Recently, a heated debate arose among members of a
forum on Reddit around an intriguing question: “What is a popular anime that you just
couldn't enjoy after watching it?” . This discussion has generated a
wide range of responses, revealing the various reasons why some viewers fail to
connect with certain anime despite their widespread popularity.
Among the series mentioned by users are
titles that have enjoyed great critical and commercial acclaim, but which for
some simply failed to meet expectations . The reasons
behind this phenomenon are varied and complex.
One of the most common reasons cited is the
discrepancy between the expectations created by the popularity of the anime and
the actual experience when watching it. When an anime is extremely popular,
it tends to generate high expectations in new viewers . However, these
expectations are not always met, which can lead to disappointment. Viewers
might expect flawless storytelling, deeply developed characters, and
high-quality animation, and when one of these aspects doesn't live up to
expectations, the disappointment can be greater due to the anticipation built
up.
Another key reason is the variation in personal
tastes. Just because a series is popular doesn’t mean it will align
with every viewer’s individual preferences . Some users commented that
while they recognized the quality of the animation and narrative, they simply
couldn’t emotionally connect with the characters or the plot. Differences
in preferred genres, animation styles, or even the type of humor can
significantly influence the perception of an anime.
The issue of anti-popularity bias was also
highlighted. There is a tendency among some viewers to avoid or reject
something simply because it has reached a high level of popularity .
This phenomenon, sometimes referred to as the “contrarian effect,” is based on
the idea that if something is enjoyed by the majority, it must lack the depth
or quality one looks for in their personal choices. This type of bias can lead
to a negative evaluation before even giving the series a fair chance.
Media saturation and excessive hype also play a
role. When an anime is very popular, it is present everywhere: social
media, discussions, recommendations from friends, etc. This
omnipresence can lead to a feeling of exhaustion even before you start watching
it. Furthermore, excessive hype can inflate expectations to unattainable
levels, resulting in a viewing experience that feels less satisfying compared
to the anticipation created.
- « Unpopular
opinion. I honestly couldn't stand Komi Can't Communicate. She was tired
of people saying she was so down to earth when people with social anxiety
would never be as popular as that girl. And the inability to speak is not
the same as social anxiety either. A good example of realistic social
anxiety would be Watamote .
- " Nanatsu
no Taizai, without a doubt ."
- « Take
a shot every time you read Jujutsu Kaisen in this thread ».
- " My
girlfriend is happy, because of the razones ."
- « I
really can't get into any long shounen. I absolutely hate the tropes of
over-explaining everything as if the viewer couldn't understand it without
help. It feels like low-quality writing, you never heard of “show, don't
tell . ”
- « I
liked how Hitorri Bocchi handled social anxiety. From constantly needing
to make sure they are still her friends and remember her to over-planning
for unimportant things like them visiting her house. AnoHana also sucks .
»
- « Thank
goodness someone else thinks Anohana was melodramatic trash. If you
watched it when you were 10-13, I get it . »
- « Who
the hell thinks Komi-san is even remotely realistic? The entire series is
completely absurd. I didn't quite understand the hype that was given to
Vivy Fluorite Eyes Song. It seemed good to me and I finished it, but I
wasn't enthusiastic about it .
- « One
Piece, I have a life to live ».
- « I
can get a ton of shit for it, but One Piece. I've been told to watch it by
tons of people, so I watched 20 or so episodes and could never really
enjoy it .»
- « As
a huge One Piece fan, I understand. A lot of fans tell people they have to
go through Arlong Park because “that’s where it gets really good!” But
that’s over 40 episodes. No one should sit through 40 episodes just to get
to the “good part .”»
- « That
Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime. Even for an isekai, there are no
stakes. The protagonist is OP right away and never fights or faces any
real threats. And five episodes in I still hadn’t found a single character
I cared about. So if there are no stakes and no interesting characters,
there’s no reason to watch it . »
- « Fire
Force. Of course, the girl with the fire cat kept losing her clothes to
the point where I thought she was a satire of fanservice. But I did not
care. What bothered me was the guy with the fire sword. “Why am I losing?
I am using the sword with the wrong hand”… What? No, actually, what the
fuck. How do you write all your characters to be so dumb that they would
physically die if you left them unsupervised in the real world for more
than two hours? She hurt me, especially because the action was beautiful .
- « Shield
Hero. The initial pitch of “this country hates the Shield Hero, but they
can't kill him” was interesting. But the character himself was so bitter
that it was unpleasant to watch, and so OP that there was nothing at stake.
Not to mention that he alone started the fashion of slavery in another
world .
- « Blue
Lock. As someone who loves football, seeing them create a team of only
strikers irritated me no matter how insignificant the reason was. Plus, I
don't like sports anime. It dragged on throughout the viewing and I got as
far as episode 9 before I dropped it . »
- « Demon
Slayer, the cast is boring or somewhat annoying and the story is quite
bland. The animation was bad for me. I did not continue after the first
season ».
- « I
couldn't watch Boku no Hero Academia, it took too long to get to the main
plot and I'm impatient .»
- « One
Piece. It's been going on for something like 1100 episodes but I couldn't
stand it. I tried watching a few and eventually dropped it after about 200
episodes. No one can say I dropped it too soon . »
- « For
me it has to be Demon Slayer. It has a strong start, but as the plot
progresses and the characters fade away, it's terribly boring and riddled
with the most tired shonen clichés. I didn't bother watching beyond the
red light district arc despite how amazing the production and animation
are .»
- « The
Monogatari series. I got to 9 episodes and I didn't find any reason to
care about anything .
- « Naruto
and One Piece. It is too daunting a task with so many episodes .
- « Only
Leveling, I have no doubts ».
- « I
dropped Jujutsu Kaisen during my first attempt, but when season 2 came out
recently I gave it a chance again and really enjoyed it for some reason.
Who knows, maybe I just didn't have the right mindset on my first try .»
- « I
tried so hard to like Cowboy Bebop. I watched it all, but it seemed like a
chore. I know everyone loves it, but I just couldn't enjoy it .»
- « Mine
was Neon Genesis Evangelion. It's too slow and I don't really care for it,
although the opening is legendary ».
- « I'm
probably going to be crucified for this, but I just couldn't handle Jojo's
Bizarre Adventure, as I don't really understand what's so popular about
it, I mean, the action scenes are great with the superpowers like the
hamon and the stands and those things, but other than that just a lot of
really ridiculous things I just don't understand at all how are the flashy
clothes everyone wears? The constant sexual actions and innuendos? All the
silly, crazy actions and decisions the characters make? I've seen a lot of
ridiculous anime that I can at least understand where they're going, like
Gintama and Food Wars, but Jojo's…. I don't understand at all what makes
them popular ».
- « Demon
Slayer, I tried to force myself to watch it twice and it was absolute
torture, there is literally not a single original thing, just recycled
shonen tropes with good animation, I really tried to watch it but I
couldn't, I even almost tried a third time but decided to stop trying
altogether ».
- « Mushoku
Tensei the fan-service literally makes the show practically unwatchable I
can see a good story but every episode has fan-service, just disappointing .»
- « For
me it was Shingeki no Kyojin. I tried to see the hype, I endured the
entire first season thinking that maybe there would be something at the
end that would hook me, but nothing. So I left it after the first season .
- « Re:Zero
probably. I got halfway through S2. I understand what people are able to
take away from it, but I'm not one of those people . »
- « Dr.
Stone. The premise of the series is excellent, a series in which the
characters reconstruct humanity using science. That's why I love
Ascendance of a Bookworm. But what turns me off about the series is how
shonen it is. The screams, the smiles, the logic of a senseless young man
(ohh... I can't stand seeing my girl naked, so I'll dress her before I
revive her. I don't know how to revive her from a dream of a thousand
years!). I don't know what happened after this since he left the series
after a few episodes. What baffles me is why this series has more than 1
season. I guess it attracts someone .
- « 86:
Eighty-Six, I was just bored, I don't understand why he is so loved and
highly valued. Maybe he wasn't in the right mindset, or maybe he's just
not my type? I never saw the second part ».
- « I
tried Bocchi the Rock!, I liked him a bit more, but I don't think he was
my type either. He had his good moments though .»
- « Serial
Experiments Lain is my lowest rated anime. Too slow. The only reason I
didn't give it a 1/10 is because I liked the last episode and the art
direction was interesting »
- « I
couldn't get into Black Clover because the protagonist's voice was too
deep and didn't fit him very well. Maybe he's going through puberty at the
beginning of the anime? I'm not sure . »
- « Mashle…
None of the jokes seemed funny to me. He seemed very forced .
- « I
tried to watch Steins;Gate about three times, but I couldn't get past the
first few episodes. I'm supposed to like it because I love time travel
anime, but I found the story and characters boring .»
- « Solo
Leveling… I wanted to like it, and I thought the first two episodes were
great, but the middle and last episodes, where you just level up, didn't
seem that interesting to me. I preferred it when interacting with others
or in a group dynamic (I enjoyed the S-level hunter story a little more),
which is ironic because it's SOLO Leveling .
- « To
Your Eternity. It felt like they killed people for the sake of killing
people, not because their deaths really mattered, not even to the
characters involved .
- « Mashle.
Terrible premise, terrible character. I hated it. I watched two episodes
and was done . »
- « I
tried so hard, and got so far (8 episodes) in Nichijou, but I eventually
gave up. I'm sorry, I don't find that kind of humor funny. It's just not my
thing, I guess .»
- « Soul
Eater. Great animation – I found everything else unbearable .
Source: Reddit
