How Did This Get Made? 10 Anime Series So Bad They're Good

Feb 3, 2025 - 02:00

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Anime

From infamously awful animation to melodramatic storytelling and ever-dreaded fan service, there are tons of ways an anime can go off the rails. Not every anime can be a masterpiece similar to Neon Genesis Evangelion or Ghost in the Shell. Other series like King’s Game and Mayoiga are so poorly done that they loop back from being bad to entertaining. For some shows, they feel unfinished either in execution or in conception. These train wrecks defy critical appraisal, attracting a devoted following to become cult classics even if they're thrown on at a party to laugh at.

Below, you can find several anime that are by no means good but are still worth watching. Many of the shows hail from ambitious creators trying to recreate classics only to end up mimicking style with no substance. It’s fascinating how a story's basic concepts can lead to drastically different shows, and these “so bad, they’re good” anime show that for every classic, there’s always an anime that will make you ask one thing: “How did this get made?”

School Days

Premiered in 2007 by TNK

School Days is a psychological drama that is most famous for its shocking twist ending. Makoto Itou, a high school student, becomes entangled in a love triangle with two girls named Kotonoha and Sekai. What starts as a typical romance soon turns into a psychological thriller layered with stunning manipulation, betrayal, and violence. If there’s one thing School Days can claim as an achievement, it is that its ending is one of the most infamous in anime.

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Makoto’s womanizing and selfishness lead to a climax that marks one of anime’s most shocking moments to date. The final episode is considered so disturbing that a real-life tragedy in Japan forced its TV broadcast to be delayed. Thanks to its unearned shocks and unredeemable characters, School Days eventually became a meme that endures to this day.

Domestic Girlfriend

Premiered in 2019 by Diomedea

Domestic Girlfriend is a messy melodrama about a love triangle between a high school boy, his teacher, and her younger sister. Oh, and the latter just happens to be his step-sibling. High school student Natsuo falls in love with his teacher Hina, so to get over her, he has a one-night stand with a girl named Rui who turns out to be his soon-to-be stepsister. The upsetting triangle only gets worse when Hina begins reciprocating Natsuo's feelings, blending themes of sexual manipulation with incest.

The plot is peak soap opera absurdity.

Known as an absurd drama, Domestic Girlfriend became a meme in the anime community. Its plot is peak soap opera absurdity, after all. Love triangles are one thing, but filling the triangle with step-siblings makes it impossible to take the show seriously. The anime is still incredibly divisive, but despite its controversy, Domestic Girlfriend reigns as a guilty pleasure for many.

Ex-Arm

Premiered in 2021 by Visual Flight

What is there to say about Ex-Arm other than it is one of the worst animated series in history. Set in a cyberpunk future, Ex-Arm tells the story of a young man whose brain is turned into an advanced AI weapon, forcing him to take a job with police to stop crime. The production, which is directed by Yoshikatsu Kimura, does carry an intriguing premise to be fair. However, the only thing you can note about the anime is its abysmal CGI as the anime feels like a low-budget video game cinematic.

As if the horrendous CGI was not bad enough, Ex-Arm also suffers from lifeless voice acting and poorly choreographed action scenes Ex-Arm often ranks among the worst anime ever made even compared to the notoriously flops like Hand Shakers. However, that notoriety has also made makes Ex-Arm the kind of anime fans must see to be believed.

King's Game

Premiered in 2017 by Seven

A survival horror anime riddled with poor writing, ridiculous plot twists, and over-the-top deaths, King’s Game is widely considered to be a "so bad, it's good" anime. The show follows a class of high school students after they receive mysterious text messages ordering everyone to complete bizarre, deadly tasks. If the students refuse, they die. Based on a novel written by Nobuaki Kanazawa, the 2017 anime only ranges 12 episodes, but the order is so bad that it made a big impression regardless.

King’s Game takes the death game trope and executes it in the worst way possible. Fans are forced to watch as characters make absurd decisions, and their failures lead to over-the-top deaths. The anime is often listed among the worst anime of all time, as many watch it purely for a laugh or out of spite. The premise was even explored in a live-action Hollywood film Nerve (2016), and it fared better than the anime if only just.

The Lost Village

Premiered in 2016 by Diomedea

The Lost Village is a mystery horror about a group of misfits searching for a village that's somewhat of an urban legend as they look to start new lives. One day, 30 strangers who met online depart by tour bus to locate the mysterious village. However, once the gang arrives, they begin experiencing bizarre and inexplicable events. The intriguing premise sounds good enough, but it is undercut by a crowded cast of characters and too few answers.

Marketed as a psychological horror, The Lost Village became an accidental comedy instead. The show's behave irrationally, the horror elements fall flat, and its so-called psychological drama is laughably bad. To this day, netizens still debate whether The Lost Village was secret parody or just terribly executed. Another short-lived addition to the list, Mayoiga only survived for 12 episodes before cancelation which was a blessing for many viewers.

Chargeman Ken!

Premiered in 1974 by Knack Productions

Chargeman Ken! is a low-budget 1970s science fiction anime that thrives to this day for infamous reasons. From its terrible animation, nonsensical writing, and bizarrely dark moments, the anime is rough. In the year 2074, Chargeman Ken! follows a young boy named Ken as he fights off alien invaders with his hidden superpowers. Loaded with WTF moments that juxtapose its old-school art style, one episode of the anime shows Ken casually committing mass murder by poisoning an entire hospital full of aliens. That is just how it goes.

Despite its terrible story, Chargeman Ken! has a cult following that appreciates its accidental comedy and retro vibes. Thankfully, the anime has one good aspect. The best part of Chargeman Ken! is that each episode is only five minutes long, so anyone curious about the anime can dip in without devoting too much of their time to it.

Rent-A-Girlfriend

Premiered in 2020 by TMS Entertainment

Rent-A-Girlfriend is a romantic comedy starring an admittedly pathetic protagonist who rents a girlfriend to deal with a broken heart. Kazuya, a hopeless college student, rents a girlfriend named Chizuru after a breakup, but things get complicated when she becomes involved in his personal life. There’s no sympathy to be had for Kazuya, however. The man is one of the most hated anime protagonists given his sniveling personality, making him wholly undeserving of any woman’s affection.

This anime is certainly polarizing as some enjoy the drama, while others find the concept unbearable. Rent-a-Girlfriend is also critiqued for dragging on, but that’s all part of the appeal for the dedicated audience. Despite earning backlash for its thin character arcs and abusive relationship, Rent-A-Girlfriend remains popular with a fan base that enjoys melodrama.

Rosario + Vampire

Premiered in 2008 by Gonzo

A harem anime can be problematic no matter what the premise is, and Rosario + Vampire is one of the worst given its excessive fan-service. The anime adapts Akihisa Ikeda’s manga about a human boy enrolling in a school for monsters, and he attracts the attention of a cute vampire as well as other supernatural girls. While the manga has a good melodramatic story, the anime shifts its focus from romance to fan service for no good reason.

Considered an ecchi anime, fans should know what they’re in for with this anime, but Rosario + Vampire is gratuitous in every way. The decision to jettison the plot in service of sexualized filler episodes ruffled feathers, and many fans consider it a missed opportunity. Yet despite the anime’s poor reception, Rosario + Vampire lasted for two seasons and even spawned a few video games.

Yami to Bōshi to Hon no Tabibito

Premiered in 2003 by Studio Deen

A supernatural yuri anime based on an eroge, Yami to Bōshi to Hon no Tabibito follows a girl named Hazuki searching for her missing sister, Hatsumi, across different worlds hidden inside a library. The anime is stylish yet confusing. Its steadfast connection to the original game makes the story of Yami to Bōshi to Hon no Tabibito feel incomplete. Due to the popularity of the source material, the way the plot unfolds presumes viewers already know the game’s story which completely alienates newcomers.

While it has stylish animation, Yami to Bōshi to Hon no Tabibito remains a niche series due to its confusing plot and underdeveloped side characters. The dreamy, lush animation is nice to look at, but coupled with its incomprehensible plot, Yami to Bōshi to Hon no Tabibito reaches Showgirls cult status.

Mars of Destruction

Premiered in 2005 by WAO World

Believe it or not, this 20-minute OVA is often regarded as one of the worst anime ever. Mars of Destruction follows a team of soldiers battling an alien invasion in a futuristic dystopia, which sounds simple enough. However, the animation is painfully stiff, so much so that "stiff" feels too generous a description. The characters move as little as possible, and plenty of scenes rely on still images with voiceover instead of actual animation. The anime's story itself is incoherent, culminating in a hilariously nonsensical "plot twist" that only adds to the confusion.

Listed as the lowest-rated anime on MyAnimeList and IMDB, Mars of Destruction has all the hallmarks of a low-budget Grindhouse horror film: excessive decapitations, way too much blood, a lack of music, and an awful twist ending that raises more questions than it answers. Despite borrowing heavily from classics like Neon Genesis Evangelion and Gundam, Mars of Destruction lacks the depth or substance that made those series influential. The OVA's sheer incompetence makes it a must-watch but perhaps for anime masochists only.