The idea of “disappointment” is subjective, but it usually hits hardest when expectations are shattered spectacularly. While the quality drop of One Punch Man season 3 sparked a storm on social media, at least it still carried a recognizable name. Below is a list of highly anticipated anime that turned into disasters due to weak scripts, poor animation quality, and losing their core identity.
1. One Punch Man Season 3
After a controversial studio change following season 2, One Punch Man fans still hoped J.C. Staff would deliver a quality adaptation, especially with the manga at a peak storyline. However, those hopes were crushed from the very first episode.
Season 3 lacked smooth animation. Instead, it relied on a series of static images creating an illusion of movement, making viewers feel like they were watching a comic book slideshow on PowerPoint. Notably, there’s a scene where Garou slides on grass with no effects, looking as if the character was moved by a mouse cursor.
Beyond animation flaws, many valuable side scenes were cut, weakening the overall story. One episode even broke the record for the worst IMDb rating. Although recent episodes showed some improvement, J.C. Staff’s reputation and One Punch Man season 3’s legacy are cemented as one of 2025’s worst anime.
2. Your Forma
Your Forma held tremendous potential. With a setting blending Ghost in the Shell and Psycho-Pass vibes, and a plot following inspector Echika and android partner Harold investigating memory-access technology, it should have been a sci-fi masterpiece.
However, director Takaharu Ozaki made a fatal mistake by skipping Volume 1 of the light novel. This volume contained crucial character introductions, story foundations, and the unique mechanics of Your Forma technology. Cutting this left the anime without context or motivation, confusing viewers about character relationships and referenced events. Your Forma perfectly illustrates how the highest potential can lead to the greatest disappointment.
3. The Beginning After The End
This anime adaptation of the manhwa tells the story of a king’s reincarnation. Yet, its animation quality became an unforgivable issue. The show felt stiff and motionless, earning the mocking nickname “The Still Frame After The End” online. Transition effects were compared to those found on the Capcut app.
Story-wise, it offered nothing new. Supporting characters existed only to highlight the protagonist, who lacked humanity and was trapped in a boring shonen mold.
4. Turkey! Time to Strike
Featuring a quirky plot about a bowling-obsessed girl struck by lightning and transported to the Sengoku era, Turkey! Time to Strike initially promised a survival and historical mystery story. Instead, its quality steadily declined, falling into forced “power of friendship” clichés.
The biggest problem was losing its identity. Viewers couldn’t tell if the anime was about bowling, time travel, or the Sengoku period. It seemed lost within its own genre, lacking clear focus.
5. The Shiunji Family Children
Adapted from Reiji Miyajima, creator of Rent-A-Girlfriend, The Shiunji Family Children poses an intriguing premise: what happens when you discover your siblings aren’t blood-related?
Instead of exploring complex psychological themes of love and admiration, the anime quickly gets stuck in fanservice territory. The story feels disjointed, humorless, and paced like a stuck gear. It seems to have abandoned meaningful storytelling to cater to fans seeking only fanservice.
6. #Compass2.0: Animation Project
This anime had a concept similar to SAO or Fate but failed to create its own appeal. #Compass2.0 felt like a game trailer on repeat throughout the season. Everything happened too fast yet ended hollow. The story lacked logic, world rules were vague, and battles felt weightless. The studio focused too much on visual effects and forgot the most important anime duty: delivering a compelling story.
7. Kimi to Koete Koi ni Naru
Considered one of the worst taboo-themed anime of the year, this series tells a romantic story between a human girl and a human-dog character. Instead of exploring themes like fighting discrimination, it indulged in unnecessary and offensive fanservice scenes. The fact that the main character is still a student makes the story even more problematic, turning characters into inhumane beings focused only on primal instincts.