The year 2025 saw a massive surge in anime popularity worldwide. However, amid dozens of quality titles, some shows crossed the line, becoming the focus of harsh criticism due to controversial content and flawed storytelling. Notably, two of these series featured toxic storylines so damaging they seriously hurt the anime industry’s reputation in the public eye.
Here are the top three anime that fans would rather forget in 2025.
3. Rent-a-Girlfriend Season 4
The biggest question online this year has been: “Why hasn’t this show been canceled yet?” Rent-a-Girlfriend started with promise, but by season four it became a painful experience for viewers. The stagnant relationship between Kazuya and Chizuru drags on with no meaningful development despite dozens of episodes.
The controversy stems from the show’s deliberate focus on Kazuya’s weak and incompetent personality whenever he’s near Chizuru, a problem that should have been resolved long ago. With the original manga ending amid harsh criticism for its frustrating conclusion for the male lead, the anime seems to be stalling with divisive plot points just to keep attention. It’s almost laughable that despite the backlash, a new season has already been confirmed.
2. Please Put Them On, Takamine-san
Before anime became as popular as it is today, many people held the stereotype that the genre was full of lewd content. Please Put Them On, Takamine-san only reinforced those ugly assumptions. The show offers very little beyond cheap, tasteless scenes that tarnish the image of Japanese animation.
The plot centers on a male student who accidentally witnesses the student council president… removing her underwear. Takamine, the president who can rewind time to fix mistakes, drags the protagonist into her absurd antics. The series is filled with uncomfortable moments, focusing entirely on eroticism without any real story depth or character development.
1. The Shiunji Family Children
Topping the list is the new work from the creator of Rent-a-Girlfriend. It seems that after the success of “Rent-a-Girlfriend,” the author decided to push controversy to a whole new, far more toxic level. The story follows seven siblings in the ultra-wealthy Shiunji family. However, the twist is that they are not actually related by blood.
Things take a darker turn as the “sisters” develop romantic feelings for their eldest brother. The entire plot revolves around these ambiguous relationships without offering any real excitement or drama. The Shiunji Family Children is widely regarded as the most controversial “trash” anime of 2025, leaving fans wishing it had never existed to avoid tarnishing modern anime’s reputation.