie with great credits is Wall-E.

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

Exactly, I'm saying that they chose to move the credits to the end rather than a then-traditional opening credit scene. If I remember correctly, they actually got fined pretty heavily for doing the same thing for ESB.

It isn't a spectacular credits sequence aside from the music, but it was an important part to the movie because it was at the end.

That said, I don't think the comparison is quite the same.