What makes an anime good? It can be a good plot with well-timed pacing, animation that elevates its moments and characters, or music that brings the visuals to life. Obviously, there's a lot that can go wrong when trying to create a great anime. While not perfect, most shows manage to meet some of these standards and deliver content loved and praised by fans.
But there are also times when studios fail so horribly that the anime is shunned, even years and decades after its release. The 2010s was a good decade for anime. It gave us great shows in all genres. From Attack on Titan to Your Lie in April, there was something for everyone to enjoy. But unfortunately the following programs failed to do the same. These 7 anime that fail in their own ways are now remembered as some of the worst of the decade.
7 classic Shonen anime that are completely impossible to watch today
You will have a hard time watching these classic shonen anime today.
Boruto: Naruto Next Generations
The sequel to the widely loved Naruto series will always be bittersweet for its fans. While on one hand the fan favorite anime got a sequel, its execution made fans look away and despise it. Boruto, the new main character, is constantly discovered to mean the beloved Naruto. Even if there is character development eventually, there are far too many filler episodes that prevent fans from ever reaching that point.
Boruto's biggest problem is being a Naruto sequel. It is always compared to the original. The terrible pacing, underwhelming character designs, and abundance of fillers just make it a bad shounen to watch.
Tokyo Ghoul:re
We're not lying if we say that the previous Tokyo Ghoul adaptations were good. The entire series is remembered as a poor adaptation of a brilliant manga. But despite their flaws, the first two shows were at least watchable. Tokyo Ghoul:re, since its first episode got confusing and messy. There was so much that was skipped over and left unexplained, keeping fans always guessing.
To make matters worse, the animation of the anime got progressively worse. Near the end of the anime, fight scenes were no longer exciting. They looked bad and failed to connect with the fans due to rushed storytelling. Tokyo Ghoul:re unfortunately feels like it only existed to end a poorly executed anime.
Divine gate
Adaptation of a mobile game, Divine Gate, was Studio Pierrot's attempt at a Sci-Fi fantasy. However, the anime struggles to connect with viewers due to an incredibly weak plot. The premise of the anime is explained, and characters with backstories are introduced, but it's not done in a convincing way. There is also an abundance of characters. So many characters are suddenly introduced that they fail to make an impact even after being met with death.
Divine Gate has good animation. But this animation fails to fix the other obvious problems. There is hardly any character development, and the ending feels abrupt and out of place. The overwhelming number of main and supporting characters feels unnecessary as they only hinder each other's development. Divine Gate is unfortunately a poor attempt at creating an original story.
Isekai Cheat Magician
Isekai Cheat Magician just feels like another generic anime in this overused genre. Suffering from mediocre animation, original characters, and an uninspired plot, the anime fails to leave its viewers with something by the end. Even the main premise of cheating when using magic is poorly executed, as it is only used by one of the two main characters.
The anime reinvents the basic isekai trope of being reborn or teleporting to a new world. Here, two characters are teleported to a new world rather than just one. But it doesn't develop into something unique either, as Rin soon also starts to feel like one of many supporting characters in a typical harem.
Who is that character?
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Start
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Easy (7.5s) Medium (5.0s) Hard (2.5s) Permadeath (2.5s)
End ride
Endride is another isekai that fails to bring any originality to the genre. With an average art style, it tells the story of Shun, who suddenly teleports to a new world. He meets Emilio, the secondary protagonist, and the two of them fight just for the sake of fighting. Their characters lack depth, and their interactions fail to have any significance to the plot. They are soon joined by Alicia, who fails to come up with anything new.
The fight scenes are poor, and the concept of Warp Relics seems underwhelming due to poor weapon design. But what really makes the anime bad is its terrible sound design. It makes the already mediocre fight scenes worse. Since it has no impact, Endride is definitely an anime that all isekai fans should avoid.
Hand shakers
For anyone watching Hand Shakers, the first and most striking thing to notice is its animation. The art style and art direction is just felt everywhere. It has a weird mix of 2D and 3D animation, which, combined with its weird camera angles, makes the anime look cheap. The plot doesn't help it either. We get two characters who are not meant to hold hands or one of them will die. But unfortunately, none of these characters get any major character development. They are basically the same from start to finish.
The plot introduces other characters, but they lack any depth and are just conveniently placed as the next adversary for the protagonist. The plot introduces an end goal of meeting god and having a wish granted, but it goes nowhere. The anime tried to be something unique but ended up being somewhat underwhelming.
Pupa
Despite its horror and mystical elements, Pupa is considered a shonen anime. It is probably the most disturbing and confusing anime released in the 2010s. Although it has 12 episodes, they are only 4 minutes each, making it impossible for the anime to adapt even half of what the manga intended. It remains unclear throughout, with major changes in events lacking clarification. The last episode also suddenly changes the anime from a disturbing horror to a sweet slice of life.
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The aforementioned anime each have several flaws that make them unwatchable. Some are just visually disappointing, while others fail to understand and confuse their viewers. As anime continues to grow and get better, here are some shows that fans should never watch again. Is there any shonen anime that you think deserves to be on this list?
