Feuerroter Pfeil und Bogen

Feuerroter Pfeil und Bogen (紅蓮の弓矢) is the 1st opening theme of the Attack on Titan anime, and is sung and composed by singer-songwriter Revo of.

It was replaced by Die Flügel der Freiheit in Episode 14.

Standard
In a flurry of light, the crest and gate of Wall Maria stands brightly lit until a colossal force breaks it apart, revealing the title card bound in rushing chains.

On a dark day, the cadets of the 104th Cadet Corps stand amid a field of corpses and fallen blades. Eren, Armin, and Mikasa stand with their gazes to the ground until Mikasa glances upwards at Eren. In the city streets, Titans pour through the breached Wall bringing chaos with them, while elsewhere the 104th Cadet Corps troops dedicate their hearts and later descend from Wall Rose with blades drawn and the Titans awaiting below.

Images begin to flash of the Colossal Titan, a praying mantis eating a moth, a feminine Titan, and another Titan peering into the Garrison HQ. Wall Rose begins to burst apart as Eren falls through the air amid the rubble, his gaze blank until he glances upward in shock.

Through the streets of Trost, the cadets soar through the air with their omni-directional mobility gear, Eren running along the rooftops before soaring upwards to land a killing blow on an unsuspecting Titan. Meanwhile, the Garrison atop Wall Rose fires upon the advancing Titans with cannonfire, and in HQ the cadets make use of firearms to attack the Titans from within a lift. Back atop the Wall, Eren charges through a cloud of smoke and jumps off the edge of the Wall, blades ready to strike at the Colossal Titan below.

The Wings of Freedom, emblem of the Scout Regiment, proudly fly upon a wind-swept flag as a cadet backflips with great agility. In the streets of Trost, cadets soar into the sky by the dozens and descend upon the Titans below. Images of both the manga and anime foreshadowing the events to come flash in rapid succession before Eren, Mikasa, and Armin break through the chaos.

Under a bright midday sun, the 104th cadets look up to the sky in a moment of peace.

OVA 2
In OVA 2 the animation in the opening is slightly altered so as to reflect the OVA's comedic nature, its focus on Jean, and its placement on the timeline. The changes are the following:
 * When the cadets are seen standing amid a field of corpses, Eren and Jean's positions are swapped, with the latter on the foreground. Instead of Mikasa glancing upwards at Eren, now Jean glances at Mikasa.
 * When the cadets salute vowing to dedicate their hearts, Jean is again on the foreground, with Eren being moved to the background.
 * In the images that start flashing right afterwards, the one depicting a feminine Titan is substituted with one depicting Jean, and the one of a Titan peering into the Garrison HQ is substituted with one of Eren and Jean about to have an argument.
 * As Eren is seen falling through the air, Jean is added to the scene, placed slightly closer than Eren to the camera. The following close-up on Eren's face is also substituted with one of Jean's.
 * Before Eren starts running across the rooftops, a cut of Jean pointing at the Titan that Eren is targeting is added; right after Eren kills it, another cut, depicting Jean clenching his fist triumphantly, is added.
 * As Eren jumps to strike at the Colossal Titan, Jean is added on the foreground, soaring above the scene and looking at it with a smirk.
 * The wind-swept flag is now that of the Cadet Corps.
 * Everything after the flag shot is removed in favor of the introductory narration of the OVA, over which the end of the opening still plays.

November 2021 political controversy
On 7 November 2021 Paul Anthrony Gosar, the U.S. representative for Arizona's 4th congressional district, tweeted a modified version of this opening theme asking "Any anime fans out there?".

It depicted his face superimposed over the face of a sword-wielding woman while the faces of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Joe Biden were superimposed over the faces of a pair of male giants the woman was battling.

On November 9th, Nancy Pelosi (Speaker of the House, 2nd in line for presidency) called for it to be investigated as a threat.

On November 17th on a vote of 223 to 207, Gosar was censured and removed from committee assignments in response to posting the video.

Trivia

 * Images from the manga can be seen in rapid succession in two parts of the opening sequence.
 * The melody of the song is reused as a leitmotif in several of Linked Horizon's other tracks, including Die Flügel der Freiheit, Opfert eure Herzen!, Shoukei to Shikabane no Michi, Saigo no Kyojin, and Ni-sen Nen... Moshiku wa... Ni-man Nen-go no Kimi e....
 * The German line at the beginning of the song is often misheard as "Sie sind das Essen und wir sind die Jäger!" or something similar. According to the official lyrics provided in the booklet of the CD, the correct line is "Seid ihr das Essen? Nein, wir sind der Jäger!".

Navigation
Feuerroter Pfeil und Bogen (Opening) Feuerroter Pfeil und Bogen Guren no Yumiya Feuerroter Pfeil und Bogen