Kaiju No. 8 Receives Criticism for 'Bad Opening'

As is customary to do the first few episodes in a "cinematic" way, it wasn't until the second episode aired today that fans were able to see the opening and closing sequences for the anime adaptation of the popular manga "Kaiju No. 8." While the ending sequence has attracted attention for its visuals and the song performed by OneRepublic, it seems that the opening has not had the same luck.

In the general opinion of fans, a good opening should have a catchy song, striking visual sequences that draw the viewer into the world and style of the series, visual synchronization with the music to create an immersive experience, present the main characters in a visually appealing way and, as an additional but also appreciated detail, change slightly as the episodes progress.

Unfortunately, it seems that the opening of "Kaiju No. 8" couldn't exceed expectations, as it's receiving a lot of negative reviews not only for the use of 3DCG animation, but for the fact that the video seems more focused on being an MV (short for "Musical Video", a video that accompanies a commercial song) than an anime opening.

Criticism comes from fans in the West as well as in Japan, with the latter even mentioning that it was a mistake to choose an English-language song just to satisfy the global market, supposedly failing in the attempt:

"Wait, this is the real opening? Are we seeing this week in and week out?"
"At the end of the day, it's only the last few seconds that you can understand. No one will know what the show is about just by watching the opening, isn't that supposed to be the point?"
"Netflix's Ultraman also had this kind of opening, so I guess most of the new Production I.G anime will be like that. Usually this would go for an ending."
"I was more disappointed by a song that tries to imitate Linkin Park than by the opening itself."
"It's a shame. There's no information, no hook to appeal to the general public."
"I don't think it's bad, it's just a reflection of the tastes of the West. All anime produced outside are like that. In fact, foreign anime openings are becoming more and more like this."
"They set out to please both Japanese and foreigners, and failed in both missions."
"I saw a music video with panels from the manga and a good song that looks so much better than this."
"Geez, this is animation straight out of a PC from about twenty years ago, it's disappointing."
"This really threw me off, I thought they had made a mistake and put on the MV of the artist's song."
"Another opening I'm going to skip, won't there be any good ones this season?"
"It's like the opening of an American movie, and it's not what the Japanese anime world represents."
"They're trying to appeal to foreigners very strongly, I don't know if it worked for them."
"It looks like a really nice wallpaper."
"Good animation for an MV, but not for an opening. They should have done it like the one in the first season of Shingeki no Kyojin."
"It's actually very good. CGI doesn't bother me. It's very detailed and you can tell that a lot of work has been done on the visual effects. And the song is great too. It's a unique premiere. I don't mind having something different once in a while."
"I really liked the music, and the opening animation itself is great. However, we could have done something much better in animation."
"The song isn't too bad, but I don't like the visuals at all. I would have preferred classic animation with the cast and some action."
"The song is good and matches the anime. Visually his CG looks great for it, but it doesn't really feel like an opening."
"Only the last thirty seconds are good, the rest is mediocre but the song is good."
"The animation looks like something out of shitty live action, but the music is pretty cool."