Terror in Resonance OP: analysis
The opening credits for this series have a lot of neat visuals, alongside a nice song, but more than that, I think there's a lot of meaning and subtext in the specific imagery chosen, so let's analyze that.
They begin with an explosion of some kind, followed by quick, eerie shots of the two leads. The entire opening is overlaid with a variety of digital overlays and graphics, a fairly common effect used in credit sequences. It can suggest multilayered stories, hidden structures, a fake world, or it can be used just to look cool. I would theorize, for now, that the first two are the most likely meanings.
We move on to establishing the setting, Tokyo. The shots chosen create an image of a sprawling, interconnected and modern city. The shot of a spiral staircase, with digital distortion, foreshadows something disturbing the order of the city, something spiraling out of control.
The shot of a young Twelve with the images of the gear/clock-like structures overlaid inside of him suggests a mechanical and calculating soul. We then see what appears to be Twelve and Nine calmly watching a nuclear blast, a disturbing incongruity which speaks to both their abnormal character and implies they might have played a hand in it happening.
Next come two of the more potent symbols in the show. We see a young Twelve and Nine standing behind a fence and watching three birds, two black and one white, fly away over a twilit Tokyo. Metaphors using birds are extremely common; they can generically symbolize freedom; black birds, such as crows and ravens, commonly symbolize tricksters or ill omens. A white bird can symbolize innocence or peace. In this case, the two black birds are obviously representations of Twelve and Nine, with the white bird representing the other child no longer with them(and whom Twelve wants to use Lisa as a substitute for).
We then see a fence the camera is rapidly pushing towards, implying a first-person shot of running. The fence stands for both boundaries, separating two worlds from each, and entrapment, a device used to cage things and deny them their freedom.
We return to the gear/clock devices. Twelve and Nine stand in complementary poses, showing their unity of mind and the calculating, patient nature of their plans. Nine stands in a confident and glowering posture, hiding his eyes and thus his thoughts behind his glasses.
We first see Lisa leaning on a metal beam for support. She appears both weak and weary. The fence returns, a visualization of how Lisa feels trapped in her world. The camera reverses to her POV, viewing Twelve and Nine on the other side of the fence. She wishes to cross the "forbidden" boundary and escape to the "freedom" they seem to promise her.
Of course, the scene then transitions to one of the more disquieting sequences in the OP. A cheerful Twelve gives way to a malicious, cold grin. The multiple frames suggest duplicity and omniscience. The clear implication is that Twelve is not to be trusted.
Tokyo dissolves into pixelated virtual structure, possibly representing the hidden infrastructure of the city, as well as the cold, mechanical way the protagonists analyze the city. We zoom in to Shibasaki, showing him as part of the city, but also possibly special in some way, as he alone is able to gaze back at the camera.
The initial shot of Five, focusing on her chest, can obviously function as fanservice/male gaze, but we quickly pan up to her face, where the ambiguous backdrop, harsh lighting, and the scissors she holds in her hands suggest we shouldn't judge her by our initial "lustful" impression; she's a dangerous woman, and possibly a serious wildcard in the story.
Lisa runs as the background and people behind her increasingly blur into abstract streaks. The farther she runs from her problems, the more she will lose her connection to humanity and civilization; yet she feels naked and vulnerable, so she will keep running, seeing our two leads and their dangerous plots as her only future.
Nine stands atop a skyscraper overlooking all of Tokyo, like a strategist looking down on a map. The lack of glasses implies this is his true self. He blindly leaps backwards amidst gravity-defying glass shards in a seemingly suicidal plunge, but the smile on his face suggests it's all part of his plan; he's not afraid to cross the line of no return. Besides being a self-homage to Cowboy Bebop, the "bang" sign with his hand shows a certain playful disdain and condescension towards his enemies.
The final shot shows Twelve and Nine looking at Tokyo with a fence inbetween them. The fence could represent a Tokyo that's been caged by the two masterminds, but its shape is ambiguous; it could also represent a Twelve and Nine that have been caged by the city and those the city symbolizes. We see the white feather from the bird again, and they stand in a field of grass, an ironically peaceful image since that's the last thing they plan to bring to Tokyo.
