Every season of anime has its ups and downs, regardless of overall hype and high expectations. 2025 was packed with heavy hitters, with the second seasons of The Apothecary Diaries, My Dress-Up Darling, and Dandadan earning rave reviews, and newcomers like Clevatess, Gachiakuta, and The Summer Hikaru Died packing the year even more tightly with incredible content. Whether viewers wanted romance, horror, suspense, humor, or action, all bases were covered, and while it may not have been the greatest year for anime overall, there has been plenty to celebrate and binge as 2026 quickly approaches.
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Despite these high points, there were a handful of series that failed to resonate with audiences throughout 2025. This may have been due to any number of issues, from poor production quality and bad pacing to uninspiring stories and bland characters. On some occasions, a series may seem to have everything to make it a smash hit, only to somehow miss the mark and fail to meet expectations. While some of the shows on this list have one or more redeeming qualities, according to many fans, they were the weakest anime of the year, nevertheless.
9
The Beginning After the End
The Beginning After the End seemed a shoo-in to be one of the most successful series of the year. Inspired by a wildly popular high fantasy webcomic, the isekai series has been going strong for a decade, inspiring readers with its unique power system, likeable characters, and similarities to the successful manhwa and anime series Solo Leveling. Expectations were high when it premiered in April, but things quickly fell apart, with the show’s animation quickly drawing criticism across the board and becoming the biggest issue for most viewers.
While the first season of The Beginning After the End was initially planned to have 24 episodes split into two cours, Crunchyroll later announced that the season would instead conclude with Episode 12. Season 2 is slated to kick off in April 2026, and it remains to be seen whether Studio A-Cat can salvage what’s left of the highly anticipated release. To punctuate how much of a disappointment the series has been, a petition for The Beginning After the End to be entirely remade reached over 40,000 signatures soon after the first episode’s release.
8
Your Forma
Fans have been hungry for a new sci-fi anime series to be obsessed over, and at first glance, Your Forma seemed to have it all. The title refers to a new technology developed by humanity after an outbreak of illness, with a brain implant allowing people to record everything they see, hear, and feel. Echika and her android partner, Harold, can connect to these devices, allowing them to gather clues to solve various crimes and mysteries. While the characters and setting earned praise, the series didn’t manage to impress the large majority of potential fans.
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Those who are familiar with the Your Forma light novel series were left frustrated when the first volume was completely skipped in the anime adaptation, as were newcomers who were left woefully uninformed about the show’s setting. The cases Echika and Harold are tasked with solving weren’t too impressive either, as they never felt too dangerous or memorable.
7
Farmagia
Fans of the 2024 action role-playing game were excited to learn that Farmagia would be getting an anime adaptation in early 2025, but that excitement was very short-lived. Developed by Marvelous, the studio behind Harvest Moon and Story of Seasons, Farmagia blends RPG and farm life sim elements, and is currently available for Switch, PlayStation 5, and PC. The game may be a better use of one’s time, despite the anime’s character designs being provided by Hiro Mashima, the creator of Rave Master and Fairy Tail. As it turns out, visuals aren’t always enough to make a hit.
From bland characters to a never-ending lineup of cliché shonen tropes, Farmagia is less of a flat-out bad anime and more of a disappointing one. Longtime Fairy Tail fans will be able to predict nearly every plot point of the series, the music is forgettable, and the enemies and mythical creatures that appear throughout simply don’t make an impression. Time is the most valuable resource, and anime fans would do better to spend theirs elsewhere.
6
The Shiunji Family Children
Fans of harem series will find plenty to love about The Shiunji Family Children, but for many others, the show’s premise may be somewhat more off-putting than others in the genre. In the new 2025 romance anime, Arata Shiunji has never had a girlfriend and has started to resign himself to being single forever. That suddenly changes in the most unthinkable way, as it turns out that he and his siblings aren’t blood-related after all. His five sisters are suddenly on the table as love interests, for better or worse.
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The animation style isn’t terrible, and those who enjoyed Rent-a-Girlfriend may find something to like here, as The Shiunji Family Children was created by the same author and has some similar vibes. Unfortunately, harem series are a dime a dozen these days, and this one is particularly egregious in its storytelling and ideation.
5
I Want to Escape from Princess Lessons
Based on a popular light novel series, the romantic comedy I Want to Escape from Princess Lessons follows Lettie, a young girl who finds herself betrothed to Crown Prince Clarke. Understandably, the seven-year-old is expected to stifle her free spirit and instead learn what it means to be royalty. After running away, Clarke tracks her down, determined to make Lettie his bride no matter what it takes. It’s a somewhat simple love story that doesn’t translate well to the small screen.
The biggest complaint about I Want to Escape from Princess Lessons relates to its animation, which is consistently low-quality throughout the show’s 12-episode run. While the light novels and manga series featured a more serious and heavy tone, the anime chose a more comedic approach, throwing in less-than-funny jokes and slapstick moments that felt entirely out of place.
4
Lazarus
Lazarus may be the most controversial entry on this list. Created and directed by Cowboy Bebop‘s Shinichiro Watanabe and produced by MAPPA, the studio behind beloved series like Jujutsu Kaisen and Chainsaw Man, the show is the very definition of a blockbuster. The series’ unique visual style quickly made waves, along with its jazzy soundtrack and exceptional action sequences. However, while the action sci-fi romp Lazarus seems to shine in countless ways, it let viewers down in many others, with its story being a thorn in many fans’ sides.
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Pomp and circumstance is enough to keep eyes on the screen for a little while, but Lazarus puttered out before it could sink the landing. Many noted that the series lacks the typical energy present in a Watanabe work, while others lamented its overall execution, with each episode feeling oddly disjointed. Sometimes, a series is made worse when expectations are through the roof. Lazarus may not be a terrible anime, but it left many people wanting.
3
Übel Blatt
Another show hampered by fan expectations is Übel Blatt, a dark fantasy series with a hugely dedicated fanbase due to its long-running manga. Inspired by Berserk and featuring a main character with a past reminiscent of The Count of Monte Cristo, the action-packed series tells a story of betrayal and revenge, with the original manga series running for 170 chapters and inspiring a sequel in December 2024.
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Many longtime fans of the manga series are frustrated that the anime toned down the darker elements of Übel Blatt, while also skipping several major story beats and reordering certain events. Given that the manga ran for nearly two decades, the anime’s runtime of only 12 episodes felt incredibly rushed, and no plans for a sequel or film have been announced.
2
Promise of Wizard
An adaptation of a video game and a brief manga series, Promise of Wizard is yet another entry into the ever-growing isekai genre. A normal human is pulled into a world in which magic is real, where they must join an epic fight against the Great Calamity. 21 Wizards join together to train and prepare for battle, deepening their relationships at the same time. While not necessarily groundbreaking, the series is largely palatable, except for one glaring issue: the incredible amount of information forced on the viewer at seemingly every moment.
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Along with dull animation and bland fight scenes, Promise of Wizard suffers from boring characters and far too many cards of dialogue that pop up on screen far too often. These are meant to explain certain actions and bits of lore, but when viewers have to constantly pause the show to read, it can make the experience feel stilted and unenjoyable. It’s not the worst reverse harem out there, but it’s a frontrunner for one of the most frustrating series on this year’s roster.
1
One-Punch Man Season 3
While this list was initially only going to contain new faces for 2025 and not returning series, the feedback to Season 3 of One Punch Man has been so noisy across the internet that it’s been difficult to escape. The action comedy has been one of the most popular and wide-reaching anime releases in recent memory, debuting over a decade ago and continuing to be a major driver of the medium’s popularity worldwide. Unfortunately, the latest season saw plenty of negative feedback.
The most recent episodes of One Punch Man have noticeably dropped in quality, with many fans complaining about the use of still frames and odd character models. J.C. Staff clearly rushed the new season, which is not entirely surprising given the cutthroat nature of the anime industry as a whole. Still, for those excited about joining Saitama for some more over-the-top adventures, this was a major gutpunch and one of the most disappointing drops of the year.
- Release Date
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October 5, 2015
- Network
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YouTube, TV Tokyo, TV Osaka, TV Aichi, TVh, TVQ, TSC
- Directors
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Shinichiro Ushijima, Makoto Sokuza, Nobuhiro Muto, Ryoh Ando, Shuuji Miyazaki, Youhei Suzuki, Miyuki Ishida, Katsushi Sakurabi, Hideki Okamoto, Yoshio Suzuki, Hiroyuki Okuno, Riki Fukushima, Shigeki Awai
- Writers
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Tatsuro Inamoto
- Franchise(s)
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One-Punch Man
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Makoto Furukawa
Saitama (voice)
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Kaito Ishikawa
Genos (voice)
