As a huge anime fan, there’s honestly nothing worse than seeing a beloved story completely butchered in an adaptation. It’s frustrating when pacing is off or the animation quality is poor, but it’s truly heartbreaking when a bad adaptation actually damages the reputation of a story you love. It can leave a lasting negative impression, and that’s the worst possible outcome!
It’s true that complaints about anime adaptations are sometimes exaggerated, but many are genuinely disappointing – even worse than people claim. A handful are particularly notorious for their poor quality, and it’s baffling to consider the decisions made by those involved.
10) A Certain Magical Index
J.C.Staff’s A Certain Magical Index follows Toma Kamijo, a young man with a special ability: he can cancel out any power with his right hand. He wants a normal life, but that becomes impossible when he meets Index, a nun who has thousands of magical texts memorized. Together, they find themselves constantly caught up in exciting adventures.
Although A Certain Magical Index isn’t completely bad – it moves quickly and skips a lot of unnecessary explanation – it often feels like a typical anime adaptation of a light novel, relying too much on fanservice. The story itself is actually quite complex, but the anime doesn’t always showcase that depth. Season 3 was particularly weak in this regard, and it’s difficult to see the anime improving from here.
9) Steins;Gate 0
I’m so excited about Steins;Gate 0! It’s the continuation of the original Steins;Gate anime, and it fills in the gaps between the end of the first series and the moment Okabe finally decides he will save Kurisu. It shows everything he and his friends had to overcome to get to that crucial point – it’s a really compelling look at their journey!
Unlike the first Steins;Gate, Steins;Gate 0 has a less straightforward storyline. The anime adaptation tried to simplify the game’s multiple paths into one continuous story, but this led to a sluggish and drawn-out plot with many scenes removed. Combined with a drop in animation quality, the anime version of Steins;Gate 0 was ultimately disappointing.
8) Rosario + Vampire
Tsukune Aono finds himself in a bizarre situation in Rosario + Vampire: he’s a human who mistakenly gets accepted into a school for monsters. To stay at Yokai Academy and be with Moka, a sweet vampire with a hidden, fierce side, he has to hide his human identity. He also has to navigate dangerous creatures and fend off the affections of many girls who fall for him.
The Rosario + Vampire anime relies heavily on fanservice. While the manga took a more serious turn later on, the anime focused even more on fanservice and humor, and didn’t even complete the story. This made the anime seem less substantial than the manga actually is, which is disappointing considering how good the manga becomes.
7) Uzumaki
I watched Uzumaki, and it centers around Kirie Goshima, her boyfriend Shuichi, and their life in the seemingly normal town of Kurouzu. But Kurouzu quickly becomes anything but normal – strange, supernatural events start happening, all connected to spirals. It’s unsettling to see how the townspeople can’t escape these patterns, and it feels like everyone is slowly heading towards a terrible, inescapable destiny. It’s a really creepy story!
Despite a lot of initial excitement, the Uzumaki anime quickly disappointed viewers. Its poor animation and uneven pacing undermined the story’s suspense. While Junji Ito adaptations are often unsettling, Uzumaki is likely his weakest and one of the worst horror anime released in recent years.
6) Lunar Legend Tsukihime
The anime Lunar Legend Tsukihime follows Shiki Tohno, a boy who accidentally kills a powerful vampire named Arcueid Brunestud when using his special abilities. After Arcueid recovers, she forces Shiki to repay her by assisting her in tracking down another dangerous vampire terrorizing his town.
The Lunar Legend Tsukihime anime doesn’t really work because the animation and how it’s directed are weak, making it hard to connect with the story or even follow what’s happening. Many fans jokingly pretend the anime doesn’t exist, and it’s easy to understand why they feel that way.
5) The Promised Neverland
The anime The Promised Neverland, produced by CloverWorks, takes place at Grace Field House, an orphanage where the children are exceptionally intelligent. When Emma discovers the horrifying truth – that they are being raised as food for demons – she and her friends must desperately plan an escape to survive.
I was so excited for the second season of The Promised Neverland after absolutely loving the first, but honestly, it was a huge disappointment. They really rushed things, and the biggest problem was they completely skipped over the Goldy Pond arc – a crucial part of the story! It felt like they were trying to force a narrative that just didn’t work, and it ended up feeling really clumsy compared to the amazing manga. Pretty much everyone, fans and critics alike, agree it just didn’t live up to expectations, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. It’s a shame, because the first season was incredible!
4) Tokyo Ghoul
The anime Tokyo Ghoul, created by Studio Pierrot, follows Ken Kaneki, who survives a dangerous encounter with a ghoul—a creature that feeds on humans—but only through a life-saving organ transplant. This transplant turns him into a half-ghoul, giving him the same hunger for human flesh. Now caught in a brutal world he never asked for, Kaneki must learn to navigate and ultimately defend it.
The first season of Tokyo Ghoul was excellent, but the show unfortunately went downhill after that. A strange, unrelated story followed, and even when it returned to the original manga with Tokyo Ghoul:re, the pacing felt rushed and the animation quality was inconsistent. Tokyo Ghoul had the potential to be one of the greatest anime of all time, but poor adaptation choices prevented it from reaching that level.
3) The Seven Deadly Sins
In the anime The Seven Deadly Sins, the kingdom of Liones has been taken over by corrupt knights. To save her kingdom, Princess Elizabeth needs to find the Seven Deadly Sins – a group of legendary knights who were falsely accused of betrayal – and convince them to fight alongside her.
While the first season of The Seven Deadly Sins was generally well-received, the show’s visual quality declined sharply in later seasons. The animation became noticeably worse, and important moments were often presented with static, unmoving images. This poor animation, combined with issues in the storyline, makes it hard to recommend the series.
2) One-Punch Man
The anime One-Punch Man, created by J.C.Staff, follows Saitama, a former office worker who decided to become a superhero for fun. After three years of training, he achieves incredible strength, able to defeat any enemy with a single punch. However, this makes being a hero surprisingly dull, as no fight provides a challenge.
I was so hyped after the first season of One-Punch Man – Madhouse really knocked it out of the park! But when J.C.Staff took over for season 3, things just…didn’t click. Each episode feels like a step down, and honestly, it’s consistently just okay, which is so disappointing. There are plenty of anime with rough animation out there, but none of them have had quite the same frustrating drop in quality as this one. It’s a shame, because the source material is amazing!
1) Berserk (2016)
The anime Berserk, produced by GEMBA, Millepensee, and Liden Films, is the second television series based on Kentaro Miura’s famous dark fantasy manga. Originally released in 2016, this adaptation was the first to go beyond the well-known ‘Golden Age’ storyline, instead following Guts as he seeks revenge on Griffith in the present day.
The 2016 Berserk anime is widely considered one of the worst anime ever made, and for good reason. Its computer-generated imagery is particularly bad, and the show feels rushed due to its short length and poor pacing. It’s a disappointing adaptation of the Berserk manga and a strong contender for the worst anime adaptation of all time.
https://comicbook.com/anime/list/anime-fell-off-quality-after-getting-good/embed/#
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2025-11-29 20:18