10 Anime Flops So Notorious Fans Can Never Forgive Them

There are too many anime series out there that should’ve been much bigger than they ended up being. These series flopped for a variety of reasons, but no matter why they flopped, fans couldn’t have been more disappointed.

It’s easy to spot when a series has potential. Some of the most exciting new series immediately turn heads thanks to unique art styles, gripping fights, or interesting characters that viewers can’t wait to see more of. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always pan out like that.

Some series flop because the studio behind them dropped the ball. These instances are the most heartbreaking because it feels like if something was done just a bit differently, these forgotten anime series could have thrived. One mistake can lead to the downfall of an entire series, creating a brutal “what if” scenario that will never be answered.

Dorohedoro

Animated By MAPPA, Based on the Manga By Q Hayashida

Dorohedoro should have been much bigger than it was. A lot of series flop because of the decisions made within the series, but that isn’t the case with Dorohedoro. This dark, brooding anime series is unlike any other, showcasing a gritty art style, an incredibly intriguing world, and one of the funniest/darkest plots around.

MAPPA has become a titan of the anime industry thanks to a few amazing series. They’re the geniuses behind Jujutsu Kaisen, Chainsaw Man, and the final seasons of Attack on Titan. They’ve mastered the dark shōnen genre, a category Dorohedoro fits into seamlessly.

For whatever reason, Dorohedoro didn’t flourish like it should have. It’s a fun series that should have gotten a lot more attention, and with the upcoming second season, maybe that will change.

One-Punch Man (Season 2)

Animated By J.C. Staff, Based on the Webcomic By ONE

One-Punch Man’s second season is a soft spot for a lot of shōnen lovers. It’s nowhere near as bad as most people say it is, but for some reason, it has a fairly negative reputation. It’s not as well-animated as the first season was, but that doesn’t mean that it’s bad in the slightest.

The first season of One-Punch Man was animated by Madhouse, one of the biggest names in the industry. The first season also includes some of the best fights in the history of anime, and while the second season has some great ones, it couldn’t live up to the massive expectations put forward by the first season.

The Way of the Househusband

Animated By J.C. Staff, Based On The Manga By Kousuke Oono

The Way of the Househusband looked intriguing to say the least. The story is centered on a former high-ranking member of the yakuza who put his life of crime behind him so that he could support his wife. It’s an adorable premise that had a lot of potential, but within the first few minutes of the premiere episode it was easy to see that this series would flop.

The Way of the Househusband is closer to a PowerPoint presentation than an actual anime series. It’s a terrible adaptation that makes J.C. Staff, the same studio behind the hated One-Punch Man season 2, look bad yet again. The Way of the Househusband could have been much more than it turned out to be.

The Seven Deadly Sins

Animated By A-1 Pictures and Studio Deen, Based on the Manga by Nakaba Suzuki

The Seven Deadly Sins, at one point in time, ranked as a top-tier anime for a ton of shōnen lovers. At first, it was a quality series animated by A-1 Pictures. The fights were amazing, the characters were unbelievably powerful, and the series itself looked like it could rank as a modern great next to Naruto and One Piece.

After The Seven Deadly Sins movie didn’t do as well as many were hoping, the production team behind it gave up on it. Aniplex and A-1 Pictures handed the project off to Studio Deen, who in turn handed it off to Marvy Jack. Each hand-off made the series worse, bringing the quality down and cementing the series as a flop.

Tokyo Ghoul

Animated By Pierrot, Based on the Manga By Sui Ishida

Tokyo Ghoul’s flop has gone down in history as one of the biggest disappointments in anime. The first season got a lot of positive reviews and has been adored by fans as one of the darkest, most gruesome series around. It’s downhill from there, and the rest of the animated franchise has left a bad taste in fans’ mouths to say the least.

Most fans attribute Tokyo Ghoul’s flop to poor decision-making by the animation studio behind the series. The plot felt rushed, there were a ton of changes to the source material, and the final product that became the sequel to Tokyo Ghoul’s first season felt like a drastic change from what it once was.

Tower of God (Season 2)

Animated By The Answer Studio, Based on the Manhwa/Webtoon By S.I.U.

Tower of God could have been Korea’s One Piece. It’s a massive, beautiful series filled with tons of lore and an unreal setting that could have been the next big thing. The first season did a great job at bringing the world of the Tower to life, and it can with an amazing art style that really made the series stand out from the competition.

To call the second season a flop would be a massive understatement. The second season of Tower of God is so poorly animated that it feels like the studio behind it didn’t want the series to succeed in the first place. The amazing art style is gone, the animation quality took a nosedive, and the entire franchise feels like it died before it could really take off.

Uzumaki

Animated By Fugaku and Akatsuki, Based on the Manga By Junji Ito

Uzumaki was one of the most highly anticipated anime series when it was first announced. There aren’t too many great horror series out there, so fans were clamoring for one of the biggest horror mangas to get adapted. Junji Ito is a titan of horror manga, and his Uzumaki series is often referred to as one of his best.

Uzumaki’s fall off is genuinely confusing. The anime only ran for four episodes, and it was in production for years. The first episode was great, and fans finally thought that Ito’s anime adaptation curse was broken. Then came the second episode, showcasing a massive drop-off in quality that broke the hearts of everyone hoping for a decent adaptation.

Berserk (2016-2017)

Produced by Liden Films, Animated By GEMBA, and Millepensee, Based on the Manga By Kentaro Miura

Berserk is easily one of the best manga series ever made. It’s such an influential piece of art that it shaped just about every manga series that came after it, especially any series that wanted to experiment with dark themes. Guts is a tortured protagonist known the world over, and creator Kentaro Miura has cemented himself as an all-time great.

Berserk is so massively successful as a manga that it feels like the series can do no wrong. Almost impossibly, the 2016 anime adaptation of the series flopped so hard that it feels like the series may never get a good anime series. It’s mind-boggling how bad the adapation is, but hopefully one day another studio can bring this amazing manga to the screen.

The Promised Neverland (Season 2)

Animated By CloverWorks, Based on the Manga By Kaiu Shirai and Posuka Demizu

There’s a running joke across the internet that The Promised Neverland’s second season never happened. The second season is so bad that most fans would rather act like it doesn’t even exist. What’s even worse is that the first season is amazing, and it even begins with one of the most gripping premiere episodes in anime.

The Promised Neverland’s second season is so bad that it’s genuinely confusing. How could it have gone so wrong? There were a ton of changes made to the source material that didn’t make sense, massive portions of the manga were cut, and the end result was a season so bad it should never have even happened.

The Beginning After the End

Animated By Studio A-Cat, Based on the Web Novel/Webtoon By TurtleMe

The Beginning After the End’s anime adaptation is heartbreaking. Anyone familiar with this series’ source material knows how amazing, ambitious, and promising this series is, making the anime adaption’s brutal existence even more devastating. The anime is so bad that the series’ creator had to issue a public statement after just a few episodes.

Again, the manhwa behind the adaption is absurdly good. It has an amazing power system, brutal fights, and a world just waiting to be explored. The anime is filled with little to no animation, annoying changes that feel unnecessary, and enough problems to hope for a reboot from a different studio.