Manga Newcomers Own the Conversation
The survey, conducted by the Japanese anime news site Anime Anime, drew a near-even split of male and female respondents, with a readership skewing slightly older: about 35 percent were in their 30s, while teens and twentysomethings each made up roughly 20 percent. Rather than a numbered ranking, the poll results sort fan favorites into three loose groups, and the outlet stresses the survey is a snapshot of reader interest, not a contest.
New manga adaptations took the biggest share of attention. SEKAI NO OWARI's "Stella," the opener for Science SARU's Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia, drew the kind of comments only source-material readers write. One voter said the lyrics read as if written straight from the heart of Sitara, the enslaved girl at the story's center, and admitted the song nearly moves them to tears every time.
Lia's "Amayadori no Shōkei" opens Ibittekonai Gibo to Gishi (roughly, "the stepmom and stepsister who don't bully me"). Readers praised how the opening animation and lyrics trace the adopted protagonist's story while the light melody keeps things from getting heavy, a fit for the show's warmhearted comedy.
Hiroki Nanami sings "Akatsuki no Sora" for Red River, Tatsunoko Production's adaptation of the time-slip shojo manga about Yuuri Suzuki, a girl pulled into the Hittite Empire of ancient Anatolia. One respondent said the song feels like an invitation to Anatolia itself, and made a point of watching Nanami's music video too.
Tatsuya Kitani (the voice behind Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2's opener "Where Our Blue Is") contributes "Isho" (遺書, roughly "last will") to Draw This, Then Die!, Minoru Toyoda's comedy about a manga-obsessed high schooler on the island of Izu Oshima. Voters were caught off guard by how bright the song sounds given that title. One got hooked at episode 1, then fell the rest of the way watching Kitani perform it on the Japanese TV music special THE MUSIC DAY 2026 the following night.
SWEET STEADY's "Kimi ga Warui n Dakara ne'" for Let's Go Kaikigumi earned votes for its chant-like "kiki-kaikai" refrain, which one reader called weirdly addictive. The song also slips the scaredy-cat protagonist's signature "Haa!?" yelp in right before the chorus, a detail lifted straight from the manga.
ReoNa's "Amore" opens the yuri drama I Want to Love You Till Your Dying Day. Readers connected its fragile melody to Sheena, one of the girls living alongside death at a training school that sends them to the battlefield, and to the hope she finds after meeting the new arrival Mimi.
The Character-Song Contingent
Openers performed in character still have a constituency. "Madual↔Heart," the duet that opens Heroine? Seijo? Iie, All Works Maid Desu (Ko)! (roughly, "Heroine? Saint? No, I'm an all-works maid, and proud of it"), pairs Yume Miyamoto and Rumi Ōkubo as leads Melody Wave and Luciana. One respondent noted that character-song openings feel rarer than they used to be, and called this one the right curtain-raiser for showing how the two heroines relate.
Reiwa no Dara-san, an occult comedy, opens with "Dara Dara Dancing," sung by cast members Mutsumi Tamura, Minami Tsuda, and Momoka Terasawa along with narrator Masaki Terasoma. Readers enjoyed the whiplash of an eerie spoken intro flipping into a poppy dance number, complete with choreography they said makes them want to dance along.
Franchise Veterans Still Deliver
Nana Mizuki's "CRIMSON BULLET" opens Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha EXCEEDS Gun Blaze Vengeance, and longtime fans treated it as a given. More than 20 years after the first TV series, Mizuki is still supplying the franchise's swagger, with lyrics voters read as tied to new lead Shiina.
BanG Dream! YUME∞MITA's opener, "Kore wa Bokutachi no Seizon no Arasuji" by in-universe band Mugendai MewType, got credit for Tomoya Tabuchi's lyrics and music, vocalist Arare's delivery, and an opening animation that has the whole band bouncing around the frame.
Momoiro Clover Z brings "Kaishin no Ichigeki" to Honoo no Toukyuu Musume Dodge Danko, a dodgeball series voters framed as inheriting the burning spirit of the 1990s favorite Dodge Danpei. And among the headline picks, Aina the End's "Blue Shining Star," the theme for the one-night ONE PIECE HEROINES TV special that aired July 5, 2026, also drew votes.
Looking Ahead
This installment covers opening themes only; Anime Anime's survey asked about Summer 2026 theme songs across the board, so the openings are just the first batch of results.
Several featured shows are already available internationally. Red River simulcasts on Crunchyroll with new episodes on Tuesdays, BanG Dream! YUME∞MITA also streams on Crunchyroll, and Let's Go Kaikigumi is listed on Prime Video. For readers who want the source material, the manga behind Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia carries the official English title A Witch's Life in Mongol, and Draw This, Then Die! runs in Shogakukan's Monthly Shonen Sunday.