The Worst Anime Arcs Ever Ranked!
Anime is great for the most part, however there are often dull and unsatisfying episodes. Longer-running anime have more unpopular anime arcs, though this is not always the case.
Fan disappointment is common in long-running anime because story arcs can become tedious or drawn out. And here is the definitive list of the worst story arcs in anime history.
Due to their length and lack of interest, certain anime arcs can get rather dull. Fans will no longer support them because of this. The majority of these sorts of anime arcs are filler, like Bleach’s Bount Arc.
10. The Final Arc – Death Note
Death Note is widely regarded as a classic among anime works. If you polled a group of 10 people, 9 of them would identify this as their first experience with anime. It is a novel and interesting premise and is written extremely well….at least initially.
But after L passed away, it was excruciating to watch because L’s successors weren’t quite as wonderful. Mello and Near were both much less astute than L, thus they resorted to dishonest means to defeat Light.
It was one of the most hated anime arcs ever because so many viewers gave up when L died.
9. Bount Arc – Bleach
Because it focused primarily on Ichigo coping with lesser Hollows and adjusting to his new existence as a soul reaper, the first arc of Bleach, the Agent of Shinigami Arc, was somewhat dull. However, the subsequent arc involving Rukia’s rescue was excellent.
Fans were thrilled to witness Ichigo square off against such legendary figures as Ikkaku, Kenpachi, and Byakuya. The Bount Arc, however, was a major downgrade from the previous arc, and thus all of that anticipation was for naught. It was tedious, tedious, and utterly disheartening.
Because of this, Bleach was never able to recover from its initial setback.
8. Zoldyck Retrieval Arc – Hunter×Hunter
Hunter x Hunter is often cited as the first of its kind in the Shounen subgenre of animation. It’s fascinating and keeps you on your toes the whole time. The story’s conclusion, however, did not reflect this.
We don’t learn anything about the characters that we haven’t already learned from earlier or later arcs, and there aren’t too many exciting things that happen in this one. This plot line barely had any use.
7. The Endless Eight – The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
The Endless Eight arc was extremely repetitive and ultimately failed to communicate its intended meaning. The tale was drawn out for 8 episodes instead of quickly establishing that the protagonists are constantly repeating the same day.
Except for the most devoted Haruhi Suzumiya fans, I wouldn’t bother watching this arc.
6. Eclipse Celestial Spirits Arc – Fairy Tail
Fairy Tail is a long series with a lot of filler arcs, however they aren’t particularly well-received. While there are some enjoyable filler episodes, the Eclipse Celestial Spirits arc is by far the worst.
The main theme involves Gods and Goddesses who ignore human pleas for help. Although the idea was novel, the execution fell flat. It had illogical plots and sloppy writing.
It’s excruciating to watch since it ignores pretty crucial topics like the dynamic between Celestial Spirits and the humans who call upon them in favor of the most irrelevant details.
5. Final Arc – Fullmetal Alchemist
An intriguing anime, Fullmetal Alchemist followed the adventures of Alphonse and Edward, two brothers who wanted to bring back their dead mother. All of this, though, was thrown under the bus when Ed made a senseless sacrifice.
This dude, instead of going to see his brother, decides to risk his life to save some random troops. Frustratingly, this was one of the worst things Ed could have done, turning an otherwise excellent animation into complete and utter gibberish.
4. Final Arc – Soul Eater
Soul Eater was an excellent anime with a refreshing visual style and compelling story. Maka, who together with her companion Soul, seeks to amass 99 souls and achieve the status of Death Scythe, is the protagonist. The plot, however, goes off the tracks in its last act.
The show’s last episodes make no more effort to advance the plot. Its finale felt quite counterintuitive to what was initially planned, and it took a complete 180 from the manga, so it was not well received.
3. The Garlic Jr. Saga – Dragon Ball Z
Due to temporal discrepancies between the manga and the adaptation, the Dragon Ball series is projected to feature considerable filler, making it one of the longest-running series of all time. However, the Garlic Jr. Saga arc is among the worst filler arcs in anime.
It has earned its reputation as one of the worst story arcs in anime history.This arc completely disregarded Gohan’s previous growth and forced him to fight an unnecessary adversary. As a result of this catastrophe, it has become one of the least-liked storylines in history.
2. 4th Shinobi World War Arc – Naruto: Shippuden
One of the most watched anime series of all time is Naruto. It also features an absurd number of filler episodes, for which it is infamous. Filler ‘arcs’ are used in the Naruto series instead of filler episodes, which are used in other anime.
The fourth Shinobi War arc was the one where the most viewers stopped watching, likely because of its length and the prevalence of flashback no jutsu. It was boring and there was a lot of filler in the plot.
Because of this, it eventually collapsed and became widely despised. It’s a shame, too, because the war arc features some of the best battles in the game. My advice is to skip the introduction and get right to the meat of the story.
1. Goat Island Arc – One Piece
One Piece has been thrilling viewers for 12 years because of its inventive storylines and character arcs. The plot becomes more interesting as each new section unfolds.
We can’t really hold Oda responsible for the fact that one of One Piece’s arcs failed, especially because it was a filler. The arc set on Goat Island was calm and contained no dangerous bad guys.
Well, that’s not a problem, but there aren’t any intriguing details, therefore I wouldn’t recommend this arc.
