The relationship which exists between the anime and the manga industry is a fairly complex one, despite being deceptively simple at a surface-level glance. Much of this complication stems from the fact that the anime industry’s core raison d’etre is to serve as advertisement for the manga industry.

Due to this inherent fact of existence for the anime industry, adaptations are always produced with financial minimalism in mind. While investing into an anime series can catch lightning in a bottle at times, studios are more often than not trying to do the most they can with the least financial resources.

This can create dichotomies in the comparative quality of anime adaptations. While some can be viewed as perfect adaptations which elevate the source material, others are viewed as misfires which are flawed due to financial influence on production. For these reasons and more, there are a few anime adaptations which stand out as truly overrated.

Disclaimer: This article purely reflects the author’s views, which maybe subjective in nature.

Weekly schedules and inconsistent animation, among others, contribute to an anime being overrated

1) Bleach

One of the biggest issues with the original Bleach anime series is one that is common from animators Studio Pierrot. Unfortunately, the series’ production was plagued by filler and overall poor animation due to being a weekly series. While there are certainly times where the animation truly shone, the series was generally lackluster in terms of its overall production.

Thankfully, the Bleach TYBW series has corrected this, giving the series the absolutely stellar sendoff it deserves. While such proper treatment also necessitates the series’ existence as a seasonal one, it’s undoubtedly the right way to end the series on a high note.

2) Naruto

Another Studio Pierrot series, the television adaptation of author and illustrator Masashi Kishimoto’s Naruto manga series suffers from similar issues. Naruto also ran weekly, and was likewise plagued by poor filler and often questionable animation. Like Bleach, the animation quality was top-notch at specific moments, but overall production was generally lackluster.

Thankfully, at least part of this issue has been addressed in the sequel Boruto series. While there are some harsh low points, the animation is generally more consistent in quality than either Naruto or Naruto Shippuden. Unfortunately, the filler/anime-canon issue still exists, with well over two-thirds of the series’ episodes being classified as either or.

3) One Piece

The third of the Big Three series to appear on this list, One Piece suffers from similar problems to Naruto and Bleach despite being a Toei Animation production. Due to the incredible length of author and illustrator Eiichiro Oda’s original manga series, the anime adaptation is put in a position where a weekly approach is truly necessary.

Unfortunately, this impacts the overall animation quality at times (though not as generally as the other Big Three series) and generally moves pacing to incredibly slow speeds. This has become especially true in recent years, where the series has had to shift to a slower and slower general adaptation pace as the story gap between the adaptation and the source material has decreased.

4) Akame ga Kill!

Generally speaking, the Akame Ga Kill! series is regarded as very mediocre, despite garnering incredible hype from its devoted fanbase. It’s also worth noting that author Takahiro and illustrator Tetsuya Tashiro’s original manga series is held in high regard. This difference in reception stems from how different the anime’s story is relative to the original manga series.

5) Demon Slayer

While the Demon Slayer series from ufotable Studios deserves its flowers for a wide number of reasons, there are still some flaws with the series. Generally speaking, the series’ story is viewed as fairly lackluster by the general anime and manga community, with the series not having as much depth to its overarching narrative than other series.

While one can argue that this is reflective of the manga’s quality rather than the television anime series, ufotable Studios has also chosen not to suggest any changes. Likewise, it can be argued that one major critique of ufotable’s adaptation is a lack of desire to punch up the overarching narrative in some way, shape, or form.

6) Rising of the Shield Hero

For as much praise it garnered after its first season, The Rising of the Shield Hero series saw as much criticism and hate thrown its way after its second season. In nearly every regard, fans of the series generally viewed the second season as wholly inferior to the first, especially as it relates to the series’ production and adaptation choices.

The pacing in the series’ second season slowed to a molasses-like pace, culminating in a “finale episode” which mostly served as an anime-original season recap scene. The overall animation was critiqued as well, suffering from the aforementioned symptoms of being generally inconsistent and seemingly reaching a high quality during climactic moments exclusively.

7) Dragon Ball GT

One of the biggest reasons why Dragon Ball GT can be called overrated stems from the fact that it lacks the canonicity of other franchise series. Although full of great ideas, this sole fact prevents it from truly being appreciated for what it is, especially as younger fans without a nostalgic connection to the series are exposed to it.

Even beyond this fact, the ideas in GT are executed poorly at times, such as the climactic moments of the Baby arc and Piccolo’s pointless death. While Goku becoming a child again is one decision that’s universally praised amongst the series’ hardcore faithful, it’s one of few which the series properly executes on.

8) Berserk 2016

While Berserk 2016 is generally viewed by the larger anime community for what it truly is, there are some who try to argue in support of its existence since any adaptation is better than none. However, Berserk 2016 stands as indisputable proof against this claim, being both a poor adaptation and a poor television series in general.

From breaking the most basic rules of perspective and framing to poorly adapting character expressions and the foundational mood of a scene, the series misfires on all fronts. Although generally viewed in the light it deserves to be seen in, any arguments for this series are simply wrong.

9) Boruto

As mentioned above, Boruto’s biggest issue stems from how high of a filler/anime-canon percentage it has in terms of its overall episode count. Like the original Naruto series, this is yet again a symptom of the series being a weekly Studio Pierrot series, whereas the source material is only published monthly. Considering how little of its source material it actually adapts, the series is most definitely overrated.

10) My Hero Academia

While the sixth season was a strong rebound for the My Hero Academia series, the fifth season’s inconsistent animation was a turnoff to the series overall for many. This is somewhat unsurprising, as one of the best parts of the television anime series stems from the visual potential of Quirks in a moving form.

When this most basic of appeals is executed poorly, it creates a similar effect to an action movie with poor CGI or stunts, alienating people due to a lack of quality on a core element. While the series’ seventh season could be true redemption if done right, another misfire may spell doom for the series’ overall reputation.

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