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outstanding shows with below average/mediocre BEGINNING ?

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Nov 2, 11:12 AM
#1
★★★

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Apr 2021
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let's talk about some of the best made shows that had rather a relatively mediocre or lackluster begining...

ill go first JJBA ...pretty sure it's not an unpopular opinion
Bungou Stray Dogs picks it up by Season 3 -

in television too,
The Office and Parks & Recreations have such boring S1 only to be the best shows out there.
Nov 2, 11:22 AM
#2
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Sep 2020
115
Most recent one that comes to mind is Dungeon Meshi. Those first 4-6ish episodes felt generic. Than it just went full throttle once the main plot was visualized. REALLY ENJOYED that show by the end of it.
Nov 2, 11:22 AM
#3
🍅 Tomato 🍅

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Feb 2020
99461
Usually it's the other way around. Gotta think about this for a while.
Nov 2, 11:32 AM
#4

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Mar 2024
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Gintama is definitely on the list, it's so hard to stick of it on the first season cuz it's a more mediocre scene. After that is getting better every season.
Nov 2, 11:36 AM
#5

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Apr 2024
502
Dungeon Meshi.



It starts out like one of those isekai cooking shows, but it's neither isekai nor does it 100% focus on cooking only. It takes a while to get to know the characters, but after the first eight to twelve episodes it really picks up and goes beyond cooking the monster of the day. It helps that the animation is outstanding (done by Trigger).
Nov 2, 11:54 AM
#6

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Jun 2024
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I'd say Gintama doesn't have the best start, but it does pick up.
Nov 2, 11:57 AM
#7
busy week =_+

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Dec 2014
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Your title describes Patema Inverted to the T


.
CURRENT: semi-hiatus (busy)

Nov 2, 11:59 AM
#8

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Nov 2021
2098
Can’t believe dungeon meshi is already mentioned two times. It’s definitely a masterclass of fantasy anime.

Season 2 will be so peak.
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Nov 2, 12:00 PM
#9
Call me Oniichan

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Jan 2007
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Darling in the Franxx. Weak beginning (mecha don't look too good, the conflict seems pretty boring) but it gets better and better until the end.

Can’t believe dungeon meshi is already mentioned two times. It’s definitely a masterclass of fantasy anime.

What a coincidence, today the bluray encode dropped on meow website. Gonna binge watch the show.
Nov 2, 12:18 PM
puer aeternus

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Sep 2021
1516
Odd Taxi to me. It starts like a generic furry show and ends one of the most compelling mystery psychological drama story.
Nov 2, 12:44 PM

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Sep 2016
10234
Clannad is mediocre until After Story kicks in.
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Nov 2, 12:45 PM

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Aug 2016
181
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. Feel the first two parts are fairly boring and it starts kicking in around part 3 and onwards.
Nov 2, 4:32 PM

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Nov 2013
20836
From the New World. The first three or so episodes were a drag but then it picked up.

While Glasslip isn't outstanding by any means, the first episode was so bad and a mess that I thought, did they lose the script and just improvised really badly? Episode 2 got back on track and I ended up enjoying it.
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Nov 2, 4:48 PM

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Jun 2012
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Madoka Magica, a series I adore.
The first couple eps are mostly mundane, slice-of-lifey the girls hanging out sort of stuff. The dark undertones are there, but it takes a moment for **** to really hit the fan. I've seen multiple people drop it after the first couple episodes and imo 2 episodes is really quick to drop something but well what can ya do it happens, hopefully they pick it up again someday.

Also you guys are so right about JJBA... I feel that so much. I've tried to start the series twice, gotten around 7-10ish eps in...dropped/got sidetracked. It's not terrible or anything but the beginning is a bit slow I'm sorry. I really do want to get into it at some point though and am not gonna rate it until it's gotten a fair chance/full watch. There's an anime club in my town I kinda wanted to attend but I feel like such an outcast because everyone there is caught up on Jojo lol. I need to watch it.
Nov 2, 4:50 PM

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Oct 2013
8584
Reply to Zarutaku
Clannad is mediocre until After Story kicks in.
@Zarutaku I second that. Heck, Clannad: After Story is worth going through the first Clannad, even if it doesn't feel that much fun to watch for most of the time. It didn't feel like that for me, so I dropped the show, but I gave it a second chance after my friend mentioned how good After Story is and how he also struggled to go through the first season of Clannad, but ended up loving After Story. I enjoyed the second season, indeed. And I'm saying it as someone who, in general, is not a fan of anime created by KyoAni.
Nov 2, 4:50 PM

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Jan 2021
1646
I agree on JJBA there is also Natsume Yuujinchou. The first few episodes weren't anything interesting, but when you get connected to the characters and format, it really picks up.
Nov 2, 9:26 PM

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Aug 2010
2125
Yu yu hakusho has an awful first like 10 episodes but gets better and better with like every episode after that
same with hajime no ippo
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Nov 3, 1:34 AM

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Jan 2023
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Konosuba beginning is pretty slow and not incredibly funny, at least compared to the rest of the show imo.
Nov 3, 2:08 AM
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Dec 2015
57
Genshiken

Season 1 was rough for me to watch, but season 2 and 3 hit it out of the park.
Nov 3, 2:57 AM

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Jul 2024
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I don't know exactly what the anime community considers below average considering a lot of ppl's tastes that I've seen but I'd say Gungrave's beginning is definetely a bit hard,the story doesn't really pick up until like 10 eps in but by the end it more than pays off.
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Nov 3, 3:33 AM

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Sep 2023
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HxH ig the beginning was really boring.. i almost dropped it..but after the 2nd arc bruh. its one of the best anime ive ever watched
Nov 3, 4:08 AM

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Aug 2012
2696
Shoukoku no Altair (first few eps are slow going, but it picks up by the end of episode 5)
Mushishi (due to the slow pace it took several episodes to hook me)
Gintama (literally took over 30 episodes to pull me in. The first 20-ish were like slow torture and I almost dropped it multiple times)
Shinsekai yori (I struggled through the first 3 episodes. It gets good once you make it past the terrible 3)
xxxHOLiC (took 9 episodes to hook me)

These are just from my own experience. Everyone is different so their experience could be quite different from mine.
Nov 3, 10:47 AM

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Sep 2021
1095
Huyao Xiao Hongniang - it starts as a chaotic mess, and future seasons have much better animation
Nov 3, 11:03 AM
John Titor

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Jul 2017
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BokuYaba's (The Dangers in My Heart) initial premise scared many viewers away. What they were missing was one of the greatest romances ever (coming from someone who generally doesn't like traditional boy-girl romances).
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Nov 3, 12:25 PM

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Oct 2022
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There's a lot but I think of Made in Abyss actually,
I thought the island was a bit cliche and the whole classroom thing with their desks and chairs nailed to the wall for NO APPARENT REASON was really dumb. I was wrong about all this though.
Possibly every idol anime... if one turns out to be good that's nice but they all begin exactly the same way.
Nov 3, 1:29 PM

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Jul 2013
6125
Any show with a bad beginning is not worth watching to the end.
Nov 4, 12:16 PM
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Oct 2023
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Rurouni kenshin starts off with a good amount of average and mediocre episodes, mostly the filler ones, but then by episode 28, it gets insanely good



Then it goes back to being average and mediocre after the Kyoto arc
Nov 6, 4:52 PM

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Sep 2018
36
Ashita no joe the first 20 episodes or so are mediocre and mostly boring..it does get a bit better later on though
Nov 6, 5:19 PM

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Jul 2024
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Not exactly mediocre, but I think Mushoku Tensei starts off at a much lower level than what it eventually gets to. Similarly, Spice And Wolf also takes a few episodes to really open up and is well worth sticking out.
A lot of the time, your description is going to apply to shows that rely on heavy world-building and character development/transformation.

EDIT: Forgot about Nichijou! That takes like a full 10 episodes before it gets less scattergun and has its characters fleshed out.
Nov 6, 5:42 PM
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Nov 2021
23
Frieren and Steins;Gate for me. They don't feel like masterpieces until 10-12 episodes.
Nov 6, 10:45 PM

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Oct 2017
4237
Reply to Briekimchi
Not exactly mediocre, but I think Mushoku Tensei starts off at a much lower level than what it eventually gets to. Similarly, Spice And Wolf also takes a few episodes to really open up and is well worth sticking out.
A lot of the time, your description is going to apply to shows that rely on heavy world-building and character development/transformation.

EDIT: Forgot about Nichijou! That takes like a full 10 episodes before it gets less scattergun and has its characters fleshed out.
Briekimchi said:
Nichijou! That takes like a full 10 episodes before it gets less scattergun and has its characters fleshed out.


Yeah if I was watching Nichijou on my own, I would have dropped it. My friend enjoyed it early on, so I stuck with it and it really starts to grow on you. I started liking the series, around the time you mentioned.

Adnan_Nahian said:
Ashita no joe the first 20 episodes or so are mediocre and mostly boring..it does get a bit better later on though


I liked the prison arc, the episodes before the prison arc do start off a bit rough.

Nov 6, 10:51 PM
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Jan 2018
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I felt like back in the day Eureka Seven had a pretty lame first couple of episodes, just generic giant robot stuff, before becoming one of my favorites.
Nov 6, 10:52 PM

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Sep 2018
11603
If I had to pick 3
Tsuna Reborn
(Starts pure comedy becomes very solid fighting shounen)
Bleach
Fire Emblem anime (dubbed)
(It is pure comedy gold)
Nov 7, 12:15 AM

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Feb 2019
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Tensura is the only one that comes to mind
Nov 7, 1:20 AM

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Mar 2014
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I'm with Digibro on this one. No such thing as a show that starts mediocre/bad and becomes great.
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Nov 7, 1:33 AM

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Aug 2018
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Reply to Adnash
@Zarutaku I second that. Heck, Clannad: After Story is worth going through the first Clannad, even if it doesn't feel that much fun to watch for most of the time. It didn't feel like that for me, so I dropped the show, but I gave it a second chance after my friend mentioned how good After Story is and how he also struggled to go through the first season of Clannad, but ended up loving After Story. I enjoyed the second season, indeed. And I'm saying it as someone who, in general, is not a fan of anime created by KyoAni.
@Adnash

A big chunk of After Story is way worse than anything from the first season. Those first eight episodes just. plain. suck. And I'm saying that as someone who freaking loves Clannad.

As for the topic at hand...well, I didn't have much love for Non Non Biyori til the second season which I rated a 9.
Nov 7, 2:59 AM

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Jan 2021
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I love the slow burn opening of Fate Zero and Psycho Pass but some people can find that they take a while to get going.
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Nov 7, 3:12 AM
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Apr 2019
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«Sakamichi no Apollon»

It begins like such one of those "banchou(school gangsta), nerd and a naïve girl" stories.
Nov 7, 3:23 AM

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Jan 2008
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Black Clover never really had a bad start for me except Asta's VA overdoing it but it went from a show I liked to a show I loved.

Golden Kamuy is the same. Had only one real issue the cgi bear which I was never really bothered by in the first place. I gave the last season a perfect 10
Nov 7, 3:47 AM
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One day in the open air, we saw a strange teen girl fainting from drowsiness and hunger.
We left while she ate the cup of noodles we gave her.
It was supposed to be only that.

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Nov 7, 6:58 AM
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Reply to TransferUser
Dungeon Meshi.



It starts out like one of those isekai cooking shows, but it's neither isekai nor does it 100% focus on cooking only. It takes a while to get to know the characters, but after the first eight to twelve episodes it really picks up and goes beyond cooking the monster of the day. It helps that the animation is outstanding (done by Trigger).
@TransferUser Thanks for the tip. But how much better does it become? I forced myself to watch 4 ep or so, it was a torture, don't want to watch 8 more only to drop it there...
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Nov 7, 7:41 AM

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Apr 2024
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Reply to LoveYourSmile
@TransferUser Thanks for the tip. But how much better does it become? I forced myself to watch 4 ep or so, it was a torture, don't want to watch 8 more only to drop it there...
LoveYourSmile said:
But how much better does it become?


It goes from a 3/10 to a 9/10. Just fast forward. Somewhere between episode 8 and 12 it picks up speed. Once the second Opening was there I stopped skipping forward, I think. (I have since rewatched the beginning.)
Nov 7, 8:39 AM
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@TransferUser Thank you, this makes a lot of sense.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Nov 7, 9:46 AM

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Dec 2016
27
Clannad
Clannad is the first anime that comes to my mind. I really wanted to watch this anime but every time I tried I found it too boring and ended up dropping it multiple times. But thankfully I finally decided to sit through it and now it's one of my favorite animes (after story is even better than the first season)

Fumetsu no Anata e
I had a hard time to even watch the first episode of this anime because I had no interest in seeing the world from POV of a wolf, but as the show goes on and it expands on the concept of the anime it gets pretty interesting and shows that it has a lot of potential. 100% worth a watch.

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