I saw some anime so bad it made me sad.
They disappointed me in the medium, as if I had wasted a huge part of my time.
But sometimes there is an anime that is mediocre, even terrible, but somehow manages to keep me enthralled.
Here, I'll be looking at those series, OVAs, and movies that fail in most departments... but still manage to stand out on various merits.
Whether they're beautifully animated, have an incredible soundtrack, have great source material, or just fail at everything they try and it's still just plain entertaining - we'll take care of all your guilty anime pleasures.
20. Eater of Gods
In 2071, humanity was brought to the brink of destruction by the monstrous Aragami. In response, the Fenris were created, warriors who mutated to wield the Arc of God, capable of killing their oppressors.
Based on the Monster Hunter game of the same name, God Eater has a unique art style and great animation.
However, his plot structure, subtle characterization, and nonsensical narrative make him fall on his face.
Regardless, it has the production value needed for a recreational ride.
19. Danganronpa
Makoto Naegi plans to open a new school at the elite Hope's Peak Academy.
Instead, he is knocked out and locked up along with his fellow students and forced to survive a fight to the death.
If you kill without being detected, you escape and everyone else dies.
If you are caught, you will die.
Adapting a 50-hour visual novel with intense puzzle sequences into a 4-hour anime with somewhat bland production was a dubious move.
Then, five years later, they decided to make a sequel (Danganronpa 3, also terrible) of the second game (which was never adapted), intending to end the main series.
Why?
However, it retains the incredible soundtrack that Danganronpa is famous for and still has all the great characters and plot twists.
18. Darling in France.
The distant future of humanity is decided by mecha-fighting teenagers, sexual metaphors, and alien entities.
Created by Studio Trigger and A1-Pictures, voiced by Hiroyuki Sawano and inspired by Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann and Neon Genesis Evangelion.
What could go wrong?
Well, while the anime has a consistent style, animation, and music, the later story is terrible.
He didn't really know where he was going and you can tell.
But even then it's worth a look!
It may be propaganda to counter Japan's declining birth rate, but it's beautifully told propaganda with some brilliant characters.
17. Deadman Wonderland
Ginta Igarashi's life turns into a mess when a mysterious hooded figure kills all of his classmates, leaving him as the sole survivor.
He was found guilty of the crime and sent to Deadman Wonderland, an amusement park where prisoners live.
The strong opening arc and copious gore don't support the rest of the show.
The animation doesn't hold up and the characters can sometimes seem unbearable.
He wanders, stumbles in the dark and can't even finish.
They literally end the anime with no output.Anyway.
It's damn interesting, invariably surprising, and sometimes endearing. So if you like your violence, you will love Deadman Wonderland.
16. Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
Set two years after the events of the original game, Cloud Strife and his allies are dealing with the aftermath of a new threat.
The action takes place in the ruined Midgar, where people suffer from a mysterious disease called Geostigma, and they need to stop a trio of unusual people who remind them of someone else - someone deadly.
It's a jumbled narrative held together by beautifully animated CGI sets, all building up to the obvious confrontation that we can see in the box art.
This movie is still relevant, and the recent FFVII: Remake contains a lot of unexpected references to it.
Just make sure you watch the full version with additional 30 minute videos that try to fix any confusion (to the point of inconclusive results).
15. Sword Masters Online
Kazuto Kirigiya and thousands of others are stranded in a virtual reality multiplayer game.
If they die or try to quit smoking, they will die in real life.
He is tasked with throwing a party, fighting hardships, and fighting for an escape. Right? I mean, like - you think so.
Great production values - brilliant animation, soundtrack and atmosphere - are completely tarnished by its characters (especially bland lead characters) and horribly underutilized storytelling.
I feel like the series never reaches the heights set in its opening arc (Aincrad) and gets worse and worse (Fairy Dance and Gun Gale Online). It looks like it will improve later, but I'm not worried anymore.
14. School of the Dead
Without warning, zombies have appeared all over the world.
They destroyed the economy and society, dividing the species into survival groups.
Takashi Kimuro is a high school student who is infatuated with his childhood friend Rin.
When the apocalypse happens, they, along with several other students, seek salvation elsewhere.
The gratuitous fanservice is his greatest weakness and strength.
The constantly funny and humiliating scenes that pervade the supposedly serious story keep the tragedy from coming out of this anime.
This is a classic C-horror movie, animated and therefore a must-see.
13. Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress
In feudal-industrial Japan, the Kabane were attacked.
Like zombies, they transform those they bite, but they can only be killed by destroying the stone in their chest.
Aboard a large Kabaneri train, we follow Ikomak and Mumei as they seek to find salvation in a shattered world.
Wit Studio went out of their way to tell a captivating story with beautiful flight animation and a brilliant score by Sawano.
But it never really unlocks the potential of its first episode due to a lack of direction that constantly leads the story astray and ultimately leads astray. An absolute train wreck; check it out for sure.
12. Berserk (2016 and 2017)
The 2016 TV show is a continuation of the film trilogy or the original 90s series.
Check them out first, because compared to this they are masterpieces with little flaws.
Either way, he can't explain what makes Berserk great.
Just look what they did to my boy.
One of the greatest manga ever has received a cheesy, brittle and confusing adaptation that has left absolutely everyone disappointed.
The stellar storytelling, world building, and characters can't stand the torture they've been through. Absolutely embarrassing... But still, it's Berserk!
The second season is a marked improvement over the first, but still not as good.
11. Old crocodile
The Ancient Old Crocodile became estranged from his family due to his insatiable hunger.
It will eat anything that moves. It comes back to bite him when he eats his great grandson and is banished from the island.
On his travels, he meets an octopus that can't count, so the crocodile decides to befriend him and eat each tentacle one by one.
No matter how hard I try, the moral behind Old Crocodile is lost to me.
That didn't stop me from enjoying it immensely, keeping my eyes on the screen in anticipation.
The English dub adds an enthusiastic energy to the short, making it consistently entertaining.
I like the animation style, but that doesn't excuse me for the discomfort I felt towards the end.
10. Yami Shibai
Every day, the creepy storyteller Kamishibai stops in front of the kids to tell them dark, disturbing stories straight from Japanese folklore and urban legends.
Each episode is less than four minutes long, and there are now hundreds of them.
Mostly misses than it hits, but when it hits, it hits hard.
His simple animation is both a hindrance and a blessing to the horror aura he creates. One of the best-worst.
9. Godzilla
It's been 20,000 years since a massive kaiju took over Earth, wiping out most species. The rest float in space without a purpose.
Until you decide to return to your home planet and retake it.
Little do they know that evolution has exacerbated the problem beyond their imagination.
I'm one of ~18 people on the planet who loves anime made by Polygon Pictures (Sidonia, Ajin) but even I can't forgive this disaster.
He has so much potential, especially when the kaiju are on the move. But they felt compelled to inject as many anime stereotypes into it as possible.
Just average in every way - butdefinitely worth a watch if you're a fan of big monster movies (we need more anime like this, but good ones).
8. Ninja Batman
Batman travels back in time in Gorilla Grodd's machine and ends up in feudal Japan along with his allies and enemies.
He quickly discovers that his usual equipment is unnecessary and becomes a samurai. Yeah.
Just look at the title.
Do I really need to say more?
Batman and the Joker fighting in mechs right out of Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann... Watching this made my brain boil.
But the animation, style, and sheer appeal of our favorite Japanese-style DC Gotham characters make this a movie worth checking out if you're interested.
7. Junji Ito Collection
Junji Ito is my favorite mangaka.
His terrifying, unsettling work deserves animation. But not like that - my God, not like that.
The color palette is boring, the characters move stiffly, the scares are muffled and boring, and they draw his wonderful monsters as lazily as possible.
However, if you've never come across it, love horror, and refuse to read manga, then be sure to check it out for a pure display of imagination.
6. School days
Makoto Ito is a high school student stuck between hobbies.
One day he takes a picture of his love - Kotonoha - and notices a classmate - Sekai. She promises to help him mend his relationship with her, but things get very confusing in the process.
This is an exemplary example of doo-doo. From start to finish, the characters are unbearable.
They constantly find themselves in the worst, most embarrassing situations because of their shortcomings and selfishness.
There is nothing good about this anime, it is the worst romantic anime ever. ANDexactly so you should watch it.
Never has terrible love been portrayed so perfectly. It's toxic garbage and I live for it. Maybe a masterpiece, ask me tomorrow.
5. Big order
Once a fairy asked a boy to fulfill one wish.
Years after the disaster called the Great Destruction, Eiji Hoshimiya is in high school, unaware of his true purpose, and... I can't go on. There is no point. Blimey.
How to make such useless garbage?
Every aspect of this anime tries and every aspect fails. The protagonist impregnates the girl by patting her on the forehead. I think I blocked a lot of it because of the injury. Sometimes art goes too far and we need to question what art is all about.
Absolutely terrible in his performance, and beyond the tears of laughter worth watching with friends.
4 Mars Destruction
Unusual aliens called Ancient Ones appear around Tokyo.
To counter the threat, humanity has constructed the MARS suit, which allows the noble Takeru Hinata to fight them. That's it - a 20-minute epic not to be missed.
From time to time, a moment oscillates all over the planet.
When Germany surrendered, the end of the Cold War or the demolition of the Berlin Wall.
But we'd be unforgivable if we neglectedv a moment that meant a generation, a new era, a new age for us to live, raise families in, work for, and move from.
At that moment, Mars of Destruction came out.
3. Skelter Heaven
A mysterious giant object appears in the middle of Japan and our heroes are tasked with saving the day.
Otsuya Funagai and his female squad must stop the monolith before the destruction begins.
If you told me that this one-part OVA comes free with cereal, I wouldn't believe you because no company would force that on their customers.
Nothing works in Skelter Heaven. Mismatch of styles, concepts, genres and trends.
It's like forgetting that you need to do the exercise while standing, but you'll try it anyway. Only to trip, fall off the stage with his pants around his ankles before hitting his head. No matter how much I plead, Skelter Heaven laughs at me relentlessly.
2. Ghost stories
Ghost Stories follows a group of friends who try to solve simple riddles in low-threat situations. It's a bullshit. Well, the original… dub is a different story anyway.
This anime is comparable to Scooby-Doo! by its complexity.
Aimed at children, it failed to produce results and was criticized throughout Japan.
In response, the English dub team was given complete creative freedom in bringing it to the West.
The result islegendary an impromptu collection of politically incorrect scripts linked to the original plot.
Seriously legendary, I can't stress enough how insane the difference is.
He constantly teases himself and turns the G rating into 18+ with his rough, pre-abbreviated freeform style.
This is an original sub-anime, but one of the funniest dubs of all time.
1. Vampire Holmes
Oh no. Look at this name. Well, the anime can't get any worse, can it?
The legendary detective is set to solve mysteries with Watson (sorry, Hudson) in central London. And... is he a vampire?
Or is he hunting vampires?
Something inside me died the day I watched Vampire Holmes.
I felt so humiliated by the medium that I couldn't watch any other anime for a while.
It's so ridiculously awful that it stops being bad, and rubber bands return to the territory of postmodern masterpieces. There's nothing here. He is not a detective. He's hardly a vampire.
They don't solve cases.
There's nothing here and now I'm sad.
Please check it out - it's... really unusual. I assure you, you will never see an officially licensed product with this standard again.
