The Worst Anime You've Watched Recently

[Agent ONE]

Macross 7 is the worst anime I have ever seen.

[Fort Max]

Seed Destiny was a disaster & Sky Blue was so bland and uninspring that me and my mate just sat and took the piss out of it instead of watching it with any real interest.

[areaseven]

Hmmm...maybe it's time for me to rent some bad anime and review it here. In the meantime, here are some bad titles I've reviewed:

Bokusatsu Tenshi Dokuro-chan

Black Lion

Godannar

Gravion

Macross Dynamite 7

M.D. Geist

Nadia: The Motion Picture

Tekken: The Motion Picture

[Jemstone]

Such blasphemy....

372358[/snapback]

LOL

Remember, as long as you like it, that's all that matters

372360[/snapback]

True but for you to lump all Gundams together with Seed, Destiny, Wing and ugh.. G Gundam... I thoguht Zeta and 0083 were pretty darn good. It doens't sound like you gave them a chance. Eva's production value wasn't bad either (not even talking about the story here) unless you are condemning them for the last 2 episodes. I gues the good thing is I haven't seen any really crap anime recently.

[Roy Focker]

I believe the topic was, 'Worst anime you've watched recently"

Not anime you don't like.

[Agent ONE]

I believe the topic was, 'Worst anime you've watched recently"

Not anime you don't like.

372385[/snapback]

Recently is what time frame? Last week? Last year? Last 5 years?

[myk]

Good point, considering that many of us haven't been watching anime of any kind for a very long time now...

[Agent ONE]

Good point, considering that many of us haven't been watching anime of any kind for a very long time now...

372458[/snapback]

About 4 years ago is when I watched M7, but thats the last "new" anime I watched... So as far as my anime watching goes, thats recent.

[Noyhauser]

Not exactly Anime, (but given the amount of CG, it might well have been) But my friend and I had to shut off the Movie Casshern 3/4ths of the way through it was so bad. within 5 minutes we had already lost the plot, and no amount of fancy visuals was going to save that movie.

[JELEINEN]

Worst Anime Crap I bought and watched was the Panda-Z shorts.  I expected something a little more "Adult Swim", these 2 minute shorts were apparently aimed at 2 to 3 year olds with the attention span of a cat.  I haven't thrown the disc away yet, maybe I will gift it to someone with an ADD baby.

372278[/snapback]

I suppose you didn't like Bugs Bunny or Tom and Jerry either, since the short format offends you so much. Of course, if you'd bothered to read the back of the DVD case, you'd have known what the run time of the show was. Personally, I think Panda Z is a lot of fun and has some of the best BGM I've heard in a long time.

As for recent bad stuff I'll second Bokusatsu Tenshi and Gravion as being horribly bad. I'm blanking out on anything else really at the moment. I do agree with Mr. March that you can generally tell if a show is going to be any good within the first couple episodes. The first episode is where the creators are supposed to grab their audience, and if they fail there, then you know the rest of the series isn't going to be much better.

[Spatula]

Not exactly Anime, (but given the amount of CG, it might well have been) But my friend and I had to shut off the Movie Casshern 3/4ths of the way through it was so bad. within 5 minutes we had already lost the plot, and no amount of fancy visuals was going to save that movie.

372468[/snapback]

Casshern, I heard about this. Was this some dude that looked like a mecha-ninja? It was a Japanese live action/CG production if I remember correctly?

[Seven]

Street Fighter IIV has been out for a while but I only recently watched it on Encore, and MAN, that is one painful anime to watch. Within the 2nd episode, you have Ken and Ryu skinny dipping together ALONE in their penthouse apartment. Coupled with redesigning the characters, the piss poor animation was just cataract inducing.

[JKeats]

The "newest" anime I've seen that I hated was Gundam Wing. My friend made me watch it in college and I just couldn't see what he was so in love with. Other than that, I can't remember the last "new" anime I've seen.

[Anubis]

I am currently dragging myself through ZZ Gundam. The first half was awful. SEED Destiny was more enjoyable by far IMO. The first dozen or so episodes especially were god awful. 10 episodes dealing with morons Emma alone would have killed in 10 minutes. She wouldn't even have needed Camille or Char. Camille would have dealt with the problem in 5 minutes.

It's supposed to get better soon supposedly. I hope so. I'm on ep. 25 now. It's been hard to watch more than 2 at a time.

Next biggest disappointment recently is SEED Destiny. Train wreck.

A few months ago I sat through Ikkitousen. That was kind of meh IMO. Not horrible, but nothing special either.

Aside from these I haven't run into many duds lately.

Edited February 22, 2006 by Anubis

[Mr March]

*snip*

True but for you to lump all Gundams together with Seed, Destiny, Wing and ugh.. G Gundam... I thoguht Zeta and 0083 were pretty darn good. It doens't sound like you gave them a chance. Eva's production value wasn't bad either (not even talking about the story here) unless you are condemning them for the last 2 episodes. I gues the good thing is I haven't seen any really crap anime recently.

372384[/snapback]

I've seen all of Mobile Suit Gundam, 08th MS Team + Movie, Gundam 0080, Gundam 0083 + Movie, Gundam F91, Chars Counterattack, Gundam Wing + Endless Waltz, and the first dozen episodes of Zeta Gundam...more than the franchise deserved.

As for NGE, it suffers enough bashing that I'm content and I don't want to derail the thread.

[mikeszekely]

Oh, I know! I watch Kannazuki no Miko a few months ago. Craptastic!

And Girls Bravo, while not totally sucking, was underwhelming.

[Noyhauser]

Not exactly Anime, (but given the amount of CG, it might well have been) But my friend and I had to shut off the Movie Casshern 3/4ths of the way through it was so bad. within 5 minutes we had already lost the plot, and no amount of fancy visuals was going to save that movie.

372468[/snapback]

Casshern, I heard about this. Was this some dude that looked like a mecha-ninja? It was a Japanese live action/CG production if I remember correctly?

372492[/snapback]

Yes, a very terrible live action with very heavy CG...

Graveyard of the Fireflies is a tough one. It was gutsy to show that perspective of the war. However the plot was a bit thin. The stuff that gets decent word of mouth and good reviews by US critics is usually the most plotless stuff.

Wow, I'm just speechless... Hotaru is one of the finest pieces of storytelling I have ever watched, and most people who have seen it say the same thing. How you could even consider posting it in a thread called "the worst anime" is beyond me, or say that "its success is based on word of mouth, but its really plotless" It deserves every accolade it gets.

It told war in a way that few films would ever dare to, and the story reflected that. There isn't any great climaxes or huge story lines, but it showed the true hardships of war, the stuff that you never ever see, that people should know about.

I guess once the B-29s passed by your interest in the film must have plummeted.

Edited February 22, 2006 by Noyhauser

[Macross73]

Not exactly Anime, (but given the amount of CG, it might well have been) But my friend and I had to shut off the Movie Casshern 3/4ths of the way through it was so bad. within 5 minutes we had already lost the plot, and no amount of fancy visuals was going to save that movie.

372468[/snapback]

Casshern, I heard about this. Was this some dude that looked like a mecha-ninja? It was a Japanese live action/CG production if I remember correctly?

372492[/snapback]

Yes, a very terrible live action with very heavy CG...

Graveyard of the Fireflies is a tough one. It was gutsy to show that perspective of the war. However the plot was a bit thin. The stuff that gets decent word of mouth and good reviews by US critics is usually the most plotless stuff.

Wow, I'm just speechless... Hotaru is one of the finest pieces of storytelling I have ever watched, and most people who have seen it say the same thing. How you could even consider posting it in a thread called "the worst anime" is beyond me, or say that "its success is based on word of mouth, but its really plotless" It deserves every accolade it gets.

It told war in a way that few films would ever dare to, and the story reflected that. There isn't any great climaxes or huge story lines, but it showed the true hardships of war, the stuff that you never ever see, that people should know about.

I guess once the B-29s passed by your interest in the film must have plummeted.

372675[/snapback]

The emotional content made it good

Father presumed dead, Mom gets burned & dies, Sister starves & dies ,and the Brother too. My female freinds have cried like babies watching this

[Seven]

I'm pretty surprised about Graveyard being named in a worst thread as well. I don't think its fair to say that it is light on plot when it is supposed to be a very personal story told from the point of view of children. Given that it is told from that point of view you cannot expect there to be an epic story that deals with machinations and grand armies clashing with a lot of fanfare. It is a simple story of two starving children abandoned by society in the midst of an awful war where humanity is sacrificed. The strongest and most impactful stories are often the most personal ones since the average person can identify more readily with them and put themselves in the shoes of the main characters for a short time.

As for it being gutsy in portraying the war like that, hey, its easy to dehumanize people on the opposite side of the war lines, but in the end, they are just people. What did you expect a story about Japanese children in WW2 told from their simple point of view would entail, them decrying that their society is evil and in the wrong? Its not likely they would have been thinking that. Heck, the whole movie was more about them trying to find enough food to stay alive while grieving the loss of their parents.

So Graveyard of the Fireflies isn't something that you watch on a Sunday afternoon for entertainment, its more of a history lesson and parable about the horrors of war for the civilians. It should be judged by that and not by the "popcorn" value.

[Radd]

Taste is subjective. However, I've noticed several shows and movies listed here that I'm surprised to see listed in a 'worst anime' thread. What's more frustrating is when no reason is given.

"Anime X sucked because it was dumb.", just makes one want to chime in with their own opinion, when it's something they enjoyed.

[Project Phoenix]

I rewatch AWOL recently and it sucked bear balls.

Second worst anime I watched recently would be Tekkaman Blade 2.

[Sundown]

So Graveyard of the Fireflies isn't something that you watch on a Sunday afternoon for entertainment, its more of a history lesson and parable about the horrors of war for the civilians.  It should be judged by that and not by the "popcorn" value.

372692[/snapback]

The problem I personally had with Graveyard, despite its dramatic direction and technical merit, was that it wasn't a history lesson at all. It never once dares to ask why the main characters were suffering. Partly because the answer, from my Western mind, is painfully obvious and potentially embarassing to a Japanese audience. In WWII, the Japanese government engaged in campaigns of conquest across Asia and ultimately attacked the United States unprovoked. That is the key historical instigator of their civilians' suffering-- simply put, the Japanese government brought war upon their own.

If we're expected to sympathize with the characters, then I think it's only fair to ask what the root cause of their suffering was. I think that would be fair. Instead, the only answers we're given is a generic "because of war". And from a certain narrow viewing of the movie, "because of allied planes, and thus, allied forces. Oh, and war."

So the problem I have with Graveyard is that it's a narrow view of personal suffering divorced from a greater reality, which combined with a culture that only seems to remember the atomic bomb, doesn't do much to give viewers the perspective they badly need. They learn only that "war is bad", while true, fail to understand that it's unjustified military aggression that is truly evil. In fact, war may sometimes be necessary in the face of that aggression.

Anyway, I know we've covered all this before, and I don't want to get terribly political here, but as art, I think Graveyard fails to say what needs to be said and what needs to be heard. It fails even to hint at the real situation, which I think would add more to the fabric of the personal story rather than being a distraction.

Without perspective, Graveyard becomes somewhat of a meaningless pity story, and to someone who does have that perspective, they can only scream incredulously at the set, "but-- but-- but-- what about the Japanese government that were every bit responsible?!" And to me, that glaring ommision almost seems to be manipulative, and even unintentionally deceptive.

Edited February 22, 2006 by Sundown

[Sundown]

Oh, and Graveyard is not the worse I've seen. It's actually quite good if you divorce it completely from relevant reality. The absolute worse I've seen recent is Ghost in the Shell: Innocence. I don't know how well it was received, but it was a painful watch. Yes, the animation is beautiful... yes, the CG's great, and visually, everything is fantastic. But the story... well, isn't one. It's Batou and his partner spitting quotes of dead philosophers at each other incessantly. I disliked Innocence, and I love philosophy.

When you're telling a story, you're supposed to show, not tell. Innocence would have been so much stronger if those philosophical ideas were actually being illustrated by situations the characters found themselves in, rather than blatantly crammed down our throats. We need to see and feel why those ideas matter to us-- and more importantly, matter in whatever it is the characters are doing at the moment. But if you have to spit quote after quote at us, because you, yes you, Masamune Shirow, are just sooo enthralled with Hume, or Hobbes, or whoever, and you're such a big shot that no one dares to tell you, "Shirow-san? Men with guns sitting around quoting philosophers for two hours makes for really crappy anime." you've sort of lost the whole point of the artistic endeavour.

The basset hound was the best part of the whole movie.

Edited February 22, 2006 by Sundown

[Valkyrie]

Worst I remember seeing at all recently is Gunparade March.

It actually had a pretty interesting premise (World War II getting cut short by an alien invasion, and the story picking up 50 years later, if I recall correctly), along with good mecha designs, and some good action scenes. But it got ruined quickly by character and story elements ripped straight outta Eva. And the story degenerates into another stupid highschool drama/romance. And that's about it. The whole things ends with absolutely no resolution to the whole war part of the story. All that was just a backdrop to the shitty, cliched anime love story the whole time.

And I've gotta throw in Wings of Honneamise too. It's the most beautiful movie I've ever hated.

It's one of those movies that I really want to like... but it's just too damn boring!

[CoryHolmes]

The most recent "bad" anime that I've watched, after Gasaraki as mentioned before, is the new Guyver show. Great animation, but that's all that's going for it. It's a carbon copy of the manga with one major exception, so there's nothing to be surprised with. If you know the manga, you know each and every step this show is going to take. And while it's beautifully animated, the fights just aren't nearly as dramatic as those in the first animated series.

[Zentrandude]

do anime music videos count? I don't like AMV Hell 3 - The Motion Picture after watching the whole one hour and eight some odd minutes of it I realized it was a huge waste of time I pissed away and I'll never get back.

[Lindem Herz]

do anime music videos count? I don't like AMV Hell 3 - The Motion Picture after watching the whole one hour and eight some odd minutes of it I realized it was a huge waste of time I pissed away and I'll never get back.

372733[/snapback]

I don't think you're supposed to see AMV Hell 3 in one sitting, it's just too much. I pass it much better while putting it on the background while doing something else, and check in when I'm bored, grab a few laughs and get back to whatever I was doing.

However, you can't deny Soviet Azumanga and that I will always love you piece are the shitntz.

[Seven]

So Graveyard of the Fireflies isn't something that you watch on a Sunday afternoon for entertainment, its more of a history lesson and parable about the horrors of war for the civilians.  It should be judged by that and not by the "popcorn" value.

372692[/snapback]

The problem I personally had with Graveyard, despite its dramatic direction and technical merit, was that it wasn't a history lesson at all. It never once dares to ask why the main characters were suffering. Partly because the answer, from my Western mind, is painfully obvious and potentially embarassing to a Japanese audience. In WWII, the Japanese government engaged in campaigns of conquest across Asia and ultimately attacked the United States unprovoked. That is the key historical instigator of their civilians' suffering-- simply put, the Japanese government brought war upon their own.

If we're expected to sympathize with the characters, then I think it's only fair to ask what the root cause of their suffering was. I think that would be fair. Instead, the only answers we're given is a generic "because of war". And from a certain narrow viewing of the movie, "because of allied planes, and thus, allied forces. Oh, and war."

So the problem I have with Graveyard is that it's a narrow view of personal suffering divorced from a greater reality, which combined with a culture that only seems to remember the atomic bomb, doesn't do much to give viewers the perspective they badly need. They learn only that "war is bad", while true, fail to understand that it's unjustified military aggression that is truly evil. In fact, war may sometimes be necessary in the face of that aggression.

Anyway, I know we've covered all this before, and I don't want to get terribly political here, but as art, I think Graveyard fails to say what needs to be said and what needs to be heard. It fails even to hint at the real situation, which I think would add more to the fabric of the personal story rather than being a distraction.

Without perspective, Graveyard becomes somewhat of a meaningless pity story, and to someone who does have that perspective, they can only scream incredulously at the set, "but-- but-- but-- what about the Japanese government that were every bit responsible?!" And to me, that glaring ommision almost seems to be manipulative, and even unintentionally deceptive.

372702[/snapback]

Sundown, that was a great post. I can understand what you are saying. I still believe that it may be out of place if they did inject something about the government in such a personal story, but I see your point. I think the problem that you speak of where there is a lack of perspective may ultimately have to do with how the Japanese culture views and deals with WW2 and is probably not a failing inherent only in this anime.

On a lighter note, I showed the movie to a friend's girlfriend while the guys played cards. She came down 2 hours later with teary eyes saying that she would never watch any movie I recommended for as long as I live.

[yellowlightman]

I really wish more dramatic stuff made it over to the US. Like if they took a movie like Infernal Affairs or Breaking News and turned it into a hard boiled 13 episode anime for adults.

372658[/snapback]

Probably has something to do with anime being a medium aimed at CHILDREN?

[zeo-mare]

for me the most recent bad anime i watched was Bobo Bo Bobobo or whatever it is spelled, i was waiting for Naruto to come on and i left the TV on and watched one episode, my brain is still hurting from the sheer stupidity of it.

[Noyhauser]

So Graveyard of the Fireflies isn't something that you watch on a Sunday afternoon for entertainment, its more of a history lesson and parable about the horrors of war for the civilians.  It should be judged by that and not by the "popcorn" value.

372692[/snapback]

The problem I personally had with Graveyard, despite its dramatic direction and technical merit, was that it wasn't a history lesson at all. It never once dares to ask why the main characters were suffering. Partly because the answer, from my Western mind, is painfully obvious and potentially embarassing to a Japanese audience. In WWII, the Japanese government engaged in campaigns of conquest across Asia and ultimately attacked the United States unprovoked. That is the key historical instigator of their civilians' suffering-- simply put, the Japanese government brought war upon their own.

If we're expected to sympathize with the characters, then I think it's only fair to ask what the root cause of their suffering was. I think that would be fair. Instead, the only answers we're given is a generic "because of war". And from a certain narrow viewing of the movie, "because of allied planes, and thus, allied forces. Oh, and war."

So the problem I have with Graveyard is that it's a narrow view of personal suffering divorced from a greater reality, which combined with a culture that only seems to remember the atomic bomb, doesn't do much to give viewers the perspective they badly need. They learn only that "war is bad", while true, fail to understand that it's unjustified military aggression that is truly evil. In fact, war may sometimes be necessary in the face of that aggression.

Anyway, I know we've covered all this before, and I don't want to get terribly political here, but as art, I think Graveyard fails to say what needs to be said and what needs to be heard. It fails even to hint at the real situation, which I think would add more to the fabric of the personal story rather than being a distraction.

Without perspective, Graveyard becomes somewhat of a meaningless pity story, and to someone who does have that perspective, they can only scream incredulously at the set, "but-- but-- but-- what about the Japanese government that were every bit responsible?!" And to me, that glaring ommision almost seems to be manipulative, and even unintentionally deceptive.

372702[/snapback]

I understand your point Sundowner, but I think you're coming from this movie from the wrong perspective. This movie isn't supposed to be a historical lesson in the ways you're looking at it. I think adding a whole "who was guilty for WW2" reading would be fundamentally at odds with the theme of the movie, and would weigh it down. Everything about Hotaru is from the children's perspective, The B-29s seem far away and distant, you see the story from their eyes, their suffering.

What do they have to do with war itself? Did they have any bearing on what decisions were made? One wasn’t even born in 1941, so the concept of guilt is somewhat irrelevant to them, especially at their age. Its indirectly represented by the pride the main character has for his father in the navy… and there is a sense of foolishness there, but that’s his views on it, and you see it as quite simple, as it should be for a child. This movie is not about some greater question dealing with guilt, its purely and simply about their suffering. I think too many films attempt to do what you are suggesting (the post Vietnam films are examples of this), and many fail spectacularly at it. Hotaru avoids that by strictly looking at the characters’ experiences, and reminding us about their suffering. Is their suffering worth a greater good? That’s up to you to decide, but that is not the issue this movie attempts to answer, and good on it for not doing so.

[Noriko Takaya]

Well, the last anime series I watched that I positively loathed was Kare Kano. My girlfriend got the series as a gift from one of her friends for her birthday, and I was coerced into watching this. Ugh!

[armentage]

Worst I have seen recently was Saikano.

Absolutely pathetic. Garbage for hard-up highschool boys. Actually, much much worse.

The anime had a non-sensical plot. The dubbing was atrocious, so I watched the sub. The art was pretty bad, very splotchy and inconsistent. The story & characters were actually pretty abhorent; the boy friend telling his "girlfriend" that she's slow, worthless, etc.

What really upsets me is that there are idiots out there who actually like this steaming pile of crapime.

[areaseven]

Wow...it seems you're the minority here when it comes to Saikano, armentage. Does this mean you're calling us "idiots?"

Right now, I can't get into any mainstream anime like Naruto, One Piece or Fullmetal Alchemist. For some reason, they don't interest me. They're not the worst, but just titles I don't plan to follow.

[Roy Focker]

Right now, I can't get into any mainstream anime like Naruto, One Piece or Fullmetal Alchemist. For some reason, they don't interest me. They're not the worst, but just titles I don't plan to follow.

372846[/snapback]

No they are the worst. A caught a couple of episodes of each and thought as this the current anime crap thats considered in right now? If so I'll past.