Anime is complicated, to say the least. There are a ton of great series, even more bad series, and somehow, series that are both. These good/bad anime series aren’t the first thing most people would choose to watch. Even though they’re not at the top of anyone’s list, they’re still worth a shot.
An anime doesn’t need to be a 10/10 to be worth watching. Sometimes, a good 6/10 or 7/10 series can still get a few things right,showing off at least one or two memorable moments that make the show worth watching.
These anime series might not be the first thing someone recommends watching to someone else, but there’s still something there. These somewhat awful anime might leave you wondering why you watched it in the first place, but they don’t leave you regretting the series entirely.
Orangeis one of the best anime series about mental health. It tells the story of five high school students who meet a new friend. Kakeru is a new student, and the group of five quickly take him under their wing and become good friends with him. Suddenly, each of the five members of the friend group starts receiving letters from themselves in the future, saying that Kakeru will take his own life.
It’s a dark, serious series that tackles an equally dark subject with grace. There are plenty of reasons to watchOrange:the characters are lovable, the premise is intriguing, and the series itself does a great job handling such a heavy subject.
WhereOrangefalls off is with one of the main characters, Suwa.His feelings are cast aside for Kakeru’s, and they never get resolved.It’s an odd choice that the series didn’t have to make, and it changes the tone entirely.
My Little Monsteris an adorable anime series that could have been one ofthe best romances of all time. It stars two equally awkward characters as they find their way to one another. The two main characters balance each other out wonderfully. From the very first episode, it’s easy to see that they have a palpable level of chemistry.
If the two main characters inMy Little Monsterhad gotten together earlier in the series, it would have been an all-time classic. For whatever reason, the series delays their relationship for way too long.
It doesn’t make much sense and leads to a much slower story.My Little Monsterhad all the right elements to be a great romantic comedy, but it drops the ball as soon as it gets it rolling.
6Garouden: The Way of the Lone Wolf
Animated By NAZ, Based on the Novel Series By Baku Yumemakura
Garouden: The Way of the Lone Wolfcould have been one ofthe best fighting anime ever. There are few anime series that have figured out how to portray realistic fighting. It’s not the worst thing, as some of the best fighting anime feature high-flying, totally unrealistic action, and it looks great.
Garoudenlooked to break the mold by featuring genuine fights, and it did a great job of it. Even though the anime series deviates from the source material pretty heavily, the anime series still looked decent.
Unfortunately, the story just wasn’t there.Garoudencould have been great, but it felt hollow.The fights were awesome to watch, but they didn’t have any real substance, taking away from their significance before the opponents went at each other.
More than a Married Couple, But Not Loverswas never going to be one ofthe greatest anime series ever made, but it wasn’t trying to be. It’s a great guilty-pleasure romance series filled with about as much realism asDragon Ball Z.
It’s over the top in the best way possible, and that’s why it’s a series that even hardcore romance anime fans won’t regret watching. That doesn’t mean that it should be at the top of anyone’s watchlist, however.
More than a Married Couple, But Not Loversisanother relatively empty series with more flaws than substance.It has a few things going for it, like a funny premise, intriguing characters, and a decent love triangle, but that’s about it.
The Beginning After the Endcould have been great. It’s one of the biggest let-downs of the past few years, and that’s saying something.The Beginning After the Endis an excellent manhwa series that finally got its anime adaptation, but the adaptation was poor at best.
There are so many flaws withThe Beginning After the End’sanime that it can be hard to find a place to start. The series makes major changes from the stellar source material, makes several minor changes that don’t make sense, and has as much animation as a PowerPoint presentation.
The only good thing aboutThe Beginning After the End’sanimeis that it introduced a lot of people to the amazing manhwa. That’s it.
I’m Getting Married to a Girl I Hate in My Classis a very easy watch. There’s no thinking required when watching this series, and that’s one of its selling points. While a lot of other anime series canleave their viewers with more questions than answers,I’m Getting Married to a Girl I Hate in My Classisn’t one of them.
LikeMore than a Married Couple, But Not Lovers, I’m Getting Married to a Girl I Hate in My Classwas never going for the top spot of romance anime. Instead,it tried to find a place within the niche of romantic comedies, and even then, it fell flat.
It’s a decent enough story that most people won’t regret watching, but few look forward to it. There’s no real character development, there’s an uncomfortable relationship between the main character and his cousin, and the series stars one of the most unchanging tsundere characters in anime.
Plutois one of the most critically acclaimed anime series around. It’s based on an arc fromAstro Boy,one of the progenitors of modern-day anime and manga. From the very first episode, it’s easy to see thatPlutohas a lot going for it, but it just misses the mark.
The anime is filled with some of the dumbest characters in the entire art form.The decisions that they make are so aggressively incorrect that it makes the series feel too unbelievable. One of the most notable moments was when a leader of an orphanage sold one of the children to a shady buyer, which makes zero sense in any context.
Characters will choose not to fight alongside one another, only to die to the main villain alone.Plutois a frustrating watch from start to finish, and a lot of the frustration stems from the fact that there could be a good series underneath all the poor decisions.
The Promised Neverlandshould have been amazing. Its first season set the stage, showcasing one of the most dark, brutal, and altogether intriguing stories in anime. The series stars a group of incredibly intelligent kids as they learn more about the terrifying world that they find themselves in.
The Promised Neverlandstarts off with one of thebest entry episodes to any anime series ever made. The rest of the first season capitalized on the success of the first episode, but that was where the success ended.
Nowadays,The Promised Neverlandis synonymous with a horrible second season.The second season of the series was a huge let-down, deviating from the source material it was based on in too many ways to be considered good. Still, that first season is unforgettable.
