Most of the best anime series of all time come from amazing source material, like a well-known manga, manhwa, or series of light novels. These shows usually come with built-in fans, as thousands of people can't wait to see their favorite manga get brought to life on-screen. Unfortunately, their anime adaptation isn't always as successful as it should be. There are a few studios in anime synonymous with amazing work, but not every studio is known for creating quality anime.
There are a ton of great stories that have been poorly animated. Excellent source material should make for an excellent manga, but there are a few studios that just drop the ball. If these manga series were picked up by a different animation studio, they could have become classics. Maybe they'll get another adaptation, but until then, they'll only be known for their terribly animated anime series.
9 The Way of the Househusband
Animated By J.C. Staff, Based on the Manga By Kousuke Oono
The Way of the Househusband could have been an excellent anime series, and maybe even one of the best anime series about the yakuza. It stars a former yakuza boss as he looks to step away from his life of crime to his wife. While she works, he stays at home like a househusband. It's an interesting premise that gets even better as the series progresses.
Unfortunately, the animation behind The Way of the Househusband can barely be called animation at all. The series looks more like a slideshow presentation than an actual anime. Instead of animating fully realized scenes, animation studio J.C. Staff animated single images at a time, creating a terrible experience for anyone looking forward to the series.
8 Dororo (Episode 15)
Produced by Tezuka Productions, Animated By MAPPA, Based on the Manga By Osamu Tezuka
Dororo is one of the darkest anime series of all time. The story is set in the Sengoku era of Japan where a daimyo sacrifices his son to several demons in order for his land to benefit. His son, Hyakkimaru, then goes around and slays the demons in order to get his body back, destroying the daimyo's land in the process.
Most of Dororo has decent animation, but there is one episode that is animated so poorly that it's hard to look past. Episode 15 is filled with outlandish animation, including an awkward running segment that makes Hyakkimaru look like a stick figure, a monster attack that doesn't make sense, and more.
7 Seven Deadly Sins
Animated By A-1 Pictures, Based on the Manga by Nakaba Suzuki
A-1 Pictures is normally one of the best animation studios in Japan, with Solo Leveling. The Seven Deadly Sins should have been another one of their masterpieces, but the animation quality just isn't there. The manga that the anime is based on was already incredibly successful, but the anime adaptation let the series down.

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There are a lot of frames in The Seven Deadly Sins that don't make any sense at all. While a moving art form like anime shouldn't really be judged by the still images within it, it can be hard to ignore them when there are so many errors. The main characters aren't always animated well, the fights look low-budget, and one of the series' biggest fights was a massive let down to many.
6 Overlord
Animated By Madhouse, Based on the Light Novel By Kugane Maruyama & so-bin
Overlord is one of the darkest isekai series ever made. The premise is one of the best reasons to watch the series: instead of tasking the main character, Ainz Ooal Gown, with saving the world, Overlord lets him dominate it. It's a great idea that makes for an amazing anime series, except for a few awkward moments.
Ainz is on the battlefield against more than 100,000 enemy soldiers when he unleashes a devastating spell, killing almost all of them in a few seconds. Madhouse chose to use computer graphics for this scene, animating all the enemy soldiers poorly. It's an odd moment that takes away from the scale of Ainz's actions and brings the quality of the series down with it.
5 Dragon Ball Super
Animated By Toei Animation, Based on the Manga By Akira Toriyama
The Dragon Ball Super anime should have been animated much better than it was. Dragon Ball is arguably the greatest manga/anime franchise of all time, and its latest iteration into the canon should have been treated with much more respect. There are several moments that make Dragon Ball Super feel subpar, and they all have to do with the animation.

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Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball DAIMA, the series that came out before and after Dragon Ball Super respectively, are handled with much more care. Fights are animated incredibly well, each still frame feels like it could be a great image in and of itself, and the transformations are about as good as it gets. Sadly, the same can't be said for Super.
4 Berserk (2016 Series)
Animated by GEMBA and Millepensee, Based on the Manga By Kentaro Miura
Berserk is a classic. It's one of the most well-respected manga series ever made, and creator Kentaro Miura has become known as one of the greatest mangakas ever because of it. Berserk hasn't had a true anime adaptation like most mangas that are handled by a single studio. Instead, there's a 1998 series, a trio of great movies, and a terrible 2016 series.
The 2016 series is bad for a couple of big reasons. First, it doesn't faithfully animate a lot of important moments from the Berserk manga. Second, instead of normal hand-drawn animation, the animation studios behind the series opted for computer graphic animation instead. It's a disappointing change for one of the most legendary series ever made.
3 One-Punch Man (Season Two)
Animated By J.C. Staff, Based on the Webcomic By ONE
The first season of One-Punch Man cemented itself as one of the freshest and most funny anime series around. The story centers around Saitama, the titular One-Punch Man who can defeat any villain with a single punch. Madhouse did a great job bringing the absurd series to life in the first season, but they weren't available for the second, leaving it to J.C. Staff instead.

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While the second season isn't as bad as a lot of other anime series, it's a pretty big drop off from the first season in of quality. The second season doesn't have that same unique feel that the first did, and it's a disappointing change for what could have been a great follow-up to what the first season put forward.
2 The Beginning After the End
Animated By Studio A-Cat, Based on the Web Novel/Webtoon By TurtleMe
The Beginning After the End had what it took to become the next big isekai series. The series stars King Grey reincarnated as a young boy named Arthur, and it handles all the common isekai tropes with excellence. Unfortunately, the anime adaptation looks dead in the water within the first three episodes.
The animation was so bad that the creator of the series, TurtleMe, came out with a public statement to address the significant backlash that the series was receiving. It's not often that a series receives so much negative press after just a few episodes that the creator has to step in and address it, but that's just how bad the animation is.
1 Tower of God (Second Season)
Animated By The Answer Studio, Based on the Manhwa/Webtoon By S.I.U.

Tower of God - Season 2
- Release Date
- July 7, 2024
- Network
- Tokyo MX, Gunma TV, BS11, Tochigi TV
- Series
- Tower of God
Tower of God could have been the next great shōnen series. Not only is the manhwa/Webtoon one of the most popular currently in circulation, but the first season was amazing. The first season featured a unique art style unlike anything in anime that was also a faithful recreation of the source material, great pacing, and ended at an incredible moment.
To call the second season a let-down would be a major understatement. The first season was animated by Telecom Animation Film, but the second was by The Answer Studio. The animation quality took a significant dive all around. Not only was the original style changed for something much more bland, but fights seemed like more of a PowerPoint presentation than actual fights.