Please note that this is not a Top 10 Worst Anime of 2017 list. Rather, this is a list of the worst anime I watched in 2017, as in it doesn’t have to have aired in 2017 to make it, only that I had to have finished (a majority of) it in 2017.

You know the drill. Let’s just get this over with.

#10: Mai-HiME

(My “full” thoughts)

Score: 4.5/10

A quick note, not quite indicative of this entry on the list but towards the post in general: many of these will also be from my latest Summer of Anime… where I kinda-sorta skimmed later portions of shows for the sake of my sanity. That said, there are going to be explanations that linger upon “I remember nothing about it” as to why they’re bad… though that is partially my own fault as much as it is the anime’s.

This is one of them. Mai-HiME is an incredibly forgettable experience, though I recall enjoying the first few episodes. I remember the ending being rife with THE POWER OF EMOTIONS!!! and a lot of stupid bullshit for the sake of presenting a happy ending. I also recall the female lead being a real cunt for no reason. More than anything, though, this anime is on the list for being unoriginal, as well as its incredibly melodramatic ending arc.

#9: Arslan Senki (Season Two)

(My full thoughts)

Score: 4/10

This I remember fairly well. I remember how bland it is, I remember how simple everything was, and how much better it was all done in the first season (not that it was much better). Characters were predictably one-dimensional, and the reintroduction of Arslan’s father was hilariously ripe with logical inconsistencies—rather, his father even being there was only a plot point, an excuse to have Arslan continue his own little “group.” It all felt like child’s play.

It’s almost funny that this was written by the guy who wrote Legend of the Galactic Heroes.

#8: Overlord

(My full thoughts)

Score: 4/10

Self-serving, escapist pandering that offers nothing new or interesting. Next.

#7: Renai Boukun

(My “full” thoughts)

Score: 3.5/10

For a little while, I found myself enjoying how stupid this series knew it was and how effectively it embraced being incredibly off-the-walls. The prospect of developing real emotional feedback between others through manipulation and sport is something the series mocks pretty nicely, though like most, it does little more than just the basic renditions of parody. And as a final stab to its own mocking nature, it goes down the route of true dramatic fashion: “You mean this person who I initially found somewhat of a nuisance is actually really nice and I like her?! I hope I don’t face a situation where she’s at risk of leaving me forev—Oops.”

Another example of an anime that could’ve been an okay show—though without much charm outside of its one-note facade—had it kept down the road of complete parody. Characters are clearly overexaggerated and ridiculous, poking fun at trends that viewers find moe, and the series employs so many sweet moments (that mean nothing) that it’s like a romanticist’s dream, except it isn’t really romantic. What could have been.

#6: Ao no Kanata no Four Rhythm

(My full thoughts)

Score: 3/10

In my parent post for this anime, I made a joke about how I forgot all of the series after the span of ten minutes. Six months later, and until this point in this countdown, it’s actually one of the most memorable series I watched during the last Summer. Not because it’s really much different from other anime, but because the premise was somewhat different and the characters’ motivations were plastered on their faces so blatantly and so often that it’s hard to forget. Also like Renai Boukun, I started off thinking this show was okay, and by no means deserving of a 3/10. Then, it just kind of derailed into monotony.

Has anyone reading this ever seen a Sports show? Anything to do with direct competition? Ao no Kanata no Four Rhythm has, too, because it ripped off all of them. The same themes, the same characters, and the same things that make an ultimately pointless show all the more unwatchable. This is an interesting case of “This show is bad because it has absolutely no value,” rather than “This show is bad because of huge flaws to its components.”

There is nothing particularly wrong with Four Rhythm. Only that it does absolutely nothing right. It’s a by-the-numbers show with a semi-interesting premise of anti-gravity competitions or whatever, though it receives no points for making the matches at all easy-to-follow or logical (or entertaining).

#5: Inou-Battle wa Nichijou-kei no Naka de

(My full thoughts)

Score: 3/10

Ahhh… I don’t really remember much from this one, either.

I remember… thinking the main protagonist was a funny parody figure at first. And then he became normal shit. There was… really stupid reasons for all the girls to be infatuated with him. Because he was nice to them all once? I think? And then they all had powers, real powers. Powers that were incredibly exploitable to their situations. One of ’em could create anything she wanted, if I remember correctly. Why not “create” a trillion yen? That’d be pretty cool, huh?

Wasted potential and a typical bust in the vein of light-novel adaptations. Next.

#4: Drifters

(My full thoughts)

Score: 3/10

It’s painful to remember this one, something I have full capability of doing.

They all look so fucking stupid. It’s a really petty reason to have to despise a series, but it really, really bothered me with Drifters. All the characters have these giant smug grins plastered on their faces 24/7 and get into power struggles with one another all the time because that’s all they are: symbols of power. Y’know what’s interesting as a character? A one-dimensional “badass” who kills everything without even trying. Fuck characters with “development” or “conflict” or “complexity.” Let’s just have historical figures that people recognize fight one another for shits and giggles. Marvel’s pretty good at having IP orgies, right? (Except these characters aren’t IP.)

With petty preferences out of the way, Drifters is a show that wishes to dazzle with distinct art and unabashed chaos. Violence and mayhem; these things are successfully brought to light in the darkest of intentions. Only thing is, I don’t care. I don’t care about these characters, the situation they’re in, or the world they’ve now found themselves in. I don’t care about the gruesome violence or the incredibly bad attempts at comedy (probably took notes from Disney) sprinkled in. Why? Because nothing is properly explained or given meaning. They’re in this new world because some other-dimension superpowers… uhh… Alright, hold on. I have to check my own god damn post.

I didn’t even really mention why the world exists. Huh. Guess I didn’t care enough then, either.

#3: Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya (All Seasons)

(My “full” thoughts)

Score: 3, 2, 2, and 3/10

Auuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuughhghghghghhghghghgh…

AUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGHGHGHGHGHGHGFKDBVKEWSDBCVKWASBDECSLDCJS.DCBSJLDBCF;SBDVCLSBC;BS;KDCB;SBDCSBCSNCBSLCNSCJBSLDNCKSBCLKNCBSDJCBSLDCSBCKBS;KCB;KSND;CKBS;KDCJB;SKDBC;KSBDC;KSB;SC;KSBDLCKBSDCB;KSJBDCLKSBD;KCJBSDKCSDNCSD;CBNW;BD;WNCD;BWS;CB;DLCNJSNBDCK;SDCJB;DBSDLCJBSLKBD;LSDBHBSD;CS;DB;KSD;CLWS;C;SKDC;LKJSDK;C;SHNCD;OSH;;LCKN;AJCBH;SWD’LSKDNC;KSD;CNS;KDC;SLDC;KSDC;SDC;SD;KCSDCN;KSDCB;SBC;KSD;KCBSD;CBS;KCDBLSDHBLSDJH

Hooooooooooooo… Yeah. This is an anime. This is… Fuck me.

#2: Donten ni Warau

(My “full” excuse)

Score: 2/10

I feel kinda shitty putting this up here. I feel shitty even marking it as “Completed” on my anime list. I feel really shitty for using it as a free space during the latest Summer, which tested my god damn patience to a level where I’m ashamed to admit my own behavior during. The truth is, I didn’t really watch Donten ni Warau. I basically skimmed it. Every episode but the first, I skimmed. Saying I watched this is like saying that water is wet. It’s not… really wrong, but technically… yeah.

Still, it’s a 2/10 because what I did watch was really boring… not that I really gave it a chance to do anything. Yeah, I’m just gonna move on.

#1: Sakurako-san no Ashimoto ni wa Shitai ga Umatteiru

(End me)

Score: 2/10

I have good news and bad news.

The good news is, I didn’t watch any 1/10’s (series) this year.

The bad news is, I felt like I did regardless.

Sakurako-san has a really intriguing premise. That’s it. The rest of it is complete garbage. Characters, plot execution, the main character being a super-genius just because, art design, value, pacing, believability or relatability, and a point. It is very close to a complete waste of time, and I say almost because there are, strange as it may seem, moments of sweetness to it that are enjoyable to people with expectations. Otherwise, it’s nothing, and deserves to be buried with the same old bones the female lead has such a fascination for.

More unoriginal than Four Rhythm, more pretentious than Drifters, and nearly as eye-roll-enducing and generally cringey as Fate/kaleid. Sakurako-san‘s pretty much the whole bad package.

God.

The rating for these titles and all others can be found on MyAnimeList.