The Best “So Bad It's Good” Animated Movies of All Time

From Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Train came out, the anime movie market was on fire. Huge franchises like Jujutsu Kaisen or My Hero Academia have always been expected to churn out content on the big screen, especially original content or spin-off adaptations. Still after Demon Slayer: Mugen Trainmany major franchises now produce movies as sequels to TV anime.

However, the anime film industry does not only make good, successful films. Just like any other entertainment industry, there are always going to be train wrecks. Some like Apple seedthere are movies that were decent when first released but haven't aged well. But others are just plain bad. And finally, there are those rare cases of movies so bad they're actually great. And here are some of the “best worst anime movies” of all time.

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Garzey's wing

The English version is the “best” experience

Garzey's wingoriginal anime by Gundam creator Yoshiyuki Tomino, is not originally a movie, but a three-episode anime OVA. However, it was distributed in many countries as a feature film, combining all the episodes into a single 90-minute film.

The story follows Chris, a young man who has been failing college entrance exams for years. One day, Chris is suddenly transported to another world, Byston Well, and becomes the legendary warrior Garzey (very Isekai-ish for the 90s series). He has been called by the tribe to free them from slavery, but he knows nothing about what to do to accomplish this mission. And somehow, his counterpart still exists in his original world, and their fates are tied.

Considered by many to be the worst anime ever made, with terrible pacing and poor animation (even by the standards of the time), not to mention an already outlandish premise that could have been great if played well. The icing on the cake is the English dubbing, which made the plot even worse with horrible dialogues and could be considered an experience in itself.

Gyo: Tokyo Fish Attack

Once again, Bad Junji Ito Anime

Gyo is an anime adaptation of the manga of the same name by Junji Ito. Or at least it should have been, as the film makes several plot changes and doesn't offer the “vibes” of the original story. Well, Junji Ito hasn't been very lucky when it comes to anime based on his works, as most of them are heavily criticized by fans.

The film takes place in Tokyo, where people for unknown reasons begin to become infected with bizarre bacteria that turn them into zombies with a horrible smell. The disease first affected the marine life, turning them into walking fish and sharks, and then spread to Kaori and her friend, who encountered these strange fish and sharks for the first time. This event leads to a strange pandemic.

Who is that character?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

Easy (7.5s)Medium (5.0s)Hard (2.5s)Permadeath (2.5s)

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The results

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Who is that character?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

Easy (7.5s) Medium (5.0s) Hard (2.5s) Permadeath (2.5s)Start

RestartRear

The results

0

Highest score: 0 —

The film was one of those early films that experimented with 3D models, but the models don't mesh well with the animation, making them feel off-putting and stiff. In addition, it focuses too much on gory scenes. While Ito's style involves body horror and creates discomfort, the film changes or skips over many elements of the original plot to deliver these scenes. It's ultimately a grotesque film, and despite being quite different from its source material, it has found its audience among horror fans who consider it a “great trash movie”.

Aerial Doom: Skelter+Sky

An all-female squad fighting aliens

This is pure gold in the hall of worst anime movies of all time. And luckily, it won't cost you much time: in less than 20 minutes, you're done with the experience. This is actually an OVA produced by Idea Factory and King Records to promote the game of the same name Aerial Doom: Skelter+Skyalso released in 2004, but maybe they should have invested a little more in the animation.

The plot of this short film begins when an all-female squadron of the Alta Mira Agency, a top secret agency in Japan, is deployed to deal with an alien threat that has invaded Tokyo. Otsuya Funagai leads this unit, but the mysterious assailant seems to be having a rather intimate relationship with one of its pilots, which could jeopardize the mission.

Dubbed by many as an involuntary comedy, Skelter+Skyat only 19 minutes, it has terrible animation with that terrible early 2000s CGI technology. Furthermore, the plot is essentially nonsensical. It's almost as if being bad is the goal and not an accidental byproduct.

Mars of Destruction

More aliens, but now they're even weirder

Mars of Destruction is another example of how you don't need to create a clock feature to get the pure joy out of trash content. It is another short OVA by Idea Factory and King Records released in the early 2000s to support the visual novel.

Again, it's a story about aliens invading Tokyo that only the MARS suit can take off. However, not everyone can pilot this giant robot: only those who have some specific genes in their DNA. This is where Takeru Hinata joins the scene, essentially being forced to pilot MARS alongside a special police force called AAST.

While this may sound like a common premise for a mecha sci-fi anime, the OVA is so outlandish that it almost feels like it has no plot at all, as it's practically impossible to understand anything. Combine that with terrible, stiff animation, poorly written characters (even considering 20 minutes wouldn't allow them to provide meaningful character development), and questionable direction choices. It's just perfect.

Mr. Arashi's Amazing Freak Show (Midori)

The most banned anime of all time

Via Plex.

This one is “bad” but actually deserves some love. It's a low-budget project that took Hiroshi Harada five years to make, entirely hand-drawn because he couldn't find any sponsors to fund it. So it was made out of pure passion, regardless of the end result. Midori is an adaptation of the manga of the same name Mr. Arashi's Amazing Freak Showwritten by Suehiro Maruo (perhaps best known as the author of the book The Strange Story of Panorama Island manga adaptation).

The plot is heavy, revolving around Midori, a poor orphan girl who basically ends up enslaved by Mr. Arashi, the owner of a traveling circus act. Mr. Arashi is not very kind to the members of his group, especially Midori, who takes the role of housekeeper because she is not a “freak”.

Because the film is gory and includes extreme content such as abuse and cruelty, it has been banned in many countries around the world, making it difficult to find. However, budget constraints mean the animation is cheap and stiff, which can add to the uncomfortable feelings the plot is meant to convey. Because the narrative is intentionally uncomfortable and disturbing, it has found a solid niche audience among horror fans.