I'm notorious for not fully finishing an anime. It's a bad habit, but sometimes I just get bored or confused.
You've probably experienced that moment when an anime disappoints you. You sadly close out of the browser, amazed that the anime creator ruined such a unique idea.
Let's take a look at the anime that I've stopped watching, and maybe you'll find that they didn't meet your expectations either.
1. Neon Genesis Evangelion
Yes, I know that Neon Genesis Evangelion is a classic anime with a fantastic mecha pilot concept, but I couldn't get past the first episode.
I have a bad habit of falling asleep when watching TV shows and movies, and this anime put me to sleep faster than Nyquil. The first time I watched it, I dozed off within the first ten minutes, angry to find that I missed the majority of the episode.
I tried rewatching it the next day only to fall asleep again. After that, I began to think to myself, "Maybe this anime just isn't for me." I'm all for angsty anime, but I want to see some action that will actually keep me awake.
2. Baki
I had high hopes for Baki and it let me down big time. At first, I loved its overblown masculinity, gargantuan muscle men, and bloody fight scenes. About halfway through the anime, I realized that I had no idea what was going on.
I know the basics: a group of seven death row inmates break out of jail to chase after Baki, an unnaturally strong 17-year-old. These burly inmates get so tired of winning that they want to "taste defeat" when battling Baki.
That all makes sense, but the anime just seems like a mess of jumbled fight scenes after the first few episodes. Baki is up to three seasons now, but the deviating storyline is enough to turn me away.
3. Appleseed XIII
I can't take this anime seriously thanks to its use of CGI. Set in World War III, special agent Deunan and her robot boyfriend Briareos work with the elite special forces to defend the city of Olympus.
An increasing number of anime shows use CGI to make certain scenes look 3D, and it enhances the anime in small doses. However, in Appleseed XIII, the animation only consists of clunky CGI. This makes me feel like I'm watching a cheesy children's show.
Before I watched Appleseed XIII, I had no idea that it started out as a 1988 movie—where it had a much more tolerable art style. Why couldn't the animator's keep Appleseed looking like that?
4. Back Street Girls
Back Street Girls is yet another disappointment from Netflix. It's becoming increasingly difficult to find a Netflix original anime that's actually worth watching, and Back Street Girls definitely isn't one of them.
The concept seems hilarious, and it is. Four members of the Yakuza get in big trouble with their gangster boss.
They have two choices: get killed or undergo gender reassignment surgery to become an all-female j-pop group. The boys decide to spare their own lives and begin training as the Gokudolls.
I only watched the first episode of this anime, and I don't plan on watching any more. The animation looks rushed, and the constant yelling in the first episode is more than enough to turn me off.
5. Fairy Tail
Does anyone actually finish Fairy Tail? 227 episodes at about 25 minutes a piece takes up 94 hours of your life. That's almost four full, non-stop days. How does someone have time for that?
Despite the mind-numbing length of Fairy Tail, it still has one of the strongest fanbases.
I don't deny that it has a great storyline—who wouldn't want to watch a show about wizard guilds and mythological creatures? But I wouldn't be surprised if its length makes someone stop watching.
I've since lost track of where I left off. With an anime this long, I'd have to rewatch several episodes to even vaguely remember my last stopping point. Maybe I'll finally finish it when I have four whole days to spare.
We All Have Different Tastes in Anime
If you get that gut feeling of disappointment in an anime, it's better to move on rather than sit through the entire show and hope it'll get better. Chances are, it won't.
When watching Naruto or Naruto Shippuden, you might feel like stopping due to all the useless filler episodes. To make your viewing experience much more exciting, check out our guide on how to avoid the fillers in Naruto and Naruto Shippuden:
