Few things are more frustrating for anime fans than getting hyped for a new series, only to watch it fall apart before our eyes. In this blog post, let’s look at some of the most disappointing anime, and the reasons they left fans feeling let down!
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Why Are Some Anime Disappointing?
It’s frustrating when an anime we’ve been following starts strong before suddenly going to hell as we watch. Maybe the first three episodes got off to a great start, only to have the animation quality drop sharply from episode 4. Perhaps the pacing suddenly grinds to a halt, obviously because a different team worked on those episodes. There are many reasons why the anime we love can turn into a slow-moving train wreck.
One interesting question to ask is, who are the “customers” as far as anime studios are concerned? Do animators sit around wondering if obsessive fans on Reddit were satisfied with this or that romantic coupling, or whether the ending they created for that show was emotionally fulfilling? As I learned from drinking with an actual anime producer, this is not the case.
To anime studios, the customer is whatever company commissioned the project — a streaming service like Netflix or Disney+, or an anime production committee like Madoka Quartet. If the company signing the checks is happy, then the studio is happy. They focus on meeting deadlines, staying within budget, and delivering their work as promised. Catering to fans who endlessly debate every choice they made is not on their minds.
Let’s look at some concrete reasons why some anime are disappointing to fans!
Anime Studios Making Bad Decisions with the Source Material
As I’ve written before, converting twenty-four volumes of manga or ten light novels into twelve or twenty-four episodes of anime is a huge challenge and one that’s likely to anger fans of the original work. If too much material is cut, it can lead to bad pacing and negative buzz from fans. This can make fans refuse to watch new seasons of anime they demanded for so long.
When New Writers Take Over a Project
When a beloved creator loses interest in the world he built, but the anime has been so profitable that the studio insists on continuing it, things can go downhill fast. This often results in what fans call “The Curse of Urobuchi” — when renowned writer Gen Urobuchi moves on to other projects, leaving his series in the hands of new writers. This is why later incarnations of Psycho-Pass and Aldnoah.Zero may have felt disappointing to fans, and why I stopped watching Magia Record.
Studio Changes Lead to Disappointing Anime
There’s nothing worse than hearing that the anime you love is getting a new season, but the studio will be changing. This happened to Dagashi Kashi, whose first season by Studio Feel was glorious. The second season, animated by Tezuka Productions, was not nearly as good.
Budget or Scheduling Hell
I thoroughly enjoyed So I’m A Spider, So What? This was the story of a class summoned to an isekai world, with one of their number becoming an incredibly weak spider. It was great tuning in each week to watch Kumoko, voiced by Aoi Yuuki, level up and get stronger each episode. Then everything went to hell in the final two episodes, as the company that had been contracted to animate them ran into issues.
The anime industry definitely needs to normalize being okay with studios taking a few more months to get the finished product right rather than rushing to meet a broadcast deadline.
What Was Your Most Disappointing Anime? J-List Customers Reply!
I asked J-List’s customers of culture to share the most disappointing anime they’ve encountered. Here are the replies I got!
Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear. There were dozens of major changes from the light novels, and every single one of them made the anime worse overall. A desecration of my beloved isekai trash!
I loved Demon Lord, Retry! and was looking forward to a sequel. But a different studio was put in charge. The first two episodes were a butchered remake of beloved scenes from the first season, a soul-crushing insult to cherished memories and characters.
Wonder Egg Priority. Great concept, great animation, but they had no idea where the story was going.
More Disappointing Anime J-List Customers Hated!
I have a BIG list, starting with poorly animated series and anime that changed the story from the original “just because.”
Mahou Sensei Negima. It could’ve been huge. But it had a slow start because of the author’s editors. It had to evolve from a harem comedy to an action shounen. The anime was done cheap by a studio that wasn’t suited for action. It was also heavily censored and rewritten.
Devil Survivor 2 was a huge miss, especially as a fan of both games. The studio just didn’t understand what made the game good or the dynamics between the characters. Worst of all, the anime didn’t show us the “true ending route” from the game. They went with one of the bad ending routes for the shock factor.
Seven Deadly Sins… The drop-off in quality at the end was painful to watch.
I loved The Promised Neverland, but the second season was WAY too convenient and made all the problems just disappear.
Which anime do you hate? Read the most-hated anime according to J-List customers here!
Darling in the Franxx. While I get what Studio Trigger was trying to do, it became really hard to watch as things unfolded.
Thanks for reading this blog post exploring the most disappointing anime we’ve all encountered. What show really let you down? Tell us in the comments below, and let’s discuss it!
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J-List has started a new sale for you! Through July 14, get an automatic 18% off all books and magazines shipping from Japan. This means all amazing hentai manga and doujinshi, all sexy JAV photobooks, and all anime and ecchi magazines! Start browsing here!
