What's in an OP? - How Haikyuu Gets You Hyped

A way too deep analysis of anime openings. This week, these anime directors discovered one simple trick to get you stoked as hell. Doctors hate them!
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Also on facebook: / mothersbasementofficial
Songs used: Imagination (original and instrumental) by Spyair.
Haikyuu!! created by Production I.G. based on an original manga written by Haruichi Furudate and published by Shueisha in Shonen Jump. Series licensed for distribution in North America by Sentai Filmworks.

[@arijeanz]

I've watched haikyuu to the point were I can recognize each character by their shoes

[@titaniacelestine]

Oh god me too we're doomed

[@GhoulishGrime]

i have a new goal in life

[@neriart]

same help

[@koma6367]

same omg we're all going to hell

[@stormiestarz]

saME

[@Lunai5444]

Also Hinata contrasts with the Little Giant : As his idol stands alone on the court and we look up to him, and right after we look down to Hinata, and we then see that on the contrary he isn't alone, all his teammates are behind him (+ the ligh contrasts too)

[@colorjojo5]

holy shit this is interesting. I never thought I wanted to know why haikyuu gets me so fucking hyped, but now I do. And it doesn't take away from the hype.

[@shokumaaaa3872]

+Anine De Paepe (colorjojo) true

[@oof-rr5nf]

Anine De Paepe In fact, it *adds* to the hype for me.

[@sim.frischh9781]

Haikyuu is the first sportshow i enjoyed in decades. The contrast and communication between the two main chars is hillarious.

[@VirusZero0140]

What about Kurokos basketball?

[@imperatrixumbrosa8443]

Haikyuu is so Hype because: 1st, the openings and endings are so great 2nd, the story the plot and many characters are well written 3rd, the comedy, because it blends in the story, also it is on the point 4th, THE OST IS SO AWESOME!! GOD DAMN IT!!

[@vinny-gq6nz]

The characters are so well-written you cry anyway even if Karasuno won.

[@vronji]

@@vinny-gq6nz It's not even that, I cried with Kita when he got a jersey for the first time despite barely knowing him. Haikyuu can make you cry in pretty much every situation

[@vwpananan6805]

well goddamnit haikyuu. stop controlling my brain

[@noe4354]

You will never escape

[@elizapotato4378]

I played Volleyball without being taught by anyone. This anime actually taught me how to play Volleyball. And now... I actually play sports.

[@sameirashroff6003]

Eliza Potato I didn’t think people with Phil icons left the house lmao (proud of you tho you’re doing gr8 all the best)

[@Just_Some_Guy_with_a_Mustache]

Volleyball? An anime about volleyball? With Spyair doing the opening? Never thought I wanted that until now.

[@hinatashoyi8174]

Mexican Jellal?

[@janejanejaney]

Everything about this is just... correct.

[@Anrgystudio]

Just Some Guy with a Mustache OMG YOU ARE EVERYWHERE!!!!

[@mostannoyingscaramain]

@Hinata Shoyi omg stop lol I can't stop seeing it now

[@AnthonyParas]

I should probably watch this show. Looks interesting.

[@Heliosaurus]

+Anthony P. Yes its fucking fantastic. Have you watched it by now?

[@vixenvile2791]

Have you ever noticed how clever the scene with the volleyball in the background and everybody showing their strengths is? It actually shows the events in the order of how an actual volleyball play would go. Receive Set Spike Attempted block of the spike Save Then a bump to the spiker For Asahi’s spike at the end when the point is scored

[@sunnybunny8100]

Nice eye!

[@MissGamer221]

*sings the opening in the background for the whole video*

[@johnrowe1983]

"That one OP you've seen mixed with pretty much anything." This is it, we're getting cruel angel's thes- "attack on titan." Dammit.

[@Kaiwala]

Funny how on the card it says "AoT next" very clearly, so i knew what he was gonna say XD

[@---cy5gh]

You're getting more and more witty, man. Keep doing what you're doing.

[@duckthurgood3651]

I love this anime so much you could've just shown a picture and I would've nodded in agreement

[@mothersbasement]

+Nada Mohammed can't respond to you directly for some reason, but I do know the reason for what you asked about. The screen dimming thing is pretty common in anime at any point where there are repetitive rapid cuts or flashes. It's done out of consideration for any epileptic people who might be watching. I don't know if it actually helps at all, but after the whole pokemon thing anime companies tend to be pretty paranoid about seizures. Although in this case I think it kind of does work - or rather they work around it. since hinata is closing his eyes, the dimming sort of makes sense. Sort of. I agree it's distracting.

[@Nada__Mohammed]

+Mother's Basement Ah, thank you so much for getting back to me! That does make a lot of sense, I am surprised I've never come across it in anime before. That was something I assumed I'd never know the reason behind!

[@davenfonet]

+Mother's Basement Sorry to bring this up 6 months later but I thought it was a color difference between Crunchyroll/Steaming Sites and BD higher color bit releases. For example it does it in Fate UBW on crunchyroll but it doesn't do it on the BD releases. Do you have any more info about that I'm really curious as an AMV editor

[@mothersbasement]

I would assume that's because they don't have to conform to broadcast regulations for their home video releases. It all comes back to the pokemon epilepsy scare.

[@miyosan11]

+Mother's Basement or it might point to the fact that hinata is closing his eyes? and trusting solely on kageyama? since in the first season it's the unique point of their combo

[@camdenhauck2400]

I love your insights, I was wondering if you could break down , diamond no ace, ace of diamonds?

[@user-ue3te3ie2n]

Should I watch Haikyuu?

[@mothersbasement]

+Dark Abyss Yes yes yes!

[@user-ue3te3ie2n]

+Mother's Basement Thanks, I'll try it out

[@aimeecortez5899]

So?

[@RyzingDown]

+Dark Abyss Are you liking it? Its by far my second favorite sports anime, right behind Diamond No Ace and in front of Kuroko No Basket.

[@emilgebl8644]

+Dark Abyss I am myself on ep 9, started this weekend and its pretty good so far. I have not gotten attached to it yet so I get a feeling like I have to watch it.

[@koroniriaryder4410]

Haikyuu's 2 Openings for Season 2 have really got me feeling the same as this Opening. I especially love Fly High. Do you think you'd be able to do a video on them at some point?

[@Heliosaurus]

+Koroniria Ryder Yeah I like that second opening..

[@Akiiiza]

I think Fly High is my favorite OP for Haikyuu

[@Heliosaurus]

+akiza3762 I like imagination the best tbh like the climax of the song it's really motivational I guess

[@destroyerdan5478]

@@Heliosaurus agreed imagination is best

[@TotallyRadicalShow]

Another great video man. Now that I think about it, it'd be interesting to see you talk about an op that you think is really bad, maybe not genericaly bad , but uniquely bad, just to show what bad op's can look like.

[@mothersbasement]

+Bobby Jenkins the trouble with that is that when it comes to bad OPs I generally skip them and forget about them. they also don't usually get uploaded to youtube in high definition, which makes putting together an episode a bit tricky.

[@TotallyRadicalShow]

+Mother's Basement Okay, that makes sense, thanks for responding anyway.

[@mewrin]

i love this op so much i got excited just hearing the "oh oh" in 5:58 and wanted to shout along with them

[@DigitalFumbles]

I binged all of Haikyuu! throughout this week, and it was absolutely magnificent. And I finished just 3 hours before the airing of the final episode as well. Time to watch it! Can't wait for season 3 this fall!

[@Gigglepud]

Spyair was literally the only reason I decided to watch Haikyuu. So glad I did.

[@joejoemaru]

Love Haikyuu!

[@TheDeepPix3l]

Really glad the Best Friends Zaibatsu directed me to this channel. I get hyped every time I see one of these videos in my sub box!

[@mothersbasement]

+TheDeepPix3l believe me, I'm glad they did too. If I ever meet those guys I won't be able to thank them enough for introducing my stuff to so many great fans. They rock. You guys rock.

[@misk12341]

whoa outstanding analysis skills you got there

[@noe4354]

Yuca 00 what an outstanding pfp you have there

[@neriart]

hypeyuu!!

[@allyv4962]

This video got me into the series! Thank you!

[@mmmtq]

i'm really excited in haikyuu 2nd season. the first one was really amazing, and i hope the 2nd season will be in the same level or even above. thanks.

[@yaoipatient]

is no one going to talk about the randomness in 5:08 ? XD

[@Zadamanim]

Well it wasn't random, it was meant to make you shiver, with anticip pation.

[@chopperman2122]

No... That never happened... I had almost forgotten...

[@hairinayulianti8501]

i get scared for a second there, i was like "why the heck does his sound stopped"

[@noe4354]

Lol

[@oddeyes9413]

I instantly fell in love with Haikyuu. The story, characters, music and everything else is just awesome.

[@LordDevilfinn]

They were probably practicing diving saves,rather than dropping to do 20 push ups. but that's just how I interpret it. :)

[@blueberry3717]

Thank you for pointing out and explaining what subconciously enthralled me to watch Haikyuu! Good job and keep going :D

[@shushu2211]

What a great video! Very informative as always. Really hyped for the second season.

[@NKN1CA97]

This is so on point man like this "interest curve" works so much to me I die of excitement from the moment the opening song starts to the last second of a Haikyuu!! episode. xD

[@DuelistRL]

I respect that you acknowledge that you analyze so hard and poke fun at it but I love this so keep it up! I watched the series so I could watch your videos and it was just breathtaking.

[@Blub31]

Dude, I just found your channel a week ago and I have to say I'm happy I did. It is stuff like this that gets me super pumped. I love super detailed analysis, be it in a game, anime or movie. Being able to see how people took all these details and put them together in such a way is always incredible.

[@juliagibson3816]

What a cool video! My favorite bit was about the interest curve, and how the OP and episodes and whole show follow that basic curve which had me going "no way... wait. oh wow, that's so true goodness" and also how haikyuu!! focuses on training scenes rather than big matches compared to other shows like Kuroko or Baby Steps. Great analysis, I can't wait to see more of your videos!

[@RisingSunReviews]

This is another really interesting video, and it's no surprise you've been building so many subscribers. It's fascinating seeing why Haikyuu's first opening works so well, and why the second opening wasn't as good. I could feel the hype here just hearing the song and seeing the clips so that much say something about the show. Oh that second season is going to be fun to marathon when it's over.

[@pippadescartes4624]

Wait second opening as in “Ah Yeah”? That’s the best opining song

[@kinoris2340]

Do the other HQ theme songs pls!! Theyre all awesome!!! Fly High (2nd opening of seasond 2) is my personal favourite!

[@mothersbasement]

+Kinori Shafa I definitely want to do something with fly high. I just need to find a way of covering it that's new and interesting.

[@kinoris2340]

+Mother's Basement Yush!!! I will be patiently waiting for it then :)

[@ChefKeef]

+Kinori Shafa he did it

[@hamzahelshwike]

Mother's Basement you'll always make it interesting

[@gaysetokaiba]

Ive been binging your channel for hours and seeing you agree with my thoughts on SAO and Haikyuu! mixed with interesting and brilliant research and discussion is fantastic. I love your work and hope to be around for a while! Huge props to being creative and an all-round fantastic content creator!

[@GoofballAndi]

This is getting better and better, you got any plans for Zetsubou Sensei? seems like a perfect candidate

[@brandonhicks7405]

I am so excited for what is yet to come for this channel

[@lightingbolt888]

you are literally my favorite you tuber! i get so pumped whenever i see that you uploaded a video

[@RietjeRox]

Fcukyeah it finally gets the appreciation and detailed describtion it deserves!!! This is so well done!

[@Polo-rp9hk]

Haikyuu’s OPs never cease to make me smile and lift my mood

[@RS187g]

This was the first video I have watched on this channel and I have to say I was mind blown. You just got yourself a new subscriber.

[@ageofamvs9105]

It will be really cool to analyse a Kuroko opening :D

[@nerf00]

These videos are so great!! keep it up because you have the voice, the editing, and the smarts to make each one of these episodes enjoyable. I hope your channel keeps progressing, and I can't with for new content! :D

[@brettyyye]

Bro this is some quality content, and I like it. You just earned yourself a subscriber.

[@Erenware]

Love this video, I'm learning so much from you! Didn't like Haikyuu at first but now I'm on the 2nd season and I love it! I'll pay more attention to this interest curve :D

[@ptc96]

i'm more hyped for your videos than the actual animes to come out weekly

[@HolyCheese007]

This shows been out for fours years and i only just found it, i’m sad it took so long but thankful i found it

[@gokuafrica]

Very brilliantly done! This is your very first video that I watched but I can already tell that you work pretty hard to make original content like this! Keep it up! All the best for the future! Hearing the haikyuu OP once again pumped me up!!

[@GoldenBoy661]

Man, these are awesome! I'd love if you could upload more often, but still, even if waiting for your videos is hard it makes it so much more rewarding when we actually get one! :)

[@TreeCookies]

10,000 subs in 4 months shouldn't be surprising since your videos are so good

[@afineegg1040]

I don't watch Haikyuu but this video was still damn good. Been loving your work ever since I saw the Baby Steps one, which actually got me into the series.

[@soroneir1260]

Great analysis, I might have to pick up this show.

[@sorasice]

I love your what's in an OP series, amazing series no kidding. The series feels extremely original (i have not seen someone else do it) While your narrations are easy to listen to and fun as well. You're doing a great job keep up the amazing work. Ever thought about doing pokemon?

[@DaemonRiku00]

5:10 Damn it you got me good

[@austinwiebe3801]

I love how much you show Welcome to the NHK, being that it is one of my favorites :)

[@itty1314]

dude, I love your outro

[@kingofsalem2634]

Mate you're awesome. You just got a new sub :) . This video's really insightful

[@tostupidforname]

a really awesome video searies!

[@tiennguyen-ei1sw]

great work as always , i really like your What's in an OP? series . My only suggestion is now you should do about darker theme anime, some of them really abstract and i would love to know more about it . My recommendation: sayonara zetsubou sensei

[@Trytomatie]

Wow that analysis is insane D: And it actually makes all sense. Take my sub

[@mrnarason]

Very insightful!

[@mj03_]

Awesome job!

[@eimearc]

this was really really interesting!!

[@eieiron_dyan]

In the chorus, the way they hit ball synchronize with the syllable "te" is so satisfying. Please do Fly high, I don't know why but every time the song starts my hype is at my highest already.

[@TheVicktor7]

you really need to do one on the new op, it hypes me so much

[@3mmigo]

I just came from the your lie in April op video, and yet I still have tears in my eyes....

[@LimeyLassen]

This is interesting. Gonna bookmark your channel for later.

[@halnyx7488]

Your analysis of anime openings/anime series is pretty cool. This Haikyuu one and OnePunch Man were pretty spot on and truly deserving of praise. X3 I'll be sure to check out some more. ^ w ^ Are you going to analyze their most recent one, Fly by Burnout Syndrome too? Or Gintama's most recent with Know Know Know by DOES?

[@MegaZayd1]

Great video

[@MidoryRyu]

Oh my God. I'm totally shocked. I really love Haikyuu and was always very energetic and well... hyped up! And now it makes totally sense and now I'm even more hyped up! God, you did a great job! I will watch your other videos because this is really interesting. Can you tell me on which book you do your analysis? I'm really interested :)

[@visceras7979]

Yet another great video. Keep doing this amazing job and sooner or later your channel will grow like hell ! I came uppon your channel because I was watching some anime videos and thank god I did.. It's really good seeing someone giving some propper attention to openings, which for me is a crucial part in anime. I hope you extend your list to many openings as well as, who knows, possible reviews. I watched your Spice and wolf Review with Aser (I left a comment there) and I really liked it as well maybe you should try some reviews ?? ^^ Anyways keep up the good work, really interesting videos you have to show, and I can tell you put work into them.

[@tealsmith8339]

I know this is old but literally I hear the theme in the background as the start plays and I’ve already recited the entire OP in my head!

[@22Goldiefoxx]

Amazing analysis, man! I loved hearing your thoughts on this OP. I've never been educated in cinematography, so it's fun to pick up on your vocab. How'd you learn to evaluate animation like this? Keep up the good work :).

[@melonlord1414]

Geoff excited over 10.000 subs. That's funny to hear right after he reached a million.

[@BBDKehoe]

...wow. I have watched a couple of your videos and this is actually encouraging me to pay more attention at every detail and its possible meanings in the openings and endings (in which I actually spend most of the time trying to follow the lyrics...). This one, the one of Your Lie in April and the park scene analysis from Erased I believe are the most interesting ones not only because of all the clever meanings they hide, but also because you may not expect them to actually hide ALL that amount of meaning (and since most of your conclusions actually caught me by surprise as I haven't thought them to be in that way at all). I mean, its pretty clear that Guren no Yumiya and Jiyuu no Tsubasa hide a lot of meaning even though you may not be an expert at analysing symbolism; meaning any viewer can get the 'feeling' that there's something 'more' that appears in an implicit way, even though he/she may not stop at thinking why is it there or what could it mean. All your conclusions are really clever and reasonable, and I like that you stop to analyse EVERYTHING. I share with you that passion of trying to read between lines and that's why I really enjoy listening to your conclusions. I hope you continue with the hard work! :)

[@neuralink7018]

that scene with the characters going in and out doing the things they're good at is supposed to be a rally. Daichi receive, Sugawara set, Tanaka spike, Tsukishima block, Nishinoya save, Yamaguchi toss up, Azumane (Asahi) finish

[@jared7708]

Can't wait for season 2, Production IG at their best with this series.

[@sleepysera]

I just felt like rewatching Haikyuu!! from the beginning because I haven't seen the newest season yet and want to be fully immersed instead of being confused who's who and does what when I jump in in the middle...and upon seeing the intro, had to come back to this episode of What's in an OP xD I feel so manipulated! And yet hyped! xD

[@xlight1994]

Watching these videos made me realize why I get more emotional and get more nostalgic when I watch the OP of an anime, instead of just listening to the song. Well you might think "thanks captain", but hearing someone tell it to you is just a bit epiphanyc

[@KTxAshy]

Mother's Basement I've been trying to subscribe to you, but I keep getting Error 404. I watched your other videos and they're very interesting, especially your What in a Season. Keep up the great work.

[@_carlito_5367]

This is personally my favorite Haikyuu OP ever. I do love FLY HIGH a lot, but this OP is just underappreciated in comparison. The song by SPYAIR really captures the particular energy this part of the series exudes. Just into the second episode the OP got stuck in my head. It's the perfect balance between feel-good and HYPE AF which is what I'm ultimately after in a series. It's the same for the second SPYAIR song in the 2nd season's 1st OP. SPYAIR is now one of my favorite bands ever.

[@Gontor11]

Damn, now I'm super hyped for S2

[@UnderAcheiver1]

MAN YOU GOT ME HYPE AGAIN

[@VVMapleVids]

Love the analysis and explanation on each and every part even those minor difference in skin tone etc can explain a lot .Thanks for the wonderful video but it would be better if you could erm maybe add subtitles since I can't really catch up with your pace I gotta replay to listen to your explanation clearly . I think the OP's song has connection with the anime as there are lyrics that express how the characters may feel .

[@VVMapleVids]

For example , when hinata was typing his laces and drinking water then running towards the team the song sang "wanna get stronger" so it mentions how hinata feels

[@SchmitzCinemaStudies]

Nice video again. Really liked the part about the interest curve. However, I don't think that's a hard and fast rule for OPs. I wrote a big article on my favorite OPs a while ago and one thing I noticed was that I was disappointed when the OP peaked too early, having the most exciting part in the first half or right in the middle rather than the last third. Beck and Wolf's Rain are two examples of this even though I still think they're still great openings. Then there are OPs that don't ramp down in the last few seconds and I think that can be really effective. The 1st OP in both Future Diary and Shakugan no Shana III are examples of this as well as the 2nd Nichijou OP. It's appropriate that you're gonna talk about Attack on Titan next week because even though Tetsuo Araki's OPs hit the highest point at the refrain consistently, he always throws in some kind of montage at the very end to keep the intensity high. What are your thoughts on that style of pacing? (Also, the article in question can be read here: ign.com/blogs/fiercealchemist/2014/06/10/top-70-anime-openings-part-1)

[@nancycantusolis8474]

I can't wait for season 4... please, I need a fourth one.

[@ashleightompkins3200]

You should really do an updated version of this video as well as more on the rest of the OPs

[@Polo-rp9hk]

For me, no show I have ever watched has as much heart as Haikyuu

[@laytonpro8655]

I finally got round to haikyu, I’m on season 1 ep 13 and oh My GOD.... the number of best bois... IS BREAKING ME

[@RealFoxie]

Haikyuu's OPs Hypes me up soooo much, seriously, even when I don't feel like watching, I'm already fully feeling like watching after the OP :D

[@redvelvetallure8500]

You included Rocky Horror for a video about Haikyuu? +100 my good friend

[@jelletinny]

This is fantastic! I never saw it this way before! I really can't wait for more! Hey, have you seen Angel Beats? I'd be interested in seeing a video about that OP, for sure!

[@jelletinny]

Though, the one that I really want to see would probably be Attack on Titan- I have a feeling I wouldn't be the first person to ask :)

[@mothersbasement]

+Emma Tindall if you watch the endcard there's an announcement that I think will make you pretty happy.

[@SarifFice]

Please do one of these for Kunihiko Ikuhara's works. I love your channel!

[@mothersbasement]

definitely planning to hit penguindrum or utena at some point, but here's an early spoiler for yurikuma arashi: everything in the OP is vaginas.

[@mukboy6594]

Sometime in the future, if you have interest in it, analyzing the openings for the Hajime no Ippo OPs would be a neat little 2 parter.

[@destroyerdan5478]

I love Imagination and I’m a believer spyair so much I brought spyair 4 album because it got removed from amazon music

[@JTricksReviews]

I liked Haikyuu's OP but this made me love it even more! Great series man, you're my idol