Best “So Bad It's Good” Anime Movies of All Time

Then Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Train came out, the anime movie market has been on fire. Huge franchises like Jujutsu Kaisen or My Hero Academia has always been expected to take down big-screen content, especially original content or spin-off adaptations. Still after Demon Slayer: Mugen Trainmany major franchises are now producing movies as sequels to the TV anime.

However, the anime film industry is not only made of good, successful films. As in any other entertainment industry, there are always train wrecks. Some, like Apple seedare movies that were decent when first released, but didn't age well. But others are just plain bad. And finally, there are those rare cases of movies so bad they're actually great. And here are some of the “best worst anime movies” of all time.

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Garzey's Wing

The English version is the “best” experience

Garzey's Wingan original anime of Gundam creator Yoshiyuki Tomino, is not originally a movie, but a three-episode anime OVA. However, it was distributed in many countries as a feature film, combining all episodes into a single 90-minute film.

The story follows Chris, a young man who has been failing college entrance exams for several years. One day, Chris is suddenly transported to another world, Byston Well, and becomes the legendary warrior Garzey (very isekai-ish for a 1990s series). He was called by a tribe to free them from slavery, but he knows nothing about what to do to accomplish this mission. And somehow there is still a counterpart to him in his original world, and their fates are tied.

It is considered by many to be the worst anime ever made, with terrible pacing and low quality animation (even by the standards of the time), not to mention the already bizarre premise, which could have been great if played well. The icing on the cake is the English dub, which made the action even worse with terrible dialogue and could be considered an experience in itself.

Gyo: Tokyo Fish Attack

Again, Bad Junji Ito Anime

Gyo is an anime adaptation of the manga of the same name by Junji Ito. Or, at least, it was meant to be, since the film makes several changes to the plot, and does not deliver the “vibes” of the original story. Well, Junji Ito hasn't had much luck when it comes to anime based on his works, as most of them are heavily criticized by fans.

The film is set in Tokyo, where people for unknown reasons begin to be infected by bizarre bacteria that turn them into zombies with a horrible smell. This disease first affected marine life, turning them into wandering fish and sharks, and then spread to Kaori and her boyfriend, who first encountered these strange fish and sharks. This event leads to a strange pandemic.

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The film was one of the early films to experiment with 3D models, but these models don't blend well with the animation, making it feel muted and stiff. Also, it focuses too much on gory scenes. Although Ito's style includes body horror and causing discomfort, the film changes or skips many parts of the original plot to deliver these scenes. Ultimately, it's a grotesque film, and while it differs quite a bit from its source material, it has found its audience among horror fans who consider it “a great trash movie”.

Aerial Condemnation: Skelter+Heaven

All female squad fighting aliens

This one is pure gold in the hall of worst anime movies of all time. And luckily, it won't cost you much time: in less than 20 minutes, you'll be done with this experience. This is actually an OVA produced by Idea Factory and King Records to promote the eponymous game Aerial Condemnation: Skelter+Heavenwas also released in 2004, but maybe they should have invested a little more in the animation.

The plot of this short film begins when a squadron from the Alta Mira Agency, a top secret agency in Japan, is deployed to deal with an alien threat that has invaded Tokyo. Otsuya Funagai leads this unit, but the mysterious intruder seems to have a rather intimate relationship with one of her pilots, which could jeopardize the mission.

Dubbed by many as involuntary comedy, Skelter+Heavenat only 19 minutes, has terrible animation with that awful CGI technology from the early 2000s. Also, the plot is basically nonsense. It's almost as if being bad was the goal, and not an unintended byproduct.

March of Destruction

More aliens, but they're even weirder now

March of Destruction is another example of how you don't need to make an hour-long feature to deliver the pure joy of garbage content. It is another short OVA by Idea Factory and King Records that was released in the early 2000s to promote the visual novel.

Again, it's a story about aliens invading Tokyo, and only the MARS mecha suit can take them down. However, not everyone can control this giant robot: only those with certain specific genes in their DNA. This is where Takeru Hinata joins the scene and is basically forced to pilot MARS alongside a special police force called AAST.

While this may sound like a common premise for a mecha sci-fi anime, the OVA is so bizarre that it almost feels like it has no plot at all, as it's practically impossible to understand anything. Combine that with terrible, stiff animation, poorly written characters (even considering 20 minutes wouldn't allow them to deliver meaningful character development), and questionable directional choices. It is simply perfect.

Mr. Arashi's Amazing Freak Show (Midori)

The most banned anime of all time

Via Plex.

This one is “bad” but it actually deserves some love. It's a low-budget project that took Hiroshi Harada five years to produce, entirely hand-drawn, because he couldn't find any sponsors to finance it. So this was done out of pure passion, regardless of the end result. Midori is an adaptation of a manga called Mr. Arashi's Amazing Freak Showwritten by Suehiro Maruo (perhaps best known as the author of The Strange Tale of Panorama Island manga adaptation).

The plot is heavy and revolves around Midori, a poor orphan girl who basically ends up enslaved by Mr. Arashi, the owner of a traveling circus freak show. Mr. Arashi is not very kind to the members of his squad, especially to Midori, who takes the role of caretaker, as she is not a “freak”.

Because the film is bloody and contains extreme content such as abuse and cruelty, it has been banned in many countries around the world, making it difficult to find. Still, budgetary constraints mean the animation is cheap and stiff, which can add to the uncomfortable feelings the plot is meant to deliver. Because the narrative is intentionally unpleasant and disturbing, it has found a solid niche audience among horror fans.