User blog comment:Miskos3/Fairy Tail Episode 253: Tartaros arc: Silver Memories, Review/@comment-5303512-20151004133550/@comment-4829046-20151004160735

@CB3 Your view is correct because that is precisely what the anime studios intend but here's the thing....

"that is like the whole purpose"

Hmm.... yes and no. I point you to any opening that was ever deemed phenomenal for every aspect an opening is made up of. You see it is indeed the point to allow people to get a glimpse of what they can hope to see from the episodes that the OP spans, but at the same time, it is supposed to be very mysterious so as to keep the viewer always guessing. Heck, some shows outright hint at future characters in the OP but you don't even notice them because they are blended in so damn well. Some series even change the nature of the event, for instance- 'A' fights 'B' in the opening, while in the actual episodes, it is 'C' that fights 'B'.

The early FT openings had this to a great extent but this started changing when they got the thumbs up to continue past 48 episodes. Pretty much every OP afterwards has had reveals of events in the episode run that happened in a pretty much similar manner. This severely lessens the mystery and suspense because you already have a pretty good outline of what to expect and you are not as surprised when it happens. Sure, most of it is very symbolic, but symbolism also conveys the message to viewers.

Some anime use the technique of inserting random scenes of a particular episode into a considerably spoiler-free ambiguous OP playing for that episode(kinda like what reality TV shows do) or the technique of altering the OP as the episodes go by. These are much better implements imo because they serve two purposes; they provide ample mystery while also giving a small glimpse of what to expect without letting us guess the actual plot or characters. We also get little to no context of the scenes we see in such matters. With FT, I know ani-only fans that could guess the context by simply seeing one clip whereas it took much longer to guess when you were following the manga. I could bring up the OPs for the KotSS: Sure, we were all curious as to what was occurring in the OP, but it basically suggested what would happen. Granted, because they were developing the story as they were going along, they couldn't have spoiled too much anyway.

The biggest disadvantage that FT has when it comes to making OPs is actually its prominent characters. The Dragons, and of course Zeref. The prominent characters make the OP so damn great and popular, but at the same time, it lessens the impact because said characters haven't shown a hint of appearing at the time the OP is released. Similar thing happened in Naruto Shippuden when they had Madara in the OP before his actual appearance.

Of course, it is a matter of perspective. Seeing an event in the OP hypes you up for the moment you actually see it and simultaneously makes that OP feel important to you for conveying such a thing. Wondering how the character got there can really make you eager to see future episodes. That's the way foreshadowing works. I still hold that a OP that can provide such effect while also being completely secretive, is worthy of much praise. I especially love OPs where the visuals are just simple scenes creatively put together and it is the song that conveys the outline of the story. Subtle, but powerful.