10 Best Animated Anime With Bad Writing

From Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle At The Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc film, much modern animated were awarded the title of masterpiece due to their impeccable animation and breathtaking visual quality. However, some anime are guilty of hiding weak storytelling behind their visual spectacle.

Although the most visually appealing anime are the ones most likely to become massive hits, ultimately nothing will change the fact that their narratives were weak. Whether fans like it or not, some anime series will always owe more to their studios than to their source material or original writers.

10

Ufotable’s animation saved Demon Slayer’s simple story

Demon Slayer is undoubtedly one of the biggest names in the anime industry in 2025 due to the massive success he saw after the release of his Infinite Castle movie. It broke several box office records and quickly rose to the top, becoming the highest-grossing Japanese film. However, this doesn’t change the fact that there are very apparent writing issues in Demon Slayer, and the story lacks substance in many ways.

The very premise of Demon Slayer is quite generic, with the hero’s journey having no memorable twists, severely lacking new avenues for the protagonist to grow. It also suffers from constant mid-battle conversations where characters stop an engaging action sequence to relay stories. The only thing that truly uplifts Demon Slayer From being a generic shonen anime is its exceptional animation by Ufotable.

9

Solo Leveling’s Power Fantasy is none other than Sung Jinwoo Aura

Solo Upgrade rose to fame very quickly as he already had a massive fan base centered around the success of his web novel and webtoon. It has an interesting premise, following a protagonist who goes from weak to strong after enduring a deeply traumatic experience. However, despite an impressive world, Solo Upgrade relies heavily on the hero himself rather than world-building, narrative, or characters.

Jinwoo, the protagonist, transforms into an overpowered main character very easily, and from that point on, almost no conflict presents himself. Every time a new villain appears, they are defeated far too quickly, making the stakes of this anime surprisingly low. This kind of story makes Solo Upgrade repetitive and predictable, which even the magnificent animation of A-1 Pictures couldn’t save.

8

My Hero Academia animation brought him back from the dead

My Hero Academia is on a blockbuster streak, with its latest season being one of the best anime currently airing. However, there was a time when MHAThe anime degraded significantly in its storytelling and felt like a shonen anime unlikely to recover from its setbacks. Even today, the central problem of My Hero Academia The fact remains that the protagonist is protected by excessive plot armor, leaving the secondary characters much more memorable than him.

Nevertheless, it was an absolute disaster My Hero Academia A season 5 which prompted many to criticize My Hero Academia like a show that had started to fall apart. It presented unnecessary filler and indulged in developments that added nothing to the final conflict. Yet it was Bones’ production that made fans stick with the franchise and remain hopeful for its future.

7

Excessive Fire Force fan service destroys a good story

fire force is written by the same author behind Soul EaterAtsushi Ohkubo. The two series are related on a plot level, but when it comes to pure quality, fire force is not as brilliant as its predecessor. A major reason why fire force became such a hit because of its wonderful animation done by David Production.

However, when it comes to fire forceIn the plot of, there are hardly any interesting elements that give the audience enough substance to hope for future outcomes. The characters also don’t go through decent development arcs, and many of their roles are reduced to being plot devices. Tamaki suffers from this, who is only there to showcase random wardrobe malfunctions that happen too often.

6

Charlotte couldn’t live up to Jun Maeda’s Angel Beats!

Charlotte should have been an amazing and moving anime that would maintain the reputation established by other popular works like Angel beats! from its creator, Jun Maeda. The beginning was also very promising, as it delved into a plot that highlighted not the benefits but the consequences of manifesting supernatural abilities. PA Works also delivered remarkable animation and music, and with the contribution of Jun Maeda alongside other composers, the series became a memorable experience.

However, it suffered from notable pacing issues and genre shifts, which became particularly egregious in the second half of the series. The conclusion also came too abruptly, offering little explanation for the events that were unfolding. Needless to say, this became one of Jun Maeda’s inferior works, with the studio production doing the heavy lifting.

5

Mashle: Magic and Muscles animation hides a basic story

Mashle: magic and muscles had all the elements that make up a good shonen anime. Yet none of the things it shows are elements that have never been witnessed before, from its plot to its characters. Here, the story follows Mash Burnedead, an aspiring mage without any magical powers, who plans to survive in his world with the help of his brawn. In fact, he might just be the strongest entity around when it comes to raw physical strength.

This naturally leads to many hilarious moments, as Mash’s deadpan attitude clashes with the expectations of the mages he still needs to convince that he’s just like them. The problem here is that while the comedy works at times, it becomes redundant after a while. At the end, Mashle: magic and muscles ends up looking like a smaller version of The one-punch man with clear Harry Potter parallel.

4

Wistoria: Wand and Sword remains an underrated fantasy anime

Wistoria: wand and sword certainly had a lot of potential to become the next best shonen anime, but its reliance on clichés exposed its weak structure. There is a seemingly shy and talentless main character, who is actually very strong in his own right. He also shows immense and intense devotion to his childhood friend, who is a generational talent in the magician field.

This type of setup is almost a direct ripoff of another light novel, Is it wrong to try to pick up girls in a dungeon?by the same author, Omori Fujino. It draws heavily on familiar elements from that series, but with a stronger shonen slant and a Harry Potter– as a structure woven into its world-building. Although the animation by Actas and Bandai Namco Pictures is beautiful with great use of CGI, it still falls short of making Wisteria a good standalone anime.

3

Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress is not the next attack on Titan

Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress is an engaging anime with a decent storyline, but it’s undeniably a blatant copy of Attack on Titan. The similarities aren’t limited to common survival themes, as even the characters look similar. Hiroyuki Sawano’s music gave this anime the same greatness as Attack on Titan, but it still didn’t live up to the brilliance of the first.

Here, the setup is rushed toward the end and the conclusion feels unconvincing because it doesn’t offer legitimate closure. Still, it’s certainly true that the animation is stunning and confirms that Wit Studio was one of the main reasons behind Attack on Titansuccess. If Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress If she had retained more of her individuality, she could have escaped the endless comparisons and the negative reactions that accompanied them.

2

Bucchigiri?! is MAPPA’s most disappointing project

With MAPPA, one of the best companies today, dealing with production, Bucchigiri?! has become one of the most exciting prospects of his season. Even initially the premise seemed good with the inclusion of genies, that too in a Yanki style anime. However, just after a few episodes, the anime became unbearable with its story happening nowhere and everywhere, all at the same time.

The protagonist was also far from likable, with a personality that mostly revolved around being infatuated with someone who clearly hated his advances. Ultimately, an anime with so much potential managed to sabotage itself, producing a climax that was even more disappointing than its story. The only saving grace of Bucchigiri?! is that it has very good animation, thanks to its studio.

1

Lazarus disappointed all Cowboy Bebop fans

The hype around Lazarus came through the legacy of its creator, Shinichiro Watanabe, who also created Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, etc. It also introduced incredible collaboration, as Chad Stahelski, the director of John Wick films, designed the action sequences here. So, this time too, fans were expecting a realistic action thriller with engaging writing that would do justice to Watanabe’s fantastic reputation.

However, despite all this, Lazarus ultimately turned out to be a disappointing series, one that paid little attention to the actual writing and relied far too heavily on flashy fights. For most episodes, this wasted time on too many subplots that had little to do with the main conflict. Ultimately, the series’ twist landed with almost no weight, leaving Lazarus memorable purely for its visuals.