From infamously awful animation to melodramatic storytelling and ever-dreaded fan service, there are tons of ways an anime can go off the rails. Not every anime can be a masterpiece similar toNeon Genesis EvangelionorGhost in the Shell. Other series likeKing’s GameandMayoigaare so poorly done that they loop back from being bad to entertaining. For some shows, they feel unfinished either in execution or in conception. Thesetrain wrecks defy critical appraisal, attracting a devoted followingto become cult classics even if they’re thrown on at a party to laugh at.
Below, you can find several anime that are by no meansgoodbut are still worth watching. Many of the shows hail from ambitious creators trying to recreate classics only to end up mimicking style with no substance. It’s fascinating how a story’s basic concepts can lead to drastically different shows, and these “so bad, they’re good” anime show that for every classic, there’s always an anime that will make you ask one thing: “How did this get made?”
School Days
School Daysis a psychological dramathat is most famous for its shocking twist ending. Makoto Itou, a high school student, becomes entangled in a love triangle with two girls named Kotonoha and Sekai. What starts as a typical romance soon turns into a psychological thriller layered with stunning manipulation, betrayal, and violence. If there’s one thingSchool Dayscan claim as an achievement, it is thatits ending is one of the most infamous in anime.
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Makoto’s womanizing and selfishness lead to a climax that marks one of anime’s most shocking moments to date. The final episode is considered so disturbing that a real-life tragedy in Japan forced its TV broadcast to be delayed. Thanks to its unearned shocks and unredeemable characters,School Dayseventuallybecame a memethat endures to this day.
Domestic Girlfriendis a messy melodrama about a love triangle between a high school boy, his teacher, and her younger sister. Oh, and the latter just happens to be his step-sibling. High school student Natsuo falls in love with his teacher Hina, so to get over her, he has a one-night stand with a girl named Rui who turns out to be his soon-to-be stepsister. The upsetting triangle only gets worse when Hina begins reciprocating Natsuo’s feelings, blending themes of sexual manipulation with incest.
The plot is peak soap opera absurdity.
Known as an absurd drama,Domestic Girlfriendbecame a meme in the anime community.Its plot is peak soap opera absurdity, after all.Love triangles are one thing, but filling the triangle with step-siblings makes it impossible to take the show seriously. The anime is still incredibly divisive, but despite its controversy,Domestic Girlfriendreigns asa guilty pleasure for many.
What is there to say aboutEx-Armother than it is one of the worst animated series in history. Set in a cyberpunk future,Ex-Armtells the story of a young man whose brain is turned into an advanced AI weapon, forcing him to take a job with police to stop crime. The production, which Yoshikatsu Kimura directs, does carry an intriguing premise to be fair. However, the only thing you can noteabout the anime is its abysmal CGI as the anime feels like a low-budget video game cinematic.
As if the horrendous CGI was not bad enough,Ex-Armalso suffers from lifeless voice acting and poorly choreographed action scenes.Ex-Armoften ranks among the worst anime ever made even compared to the notoriously flops likeHand Shakers.However, that notoriety has also madeEx-Armthe kind of anime fans must see to be believed.
A survival horror anime riddled with poor writing, ridiculous plot twists, and over-the-top deaths,King’s Gameis widely considered to be a “so bad, it’s good” anime. The show follows a class of high school students after they receive mysterious text messages ordering everyone to complete bizarre, deadly tasks. If the students refuse, they die. Based on a novel written by Nobuaki Kanazawa, the 2017 anime only ranges 12 episodes, but the order is so bad that it made a big impression regardless.
King’s Gametakes the death game trope and executes it in the worst way possible. Fans are forced to watch as characters make absurd decisions, and their failures lead to over-the-top deaths. The anime is often listed among the worst anime of all time, as many watch it purely for a laugh or out of spite. The premise was even explored in a live-action Hollywood filmNerve(2016), and it fared better than the anime if only just.
The Lost Villageis a mystery horror about a group of misfits searching for a village that’s somewhat of an urban legend as they look to start new lives. One day, 30 strangers who met online depart by tour bus to locate the mysterious village. However, once the gang arrives,they begin experiencing bizarre and inexplicable events. The intriguing premise sounds good enough, but it is undercut by a crowded cast of characters and too few answers.
Marketed as a psychological horror,The Lost Villagebecame an accidental comedy instead. The show’s behave irrationally, the horror elements fall flat, and its so-called psychological drama is laughably bad. To this day, netizens still debate whetherThe Lost Villagewas secret parody or just terribly executed. Another short-lived addition to the list,Mayoigaonly survived for 12 episodes before cancelation which was a blessing for many viewers.
Chargeman Ken!is a low-budget 1970s science fiction anime that thrives to this day for infamous reasons. From its terrible animation, nonsensical writing, and bizarrely dark moments, the anime is rough. In the year 2074,Chargeman Ken!follows a young boy named Ken as he fights off alien invaders with his hidden superpowers. Loaded with WTF moments that juxtapose its old-school art style, one episode of the anime shows Ken casually committing mass murder by poisoning an entire hospital full of aliens. That is just how it goes.
Despite its terrible story,Chargeman Ken!has a cult following that appreciates its accidental comedy and retro vibes. Thankfully, the anime has one good aspect. The best part ofChargeman Ken!is thateach episode is only five minutes long, so anyone curious about the anime can dip in without devoting too much of their time to it.
Rent-A-Girlfriendis a romantic comedy starring an admittedly pathetic protagonist who rents a girlfriend to deal with a broken heart. Kazuya, a hopeless college student, rents a girlfriend named Chizuru after a breakup, but things get complicated when she becomes involved in his personal life. There’s no sympathy to be had for Kazuya, however. The man isone of the most hated anime protagonistsgiven his sniveling personality, making him wholly undeserving of any woman’s affection.
This anime is certainly polarizing as some enjoy the drama, while others find the concept unbearable.Rent-a-Girlfriendis also critiqued for dragging on, but that’s all part of the appeal for the dedicated audience. Despite earning backlash for its thin character arcs and abusive relationship,Rent-A-Girlfriendremains popularwith a fan base that enjoys melodrama.
A harem anime can be problematic no matter what the premise is, andRosario + Vampireis one of the worst given its excessive fan-service. The anime adapts Akihisa Ikeda’s manga about a human boy enrolling in a school for monsters, and he attracts the attention of a cute vampire as well as other supernatural girls. While the manga has a good melodramatic story,the anime shifts its focus from romance to fan service for no good reason.
Considered an ecchi anime, fans should know what they’re in for with this anime, butRosario + Vampireis gratuitous in every way. The decision to jettison the plot in service of sexualized filler episodes ruffled feathers, and many fans consider it a missed opportunity. Yet despite the anime’s poor reception,Rosario + Vampirelasted for two seasons and even spawned a few video games.
A supernatural yuri anime based on an eroge,Yami to Bōshi to Hon no Tabibitofollows a girl named Hazuki searching for her missing sister, Hatsumi, across different worlds hidden inside a library. The anime is stylish yet confusing. Its steadfast connection to the original game makes the story ofYami to Bōshi to Hon no Tabibitofeel incomplete. Due to the popularity of the source material, the way the plot unfolds presumes viewers already know the game’s story whichcompletely alienates newcomers.
While it has stylish animation,Yami to Bōshi to Hon no Tabibitoremains a niche series due to its confusing plot and underdeveloped side characters. The dreamy, lush animation is nice to look at, but coupled with its incomprehensible plot,Yami to Bōshi to Hon no TabibitoreachesShowgirlscult status.
Believe it or not, this 20-minute OVA is often regarded as one of the worst anime ever.Mars of Destructionfollowsa team of soldiers battling an alien invasion in a futuristic dystopia, which sounds simple enough. However, the animation is painfully stiff, so much so that “stiff” feels too generous a description. The characters move as little as possible, and plenty of scenes rely on still images with voiceover instead of actual animation. The anime’s story itself is incoherent, culminating in a hilariously nonsensical “plot twist” that only adds to the confusion.
Listed as the lowest-rated anime on MyAnimeListand IMDB,Mars of Destructionhas all the hallmarks of a low-budget Grindhouse horror film: excessive decapitations, way too much blood, a lack of music, and an awful twist ending that raises more questions than it answers. Despite borrowing heavily from classics likeNeon Genesis EvangelionandGundam,Mars of Destructionlacks the depth or substance that made those series influential. The OVA’s sheer incompetence makes it a must-watch but perhaps for anime masochists only.
