Top 10 Highly Anticipated Anime That Bombed
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VOICE OVER: Ashley Bowman
WRITTEN BY: Alex Crilly-Mckean
Our disappointment is immeasurable. Join Ashley as he counts down our picks for the hyped anime that would go on to fail, including the likes of "Japan Sinks: 2020", "Tales from Earthsea", "The God of High School", and more!
Script written by Alex Crilly-Mckean
#10: “Gundam Reconguista in G” (2014-15)
Just goes to show that even the OGs can make a misstep sometimes. Yoshiyuki Tomino, the man who created the franchise and gave us Mobile Suit Gundam, Zeta Gundam, Char’s Counterattack and the other iconic entries in the franchise, returned to the scene decades later with a new project. Was it any good? Not really. Aside from a few neat Mobile Suit designs, Reconguista was a confounding, convoluted, confusing car crash of a series that has since been swept under the rug in favour of more streamlined spin-offs. Hopefully Tomino still has another one in him!
#9: “The Way of the Househusband” (2021)
The manga dominated with it’s comedic take on a former yakuza giving up his violent ways and living the quiet life. And Netflix decided to crap all over it. While the jokes do land, what lets the whole thing down is that it’s animation is practically non-existent, just a bunch of stills! If anything, it’s just a clip show of the source material with some added narration, leaving many fans to ask the pertinent question of “what was the damn point?!” Commit Netflix!
#8: “The Seven Deadly Sins: Wrath of the Gods” (2019-20)
There isn’t a day that goes by that fans don’t look back in horror and shame at what happened to this acclaimed fantasy during its third season. By shifting animation duties to a less equipped team, Studio DEEN essentially doomed the Sins; with the animation taking an absolute major downgrade. The biggest offender, is of course, the battle between Escanor and Meliodas. The most hyped battle in the entire franchise, and it was reduced to a laughable mess.
#7: “FLCL Progressive” & “FLCL Alternative” (2018)
Just goes to show that even if you bring back an iconic character, success is not guaranteed. Unlike her original venture, Haruko’s subsequent return lacked a vital component: charm. Oh sure, there’s chaos and robots, but it just doesn’t have that FLCL heart that was present when she was taking down cops with her guitar bazooka. That goes double for the chemistry she has with the new leads, or lack thereof. These characters don’t have a patch on Naoto, whose absence is just another layer on the misery cake.
#6: “Fate/Extra Last Encore” (2018)
The Fate-verse is complicated enough as is, yet alone oversaturated with spin-offs, reboots, and sequels. If there was any chance of this adaptation of the video game succeeding, then it was going to have to nail the landing and give us something fun and flashy. It didn’t. Instead, it gave us a weird side-story sequel hybrid that made call backs to the original video game and left everyone wholly confused and frustrated. The fact they wasted Red Saber like this basically makes it the most unnecessary addition to the canon, and that’s saying something!
#5: “Japan Sinks: 2020” (2020)
Masaki Yuasa, my dude, are you okay? We’re a bit worried about you over here. After all, you killed it with Devilman Crybaby and Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! We expected this project to cap off a new holy trinity, one that looked like it was set to tackle humanity in the face of natural disasters, perhaps a commentary on environmentalism? Instead we got crazy old men in wheelchairs shooting people with a bow. Japan Sinks is pure lunacy and a huge step down to boot!
#4: “The God of High School” (2020)
Are there still bright spots in this show? For sure. From a purely visual perspective, the fights are a spectacle, with the power system reaching astronomical heights. The issue is…everything else. MAPPA certainly delivered in key areas, but the story was horrifically condensed, which is a big no no when adapting one of, if not THE, defining manhwa of its genre, The longer things went on, the more the polish of its debut faded. Let’s just say no one is screaming from the rooftops for a second season when we have Jujutsu Kaisen instead.
#3: “Tales from Earthsea” (2006)
Studio Ghibli taking on a beloved fantasy property? Sounds like a winning formula, especially given their track record at adapting other celebrated western novels. Alas, the ambition didn’t quite match what we were given on the big screen with Goro Miyazaki’s directorial debut. It certainly looks a treat, and we dare say the opening act does a great job at setting up the world and intrigue. Then things go off the rails. Plot points rapidly dropped in, zero investment in the romance, and one hell of a disappointing final battle.
#2: “The Promised Neverland” Season Two (2021)
This is the one that broke our hearts. The original was a goldmine of psychological horror, thrills and triumph. A sequel was always hotly anticipated, and with the source material practically finished, there was a clear roadmap for the studio to take. And what did they do? Dropped the ball harder than Connie’s dead body. Wrapping up the whole thing in such a short number of episodes not only caused confusion, but also led to whole arcs being skipped altogether. It’s so needlessly rushed that it’s little wonder that it left so many fans up in arms.
#1: “Berserk” (2016-17)
It’s obvious what happened here. Someone made a deal with the God Hand for a new anime, and as a result all its quality was sacrificed! This is a painful continuation, especially after what the 1997 original accomplished with such a low budget. It’s reliance on CGI and censored scenes essentially butchered whatever chance there was of seeing a return to form for the Black Swordsman, to the point where we may never see Berserk done right in anime form. At least the soundtrack was fantastic.
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