The Worst Sci-fi Anime Of Every Year Of The 2000s

The 2000s are considered the era when anime was at its peak. The era, which is often referred to as “the golden age” of anime, produced a lot of genres, from action-comedy, thriller, slice of life, science fiction, etc. Speaking of sci-fi, when it comes to Japanese sci-fi anime, the subgenre is broad. There’s Mecha, which is basically about gigantic humanoid robots operated by pilots. There’s Cyberpunk, which is about high technologies.

There’s Space Opera, which sometimes centers on adventures in outer space, interstellar travel, and whatnot. There’s also the Dystopian and Psychological, which focuses on darker takes on the future. The 2000s indeed saw back-to-back releases of anime in all genres, especially sci-fi; it wasn’t all good anime. Some of them were beyond bad; they were the worst. Below are some of the worst sci-fi anime of the 2000s.

10

2000: Argento Soma

This is a 25-episode sci-fi animated series written and directed by Hiroshi Yamaguchi and Kazuyoshi Katayama, respectively. While it was released in 2000 and ran through 2001, an Original Video Animation of it was created with a different title and released in 2002. The series was set in the year 2059, and it follows a young metallurgy student named Tukuto Kenishiro, who was involved in the revival of a biomechanical alien by his girlfriend, Maki Agata (Maki was an assistant to Professor Noguchi). Due to a sudden power outage in the lab, the alien (nicknamed Frank by the professor) came to life and immediately destroyed everything and everyone in the lab, except for Tukuto, who survived with a damaged face. Upon his awakening, Tukuto got a visit from a mysterious Mr. X, who made him an offer to join a military organization called FUNERAL (the organization is tasked with fighting alien invaders), in order to avenge the death of his girlfriend. Tukuto agrees and takes on a new identity, Ryu Soma.

This series is bad for so many reasons. The first few episodes are extremely slow and boring, and although it picked up a bit, the pacing still wasn’t good. The main character isn’t worth liking because all his focus is on revenge, forgetting that if the alien hadn’t worked on it, none of the destruction that took place would have happened in the first place. The artistry is very poor, as most of the characters looked inhuman because they lack noses. The ending turned out to be a complete disappointment, where the conflict was resolved with tears and confessions.

9

2001: Generation of Chaos

This original video animation (OVA) was based on the Generation of Chaos‘ tactical RPG video game franchise developed by Idea Factory. It was first released in 2001 with the intention of introducing the first game’s world.

It featured the story of two characters: Chiffon, a famous monster trainer who has lost his ability to control monsters, and Roze, a half-demon girl who faces persecution from humans who are afraid of her kind. Part 2 of the OVA was released in 2002, with the story of Ellile, a knight-in-training who is secretly in love with Princess Roji. In 2003, the third OVA of Generation of Chaos was released with the story of Prince Alfred and his friend Welles, known as the “Galloping Winds,” as they fight to protect the country of Randia.

All three OVAs of Generation of Chaos were rated poorly for several reasons, ranging from failed storylines that can’t grab the attention of its audience, to terrible CGI and animation quality. Despite the catchy title that suggests action, it lacks action and meaningful plot development, and the characters were so shallow that they failed to bring the world they inhabit to life.

8

2002: Genma Taisen: Shinwa Zenya no Shou

Translated in English as Genma Wars: Eve of Mythology, it’s a 13-episode anime series based on the manga chapter of the same name by Shotaro Ishinomori, which was serialized from 1979 to 1981. The series, produced by E&G Films and aired in Japan in 2002, took place in a dark, post-apocalyptic future.

It tells the story of Genma, an evil king of the Mah tribe who believes that making an heir with a Hito woman would make his child powerful. Non, a Hito woman, agrees to have a child for Genma in exchange for the safety of her village. Non’s pregnancy resulted in twin boys named Loof and Jin. Genma took Loof to raise in Mah, while Non raised Jin in Hito. Raised separately, the story follows their growth and eventual realization of their intertwined fates as they rebel against their father.

This sci-fi series turned out to be a complete failure because of its poor production quality, bland storytelling, and poor pacing. The series struggled with getting viewers to care and connect with the characters, and that is a very terrible experience for its viewers.

7

2003: Beast Fighter: The Apocalypse

Also known as Majuu Sensen, it is a 2003, 13-episode anime series that blends sci-fi with dark fantasy, horror, and action. It is based on Ken Ishikawa’s 1975 manga, and features these characters: Dr. Genzou Kuruma (a mad scientist who wants to destroy the world), Shinichi Kuruma (Genzou’s son who has the power to summon different beasts from his body, and also absorb the power of other beasts by eating them), Ayaka Sanders (a girl with special blood), and Tomizoro (Tommy).

The story follows the destruction of an entire city, and Shinichi, who is determined to seek revenge on his father, Dr. Genzou, for not just experimenting on him and his mother, but also murdering his mother. Genzou wishes to awaken God, and in order to achieve that, he needs a special kind of blood for it. It happens that his son Shinichi, and a young girl, Ayaka Sanders, possess that blood, and he will stop at nothing to capture them. Despite knowing that awakening God will bring destruction to the world, Genzou leads New Humans (genetically altered beings that can turn into monsters) created by him to accomplish his mission.

The series is a no-no because many scenes, including supposedly high-stakes battles, had still images, reused frames, and panning shots rather than fluid character movement. The art style was inconsistent, with poor lip-syncing. It has intense gore, coupled with the death of children, which in many ways was off-putting.

6

2004: Tenkuu Danzato Skelter Heaven

This particular anime is a 19-minute mecha OVA, directed by Yoshiteru Sato and released in 2004. An unknown entity mysteriously appeared in the middle of Tokyo, and it’s up to the special force known as the Alta Mira Agency, led by Otsuya Funagai, to fight against the creature. However, one of the pilots, a female named Rin Ichikawa, with whom Otsuya is in an intimate relationship, may jeopardize the team and the mission.

It’s one of the worst anime ever made as it features extremely poor 3D CGI, incoherent storytelling, and bizarre editing. The story features a harem of scantily clad female pilots with zero personality or character development.

5

2005: Mars of Destruction

This is the worst of the worst, and the reason will be made known shortly. Mars of Destruction (also known as Hametsu no Mars) is a 2005, single-episode original video animation (OVA) of a PlayStation 2 visual novel that was released earlier that same year by Idea Factory. Set in 2010, the story begins when a manned mission to Mars returns to Earth and explodes upon re-entry. Shortly after, mysterious creatures called “Ancients” begin attacking Tokyo. As AAST, an all-female special force established to defeat the dangerous creatures, they try their best to no avail; they later find hope in the MARS suit (a new weapon developed to take down these creatures). But then, the suit can only be worn by those with specific DNA. An inexperienced teenage boy called Takeru, whose DNA matched the power suit, was made to join the battle.

As for the reasons why this 19-minute anime has the lowest scorecard in the history of worst anime, the animation is very stiff, there are laughable, in a cringe kind of way, action scenes where characters stand still as they’re being shot at. The plot is incomprehensible, the characters are flat, and the blood from a scene where a character’s head was blown off was poorly drawn. The cherry on top has to be the unnecessary twist ending that came from nowhere.

4

2006: Musashi Gundoh

Musashi Gundoh (also known as Musashi: The Way of the Gun) is a 26-episode anime created in 2006 by Monkey Punch, the legendary author behind Lupin III. After the Sengoku Era, the war to gain control of a unified Japan was won by the Toyotomi army against their rival, the Tokugawa. An evil ayakashi named Yasha secretly told Tokugawa that history named him the rightful winner of the war, and not Toyotomi. On hearing this, Tokugawa believes Yasha, who then bestows him with an evil power to take control of Japan. Musashi Miyamoto, a young and brash man who follows the way of Gun-do (a martial art that combines swordsmanship with gun wielding), is the only one who can stop Tokugawa and Yasha.

The series is most famous for its exceptionally poor production quality. It features frequent off-model characters, too many unnecessary action scenes where unmoving images are slid across the screen. Several scenes had no continuity or logical editing. At some point, a recap episode had to air between episodes 11 and 12 just to catch up.

3

2007: Shining Tears X Wind

This series is a PlayStation game adaptation gone wrong. Shining Tears X Wind is a 13-episode sci-fi anime based on two PlayStation 2 games from Sega. The two games are the Shining RPG series: Shining Tears (2004) and Shining Wind (2007). Directed by Hiroshi Watanabe and produced by Studio Deen, the story follows Souma Akizuki and his friend Touka Kureha, as they find themselves mysteriously transported into a fantasy world called End Earth by a cat-eared girl named Mao. Prior to their sudden appearance in the fantasy world, there had been cases of mysterious disappearances happening one after another at St. Luminous Academy, Tatsumi Town. In the fantasy world, Souma makes it his mission to search for his other missing classmates and also fight monsters in the new world.

First of all, the downfall of this series began when Kaito Kiriya, the well-known main character from the video game, was changed to a supporting character in the anime. It didn’t end there. Kiriya was made a rival to Souma, who became the main character in the anime. The animation and production quality were poor, and the story was written in such a poor manner that if you’re not familiar with the game, you wouldn’t understand a thing about it.

2

2008: Blassreiter

Blassreiter is a 2008, 24-episode Japanese anime series that was co-produced by the animation studio Gonzo, and the multimedia company Nitroplus. Set in a near-future version of Germany, an outbreak of biomechanical creatures known as Amalgams or Demoniacs plagues the earth. They emerge from corpses and have the ability to fuse with technologies like motorcycles and cars to gain extra power. These Amalgams leave hell and damnation in their wake, so a task force facility called the Xenogenesis Assault Team (XAT), deployed two officers, Amanda Werner, and Hermann Saltza, to suppress the threat and protect the people.

While carrying out their mission, they discover a new group of Amalgams who are half-human and more dangerous than their non-sentient counterparts. The half-human amalgams were called the Amalgamated, and Joseph Jobson is one of the Amalgamated. Joseph, who likes to fly solo, is the only one who can control his demonic form, and he fights to protect humanity while searching for the man responsible for his condition. This series is so bad due to its bad storytelling with zero compelling narratives that immediately become boring. The series also relied on overused sci-fi tropes, too.

1

2009: Abunai Sisters: Koko & Mika

Produced by Production I.G. and released in 2009, Abunai Sisters: Koko & Mika, is a 10-episode 3D CGI anime miniseries designed as a promotional tool for real-life Japanese tabloid celebrities, the Kano sisters. It was initially intended to be a weekly series, but was pulled after just two episodes aired on AT-X, with the full set later released on DVD. The story is about two wealthy sisters Koko and Mika, who are neck deep in enjoying the glamorous celebrity lifestyle, thanks to the power of a mysterious gemstone. But then, a pair of bumbling criminals continuously try to steal the stone in order to gain eternal youth and beauty for themselves.

The series turns out to be very bad, not just because it uses 3D computer animation, but because the quality is very poor. The story was also incoherent and boring, and offered no context for the actions taking place. Also, the OVA was short but felt long due to poor pacing.