Overhated Anime

With roughly 150 new anime debuting each year, some shows will, naturally, attract more love than others. Simply put, not every series can receive widespread acclaim like Takopi’s Original Sin, Cowboy Bebop, Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, Fruits Basket, Your Lie in April, and so on. Most anime have to settle for being seasonal calendar fillers that provide decent entertainment for a couple of months. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, and the industry survives on these types of releases.

However, occasionally, an anime comes around that draws all of the internet’s anger. They become public enemy number one, and discussions tend to revolve around their negatives rather than any of their positives. Maybe they were overhyped, poorly animated, or handled topics poorly; whatever the reason, these anime are hated. Often, a bad reputation is justified, but there are examples when a show attracts a somewhat overblown reaction. Let’s take a look at some overhated anime.

Sword Art Online

The Most Hated Isekai Anime Of All Time…But SAO, At Times, Is One Of The Theme’s Best Shows

Frankly, I could have included isekai anime in general, but I feel like its reputation mostly stems from overexposure rather than hatred for specific shows. Heck, the most beloved isekai anime (Re:ZERO and Mushoku Tensei) receive way more criticism than the theme’s lesser series. Isekai has become synonymous with “trash,” which can be seen as a positive or a negative, depending on the person. I have watched a lot of isekai, and I have enjoyed a lot of isekai.

Still, Sword Art Online is kind of a special case. While not the first isekai anime, SAO kickstarted the concept’s boom period, launching a decade+ era of black-haired MCs going on otherworldly adventures or becoming trapped in games. Kirito cannot be blamed for The Master of Ragnarok & Blesser of Einherjar or Endride, but if his story wasn’t such a huge commercial triumph, those anime would probably not exist. Conversely, if SAO had failed, we might never have gotten Reincarnated as a Sword, Tsukimichi, or KonoSuba.

SAO Wastes Some Of Its Potential, But Not All Of It

The influence SAO‘s success had on the industry garners quite a bit of criticism, but the anime itself also gets a lot of hate and tends to be associated with squandered potential. SAO has one of the best opening episodes of all time, which does a fantastic job of setting the stakes, the Aincrad World, and the game’s rules. After that, the story gradually transforms into a cute romance between Kirito and Asuna, incorporating slow life elements as the duo try to build a life within the world they have been forced to call home. Then, after about 14 episodes, the anime ends its first arc, allowing the heroes to leave the game they were trapped within. After that, SAO cycles through a few different games, with each new saga struggling to live up to Aincrad.

Could Sword Art Online have been better? Yes, of course. The writing is inconsistent, and the show should stay far away from sensitive themes like assault. Kirito and Asuna do not spend enough time together after the opening arc, and the former develops a pointless harem. Fairy Dance, the arc that follows Aincrad, is bad and derails a lot of the series’ momentum, while season 2’s Phantom Bullet takes a while to find its footing (but is better than its reputation suggests). By the time that Alicization debuted, SAO had lost most of its mainstream pull, and that storyline seemed to be mostly watched by die-hard fans.

The thing is, Sword Art Online is close to the best-in-class in a few areas within the isekai genre. Unlike so many of its peers, SAO has top-tier production value, including mostly well-done fight sequences that, at the very least, offer reliable spectacle. Even though they have their issues and do not make that much sense mechanically, the games/worlds are pretty immersive and fun to explore, and they change frequently enough to avoid boredom. Finally, Alicization is the best overall entry in the series, and it covers about half of SAO‘s run.

Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie

Swallowed By Marin’s All-Consuming Shadow

Shikimori’s Not Just A Cutie

Release Date

2022 – 2022

Network

tv asahi, ABC TV, Nagoya TV, HTB, ABEMA, Animazing!!!

Directors

Kim Seong-min, Geisei Morita

Hype sounds good in theory, as it should allow a show to hit the ground running. However, hype is also a cruel mistress, and failure to live up to expectations can cause an extreme backlash that dooms an anime to infamy. My Deer Friend Nokotan is a relatively recent example of this phenomenon, although the 2024 series played a big part in crafting that response by producing a trailer that was not representative of its overall humor.

A more iconic and unfair example of this type of reaction is Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie, a slow-moving slice of life that had the misfortune of debuting in Spring 2022, a season after My Dress-Up Darling. The latter’s Marin took the community by storm, becoming the waifu to end all waifus. As My Dress-Up Darling season 1 came to an end, the world looked to the future in search of a replacement, and Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie (and her eponymous girl, Miyako Shikimori) was put on a pedestal as the anime that could save everyone from Marin withdrawal.

Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie Is Not My Dress-Up Darling, And That Is OK

Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie and My Dress-Up Darling are nothing alike. Sure, they both have timid male and confident female MCs, but their similarities pretty much end there. Even then, Shikimori and Marin have wildly different personalities, and the same can be said for Izumi and Gojou.

Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie is a straightforward slice of life story that features an already established couple, and it does a great job of highlighting why they are together. Even then, the anime has an ensemble cast, as Izumi and Shikimori’s friends are just as important. A few moments aside, the episodes rarely have any tension and are the definition of wholesome fluff, to the point that the series almost enters iyashikei territory at times.

Future Diary

Are You Not Entertained (By Yuno Gasai)?

OK, here is a bit of a different case. Unlike the other overhated anime, Future Diary was reasonably well-liked during its initial run. However, as months turned into years, the show’s strengths gradually faded into the background, while its weaknesses began to come up more frequently. Eventually, a point was reached when Mirai Nikki would only be mentioned during discussions about disappointing anime or shows with infuriating protagonists, causing it to become associated with its failures rather than its many positives. Yuno Gasai has mostly maintained an OK reputation, but she is also the poster girl for yandere, an archetype that can be pretty divisive since there are not all that many fantastic characters.

Future Diary is about a battle royale to determine who will become a new god, with all the participants having unique powers. Yuki is one such candidate, and he is “assisted” by a girl who is very clearly obsessed with him.

Yuki Sucks, But Future Diary Does Not

I’m not here to tell you that Yuki is an overhated male protagonist who is actually really cool and not super annoying, as that would be a lie. Yuki is, easily, the worst part of Future Diary, and his indecisiveness and lack of charisma drag the story down quite a bit. However, he does not ruin the show, and his personality bounces well off Yuno’s violent tendencies, manipulation, and two-faced nature. Even after all these years, Yuno is still by far the best yander girl of all time, and she has way more depth and nuance than the archetype’s typical representative. She is fragile, scared, dangerous, and desperate for love. She is enigmatic but also terrifying.

Future Diary‘s other characters are also underappreciated, with Aru being an especially great supporting figure who is just as entertaining as the yandere queen. Ultimately, this anime is about a bunch of OP teenagers finding exciting supernatural ways to kill each other. How can that not be at least slightly entertaining?

Domestic Girlfriend

Trash Anime Royalty

Ah, Domestic Girlfriend, the anime that delights in pushing its audience’s buttons. When the topic of “worst anime ever” comes up, this 2019 series is not typically far behind, and it is not hard to see why. The premise is the definition of trashy, with Natsuo finding himself in love with two sisters who are also set to become his stepsisters. Also, one of the girls is his teacher, while the other one took his virginity. So, yeah, Domestic Girlfriend is all-taboo, all the time. The characters go on dates, sleep together, fight, and strive to be their worst selves.

As a romance, Domestic Girlfriend is almost impossible to take seriously or sincerely. All the characters are quite unlikable, except for maybe Rui, and they rarely act in ways that make sense by anime standards. However, Domestic Girlfriend is not trying to be a conventional romance, but rather an over-the-top SOAP that craves messy relationships and shock value. If you go in expecting that sort of story, this anime is among the best. Romance does not just happen between cookie-cutter MCs and innocent girls; sometimes, it is ugly and unflattering.

Also, Ditto For School Days

Even more detested than Domestic Girlfriend, School Days is the definitive “bad” anime, and it mostly falls under the same category. The anime focuses on unhealthy relationships that are even more toxic than Natsuo’s romances, and it is very aware of that fact. Nearly all the characters are detestable in one way or another, with the male lead being maybe the most unlikable character in history. The ending is notorious too, being even known by people who have never watched the series.

To be frank, School Days is a bit too awful to be described as overhated, but it is never boring.

Black Clover

Trust Me, Black Clover Becomes Great… Just Persevere Through The First Few Episodes

So, I went back and forth on whether to include Black Clover. Nowadays, the anime is well-regarded, and its sequel should be one of the biggest shows of 2026. Yes, it still attracts some pushback for being just “another battle shonen,” but every wildly famous series attracts that style of discourse. Demon Slayer, My Hero Academia, Jujutsu Kaisen, and even classics like Dragon Ball Z and Naruto have been described as overrated, but they are still among the most popular shows of all time.

Yet, Black Clover is different from its shonen peers, as the adaptation was a laughingstock when it debuted. Pierrot’s anime started life by becoming an instant punching bag, largely thanks to Asta, the protagonist, screaming his lines of dialogue. Honestly, that was hardly the only issue. Initially, Black Clover comes across as a shameless hodgepodge of some of the most popular shonen stories. Asta wants to become the Wizard King (like One Piece‘s Pirate King), and he has a rivalry with the highly talented Yuno (like Naruto‘s Sasuke). The world uses a faction system, and the protagonist ends up in a group of misfits (like, well, many shows, but primarily Fairy Tail). The supporting characters’ quirks are also emphasized to the point of feeling one-dimensional and cliché (including Noelle being a stereotypical tsundere), and the action did not seem to be great either.

Don’t Judge A Long-Running Anime By Its First Few Episodes

I would not blame you if you dropped Black Clover after the first 3–4 episodes. The anime makes a very poor first impression; however, not only do things improve relatively quickly, but it builds towards one of the best arcs in modern shonen (Elf Reincarnation Arc). More importantly, the things that “sucked” gradually became some of its strongest elements.

Asta and Yuno’s dynamic ends up being surprisingly uplifting and positive, and they are genuinely best friends. Noelle’s tsundere antics can get grating, but she undergoes absolutely impressive character growth that puts to shame so many other shows. All the main characters have hidden depth that steadily reveals themselves, even if they still repeat the same jokes a bit too often. Asta’s voice acting gets somewhat better, too, and he does eventually stop trying to burst your eardrums. The second half of the series has plenty of stunning fights as well.