Every year, there are certainanimeseries that generate a ton of buzz, either in the months leading up to or during their release. Some shows are adaptations of hit manga that have their own built-in fan bases, while others are already established shows returning for new, long-awaited seasons. These titles become the talk of the community,and are given the spotlight to sink or swim.
Unfortunately, they sink pretty often. Whether a series has a ton of hype behind it only to fall flat on its face, or impresses in its early goings to then later completely drop the ball,disappointing shows aren’t exactly a novelty to anime fans. While they might have a few staunch defenders on their side, these 10 shows are the biggest disappointments in anime history.
Of the major modern seinen manga,Kingdomis arguably the most underrated series among titles likeBerserk,Vagabond, andVinland Saga. The sprawling epic, now consisting of 75 volumes, has been ongoing since 2006,and has built itself quite a following over its near two decades of serialization.
When word arrived of an anime adaptation in 2012, fans couldn’t help but be excited forKingdomto finally appear on screens, only to be disappointed with its release. The early seasons ofKingdomfeatured generally low-quality CGI-heavy visuals thatstruggled to convey the manga’s dark and gritty style.The series would eventually improvein its third season, but countless fans had already given up by the time it arrived.
Platinum Endseemingly came and went without much noise, and it wouldn’t be surprising if its title didn’t ring any bells for the general anime fan. However, there was good reason for fans to look forward to its release, given that it was based on an original manga series by thewriter and illustrator of the iconic and enduringDeath Note.
Unfortunately,the final product couldn’t quite live up to its predecessor. WhereDeath Noteutilized a cat-and-mouse chase between L and Light that ensured audiences would remain on the edge of their seats,Platinum Endinstead leaned into the edginess ofDeath Notethat hasn’t aged all that well in the years since its release. Aside from the initial set-up, there isn’t anything too interesting going on.
Aldnoah.Zeroburst onto the scene with its first season in 2014and immediately gained a sizable following. The flashy mecha series offered an interesting enough premise and brought quite a bit of style to the table, giving fans of the genre a slight breath of fresh air during a time when the hype around mecha shows wasn’t at its highest.
Unfortunately,much of its momentum ceased with the airing of season two, and public opinion about the series quickly began to flip.Aldnoah.Zero’s visual presentation and soundtrack are both high quality, but its writing suffers throughout much of the series. A weak narrative and even weaker characters caused fans to turn away from the series in droves, with few ever looking back.
It isn’t often that an anime based on a Korean manhwa series comes with so much built-in hype, so whenTower of Godwas announced for the spring 2020 anime season,all eyes were on the series. Its first season was generally well-received, with some small complaints about pacing and animation, but nothing so major as to turn fans away.
However, that changed quite a bit afterTower of Godchanged hands for its second season in 2024. Fans were met withmassive cuts from the source material, uneven pacing, and even lower quality visualsthan the first season had. Enough questions surrounding the series' writing were already being asked, and when season two dropped the ball in a variety of ways,countless fans left the series behind.
Throughout the majority of its initial run,Darling in the Franxxwas considered by many to be one of thebest mecha series released in quite some time. Its unique premise, semi-parody elements, high-quality visuals, and compelling narrative drew in large crowds each week,and the hype being built around the series was immense.
Unfortunately,Darling in the Franxxjustcouldn’t quite make it to the finish line without tripping over its own feet. Out of the blue, the series introduced an alien plot line in its finale, and instantly turned off a majority of its rapidly growing fan base. The conclusion to the anime just wasn’t satisfying enough to save what came before, andDarling in the Franxxslowly became lost to time.
Higurashi When They Cryis one of themost beloved horror franchises in the anime sphere, with the original 2006 series remaining a favorite among fans of the genre. There have been a number of adaptations, spin-offs, and OVAs throughout the years, and fans couldn’t help but become excited about the announcement ofwhat appeared to be a remake in the works.
However,Higurashi GouandSotsurevealed themselves to be sequels rather than remakes,but weren’t exactly able to live up to theHigurashiname. Questionable narrative choices and repetitive storytelling turned off large portions of the fan base, while some fans believed the original never needed a sequel in the first place. Had the series been a remake like it was marketed, it might have been a bigger hit.
Berserkis one of the most popular and successful seinen manga series in history.Known for its brutally dark narrative and jaw-dropping artwork by the late Kentaro Miura, the dark fantasy epic is generally considered one of the greatest manga tonot have received a quality adaptation.
When a new series promising to cover beyondBerserk’s Golden Age was announced, fans had all but lost their minds. Unfortunately, its inconsistent CGI-heavy visuals justcouldn’t capture the quality that defined Miura’s artwork, and its sound design led to countless memes in the anime community. It isn’t thatBerserk2016 failed to deliver the original story, but rather it failed to do so properly.
Tokyo Ghoul’s first season arrived on the scene in 2014 andmade immediate waves with its story, edge, style, and originality. The original manga by Sui Ishida was already highly acclaimed by the time the anime premiered, lending the anime its already sizable fan base, while the impact of its first episodes alerted the wider community that a new hit was on the scene.
Unfortunately, Pierrot made the highly questionable decision to move away from the series' source material in its second season,instead delivering an anime-original story. The story itself wasn’t fully coherent, and the follow-up,Tokyo Ghoul: re,became incoherent itself,building on events that never occurred during the second season.
Nearly a decade later, fans continue begging for the series to receive theFullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhoodtreatment.
The Promised Neverland’s first season became one of the most exciting new releases in recent timesafter being featured in the Netflix lineup in 2020, before they began taking on countless new shows every season. The series spread itself to both casual and hardcore anime fans alike, and built up endless hype in the lead-up to its second season.
Unfortunately,The Promised Neverland’s second season was an absolute disaster, cutting major sections of the source material and setting itself on a crash course towards an ending that was largely incoherent and incredibly underwhelming.Reception for the second season was far from good, andThe Promised Neverlandhas fallen far from grace in the years since.
Junji Ito is the most recognizable name in horror manga, with works likeTomieandUzumakiranking among some of the highest-acclaimed stories ever told in the medium. However, throughout the decades that Ito has been active, none of his titles have received a proper adaptation. When it was announced thatUzumakiwould be receiving a faithful anime series,fans could hardly contain themselves.
After years of delays and setbacks, the first episode was well-received. Unfortunately, it was also the only one finished. Episodes #2 - #4 were absolute disasters, with laughably poor visuals distracting viewers from anything else that could have been of any sort of quality. Years of anticipation boiled down to one of themost forgettable adaptations in history, andfans will unfortunately have to continue waiting for a proper Junji Ito anime.
