The Top 5 Most Overrated Anime
Wednesday 24 September 2008 @ 8:46 pm | By Vekter 42 Comments
Well, it’s that time of the week again, the time to enlighten you with my great knowledge in list form. And this week, we have a fun one. Sure, there’s plenty of anime shows that are hyped. In fact, a handful of them actually deserve that hype. For all the others, we have this list.
It pains me to see a good show be ruined by it’s fanbase. It just sucks when you watch a series after being told it’s amazing, and it ends up being sub-par. However, it’s important to note that just because a show is on here, it doesn’t mean it’s a bad show. In fact, I enjoyed most of the shows on this list at one point! Now, without further ado, on to the list!
5: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
Ahh, Haruhi. The show that starts out slice-of-life and ends up being one of the better sci-fi anime out there. This show actually has a very easy to follow story line. It’s a great show, one of my favorites. However, it’s not the show’s fault this time: It’s the fanbase. The way people talk about it it’s as if it was the second coming of Jesus himself. Fans love this show to death, almost as if it were a religion. Some people even refer to the fandom as "Haruhism". It even managed to start a dance craze based on the ending theme, known as the Hare Hare Yukai dance. Some of the fans claim that each new dance based off of the show was "a victory for Haruhism". They might as well just make it a religion and be done with it.
4: Neon Genesis Evangelion
Speaking of deep plot lines, Eva suffers from an overdose of symbolism. This show is so deep that you don’t so much as swim in the plot as you drown horribly from it being shoved down your throat. The show starts out simple enough, with an easy to understand plot. However, when the show actually gets going, the first runthrough will leave you thinking only one thing: "What?" However, the hardcore fans that have watched this show and have actually done their research will tell you it’s the greatest, deepest show ever. The problem is, it’s not. It does have a few great symbolic things here and there, but it’s not a "life-changing experience", as I’ve been told in the past.
3: Lucky Star
Lucky Star has got to be one of my least favorite series ever. As far as I can see, it feels too much like Seinfeld. You remember, Seinfeld? The show about nothing? Well, if you didn’t know, it’s basically a show where four very interesting people talk about nothing, get into funny predicaments, and live their lives. Well, Lucky Star is Seinfeld if everyone was replaced by a cardboard cutout. The characters are so fucking 2-dimensional. Yes, I did watch it past the third episode. I gave it a chance, trust me. But I swear, all I could see is four very flat characters talking about nothing. The only characters that even remotely interested me were Konata and her father, and that was just because they actually tend to be funny at times.
Some fans have called this "the revival of anime as we know it". All I see is a bunch of geek jokes and some girls running around talking about snack foods, video games and such. It’s sad, it sounded like a great idea. But the execution was just so flat that it didn’t even interest me in the least after a while.
2: Inuyasha
Who doesn’t love one of the longest-running, most drawn-out anime of all time? Me. Sure, the show is actually very interesting and enjoyable at the beginning. A young girl falls into a well which ends up being a portal into an alternate version of feudal Japan. She ends up being the reincarnation of a priestess who is inexorably connected to a dog demon tha-Y’know what, screw this. It’s confusing as all fuck, and you know it is. Suffice it to say that it’s your typical "Girl meets boy" story, but with demons and more killing and such.
The fans of this show, as with every show on this list, treat it as if it’s amazing. I’ve seen people that think the relationship between Kagome and Inuyasha is the deepest, most interesting relationship ever. Yeah, right. Okay. They’re tsundere for each other, wow, that’s SO original. Honestly, I don’t hate Inuyasha. It starts out really good, and stays good for the first 2 seasons. The problem is, IT JUST DRAGS THE HELL ON! The manga finally finished around it’s 50th issue! If you’re going to make an epic THAT long, don’t make it into a show.
1. Naruto
Ahh, yes. Naruto. That one show I absolutely despise. Naruto is a show that looks great on paper: An energetic little fireball of a boy tries to make his way to the top in a world where ninjas exist. Sounds great, right? WRONG. Naruto is, for lack of a better word, a horrid show. I mean, come on. The plot line is just far too convoluted, the characters are as flat as cardboard, and the show just gets ridiculous after a while. But don’t tell that to the fans, OH HELL NO.
The fans act like this is the de-facto anime. The one show to rule them all. The best there’s ever been. But people, please. This show sucks. It’s kinda fun to watch Naruto aspire to be the greatest at first, but after he screams "BELIEVE IT!" for the 5,000th time, it wears on your nerves. Not to mention that they actually try to inject some kind of character progression into Sasuke, but fail miserably. I can’t say much without spoiling the show, but if you’re honestly surprised by anything that happens with Sasuke you’re an idiot and obviously couldn’t see a brick wall flying at you from five feet away, no offense. This show is the epitome of generic anime.
It has your plucky little hero, your brooding sidekick, the generally useless girl that eventually turns somewhat badass, and the generic-as-all-hell villain that just won’t die. Honestly, it’s like I’m watching Inuyasha all over again, but worse. Yet year after year, I meet more and more Narutards that, when I tell them I hated Naruto, act like I just spat on their mothers or something. Come on, people! It’s not that’s good. Hell, it’s not good at all!
And there you go! Leave your comments and let me know what you think. I’ll be back next week with a surprise list that you’ll all love. Now,if you’ll excuse me, there’s an army of fangirls running at me with murderous intent in their eyes. Wish me luck!
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Abraham 'Velcor' Duarte
David 'KidKobun' Bruno
Ivan 'Nahu' Lozano
Random J
Sol
I read Naruto and the only thing i agreee is that the animation is quite bad, very underpar. Here i am, the world where intellectuals who read Harry Potter feel ashamed for doing that, and were a geek like me who might as well be an aspiring geekdome guru likes something like this. I watch Naruto with my little brother (thogh almost all of the animation is predictable for me since i already read all what is comming around in Shippuden) Bizarrely enough, my girlfriend adores Inuyasha (and it came in 2nd place)
Anyway, enjoy what you all do, even if it is generic or something that will not turn a page on the history of Anime.
5.) Haruhi fans are mostly psychotic; the show was pretty good, but the fans…they take it WAY too far.
4.)In all honesty, I started out LOVING Evangelion, but as time went on, I think I finally realized I had NO IDEA what was going on…that and I did the research and found out that Hideaki Anno put a lot of “symbols” in there to screw with people ON PURPOSE.
3.)Never seen it, no comment. *Gasp*
2.) Terrible.
1.) Naruto is good if you have the fortitude to stick with it for 135 episodes (which is waaaay too daunting for most), but it has a ton of anime stereotypes (useless girl, Sasuke, etc.). It was fun for a while and I look back on it (in Japanese, no “Believe it!”‘s for me, thanks) fondly, but these days the fans have ruined it, the same as Haruhi.
I blame the fans for most of the “overrated” parts of popular anime. Anyone else agree it’s mostly the OTAKU that tend to ruin it by blowing it out of proportion??? (See my aforementioned Death Note comment for further slams on OTAKU.)
P.S.> The picture for this article made me laugh SO HARD. Well played, sirs, well played.
I agree with this list.
And even though I do find Lucky Star very, very enjoyable, it’s definitely not for everyone.
yea i agree wit hthis list. Inuyasa was good, great even until it started repeating everything over…and over….lucky star the only thing i like is the opening (catchy), ad god naruto. why.WHY. while the manga is not bad (i still read it ast least) please. its not hte greatest show on earth people. And yes, some people i will spit on thier mothers if they continue with thier undying fandom of naruto
Naruto gives me headache. All my friends are addicted to it and all said friends need swift slaps to the face. I just cannot get into it. It’s teetered into Pokemon territory: Where the characters barely move anymore, their mouths move and static images of their faces just slide across the screen. It’s a joke.
Nice list. Usual suspects are present and accounted for. Didn’t figure Naruto will be so high up, though.
Great list! I would omit Melancholy and replace it with Full Metal Alchemist and take Lucky Star and replace it with Bleach.
i’ll agree that naruto and inuyasha have WAY too much filler and im no longer fans of it, and when i got into evangelion i gulped down the story line like crazy and looked up anything i didnt understand(its also fun, like being on drugs with no side effects ;) )
@KidKobun: I actually had Bleach on here until I remembered how god-awful Lucky Star was, despite how everyone told me it was amazing. Also, FMA isn’t really overrated; I loved it and thought it deserved a lot of it’s hype.
@robbie: Thank Nahu for that one.
@Enner: Honestly, have you ever gone to a convention?
“It starts out really good, and stays good for the first 2 seasons. The problem is, IT JUST DRAGS THE HELL ON!”
–My Sentiments exactly. I was probably the biggest fanboy of InuYasha walking the planet(im actually not ashamed to admit that.. I always kept to myself though), until about the time the Band of Seven came along in the anime. That was the end of it for me, as the show had been getting on my nerves for a tad bit before that anyway.
Haha I completly agree on naruto it sucks!
I do understand how it may suck to some people,sometimes it can seem a bit…well, retarded as hell. But it does get better in shippuden. Really, shippuden is much, much, much better than the regular series.
So does this mean it’s OK to like Dragonball again?
-rips off shirt, screams for five straight minutes…-
BRAVO GOOD SIR, BRAVO
-”All I could see is four very flat characters talking about nothing.”
What’s wrong with flat chests!?
Besides, Lucky Star can’t be overrated. It’s hardly rated as things are! The fan base is pretty small, non-existent compared to the other four. Lucky Star fanatics are, generally, just a sub-sect of the Haruhi fanatics. Perhaps best evidenced by the fan reaction to their opening sequences.
Huh… seems a lot like a “top 5 most popular anime” to me…
id say most anime that has had over 52 episodes and was on TV like Dragon ball Z, Sailor moon, One pice, Poke’mon, yu-gi-oh, and as said above Inuyasha and Naruto have been censored, givin prity bad dubs and also being devoid of much the same story as the original manga wile some how still walking out with a large fan base are over rated.
@Catears: Funny how that happens, isn’t it?
@Antique: “‘All I could see is four very flat characters talking about nothing.’-What’s wrong with flat chests!?”
Point proven. :D
@Eviladrian: Yes. It’s still alright to watch DBZ, as long as you don’t enjoy the Buu saga.
true, Vekter.
I agree with the top 3, but I just can’t agree with no. 4 and no.5. Both Haruhi and Evangelion are series that have an incredibly rich story and have an awesome direction. You might not want to admit it, but we’re talking about two animes that simply moved the entire community like no other series has managed to, and that’s worth something.
Lucky Star is a very big YES, and I’m suprised that Full Moon wo Sagashite didn’t appear in this list. Now that was a seriously and ridiculously overrated anime.
By the by, Evangelion is and was extremely pretentious and full of sophisms.
And by the by, the prophecy came to be: Naruto is the New Dragon Ball (as it is easily thought to anime-outsiders that all anime are like the (afforementioned) series)
@Lopson: I never said that Haruhi didn’t have a deep storyline. I just said it was overhyped. However, honestly, Eva doesn’t have as much symbolism as everyone says it does.
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I’m glad none of my favorite animes are on this list. Very good and it’s great to read the comments. I agree Evangelion is pretentious. It did start off very strong, but drowns itself in symbolism.
It’s like you are looking for things in the periphery without enjoying the main road.
Yeah, the naruto fanbase is one of the worst in the world. But, as a series and story, it is not nearly as bad as you make it sound. Quite a few characters die pretty regularly (unlike, say, Bleach), giving the story depth and realism. I’ll avoid mentioning any spoilers (but quite a few akatsuki members and higher up konoha ninjas kick the bucket).
Yeah, I have to agree that the anime is quite subpar, but I think you should try reading the manga.
Huh, after saying all that, it is still the most overrated (by American audiences at least) ANIME series.
I believe everyone has their opinion, mine being that I do like Naruto-The MANGA!!! The filler episodes are terrible and so is the animation. Those bloody filler episodes caused alot people to stop liking it! I hate the American version of anime-any anime! They screw up the voices.
you suck you cynical %%$^ Naruto rocks although i agree way to much fillers
dont you like one piece? its my fav show
Sounds more like “The Top 5 Most Popular Anime I’ll say I think are overrated so I look cool” to me…
Naruto fillers are horrible and too many. The episodes based on the manga canon are much better. Still the manga is better than the anime.
Haruhi is okay, but I regularly watch science fiction shows and movies. So Haruhi is not so great compared to Star Trek, etc. It is decent but not “OMG! It Totally Pwns!”
NGE was good for its time, but I say the nostalgia is greater than the actual product. Very generic random stuff that happens with no explanation behind stuff that happens. *Yawn*
like 99% of animes go like this :
bleach – kids with super powers
naruto – kids with super powers
one piece – kids with super powers
inuyasha – kids with super powers
fullmetal alchemist – kids with super powers
kaze no stigma – kids with super powers
and the list goes on and on…..
5) I’m not really interested in Haruhi either…. well, its got the comedy. I’ve never really experienced or saw how the fanbase for Haruhi is. I don’t really care though. The story doesn’t interest me.
4) I don’t even WATCH that anime and I’ve never seen a huge fanbase for this anime. So yeah, don’t really care.
3) Lucky Star doesn’t interest me either… it goes nowhere.. heck Seinfeld is better than that when it comes to comedy (even though it goes nowhere too, oh well, I’m a Canadian so yeah, North American humor, heh).
2) Inuyasha is pretty cool in my opinion. At least the Naruto manga is nearly or is at a climax now. But Inuyasha is just that typical demons and Japanese mythology stuff. So I don’t really watch the anime either…
1) Naruto… its not as bad as you say, hater. I don’t really like Bleach because once again: typical Japanese mythology turned into something explosive (the attacks in Bleach are just BOOOOM LASER! BOOM SUCK IN LASAHHH!! BOOOOOM!!!!!! SWORD-FIGHTING WOOO!).
But Naruto, in my opinion, is something I can relate to in an emotional sense… Naruto Uzumaki was lonely and sometimes I was lonely and I admire his courage and strength. Sometimes when I’m really depressed, I think of Sailor Moon, Naruto, and my other favourite anime/manga heroes. It helps me think “They were in the toughest of times (even if fictional)…. so I should be strong too”. Plus, I love all the colors in Naruto. The animation is not bad. I don’t care if its bad or not.
Also, as a native american who can be tan-skinned, I would be wise about cosplaying… because I’d look ridiculous being brown when really the character I’d probably cosplay is really white… so I’m sure that not ALL Naruto fans are THAT Narutarded,,, I don’t lose common sense. Sorry if this sounds arrogant of me, but I’m just trying to explain why I, MYSELF, really like Naruto.
Cool I like the list. They’re all time fave too.
1. Neon Genesis Evangelion
2. Neon Genesis Evangelion
3. Neon Genesis Evangelion
4. Neon Genesis Evangelion
5. Neon Genesis Evangelion
This poorly executed narrative passes as some kins of statement in pseudo-theology in some fanboy circles.
5. I do like Haruhi, (I really do) but it is a bit overrated.
4. Never really liked it… but I do watch it if I have nothing, I mean, NOTHING.
3. Believe it or not, I do like Lucky Star, and I’m a boy, but it’s a Japanese Sienfield, still, overrated.
2. No. I love Inuyasha, I don’t here that much people talk about it.
1. Yes, Naruto is overrated, I really do like the show. I hate it when someone hates a show, they put the plot in the worst way, people like you, Naruto is a lonely boy that had little potential, and rises to a great Ninja that pwns everyone. I love watching Naruto, but it is overrated. And a lot of people say they see so many people at school who does cosplays about Naruto, and talk about it all the time, but I never seen them. Wow, this was long. But I find Bleach more overrated, and no, I am not a Narutard, someone can like Naruto without being one.
the top three anime is actually 1.naruto 2.bleach 3.one piece (of all time)
i like naruto but i some what agree with you its boring and does have a regular plot and story but it is one of my favorites along with fullmetal alchemist,bleach,one piece,and dragon ball z there are probably the only animes i will watch
to be honest. I thought haruhi as a little overrated also, but right now it actually has a plot. I no longer think it should be overrated
neon genesis evangelion was confusing, but seriously it was interesting and original, DEFNITELY not your typical anime. you could see all the judeo christian references in it.
lucky star, I tried to watch it. really it wasn’t interesting! the show has no plot and people only like it cuz the characters are cute. I mean konata was interesting but seriously, it’s overrated and it gave people a reason to be lolicon I guess.
inuyasha dragged way too long , same with naruto. not to mention the characters are annoying as fuck
Hanyuu
5.Definitely overrated(though not bad).And i hate Haruhi(the character).Though,i must say i developed serious liking for Kyon,Nagato and Koizumi while watching it.(Asahina who?)So they made me watch everything that has something to do with this series.
4.The only thing that has something to do with me and NGE is Kaworu x Shinji doujinshis.
3.oh god yes…EXACTLY
2.Completely agree here as well…i enjoyed Inuyasha for a while,but then i was never able to finish it because it just gets extremely boring.
1.Overrated…yes,if someone actually really thinks it´s the best anime ever.People like that exist?they must be new then:).I must say i enjoy watching Naruto on TV…but i would never be like “omg,must watch next ep now!”.So to say,after all those years i am only at episode 130,haha