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What does it take for an anime to be the worst you've ever watched?

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May 15, 2014 6:03 PM
#1
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It seems that whenever someone asks "what's the worst series you've ever watched?" then we always seem to get the popular anime like Naruto Shippuden, Bleach, One Piece, Kill la Kill, SNK, SAO, etc. with no virtually no reason as to WHY those series are bad in their point-of-view. Of course, there's a question that begs to be asked: what does it really take for an anime to be considered to worst of the worst?

Well for me, it's a bit complicated. When I think of the worst shows I've ever watched (this transcends anime, by the way), there's usually two categories that I split them up into: the outright atrocious and the ones I absolutely despise, regardless of how good or bad it actually is.

For something to be in the outright atrocious category, it's got to have a combination of at least two or more of the following:

- Bad writing
- Bad characters
- Bad art and animation
- Bad sound

For example, an anime series that would fall under my "outright atrocious" category is School Days.


As for the second category, well it takes a bit more for me to absolutely despise a series. As bad as School Days is, I don't despise it. I mean, I think it's a series that the anime industry as a whole would be better off without, but it's not something that will be my top 5 "worst series" list (it's definitely in the top 10 though). For me to absolutely despise the series, it has to have at least two of the following:

- Completely subvert most (if not all) of the expectations that I had set for it.
- Contain an absurd amount of wasted potential.
- Offend me on a very deep and personal level


One series in particular that comes to mind whenever I think of an anime that I absolutely despise is Sword Art Online.


So MAL community, I reiterate: what does it take for an anime to be the worst among everything you've ever watched?
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May 15, 2014 6:09 PM
#2

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It's the worst show that I've ever seen if there are no other anime that I dislike more than it. It doesn't really require any further contemplation to me at least. Currently it's Mars of Destruction, and if I never had exposed my eyes to that shit it would've been Mirai Nikki.
May 15, 2014 6:12 PM
#3

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Mar 2013
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If I dropped the show then it practically spoke "worst series ever" out to me.

( And I totally agree with u about sword art online btw)
sweet5May 15, 2014 6:19 PM
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May 15, 2014 6:15 PM
#4

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Forgetfulness said:
By the way, I hope you know that School Days is a deconstruction of harem anime and it's supposed to be like that. The characters aren't unlikable because of poor writing, but rather because that was the whole fucking point

None of this is true.
May 15, 2014 6:16 PM
#5
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It has to somehow surpass Violence Jack.

Not likely going to happen.
May 15, 2014 6:16 PM
#6
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Forgetfulness said:
By the way, I hope you know that School Days is a deconstruction of harem anime and it's supposed to be like that. The characters aren't unlikable because of poor writing, but rather because that was the whole fucking point


Wasn't it a visual novel/manga adaptation? If I recall correctly, the manga and the visual novels are much more tame than the actual anime itself.
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May 15, 2014 6:19 PM
#7

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Mar 2014
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Forgetfulness said:
By the way, I hope you know that School Days is a deconstruction of harem anime and it's supposed to be like that. The characters aren't unlikable because of poor writing, but rather because that was the whole fucking point


making characters unlikable does not equal to being a deconstruction.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


And secondly, for an anime to be the worst I've ever watched, i would have to experience no pleasure from it. my feeling for it would go from "meh" to "they are being stupid".
May 15, 2014 6:20 PM
#8

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phs_togusa said:
Forgetfulness said:
By the way, I hope you know that School Days is a deconstruction of harem anime and it's supposed to be like that. The characters aren't unlikable because of poor writing, but rather because that was the whole fucking point


Wasn't it a visual novel/manga adaptation? If I recall correctly, the manga and the visual novels are much more tame than the actual anime itself.


No, i think that the anime is just one of the endings taken straight out of the VN. the visual novel has alot of bad endings too.
May 15, 2014 6:20 PM
#9

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Bad writing, characters, and all that other stuff can be part of a bad anime, but for something to be the worst, it has to go beyond all that. The key is to be insulting to watch. I think the worst kind would be the ones where the anime is trying to be smart or address serious, real life issues and completely drop the ball. It makes the show a joke and it makes everyone involved seem like incompetent idiots trying to cash in on controversy. In essence, it transcends being a bad anime and becomes animated trash.

Fortunately, I have yet to see anything on this level yet. Just as the "perfect" anime is difficult to achieve, the "perfectly bad" anime has to be truly special to out perform all the other bad anime out there.
May 15, 2014 6:24 PM

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Forgetfulness said:

No they just adapted all the routes at the same time with the bad ending. To make my point clearer, take Yotsuga no sora or whoever you spell that, all the routes were adapted but after each route the story would reset like it's supposed to happen, since Eroges work like that.

This was hardly an attempt for a realistic harem, because why would any of these stupid girls sleep with Makoto if it's supposed to be realistic? if we stretch it Kotonha and Serki only made sense like any other cliche love triangle out there. The show was just like any other stupid American highschool drama, except with an extreme dramatic ending and only 2 male characters instead of more.

The show just happens to show the extreme consequences of cheating. A deconstruction was not the intention. I'm forgetting some other reasons but that's the jist of it.
May 15, 2014 6:24 PM

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Forgetfulness said:
AzuStar said:
Forgetfulness said:
By the way, I hope you know that School Days is a deconstruction of harem anime and it's supposed to be like that. The characters aren't unlikable because of poor writing, but rather because that was the whole fucking point


making characters unlikable does not equal to being a deconstruction.
What about having the MC have sex with every single girl he meets whereas pretty much every other harem is about some nobody suddenly befriending 3+ girls and not doing anything with any of them throughout the entire freaking story?


what about an MC having sex with every single girl he meets w/o having to do anything? cause that's pretty much what happens w/ makoto in school days.
May 15, 2014 6:25 PM
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Forgetfulness said:
AzuStar said:
Forgetfulness said:
By the way, I hope you know that School Days is a deconstruction of harem anime and it's supposed to be like that. The characters aren't unlikable because of poor writing, but rather because that was the whole fucking point


making characters unlikable does not equal to being a deconstruction.
What about having the MC have sex with every single girl he meets whereas pretty much every other harem is about some nobody suddenly befriending friends with 3+ girls and not doing anything with any of them throughout the entire freaking story?


Give it up, buddy. OreGairu is a deconstruction of slice-of-life/romantic comedy. Madoka Magica is a deconstruction of magical girl anime. Neon Genesis Evangelion is a deconstruction of mecha anime. The one thing they all have in common is that they're all great anime with likeable characters (if you can excuse the trainwreck that was Shinji).

I'm no expert on the subject, but I'm not sure a deconstruction would be possible if you had the most unlikeable characters ever constructed.
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May 15, 2014 6:27 PM

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Apr 2013
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For me, it's when the anime clearly isn't more than an advertisement and doesn't do anything but give you the bare minimum to understand it to try to get you to purchase the source material. Like mother fucking pupa.
phs_togusa said:


Give it up, buddy. OreGairu is a deconstruction of slice-of-life/romantic comedy. Madoka Magica is a deconstruction of magical girl anime. Neon Genesis Evangelion is a deconstruction of mecha anime. The one thing they all have in common is that they're all great anime with likeable characters (if you can excuse the trainwreck that was Shinji).

I'm no expert on the subject, but I'm not sure a deconstruction would be possible if you had the most unlikeable characters ever constructed.

Lol, ignoring shinji. School days is fucking amazing and the characters are more likable and believable than any character in NGE. Having unlikeable characters disqualifies something as a deconstruction? I've heard a lot of arguments about why school days isn't a deconstruction, but this is quite possibly one of the worst.
MushmallowMay 15, 2014 6:32 PM
May 15, 2014 6:27 PM
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3569
None of the anime mentioned in this thread so far except what I brought up can really be considered "worst anime ever."

Mod Edit: Removed baiting.
NiyawaMay 15, 2014 7:36 PM
May 15, 2014 6:27 PM

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phs_togusa said:
Forgetfulness said:
AzuStar said:
Forgetfulness said:
By the way, I hope you know that School Days is a deconstruction of harem anime and it's supposed to be like that. The characters aren't unlikable because of poor writing, but rather because that was the whole fucking point


making characters unlikable does not equal to being a deconstruction.
What about having the MC have sex with every single girl he meets whereas pretty much every other harem is about some nobody suddenly befriending friends with 3+ girls and not doing anything with any of them throughout the entire freaking story?


Give it up, buddy. OreGairu is a deconstruction of slice-of-life/romantic comedy. Madoka Magica is a deconstruction of magical girl anime. Neon Genesis Evangelion is a deconstruction of mecha anime. The one thing they all have in common is that they're all great anime with likeable characters (if you can excuse the trainwreck that was Shinji).

I'm no expert on the subject, but I'm not sure a deconstruction would be possible if you had the most unlikeable characters ever constructed.


i should just point out that a deconstruction is an effort to put a usual unrealistic or clique trope in a more realistic light. By this definition i don't think madoka is a deconstruction. its still good though.
May 15, 2014 6:28 PM

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Mar 2014
2502
It would have to get me o express significant outward frustration.
"Fuck this shit, fun things are fun!"
May 15, 2014 6:30 PM

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AzuStar said:
phs_togusa said:
Forgetfulness said:
AzuStar said:
Forgetfulness said:
By the way, I hope you know that School Days is a deconstruction of harem anime and it's supposed to be like that. The characters aren't unlikable because of poor writing, but rather because that was the whole fucking point


making characters unlikable does not equal to being a deconstruction.
What about having the MC have sex with every single girl he meets whereas pretty much every other harem is about some nobody suddenly befriending friends with 3+ girls and not doing anything with any of them throughout the entire freaking story?


Give it up, buddy. OreGairu is a deconstruction of slice-of-life/romantic comedy. Madoka Magica is a deconstruction of magical girl anime. Neon Genesis Evangelion is a deconstruction of mecha anime. The one thing they all have in common is that they're all great anime with likeable characters (if you can excuse the trainwreck that was Shinji).

I'm no expert on the subject, but I'm not sure a deconstruction would be possible if you had the most unlikeable characters ever constructed.


i should just point out that a deconstruction is an effort to put a usual unrealistic or clique trope in a more realistic light. By this definition i don't think madoka is a deconstruction. its still good though.
Why? Your definition of a deconstruction fits MAdoka perfectly.
"Fuck this shit, fun things are fun!"
May 15, 2014 6:30 PM

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Can people stop throwing around the word deconstruction.

@Forgetfullness
Please trim your quote tower. I will send Mellow for you o.o
May 15, 2014 6:31 PM

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I have to hate everything about it
May 15, 2014 6:32 PM

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Forgetfulness said:
AzuStar said:
Forgetfulness said:
AzuStar said:
Forgetfulness said:
By the way, I hope you know that School Days is a deconstruction of harem anime and it's supposed to be like that. The characters aren't unlikable because of poor writing, but rather because that was the whole fucking point


making characters unlikable does not equal to being a deconstruction.
What about having the MC have sex with every single girl he meets whereas pretty much every other harem is about some nobody suddenly befriending 3+ girls and not doing anything with any of them throughout the entire freaking story?
what about an MC having sex with every single girl he meets w/o having to do anything? cause that's pretty much what happens w/ makoto in school days.
Doesn't happen in every other harem anime, I can tell you that much


there are alot of harems that have more than one thing unique to them. but that doesn't mean they are deconstructions too.

StardustNyako said:
Why? Your definition of a deconstruction fits MAdoka perfectly.

not really... i mean, what's realistic about Madoka in comparison to other Magical girl shows? it just has a darker twist.

Mod Edit: Merged duplicated posts; please use the edit button.
NiyawaMay 15, 2014 7:42 PM
May 15, 2014 6:38 PM

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Forgetfulness said:
AzuStar said:
there are alot of harems that have more than one thing unique to them. but that doesn't mean they are deconstructions too.
Well the thing is that I'm pretty sure not doing anything with multiple girls a predominant trait in harem anime, so School Days stands out. And I've already said that I'm pretty sure I've used the word wrong, so my bad


well, in actuality, in every harem, the boys do alot with the girls, it just usually isn't sex (unless hentai), so in that regard, School days is different... until white album i think.
May 15, 2014 6:38 PM

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12257
You again. -_- I'm pretty sure you're the same person that was on the Crunchy roll forum talking bullshit about popular series. Including my favourite SNK.

I see you still have that habit of writing long ass paragraph for people to read.

On to the topic. If the story, characters art and animation, sound are terrible then it's a terrible series. Only fan service and some romance could save it from being my worst anime ever. XD
May 15, 2014 6:41 PM

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Forgetfulness said:
AzuStar said:
there are alot of harems that have more than one thing unique to them. but that doesn't mean they are deconstructions too.
Well the thing is that I'm pretty sure not doing anything with more than one girl is part of the premise in harem anime, so School Days particularly stands out. And I've already said that I'm pretty sure I've used the word wrong, so my bad

That's not really part of the premise of harem. Many Seinen harem trash manga have the MC sleeping around.

There is sex because School days is an adaption of an eroge, same as Yotsuga no sora.
May 15, 2014 6:43 PM

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tsudecimo said:
Forgetfulness said:
AzuStar said:
there are alot of harems that have more than one thing unique to them. but that doesn't mean they are deconstructions too.
Well the thing is that I'm pretty sure not doing anything with more than one girl is part of the premise in harem anime, so School Days particularly stands out. And I've already said that I'm pretty sure I've used the word wrong, so my bad

That's not really part of the premise of harem. Many Seinen harem trash manga have the MC sleeping around.

There is sex because School days is an adaption of an eroge, same as Yotsuga no sora.


oh... i did not know that... ive only watch a few harems though so i guess my range is small.
May 15, 2014 6:45 PM

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Forgetfulness said:
I see. Can we at least agree that the characters were intentionally written to be unlikable? :v


that is a definite yes. you cannot tell me Ms.Greenhair was suppose to be liked.
May 15, 2014 6:45 PM

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Forgetfulness said:
I see. Can we at least agree that the characters were intentionally written to be unlikable? :v

Some of them, yes.
May 15, 2014 6:47 PM

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AzuStar said:
Forgetfulness said:
I see. Can we at least agree that the characters were intentionally written to be unlikable? :v


that is a definite yes. you cannot tell me Ms.Greenhair was suppose to be liked.


But..she was one of my favorite characters, both in the game and in the anime. Selfless, loyal, and overall a great friend. What's not to like?
May 15, 2014 6:56 PM

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Cupquake said:
AzuStar said:
Forgetfulness said:
I see. Can we at least agree that the characters were intentionally written to be unlikable? :v


that is a definite yes. you cannot tell me Ms.Greenhair was suppose to be liked.


But..she was one of my favorite characters, both in the game and in the anime. Selfless, loyal, and overall a great friend. What's not to like?


e.e.... but... i remember... you were telling me how she brung down your score for school days by like 1 point....
May 15, 2014 6:57 PM

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AzuStar said:
StardustNyako said:
Why? Your definition of a deconstruction fits MAdoka perfectly.


not really... i mean, what's realistic about Madoka in comparison to other Magical girl shows? it just has a darker twist.


To me, it looked like they were trying to "be real" about being a magical girl, they were trying to say: Hey, fighting witches aint exactly as easy as singing a song.

However, there is no right or wrong here, so you can be right too.
"Fuck this shit, fun things are fun!"
May 15, 2014 7:00 PM

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StardustNyako said:
AzuStar said:
StardustNyako said:
Why? Your definition of a deconstruction fits MAdoka perfectly.


not really... i mean, what's realistic about Madoka in comparison to other Magical girl shows? it just has a darker twist.


To me, it looked like they were trying to "be real" about being a magical girl, they were trying to say: Hey, fighting witches aint exactly as easy as singing a song.

However, there is no right or wrong here, so you can be right too.


ehh.. even though one girl died to Witches (i think the death was flawed personally) Witches weren't really a threat in the show. they really stopped looking like the main evil/antagonists of the show after episode 3.
May 15, 2014 7:05 PM

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AzuStar said:
Cupquake said:
AzuStar said:
Forgetfulness said:
I see. Can we at least agree that the characters were intentionally written to be unlikable? :v


that is a definite yes. you cannot tell me Ms.Greenhair was suppose to be liked.


But..she was one of my favorite characters, both in the game and in the anime. Selfless, loyal, and overall a great friend. What's not to like?


e.e.... but... i remember... you were telling me how she brung down your score for school days by like 1 point....

My score wasn't brought down because I didn't like her, but because that scene was very clumsily done. I've done the route that scene was supposedly adapting, and the anime didn't do a very good job.

May 15, 2014 7:11 PM

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It doesn't take much actually, as I watch series that are generally highly rated or interest me in some way. I'm not willing to put myself through something that everyone hates or gets bad word of mouth.

That being said, among the worst I've watched are Clannad, FLCL, Anohana and Air. For movies it would be Disappearance of Haruhi Suzmiya.

Sword Art Online gets a lot of hate, but was still for the most part more interesting than those.
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May 15, 2014 7:15 PM

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JD2411 said:
I have to hate everything about it
But thats Impossible...isn't it?
May 15, 2014 7:25 PM

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A) it's not entertaining
B) artistically, it's horribly executed
May 15, 2014 7:27 PM

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1. The Story was badly written and I didn't like it
2. The characters were 1 dimensional and unlikable
3. The series had shoddy technical specs (animation, pacing, music, etc.)
4. The series failed to get me to care about anything that happened or anybody
5. The ending did not satisfy me, or it didn't even end at all and left a bunch of mysteries I wanted solved left hanging

gets it a 2 if it's an anime. 1 is a special place in the lowest depths rating hell reserved for awful mind-scarring, rage-inducing hentai.
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May 15, 2014 7:28 PM

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If they have too many fillers.
May 15, 2014 7:29 PM

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I don't know. Whatever the fuck Apocalypse Zero did, I guess. I'd have to re-watch it say what exactly it did wrong. But, screw that.
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May 15, 2014 7:47 PM
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Rape, blood, killing, all that jazz. As well as bad characters, shit music, horrible ending...

In other words, Mirai Nikki.
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May 15, 2014 7:50 PM

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Lol at school days being the worst anime ever. I didn't know that having sex with a lot of girls = worst person ever. They are probably just jealous of makoko. And School Days is not a deconstruction, just a good ass anime that goes against the grain.

On topic. It has to be something with no redeeming qualities like Anohana or Sword Art Online, or Infinite Stratos. It just has to be shit in almost every way.
May 15, 2014 7:57 PM

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Thread Cleaned

Removed spam.
May 15, 2014 7:59 PM

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As a fan of Mirai Nikki this saddens me. Although I can't deny that it's shitty. I'd say 'worst anime ever' is a stretch. It still has pretty good entertainment value, which is more than I can say about some other shows *cough* diabolik lovers *cough*
May 15, 2014 8:00 PM

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Remember the thread is not about which anime has the highest rating or not, so let's not go off-topic.
May 15, 2014 8:09 PM

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