Anime That Had Surprisingly Steep Declines In Quality

It's only natural that some people would be hyped to the moon and back for certain anime series that show off their incredible animation, fun storytelling, memorable characters, and everything else along the same lines. These shows make a strong first impression and attract a ton of fans, with fans expecting greater things with each successive season and episode.

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So, it can be heartbreaking for viewers to see an anime they're invested in experience a sudden drop in quality that is simply astonishing. It's hard to comprehend how a series with unlimited potential ended up falling off in such a brazen manner. A lot of factors contribute to this unwanted drop-off, turning what could've been a legendary anime series into a warning of how poor a production cycle can doom an anime's hype.

5 The Promised Neverland

Season 2 Completely Undid Everything The First Season Did Great In Record Time

The first season of The Promised Neverland was one of the most riveting watches that viewers could enjoy. The mystery of the orphanage where children are being fed to demons is a harrowing revelation, with the children banding together to escape the orphanage in a thrilling series that is beautiful to watch despite its unnerving moments. It's an amazing season that leaves fans salivating for more, which is why the second season is so disappointing.

Instead of taking things at a reasonable pace, the second season royally dropped the ball and removed any of the tension or mind games that made the original run such a huge hit. The orphans are just handed everything on a silver plate instead of working for it. To make things worse, one of the best arcs in the series is skipped entirely, leading to a rushed ending that felt like an insult to fans who wanted to see this series get the adaptation it deserved.

4 One-Punch Man

J.C. Staff Were Facing An Uphill Battle Living Up To Madhouse's Standards

Back when Madhouse was at the top of its game, One-Punch Man wowed fans with its incredible animation and hilarious comedic timing, letting viewers enjoy an incredible series that took over pop culture. Saitama quickly established himself as one of the most iconic anime protagonists of all time, boasting seemingly limitless reserves of power with no equal to find. Fans expected more of the same from Season 2 despite a lengthy delay.

However, while the story was adapted faithfully, one area where this adaptation was a huge step down from its predecessor was the animation quality. Madhouse's impressive work set a high standard that J.C. Staff didn't meet, with a lot of the animation feeling flat. It's a shame, and fans can only hope that the animation quality of Season 3 reaches the levels that One-Punch Man achieved with its first season.

3 Ninja Kamui

The Show Lost Its Edge After Replacing Its Hand-To-Hand Action With Boring Mecha Fights

Ninja Kamui is a show that wowed fans with its amazing hand-to-hand combat, with the animation flowing smoothly. It was the series' biggest strength and something it should've stuck with, but the series made the cardinal mistake of integrating CGI that was far from fleshed out. Shifting to mecha battles was a death blow for the series' hype, especially since everything from the designs to the animation was sub-par at best.

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This led to Ninja Kamui falling flat after just four episodes, which makes for one of the most sudden and shocking drop-offs in quality for any series. Viewers found it hard to sit through the scenes where flat CGI mechs fought without any style whatsoever. If Ninja Kamui had stuck to its hand-to-hand battles, it could've at least made a name for itself with its fights alone, but the hype of this series died down entirely after fans voiced their displeasure about the dip in quality.

2 Death Note

A Huge Turning Point In The Anime Turned One Of The Best Thrillers Into An Average One At Best

It's no secret that Death Note is one of the most popular shonen thrillers of all time. Light's attempts to become a god by punishing criminals with heart attacks to send a message led to a battle of wits as his Kira persona was hunted down by a genius detective named L. The fact that this show managed to keep viewers engaged with dialogue alone is a huge achievement for this mystery series.

Until L dies, Death Note is a must-watch shonen anime. It's a shame that the arc following this one is nowhere near as engaging, introducing bootleg and edgy versions of L who aren't all that compelling. The show turns into a run-of-the-mill mystery anime after this point, which is a huge step back from the unputdownable nature of the first few episodes that fans can't get enough of to this day.

1 Uzumaki: Spiral Into Horror

No Anime Has Ever Fallen Off So Hard After A Single Episode

The first episode of Uzumaki sparked a wave of praise from Junji Ito fans who were craving a good adaptation of this horror mangaka's work. Despite the first episode being a bit too fast-paced at times, there's no denying that the animation of this episode was in a class of its own. Fans of the mangaka rejoiced and wondered how the second episode would build up on this promise, only to receive a slap in the face a week later.

Instead of more of the stellar animation that fans loved, the show was littered with lazy frames, laughable scares, and behind-the-scenes drama as producer Jason DeMarco went public with his complaints about how he was betrayed by a third party and forced to drop the quality to meet deadlines. There's no excuse for a four-episode miniseries to suffer such a massive drop in quality, and fans accepted that they'd have to wait longer before a worthy Junji Ito anime adaptation would grace them.

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