I didn’t even have twelve bad series this year. Dang.
It is time to get serious. These are the worst series that aired 2012 (of the ones I have seen, at least).
Which were the worst in your opinion?
If you are wondering why there are only ten series featured in this list, it is because I have not rated more than these below the average (5/10). And no, I count Guilty Crown as a series from 2011 since my view on it did not drastically change between the two years (it was always horrible).
Worst Anime of 2012
#10 Natsuyuki Rendezvous – 4/10
11 Episodes | Drama, Romance, Supernatural, Josei | Manga | Dogakobo | Summer 2012
Many have proclaimed over how mature and beautiful this anime is, but I could not disagree more. Natsuyuki Rendezvous is a love triangle where our main character, Hazuki, chases after the older woman Rokka, only to be constantly bugged by her deceased husband Shimao who has turned into a ghost.
What happens is absolutely nothing. Neither of the characters really develops throughout the series and Hazuki is even completely ignored in the latter half! He has no established reason to lust after Rokka (he comes off as desperate), so when the magical fluff happens and the story drags in all eternity, there is simply no reason to care about what happens to him.
The center of attention, Rokka, is not much better herself. Her only purpose is to be a glorified goal, a trophy for our two males to fight for. She does not have anything resembling a personality and does not do anything except hesitating every second she is on-screen.
Shimao honestly started off as interesting, especially when we learn his backstory. Sadly it never develops much more than that and he is instead used as a plot device during the latter half.
Speaking of the latter half, it consists of nothing. While the story may have progressed slowly the first few episodes it actually did move, if only a little. But it comes to a complete halt when the magical fluff starts happening, doing the exact same thing for six whole episodes! There is no character development, no story, no nothing. All we are left with is detestable characters doing jack-shit.
Is this “mature”? Exactly what is mature here? I think I am being too generous when scoring this series.
#9 Medaka Box – 4/10
12 Episodes | Action, Comedy, Ecchi, Shounen | Manga | Gainax | Spring 2012
Ah, Medaka Box, the manga that is supposed to be good despite receiving poor ratings in Shounen Jump each week. How I wonder why you sell so well and are appreciated by strangers on the Internet. There is nothing special to see here.
According to many, Medaka Box is a parody and that is the reason is switches genres all the time. In the start it is an episodic series about… doing a bunch of random tasks. Afterwards it does a complete 180° and evolves into a generic, if not worse, fighting series just for the sake of it. And nowhere is the parodying to be seen. It is not fun. It is far from anything that resembles the word “smart”.
Medaka Box is only boring. It is the perfect description of the series. It consists of endless talking without any kind of wittiness, which could be compared to banging my head to the wall. Gainax extremely dull adaptation does not help in the slightest either, not even trying to do cuts or changing camera angles to reduce the pain the dialogue causes. The fight scenes are also bland and not what one would associate Gainax with.
What saves the first season of Medaka Box is its episodic nature and the characters. Medaka herself is somewhat fun, being basically the perfect person, and the story never really slows down. There is something new to see, mostly, every week.
But why the heck is Medaka Box so loved? That is the only thing I wonder about.
#8 Kyousougiga (2012) – 3/10
5 ONA | Action, Supernatural | Anime Original | Toei Animation | Fall 2012
I will just copy what I said in the other post:
“This is a sequel to the random mess from fall 2011, but it fails to capture the spirit of its predecessor. Instead it consists of five different stories that lack the outstanding and playful animation and is left with absolutely nothing as Kyouusougiga‘s only strength is just that. In its final episode it explains the whole story of the series, but little could I care due to how boringly handled it is.”
#7 K – 3/10
13 Episodes | Action | Anime Original | GoHands | Fall 2012
Somewhere in the world lives a person who truly believed adding a blue and headache-inducing filter to K was a good idea. That person is responsible for one of the many headaches I got when watching this. The other ones were from the horribly unexplained beginning of the series, consisting only of running and pretty boys for two episodes straight, lack of character introduction (I only know the name of the three mains and that is because they are named Black, White and Cat (in Japanese)) and more.
At first K did not even seem to have any reason to exist except having a surprisingly strong cast of voice actors and pretty visuals. Nothing made sense and was overall poorly executed, simply put. But later on it steps up its game and something genuinely interesting is created, with a twist I did not expect. Sure, it was still very bad in every aspect (with a budget that became worse as the series went on), but at least it had me hooked.
In the end, the main gist was actually somewhat comprehensible! Sadly it does not excuse the lack of characters, the bad start, the blue filter, the unexplained backstory, the unexplained fighting, the unexplained everything. But, hey, at least it surprised me.
One thing which confuses me is that K will have a sequel, something which is off seeing how the ending was a conclusive one (or, more accurately, as conclusive K could get). I guess money runs the world after all.
#6 Kono Naka ni Hitori, Imouto ga Iru! – 3/10
12 Episodes | Comedy, Ecchi, Harem | Light Novel | Studio Gokumi | Summer 2012
Also known as Who is Imouto?, the most fantastic harem series there is. This is so dumb it is fun. Who in their right mind would actually be attracted to any of these characters? Why does it take its slight mystery aspect so seriously? Why does it censor… butts, creating black holes? Why anything?
Why is this so perfect? Every episode made me laugh. Every episode was full of EXCITE.
Who is Imouto? is so shitty, yet so good.
#5 Another – 3/10
12 Episodes | Mystery, Horror | Novel | P.A. Works | Winter 2012
Believe it or not, but despite the fact that it calls itself a “horror anime” it is actually a comedy. Every death in this Final Destination–esque anime is hilarious and not frightening in the slightest. If you believe this is scary you seriously need to watch something better, because playing dramatic music along with deadpan expressions is really, really funny.
The deaths become even better as the series goes on and in its “finale” it is truly god-awful.
I have heard there is supposed to be some kind of plot about one person being the cause of all the deaths, but I think that is wrong. There is no plot. Only funny deaths.
Dear P.A. Works, when will you actually do something great?
#4 Medaka Box Abnormal – 3/10
12 Episodes | Action, Shounen | Manga | Gainax | Fall 2012
Read what I wrote on Medaka Box and apply it here. This season is all about fights, however, and not very good ones at that. Add shounen power-ups, bland directing and a really bad story and you got this series. I mostly let the episode run in the background while doing other things.
At least the fights could have looked pretty.
But nope, they were awful.
You will never be as good as you once were, Gainax.
#3 Litchi DE Hikari Club – 2/10
8 Episodes | “Comedy” | Manga | Kachidoki Studio | Fall 2012
Take a competent and creepy manga and make it into a Flash comedy.
Wait, scratch that.
This is not a comedy.
It is not even funny.
#2 Eureka Seven AO – 2/10
24 Episodes | Action, Mecha, Sci-Fi | Anime Original | Bones | Spring 2012
No character development. Plot holes. Dropped subplots. Overpowered villain. Rushed ending. Bad pacing. Identity crisis. And too much more.
All shit.
What were you thinking of, Bones?
#1 Sword Art Online – 2/10
25 Episodes | Action, Adventure, Fantasy, “Romance” | Light Novel | A-1 Pictures | 2012
I really want to believe that Sword Art Online is a joke. That is was only created with sales in mind and not in the belief that it was good. There is nothing in here that is actually defendable unless you are the type of person who can overlook everything and still have a good time.
The writing is horrible. Sword Art Online’s first arc, SAO, is cluttered with side-stories that introduces characters that disappears the episode after; that tries to build upon its world, only to later completely ignore every rule that has been set (love conquers paralysis stats!); tries to cover the fact that the main story is only six episodes long (eight are side-stories) and not fleshed out and much more.
The pacing is horrible and the idea of 10,000 persons being trapped in a game is not felt at all throughout watching. There is no sense of urgency or importance. Our lead Kirito is the overpowered “perfect boy” with the waifu Asuna at his side. We do not know what they feel. Heck, there is no established reason for them to even like each other in the first place except for the sake of it.
It amazes me that people claim that the light novels of Sword Art Online are better than the anime, when the problems lie in the writing. Giving the villain a motive? Nope. Breaking the rules? Nope. Introducing deus ex machinas so Kirito can win? No problem, it happens all the time. It is nothing short of laughable.
Maybe the light novels delve into Kirito’s thoughts or a few more details regarding the game mechanics, but that is the least problem Sword Art Online has. Originally I was going to challenge myself and actually read the first light novel to see if I was wrong or not, but after having seen the second arc, ALO, there is simply no reason to.
ALO takes up the second half of the series and reduces Asuna to a damsel in distress. Here the writing is even worse and adds a lot of fanservice to please the fans. The villain this time has no reason to exist besides making viewers hate him and the finale is… probably one of the worst things I have seen in anime.
I notice how I am starting to repeat myself as I write this, but that is because there is nothing else to say. Sword Art Online is a horrible disaster. There is no redeemable factor besides that it sells well, which is a quality in itself when the material is this bad.
I just want to ask.
Why do people even like Sword Art Online?
Anime Viking 
stupid list
I like your style.
Clearly, “stephen” is an SAO fan. When two of my editors/writers wrote their discourse on the anime of Summer 2012, they hardcore bashed on SAO. Our readers hated it. It’s a fun anime, but I agree — it sucks!
kys
Sure!
Agreed. A few of them aren’t that bad and it doesn’t even include Bodacious Space Pirates which was god awful.
I haven’t seen that one.
i agree
I have no idea why people like SAO and I’ve stayed away from all of your list (except SAO) so I think I made all the right decisions!
But I’d really like to know which series you did like. You have a “best opening” and “best ending” for this season. How about doing a ten best anime of 2012 post?
Well, the “Best Anime of 2012” post is up now! https://animeviking.wordpress.com/2012/12/30/the-twelve-best-anime-of-2012/
People like SAO because of its plot, and ignore everything else completely. I still had some enjoyment of the anime (skimmed the 2nd arc), but I’m seriously pissed off at the potential that was wasted. In my opinion, though, it has a god like plot, only it was comepletely wasted
Mm I started Natsuyuki but I dropped it after three episodes, the characters are boring and the story quite predicatble. Someone even gave a reason why a strange boy like Hizuki have to fall in love with a girl like Rokka? There is a reason behind? Shimao stubborness is quite more comprehensible. I watched all the “Another” episodes and I found it less interesting episode after episode and the two main characters more awfully crazy ( expecially the boy) as the story developed. There are also some incosistencies and strangeness in the plot in the behaviour of almost every characters (presente and past ones).
I’ve also read that the Sword art online novel is highly rated, at least on BU, that is quite strange for a novel so I’m a bit temptetd to read it. As you surely know a some manga /anime adapted from novel are worse than the nove itslef…but who knows?
Nothing concrete. To be honest, love is weird at times and there is not always an explanation, but… here it feels lacking.
I think the light novels actually have Kirito’s inner thoughts, so that’s something for the better! Tell me what you thought if you ever read them 🙂
Marow
“I think the light novels actually have Kirito’s inner thoughts, so that’s something for the better! Tell me what you thought if you ever read them :)”
Surely I’l do. I’m currently reading the first novel of Hyouka that isn’t so bad as espected ( the anime is sometime kinda boring and some “misterys” are..well are really misterys?), I’ve already planned to start Sword art Online when I’ll finish Hyouka 1.
for now, Happy new Year
Nah, I think SAO is pretty far from the worst of the bunch (even though it is bad). At least it’s pretty, and the story isn’t riddled with holes (even though it’s dumb). Here and there we got pretty decent episodes (those where the charcaters shut their stupid mouths and just fight it out).
I think K, Gulity Crown and Eureka Seven AO are all worse.
I’m not really sure. Kirito using plothax all the time is pretty bad to me.
Thing is, at least AO had me somewhat interested. SAO didn’t have that.
And I count Guilty Crown as an anime from last year.
I see someone is still in denial about a certain Bones sequel (But I understand you). Other than that, I thought Another was pretty decent. Not the best, but decent.
What sequel? I’m confused. Are you perhaps talking about the movie?
Finally, Marow.
A list the both of us agree on. *hi five*
I never thought this day would come.
*hi five*
It’d be hard for my to make a list of the worst anime considering I don’t continue watching series below a certain enjoyment level. The only one that would definitely be on that list would be Symphogear, which I only watched for the music.
As for SAO, it was kinda silly, but I liked it for the following reasons: those 6 episodes were good, Kirito’s not a pansy, and I loved the animation. Sure, my standards have dropped, but considering the quality of the other action/shounen anime that have been airing recently, SAO does stand out.
When I watch something bad I appreciate the good much more! It is also interesting to see a bad series. Kinda hard to explain. It just is.
I actually thought SAO looked pretty dull towards the end, but maybe that’s just me. The budget got worse as it went on and it showed in some cases. There have been a lot of series that looked better this year, in my opinion. Hyouka is the prime example.
This is why I rated Natsuyuki Rendezvous as N/A. I knew it would be controversial and you made it perfectly clear. I don’t know squat about falling in love (Haven’t been in love even with my last girlfriend.). This show filled my unusual desire to see a serious drama. At least it was better than a telenovela. Believe me, I’ve seen my fair share of novelas.
I still don’t get why people hate Medaka Box so much and I guess even with your serious explanation, it still makes no sense.
Your rage for SAO is exactly how I feel about Nisemonogatari. Now you fully understand my pain. It’s worse than your desire to erase Eureka 7 AO from existence as you’ve shown.
Hmm, a so bad, it’s good anime? I would add Panty and Stocking to that category but that show is SUPPOSED to be the way it turned out and it worked. I’ll have to check my life list of anime to discover which show is a “so bad, it’s good” in my view.
Another? No, I liked that one for what it was.
Maybe Medaka Box season 1? No, that show exists.
Umm…hmm…I’VE GOT IT! KILL ME BABY! Of course.
What doesn’t make sense? >_<
It did that on its own.
Dude. Best show.
I threw up in my mouth a little when I saw Natsuyuki on this list. Pretty well agreed on all the other entries, if not to the same levels of distaste.
You like Natsuyuki, I guess?
I ranked it as my tied top of the year, so yes <_<.
Oh o_o
What made you like it so much? (can’t see anything on your blog)
Oh yes. The rating I was talking about was here: http://www.suanime.org/archives/444
I don’t really go into detail on why there, though. To be honest, until reading this post and a few others recently, I thought it was self-evident. I’d certainly never imagined it would appear on a “worst of” list. Not while there are Who Is Imoutos a dime a dozen year to year.
I really don’t know where to start on why I like it. I guess the technical aspects, one of the most beautiful BGMs I’ve heard in ages, and absolutely gorgeous Josei style animation. Some of the flower arrangements towards the end just about took my breath away. Plot and thematically, I kind of want to just point at E Minor’s series of entries on the show and say “pretty much that”. I’d highly contend the idea that none of the characters grow. We’re so used to these huge sweeping character arcs that when we watch a show with an actually realistic amount of growth, that is, substantial, but not total paradigm shift, we don’t even see it.
I think what I take most contention to is describing the second half as “magical fluff”. Firstly, this suggests it’s insubstantial (potentially even lazy), which is just crazy, it made for a fantastic character study of Atsushi, and that’s only looking at the most basic level. The dreamworld stuff was damn fantastic for a heap of reasons, but to save space I’ll just talk about the most important one. It was goddamn ambitious and ballsy. It was a genuine attempt to push the boundaries of the medium and use the specific strengths of animation to strengthen a story. It was one of the few shows of the year, along with Tsuritama and maybe Binbougami where I thought “yep, this is a story that is best told, maybe even only possible to tell through animation”. Well, that’s not quite accurate, there were plenty of shows like chuu2koi which would have had trouble realising its fantastical elements in any other medium, but what I’m talking about here is actually lending extra… I hesitate to use the word “depth”, but it’s probably closest to what I mean. The power of animation is what made Binbougami’s physical humour work, it’s what made Tsuritama the fantastical modern fantasy story that it is, and it’s what elevated Natsuyuki from a standard Josei story to an imaginative, surreal, meta-deconstructive fairy tale.
I don’t expect it to be to everyone’s tastes, in fact I expect it to be largely ignored, but whatever else it was it was damn unique and ambitious, and how anyone can consider it one of the worst shows of the year with the mountains of uninspired, obvious cash-in, designed-by-committee bullshit that comes out all over the damn place honestly escapes me.
It’s interestWe’re so used to these huge sweeping character arcs that when we watch a show with an actually realistic amount of growth, that is, substantial, but not total paradigm shift, we don’t even see it.ing that opinions can be so different even though we watched the same thing!
Just a note, though: These are the worst anime that I’ve seen. I haven’t see all the really horrible series.
This is something that bugs me. I mean, Hyouka had subtle development/growth which you didn’t realize unless you really gave it a thought. I didn’t feel this with Rendezvous at all.
Fair enough. That is indeed a perfectly natural limitation on any list of this nature. If you disliked it so much, though, why did you watch it through to the end? I get it with shows like SAO. I myself watched that all the way through pretty much for the lulz, but Natsuyuki doesn’t seem like the sort of thing that could be enjoyed in that way.
Obviously I disagree about the lack of character growth, but I don’t really want to go into a massive defence of every aspect here. My main point was that it undoubtedly had artistic ambition, and in my book that’s worth more than diamonds in any creative industry. I’m sure I’m largely alone in giving this amount of emphasis, though I don’t want to give the impression that my enjoyment of Natsuyuki is purely academic. I thoroughly enjoyed every moment except for maybe the final episode, it’s not that I just coldly admire it the way I might a painting by Turner or Van Gogh.
To see if it gets better! And besides, it’s so short anyway, so why not watch it?
Watching bad stuff is a way to broaden my perspective.
Ah, I think that’s where differ. While I love ambition, creativity and the likes, I do not… value it as high as you seem to do. Don’t get me wrong, of course I like and wish for more freedom in the industry, but if it’s bad it’s bad no matter what.
Hope you maybe understand >_<'
Of course I understand, that’s perfectly reasonable. Of course, artistic ambition aside, I disagree it’s bad, I’d contend it was one of the best of the year, but there’s nothing else to say there.
Regarding Medaka Box – the first arc is by far the worst. The reason it’s popular is because of far later events. Medaka Box Abnormal was an improvement, although flawed. The 3rd arc, which will be following on directly from Abnormal and hasn’t been adapted just yet, is generally agreed to be the best and is where everything that makes us love Medaka Box really comes into play.
That’s what people say, but I’ve skimmed through parts of it and it’s not that fantastic. And, sadly, it wouldn’t matter if the source material was stronger since Gainax would make it a bore anyway
I agree with everything apart from SAO, and I say this probably because I’ve played a great number of MMO’s and even found a partner in one which I met and had a relationship with. I feel SAO is more directed for gamers if nothing else. Points from the anime such as enjoying where you are translate well with people who play a game to enjoy putting themself in their characters shoes and trying to feel like their experiencing something new through different eyes. The story is a simple one, survive or die and those moments when Kirito breaks the rules is meant to make you feel like he’s the hero (as he’s meant to be). Even as the show progresses they point it out how weak Kirito is and how overconfident he got from breaking those set limitations. But it’s a game and he’s the hero so he has to find some way to beat the bad guy, save the girl and still get jumped in a parking-lot at night by some weird rapist. I enjoyed how I didn’t have to think about how everything was fitting together like Ergo Proxy, it was nice to sit down and watch something I could personally relate to.
Wait wait I meant the playing games part not the late night rapist assult! NO REALLY!
I play games and an MMO (Guild Wars 2), but that doesn’t make me like it more. Actually, it’s more of the opposite since Sword Art Online constantly breaks its rules. I prefer.hack because of this.
Now, I haven’t seen Ergo Proxy, but isn’t that a show that forces you to think (otherwise you won’t get a thing)?
Not to seem rude at this guys opinion, but ask anyone, SAO is not the worst anime. It is the best anime ever. Obviously this guy has no taste.
It’s called opinions for a reason~
Hmm I think your wrong. Sao is a g00d one, dnt compare us t0 you who hate sao because every people are different t0 each other. Our taste in anime is different from you. We have different personalities so dnt mind if we like sword art online.
Oh, I don’t mind at all. Different opinions are what makes it fun to discuss, you know? It just surprises me that people can overlook the glaring faults of Sword Art Online.
I’m afraid to say that i do not agree to SAO being the worst Anime.
(i cannot speak for the others since i haven’t seen any of them)
SAO is the best anime i’ve seen. I’ve watched it over 30 times even.
The music, the animation, the character development and the plot all really made an impact on me and i’ve never been more emotionally touched by anything ever than SAO did.
I’m not gonna rant about how you’re wrong though, since everyone has different opinions, but i just wanted to put in my view of it.
SAO changed who I am, believe it or not.
It moved me and made me into a better person.
The only bad thing i can think of is that i might not find anything that is better than SAO.
If you’d like, i’d love to discuss the faults you saw in SAO and tell you why i overlooked them/thought they were great.
Me and a friend has written a few posts on the series if you wish to read: https://animeviking.wordpress.com/category/anime/series/sword-art-online/
But, well, I’ve already summed up why I dislike SAO in this post. Episode 24 in particular was so astrocious I couldn’t help but burst out in laughter, because there was no way I was supposed to take it seriously.
You can either just tell me about the things I pointed out in this post, or, if you want, you can read the others and comment on them! Would be interesting to hear your thoughts (the other posts don’t point out everything, though) 🙂
May I ask… how?
I actually liked another, I was on the edge the whole time, but what I hate is that the phenomenon was never truly explained. and the middle school students murdering each other, I don’t know, it’s terribly out of place, Misaki and Akazawa are good fap material though…
And SAO… Listen to me as an experienced MMO player, no solo player has succeeded in an MMO. NO ONE. And the final fight against heathcliffe? Srsly? You’re supposed to be dead, and we’re talking about a cold calculating computer program here, but you overpowered it through sheer willpower/power of love? If that’s true then slamming my PC would’ve fixed alot of problems. As if that dying in online games hasn’t been done by ./hack already. Sachi’s death left no emotional impact, and Asuna’s reaction to why Kirito chose to be a solo player was just over the top.
The things you mentioned is what I disliked about Another, plus how the deaths were hilarious for most part.
But… but… Lerooooooooooooy Jenkins!
That clip for your #6 worst anime (I ain’t even attempting to type out the name) made me not want to watch the anime.
But that’s not even the best part!
What’s the best part then?
The whole series. There are no words to describe how utterly bad, in a good way, it is. It put a smile on my face every episode.
Haaaaaaaaaaaaa. Ha.
If you had to say something to the creator of Sword Art Online, what would you say to him?
Hm, that’s a tough one. While I would congratulate him on his success, I would ask him the following questions:
– Why chapter 16.5, just why?
– Do you feel that Sword Art Online is a good story? If not, what would you like to change?
– If you were to create a new series, what would it be about?
I’m honestly not sure what to ask him, since these questions have probably been answered before.
You mention in Another that if you get scared you need to watch something better. But what? Since Ghost Hunt what half decent horror anime have been made?
To be perfectly honest, I can’t think of a single good horror anime! I do remember Akira and Perfect Blue being quite freaky, though, but I was rather young when I watched them. Plus they’re not really horror anime first and foremost, even if they have creepy scenes.
I’d just recommend some manga by Junji Itou or something live-action. There might be a good horror anime out there, but I haven’t come across any.
Yeh i agree……..SAO started off pretty well with good drawing and background graphics but it lacks story and all the character just keeps disappearing in one episode each and WTF if it has internal battery in nervegear why not turn off the electricity and let the battery run dry
Yes… I do wonder how the rewritten version (Sword Art Online: Progressive) of Sword Art Online, the first arc, will be. Today Reki Kawahara is a better writer according to many, so it might be more enjoyable!
sword art online is great try to fu**ing watch the whole anime first will ya
Don’t worry, I did watch the whole thing. The first arc is better, if you wonder.
Dude, your basing your defense on SAO based on your personnel enjoyment. What about the development? What about the fact that after the 2nd episode the entire anime focused on Kirito getting a harem of girls and hardly anything else, the fact that the other characters hardly had any screentime, with like 0.1 character development that was only aimed at the protagonist?
Clearly you are a idiot sir your putting up anime that dont have the stuff you love. Your picking anime that go against what you like most. There are anime in here that people like because of the love interest, side stories and main stories when you made this you should’ve thought about how the good facts on the animes fix up the bad facts later in the anime. Please rewrite or people are gunna think your a brain dead dumbass
You do realize that these are my own personal thoughts, right? I’m not sure what you want me to do.
That was fun to read! The comment section is exceptionally funny too, mostly because of the people trying to defend SAO when they couldn’t even try to bring up its good points, if there were any at all.
[…] Art Online was the worst anime I had seen in 2012 and I still stand by it. It is a complete mess in terms of narrative, so much even a competent […]
I found the story interesting and entertaining. Its is my favorite anime. I don’t care what people think about it I like it