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The 2010s weren’t that long ago in the grander scheme of things, but a decade can sometimes feel like an eternity with how many new anime are released every single year. Additionally, it’s enlightening to see how powerful hindsight can be with particular titles. The series that made waves and broke records in the 2010s don’t always enjoy the same reception a decade later, with some even being completely forgotten.
The 2010s introduced some truly formative series like Attack on Titan, Steins;Gate, Mob Psycho 100, and Puella Magi Madoka Magica. However, some of the 2010s’ biggest anime that were once deemed “classics” are now embarrassing afterthoughts that are borderline unwatchable.
Tokyo Ghoul’s Disjointed Adaptation Fails Its Storytelling
Sui Ishida's Tokyo Ghoul was one of the biggest seinen manga of the 2010s. Unfortunately, Studio Pierrot's take on the dark source material increasingly went off the rails, and it's now cited as one of the most egregious cautionary tales in anime adaptation.
Tokyo Ghoul follows Ken Kaneki's unexpected indoctrination to the world of ghouls after he receives an organ transplant from one of these monsters, and finds himself torn between two worlds as a prolific half-ghoul. The series' initial 12-episode first season is a perfectly serviceable adaptation, but it's what follows that's ruined the anime's reputation.
The second season, Tokyo Ghoul √A, veers away from the manga's story in favor of an anime-original narrative. Not only do the final seasons struggle to connect the dots with Tokyo Ghoul √A, but they also attempt to condense 179 chapters into 24 episodes.
Berserk’s CG Visuals & Problematic Pacing Set Guts Up For Failure
Kentaro Miura's Berserk is one of the greatest dark fantasy anime of all-time, but it's also a title that's consistently struggled with lackluster anime adaptations. 1997's Berserk anime, while flawed, has held up well and still receives accolades. 2016's successor is unfortunately a CG-laden disaster that completely fails to capture Miura's beautiful, meticulous artwork.
3D CG visuals feel antithetical to everything that Berserk stands for, but 2016's Berserk also drops the ball regarding its storytelling, pacing, and sound design. Acting as a sequel to Berserk's Golden Age Arc film trilogy, the two-season anime speed-runs through storylines and cuts out crucial plot points and character development.
The Promised Neverland’s Disappointing Second Season Has Ruined Its Reputation
The Promised Neverland, to its credit, sticks the landing when it comes to the bone-chilling early reveal that an idyllic orphanage is actually a farm that raises children so that they can eventually be eaten by monsters. To avoid this morbid fate, a group of orphans bravely head into a dark, dangerous world that fuels a powerful coming-of-age survivalist story. The Promised Neverland is another case where an anime's adaptation fails its storytelling.
In this case, The Promised Neverland's second season is such a rushed and reckless mess that it's basically killed any interest in revisiting the property. The anime omits some of the manga's strongest storylines and then indulges in extreme time-skips that condense over 100 chapters into a handful of episodes. Important plot points are still hit, but they're meaningless without the right context.
Highschool Of The Dead Diminishes Fear Through Awkward Fan Service
It's easy to see why audiences were initially drawn to Highschool of the Dead, a chaotic series about hapless high school students who fight their way through a zombie apocalypse. The series' zombie and horror elements are actually commendable and done very well.
What hurts the anime and makes it difficult to revisit is the bizarre clash of tones on display, as Highschool of the Dead juxtaposes death, fear, and trauma with sexualized fan service and broad comedy. These jarring extremes never find a natural rhythm, and it doesn't help that Highschool of the Dead's cast embodies the most egregious stereotypes of the 2010s.
These tropes may have been more acceptable in 2010, but they're embarrassing to revisit now. The anime's open-ended conclusion, which lacks a proper ending, has also erased any interest in checking out an unfinished story.
No Game No Life Loses The Plot To Creepy Character Dynamics
No Game No Life, a unique spin on the isekai and death game genres, got a lot of attention when it first premiered in 2014. At the time, death game isekai were fewer and far between, and the anime's distinct visual aesthetic by Madhouse gave it an extra special touch that helped it stand out from its peers.
A decade and change later, No Game No Life's oversaturated visual style isn't nearly as creative, and it's not enough to let viewers overlook many of the fundamental issues that hold the anime back. The biggest hurdle that's faced with No Game No Life is the uncomfortable dynamic that's present between Shio and Sora, the series' young sibling protagonists who are regularly sexualized, and portrayed as in love with one another.
Fate/Zero Feels At Odds With The Rest Of Its Franchise
Fate/Zero chronicles the climactic events of the Fourth Holy Grail War, where seven powerful mages and their corresponding heroes participate in a brutal battle royal that will grant the winners an impossible wish. This core premise isn't Fate/Zero's problem, which can also be said about the anime's impressive visuals and high production values.
Problems instead arise from its pacing, an overindulgence in edgy plot twists that don't always feel natural to the story, and developments that are inconsistent with the grander Fate franchise. For instance, Saber's depiction in Fate/Zero largely ruins what was previously established in Fate/Stay Night.
The Seven Deadly Sins Runs Out Of Steam & Never Recovers From A Studio Swap
It can be an incredibly exciting experience to get lost in a long-running anime that benefits from at least 100 episodes of gripping character development and world-building. Sadly, there are many anime in which less can be more. The Seven Deadly Sins is unfortunately a case of the latter, which features a demonstrable drop in quality after its second season, as production shifts from A-1 Pictures to Studio Deen.
There's a compelling call to action that kicks off this fantasy-driven action/adventure, but Meliodas and Elizabeth's adventure progressively loses steam as the storytelling grows repetitive and "power creep" becomes a bigger problem. It also doesn't help that The Seven Deadly Sins' central relationship between Meliodas and Elizabeth shifts from charming to disturbing as answers are given to the mysteries around them.
Fire Force Suffers From Outdated Tropes & Diminishing Returns
Fire Force is a bombastic shonen action anime that literally fights fire with fire in a post-apocalyptic Tokyo where pyrokinesis reigns supreme. Fire Force specializes in exaggerated action sequences and intricate lore and world-building that still succeeds on many fronts.
However, Fire Force's shine has worn off in the 2020s, and it no longer stands out as a subversive shonen spin like it used to be. Fire Force's action and plotting grows repetitive over time, and it's an unfortunate example of an anime that weakens in impact as it produces more material.
Fire Force's third season suffers from production concessions and creative changes that remove a lot of the series' magic. On top of these concessions, Fire Force is also guilty of regrettable and outdated tropes, particularly Tamaki's "Lucky Lewd Syndrome," which reduces a strong female character into hollow fan service.
Fairy Tail Is A Padded Relic Of The Past That’s Too Steeped In Troubled Stereotypes
Fairy Tail stood out as one of the biggest shonen anime of the 2010s, with over 300 episodes under its belt. Fairy Tail's formulaic and safe fantasy/adventure storytelling meshed with early 2010s sensibilities, yet it's now emblematic of some of the decade's most annoying tropes.
The heroic journey of Natsu Dragneel, Lucy Heartfilia, and the rest of their guild has plenty of exciting moments that make it possible for die-hard fans to overlook the anime's grander problems. For others, it's harder to tolerate the lengthy build-up to Natsu coming into his own or all of the egregious fan-service. Fairy Tail is also one of the bigger examples of a shonen anime that embraces "the power of friendship" to solve its problems, which often means an erasure of genuine stakes and consequences.
Sword Art Online Lacks Stakes Because of Kirito
There's a lot to like in Sword Art Online, a significant anime that helped popularize the isekai subgenre, in which characters are trapped in a virtual MMORPG world and fighting for survival. Sword Art Online deserves credit for pushing this genre into the mainstream, but it surprisingly abandons its survivalist core concept in favor of a slice-of-life romance that's intertwined with a regressive power fantasy.
Sword Art Online glosses over the series' core concept in which 10,000 players are trapped in a virtual world until they conquer 100 floors. Itstreamlines this danger so that most of this struggle is already over by the time the plot gets going, all while its central character, Kirito, is blessed with overpowered abilities that erase any sense of stakes or danger.
