Is distorted calligraphy used in the season 1 opening of Ushio to Tora? The opening sequence of the first season of anime series Ushio to Tora contains a series of images which might be distorted calligraphy, sort of like what Picasso might have done. There are a set of 6 varied-color frames, a short vertically scrolling sequence, and finally the title, which is clearly calligraphic and much less distorted. After that, the credits actually begin, now in a normal Japanese font.  Here some are:

First:


Second:


Seventh:


Title:


You can see them all beginning at time mark 4:30 of episode 1. The Seventh one is partial, a single shot from a short, vertical scrolling sequence.

I don't know if these are distorted calligraphy or not.  But going backwards beginning at the Title plate, there certainly appears to be a commonality of design. If they are calligraphic, are they legible?  If so I imagine they would be concepts such as courage, fate, etc.

If they are not calligraphic, what are they?  Do they symbolize something I should recognize?
I guess you could describe this as calligraphic. I don't know enough to say whether this is what a calligrapher would consider genuine art vs. just being writing with bold and swishy brush strokes.

This writing doesn't "symbolize" anything, though - it's just the lyrics of the first verse of the OP theme as they're being sung.


混ぜんな mazen na
危険な kiken-na
やつらが会いすりゃ yatsura-ga ai-surya
土壇場 dotanba
土壇場 dotanba
じゃないか janai ka
混ぜるな危険のねんごろ mazeru na kiken-no nengoro (written bottom-to-top)


I don't want to venture a translation here, but see e.g. Lyrical Nonsense for one candidate translation.