Top 10 Most Overrated Anime

The Top Ten
1 Sword Art Online Sword Art Online is a series of Japanese light novels written by Reki Kawahara and illustrated by abec. In 2012, it received an anime adaptation produced by A-1 Pictures and the SAO Project, and is directed by Tomohiko Ito . The first season is divided into two arcs known as "Aincrad" and "Fairy Dance"... read more

Despite its incredible animation, action sequences, and "amazing" music, the series has some significant faults. The anime started off well with its thrilling plot and interesting characters. However, after a while, the series became what action anime fans hoped it would not become: a harem romance series with a worthless protagonist.

The series could have definitely been longer, and while fans watched the few episodes it did have, they had to watch Kirito getting hit on by girls, even though he only used them to make himself stronger. We also had to painfully bear watching Asuna transform from a strong and independent heroin from the first boss fight into a damsel-in-distress who can do nothing without Kirito. In other words, what could have become an incredible and long action series turned into a typical harem anime where every girl around Kirito (even his own sister) fell for him, even though he is a useless and heartless douchebag.

2 Naruto Naruto is an anime and manga franchise Naruto, created by Masashi Kishimoto. The manga was later adapted into a television anime, which was produced by Studio Pierrot and Aniplex. It premiered across Japan on the terrestrial TV Tokyo and other TX Network stations on October 3, 2002. The first series... read more

The first season of Naruto started out extremely well. Each of the characters had something driving them to become a powerful ninja, especially Naruto, who overcame many strong enemies even though he was completely alone in the beginning. What makes this anime so overrated nowadays is how bad Naruto has become after the first season. The fillers in the anime are completely unnecessary, and the vibe you got from the character development in the first season simply isn't there anymore. Yet fanboys still want to love this series since Naruto was their childhood and the anime that started it off for them, and they can't bear to have their childhood ruined.

3 Attack on Titan Attack on Titan, also known as Shingeki no Kyojin in Japanese, created by Hajime Isayama, is one of the most popular Japanese anime series to be released. It was first watched in Japan during 2013 and was dubbed in English to be watched in America in 2014. It is best known for its emotional moments,... read more

Attack on Titan is all the rave nowadays. People love the new style of animation and "Code Geass-like" storyline it has to offer (Code Geass as in you can't really see anything coming). Yet, the anime is overly praised by its fans since the series still has some major faults. For starters, there is too much dialogue in the series. I felt like I was looking at a visual novel instead of an action series, and I knew that even though the camera was panned on people talking, there was obviously something else going on that would be so much more fun to watch.

Also, the protagonist Eren Jaeger is completely useless. He's a German kid constantly ranting off about how he wants to eliminate an entire race of beings and encourages his allies to stand strong against the enemy, reminiscent of some historical figures. There's a lot they can change in this series to make it better, and hopefully, in Season 2, it does get better.

4 Pokemon Pokémon, abbreviated from the Japanese title of Pocket Monsters and currently advertised in English as Pokémon: The Series, is a Japanese anime television series, which has been adapted for the international television markets. It was first broadcast in Japan on April 1, 1997, in the United States... read more

I'm surprised Sword Art Online is above Pokemon now. If anything, Pokemon is more overrated for many reasons. Why? First off, the anime focuses too much on Ash doing the same acts over and over again, ranging from helping a friend he just met to always blasting Team Rocket off into the sky, which can get pretty annoying and boring over time and feels more like a filler episode rather than contributing to the main plot. Second, the main character is the worst. Ash is supposed to be that one underrated protagonist who is supposed to lose when he doesn't try and win when he does try, but ultimately became flatter as the series progressed when all his hard work is actually for nothing in the Pokemon League due to the writers. Third, the nostalgia is not what it used to be. Before, it was supposed to give you that 90's feel and the same feeling you have if you played the games or trading card games, but now it feels like watching SpongeBob. Finally, the new voice actors for the English dub are not as good as the original voice actors for previous seasons. So I think this needs to go back to number 3.

5 Dragon Ball Z Dragon Ball Z is a Japanese anime television series produced by Toei Animation. Dragon Ball Z follows the adventures of Goku who, along with the Z Warriors, defends the Earth against evil. The action adventures are entertaining and reinforce the concept of good versus evil. Dragon Ball Z teaches valuable... read more

The only reason why this overrated trash isn't higher on the list is because of the nostalgia-blinded fans who desperately try to defend this appalling mess as the "best anime ever". It surely is, to anyone who has seen fewer than 20 other anime - all of them being shonen. Popularity does not equal quality - it's just the lowest common denominator talking.

Try watching this garbage today, preferably after watching some of the more groundbreaking animated works, such as anything from Studio Ghibli, HunterXHunter, FMA:B, Madoka Magica, Assassination Classroom, Yu Yu Hakusho, Death Note, and many more. I guarantee that you won't be able to watch this ever again without cringing! Granted, a show specifically aimed at the lowest common denominator has its fans, but luckily, I'm not one of them.

6 Fairy Tail Fairy Tail is a manga franchise created by Hiro Mashima. The manga has been adapted into an anime series produced by A-1 Pictures and Satelight, which began broadcasting in Japan on October 12, 2009. Additionally, A-1 Pictures and Satelight have developed seven original video animations and an animated... read more

I don't want to come off as offensive, but frankly, Fairy Tail is for idiots. Here's why: Lucy is supposed to be the protagonist, and yet she's only used for fanservice. Natsu is supposed to be the main character, and he has no character development whatsoever. He has no goal (finding Igneel is a wish, not a goal, because he doesn't and can't do anything to accomplish his goal/wish). He doesn't become stronger throughout the series. All he ever got were temporary buffs such as Etherion or Jellal's flame. Cognitively, emotionally, and sexually, he's the same person in chapter 400+ as he is in chapter 1.

7 One Piece One Piece is a manga franchise created by Eiichiro Oda. The manga has been adapted into an original video animation (OVA) produced by Production I.G in 1998, and an anime series produced by Toei Animation, which began broadcasting in Japan in 1999 and has aired 851 episodes to date.

I absolutely loved this show when it first aired in the 90s. Back then, it was something special. I can't say the same for it now. I have to agree with many people that it has become so tedious, long, and boring and is loaded with too many fillers. It really has overstayed its welcome. I mean, this show is turning 20, and it STILL isn't over yet! I used to be a huge fan of this show, but the pacing and lack of good story and character development has become so ridiculous that I've lost interest in this show. What happened? This show used to be fantastic, now it's just become like any other generic shounen anime out there. Just please end it.

8 Naruto Shippuden Naruto: Shippuden is the ongoing sequel to the original Naruto anime and covers the Naruto manga from volume twenty-eight on. The TV adaptation of Naruto: Shippuden debuted in Japan on February 15, 2007 on TV Tokyo. It is developed by Studio Pierrot and directed by Hayato Date.

I agree completely. What annoys me the most is that it could've been so much better. It had such great potential.

Not as overrated as 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and YOI since most people hated the ending. But it definitely deserves to be on the list because of the start, which everyone praised.

The most overrated anime ever. It's just full of filler and Naruto chasing Sasuke.

9 Boku No Hero Academia My Hero Academia is a superhero manga series written and illustrated by Kōhei Horikoshi. It has been serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump since July 2014, and 20 volumes have been collected in tankōbon format.

Of all anime, I hate this one the most. Super Powered Teenagers. What imbecile came up with that?! Normal superheroes would be fine, but this? This just draws the line! I've seen clips of it, and holy CENSORED, are they annoying. I get that Fred is annoying, but it's like if Fred and Alvin the Chipmunk had a baby, and the dad went to get milk.

Why the hell does the writer make the main character like this? At least I would have kicked some people's butts. But all he does is just cry! Doesn't get a good grade on the test? Cries. Doesn't get accepted? Cries! Doesn't get a fricken cookie? CRIES! And don't even get me started on the fan base. I've seen some terrible fan bases, but this is the worst.

At least make him an awesome no-power superhero like Batman. And they call their powers Quirks. And these names. Who would name themselves as a hero name Lunchrush? All they do is just come up with a random name and call a character that. Original names! And if anything I love is in this, like Striker Eureka, Gipsy Danger, Godzilla, anything I love is in this, these anime will suffer even more than the demons that meet the Doomslayer.

10 One Punch Man One-Punch Man is an ongoing, online, web comic, which was later adapted into a Manga and Anime series . Created by ONE in 2009, It gained popularity, and soon after, went viral in 2012, surpassing 7 . 9 million views . One-Punch Man (OPM for short) focuses on the protagonist Saitama (Who is named after... read more

As much as I want to watch One Punch Man, there's one thing I have to get off my chest. One Punch Man is so overrated! It seems to be what everyone is talking about these days. To start off, the art for One Punch Man isn't even that good and is disappointing, considering it's animated by Madhouse. Second, the troll MC known as Saitama is just aggravating. His fanbase is just as annoying as Goku's fanbase. Third, the anime doesn't even have a legitimate plot from the looks of it. Fourth, the characters look generic, and even Kirito's SAO outfit looks more original than Saitama's outfit. All in all, One Punch Man gets too much hype. Oh, and one more thing: I honestly think Sword Art Online is better than One Punch Man (hides in a bunker from the OPM fanbase).

The Contenders
11 Sailor Moon Sailor Moon is a Japanese shōjo manga series by Naoko Takeuchi. It was originally serialized in Nakayoshi from 1991 to 1997; the 52 individual chapters were published in 18 tankōbon volumes... read more

I don't know why, but I was never interested in Sailor Moon. The whole reason I tried it was because I wanted to see why people liked it so much. Once I tried it, I hated it. It's overhyped, stereotypical, and bland. I mean, even that crappy Winx Club show is better than this.

I cannot stand this show. Why does Monster High get so much hate because of this disgusting disgrace of anime? Sailor Mercury and Chibi-usa are the least bad in this show, but if there was a poll asking which girl power show is better, I would choose Monster High.

12 Sonic X Sonic X is a Japanese anime television series created by TMS Entertainment and based on the Sonic the Hedgehog video game series published by Sega.

One of the reasons why Sonic X is incredibly overrated is how Amy Rose was portrayed in Sonic X. The worst part is that she furiously accused someone who is way stronger and better than her of forcing her to do what he wanted.

This isn't even an anime. There were way too many fans who recolored screenshots of the show to pass it off as their own 'original' art. However, I do agree that, mostly in the English version, the storyline and voice acting wasn't all that great.

13 Akame ga Kill! Akame ga Kill! (アカメが斬る!, Akame ga Kiru! is a manga published in Gangan Joker authored by Takahiro and Tashiro Tetsuya. It received an anime adaptation that premiered on July 6, 2014 and ended on December 14, 2014.

I'm not saying I hate this series, but this anime series does have its flaws too. When I saw the first two Night Raid deaths, they were quite shocking, and I felt kind of sad they had to go away. However, as more deaths started coming and comic relief ruined the emotional impact right after, it just started getting annoying.

Plus, I kind of have to take off points from Akame's character since she uses elements of moe (although she is still a badass). Additionally, they rushed the story and created an unsatisfactory ending even though the manga was still ongoing. Not to mention the last few deaths in the series were absurd and deserved more. If only more characters had lived, I would have been okay with the ending. However, due to lack of emotional impact and plot issues, I feel like Sword Art Online was not as bad as what Akame ga Kill! did by just killing off characters without giving them much-needed development.

14 Puella Magi Madoka Magica Puella Magi Madoka Magica is a 2011 Japanese anime television series produced by Shaft and Aniplex, directed by Akiyuki Shinbo, written by Gen Urobuchi, music by Yuki Kajiura, opening sang by ClariS, ending by Kalafina (sometimes by the seiyuus) and original characters by Ume Aoki.

This show is not as good as everyone makes it out to be. All the girls do is sulk and wait for their deaths. They don't stand by each other. They do not even like each other! Madoka has no character at all, and Kyubey has to bully her into becoming a magical girl. Mami whines and dies, Homura messes everything up by trying to save Madoka, Sayaka cries over a boy, and Kyoko is pretty cool.

In Pretty Cure and Sailor Moon, the magical girls help each other and fight to save the world without selfish wishes or desires tied into their transformations. Kyubey manipulates the girls as well. He tricks them. This show is so overrated.

15 Bleach Bleach is a Japanese anime series based on Tite Kubo's manga of the same name. Bleach adapts the first 54 volumes of Tite Kubo's manga series of the same name. In addition, 4 anime-original arcs were broadcast in-between and during the adaptations of original arcs of the manga... read more

The beginning was good, then everything went downhill. Not even Kon could make up for it. And why the hell would everyone risk their lives to save someone as annoying as Rukia?! In the end, it felt like it wasn't worth it at all.

Way too much filler with uninteresting characters. It felt like they were trying to rip off Naruto. However, Naruto is so much better, with relatable characters and some amazing, tragic plot twists.

I used to like this show, but the pacing and the ships that ended up canon caused me to drop it.

16 Tokyo Ghoul Tokyo Ghoul is a Japanese dark fantasy manga series written and illustrated by Sui Ishida. It was serialized in Shueisha's seinen manga magazine Weekly Young Jump between September 2011 and September 2014, and it has been collected in fourteen tankōbon volumes as of August 2014.

I was going to vote for Naruto or Bleach, but then I remembered they were at least good at a point, contrary to Tokyo Ghoul, which was boring right from the start.

I never understood what was so good about this series. It seems to me that people like it just because it has ridiculous gore in it.

I also dislike that it's tagged as horror when, in truth, it's far from that. The author even has the nerve to try and make the readers sympathize with the cannibals. I definitely wasn't hoping for that when I tried watching this series. Meh.

17 Hetalia Hetalia: Axis Powers is a Japanese webcomic turned anime by Hidekaz Himaruya that debuted in 2009. The series anthropomorphizes countries and depicts them as characters interacting in both humorous and historical scenarios, primarily during World War I and World War II. The show has been lauded for... read more

Hetalia has no clear story or point, and the fans are absolutely cut-throat. I like many series that are considered overrated and have watched a lot of Hetalia, but I didn't get what the point was. I am a history student, but I found it flawed. Also, I found it hard to enjoy due to the fanbase.

18 Digimon “Digimon” is a term commonly used to describe a variety of Japanese anime series based on the Bandai virtual pet brand “Digimon” (Dejimon). As of 2017, there are 7 series: “Digimon Adventure” (1999), “Digimon 02” (a.k.a. “Digimon Adventure 02”) (2000), “Digimon Tamers” (2001),... read more

I love this show so much, but I stopped watching it after the 4th season, when they literally turned it into a Kamen Rider. The 5th season was decent, but after that, it was horrible.

The worst part was when the Tri series came out. We were here for the original 8, but they added too many new characters, and they are super boring. Even the original kids seem to have lost their personalities too. Poorly executed plot twists and unnecessarily depressing. The only exciting thing about this season is the Mega evolution.

Does every monster's name always have to end with the word "mon"?

19 Clannad Clannad is the anime adaptation of the visual novel developed by KEY for Windows PCs in 2004, which was later ported to PlayStation consoles and the Xbox 360. The game was the best-selling PC game in 2004 and charted in national top 50 rankings several more times afterwards. Clannad has been adapted... read more

I think the only reason I cried while watching this anime was because of that dango song. I heard the song way before watching the actual anime, and even before watching the anime, I cried listening to the song. It tugs at my heartstrings. This song absolutely kills me. It has that happy family vibe but also gives you such an empty feeling.

I like this anime, but it really is overrated because people keep telling you to watch it for the ending, and how sad it is. The people who recommend this anime only praise the fact that it made them cry and nothing else. Honestly, this anime gets recommended because people who cried watching this want to share the pain with everyone else and treat people who didn't cry while watching this as if they're some sort of monsters.

20 Yu-Gi-Oh! Yu-Gi-Oh! was aired from 2000 to 2004 in Japan, and 2001 to 2006 in the US. It continues where the Toei Anime Left off. When 10th grader Yugi Muto solves the Millenium Puzzle, Yami Yugi emerges, taking control of him to help his friends. In Duel Monsters, they mostly played children's card games because... read more

I can understand why people say it's overrated. If the card game is not your thing, you won't like the show. It's that simple. I don't think I'm the only fan who says, "it's so bad it's good". Kaiba is just badass (that "screw the rules, I have money" attitude). Joey is very funny and a good duelist as well (you gotta love the underdog). And the Pharaoh... well, let's just say "the heart of the cards" leads him to victory every single time (*cough*cheater*cough*). As for the bad guys, Pegasus and Yami Bakura were the only good villains. Yami Marik could have been good if his duel with the Pharaoh wasn't so full of made-up cards with ridiculous effects. Noah and Dartz were filler, and Jieg was a failure.

After Duel Monsters, everything went downhill (both the show and the card game). GX is so-so. Zane was cool, but the impossible ways Jaden got away from a sure loss ruined the show. 5D's has Yusei, a stick in the mud who's not likeable at all. Zexal has Yuma... It feels like I'm watching Beyblade instead. I haven't seen Arc V, but those Performapals or whatever they are called keep me from giving it a chance, even if people say the plot is surprisingly good.

Oh, and even if you like the Duel Monsters seasons, please stay away from Capsule Monsters. It's as bad as it sounds.

21 Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Jojo's Bizarre Adventure is an anime and manga franchise originally written by Hirohiko Araki. It centers around the perilous journey of the members of the legendary Joestar bloodline.

The fans always feel the need to shove this show down everyone's throats, and it gets really annoying. I'm not sure how good the show itself is because the fanbase has really turned me off.

People act like this anime is the only good anime, and honestly, what's so "good" about this anime? The drawings look so realistic to the point that they're ugly.

Literally, nobody ever shuts up about it on Twitter once it's mentioned. This can be true for any part.

22 Dragon Ball Dragon Ball is a Japanese anime television series produced by Toei Animation. It made anime popular in America and is based on the manga of the same name by Akira Toriyama. It was dubbed in English on Cartoon Networks Toonami block and still has many fans today.

I wish they hadn't split Dragon Ball with the time skip. I don't like the Z they put in the title.

23 Yuri on Ice Yuri!!! on Ice is a sports anime television series about figure skating. The anime was produced by MAPPA, directed by Sayo Yamamoto and written by Mitsurō Kubo.

The relationship between Yuri and Victor has no chemistry or development, and I personally think it's there to get all the yaoi fans hyped. Honestly, the show would've been better with Yuri Plisetsky and Otabek as the main characters.

Fun Fact: The plan for the series wasn't going to be about romance in the beginning. It was added at the last minute. Therefore, it sucks more than it should have.

I watched this once and was no fan of it. I feel like it's only overhyped because it's another Yaoi.

24 Avatar: The Last Airbender Avatar: The Last Airbender is an American animated television series that aired for three seasons on Nickelodeon from 2005 to 2008. Avatar: The Last Airbender is set in an Asiatic-like world in which some people are able to manipulate the classical elements by use of psychokinetic variants of Chinese... read more

It's not even anime! Anything done by the west side should NEVER count as anime. Only Japanese animation should be counted as anime. Anybody who likes this show is delusional and a traitor to the anime fanbase!

If this was an anime, this would make the list.

25 Clannad After Story Clannad is based off a visual novel. It follows the story of a high school senior named Tomoya Okazaki, a delinquent who floats through life caring about very little. He hates the town he lives in and his alcoholic father... read more

Tossing aside the many awkward character moments that seem to be a staple of this anime, the show as a whole suffers from over-hype. Everyone praises this as the definitive anime for slice of life and romance. After watching the show in its entirety, with the idea that it would get better in the next episode or disc, I reached the end and was left with hardly any likable characters. There were moments that left me wondering what a rational person would do in that situation, and just a bored sense of wasted time.

I felt nothing watching this! And whenever a situation or character moment came along that I could somewhat identify with, they would throw in aspects of the supernatural or introduce another sadistic character who gets their kicks from assaulting those around them. Angel Beats did in three episodes what this anime couldn't do in an entire series.

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